For the avoidance of doubt, a company is insolvent if it is unable to pay its debts as and when they fall due.

Do not confuse this with a club having an excess of liabilities over assets ("technical insolvency").

Many - most, maybe - RL clubs are "technically insolvent". Including some big names which might surprise some people. But they are able to keep trading because their owners/directors have committed to ensuring that the company has sufficient cash to enable it to continue trading for at least the next twelve months. Thereby they remain "solvent" and so may continue trading legally and without personal liability on the directors for trading whilst insolvent. This may be by, for example, by owners or directors:

[list
* Contractually agreeing to subordinate their loans to the interest of the other creditors
* Personally and contractually guaranteeing - or providing security for - the company's overdraft or other debt/s
* Personally and contractually agreeing to inject additional subordinated loan funds, or equity, should the need arise.[/list:u

Although quite why a non-owner director would do any of this this escapes me...

If necessary owners may write off loans to the company, or (a
(as happened with Saints recently) allow loans to be converted to shares thereby reducing the liabilities.

Sometimes, the lender may allow the situation to continue if the debt is secured on assets whose market value is a lot higher than their book value. That used to be the case sometimes with grounds, although probably less likely nowdays, and anyway most such properties have long since been sold.

It is easy for anyone to say get rid of Oldham or any other club outside of SL from the comfort zone of being a supporter of one of the clubs who does receive almost £1m Sky money a year. In Oldham's defence I would say look at the current England team how many other towns have produced two players that are in the team that do not have a team in SL. Lose Oldham and do you lose the production line which helped produce the likes of Kyle Eastmond and Kevin Sinfield?

Are you implying that if there wasn't a struggling semi-pro club in the town none of the schools or amateur clubs in the area would exist?

Personally, I think there is a certain credence in the argument. Particularly as the nearest pro clubs are either over t'hill or the other side of Manchester.

Sounds like he's saying that. From what I gather plenty of people in Oldham support other clubs now. Either way there's only so many times they can turn a blind eye to unviable clubs

Strange as it sounds I wondered whether this was the intention of the RLIF when they introduced a team in Dubai.

I may seem a bit naive here but how do you end up owing the tax man money? as you pay on what you earn or have paid in wages(emloyers liability) on vat you pay 15% of what you take. If you take nothing you pay nothing, if you have spent the money you should have put aside to pay tax or paid out wages that you can not afford then I have no sypathy.
I suspect it is a lot more complicated but I would genuinly like to know how it happens.

Sad to say they are in deeper trouble then Gateshead, £47,000 tax bill. Oh Dear!! 2 tiny divisions below the SL clearly isn't working at all. Teams haven't got enough meaningfull home fixtures to be viable.

Well said, unfortunatley there are to many rl 'fans' on here that are quick to be critical of a situation they know nothing about either through ignorance or stupidity.

Its actually more than a million in sky money now, its terrible i think that the top level of our game is so selfish that no money can be 'spared' for nl clubs. In 10 years people are going to be complaining about the england team and not realising that letting lower league clubs suffer will result in less english players coming through.

Its sad how short sighted our sport is at times.

It's happening too often now. I don't think the people of Oldham are interested in the professional club. Some amateur teams are getting better crowds now than the professional club.

The guy who runs Oldham is a qualified accountant as well. You'd think he'd be a bit better with the figures. He's also the President of the RFL this year. How embarrassing would that be if the club of the President's club went bust whilst he was in office.

The infighting between Mr Quinn and the other guy hasn't helped things either.

I for one think this is the end of the road. They are going to be homeless when Oldham Athletic move to their new ground and all this talk of a new rugby stadium in the town has never materialised.

I think this is the end of the road.

Perhaps these are RL fans who know that Championship clubs DO get some Sky money. Perhaps these are RL fans who know about the mandatory friendlies with SL clubs where the lower club gets 100% of revenue. Perhaps these are RL fans who know that a greater proportion of players coming through SL academies end up at championship clubs. Perhaps these are RL fans who understand how dual registration will help the finances of championship sides.

The Oldham players in the England team came through the Leeds and Saints youth structures. Previously 2 top players in Scully and Harris came through Warrington (when Oldham was a SL club!). There are are some very good Oldham kids on the books of several SL teams.

I hope Oldham survive and thrive. Attributing their problems to Sky / SL is nonsense. An understanding of the earlier Quin ownership may be a better starting point.

Lose the clubs at the bottom and the whole game will die, the RFL MUST at least try and make things more viable for both the two lower pro divisions, there are simply not enough home games in a 10 or 11 team league, either bring new teams in ( doughtfull at present ) or merge the two divisions into one with a 6 team play off. My own club has 9 home league games, 2 or 3 NRC games and maybe 2 CC games. How can any club run well on that low level of income from Gate reciepts?