The GP exodus opportunity

escobar

Was wondering if now is the time with sterling and Euro almost on parity to get a few bargains off the premiership.

Martin Johnson was right to be worried ......The GP player exodus continues. Add Johnny wilkinson's name to James Haskell, Riki Flutey and Tom Palmer as well as Carlos Spencer and Ryan Lamb. If we don't act now the pickings will be slim......

Maybe players like Bob Casey , Geordan Murphy (has a year or two left in him) could follow eoin reddan (to leinster) and Mike Ross (to leinster) and bolster a team like Connacht who have always been marginalised and deserve a fair chance especially now the IRFU's coffers are full.
It's about time Connacht was taken seriously and properly funded.!! Are there any other players you can think of ...now's the time..

Robbo

I'd like to see Johne Murphy brought to Connacht. We need more on the wing since Mike Roberts has never been fit and is on a 1 year appearance related contract.

Amazotheamazing

Robbo wrote: »

I'd like to see Johne Murphy brought to Connacht. We need more on the wing since Mike Roberts has never been fit and is on a 1 year appearance related contract.

Brian Touhy, of Ireland 7's and Ireland A, is joining Connacht, afaik from the Cornish Pirates.

He's a good player, was leading try scorer in the AIL one year for Shannon, iirc. Sent some sprint records for rugby players out in UL that still stand (fastest 40m's maybe?).

Robbo

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Brian Touhy, of Ireland 7's and Ireland A, is joining Connacht, afaik from the Cornish Pirates.

He's a good player, was leading try scorer in the AIL one year for Shannon, iirc. Sent some sprint records for rugby players out in UL that still stand (fastest 40m's maybe?).

I've heard this before but the rumour seemed to die down, where are you hearing this from?

TBH, two wingers are probably needed since it looks like Nathan and Riordan are going.

Amazotheamazing

Well placed source on munsterfans.com

Where's Riordan off to, Munster should have poached him before Bradely ruined him for good.

anonymous_joe

Robbo wrote: »

I'd like to see Johne Murphy brought to Connacht. We need more on the wing since Mike Roberts has never been fit and is on a 1 year appearance related contract.

Not sure he'd leave Leicester for Connacht. He's doing well enough there.

Robbo

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Well placed source on munsterfans.com

Where's Riordan off to, Munster should have poached him before Bradely ruined him for good.

France, apparently. La Rochelle may be a likely place.

Amazotheamazing

Robbo wrote: »

France, apparently. La Rochelle may be a likely place.

That's where Durcan (another wasted talent) ended up, iirc?

Rather than shipping off your best backs, why not hire a decent backs coach? Even someone like Tipoki, who would be an unproven coach and probably cheap enough?

Stealdo

I don't think we need to be poaching players from the Guinness Premiership. Certainly not the (mostly) washed up SH guys.

Either way, isn't the exodus to do with the money on offer in France rather than the lack of it in England? Not sure we could afford too many more star imports than we already have at Leinster and Munster particularly, and don't think it's money too well spent.

Will the salary cap and foreigner restrictions in France not put an end to this anyway?

Chucky the tree

I cant see Jonhnne Murphy or Geordan Murhphy leaving the team whos nearly top of the GP and in the semi-final of the HEC to join the team at the bottom of the ML. :pac:

escobar

Stealdo wrote: »

I don't think we need to be poaching players from the Guinness Premiership. Certainly not the (mostly) washed up SH guys.

Either way, isn't the exodus to do with the money on offer in France rather than the lack of it in England? Not sure we could afford too many more star imports than we already have at Leinster and Munster particularly, and don't think it's money too well spent.

Will the salary cap and foreigner restrictions in France not put an end to this anyway?

Interesting statment.A french salary cap etc has little to do with us.. I wonder how Munster got the all blacks all time top try scorer Doug Howlett or leinster Isa nacewa and Rocky Elsom to name but a few recent recruits.... surely the French teams wanted them too?

It's a fact that sterling which is still dropping in value was worth 150/160% of it's current value to be basically on parity with the euro recently. ''As of November 2008[update], with more than €751 billion in circulation,the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of cash in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.''


So we've basically got one and a half times the money from a GP perspective.. They simply can't afford the big names anymore and with the incredible attendances and international results at a national and provincial level in Ireland the coffers are overflowing and there are good bargains to be had in the GP.

So...... to get back to the topic heading. I suggested that with the money in the IRFU ,especially relative to the GP, we could afford to fund Connacht a little more fairly. A disparity which has been reflected in their ML results.

If a few Irish players like Geordan Murphy and Bob Casey bolstered the Connacht team their results and attendances would be vastly improved gaining them a Heineken cup place in their first year doubtlessly. Wouldn't that be great!!:)


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escobar

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I cant see Jonhnne Murphy or Geordan Murhphy leaving the team whos nearly top of the GP and in the semi-final of the HEC to join the team at the bottom of the ML. :pac:

The GP is looking like a spent force, They're losing all their good players as they come out of contract. Especially worrying for them is that they can't hold onto their English national team players, even under threat of not getting a salary with their national team they are still leaving.

If even the English national team players don't want to play in the GP who else will?

I don't see this situation getting any better for them considering the Bank of England are going to print money which will no doubt cause more devaluation.


30% of the teams in the ML are in the top four in europe this year making 3 of the 4 semi finalists so from a players perspective it would be detrimental to their game not to play in such a prestidgeous league.

I touched on this point of Connacht's results and placing on the ML table and how it is directly related to them being given half the funding the other provinces are.

There's little doubt that if their funding was brought up to parity with the other provinces, their results would improve and that they would get a HC place in the first year of this investment.

barnesd

Robbo wrote: »

I'd like to see Johne Murphy brought to Connacht. We need more on the wing since Mike Roberts has never been fit and is on a 1 year appearance related contract.

Why on earth would he move from Leicester to Connacht?

escobar

barnesd wrote: »

Why on earth would he move from Leicester to Connacht?

Just throwing this suggestion out there but....... maybe money:rolleyes:

also as above a superior league and a good connacht team too if funded properly with a few new recruits. 4/5 quality players would do it

Who do you think could be brought to connacht now there's bargains to be had!!

barnesd

He's not going to get a better salary at Connacht than he is at Leicester. Leicesters budget would be some multiple of Connachts. Moving from one of the best teams in Europe to the worst team in the ML doesn't seem like a great career move.

If the IRFU want him back in Ireland he should sign for Munster (compete with/displace Dowling) or Ulster. Leinster just have enough backs at this stage.

[Jackass]

Leinster could use Bob Casey. Maybe Johne or Geordan Murphy could go to the likes of Munster and Ulster as stated, but I think the IRFU has done a very good job of bringing players back - obviously it's not possible to bring everybody back, but I'd imagine Ross and Reddan will be right back into international plans on their return.

Chucky the tree

escobar wrote: »

The GP is looking like a spent force, They're losing all their good players as they come out of contract. Especially worrying for them is that they can't hold onto their English national team players, even under threat of not getting a salary with their national team they are still leaving.

If even the English national team players don't want to play in the GP who else will?

I don't see this situation getting any better for them considering the Bank of England are going to print money which will no doubt cause more devaluation.


30% of the teams in the ML are in the top four in europe this year making 3 of the 4 semi finalists so from a players perspective it would be detrimental to their game not to play in such a prestidgeous league.

I touched on this point of Connacht's results and placing on the ML table and how it is directly related to them being given half the funding the other provinces are.

There's little doubt that if their funding was brought up to parity with the other provinces, their results would improve and that they would get a HC place in the first year of this investment.

The ML isnt a prestigious league. Cardiff havent had a chance of winning it since December, Leinster showed what they thought of it with their selection and performance last night. In England the GP is on a par with with the HEC, the same with the top 14 in france. Most of the ML teams arent hugely pushed about winning the ML, it's like the FA cup.

The GP will be fine. The FRU have set the ball rolling to introduce a salary cap and a limit on the number of foreign players. That why there is a huge exodus now, players are trying to cash in before it's to late.

barnesd

Leinster are the last team you could accuse of disrespecting the league. For the last time, the players were rested after Sunday. It was a 5 day turnaround from the most physical game of the season. Quins didn't rest their players for their game last night and they got hammered.

Chucky the tree

barnesd wrote: »

Leinster are the last team you could accuse of disrespecting the league. For the last time, the players were rested after Sunday. It was a 5 day turnaround from the most physical game of the season. Quins didn't rest their players for their game last night and they got hammered.

Quinns realised how important a win would of been so it worth the risk. Leinster basically said "meh, **** it we probaly wont win it anyway so lets not bother." The fact that Quinns still played a near full strength team for a match that they didnt need to win as badly as leinster says it all about how the GP is rated by English clubs and fans compared to the ML.


Edit - I'm not knocking leinster for this, I think they did the right thing as the HEC is alot more important then the ML I'm just using it as an example to show how the ML is no where near as prestigious as the GP.

anonymous_joe

escobar wrote: »

Interesting statment.A french salary cap etc has little to do with us.. I wonder how Munster got the all blacks all time top try scorer Doug Howlett or leinster Isa nacewa and Rocky Elsom to name but a few recent recruits.... surely the French teams wanted them too?

Elsom (and Whitaker and Alan Gaffney for that matter) all come from the Tahs, and all from Randwick club too I think, which coincidentally is where Cheika played and coached first.

So that's how we got Elsom and Whitaker.

It's a fact that sterling which is still dropping in value was worth 150/160% of it's current value to be basically on parity with the euro recently. ''As of November 2008[update], with more than €751 billion in circulation,the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of cash in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.''


So we've basically got one and a half times the money from a GP perspective.. They simply can't afford the big names anymore and with the incredible attendances and international results at a national and provincial level in Ireland the coffers are overflowing and there are good bargains to be had in the GP.

So...... to get back to the topic heading. I suggested that with the money in the IRFU ,especially relative to the GP, we could afford to fund Connacht a little more fairly. A disparity which has been reflected in their ML results.

If the Italians get into the Magners League for definite, I'm sure they'd be able to afford a few superstars for their provinces. You won't get Castrogiovanni, the Bergamascos and Parisse back to Italy, but sign a few stars and keep your young Italians and they can build teams using the same model as the Irish provinces.

If a few Irish players like Geordan Murphy and Bob Casey bolstered the Connacht team their results and attendances would be vastly improved gaining them a Heineken cup place in their first year doubtlessly. Wouldn't that be great!!:)

Why would either of them go from competing at the upper echelons of European competition go to Connacht?

I'd love to see Bob Casey sign for Leinster to replace Mal this summer, but I doubt Lirish would get rid of their captain and only Irish man that easily.

Chucky the tree wrote: »

The ML isnt a prestigious league. Cardiff havent had a chance of winning it since December, Leinster showed what they thought of it with their selection and performance last night. In England the GP is on a par with with the HEC, the same with the top 14 in france. Most of the ML teams arent hugely pushed about winning the ML, it's like the FA cup.

The GP will be fine. The FRU have set the ball rolling to introduce a salary cap and a limit on the number of foreign players. That why there is a huge exodus now, players are trying to cash in before it's to late.

The Magners League is switching to the 4 teams go to a cup competition form from next year on, same as France and England (and S14). That should vastly increase interest.

Leinster and the Ospreys are the only teams near Munster and they're probably not going to catch up. Why waste your best players etc in that situation?

barnesd

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Leinster basically said "meh, **** it we probaly wont win it anyway so lets not bother."

No they didn't.

Stealdo

escobar wrote: »

Interesting statment.A french salary cap etc has little to do with us.. I wonder how Munster got the all blacks all time top try scorer Doug Howlett or leinster Isa nacewa and Rocky Elsom to name but a few recent recruits.... surely the French teams wanted them too?

It's a fact that sterling which is still dropping in value was worth 150/160% of it's current value to be basically on parity with the euro recently. ''As of November 2008[update], with more than €751 billion in circulation,the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of cash in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.''


So we've basically got one and a half times the money from a GP perspective.. They simply can't afford the big names anymore and with the incredible attendances and international results at a national and provincial level in Ireland the coffers are overflowing and there are good bargains to be had in the GP.

So...... to get back to the topic heading. I suggested that with the money in the IRFU ,especially relative to the GP, we could afford to fund Connacht a little more fairly. A disparity which has been reflected in their ML results.

If a few Irish players like Geordan Murphy and Bob Casey bolstered the Connacht team their results and attendances would be vastly improved gaining them a Heineken cup place in their first year doubtlessly. Wouldn't that be great!!:)


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My comments are based on the understanding that this is not so much a GP exodus as a move from the GP to France where there is a lot more money of offer for the same currency related reasons you mention above. While our spending power may have increased releative to the british teams we still have vastly less than the French. We can compete for a small number of high profile individuals like Elsom, CJVDL and Howlett but not on anything like the scale that the French clubs can.
So possibly yes there's an opportunity to bring in maybe one more of these type of guys. But I'd imagine the IRFU is already stretched as far as that part of the budget is concerned, and the majority of the SH guys in the GP are at the latter end of their carrers.

Any Irish player in the GP with the profile of Murphy or Casey would only seriously consider a move to connaught at the tail end of their career when players are setting themselves up for coaching roles, or whatever career they intend to have. If one of these guys was well thought of in the IRFU and fancied coaching Connaught wouldn't be a bad place to be. Otherwise they'll be wanting to position themselves in the right place for later work.

Currency fluctuation is a transigent thing, and not a great reason to move from one country to another. For a guy like Murphy if he's planning on living in Ireland when he retires maybe, but the currency is no use to him if he wants to coach in England or stay there in another capacity. You'd be suggesting he gambles on FX rates with his retirement money. (By the way the fact that there is more €'s in circulation is an argument for the currency being worth less, not more)

escobar

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Elsom (and Whitaker and Alan Gaffney for that matter) all come from the Tahs, and all from Randwick club too I think, which coincidentally is where Cheika played and coached first.

So that's how we got Elsom and Whitaker.

If the Italians get into the Magners League for definite, I'm sure they'd be able to afford a few superstars for their provinces. You won't get Castrogiovanni, the Bergamascos and Parisse back to Italy, but sign a few stars and keep your young Italians and they can build teams using the same model as the Irish provinces.

Why would either of them go from competing at the upper echelons of European competition go to Connacht?

I'd love to see Bob Casey sign for Leinster to replace Mal this summer, but I doubt Lirish would get rid of their captain and only Irish man that easily.


The Magners League is switching to the 4 teams go to a cup competition form from next year on, same as France and England (and S14). That should vastly increase interest.

Leinster and the Ospreys are the only teams near Munster and they're probably not going to catch up. Why waste your best players etc in that situation?

True, London Irish might have to change their name if they Bob Casey left,
but if not Connacht why not Leinster, although I think connacht get a hard time.
If they got four or five good core players in selected positions they would get a heineken cup place. It's high time they were funded equally with the other provinces and now's as good a time as you'll get with the weak sterling.
I'd love to see them get a fair opportunity, they've achieved alot over the years with limited resources.

Chucky the tree

I think they'd have a better chance going after players like Girvan Dempsey and Peter stringer who arent first choice for their provinces and probaly never will be again.

escobar

Stealdo wrote: »

My comments are based on the understanding that this is not so much a GP exodus as a move from the GP to France where there is a lot more money of offer for the same currency related reasons you mention above. While our spending power may have increased releative to the british teams we still have vastly less than the French. We can compete for a small number of high profile individuals like Elsom, CJVDL and Howlett but not on anything like the scale that the French clubs can.
So possibly yes there's an opportunity to bring in maybe one more of these type of guys. But I'd imagine the IRFU is already stretched as far as that part of the budget is concerned, and the majority of the SH guys in the GP are at the latter end of their carrers.

Any Irish player in the GP with the profile of Murphy or Casey would only seriously consider a move to connaught at the tail end of their career when players are setting themselves up for coaching roles, or whatever career they intend to have. If one of these guys was well thought of in the IRFU and fancied coaching Connaught wouldn't be a bad place to be. Otherwise they'll be wanting to position themselves in the right place for later work.

Currency fluctuation is a transigent thing, and not a great reason to move from one country to another. For a guy like Murphy if he's planning on living in Ireland when he retires maybe, but the currency is no use to him if he wants to coach in England or stay there in another capacity. You'd be suggesting he gambles on FX rates with his retirement money. (By the way the fact that there is more €'s in circulation is an argument for the currency being worth less, not more)

Con-naught, very very funny,:o

Transigent even funnier, though I think I get the gist of the paragraph. :rolleyes:
There are always underlying reasons for the devaluation of a currency and the devaluation of sterling has been weaking steadily since 2000. It's not just swings and roundabouts.

If the reason for more Euros being in circulation was because of ''printing money'' as is happening in the UK then it would devalue the currency more but it's not. I did a bit of research for you on the contributing factors.

The UK economy experienced negative growth in Q3 2008 and is now facing steepest recession since the Second World War.
Relative to the EU, the UK is running a current account deficit, which puts downward pressure on sterling because of the outflow of foreign currency.
Also with the Dollar in long term decline government's and investment bankers are looking for an alternative to holding currency in the dollar; the main alternative is the Euro.However, it is worth noting the Pound has recently been weak against the Dollar as well, suggesting problems facing Sterling in particular.[/FONT]

Our spending power has increased 70 % since 2000 against sterling.

Factor in the incredible attendances the provinces are getting and the Croke Park semi final which will probably get 4 million in gate receipts alone before tV revenues etc you can see what rude health the IRFU is in.
Not to mention that if Croke park fills it will be a world record attendance for club rugby.

The IRFU have gotten some of the worlds best players to come to Ireland so I would think our spending power is quite allright, and if we act now we could get some bargains off the GP before France get them all.

I would propose taking some Irish players off the GP and perhaps a few quality SH imports in selected positions. You will find that if Connacht get a core of 4/5 good players they will vastly improve and compete in the HC. It would only take one season to improve Connacht's standing.

For example, Johnny O Connor was well respected in the GP and went to Connacht and with the ML having three teams in the semi finals of the HC it would be detrimental for a player not to play in such a high quality and high profile competition.

escobar

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I think they'd have a better chance going after players like Girvan Dempsey and Peter stringer who arent first choice for their provinces and probaly never will be again.

Not a bad idea there is an embarrasment of riches in some positions so Connacht could also get a few players from other provinces ... players like Kieran Lewis and Gary Brown come to mind.

Stealdo

escobar wrote: »

Long post about currencies and attendances

I don't want to get into a discussion about currency fluctuations but you've a bit more research to do. The price of things hasn't changed in Ireland vs the UK while the currency changes have taken place. Therefor there is no gain to be had by moving from one country to another to get paid a nominally higher sum, unless you're sending that money home to use when you get there. For instance your wages and mine have gone up by the same 70% versus sterling but do you feel any richer as a result?

Johnny O'Conner has been the exception and was horribly over rated when playing in the GP (even though he is a very good player). The main problem I see for Con-naught is convincing players they have a viable future. Maybe that starts with funding but it'll be a hard sell for anyone other than someone close to retirement looking for a payday.

escobar

Stealdo wrote: »

I don't want to get into a discussion about currency fluctuations but you've a bit more research to do. The price of things hasn't changed in Ireland vs the UK while the currency changes have taken place. Therefor there is no gain to be had by moving from one country to another to get paid a nominally higher sum, unless you're sending that money home to use when you get there. For instance your wages and mine have gone up by the same 70% versus sterling but do you feel any richer as a result?

Johnny O'Conner has been the exception and was horribly over rated when playing in the GP (even though he is a very good player). The main problem I see for Con-naught is convincing players they have a viable future. Maybe that starts with funding but it'll be a hard sell for anyone other than someone close to retirement looking for a payday.

Yeah I can see why alot of English based players would want to be earning euros especially if they are going to retire out of the eurozone hence the exodus, but this is really off the point.
The IRFU has the money and can compete with the big clubs as shown in the acquisition of Howlett and Elsom. Prob getting 4 mill and tV revenues etc from the Leinster Munster match alone!!:)

Johnny O Connor was rated as one of the best wing forwards in the GP and went to Connacht so Murphy etc is no different.
TBH it's great to see the ML doing so well . Having 3 in the top 4 in europe is an incredible achievment and places the ML at the top of european competition and no doubt will attract the big names in itself.

ps if the new UK budget taxing workers at 50% hits the rugby players you may well see the GP situation getting even worse.

anonymous_joe

escobar wrote: »

Yeah I can see why alot of English based players would want to be earning euros especially if they are going to retire out of the eurozone hence the exodus, but this is really off the point.
The IRFU has the money and can compete with the big clubs as shown in the acquisition of Howlett and Elsom. Prob getting 4 mill and tV revenues etc from the Leinster Munster match alone!!:)

Johnny O Connor was rated as one of the best wing forwards in the GP and went to Connacht so Murphy etc is no different.
TBH it's great to see the ML doing so well . Having 3 in the top 4 in europe is an incredible achievment and places the ML at the top of european competition and no doubt will attract the big names in itself.

ps if the new UK budget taxing workers at 50% hits the rugby players you may well see the GP situation getting even worse.

Johnny O'Connor only went to Connacht after horrendous injuries really effected the guy as a player. I'd love to see him get back to the level he was at for Wasps...

toomevara

Ah.... Escobar we meet again!! heh-heh, your not the PR man for the ML are you, or perhaps an embittered Beamish drinker?;) Your economic analysis is hilariously flawed(50% tax band only applies to those earning over 150,000 Net PA) and your much trumpeted 'exodus' hasn't happened,as we've discussed ad nauseum on other threads. An 'exodus' doesn't constitute a handful of players,check your OED.

Coming to play rugby in the economic basket case that is Iceland, sorry Ireland isn't half as attractive as you seem to think......Just like I wouldn't move back to Ireland for all the cider in the Mogadon, sorry Magners, League, many professional rugby players would be of the same opinion...



Come on In lads! Sure 'tis only feckin' great.....just like living in the 80's!!!

escobar

toomevara wrote: »

Ah.... Escobar we meet again!! heh-heh, your not the PR man for the ML are you, or perhaps an embittered Beamish drinker?;) Your economic analysis is hilariously flawed(50% tax band only applies to those earning over 150,000 Net PA) and your much trumpeted 'exodus' hasn't happened,as we've discussed ad nauseum on other threads. An 'exodus' doesn't constitute a handful of players,check your OED.

Coming to play rugby in the economic basket case that is Iceland, sorry Ireland isn't half as attractive as you seem to think......Just like I wouldn't move back to Ireland for all the cider in the Mogadon, sorry Magners, League, many professional rugby players would be of the same opinion...

Where have you been toomevara. Is that a winking or a one-eyed smilie

It's true that the UK along with sterling has lost 42% of it's value since 2000 though it's not as if sterling is becoming a banana republic currency. However it does make sense for any english based player to ply their trade in the eurozone and send their money home, sorry :(it's a fact.

But by all means don't listen to me or Martin Johnson or indeed the wasps situation, instead here are some of your newspapers p.o.v.

''English players, eight of whom have represented their country at the highest level, are already at top-flight French clubs'' :eek:



‘Anything that diminishes the Guinness Premiership will have an impact on English rugby in its widest sense.’


‘The euro is incredibly strong against the pound,’ he said. ‘That represents an increase of 50 per cent in salary compared to a year ago. ''


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/4780969/French-exodus-gives-RFU-food-for-thought.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-1147306/Sacre-bleu-Englands-finest-stars-lured-euro.html

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/othersport/view/69943/French-bread-lures-rugby-stars/

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-6-2006-92853.asp

etc etc... there's tons more I can't believe you missed all the media attention it's been given in England.

Anyways enough of the economics already. I think it's a well proven point at this stage.

The ML is a major draw for any player who wants to compete at the highest level.
WE have 3 of the top 4 in europe this year, which is just under a third of the ML.
We've also won the HC 3 of the last 4 years, wait a second... I'm getting ahead of myself..... that's not for another few weeks yet.:D

If the ML wasn't attractive to rugby players then why would Doug Howlett ( the Kiwi alltime top try scorer) or Rocky Elsom (wallaby player of the year) amongst many others choose the ML.
Just a thought....

p.s. Thankyou for your pic, and of course all's good over there, A picture is worth a thousand words but one will do ....
Woolworths......... 27000 jobs gone in one fell swoop.....
I dunno, Ireland in the 80 is looking a little more attractive now...

toomevara

escobar wrote: »

Where have you been toomevara. Is that a winking or a one-eyed smilie

Lol, Escobar, lying in the long grass of course waiting for you to happen by!!..:).
Good post, some excellent points, not without foundation, but you'll never convince me that the GP is in anything other than the rudest of rude good health. Attendances up, gates up more or less across the board (bristol excepted) and Leeds Carnegie going up for next season, so I get to watch two of the greatest rugby competitions in the world, the super league and the GP at the same ground not a stones throw from me front door...dude, its all coming up roses!!!!...we'll have to agree to disagree...though I do enjoy sparring with you...;)

escobar

toomevara wrote: »

Lol, Escobar, lying in the long grass of course waiting for you to happen by!!..:).
Good post, some excellent points, not without foundation, but you'll never convince me that the GP is in anything other than the rudest of rude good health. Attendances up, gates up more or less across the board (bristol excepted) and Leeds Carnegie going up for next season, so I get to watch two of the greatest rugby competitions in the world, the super league and the GP at the same ground not a stones throw from me front door...dude, its all coming up roses!!!!...we'll have to agree to disagree...though I do enjoy sparring with you...;)

Thought Saint Patrick got rid of all the long grass residents....:D
As always a pleasure.

Robbo

I'm not sure how relevant it is to GP contracts, but as of yesterday's UK budget and the increase in tax, it's been suggested that Premiership football clubs will be under pressure when negotiating contracts. Given that the big contracts are negotiated as net pay per week, the cost may go up by as much as 20% at the top end of things.

toomevara

escobar wrote: »

Thought Saint Patrick got rid of all the long grass residents....:D
As always a pleasure.

Why do you think I'm over here in Leeds!!...well oul' Saint Pat and rugby League conspired to get shot of me...dhera ye're better off without me...

escobar

Robbo wrote: »

I'm not sure how relevant it is to GP contracts, but as of yesterday's UK budget and the increase in tax, it's been suggested that Premiership football clubs will be under pressure when negotiating contracts. Given that the big contracts are negotiated as net pay per week, the cost may go up by as much as 20% at the top end of things.

Not good news for the Premiership football clubs at all, basically 50 % tax on almost all of their salary. Might even attract investors to other european leagues.

It's good that we have the ten year exemption for professional athletes in Ireland.

As a side note I wonder if it would be worth it for the ulster rugby players to play in the Monaghan stadium in Clones and avail of the tax exemption.... there is talk of building another stadium and clones would solve this prob too.

anonymous_joe

escobar wrote: »

Not good news for the Premiership football clubs at all, basically 50 % tax on almost all of their salary. Might even attract investors to other european leagues.

It's good that we have the ten year exemption for professional athletes in Ireland.

As a side note I wonder if it would be worth it for the ulster rugby players to play in the Monaghan stadium in Clones and avail of the tax exemption.... there is talk of building another stadium and clones would solve this prob too.

As far as I know most players are paid net. I.e. they earn x after tax, rather than the figures we read about. So the clubs will have to pay more to keep the players at teh same wage.