Premiership financial issues

[Epaminondas Pules]

From Alex Bywater (Daily Heil rugby correspondant):
Simon Massie-Taylor of Premiership Rugby confirms Worcester will start the new season next weekend but Warriors are “not out of the woods yet and the next month is key.”

Worcester latest: Players and staff have not been paid this morning and now real distrust between them and Warriors owners. Understand delay in payment is due to salaries coming from a different account and should be sorted today / promptly.

More on this... My understanding is there is a confidence from PRL that the wages payment will be sorted today and that Worcester will be able to begin the season when it's due to start next week.

[fivepointer]

Alex Lowe from The Times -
A core of Worcester players do not want to play the opening game of the season while the current owners are in charge of the club, given the risk of injury when there is no guarantee of job security beyond this month and the breakdown in trust.

[Which Tyler]

I'm hearing similar locally too - rumblings of a player strike.

They've just lost all faith in the owners, who apparently have asked players to pay for their own food and kit - whilst still not having been paid.

Also hearing rumblings that the Diamond is losing the players, they seem to think he's taking the owners' words as gospel, and feel he should be more on their side.

I have no idea how accurate these rumours are.

[Peej]

There are some videos doing the rounds on social media from the various Worcester players outlining what the club means to them. I can't figure out if this is a show of solidarity and commitment or a form of goodbye

[Puja]

Also hearing rumblings that the Diamond is losing the players, they seem to think he's taking the owners' words as gospel, and feel he should be more on their side.

I wouldn't be surprised given him being reported as saying this on the BBC:

"The owners] have had some unfair press, and some fair press," he said. "What I will say is they have been very direct with me and I have tried to pass that honestly to the staff and players.

"I don't think time is an issue, but I think it would be foolish of them to keep doing this every month. We need a solution.

"I don't know whether the solution is the current solution about how rugby clubs are wrong, because none of them seem to be making money, Worcester are just first in the line being exposed with the frailties of professional sport.

"For me, this could be the greatest thing that has ever happened to Worcester. Because the resilience that those young lads and staff on and off the field have got over the last month, you couldn't get any consultant to come in and teach you that.

"It is a process you have to go through in life, and as sportsmen you don't often go through it.

"In tough times, as Sir Winston Churchill said, when you're heading to Hell you have got to keep on working. If you can get through it, then great, and I think we will."

Let's ignore the fact that he's utterly butchered the Churchill quote, not just in the wording, but in entirely missing the point of it, and leap straight to "This is great for the young players and staff because it teaches resilience."

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Fuck all the way off Steve. Resilience doesn't buy food, you entitled prick. Poverty doesn't build character, it builds stress and mental illness. A 21 year old has just been made homeless by his housing not being paid for, at the same time as his salary's not been paid and you want to look on the bright side about how much resilience he's learning out of being lucky enough to stay on a mate's sofa and worry about whether his professional rugby career has just come to an end? Get all the way into the sea, you phenomenal twat.

Puja

[FKAS]

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/n ... a-campaign

"We're just really frustrated now. We haven't been paid, we don't feel like we're getting what we deserve as a group so we need answers," said Finn Smith on a video released on Twitter.

Ollie Wynn, a 20-year-old scrum-half, highlighted the impact the financial crisis is having on a personal level after revealing he has been made homeless.

"Worcester means a lot to me, as ever since I was a child looking up to my dad I've always wanted to play rugby," Wynn said.

"Fortunately I signed a contract three years ago with Worcester and I've been here since. I've loved every moment of being here.

"Unfortunately the last three weeks have taken a turn. We haven't been paid and I've been made homeless recently.

"Fortunately for me one of the older boys has put me up in their house, which I'm so grateful for and just shows as a unit how we are as boys, and hopefully we can come through this together."

[Which Tyler]

There are some videos doing the rounds on social media from the various Worcester players outlining what the club means to them. I can't figure out if this is a show of solidarity and commitment or a form of goodbye

Reminiscent of the videos of US pilots shot down over Iraq in 1990, saying how well they're being treated...

[pandion]

Also hearing rumblings that the Diamond is losing the players, they seem to think he's taking the owners' words as gospel, and feel he should be more on their side.

I wouldn't be surprised given him being reported as saying this on the BBC:

"The owners] have had some unfair press, and some fair press," he said. "What I will say is they have been very direct with me and I have tried to pass that honestly to the staff and players.

"I don't think time is an issue, but I think it would be foolish of them to keep doing this every month. We need a solution.

"I don't know whether the solution is the current solution about how rugby clubs are wrong, because none of them seem to be making money, Worcester are just first in the line being exposed with the frailties of professional sport.

"For me, this could be the greatest thing that has ever happened to Worcester. Because the resilience that those young lads and staff on and off the field have got over the last month, you couldn't get any consultant to come in and teach you that.

"It is a process you have to go through in life, and as sportsmen you don't often go through it.

"In tough times, as Sir Winston Churchill said, when you're heading to Hell you have got to keep on working. If you can get through it, then great, and I think we will."

Let's ignore the fact that he's utterly butchered the Churchill quote, not just in the wording, but in entirely missing the point of it, and leap straight to "This is great for the young players and staff because it teaches resilience."

.
.
.

Fuck all the way off Steve. Resilience doesn't buy food, you entitled prick. Poverty doesn't build character, it builds stress and mental illness. A 21 year old has just been made homeless by his housing not being paid for, at the same time as his salary's not been paid and you want to look on the bright side about how much resilience he's learning out of being lucky enough to stay on a mate's sofa and worry about whether his professional rugby career has just come to an end? Get all the way into the sea, you phenomenal twat.

Puja

Would you be more impressed if he just walked out and said fuck this boys I'd look for another club, adiós?

[Puja]

Also hearing rumblings that the Diamond is losing the players, they seem to think he's taking the owners' words as gospel, and feel he should be more on their side.

I wouldn't be surprised given him being reported as saying this on the BBC:

"The owners] have had some unfair press, and some fair press," he said. "What I will say is they have been very direct with me and I have tried to pass that honestly to the staff and players.

"I don't think time is an issue, but I think it would be foolish of them to keep doing this every month. We need a solution.

"I don't know whether the solution is the current solution about how rugby clubs are wrong, because none of them seem to be making money, Worcester are just first in the line being exposed with the frailties of professional sport.

"For me, this could be the greatest thing that has ever happened to Worcester. Because the resilience that those young lads and staff on and off the field have got over the last month, you couldn't get any consultant to come in and teach you that.

"It is a process you have to go through in life, and as sportsmen you don't often go through it.

"In tough times, as Sir Winston Churchill said, when you're heading to Hell you have got to keep on working. If you can get through it, then great, and I think we will."

Let's ignore the fact that he's utterly butchered the Churchill quote, not just in the wording, but in entirely missing the point of it, and leap straight to "This is great for the young players and staff because it teaches resilience."

.
.
.

Fuck all the way off Steve. Resilience doesn't buy food, you entitled prick. Poverty doesn't build character, it builds stress and mental illness. A 21 year old has just been made homeless by his housing not being paid for, at the same time as his salary's not been paid and you want to look on the bright side about how much resilience he's learning out of being lucky enough to stay on a mate's sofa and worry about whether his professional rugby career has just come to an end? Get all the way into the sea, you phenomenal twat.

Puja

Would you be more impressed if he just walked out and said fuck this boys I'd look for another club, adiós?

Bit of a false dichotomy there. There are other options than either walking out or straight-facedly peddling the line of poverty builds character, it's not a binary choice.

Puja

[pandion]

I wouldn't be surprised given him being reported as saying this on the BBC:



Let's ignore the fact that he's utterly butchered the Churchill quote, not just in the wording, but in entirely missing the point of it, and leap straight to "This is great for the young players and staff because it teaches resilience."

.
.
.

Fuck all the way off Steve. Resilience doesn't buy food, you entitled prick. Poverty doesn't build character, it builds stress and mental illness. A 21 year old has just been made homeless by his housing not being paid for, at the same time as his salary's not been paid and you want to look on the bright side about how much resilience he's learning out of being lucky enough to stay on a mate's sofa and worry about whether his professional rugby career has just come to an end? Get all the way into the sea, you phenomenal twat.

Puja

Would you be more impressed if he just walked out and said fuck this boys I'd look for another club, adiós?

Bit of a false dichotomy there. There are other options than either walking out or straight-facedly peddling the line of poverty builds character, it's not a binary choice.

Puja

I get that but slagging him off like that seems a bit strong when he's clearly the jam in this sandwich. He might not be every fans cup of tea but he's turned around a few struggling or wayward players and is a commited club man

[Stom]

Would you be more impressed if he just walked out and said fuck this boys I'd look for another club, adiós?

Bit of a false dichotomy there. There are other options than either walking out or straight-facedly peddling the line of poverty builds character, it's not a binary choice.

Puja

I get that but slagging him off like that seems a bit strong when he's clearly the jam in this sandwich. He might not be every fans cup of tea but he's turned around a few struggling or wayward players and is a commited club man

Maybe because he is peddling a very, very dangerous line oft repeated by people supporting the current fiscal system that "every young person struggling to make ends meet because the system is biased against them just needs to grow a pair and work hard, like I did".

It's wrong. It's not just wrong, it's dangerous. He could come out and say "it's a shitty situation that these young boys should never have been into. We need to find a solution, because none of us want to see this rugby club go under, and none of us want to see these young men kicked out of their home with no prior warning."

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

Just hearing this on the BBC Podcast. What utter crap. Complete "we had no heating in the 70's and it made us stronger" bs.
He's also an awful humblebragger with Trump levels of cheerleading for himself. My favourite quote was; "I'm a good communicator. Some people don't like me because of that."
He was also saying he'd been telling the players there's nowhere else to go so they may as well stay even if they don't get paid.
There's really no room for this kind of toxic bootstrap masculine nonsense in sport or anywhere anymore. Also, what's the betting he'd be first to up and leave if he didn't get paid.

[Puja]

Capture.PNG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

[32nd Man]

Capture.PNG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Strong diagram deployment.

[Mellsblue]

[Which Tyler]

Tempered good news IMO.

The best solution would have been administration, investigation/charging of previous owners, and a wholesale purchase of the club and all its assets; the worst is, of course, administration without a new purchaser.
I think a decent purchaser would want the club into administration first to sort out the mess (and the owners would deserve everything that would be coming to them as a result) - but anything that keeps the club as a viable entity and professional rugby club, is a definite good thing.

[Danno]

It will possibly be a sale via a pre pack admin.

[Puja]

It will possibly be a sale via a pre pack admin.

My brain misread that as Sale vs pre-pack admin and was trying to work out why Sale were involved.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

It will possibly be a sale via a pre pack admin.

My brain misread that as Sale vs pre-pack admin and was trying to work out why Sale were involved.

Puja

It might/probably should be Worcester’s new nickname. Given their performances on the pitch over the last ten years, Worcester Pre-pack Admin is probably more apposite than Worcester Warriors.

[Mellsblue]

‘University of Worcester Warriors‘?!?!?

[Which Tyler]

[fivepointer]

Touch and go at Wuss - https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/sport/2 ... efs-doubt/

[jimKRFC]

Worcester now reportedly in administration, just a rumour so far...

https://www.rugbynetwork.net/boards/rea ... 9,17225136

[Danno]

That's now been retracted as a mistake. DCMS claim that the letter was prepared 'just in case'.

[jimKRFC]

RFU has given a deadline of 12pm tomorrow to have the owners/funding sorted or be suspended.

Now it's rumoured that the owners don't have a safety certificate for the ground.