We Need to talk about Worcester

[Al Bangor]

A message to our supporters from Lance Bradley, CEO

www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk

Excellent communication from Gloucester.

That's good news. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

You couldn’t make it up.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-their-futures-after-confusion-over-contracts

 

[Reiser99]

You couldn’t make it up.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-their-futures-after-confusion-over-contracts

TBH it just follows the pattern of the owners tying everything up in knots to try and make as much money out of the situation as possible.

 

[McTallshort]

Anyone seen the documentary about Wrexham AFC on Disney? Think it's episode 6 where they go into detail about a couple of dodgy owners who come in asset strip the club so they can demolish the ground and build houses on it. Not sure if thats what Worcester's owners were planning..

 

[Geordiefalcon]

its an absolute farcical situation!

So the company that pays their wages are in administration but the company that holds the contracts for the players is not...

Its difficult as people love the club...but for the players i would say the contracts are null and void if no payments are made or ever likely to be.

 

[Reiser99]

Basically from my understanding if the were contracted directly with Worcester rugby then they could have left as soon as it entered administration. Because they are actually contracted to another company those rules apparently don't apply and they have to wait until they aren't paid, give notice and then wait another 2 weeks before they can leave.

We all know the whole thing is incredibly dodgy and there is a lot for English rugby to learn from this.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

You couldn’t make it up.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-their-futures-after-confusion-over-contracts

Worcester rugby players and staff could be out of work within days

Worcester’s players and staff are facing unemployment as early as next week as the plight of the crisis club grew more desperate on Friday

www.theguardian.com

 

[Reiser99]

Can we please get an article related to the current owners being criminally investigated...

 

[BPM]

Anyone seen their statement

Worcester owners blame players and fans in statement branded 'shameless'

Worcester Warriors owners have apportioned blame on the playing squad and on their supporters in a statement branded 'despicably shameless'.

www.rugbypass.com

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Literally just saw it on twitter when Kvesic and Christian Day brought it up

Unbelievable

 

[die_mole]

https://twitter.com/WorcsWarriors/likes

was the best one so far if it's gotten sorted by the morning

 

[die_mole]

Rob Baxter: Don’t moan about salary-cap rise, just run your clubs properly — The Times and The Sunday Times

Rob Baxter has told Exeter Chiefs’ Gallagher Premiership rivals to stop complaining about the planned salary-cap increase and concentrate on working within their means. The amount top-flight clubs can spend on wages dropped from £6.4 million to £5 million because of the impact of the pandemic...

apple.news

like these quotes by baxter.

Spoiler: quotes

"Whatever the salary cap is, you don't have to spend it. I do get slightly annoyed by clubs that are kind of saying, [because of] the position Wasps and Worcester are in, 'it is not fair for a number of clubs to say they want the salary cap to go up'. There is absolutely nothing in any rule or regulation that says they have to spend more than they are now.


"No one ever said to Worcester you have to spend as much money on your players — you are not forced. A fair bit of their financial problems happened away from players


"If a team is happy to spend £5 million and feel it is good for their business there is nothing to stop them spending that. It is one of my big frustrations that a number of clubs will come out and say that it is a rule that if the cap goes up they have to spend to it and that will put them in financial problems. It won't.

"That would be like saying if we made the salary cap £20 million overnight then every club would go bankrupt because they would spend £20 million on players. Are we seriously going to say that? That is what some clubs are saying.

"We [Exeter] spent years not spending to the salary cap and didn't sit here as a business and fall apart not being progressive. You just have to look at things in a different way and that has to be a club-by-club decision. It doesn't mean you become an unpopular team or the rest of your finances collapse — I have gone through that with this club.

"I felt we were a pretty competitive Premiership team spending half of what other clubs were spending."

It will be interesting to see how Newcastle goes this year and they pretty much have taken this tactic

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Has any clubs moaned about the cap price?

 

[Reiser99]

Rob Baxter: Don’t moan about salary-cap rise, just run your clubs properly — The Times and The Sunday Times

Rob Baxter has told Exeter Chiefs’ Gallagher Premiership rivals to stop complaining about the planned salary-cap increase and concentrate on working within their means. The amount top-flight clubs can spend on wages dropped from £6.4 million to £5 million because of the impact of the pandemic...

apple.news

like these quotes by baxter.

Spoiler: quotes

"Whatever the salary cap is, you don't have to spend it. I do get slightly annoyed by clubs that are kind of saying, [because of] the position Wasps and Worcester are in, 'it is not fair for a number of clubs to say they want the salary cap to go up'. There is absolutely nothing in any rule or regulation that says they have to spend more than they are now.


"No one ever said to Worcester you have to spend as much money on your players — you are not forced. A fair bit of their financial problems happened away from players


"If a team is happy to spend £5 million and feel it is good for their business there is nothing to stop them spending that. It is one of my big frustrations that a number of clubs will come out and say that it is a rule that if the cap goes up they have to spend to it and that will put them in financial problems. It won't.

"That would be like saying if we made the salary cap £20 million overnight then every club would go bankrupt because they would spend £20 million on players. Are we seriously going to say that? That is what some clubs are saying.

"We [Exeter] spent years not spending to the salary cap and didn't sit here as a business and fall apart not being progressive. You just have to look at things in a different way and that has to be a club-by-club decision. It doesn't mean you become an unpopular team or the rest of your finances collapse — I have gone through that with this club.

"I felt we were a pretty competitive Premiership team spending half of what other clubs were spending."

It will be interesting to see how Newcastle goes this year and they pretty much have taken this tactic

Tbh though that's not the problem with the salary cap increase. Sure clubs could spend less, but then clubs with rich sugar daddies will spend to it and have a far stronger squad. The cap needs to be attainable by clubs or it leads to an imbalance in squad strengths.

 

[die_mole]

Has any clubs moaned about the cap price?

maybe baxter is creating straw men but he seems to be indicating teams are complaining behind closed doors

Tbh though that's not the problem with the salary cap increase. Sure clubs could spend less, but then clubs with rich sugar daddies will spend to it and have a far stronger squad. The cap needs to be attainable by clubs or it leads to an imbalance in squad strengths.

do they? In the three American sports with salary caps there are teams that don't come close to approaching the cap. NHL has a team at 75% of the cap. NBA is complicated but Warriors spent twice as much as the cheapest team. Last year the NFL had 5 teams leave 10 mil in cap space available.

 

[Reiser99]

maybe baxter is creating straw men but he seems to be indicating teams are complaining behind closed doors

do they? In the three American sports with salary caps there are teams that don't come close to approaching the cap. NHL has a team at 75% of the cap. NBA is complicated but Warriors spent twice as much as the cheapest team. Last year the NFL had 5 teams leave 10 mil in cap space available.

Not sure about American sports, but I imagine they are more financially stable than rugby is. I know also some of the sports have draft picks to even things up right? Don't think a direct comparison works.

 

[will311293]

I'm so sorry @EdBirch , 22 seconds to end players, non-playing staffs and others careers/jobs at Worcester Warriors feels like a huge injustice and the signs that the RFU/Premiership Rugby needs to play a bigger part in providing oversight of these clubs.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

'Darkest day' as Worcester contracts terminated

WRFC Players Ltd, the payroll arm of Worcester Warriors, is wound up in the High Court in London over money owed to HMRC.

www.bbc.co.uk

I didn’t realise until I read this that there’s another company which paid the players and staff’s wages. So this company is getting wound up and liquidated.

Last filed accounts unsurprisingly show no net assets, so I can’t see how the players and staff get any of their unpaid wages back. HMRC will have to write off the taxes owed.

 

[Scotty]

'Darkest day' as Worcester contracts terminated

WRFC Players Ltd, the payroll arm of Worcester Warriors, is wound up in the High Court in London over money owed to HMRC.

www.bbc.co.uk

I didn’t realise until I read this that there’s another company which paid the players and staff’s wages. So this company is getting wound up and liquidated.

Last filed accounts unsurprisingly show no net assets, so I can’t see how the players and staff get any of their unpaid wages back. HMRC will have to write off the taxes owed.

Alot of people out for work not just players, hope other clubs have cap room to save some.


Just curious about what happens to the Wuss academy and their players?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Alot of people out for work not just players, hope other clubs have cap room to save some.


Just curious about what happens to the Wuss academy and their players?

Yep, according to their last accounts total of 98 including the two miscreants. Of course hope those two don’t ever find work again.

Apparently only 9 academy players to find new clubs. But that was 2 and bit years ago.