2023/24 season

[andermt]

There is inherent danger in the Falcon's approach. Depends how many fans they lose through the door. If they drop say 1000 of the more casual/selective fans, how does that hurt? If 500 season ticket holders drop to pay as you go, and next year is as bad, and they don't go, what then. They have already lost 3 home games and are in this position presumably due to cash, which they could end up losing. Plus NUFC are doing well, and people's wallets are empty.
People will support a losing team, of course. A Tigers team losing 1k fans in a bad season isn't the end of the world, but for smaller clubs. Ouch.

Indeed, a no win situation. They dropped ST prices massively this year in an attempt to pull the cash in up front, but they ended up with less, not more ST holders.

As you say, they are losing the pay as you go business. Times are very hard in Newcastle, and cash is short. I think this would have happened whether or not they cut prices, whether or not they cut the squad salary bill, and effectively reduced the quality of the team. I think it would have happened even if they were half way up the table. There simply isn't the spare money in the local economy on Tyneside. I cannot imagine that things are much better at Sale.

Their sugar daddies are committed to keep their respective clubs 'going' until the last match. That means paying bills and salaries only when they have to. At some point, the taps will be turned off. I expect the players will play their last game only to find they don't get paid for that. The same goes for ground staff and suppliers.

The only question is, which of the 10 sugar daddies will turn off those taps towards the end of this season? Not just one I suspect, but Falcons must be a sure bet right now.

I do not relish this prospect, other than to recognise that it might make a Wasps return a little easier, and might see all the fat cats at the PRL and RFU go.

Some intriguing comments on the Rugby Pod this week around the finances at Newcastle and the rumours that the Falcons owner wants to do a Warriors by having the club slowly disappear and then to have the land for development/to sell, that was from Goodey. There was comment, I think by Jim, that some of the players are on effectively zero hours contracts.

It really does seem to be in a bad place.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

There is inherent danger in the Falcon's approach. Depends how many fans they lose through the door. If they drop say 1000 of the more casual/selective fans, how does that hurt? If 500 season ticket holders drop to pay as you go, and next year is as bad, and they don't go, what then. They have already lost 3 home games and are in this position presumably due to cash, which they could end up losing. Plus NUFC are doing well, and people's wallets are empty.
People will support a losing team, of course. A Tigers team losing 1k fans in a bad season isn't the end of the world, but for smaller clubs. Ouch.

Indeed, a no win situation. They dropped ST prices massively this year in an attempt to pull the cash in up front, but they ended up with less, not more ST holders.

As you say, they are losing the pay as you go business. Times are very hard in Newcastle, and cash is short. I think this would have happened whether or not they cut prices, whether or not they cut the squad salary bill, and effectively reduced the quality of the team. I think it would have happened even if they were half way up the table. There simply isn't the spare money in the local economy on Tyneside. I cannot imagine that things are much better at Sale.

Their sugar daddies are committed to keep their respective clubs 'going' until the last match. That means paying bills and salaries only when they have to. At some point, the taps will be turned off. I expect the players will play their last game only to find they don't get paid for that. The same goes for ground staff and suppliers.

The only question is, which of the 10 sugar daddies will turn off those taps towards the end of this season? Not just one I suspect, but Falcons must be a sure bet right now.

I do not relish this prospect, other than to recognise that it might make a Wasps return a little easier, and might see all the fat cats at the PRL and RFU go.

Some intriguing comments on the Rugby Pod this week around the finances at Newcastle and the rumours that the Falcons owner wants to do a Warriors by having the club slowly disappear and then to have the land for development/to sell, that was from Goodey. There was comment, I think by Jim, that some of the players are on effectively zero hours contracts.

It really does seem to be in a bad place.

All they have to do is to make sure that the club rents the ground, and the ground ownership rests elsewhere, that no loans be secured on the ground, then simply not pay HMRC/DCMS who will cheerfully start the winding up process. The process takes a while, so, given that Newcastle will need their ground last on 10 May for their last home game, they would likely need to leave any default with the authorities until payments due after the end of January, about 8 weeks from now. That would be about the same time as the PRL will seek financial assurances for 2024/25 season from the cub owners. I wouldn't mind betting that trade creditors at some of the clubs are already seeing delayed payments (or non payment).

As to zero hours contracts, whilst not common in the NH, NZ certainly have this in some teams. If you are injured, or not wanted, you don't get paid.