cherry.pie wrote:
There's an obvious reason why Ian Lenagan is wanting to host games overseas, and games in the capital. It's for sponsorship. Rugby league struggles to attract enough investment and one of the main reasons is the parochial nature of the sport.
Sponsorship opportunities in the north of England are limited, that's why the business club was set up in London. The sport is still niche in this country, but it's a billion dollar industry in Australia, hence why we're trying to tap into that market.
So lets get this straight. The North of England, which has a population double that of NSW is a sponsorship desert?
The RFL have certainly sold RL short on the commercial front but it is the NRL, not individual clubs that have made RL in OZ the commercial success it is. The NRL themselves are very parochial putting State of Origin above all else for example. It's not being parochial that is the issue. Its a failure to attract local sponsors. Why isn't IL being taken to task for not getting a top domestic sponsor? It's no use saying TL is parochial. There are big North West based companies. I think his search outside of the region is a mark of failure, not opportunism.
What evidence is there that are is any market Wigan can tap into iin Oz? The sponsorship for the Wigan/Hull game only covers the cost of that. The rest of the press release from the club is all about potential but I have no idea why anyone in Oz is going to start chucking money Wigan's way.
The biggest sports have global appeal, the biggest sports franchises have global appeal.
The NFL now host matches in Wembley. Perhaps the fans of those teams are furious when they find there's a home match being held in a different continent that they can't go to watch, but there's a reason why the NFL do it. It brings in money. It brings in sponsors. In provides exposure.
The reason they do it is because they want to grow the game. Taking a Wigan home game to NSW is not growing the game.
Now it's always a risk that we might not gain much from our venture down under or, if it were to happen, a one off game against NZ Warriors in London, but bloody hell a forward thinking club needs to be trying these things!
Why? Based on what evidence that there is any mileage in London/Oz? I have a lot more time for the Robin Park initiative then I do one off games in far flung places.
We know damn well that the RFL haven't got a clue what their strategy is to grow the sport, to bring in more money which the game desperately needs.
Well I can't see why IL is proving any the wiser with his London/Oz ideas.
Our chairman is clearly chasing sponsorship opportunities that could increase the profile of both the club and the sport, make it more attractive to investors, give the game the global appeal that it lacks at the moment but could easily have with the right time and the right ideas.
WTF are any companies in Oz, NZ or London going to sponsor Wigan or UK RL because of what he is doing here?
It's a simple question. You run a company in Oz your benefit of sponsoring Wigan is what? Zero.
You are the Oz CEO of a subsidiary of a multi-national. You are going to persuade your parent company to sponsor Wigan in the UK? Why? What is in it for you? Not worth the effort.
We've been in situations in the past where coaches have been sacked for being 3rd or 4th in the table. Thank god those days are gone. We've won numerous trophies since Lenagan came to the club and since Wane took charge. Of course Lenagan isn't going to sack Shaun Wane when we're in the final of the Challenge Cup and, somehow, still capable of reaching the top 4.
Well if he doesn't sack Wane, regardless of how we do in the CC or playoffs that tells me he does not have the best interests of this club at heart.
Coaches who win trophies will obviously be given more time to try to rectify problems and will be given patience. Look at Leeds. They went from champions to middle 8's and now they could easily become champions again. McDermott has had his critics for years, sometimes it's impossible to win people over, even with success, but I bet most at Leeds are happy that the club stuck by him.
Yes, lets look at Leeds. Open letter from the chairman saying to his coach improve or ship out. Spot the difference.
Lenagan will not make snap judgements, especially not when it's still mathematically possible (if very unlikely) for the club to win the double. If we were in Warrington's shoes, perhaps things would be looking a little less certain for our coach, but they aren't.
IL will make any excuse not to sack Wane. I have no idea why he will do that but I can write his script for him now. The trouble is fans are getting fed up and see grand plans for games in Oz or against NZW as ignoring the basic problems.
He risks alienating the core support.
I'm not a Wane cheerleader. I'm sometimes critical and sometimes positive, but I just don't see how he the chairman could sack our coach in the current circumstances and have it seen as a sensible move. It would be a move from the Whelan/Lindsay era, and thankfully that's well behind us. If it means things happen a little slower, then that's fine by me as long as the club remains healthy on the field and continues to challenge for trophies.
It's not healthy on the field and it is only challenging for trophies because the format is up the creek. How on earth can winning 10 out of 24 games leave us challenging for trophies? It's nuts.
Apologies for bringing politics into it with what I am about to post, but IL is behaving like the "remain" campaign in Brexit. He is taking the concerns of his core support for granted. The trip to Oz is being heavily promoted by the club but its a rich mans jolly.
And do you know what? I think the only thing the club expects to get out of it in reality is a short term profit from selling trips to Oz. I think the stated bigger aims are pie in the sky BS.