Bullseye wrote:
Rather than an "investor" we have someone that is covering the bills. One doesn't "invest" in a Championship RL team.
I just hope he/she hangs around and doesn't decide to stop covering those bills. I suspect the Odsal site is the reason they're hanging around.
It's not impossible to run a club in a sustainable way but probably not at Odsal. Look at Batley who balance their books and have a great setup. If fans are happy with just being in the championship that's the model to follow. Going any further requires extra cash.
Its not impossible to run a club within its means however it just involves setting budgets early and forecasting accurately.
This year Leigh's board were given a budget of £300k by Derek to spend on the roster as he said he was going to put nothing in this year and let Toronto do their thing, this was based on a budget of 1700-1800 paying customers. It quickly became apparent early on that the crowds were much higher than predicted (AVG 3000) on the back of the "local lads" push and surplus funds were accruing in the bank.
Add to that Corporate/Leigh TV/Lottery/Events/Golf days/player sponsorship/Club shop/away match pre-sales and the playing shirt/training gear getting Super League levels of sponsorship income we sit in a really good financial place and Derek has had to put nothing in this year.
Our recent signings are an indication of a strong financial position and if Derek wants to splash the cash & roll the dice again and go head to head with Toronto/Toulouse in the payoffs then I expect we will see a few more old faces back.
