Pretty much agree with that assessment.
Sustainable growth is what we all want for the game. Not the bang n bust 'Bradford' scenario.
The argument isnt really about the cap - Remove it tomorrow for me! Just so long as clubs live within their relative means, all good.
And to be fair i dont really see this mass exodus towards Yawnion being such a huge concern, cos it hasnt really happened. A few 'names' for sure, but not the doomsday scenario that has been predicted by some.
The NRL is still the real nightstalker in the house at the min!

What I would like to see in the SL with the new money coming in from SKY and being reduced to 12 teams is that EACH SL club gets £2 million and the salary cap raised to £2 million so that each club is on a level playing field from the onset. I know that the salary cap has been twiddled with to accommodate home grown players this is up to each club then to get their act together to provide more money for the players .Of course this being the RL this will not happen as the money will be diluted to championship 1 and 2 and amateur and grass roots .If it was not for the SL clubs there would not be any money so please RFL get this right IL was right the SL clubs should have a bigger say in the running of SL.

The thing is, who is going to want to watch a sport with average players not good enough for Superleague, over the hill Aussie and Kiwis and promising youngsters who inevitably will go to the NRL or Union for more cash?

With the standards dropped we lose sponsorship and money.

With the loss of sponsorship and money from the crowds dropping we can't pay the players what they deserve so back to point 1.

A financial backer may come in to Superleague ala Koukash, Branson, Moran and want to splash the cash and buy some top players but the salary cap stands in the way so back to point 1 and the financial backers stay away.

Its a vicious circle that needs to stop otherwise its a slippery slope to the bottom, all we ask is the cap is scrapped as it stands now and the only factor in wages is whether you can afford it, maybe just increase the cap to £3,000,000 if the club can afford it.

The new sky money basically pays the players their wages and all clubs could spend up to the cap, all that will do is make clubs lazy in marketing, clubs need to opportunity to grow financially and commercially.

I'm not too sure about a song and dance really, unless they have done exceptionally well in RU. Heralding the return of a RU convert failure to me smacks of desperation and is yet another nail in the proverbial RL coffin.

Best thing RL can do if JT/KE came back is to announce it, say all the usual "Quality player with a good attitude" drivel then shut up about it.

Correct

And what is happening now is not a result of any announcements or strategies that the RFL have made in the last 12 months, it's a result of previous strategies etc. over the past 12 years that's created this situation.

They then want to hide behind what they're doing now when it's far too late IMO.

I'm Surpised DeanoG et al aren't on here saying I told you so?

IMO the salary cap (although great in its intentions) provided the RFL with the perfect excuse to sit back and say "Well all the clubs are self sufficient so we must be doing something right" and instead of going out there generating more revenue streams, increasing it's profile and pushing itself to the forefront of Sports sponsorship they hid behind "Gimmicks" and "Innovative" ideas thinking that would increase the interest in our game.

When they realised that it wouldn't stop clubs going Bust we've had the blame game followed by more tinkering with the game and it's competition structure.

The World Cup has given the game over here a much needed boost short term but I again think it's given the RFL the excuse to Big up the game short term and although there seems to be some long term strategy with the TV deal there are many question marks over the Merits of both the Term of the deal and the income and if we could have done better.

I'm long over getting wound up by the situation as what will be will be but my Main point is all those that told us Everything was fine 10/5/2 years ago are pretty much the same people telling us everything's alright now.

If you didnt believe it then I'm not sure why we should believe much has changed now?

The one thing wrong with the RFL is Nigel Wood. The sooner he is shot of the better for UK Rugby League.

I meant use the occasion to illustrate that Union does not have streets paved with gold for everyone.

Loath though I am to say this - and I never wanted to sink to the levels of RU in its Shamateurism days - but I think we should now be on a war-footing with RU.

There's no point us pretending that all is good and fine between us and them. It isn't. We get nothing of value from them - Powell being a case in point - and they have the potential to take everything of value from us. The first casualty of this should be Andy Farrell, who can surely no longer be invited into RL's inner circles. He was once a favourite son, but he's clearly indicated that this means nothing to him.

However, I do take your overall point. Sometimes it's better to behave with dignity. Especially, I suppose, when you've got no real choice.

I totally agree with this. Especially the inviting of Union coaches into Rugby League environments. Farrell will always be remembered as a great player but not for his actions since crossing the code barrier. You cant blame him he is doing his job, but I do not see the need to give him or others access to the clubs/players. That goes for others too, perhaps with the exception of Shaun Edwards who has conducted himself very well despite being employed by the other code.

There is no need to be ignorant or unprofessional to these people, just stop inviting them in to our backyard and decline any invites from them.

In my opinion the damage was done when we became obsessed with Australian Coaches and the brain drain commenced. It was only natural that with no pathway into coaching players would drift to the 15 man game and take there scouting knowledge with them.

The long term impact of selling Faz to Union has been a disaster for the code, and one hopes that we learn from those errors, sadly I don't have any faith that we will though.

At first the cap was lauded as a way of stopping clubs going bust and when that didn't prevent that happening they moved the goal posts and now it's to level the playing field, if anything it's making the playing field much steeper for the top clubs who are still winning everything (bar Huddersfield last year because of the play offs the LLS is seen as a pointless way of playing all your cards at once by the teams who have won it and failed in the play offs).

What makes multi millionaires throw money at Football clubs even though they know they will run it at a major loss? Unless they win the Champions League.

It's a play thing, a hobby, an ego massager to walk onto the pitch holding up a trophy with the team.

Why stop Koukash pouring money into Salford? If Salford signed Sonny Bill Williams he states they could attract 3000 more fans to every home game, TBH I'd probably go just to watch him if I'm honest and definitely go to an away game at Salford.

So 3000 x £20 ticket x 14 home games is an extra £840,000 pa minus Tax (50%) and overheads your probably looking at £400,000, would Sonny Bill and the likes come to Superleague for £400,000 a year, I'd like to think so.

If you were a local business man would you be more inclined to sponsor Salford if Sonny Bill Williams played for them? I sure would.

If Salford attracted 10,000 a game with SBW playing for Salford would Sky pay more for the viewing rights and would more people upgrade to the Sports package?
I reckon so.

All in all would the game be better off on a financial level, commercial level and quality level? Apart from the Wakefield, Castleford, Bradford and London yes, it would be.

But for all this to happen the first thing that must be done is give clubs the opportunity to earn and pay more.

If I worked for a company and was told to make 40 items a week, anymore you won't get extra pay for I probably would t do anymore but if they said you get paid a certain about for however many you do over 40 would I be inclined to do more? You bet ya!

Has anyone considered that this isn't just about Bucks.
SBW wants a RU World Cup winners medal, maybe Burges want one as well.
Good luck to him.

A quick example from my job which I think is similar to this.

I used to work at Xercise4Less in Wigan but have since moved to another gym, in my new role I have poached members from X4L for my new gym. It's good for business.

Now flip that to AF, in essence he has done/doing the same thing. Poaching RL members for RU. It goes without saying there is considerable difference but I think the general jist is the same. He is just doing his job, however much it may p*ss us all off.

Along with Sam Tomkins, Sam Burgess is a once in a generation player (must be the time of the Sam's). Losing him to RU is an absolute hammer blow to not just UK RL but the NRL. If he could of played SOO would he of stayed? Doubtful. IMO to really cement his star quality as an overall rugby player he needs a World Cup or an international title (be it 6N, GB & I Lions etc). He wants to not only emulate SBW but be better than him in all aspects. It's possible SB will be back as a RL player in 4 years time, its possible he won't be but either way IMHO he has done all that is possible for him to do in RL. By "doing all is possible" I mean as in what the team he plays for is capable of doing. England got to a WC SF, realistically if we had got to the final would we have won? Would South Sydney of won the NRL GF? I can't say the answer to either question is yes.

I'm annoyed he's gone to RU but I suppose how we as RL fans are feeling now about it is the exact same as to how RU fans felt when RL poached their stars. I hate saying it and I hate doing it but all we can do is grin and bear it.

If we grin and bear it rahs just burying our heads in the sand and we will go the way of speedway and snooker, we need to round up the wagons and come up with a strategy for the future of the game.

First on the agenda, let clubs spend up to £3,000,000 if they can afford it, if no SL club can as yet then they have the option to if they market themselves well enough, for the money we got for Tomkins and Sams wage we could pay Billy Slater to play for us for 3 years.

Clubs should be able to spend exactly what they can afford to spend. The likes of Wiga, Warrington, Leeds, St Helens, Salford have the money to spend. It annoys the hell out of me when the RFL won't allow clubs who have for years been sensible with finances, clever in the sales& marketing environment and have the cash to spend are restricted.

Sod bringing us down to Wakey, Cas and London's level. If they can't keep up then tough. It's about time the RFL grew a set IMHO.

How do you reconcile this with a chairman in IFL who sells players for profit and is opposed to increasing wages? I'm not necessarily saying IL is wrong and it could be that he is holding wages down to help lower clubs but you can't avoid the fact that some of the largest clubs are showing no inclination to increase their costs at all and they are probably prudent to do so. The thing that really frustrates me is that the hierarchy actively prevent money from entering the sport, be it external player endorsements or from benefactors such as Koucash.

Saints have lost around £10 million since 2000 (they lost over £1 million last year) The game itself needs to be on a better financial footing. Wigan have only started generating a profit in the last four or five years. Sadly the clubs voted for a the new deal without looking at what was available down the line. Lenagan whom I generally support should have voted NO rather than change his mind the day after.