[url=http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/95238/crusaders-chairman-we-have-paid-what-we-owe-.aspxAll a mistake[/url
So first we have the guy funding the Quins saying that he cannot afford to continue funding them casting doubt over their future... demanding a meeting with the RFL... meeting held and he's happy to continue now for the next couple of years.....
oh.. but no financial assistance is being given by the RFL he hastens to add.


Now the Crusaders get in a pickle about things... comments from officials at the club saying that things are looking bleak and the statements over the next couple of days getting progressively worse.
Then... HMRC are dropping everything...

Now I don't mind too much if the RFL are bailing this team out but the secrecy around these things is astounding.
If Wakey or Cas drop next year I would be demanding to have some questions answered.

You try not to be cynical but it's hard not to be! People always say 'show us proof of funds being put in'. But tbh what more do you need?

Both Quins & Crusaders made statements in which neither guranteed 100% RL would be played their nexty season (what other clubs have to justify this year on year?). Yet then the 'RFL task force' arrives and bingo problems solved... unless they employ Merlin the magician or some superstar legal expert then how is it not finance related?

HMRC always state that a winding up order is the LAST alternative they go to. So your not telling me that Crusaders just forgot they'd paid this money as did HMRC and only remembered last min. Surely on their first notice a quick look over the accounts could of solved that? I know HMRC aint the best whatsoever but to take it this far they must of had something to go on.

It all just goes so secretive whenever these issues occur but RFL turn up all fine and people will still say they didn't bail them out, what did they do then? Do these clubs not employ people to review their own accounts?

I wish they'd just be honest and come out with it all so we could just move on then.

P.s. Crusaders have already field for a new company's name under W Crusaders LTD so something is changing!

HMRC only put on for the Winding up order on the 28th of october, so in 7 days its all been resolved, Total crock of horse manure.

Quote From Wales Online A spokesman for the Rugby Football League yesterday confirmed they were in talks with the Crusaders and vowed to shed more light on the situation later this week. Read More www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/rug ... z14Pu9y1pu'" Quote Ian Roberts in the Daily Post “We’re still hopeful of playing rugby here next season and are negotiating with the Rugby Football League. “We are trying our best, it’s a very, very difficult business to be involved in, especially in the current climate.” www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-w ... -27597463/'" Quote Crusaders chairman: "We have paid what we owe" www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/95238/ ... -owe-.aspx'"

Quote From Wales Online A spokesman for the Rugby Football League yesterday confirmed they were in talks with the Crusaders and vowed to shed more light on the situation later this week. Read More www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/rug ... z14Pu9y1pu'" Quote Ian Roberts in the Daily Post “We’re still hopeful of playing rugby here next season and are negotiating with the Rugby Football League. “We are trying our best, it’s a very, very difficult business to be involved in, especially in the current climate.” www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-w ... -27597463/'" Quote Crusaders chairman: "We have paid what we owe" www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/95238/ ... -owe-.aspx'"

You're so right. The corrupt HMRC are in the pocket of the RFL's Mr Big Richard Lewis. It's a conspiracy I tell thee

To be honest they could try for the next 100 yrs and the game will not expand.Union and football will never die.I prefer see teams like Fax etc in Superleague or Barrow where they play in schools and local teams.

I disagree completly.
Football will implode sooner or later it has to it cannot keep going in it's current state.
Millionares/Billionares will find a new playthings and even if they dont no one can tell me that the currect wages are in anyway sustainable.
That sport has HUGE problems and when it finally goes BANG which it will it will be a BIG BANG.

Having read the article .. It sounds like a genuine "miss understanding/miss comunication..

Time 4 everyone to take a chill pill...

I want what you are drinking.

Well it's clearly not as strong as the stuff you are drinking if you think association football can continue in its current state without it tearing itself apart.

That is why in the Premiership Man Utd sold out 70 odd thousand,Arsenal near 60,000,Liverpool 44000, and possibly 60,000 if got a new stadium.Man Utd just offered 250,000 grand a week to Rooney.Rugby league is not expanding, just look at london still not averaging over 4000 in a capital.In my opinion that is shocking. =#FF4000Too far - Alex You just do not like to see a team like Widnes in Superleague, so jog on.

London has had many chances and Widnes have been ted on big time.I am based down south, so i think i know if they like Rugby league.
People like you just come on a Widnes board to stir things up, and really your just a prick.

Nice. Glad I didn't voice an opinion different to yours.

So football dieing?I do not think so.He is a HKR fan who clearly hates Widnes.A capital like London should be attracting an average near to 8000 if was expanding.Obviously they go and watch football,rugby union etc.I was based in London for 8 yrs so i know they are not interested in rugby league.It is just a few thousand out of 7 million people.

You're an embarrassment.

Would that be the same Manchester Utd that have a dept so large they are struggling to pay it off?, Would that be the same Liverpool that were hours from being dragged into administration due the the mountain of debt they were in and these are the BIG clubs answer me this exactly what is holding Chelsea and Manchester City up looking at their wage bills and their income streams as just 2 examples (Infact bugger that have a look at the top 2 leagues and it makes the problems in RL smallfry)?
Like I said when the millionares get bored or the wages/debts get to large Association Football is screwed.
examples

Manchester United - £800M in debt (that is 4/5 of a BILLION pounds to you or me)
Chelsea - looking at their wage bill makes me cry and what happens if the Russian pulls out tommorrow as there is no way they can cover those wages/that debt without him?
Manchester City - Look at Chelsea.
Sunderland - Look at Manchester City.
Wigan - Look at Sunderland.
Newcastle - Look at Wigan.
Spurs - Look at Newcastle.
West ham - Look at Spurs.
Etc,Etc.
The Debt that the top 2 teirs of the Football Assoociation owe is eye watering and guess what ITS GETTING BIGGER.
Like I said only an idiot can't see it imploding at some point.
Also I am glad you brought up Mr Rooneys new wage, Now answer me a question what will that do to the wider Association Football wage structure will it make the wages go up or down.
Answer that question and you competly prove my point.

Oh and BTW I DO wan't Widnes in SL but that doesn't mean that when someone is talking silly talk I wont call them on it.

This is called reasoned debate BTW lets see if you are capable of it or are you going to revert to name calling again?

Debt is also relative to income. Those figures look big, but so too is their income. Much of the debt has also been placed on their books via the "purchase" of the club. The debt hasn't been run up via trading, despite the sizeable pay grades of soccer players. Soccer won't implode - it's BskyB's biggest draw.

It maybe Sky's biggest draw but it also recives by far the biggest slice even Sky will only pay so much.

I fail to see how the debt is listed makes much diffrence its either debt or it isn't.
Take Liverpool as an example I would imagine the debt was listed in just the way you mentioned that still didnt' stop RBS getting twitchy and asking for the money back, That would have put LFC in administration not their American owners.

Also Mr rooney now gets £1/4M a week, Can you guess whats going to happen next?
I would imagine most of the top earners at Chelsea and M City are going to start saying 'My turn now and if hes getting £250,000 a week I want £300,000' and I bet they get it this them once again will make all the lesser players in the prem's agents get even better monies for their average players.
There is one thing that I failed to mention and that is that apart from the Sky cash their is a finite amount of money the clubs can get from their customers due to the price fans will/can pay for tickets and once that point is reached clubs will start folding whilst still in the prem at that point the sport WILL go POP as even billionares will only stump up so much.

What has football clubs in debt got to do with expansion of rugby league?So it is ok to leave blackpool and whitehaven into administration, but it is fine for celtic to go in debt twice during 12 months.Footballers always get paid too much, but that means nothing at what i am stating.London has been in Superleague for yrs and their fan base should be at least near 6000 or 7000 on average.As i said i was based in London and they are not interested in league, compared to football and rugby union.I would not go and watch Widnes rugby union, so my point is you will never get rid of the interest in football and rugby union.Clubs like Widnes,Fax,Leigh,and barrow should have a chance in the top tier.The sport is run by cowboys, and i suppose if your team HKR was replaced by an expansion team, then would you be happy?

I dont know but then I could ask you the same question seeing as it was YOU that brought them into the conversation


BTW until Sky got its hands on the association game RL got more airtime then Football did if I remember right ( can anyone confirm this?).
My point is that just because Football is running roughshod over everything now doesn't mean that situation is going to last.

Football will always last as a sport, because people love it.It is not worth comparing football to rugby league.I think rugby league is great, but it is a minority sport.We could argue all night and i will never agree with you on this matter. So i think end this matter to agree to disagree.Widnes for Superleague makes sense.

Also Manchester United's debt hasn't got anything to do with an impending implosion of the premier league. I don't have the figures in front of me but as far as I was aware, United make about £30million profit every year. The problem is to do with the owners who are skint and they had to take out the loans to buy the club. I know a lot of United fans criticised the takeover at the time and IMO so far they have been proven right. I can't believe someone with so little money of their own was allowed to take over such a big club. In fact, with United's huge interest repayments, I can't see how the Glazers will ever get the club out of debt. Its like the club make £30million profit and the interst on the debt is £30 million. With little or no money of their own to put into the club, the Glazers probably haven't actually paid a penny off the actual debt in the 5 years they have owned the club. Just think that could add up to over £150 million paid back to the banks but the debt is still the same size. Also the Liverpool situation was of the owners making. Before Hicks and Gilette took over Livepool didn't owe a penny to anyone.

I'm not saying football doesn't have problems, but cases like United and Liverpool are more to do with owners rather than the game itself.

It's been pretty much unequivocally stated by the RFL's chief operating officer that 'without London I don't think we'd have Sky'. The original blueprint for Superleague was that there would be teams in the North East, in Cumbria, London and France, Sky never funded Superleague on the basis of it being a competition for Yorkshire and Lancashire. I can understand peoples frustration when they think their club could do a better job than London, but it's not as simple as that, if the presence of London prevents the professional game from collapsing, then they are vital for the long term future of the game.

Which roughly translates to: I've contradicted myself that many times that I no longer know what I'm talking about, let alone arguing about.

The game is a joke to be honest and all to do with stupid dishes.In Wrexham and London the people have dishes already. They watch football and rugby union mainly.