Launchbury - RFU Knew of Wasps Decline for 5 Years PLUS Administrator Report

[Rossm]

Much as Derek should bear responsibility for this, it should be also remembered that he gave us 10 years of "Glorious Rugby" as VV puts it that we wouldn't have got without him.
He took a chance, the question for me is whether when it started going wrong, did he do the right things? If there's a suspicion of anything dodgy, whether good intentioned or not, it needs to come out.
I can't complain when a guy who has spent huge amounts of money keeping the club I love afloat decides enough is enough, but I want to understand how it went wrong.

He owes the fans that I think

No one could have foreseen Covid/lockdowns and the consequences.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

He saved the club, he poured money in, he brought in supposedly the best people to run a massive multi million pound business and despite a lot of us having misgivings about the move to Coventry we were all thrilled when we got to the finals, we had the well regarded Vaughan in charge, we had concerts providing non rugby income and all was heading in the right direction.

Based on the direction of the business and the future plan the bond was a genius idea.

But as RossM says no-one could have predicted being forced to carry on running the business without any way of generating income.

The loans that were provided might have been enough for a club like Tigers, but they didn't have an arena, a casino, a conference centre and so on. A rescue package designed for the average club was never going to save us. The only hope was growing the concerts and conferences and refinancing the bond.

We did the former, but the financial dumpster fire that Brexit, Covid, and then Kwasi created essentially killed any deal with a degree of financial risk.

It's easy to throw blame around, but what would anyone have done differently?

I'd sayvthat report shows clearly that the whole lot could have been saved if PRL/RFU had played ball. But they didn't and so we were doomed.

If anyone killed this club it is them. I always assumed the FU stood for Football Union, now I know better.

[westwaleswasp]

I think it is the silence that is stirring people up. Now whether that is for legal reasons we don't know but silence causes all this angst.

It is this. If Derek is a target it is because he is still rich, and we have no club, no explanation.
When the last part changes, he may not be targetted, but until he comes out and says something-anything- silence sounds like guilt.

[WonkyWasp]

Might he be legally gagged for some reason?

[Vespula Vulgaris]

I suspect it is more that he has had so much shit thrown at him over the last month or two that he's less willing to make himself a target again.

People that blame him will simply think he's lying if he says otherwise.

[WonkyWasp]

So damned if you do, damned if you don't. 

[westwaleswasp]

I suspect it is more that he has had so much shit thrown at him over the last month or two that he's less willing to make himself a target again.

People that blame him will simply think he's lying if he says otherwise.

I think he is largely to blame *because* he is saying nothing, that is the number one reason why I am suspicious of him.
To suggest damned I you do and damned if you don't is unfair to those in the dark. People are reasonable. Silence is not. Maybe there is a legal reason, but I doubt it.

It is clutching at straws to defend the silence. Whatever shit has been thrown at him is less than the shit the staff had, and the oddest thing is in all the interviews not a single player has said that any of the board have spoken to them. In fact, none appear to have had even an apology for the way things have turned out for them, let alone explanation.
Maybe they have had one and have kept it quiet, but it seems odd that it hasn't come out.

[WonkyWasp]

Not making excuses  for anyone/anything  but I think there is a lot going on that we don't know about (obviously!)   and maybe will never know about -  which I agree is frustrating.   Hopefully all will become clear, and quite soon.  Please Please

[Mark.S]

I suspect it is more that he has had so much shit thrown at him over the last month or two that he's less willing to make himself a target again.

People that blame him will simply think he's lying if he says otherwise.

Doesnt really matter how much shit is thrown at him (DR), he's a grown man and hard businessman he should at some point speak, whether anyone will believe him is another matter but facts that we have so far seen dont lie and neither should he.

There are a lot on here who still have a very 'Rose tinted' view of DR, each to their own. I dont share that view and one of the reasons that I dont share it is because of the complex but deliberate way in which the companies were carved up and structured in such a way that Wasps rugby had no chance to survive. They (DR and his chums) were moving the pieces around even in the days/weeks before it collapsed, all calculated to save their own skin at the expense of so many others.

Personally I feel that Covid etc only accelerated our demise it didnt cause it, just my view I respect others dont agree.

I dont buy the "he gave us 10 years of glorious rugby" bit either. Is 10 years of rugby for us as supporters really worth the terrible situation many now find themselves in ? Players, staff, creditors etc some of whom may never recover financially from this.  The 10 years of rugby was a small side show to DR and others seeking to line their own pockets.

Im sure we can all recall many high profile prominant businessmen who at first appear to be a saviour of something and a 'great guy' only to have a murky or even criminal side lurking in the background. Time will tell if DR is one of them !

[westwaleswasp]

10 years of glorious rugby (well 3 plus one during covid, the rest were years of rugby) depends on how you view the situation at AP.
The big alternative was Booker development, and when that went we were in trouble.

[andermt]

At the end of the day the buck stops with Derek, if it really is a case of COVID etc, which I would say I was fully aligned with that being the problem as we went under.
I was confident that, having met Derek briefly, he was very different to the charlatans at Worcester.

However the more that comes out the more it looks bad, the structure of the business and who owns what doesn't look good, why the club didn't own the training ground is one thing, as it seemed to be an ownership transfer, not a sale. Why the club seems to have held the debt, why Wasps Finance, who were owed the debt by the club, and ACL looking at the 1st bit of the report (I've not had time to read it all), seem to still be a going concern.

This all needs explaining, the keeping it going for 10 years has bought Derek some credit, but if he keeps quiet that credit is being rapidly eroded.
I certainly don't want Derek to go bust, but I would like to hear if the bond really did pay off some of what he was owed as that bond is what killed the club.