Wasps facing relegation

[WonkyWasp]

Sadly, Andy, you have perfectly summed up this whole foul mess, a mess created by the very people supposed to prevent such a terrible happening.  What are they thinking of.  Wuss Club is an innocent party  (excluding the owners)  and Wasps cannot be blamed for Covid and it's dreadful  effects. It's a world wide pandemic for God's sake. We didn't create it. The Premiership will soon be composed of one single solitary cheating club rubbing it's hands together all the way to the bank.  Is that really what the RFU truly wants. because it's what it will get.

[AndyL]

Padr of me has been wondering if this was Leicester what would the response be. Would there be a national outcry to save them or would the sharks be circling the same they are doing for us.

[Neils]

It is what we get for voting against the cheats and shysters running the Estate Agents (twice caught), the Cheetahs along the road (sneakily just below the threshold) and the other two who
were never named at the time of the Estate Agents first (first found out) transgression.

I hope the two other clubs being named (Northern and SW (but SW is debatable)) realise that they will get no support when their turn comes.

[DanJester]

I feel like we've been here before, only this time it feels more inevitable.

It's disappointing that the sport as whole isn't trying to help, but with an eye on making the Prem a closed shop and marketed as "elite" there's only too many clubs more than happy to see a competitor fall into peril if it means they can survive.

If we lose our P shares we will never get back in. Never. We will be a Championship club at best, and a homeless one at that.

Sorry for being a downer, I'm just finding it hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel right now.

[Shugs]

PRL and the clubs that own it are so short sighted in this. If we go and even 1 other your are down to an 11 team league. The geographical make up would be East mids, South West, London. The game would be up as a professional, competitive and interesting league. As you say Andy - those in control bent over backwards to keep Sarries in the league. We and Wuss won’t and haven’t been afforded the same consideration. As well as the cheating Sarries caused the wage inflation that has led to some of this. Tigers or Sarries in this mess - someone would just make it work.

[Wombles]

I have said all along that ourselves and Worcester are a more visible problem that affects the whole league. If we go under then that’s 4 match SH revenue lost with most teams already in the red. Who next starts to struggle and is next in line for the chopping block? Gloucester, Falcons, Irish? Thanks to the overall lack of support from PRL and the RFU and the general size of the game in England the game below the Premiership is a chasm of difference in terms of quality. Ealing may make it, although like Bath, Saracens it would only be due to an owner bank account, and any loss of that would lead to a London Welsh scenario. Pirates, Jersey are well supported at that level but are unlikely to make the step up.

The Premiership is a mess, but anyone thinking it will stop at us if we fold would be fooling themselves.

[mike909]

- those in control bent over backwards to keep Sarries in the league. We and Wuss won’t and haven’t been afforded the same consideration. As well as the cheating Sarries caused the wage inflation that has led to some of this. Tigers or Sarries in this mess - someone would just make it work.

This is basically being ignored.  The attitude amongst supporters of the EA's is one of taking the piss as they got away with it and they try the classic strategy of the guilty of trying to make that they are the victims.  And that we ought to lay off.

Too many people at the top are not prepared to admit that the whole model in England won't work. If that doesn't change then RU in England will continue to be in big trouble below international level. 

That said  the international game isn't immune to change.

[HDAWG]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

[DGP Wasp]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

Except it is.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

Except it is.

Agreed. Rules were brought in to try to provide an equal playing field. To ensure financial stability throughout the league.

They repeatedly and consistently broke those rules and unsurprisingly the financial stability of the league has been damaged.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

Except it is.

Not really. Wasps are about £90m in debt. SOME of that will be us trying to match their level of wages, but in the main we let the players go, or failed to recruit a specific player and recruited a different one.

I would guess at least £80m of the debt is on us. Half for the stadium. Maybe more if you include the interest on the bonds. A lot of the rest was Covid. And it has been Covid that provided the tipping point, combined with the global economic effect of the war in Ukraine hitting costs and income. Oh, and the SISU shenanigans (I doubt that they ever paid us our costs, and maybe now the money we owe them for the pitch repairs).

[HDAWG]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

Except it is.

Not really. Wasps are about £90m in debt. SOME of that will be us trying to match their level of wages, but in the main we let the players go, or failed to recruit a specific player and recruited a different one.

I would guess at least £80m of the debt is on us. Half for the stadium. Maybe more if you include the interest on the bonds. A lot of the rest was Covid. And it has been Covid that provided the tipping point, combined with the global economic effect of the war in Ukraine hitting costs and income. Oh, and the SISU shenanigans (I doubt that they ever paid us our costs, and maybe now the money we owe them for the pitch repairs).

+1

I completely agree Sarries cheating didn't help the league Wrt salaries of other clubs.

But for us right now that just isn't relevant compared to the scale of the stadium finances, the move from London, COVID etc.

[matelot22]

As Saturday approaches, me and the lads are discussing what time and where to meet etc and it's really just hit me, that this could well be the last time......I suddenly feel very deflated. :'( :'(

[baldpaul101]

You are not alone Matelot

[Shugs]

Can we talk about our problems without bringing up Saracens for once? I hate em as much as anyone, but for god's sake people, it's not relevant to our predicament.

Except it is.

Not really. Wasps are about £90m in debt. SOME of that will be us trying to match their level of wages, but in the main we let the players go, or failed to recruit a specific player and recruited a different one.

I would guess at least £80m of the debt is on us. Half for the stadium. Maybe more if you include the interest on the bonds. A lot of the rest was Covid. And it has been Covid that provided the tipping point, combined with the global economic effect of the war in Ukraine hitting costs and income. Oh, and the SISU shenanigans (I doubt that they ever paid us our costs, and maybe now the money we owe them for the pitch repairs).

We owe the football club nothing for the pitch as they didn’t pay for it. Apparently a wealthy CCFC fan did.