We've heard plenty of comments in the past about paying up to the cap, which I've always taken with a sackful of salt.

I just can't see how anyone could predict next season's gate receipts and season ticket income within a margin of error of at least £300k. Without a major market research exercise, which would be costly and time consuming, it's anyone's guess what the optimum pricing structure will be, how big a price increase the fans will tolerate.

We don't know how much cash Omar has in reserve or could call on if the club's income falls short of his forecasts.We do know that he isnt Roman Abramovich. We also know that he has plans to expand the commercial side, but those plans will not work overnight.

It would be entirely understandable if he maintained some flexibilty over the players salary budget, at least until he's seen how season ticket sales go. Perhaps foolhardy if he didnt.

I do agree with what you say, though I feel that, perhaps, it would be even more foolhardy to go into a season ticket sales period [isaying[/i that you don't intend to be competitive?

We definitely need to retain as many of our currently contracted players as possible and recruit more to cover the losses if we are to be truly 'competitive', but this will be very difficult given that, even if we get an immediate go-ahead for SL, the available players will have been picked over. They have already, in fact. Truth is we are unlikely to have a team as good as this season's has been and the longer it takes the RFL to get their back-ends in gear the harder it is going to be, but these are not the sort of things the wavering fans are going to want to hear - as I'm certain OK will know already.

The situation is ridiculous at the moment; the RFL are getting brickbats for 'overhelping' us whilst, in fact, they are currently strangling the club with indecision before it is re-born.

Shooting the admiral was not indecision...

...and not just messing us around, what about Championship clubs who are being told apparently to get ready for SL? Time for the RFL to get a bloody move on and clarify what's happening next year and subsequent seasons. The longer they leave it the less integrity the league will have.

Oh abso-bloody-lutely, Bullseye. I admit to being a bit one-eyed (like any fan) but you're right we shouldn't forget many others are involved.

Now I'll get back to trying to work out who Adey's admiral is....

But the more any other owners giving any consideration to the administration route will see the way your club's chances of being competitive again in the foreseeable future will probably be totally stymied, maybe the less likely they will be to consider that route? The reported issues at several clubs now...ones that unlike us HAVE been sugar-daddied, hence they are still hanging on, but whose sugar daddies are being heavily outgunned by the sugar mega-daddies (as I warned would happen ages ago), must be scaring the RFL shìtless? Foundations of sand and all that... but at least by seeing what is being done to us I guess any other club owners will bound to be having second thoughts if they were considering insolvency? Except, that presupposes they can keep on paying the bills forever...

Foundations of sand. You got that right. If they can't keep paying the bills though the RFL strategy starts to fall apart. Could be some interesting times ahead.

As for us. By making an example of us the RFL seem prepared to let the livelihoods of people hang in the balance. Meanwhile other clubs don't know what to plan for.

A great way to run the game!

*** WARNING *** Oxymoron alert *** WARNING ***

Well indeed. Your other post pre-supposes the RFL do have some sort of strategy for dealing with the whole "game is broke" scenario and aren't just making it up as they go along while praying it will all sort itself out and we can go on pretending all is well.

Surely though, if we are ultimately allowed to carry on in SL, albeit through a protracted and painful process with a reduced ability to compete in the short term, this will not deter a chairman who needs to stop losing, say, 500k a year from going down the insolvancy route? They probably already feel they have a reduced capacity to compete in the short term anyway as they struggle to justify the current costs. The only real action that would deter others "choosing" insolvancy would be to remove us (and therefore anyone following) from the competition.

If delay is a deliberate tactic to hurt us and therefore show an example to others, its totally flawed IMHO and wont acheive its aim, whuch is why I'm not convinced it is. Could it not be just that the rfl are genuinely struggling with the decision, not so much just for considerations regarding us, but for what they can see coming over the hill in terms of licencing review, p&R, other clubs on the brink? And don't get me wrong i want the decision asap, if not sooner, but they do need to get this right, for every club involved, as I feel if the rfl take too many wrong turns now the game as a whole could really suffer, thanks to those foundations of sand.

The RFL are in an impossible position IMO. There are only 2 ways the game is going to expand.
1. A sugar daddy takes over every club & can pay top British sportsmen big bucks to play the game. Not going to happen.
2. RL gets the same media profile as tennis, cricket, yawnion etc. so top British sportsmen want to play the game. Not going to happen.
Consequently we are stuck in a rut which I cannot see the way out of. Unless the brilliant business plan of part-time sport with P&R is going to attract thousands of young Sam Tomkins to say sod football, I want to play in front of 1,200 at Post Office Moyles Big Fat F[iU[/icker stadium on a cold, wet Wednesday night.

Its just becoming increasingly hard to see why else the RFL are acting as they are, that's the trouble. If they have reasons other than to make sure others are not tempted to go down our route, they are not making a good fist of explaining them.

A lot depends on your definition of expansion: more money coming into the game, or more people playing and supporting the game? If only the game was more widely played in schools just in our own M62 ghetto for starters - then to my mind that would be a "real" expansion in the longer term - and if more people participate it becomes harder for the media to ignore.

So......I wonder if Sammut is leaving........

Trying to get a thread back on topic? Shame on you, sir!