Quote GeoffRoebuck="GeoffRoebuck"The RFL keep telling everyone what a great product rugby league is so why can't they sell it to some of 60 plus towns & city's in the UK that don't have a professional rugby league team is this due to poor management or isn't the product as good as they think it is.'"
First up, when the split happened, it was pretty much North/South in terms of Geography, so to simply cherry pick "60 towns & Cities" would be akin to the pin dropping going on in North America at the moment.....nice whilst's bankrolled, but most likely to end in tears.
The best example I can give you as to a poor attempt at expansion is my own club, London.
Initially parachuted into SL and based in Charlton, a series of disastrous decisions by a parade of owners has seen the club wander around the confines of the M25 until it ended up in an Ealing Wedding Venue and in the Championship. It is worth noting that the owner, David Hughes was investing £2,000,000 a year in the club in 2011 when they were in SL........they reverted to the Broncos Name, moved to Barnet, were relegated and in 2015, David Hughes invested £2,000,000 in the club in its first year in the Championship and playing out of a function .
This is not my usual "pop" at the insanity of Hughes, just a simple example of one chapter/period where the club has been let down by some god awful decision making.
Expansion, if it is to be done properly, needs to follow the lead of the Melbourne Storm. Centrally funded, part owned by the Broadcast Partner and not left to fend for itself until it could stand on its own.
If.....and it's a pretty big IF, Sky want New York, Toronto, Hamilton, London or any other expansion team, then they should assist in funding them. If the SL clubs/RFL believe that these expansion sides are key to the games future, then again, a centrally funded model should be worked on.......
....back to my mate Hughes. When he either passes away or walks, London Broncos will drop like a stone. With an ageing fan base that numbers in the hundreds, they would plummet to the bottom tier inside 3 years, unless a new investor could be found. Same goes for Toronto........without Argyle and his buddies, they'd be watched by 1,000 paying fans at best and wouldn't be able to buy promotion. New York is an utter pipe dream based on a projected number of fans......remember, Hughes invested £2,000,000 in 2015 in the CHAMPIONSHIP........without outside investment the game is snookered.......but even with it, we are dependent on the kindness of others, because there's no danger of ROI.......just a black hole swallowing cash.
