I think this is a good move for him. In reality he has probably taken Salford as far as they can go without a sugar daddy.

In Huddersfield, with all due respect he has a club with greater financial backing but without the pressure of a Wigan/StH/Leeds/Warrington. If he can get them to compete towards the top it would be good for his development as a coach and for his future prospects.

Obviously he's not the outright owner, but what about Mike Danson and us? According a story on the business desk he's worth £1.1bn.

I wonder if he is helping cover the losses. To have signed Bateman and Field, whilst keeping French and possibly Hastings all at a time when the club must stand to make huge losses is amazing work by Lenagan and you wonder if he’s had some support in propping us up.

Quite possibly, but that doesn't tie up with the Cassidy and Johnson releases? Unless they weren't cut because of money being tight and more to do with performance?

£1.1bn is football level money and it's scary to think what impact even a small % of that could have on the club.

That’s true, we certainly look to be trying to ensure the cut backs are done away from the field, which will always be what the fans will look at first. You’d have to think those exits will be replaced though, especially Johnson.

If we had a billionaire investor willing to throw cash at us I'm sure we would be signing someone better than Jai Field.

is that sarcasm?

maybe we have upgraded Johnson and Cassidy well they programme he was involved in was cancelled for the season and was the only paid member of staff on it.

You'd certainly expect Johnson to be replaced.

I've argued for ages that investing in the backroom staff is one area that can really set clubs apart. You only need to look at the difference a guy like Bitcon made to realise the difference getting a true expert and "jobs for the boys" can make.

In fairness to Johnson I think there's been a marked improvement in strength and conditioning this year compared to 2019. I was very skeptical about him being in that position but he looks to have done a good job.

Doesn’t matter if we have a millionaire or billionaire as an owner when there’s a salary cap. The signing of Field isn’t much more than a punt on an inexperienced lad who should be really well suited to superleague but keeping French, hopefully keeping Hastings and signing a genuine World Class player in John Bateman takes some good investment.

I'm going against what I said the other day about stalking people you haven't met but a quick google has shown me Johnson is well qualified in the area to be honest. He has the same qualifications as Bitcon.

Well if money was no object you would let Hastings leave, pay off G.Burgess' contract and get Nathan Cleary in on £1m a year as a marquee. Would you not?

Promise I'm not just picking fights on purpose...

Johnson is probably well qualified, but what's his experience like? Is it predominantly based in RL, or has he got experience in different sports too? Stuff like that can give you a real rounded knowledge of different practices - like the saying goes "you don't know, what you don't know".

I don't think it's unfair to say that there's more to a job than just getting qualifications too. You see it all the time in professional services, plenty of people having the same qualifications, but that doesn't make them all equal in regards to ability.

Agree with you on this.
Seems odd to announce the departures of Johnson and Cassidy without advising of their replacements.
Maybe TL is moving into Cassidy’s old role whilst still playing?Not sure if the rules would allow that?

I'm not sure about the specific qualifications but he definitely doesn't have the same level of experience.

I probably wouldn’t no. There’s a difference between having a boat load of cash and spending it in a crazy fashion. We don’t know how deep this guy is prepared to go (if at all) in putting money in to the club. I simply wondered if we’ve been more spend happy than I thought we may be because this guy is prepared to help cover a percentage of the losses. It may just be a coincidence or Lenagan trying to speculate to accumulate by putting an exciting team on the field to try and bring in more commercial revenue and supporters through the turnstiles (as and when).

If I was a billionaire with a huge interest in the club then I’d keep Hastings. I think you could bring in any halfback in the world and they’re not going to add much more. That’s not to say I think he’s in the top 5 or even 10 halfs in the World but better the devil you know when it comes to performances. We know Hastings can dominate this league and we’ve seen various high profile players come to superleague and flop. Also as good as Cleary may be, he’s not worth four times the salary of Hastings whichever way you look at it. If he’s going to score 40 try’s a season and make 100 assists then maybe. Paying George Burgess up would come in to anyone’s thinking but again I’m not sure where that leaves you on the cap. If it didn’t impact and you’re minted, then yeah pay him off.

Top and bottom of it all is that I’m pretty happy with what’s going on squad wise and pretty surprised.

I think I read Darrell Goulding is taking it. I think it’s a step up isn’t it? Or he was being promoted and others were stepping up. That will leave an opening for somebody down the chain. You’d imagine Lockers will have a full time coaching role next year.

Be a step down for Darrell doing Micks job

Is there really any argument there? They are miles bigger than all SL clubs aren't they on pretty much any metric you choose to select?

Oh I know I'm not saying he's as good as Bitcon. I'm just saying it's not quite the case of just giving the job to any old ex player who needs a job like some might think it is. I was pleasantly surprised to be honest as I was half expecting no qualifications or a basic course.

they have the largest membership in the NRL with 35k members and have 11k ticket holders, thats the highest of any sydney based club, bet Leeds will run that close

When it comes to South's, not many clubs can match them. It's a shame really as both Wigan's and Saints history is just as rich, but they get the bump of the NRL.

Must’ve been somebody else.

Disagree. Head of youth development is one of the biggest and certainly most important jobs at the club. I know that the title may be different but essentially it's the same job.