Wakefield For Sale.....?????

[Flash]

http://www.lasttackle.com/news_4236-wakefield-seek-new-investment.html

In a statement, it was revealed the current board are looking at restructuring the club to "either work with new investors or step aside in order to take the club to the next level."

I'm sure that Wakefield's financial situation is far from new news to any of us but it makes you wonder how secure RL is in the "heartlands", never mind just in the Capital.

[Steve]

So where's the RFL Taskforce for Wakefield then?

[so jah seh]

So where's the RFL Taskforce for Wakefield then?

Stuck in traffic down "that" London

[cheadleviking]

Lost on the way back from Castleford?

[Myles Offside]

On one hand they are telling us they are delighted with the progress of the new stadium, but in the same breath they are saying they are happy to step aside for new investors.

Dear god the world has gone mad. If that isn't an admission they are in the spangles I don't know what is.

[Peter]

So where's the RFL Taskforce for Wakefield then?

Working at labourers getting Salford's Stadium ready?

[Steve]

It's easy to take potshots, but this could be said to be the result of three-year SL licences.
I will avoid the history lesson of P/R as we all know it, but by prolonging the term in the top tier it means that a club suffering a financial blip, compounded by a loss of form, attendance drop etc find themselves stuck without the safety net of relegation.

I firmly believe that relegation will have to return or the alternative will be the eradication of potentially around half of the current SL clubs.

[Peter]

It's easy to take potshots, but this could be said to be the result of three-year SL licences.
I will avoid the history lesson of P/R as we all know it, but by prolonging the term in the top tier it means that a club suffering a financial blip, compounded by a loss of form, attendance drop etc find themselves stuck without the safety net of relegation.

I firmly believe that relegation will have to return or the alternative will be the eradication of potentially around half of the current SL clubs.

A very good point. It is a proven fact that frequently when a club goes down, they can regroup and rebuild their way back up.

[Sandgroper]

Sound thinking. Dropping down a division also reminds clubs that they still have to grow the business side of things and not just concentrate on the playing side. 

It sounds harsh but all clubs, us included, need to look at that element.

If/when SOC decides  that his job is done the club as an organisation will need to keep the momentum up. Hopefully SOC's strategy will be ingrained by then but care will always be needed or we will slip backwards.

[Sandgroper]

The Wakey Chairman's statement may well be the last nail in their coffin.

[RB]

A very good point. It is a proven fact that frequently when a club goes down, they can regroup and rebuild their way back up.

The trouble is that with the way the Super league and Cooperative Championships are constructed it can lead to financial ruin.
ie the Super League Clubs get all the money and the Championship Clubs get nothing ie. Overnight you lose £1.1 Million pounds in revenue.
The Clubs which used to come down such as Huddersfield and Salford received parachute payments those payments were stopped.
I would advocate promotionand & relegation of course but I would also advocate that all ''professional clubs'' have access to central funds.
When Maurice got the Super League adopted National League Clubs received £325,000 per year this was soon reduced to nothing.
Something is not right at Wakefield which is why John Kear an excellent coach is being mentioned whenever a vacancy at another club arises.

[Peter]

The trouble is that with the way the Super league and Cooperative Championships are constructed it can lead to financial ruin.
ie the Super League Clubs get all the money and the Championship Clubs get nothing ie. Overnight you lose £1.1 Million pounds in revenue.
The Clubs which used to come down such as Huddersfield and Salford received parachute payments those payments were stopped.
I would advocate promotionand & relegation of course but I would also advocate that all ''professional clubs'' have access to central funds.
When Maurice got the Super League adopted National League Clubs received £325,000 per year this was soon reduced to nothing.
Something is not right at Wakefield which is why John Kear an excellent coach is being mentioned whenever a vacancy at another club arises.

50% of what SL clubs get!

[RB]

50% of what SL clubs get!

Anything would be better than nothing.
At the moment we have a situation that Championship Clubs appaearing on Sky lose gate receipts and receive nothing from the Funds the RFL receive from Sky

[local viking]

It's easy to take potshots, but this could be said to be the result of three-year SL licences.
I will avoid the history lesson of P/R as we all know it, but by prolonging the term in the top tier it means that a club suffering a financial blip, compounded by a loss of form, attendance drop etc find themselves stuck without the safety net of relegation.

I firmly believe that relegation will have to return or the alternative will be the eradication of potentially around half of the current SL clubs.

The whole point of Super League is expansion - the heartland teams are a stopgap measure - The RFL really don't care about the originators of this game, they care about expansion. The heartland teams would be given the opportunity in maybe 1 team P & R, but the focus is definately NOT on the teams we actually care about.

[Sandgroper]

You are spot on LV.  The reduction of the salary cap this year, set up tom help the lower clubs, actually plays into the RFL's hands by widening even more the gap between SL and the rest.  All of which makes P & R less likely.

THe driving force is quite definitely to establish a Europe-wide league based in major cities, which is why Salford will stay up (and why we should make more of our Merseyside links)

Maurice Lindsay's feeder club idea is alive and well on its way.  The poorer they can keep the Championship the better they will like it!   But the bigger the gap the harder it will be for even a franchise winner to catch up in three years.

Hence they will eventually decide that the franchise system is defunct and teams will be dropped because they are not situated in sufficiently large centres of population. Expansion teams from far and wide will be shipped in as part of the TV Show that the game is becoming.