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Thread: Guardian at it again

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    Learning All The Songs Gruntfuttock's Avatar
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    Default Guardian at it again

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008...acing-olympics

    Little article about how the credit crunch is affecting the top 10 sports in the UK
    I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Guardian regarded RL as one of them and then reached this line
    Some clubs are braced for a reduction in corporate support but that has traditionally been less important to rugby league than its working-class customer base
    eeh bah gum get thee flat hat out lad and warm up the Whippets!
    Pre-Match drinks?
    try the George Hotel , George St
    St Helens , A real Saints pub

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008...acing-olympics

    Little article about how the credit crunch is affecting the top 10 sports in the UK
    I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Guardian regarded RL as one of them and then reached this line


    eeh bah gum get thee flat hat out lad and warm up the Whippets!
    It's probably true though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008...acing-olympics

    Little article about how the credit crunch is affecting the top 10 sports in the UK
    I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Guardian regarded RL as one of them and then reached this line


    eeh bah gum get thee flat hat out lad and warm up the Whippets!
    whats the problem? its a true reflection of our game.
    "If you're going to strive for a change then you have to keep going upwards,"
    Keiron Cunningham, 2016

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Scouse Don's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jonnythesaint View Post
    It's probably true though.
    It's not true pal,I dont consider myself working class,I don't have a whippet or a flat caplol
    Andy Wilson has the unhappy knack in my opinion of being a pratt whatever he writes.I have never read any journalist with whom I totally disagree with everything he produces...anybody disagree with me ?
    RL is the only game where clubs are now forced to live within it's means.
    Learned comment from The Don

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    Banned Spider Ski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouse Don View Post
    RL is the only game where clubs are now forced to live within it's means.
    So why are we posting losses?

    Why was the 50% of turnover rule taken out?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouse Don View Post
    It's not true pal,I dont consider myself working class,I don't have a whippet or a flat caplol
    Andy Wilson has the unhappy knack in my opinion of being a pratt whatever he writes.I have never read any journalist with whom I totally disagree with everything he produces...anybody disagree with me ?
    RL is the only game where clubs are now forced to live within it's means.
    he doesnt mention whippets or flat caps, or anything to do with the North.

    You may not be working class, but the majority of fans at RL games are, and what he says is correct.
    "If you're going to strive for a change then you have to keep going upwards,"
    Keiron Cunningham, 2016

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    In The South Stand Shakespeare's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eddie Hemmings' Wig View Post
    You may not be working class, but the majority of fans at RL games are, and what he says is correct.
    Surely football is the same?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shakespeare View Post
    Surely football is the same?
    yes, and...?
    "If you're going to strive for a change then you have to keep going upwards,"
    Keiron Cunningham, 2016

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    Banned The Chair Maker's Avatar
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    I dont see anything wrong with that statement, a look at RL club income shows they get a far higher proportion of income from the man/woman in the street watching the game and buying merchandise than sports that rely almost exclusively from corporate involvement.

    Motor sport for example will really suffer this year.
    I also anticipate RU will take a big hit as large sections of stadiums are reserved for corporate tickets. A drop off in corporate jolies will show up the actuall level of a clubs genuine fanbase.

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Scouse Don's Avatar
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    Apologies to all the Andy Wilson fans out there.Please note the smiley face after my comment about working class.

    Saints posted losses last year ,as far as I can see,due to the sponsors situation.This year should be different with the new longer sponsorship contracts and the increased Sky income.
    Learned comment from The Don

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    In The South Stand Noel Cleal's Avatar
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    Sports like Union and Football have relied on Millionaires with more money than sense bankrolling them. With a big recession there will be fewer idiots with money out there. It will mean that these sports will need to do what the RFL has been encouraging over the last 5 years and actually live within there means. The Guardian has probably made this fact a lot more flowery than I have put it but it is the same point.

    The article is probably correct that we will not be hit as much as other sports. We are accustomed to not having any money invested from businesses. It will be the decrease in average households disposable income that will get us.
    I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.

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    Starting A Programme Collection Samba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Noel Cleal View Post
    Sports like Union and Football have relied on Millionaires with more money than sense bankrolling them. With a big recession there will be fewer idiots with money out there. It will mean that these sports will need to do what the RFL has been encouraging over the last 5 years and actually live within there means. The Guardian has probably made this fact a lot more flowery than I have put it but it is the same point.

    The article is probably correct that we will not be hit as much as other sports. We are accustomed to not having any money invested from businesses. It will be the decrease in average households disposable income that will get us.

    Interesting to see that the average club RU crowd is 12,500 (and even better at 14,000 last season!) when we RL supporters always champion the opinion that we have a better supported club game - these figures suggest otherwise.

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    Learning All The Songs Gruntfuttock's Avatar
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    My gripe was with the Working class mention , he could have said ordinary supporter but there seems to be always the mention of class regarding RL , I dont deny that corporate isnt as big an income as attendance compared to Union say , just struck me as funny when he mentioned it , as he doesnt stereotype supporters of any of the other sports .
    Pre-Match drinks?
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    St Helens , A real Saints pub

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Scouse Don's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    My gripe was with the Working class mention , he could have said ordinary supporter but there seems to be always the mention of class regarding RL , I dont deny that corporate isnt as big an income as attendance compared to Union say , just struck me as funny when he mentioned it , as he doesnt stereotype supporters of any of the other sports .
    Exactly the point I was trying to make only you made it much better !
    Learned comment from The Don

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    In The South Stand Noel Cleal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    My gripe was with the Working class mention , he could have said ordinary supporter but there seems to be always the mention of class regarding RL , I dont deny that corporate isnt as big an income as attendance compared to Union say , just struck me as funny when he mentioned it , as he doesnt stereotype supporters of any of the other sports .
    It is not a case of stereo typing Rugby League is very strong roots in working class towns. I am middle class and an RL fan but a large amount of fans are working class. The other sports mentioned are quite similar in the fact they are all dominated by the middle classes. With exception to F1 Motor Racing which is dominated by Jetsetters. When it comes to business you have to look at what is different about RL which will make the recession impacts us differently. The average income of the fanbase and the amount of corperate support are the biggest difference.
    I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.

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    Learning All The Songs Kakariki's Avatar
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    I think it's a good article and rugby league is well-placed to weather the storm. It's a great product for families and still reasonably-priced at most clubs. I can see the Edinburgh weekend being a poor-seller, though.

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    Learning All The Songs Gruntfuttock's Avatar
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    Have to disagree there , he is using a sterotype , yes the game grew in the industrial towns of the North but those same towns now are nothing like they were back then , heavy industry , mining etc have all but dissapeared , the articles themselves are valid and I dont disagree with his points , as I said it was just the use of that phrase thats all
    Pre-Match drinks?
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    St Helens , A real Saints pub

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    In The South Stand Legolas's Avatar
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    I think what he is saying is contextually correct, but the use of the phrase "working class" evokes a lot of emotion. Unfortunately, this is typical of left wing press, it must reduce everything to a crude form of class warfare and the politics of envy. He could have been a little more balanced in his language and less provocative in his phrasiology. It doesn't bother some people, but it does others. Personally speaking, I am undecided as to whether I am offended by it as I am a Conservative who believes in meritocracy. I don't accept that the majority of fans in RL would consider themselves "working class", if indeed people still accept they belong to a sociological class at all. If they do, then it may be the majority of Saints, Wigan and possibly Warrington fans consider themselves "working class", but there will be an awful lot, if not a majority of Leeds, Bradford possibly Huddersfield fans who don't consider themselves "working class" and I would venture to suggest that you will not find a single Harlequins fan who considers themselves working class. The problem is where we live. If you put up a trained Chimp with a red rosette on its chest on the ballot paper at election time, it would get elected with a huge majority. Everything around the local area in particular is considered "Margaret Thathchers fault" and so a lot of people will not be bothered by his turn of phrase. It is interesting that there are those that those who are bothered by it. I think the original post was just highlighting what some people find deeply offensive and highly stereotypical.

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    Learning All The Songs Dyer's Avatar
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    Whats wrong with being working class?
    Your favourite worst nightmare

    Example - Wont go quietly

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    Learning All The Songs bobble's Avatar
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    I'm quite happy to be termed 'working class', that's because I am.

    Without doing a socio-econic survey of the people who stand around me at a Saints game I'd guess that most of them are working class.

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    Learning All The Songs Gruntfuttock's Avatar
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    I haven`t got a problem with being called it but my point was why mention it at all in an article about the economic problems of various sports
    Pre-Match drinks?
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    St Helens , A real Saints pub

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Scouse Don's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    I haven`t got a problem with being called it but my point was why mention it at all in an article about the economic problems of various sports
    Exactly,what is the difference between working class and middle class...none as far as I can see.Wilson is implying that RL is a game for "working class" people as if it in some way is wrong to watch RL unless you are working class and you should watch RU if you are middle class...what a load of crap.

    The game is striving to get away from this image and writers like Wilson do it no credit at all.
    Learned comment from The Don

  23. #23
    Learning All The Songs
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    What is "working class"?

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    Learning All The Songs bobble's Avatar
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    Only if you put a value judgement on the term working class. Maybe this journalist was, maybe he wasn't.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Samba View Post
    Interesting to see that the average club RU crowd is 12,500 (and even better at 14,000 last season!) when we RL supporters always champion the opinion that we have a better supported club game - these figures suggest otherwise.
    Thats the RU calculator at work.
    RU hacks are very fond of making up figures to suit their agenda.

    The actual figures were roughly comparable to SL.

    This link gives a good comparison between sports


    http://footballgroundguide.ipbhost.c...hp/t17032.html

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