Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: Covkid40 on January 01, 2023, 02:50:11 PM
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Ok so my son was the happiest person on the planet when the RFU gave the green light for the takeover. Now he’s asking how long before we hear of recruitment and season tickets (he’s only 13 so gets a bit ahead of himself). I know there is still lots of work to do before we see players running out on a pitch but how long can they leave it before they start recruiting? I’m not saying it should be starting now just asking those that know more than me how long can we leave it and still be ready for the 23/24 season. I’d also have thought they would like to get tickets on sale asap
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I doubt anyone knows. They still have to completely satisfy the RFU yet. No ground has been announced. So probably quite some time before any visible movement.
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Looking at Andy Scott’s press release a couple of weeks back it’s clear recruitment wise there is a plan A and B for recruitment. If they can attract investment and in particular the institutional investor they reference it will likely be a pro set up. If not it will be semi-pro. Timeline wise I guess that bit has to happen first. Equally though I’d be amazed if some players haven’t already been sounded out.
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Given we have heard nothing really concrete, they are going to be really pushed for time to get a squad together that will stop them from being relegated next year.
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As Shugs says, until they have some idea of a budget for coaching staff and players there's not much can happen.
Despite that I'd guess they will be looking to have a head coach/DoR in place by the end of Jan, end of Feb at the latest. They can then start to put a squad in place around any players who aren't playing at that time and looking at players who will be out of contract at the end of the season starting March/April.
With the compressed timescales I think we're going to have a squad that's built on a lot of players coming to the end of their careers, augmented by young talent that's been released from Academies in the first year of two.
Anything more than a head coach plus maybe one other full time coach will be a luxury and I wouldn't be surprised to see a head coach and other coaches who are also registered players and play the odd game.
I fear its going to be a rag, tag and bobtail squad for the first year at least, but that's better than nothing.
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Looking at some more timescales:
The Championship started on 10 September this season, with us and hopefully Worcester and assuming Ealing get promoted they that will be 2 extra matches to fit in. So, lets assume the seasons starts at the beginning of September, Sat 2nd being a likely date.
Ideally you'd want this squad to have 3 pre season games and say 6 weeks pre season training and that means starting training at the beginning of July. Of course players can be added at anytime but they've got to be looking at a squad of 30, minimum, by that date.
I've said it before and I agree with NWW, success next season is not being relegated unless they do get this funding, even then I don't see anything better than mid table-mediocrity being a realistic goal.
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Looking at Andy Scott’s press release a couple of weeks back it’s clear recruitment wise there is a plan A and B for recruitment. If they can attract investment and in particular the institutional investor they reference it will likely be a pro set up. If not it will be semi-pro. Timeline wise I guess that bit has to happen first. Equally though I’d be amazed if some players haven’t already been sounded out.
I think the only possible players who could have been sounded out are former Wasps players - no-one else would touch us until some formality exists.
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Agreed, and a fair few are plying their trade in the Championship. If we can pull off plan B I’d expect at least a few to rejoin.
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My son had never watched union before Wasps came to Coventry and was totally devastated when we went into administration, now he’s a starting scrum half for his local U14’s side, a fanatical Wasps fan and just wants to watch play again.
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My son had never watched union before Wasps came to Coventry and was totally devastated when we went into administration, now he’s a starting scrum half for his local U14’s side, a fanatical Wasps fan and just wants to watch play again.
Good on him. Let's hope it will not be long before he (you!) can start making plans.
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Unless someone turns up with deep pockets ( and I am not sure they exist in the current environment) who wants to invest in a new team I would reckon we are realistically looking at 5 years before New Wasps will be knocking on anyones door for promotion.
Does anyone know how the lower teams in the championship run ( with back room staff). By the middle of this year all previous employees will be spread far and wide and settled in new jobs. That includes players so as already commented if, the club raises itself from the ashes the ability to stay up in the competitive league would be really excellent.
Ive supported the club just prior to its move to Wycombe and was completely gutted when they went. But I will continue to hope they can raise themselves up in some form or other. But I have now taken off those rose tinted glasses, it hurts too much.
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Unless we can find some deep pockets I can't see us being here in 5 years with all the tumult around rugby and long term uncertainty over our long term location.
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Unless we can find some deep pockets I can't see us being here in 5 years with all the tumult around rugby and long term uncertainty over our long term location.
Totally agree.
I think now is probably the worst time to be out of the prem, groundless &, more importantly, P Share-less.
If the RFU/PRL can't come up with a sensible revised league structure for clubs to follow, you can very eaislly see PRL pulling the drawbridge on a ringfenced 10/11 team league. If no one is in the Champ with a P Share, they can essentially do what they like with the Prem
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Unless we can find some deep pockets I can't see us being here in 5 years with all the tumult around rugby and long term uncertainty over our long term location.
Totally agree.
I think now is probably the worst time to be out of the prem, groundless &, more importantly, P Share-less.
If the RFU/PRL can't come up with a sensible revised league structure for clubs to follow, you can very eaislly see PRL pulling the drawbridge on a ringfenced 10/11 team league. If no one is in the Champ with a P Share, they can essentially do what they like with the Prem
At the same time, if the clubs in the Championship see that this is so, why should they remain within the structure and control of the RFU? The RFU offers them very little now.
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I guess the answer is "no other choice"?
The RFU are the only show in town.
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The RFU is the governing body, they hold the players registration, can sanction clubs or players who break ranks & also own the only profitable item in rugby in the country, the England teams.
To break away from the RFU would be a massive undertaking for any club or organisation that wanted to attempt it. The only similar thing I cna think of in organised sport is Kerry Packers World series Cup, where a TV station signed up the cream of international crickters to play in a seioes of matches played under, at teh time, innovative rules & conditions. Although that didn't last, it did force cricket into the 20th century, it did ultimately fail with the national cricket boards regaing control.
Although rugby has some problems, its at a very different point to where cricket was in the 1970s. There are endless ideas & variations being thrown around, its more about choosing which path to follow rather than trying to think up new ideas.
IMO, I think PRL will wait till the end of the season to see if any other clubs go under. Once that's decided they can end the relegation debate as all P share holders will be in the prem (they could invite Ealing in if they wanted to round the numbers up) and none of the clubs will argue. The RFU will be probably have to accept it as their chief asset, the England team, will depend entirely on players in the prem. The Champ clubs will be left to decide if they can afford to be fully professional teams, I suspect many already arent anyway!
Like I said early, a really bad time for Warriors & Wasps to be without their P shares!!
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How does the RFU elect board members, CEO, etc? Are any of the positions elected by "members" and/or the clubs?
I can't see Championship clubs leaving the RFU but there's a lot more semi-pro and amateur clubs than there are PRL members so if there's scope to elect some anti-PRL executives to the RFU board then I could see the Championship and below clubs organising against the PRL interests. Especially if promotion ends.
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I don't know exactly how it works TBT, but each club, even grass roots amateur ones. used to be able to attend the AGM & vote, comment etc on motions being presented.
I have a feeling though that the RFU board delegated the running of the professional game to a separate board, no idea how that's structured or governed. I would suspect it has an amount of independence to allow it to be more "professional" and allow the amateur side of the game to be focused on grass roots etc.
Not sure accurate the above is, so happy to be corrected
i think the issue will always be that the PRL owns the England players & therefore the RFU's only real way of making money. PRL also know though that without the England money, profile, media attention and the agreement to not select players who move overvsea's, they are scuppered. Hence the uneasy symbiosis we know have.
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I admire the resilience shown on this and other threads as I’m still in bits over the demise of a club I spent a lot of time and money on following. I can’t even bring myself to watch a rugby game at the moment as the feelings are still raw. I hope this will change as it’s a game I’ve loved to play and watch but it’s going to take a huge leap of faith for me to re-engage.