Interview tonight at 18.00 on BBC radio Manchester with Derek hopefully some answers ..

Seems we have 2 players who are holding out to what they agreed to in their contracts.

Blame for downfall lies with these 2 lads then?

Yes, Seems DB (I won't walk away from the club this time) is walking away from the club he has destroyed. Why can't we attract a professional owner instead of the Arfur' Daley sorts we always seem to get.

Ah well, onwards and upwards after we hit bottom of Champ 1 in a season or 2.

Blame lies with the person who gave them their contracts.

100% Correct.

Local RL journalist Mark Taylor has 'tweeted' the most relevant comments....

Okay, here's some of what Derek Beaumont told Jack Dearden on BBC Radio Manchester just now: "I have put a lot of time and effort and money into this so I'm bitterly disappointed. (On not making the top four) It has to be down to recruitment which I take responsibility for."
"The responsibility lies with me. I own the club and the decisions rest with me. If they don't do that, it lies with me. I took a lot of positives and enjoyment out of success when we achieved that and I was happy to avoid some of that limelight"
"It has been horrendous. You have to look at the whole picture and it's grim. I was hopeful I could strip everything back and strip the club back. There are two players we haven't been able to do that which has put the club in a difficult situation."
"I am still the owner and majority shareholder. As long as that remains in place I have a responsibility to that. Nobody has come forward. The club may have serious issues. The club is operating in special measures which mean I can't appoint a coach or sign players."
"We face action from two players and it's up to them what they do next. I hope they accept the offers from me and hopefully we can rebuild over the next two or three years."
"We have put responsible budgets forward to the RFL. They are nervous my backing has been removed. I think some sense will be shown soon. 40 per cent of the budget would be taken up with two players on full-time contracts."
"We are stuck in the middle of the deep blue sea at the minute. I would be prepared to step aside if someone comes forward and brings some investment. The people who are there at the moment have a lot of skills and knowledge and know what they are doing."
"If someone does want to make a significant investment I will write off the loans and give them the chance to achieve more than I did. There is a lot in the sport I am not comfortable with - with franchising and TV deals. I am a bit disillusioned with the game as a whole."
"When players enter contracts as in business do they should be met. There are two sides to this. I feel let down. There is no way that Leigh Centurions can survive as a business if it has to pay two players on full-time contracts. If not we will be no better than amateurs."
"I will make sure Leigh Centurions continues in whatever vein I can."

We actually had an Arthur Daley, a long striding second rower, who played for us in the noughties!!! By the way, who are theses 2 players holding us to ransom?

Kevin larroyer and Rhys Evans

One mans ransom is another mans entitlement.

Ive put lots of money into the club.
I’ll write off my loans..

The two dont seem to mirror, if he can take the loans back he hasn’t put anything in.

The idea is a director will loan his company money to get it established and profitable, then take his money back. Not likely with Leigh RL club.

Here's the BBC summary of the interview. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/46131962 It refers to the contracts of those staying from the SL season, being honoured. Presumably the two players holding out for full contract payments are from the recently finished Championship season though? If 'Monty's' naming of the two is correct, (no reason to disbelieve you there, by the way, 'Monty') they form an interesting contrast - one who bust a gut playing out the season, to the bitter end, and another who missed most of the season!

Here's the BBC summary of the interview. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/46131962 It refers to the contracts of those staying from the SL season, being honoured. Presumably the two players holding out for full contract payments are from the recently finished Championship season though? If 'Monty's' naming of the two is correct, (no reason to disbelieve you there, by the way, 'Monty') they form an interesting contrast - one who bust a gut playing out the season, to the bitter end, and another who missed most of the season!

At least the silence has been broken.

I'm in a bit of a quandary here, about what the contracts entail. The owner is quoted, by Mark Taylor, as saying [i"When players enter contracts as in business do they should be met."[/i I would have expected there to be an obligation, on the part of the club, to meet the contracts in full, but is there some form of performance-related term in there? (i.e. was there any reference to the top four? John Duffy's second year at Featherstone appeared to depend on a top four place)

It seems to have been pretty straightforward to get the other remaining players to take a cut, so maybe there is/was a condition referring to league placing?

Here's hoping a way forward can be found very soon - and that the club keeps its customer base appraised of the situation. I'm sure that the vast majority on here are desperate to hear that we have found a way out of this nightmare. (and yes, I'm aware that the owner will be even more desperate than the rest of us, for a resolution!)