TOMCAT wrote:
It has been my belief for some years that the standard of RL in England has been in a state of decline. Unless those who are supposed to set the strategic agenda and direction for the sport get a grip soon I think we will see the game we love cease to exist as a competitive professional sport. There is simply not enough money in RL. The blame for that IMO sits on the shoulders of those in charge of directing and developing the game. We have taken so many decisions to spend resources trying to promote the game in the South of England, France and now the US and Canada. The priority should have been to build a competitive product in the heartlands first and from that secure base, with an attractive competitive product, promote the game at home and abroad. Instead of that we have a sport in decline grasping at straws.
The blame for lack of money in the game sits squarely on the shoulders of the CEO’s and chairmen of the clubs. They are the ones who continue to sacrifice marketing, player development and the infrastructure of their club for short term gain by spending too much of their money on players.
In RL we have to adapt to the modern world and sadly we’re still stuck in the late 90’s where we think if we just get on Sky or BBC a few times we’ll be fine. When in reality the entire leisure, media and advertising landscape has changed massively and RL has been left behind.
People aren’t bothered about watching 2 ex-mining towns play in front of what are now viewed as small crowds in poor stadiums. Most people wouldn’t be able to place where 90% of SL clubs are on the map let alone feel any kind of affinity toward them.
We don’t have enough big games in front of big crowds between big clubs on TV and we certainly don’t follow up the big games to make any kind of long term impact.
No-one knows where the next England home game will be. No-one knows where the Magic Weekend will be.
We need to maximise the use of these games to expand the games reach. Why there was no tie-in with Newcastle when the Magic Weekend was at St James Park is just bizarre.
But we also desperately need a wider variety of clubs in SL than northern mining towns. Somewhere recognisable for people to attach themselves to.
Also, will raising the salary cap significantly actually produce better quality on the pitch? A couple more Aussies may be available but it won’t do anything to improve player production.
If we raise the cap it should be on a steady, manageable basis with a clear long term plan for how the cap will rise.
I’d also prefer to see a form of salary cap that incentivises marketing and infrastructure spending.
