Always a Wasp

If JLR do want that land, and are willing to pay the footie club to relocate near the NEC, I am guessing it would be land off the NE corner of the M42 J6 (Bickenhill Interchange), opposite and North of the Motorcycle Museum. There is a large triangle of land there that is not Green Belt and is currently being used by HS2 (the M42, HS2 and the A45 make a triangle of land just there).

Curiously, the 'Interchange' station will be just there. That's supposed to be a 38 minute journey to Euston. Just saying.

Because of the M42, HS2 and the power lines that run over than land, it isn't Green Belt. It has sand pits, a Motorbike trail, all sorts of things.

Pretty sure that land has been snapped up for the huge ‘Arden Cross’ project. Homes, hospital, station, leisure spaces etc. could they fit a new stadium in there, maybe.

My info on chargeback for debit card payments is the 120 day rule may be waived if the service/goods are yet to be delivered. This the route I took in my application.
Actually, I only bought my seasonal parking pass on debit card, and the season tickets themselves on credit card so going the section 75  consumer act ‘breach of contract’ route with Barclaycard for them.  Barclaycard wanted the season tickets terms and conditions (you will need to quickly download them from the offy in case they disappear) and I had to quote the actual terms I think the club has breached. It took about twenty minutes to fill in all the forms online and attach necessary documentation. No idea if I will be successful or not at this stage.

I think Wasps Finance PLC. issued the bond - not in administration

Gloucester finances supposedly ‘fine’ as per their CEO Bradley who yesterday was quoted as saying "We're in pretty good financial shape. We're heading towards operational break even, and that's a good place to be. We have a plan to pay off our DCMS loans while still spending to the salary cap. We're in a pretty good place.“

Not sure Glos should therefore be on list, but I accept club management are generally not to be believed re finances. We’ve all learnt that the hard way.

Thanks Sam for pointing that out. Clear facts there… well apart from you stating you ‘hate to say it’

I understand there is a supportive article in today's Sunday Times by (surprisingly) Stephan Jones.  I don't have a way through the firewall, so would be grateful if anyone can do a copy and paste job. Thanks.

Here you go….

Threat of Worcester Warriors’ tragic demise matters little to wake of circling vultures
Stephen Jones
Sunday August 28 2022, 12.01am, The Sunday Times

It has been a horrible week, one in which sympathy and understanding were out of town, and joined on the outskirts by humanity and concern. Worcester Warriors have all kinds of financial problems and two owners who have had to deny strongly they sold off bits of the grand stadium complex effectively to themselves. They insist they did it to pay the long-suffering players.

And surrounding what could be the death throes of a magnificent club, there has been something akin to the scene where bloody-mouthed jackals surround a regal, dying animal. Rank opportunism is everywhere. In so much of the discussion and reportage on Worcester’s problems, people have asked if the rest of the Premiership clubs may be able to recruit the Worcester players and still stay within the new salary cap; there have been crass observations that, should Worcester die, then at least player welfare is aided because there will be two fewer games. It’s like ending global hunger because fewer people are alive and need feeding.

One or two fools even predicted that the Premiership would be gaily able to carry on as normal. Sorry, but if Worcester are allowed to die then it will be the biggest blow the Premiership has ever suffered when the tournament itself — for many reasons — is struggling. Can they afford to lose a great rugby club, one with a fabulous story? Because that is precisely what Worcester are.

If you have ever been to Sixways you will recognise one of the best facilities in the Premiership, facilities built from scratch. The Warriors are a real rugby club, they also compete in the women’s Allianz Premier 15s and have teams for youngsters and less able players. They have a spacious car park a few minutes from a motorway junction and a superb stadium. On their best days their attendances are excellent, with passion spilling out all over. They have sold out for the major games.

But did you read one word this week about the devastation that Worcester’s demise would cause to fans and rugby itself in the city and the surrounding area? Quite simply, the Warriors are the lifeblood to many, a community jewel. They are everything a city rugby club is meant to be.

The backstory is something else. They began so lowly that even to play on a park pitch was a triumph. But then, piloted by the wonderful and generous Cecil Duckworth, their late former owner, they thundered up through division after division. Duckworth set up Sixways and his beloved club as a professional outfit. They worked ferociously on the climb, were on the verge of the Premiership for a long time, held up only by a few damnable results and old-guard jealousy.

My colleague, Stuart Barnes, has been critical of their playing record in the top flight. It is no crime not to win the Premiership. They have almost always been competitive and I have always felt that they were three class players away from threatening the top four. I have seen some fantastic games at Sixways, notably the day they saved themselves from relegation on the last day of the season with a performance of such passion that their supporters were left in tears. That in essence is the spirit of Worcester Warriors.

They have made mistakes, of course, in recruitment, selection and scattergun team building. And with owners. When they were last for sale just over two seasons ago, one of the bidders was an outstanding South African rugby man of passion and wealth. He would have retained as coach the great South African, Gary Gold, and was being guided by Ed Griffiths, who along with Mark Evans is the father of the Premiership and all its good practices.

And what did Worcester do? They sold the club to two businessmen, Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring and kept as coach Alan Solomons, whose record in professional rugby in Europe is worse than melancholy. The owners seem to be not so much betraying a legacy as urinating on it.

It is too soon to have to feel anything remotely resembling optimism, although Jim O’Toole, a sportsman and a forceful sports businessman who once ran the club, is putting together a group which he hopes could make a successful bid. Steve Diamond, the ideal coach for tough times, is in place.

If Worcester are saved from administration then so too will be the momentum of the Premiership. The passion for the club of their fans will be able to flow into the future. Worcester Warriors not a great club? Take in your history, and you will conclude that there are few greater — and conclude also that humanity, even in the baleful world of club rugby, is everything.

I really do hope they survive. This is terrible news for Wuss and the wider rugby family. Thinking of all their fans, especially the kids - how will they understand the loss of the team they support so dearly.
Let’s hope they can turn it around, but the whole league and business model is not working for anyone. Not sure what CVC has brought to the table, but unless they input some more cash soon they may not have much of an investment left (or are they hoping to ‘trim’ the premiership for a euro superleague)?

For now though all thoughts with Wuss.