Rich guy born in the North, loves his RL, has a brainwave: "I reckon if I got Johnny Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and Brian O'Driscoll signed for my RL team, I could make a profit over and above their wages. I'll get them sponsored to the hilt, it'll get me Nike/Adidas to pay me a big whack for the shirts, I'll have the three of them all over the TV for weeks on end, the RFU up in arms whinging about it, bringing yet more publicity, etc. As long as my coach reckons he can get them playing League to a competent standard in the off-season, we're alright on the pitch. Doesn't even need to pick all 3 at once anyhow. Further, I'm an innovative businessman and I've got a proposal for the RFL: If any of these 3 get picked for the GB squad ( alright, not sure how we deal with the Irishman, but we'll get round that) I want you to allocate me 25k seats at Wembley and 25k and Old Trafford, just for a few GB-Aus tests. I'll flog my allocation of seats and I'll keep the profit, to help me get a return on my gamble. I'm going to take the financial risk here - it's my money and I'm going to pay their wages (or x% thereof) - but if it works out I'm having a piece of the return in the form of some of the increased sponsorship money and this RFL deal. Alternatively, if a club wants to share some risk (only risking its shares, not its actual survival) then I'll put my money into your club in return for shares (not debt!) and you can then do the same deal for these 3 players. Now then, you might think I'm mad and that I couldn't shift those 25k seats, and get the club sponsors, and that I wouldn't get a return above what their wages would cost, but I'm well-connected in media and I reckon I can do it. Besides, its my risk."

"Sorry, mate, nice idea, would be amazing for League's profile, but you're p***ing in the wind I'm afraid. We've got a salary cap to keep grubby financiers like you out of the game".

"Sorry, I thought it would be good for me (possibly) *and* the game (definitely) ".

"Nope, we have a different plan. We're going to sit around and WAIT until nearly all the clubs can afford the full cap, then we'll nudge the cap up a bit".

"...but that's just fantasy, wait for WHAT exactly...how are these clubs suddenly going to start getting more money? They have no media profile, so sponsors aren't interested, its a vicious cycle - downwards"

"nonsense, the Media department at the RFL are right at this moment sending the England coach to the BBC to give an interview. When sponsors see him money will pour in, and every ground will be packed."

"...right thanks for your time...er, good luck with your 'great' sport, see you when every team is an equal standard - you'll be playing on school fields by then, but you'll all be equal at least"

I'm sure 10 years of Wigan buying the league would be great for the game.

Wigan fan probably new to the game and wishes he could go back to 1988.

I dont know what to say to that

Why is it that some supporters are jealous of what Wigan did in the 80s and 90s

Did they make a profit yes they did

Did they have one of the best followings in the league YES

Did they sell more shirts then any other team YES

Was they hated by most of the League YES

Was it great when your team beat them OH YES

Did they lose players to the RFU or NRL NO

NO Im not a Wigan fan and yes I do hate them because yes I'm Jealous

Typical, pathetic, club-centric, desperate-to-buy-success Pie Eater. Last time you took your club to the brink of bankruptcy and beyond and sacrificed your stadium for it.

Times have changed and the rest of the league aren't interested in being dragged with you in a spiral of Wigan-driven wage inflation, all motivated by the obsessive/compulsive demands of Wigan fans to return to the "glory days" when all the other clubs would stand aside as they bought every available trophy.

The game is bigger than the selfish desires of Wiganers.

No they didn't. That's why Wigan are squatting in Dave Whelan's stadium and it's why thousands of pie eaters now push trolleys on the old hallowed turf.

Did they almost bankrupt themselves as a result? YES.

Leneghan is to frugal to let it happen again. Thats the bad old Pie past.

You sure about these?

Jealous??

I think you may want to re-word that bit. They may have made a marginal profit but over the years the lost more than they made, hence why you now lease a stadium from your Wendyball friends and your old famous historic ground is a carpark

They made such big profits they had to sell their ground to pay off their debts and rent from the local football team.

It'd be great to have a couple of 30something rugby union players in the game, as well as a tanned reality TV star! *shakes fist at salary cap*.

Gareth Thomas??

He was a specific opportunity for a Welsh club. Reasonable gamble, he did ok but the sums didn't add up.

Only desperate to buy commercial success for the sport. Frankly I wouldn't want Wigan to end up with those 3 old RU players in terms of buying on-field success. My preference would be for Hull (say) to get them, to get their stadium full again. I don't care.

It's a fact of life that Wigan and Leeds are the most important teams (as of now) to the sport's commercial development. Dragging us back won't move the rest of you forward.

If you want the game to get media attention, then yes, it would indeed be great.

If you're a purist and don't care about media attention, that's your choice and we just have different ideas about what we want for the game.

Happy to differ and respect your view on that, but just don't kid yourself that you can have it both ways. A family image of tough working-class lads playing a great sport on low wages is a lovely little story, but the wrong one to get the media attention we need. ( Why do we need it? Because attention brings sponsors, and sponsors build stadia, pay for the best athletes to perform for you, etc, etc )

Don't kid yourself that the RFL media department banging on about the quality of the 'product' is going to be any more effective than its been for the past decades.

Some people on here have a habit of re-inventing history to suit their purposes. Wigan were a profitable organisation during the glory years up to 95. A combination of a bodge-job of moving to summer rugby when crowds almost halved, massive excess costs on the new stand project and Jack Robinson being like a rabbit in the headlights and unable to do anything about the situation culminated in the sad loss of Central Park; it was nothing to do with spending on the playing staff.

the new stand was built well before 1995 wasnt it?

and Central Park was closed at the end of 1999 - so, you reckon that in less than 4 years, Wigan went from being a profitable business to being bankrupt and selling the ground?

Quote ="EHW"the new stand was built well before 1995 wasnt it? and Central Park was closed at the end of 1999 - so, you reckon that in less than 4 years, Wigan went from being a profitable business to being bankrupt and selling the ground?'" www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugb ... 71381.html in 1997 Wigan were already £12m in the red, and selling Central Park to Tesco.

Quote ="EHW"the new stand was built well before 1995 wasnt it? and Central Park was closed at the end of 1999 - so, you reckon that in less than 4 years, Wigan went from being a profitable business to being bankrupt and selling the ground?'" www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugb ... 71381.html in 1997 Wigan were already £12m in the red, and selling Central Park to Tesco.

Yes the stand was a seperate matter of Capital expenditure, outside this the organisation was profitable on a trading profit and loss basis. And the excess spend on the stand was just about held in check until crowds halved when moving to summer rugby.

so in 12 months (from the start of SL to March 1997 when Central Park was sold to Tesco) the club went from being profitable to being £12m in debt - entirely based on SL crowd figures in 1996???

Let them have their warped recollection of history, it makes them feel better.

Oxford's built a brand new all seater stadium for £15m in 2001, but one stand at the end of Central Park years earlier, plus one season of summer rugby, meant they had to sell the ground for £12.5m. Of course it did.

Bored now lets just Wigan Bash

Wigan in the late 80s and early 90s was a profitable company FACT

Just like my team late 70s early 80s Hull FC

The problem now is teams cannot bring Players like Peter Sterling Brett Kenny Wally Lewis Mal Meninga because of the salary cap. These are the types of players that made supporters turn out on a wet winters day and clubs made good profit