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       #Post#: 109830--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: Lane247
       Date: June 7, 2023, 1:51 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       At this rate we could win the Prem again soon, only needs
       another 8 teams to go pop!
       How can we lose 25% of our top tier in less than 12 months, the
       situation makes no sense.
       Maybe the way forward and I know that this is not a popular
       idea, however get all clubs to live within their income, yes
       that means we will lose players abroad but if we carry on we
       will lose the Premiership or there will be a European super
       league with only a few English clubs in it.
       Another option is a proper European salary cap but why would the
       top Euro clubs accept that.
       Sadly I can’t see RFU/PR or anyone getting this back to a
       healthy state, we are going down the route of Football,
       millionaires are not rich enough anymore.
       Sh*t day and sad for all at LI
       #Post#: 109831--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: KentQuin
       Date: June 7, 2023, 1:56 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Really feel for all involved with Irish.
       Let's hope there's no further domino effect. Less than 10 sides
       and the viability of a league season is really in question.
       Premiership Rugby and the RFU really need to get their s**t
       together and set out a clear vision for elite rugby in England.
       The game is effectively on life support. Leadership is needed.
       #Post#: 109832--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: MrSoloDolo
       Date: June 7, 2023, 2:07 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Clearly rugby is not sustainable and losing 25% of the league in
       one season is a massive failure.  Sad day for the sport which is
       massively under pressure now. How can it continue and grow and
       capture a wider audience when our top flight domestic league is
       in shambles....
       #Post#: 109834--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: MrSoloDolo
       Date: June 7, 2023, 2:21 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Players to try and sign:
       Henry Arundell
       Ben Loader
       tom Pearson
       Benhard Janse Van Rensburg
       Chandler Cunningham-South
       What other players could make a good contribution?
       #Post#: 109836--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: poorfour
       Date: June 7, 2023, 2:43 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Lane247 link ---
       >
       > At this rate we could win the Prem again soon, only needs
       another 8 teams to go pop!
       > How can we lose 25% of our top tier in less than 12 months,
       the situation makes no sense.
       >
       > Maybe the way forward and I know that this is not a popular
       idea, however get all clubs to live within their income, yes
       that means we will lose players abroad but if we carry on we
       will lose the Premiership or there will be a European super
       league with only a few English clubs in it.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       As I understand it, the issue is less about income than about
       debt. Pretty much all the clubs run at a loss, and have
       multimillion pounds of debt to their owners. I don’t believe
       many of them are even able to service the debt - the interest
       just gets rolled up and added to the loans.
       Pre-COVID, a few clubs were edging towards profitability at an
       operating level (aka, living within their income) , but lockdown
       took away most of their income while leaving most of their
       costs, so debt spiralled massively.
       Coming out of lockdown, clubs and their owners had to reset
       their expectations about how much debt the clubs would have to
       carry and for how long, with the added complication of having to
       work out how to pay deferred tax and Government COVID loans
       ahead of paying down their debts to their owners.
       As far as I can see, where the clubs have folded it’s because
       the owners either ran out of money or wanted to cut their
       losses, but either way couldn’t find a buyer who would commit to
       take on enough of the debt (and guarantee to keep funding the
       club).
       Quins are lucky in that we seem to have very deep pocketed and
       patient owners. I’m not sure how other clubs stand.
       But I’d look carefully at what’s being reported - Exeter and
       Leicester have made big transactions to shore up their finances,
       but in each case the owner or backer has had the money and has
       been prepared to stump it up.
       #Post#: 109837--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: SunburyQuin
       Date: June 7, 2023, 2:50 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: MaidstoneQuin link ---
       >
       > Rivalries and other feelings opinions aside, this is a very
       sad day for rugby. To lose 3 clubs in quick succession, ripping
       the heart out of players careers, and fans dreams and traditions
       is terrible. I just hope there’s a complete overhaul of how
       things are from top to bottom, but fear this won’t be the last
       story this year of a top rugby team going under.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Yes - to lose 3 clubs in less than 12 months. Feel so sorry for
       Wasps, Irish and especially Warriors (the club of my original
       home area). I know I have brought it up in the recent past; but
       how about promoting Ealing and Jersey (forget all the red tape
       about grounds capacity) ???
       #Post#: 109838--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: A222Quin
       Date: June 7, 2023, 3:01 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: MrSoloDolo link ---
       >
       > Players to try and sign:
       >
       > Henry Arundell
       > Ben Loader
       > tom Pearson
       > Benhard Janse Van Rensburg
       > Chandler Cunningham-South
       >
       > What other players could make a good contribution?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       CCS and Van Rensburg would probably be my pick from that lot.
       Arundell to Bath is supposedly a done deal while Pearson is
       expected to be either Saints or Bath.
       #Post#: 109839--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: never sleep
       Date: June 7, 2023, 3:02 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Quinky link ---
       >
       > Who else do you think will go under?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       It was reported that Gloucester took the biggest Covid loan of
       £15 million.
       As far as I know, this needs to be paid back over 10 years. I
       don't know what the interest is.
       But - as far as I know, there are some odd conditions on the
       loan - e.g. clubs are not allowed cash windfalls under the loan
       terms.
       So - most clubs will likely run at a loss for the next 10 years.
       But, basically, investors are going to be cautious of investing
       money into Premiership clubs until the loans are paid off.
       #Post#: 109840--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: never sleep
       Date: June 7, 2023, 3:05 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: MrSoloDolo link ---
       >
       > Players to try and sign:
       >
       > Henry Arundell
       > Ben Loader
       > tom Pearson
       > Benhard Janse Van Rensburg
       > Chandler Cunningham-South
       >
       > What other players could make a good contribution?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       In my opinion - don't spend money that we don't have.
       #Post#: 109841--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Irish
   DIR By: Camquin
       Date: June 7, 2023, 3:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Very few clubs were living within their means.
       Some managed to break even, but only by inflating the book value
       of the P-Shares - indicating that the accountants thought they
       would generate more income in future, which mayor may not be the
       case.
       The thing I do not understand is that most clubs were earning
       £10m from PRL (TV and central sponsors) £2m from RFU, £2m from
       club sponsors, £6m events in the stadium (both rugby and
       non-rugby) and £3m from their directors increasing their loan.
       In lockdown, they lost most if not all the £6m and took out £10m
       in loans to DCMS/Sport England repayable over 6 to 10 years at
       2.5% interest.
       This of course means that in future your outgoings increase by
       more than a million, so either, the club needs to curb
       expenditure, to find extra income or the directors need to put
       that money in. as with all loans, they were trading cash now for
       cash flow in future.
       What I have not been able to work out, is whether the owners put
       in less support over the lockdown period.
       But the proximate cause has been unpaid HMRC debts, not DCMS.
       The underlying issue is income £20m, expenditure £23m result
       misery, to misquote Dickens.
       Exacerbated by a year with only £14m income - but that only
       hastened the demise.
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