Come on, there is a huge culture difference there.
RL was built up around working class communities in the North of England and whilst plenty of fans do travel long distances to attend games, the vast majority at ALL clubs are "local" residents
I agree about their Stadium deal, although this wasn't such a problem when Koucash was interested but, the reality is that without him, they always looked like they would struggle massively and this appears to be the case.
Worrying times for the fans.

Might need to change the title of this thread to include Leigh? Statement from Derek just now effectively saying all players can leave, he's off at the end of the season, but he's committed to making sure the club fulfil this seasons fixtures...
Really hope Leigh can restructure quickly.

I know I'm going to get crucified for this comment, but here goes!! 2 'money men' now over the last 2 years are potentially being lost to the game, both of whom want to invest in Rugby League. These 2 both get on well together. Both are/have been involved in clubs roughly 10 miles apart. You know where this is going! A partnership of Koukash/Beaumont merging Leigh and Salford together could be one hell of a strong Super League club. I know people are going to go nuts at the comment saying 'why don't Cas and Wakey merge then', but thats not the issue currently. The issue is 2 struggling clubs close to each other have 2 wealthy backers at risk of being lost to the game. I don't think Rugby League in this country can afford to lose people who want to invest in the sport.

I don't agree though I get the point. Salford look increasingly un-viable as a club anyone can see that and it's tragic. However there is nothing wrong with Leigh other than them not living within their means and trying to buy success rather than create it. Leigh are every bit as viable as Cas or Wakefield or most SL clubs but they continually try to run before they can walk taking short cuts for short term glory - that is the fault of one manBeaumont who like Marvin is jumping ship now he's buggered it up.

^^ I can't disagree Vasty. I honestly didn't think Beaumont would jump ship. There is a big difference in Salford and Leigh I think in that the town of Leigh wants rugby league, but Salford seems to prefer football. I'm just disappointed that 2 wealthy people who seemed to want to invest in our game may now be lost to it.

Beaumont is more of a surprise given that he genuinely comes across as a passionate supporter of the club and the sport, and has done well enough for himself to be able to invest in that passion. Koukash was only ever an enthusiastic self-publicist. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but he was never going to be as invested emotionally as I imagine Beaumont was.

He and Leigh have ultimately been stuck between a rock and a hard place. For a long time, they were in that 'middle zone' of too good for the Championship, but not ready for SL. It's a hard gap to bridge. Since then, there has been increased competition in the Championship and the upheavel of building and dismantling squads as they have moved between the respective leagues seems to have cause many of these issues.

I tend to get what caslad75 is saying, but I think the focus on 'money men' is probably a bit of a blind alley. The emphasis ultimately needs to be on building self-sufficient and growing clubs across the board. Leigh, one of the better-supported clubs in the Championship, are averaging 3,500 - those sorts of gates aren't going to sustain club spending close to £1.8m in player salaries. That said, five away games on the bounce can't have been good for cash-flow either.

Whilst it was Koukash yesterday and seemingly Beaumont today, what happens if it is Davy tomorrow, and Hudgell (who is on record as saying that he wants to reduce his own personal underwriting of the club) the day after that?

I don't expect this part to be universally popular, but this is the direct result of the sport as a collective whole not reaching and engaging new audiences. It leaves the sport and the clubs with falling commercial revenue, a low value TV deal that I highly doubt will improve in the next round of negotiations, falling participation and an aging supporter base. So far in the last two months we have had Salford, Leigh, Whitehaven, Barrow and Keighley all put out some form of financial distress call - this can't all be the fault of Red Hall.

Actually I think you're agreeing with me apart from the jumping ship bit.

Well thats the point is it not, clubs are not local community clubs anymore and the ones being run that way are struggling, RL if it want to move forward needs to get away from this Pit village team syndrome. If Salford fans wont travel less than 5 miles across there own city then thats there fault. incedentley the Aj bell stadium is 3.2 miles from the former willows ground. Central park wigan around 2.6 miles to Dw stadium, weldon road to proposed new stadium at castleford approx 2.5 miles. So unless all Salfords fan base lived within a 1km radius then there really is no excuse, other than the ieople if Salford do not eant a super league side.

That's exactly my take on it - if we're to safeguard clubs and the sport, rather than going cap in hand to fickle money men who see the club as a plaything, we should be helping clubs to be self-sufficient and understand how to cut their cloth; including a pathway into the SL that doesn't incentivise all or nothing spending splurges that can't be sustained if they don't deliver quick results.

There aren't may Ken Davy's or Jack Fulton's, who will be prepared to slash their money away year on year for a sustained period - so perhaps we need more Michael Carter's than Marwan's - with a solid support network from the RFL to ensure that clubs are also doing everything they can to help themselves?

Seems to me the dreaded word 'F' word would be a decent solution to these issue faced by Leigh (and others). A boom a bust format will encourage clubs to do just that. Put it all on the win and when you don't it all goes pop.

Licensing for a small cash strapped sport like RL is the only stable option going (I am aware Trinity, Bradford and Crusaders were perilously close to disappearing, but that was outright bad management) however if done right all clubs can plan, grow and ultimately be the best they can be without the fear of it all been lost on the bounce of a ball. If the league was inclusive rather than exclusive I'm sure we could make it work.

Licensing is all very well if the application and assessment process is completely transparent and is done by a body with no conflicts of interest. Clear measurable criteria need to be employed and all applications need to be made public. It shouldn’t just assess promotion to SL but also whether clubs should be demoted.

Without those caveats licensing is a no go from me. RL is a sport that has been held back by small time parochial, tinfoil hat wearing conspiracists for years and in some cases with good reasons. The SL clubs shouldn’t be deciding who joins them in SL and who doesn’t. That’s a closed shop and open to abuse.

Unless a transparent licensing system is in place we should stick with P&R. I happen to think that there’s no way it’ll happen so P&R should stay. If that means clubs adopt a poop or bust strategy to get promoted that’s their funeral (as it was for my own club). Having been through all our troubles I’d be happy with just having a sustainable club but there should be a pathway to higher divisions.