tb1 wrote:Its because Jeff Probyn is a dinosaur with no concept of the professional game who is well known for hating the leadership of the AP clubs.
You might as well post some junk from the Irish Independent.
I don't read the Irish Independent, I'm more of a 'Limerick Leader' man myself. So I can't comment, but welcome any reasonable opinion that comes from someone who obviously has a much better handle on the standard of the Irish press then me
You can dismiss him down as a dinosaur if you wish, but a national Rugby publication (and Talksport) value you him enough to pay him for his opinion. He also blows the 'Celts against the rest of Europe' argument out of the water.
It is disappointing but fully understandable that a balanced article written by an English man, that doesn't tow the Premier Rugby party line, would ruffle a few feathers on here.
I had hoped that the article would stimulate an intelligent discussion. Instead it prompts an insulting remark about an ex England international and a disparaging remark about an Irish national newspaper.
tb1 wrote:Its because Jeff Probyn is a dinosaur with no concept of the professional game who is well known for hating the leadership of the AP clubs.
You might as well post some junk from the Irish Independent.
You can dismiss him down as a dinosaur if you wish, but a national Rugby publication (and Talksport) value you him enough to pay him for his opinion.
Don't worry I do. By your failed logic I should pay attention to such luminaries of the printed word as Richard Littlejohn or, on the other side of the coin, Polly Toynbee. After all I am sure they are well paid by a national publication.
Back on the planet Earth meanwhile, having a platform for your half-baked and outdated way of thinking, doesn't actually convey any merit to it.
If you want to stimulate a discussion you ought to actually begin one, not cut and paste some dribble from elsewhere and then run off. All in a thinly disguised effort to wind others up.
tb1 wrote:
Don't worry I do. By your failed logic I should pay attention to such luminaries of the printed word as Richard Littlejohn or, on the other side of the coin, Polly Toynbee. After all I am sure they are well paid by a national publication.
Back on the planet Earth meanwhile, having a platform for your half-baked and outdated way of thinking, doesn't actually convey any merit to it.
If you want to stimulate a discussion you ought to actually begin one, not cut and paste some dribble from elsewhere and then run off. All in a thinly disguised effort to wind others up.
Indeed. All that article says is that it's just as much about money for the Celts as it is for the AP and Top14 clubs, except with the addition of a fair amount of spite. Note that he admits that the deal offered by the AP leaves the Pro12 with more money than they currently get, but according to him they would want even more money. I would suggest that if other clubs think the amounts on offer are 'peanuts' that it may go some way to explain why certain Pro12 clubs are in financial difficulty.
One thing the JP mentions, a couple of times, is that the money that the Rabo league receives is shared amongst the four competing countries rather than the twelve teams. This would mean that the Scotish and Italian clubs would get 100% more than the Irish and Welsh!!!
Can't quite see the IRFU & WRFU allowing that to happen
tb1 wrote:Its because Jeff Probyn is a dinosaur with no concept of the professional game who is well known for hating the leadership of the AP clubs.
You might as well post some junk from the Irish Independent.
You can dismiss him down as a dinosaur if you wish, but a national Rugby publication (and Talksport) value you him enough to pay him for his opinion.
Don't worry I do. By your failed logic I should pay attention to such luminaries of the printed word as Richard Littlejohn or, on the other side of the coin, Polly Toynbee. After all I am sure they are well paid by a national publication.
Back on the planet Earth meanwhile, having a platform for your half-baked and outdated way of thinking, doesn't actually convey any merit to it.
If you want to stimulate a discussion you ought to actually begin one, not cut and paste some dribble from elsewhere and then run off. All in a thinly disguised effort to wind others up.
lol. Ironically, not the best use of grammar considering your contempt for certain professional journalists.
So presenting an alternative viewpoint on here is a thinly veiled attempt to wind people up? That's interesting.
I have ran nowhere, although I will be walking out the door shortly I have a Rugby match to attend. By the way, I believe the word you are looking for is drivel and not dribble.
Plenty of other people on here have reproduced an article relevant to an on-going discussion. I don't recall you taking issue with them about doing so.
I'm pleased to see that the actual contact of the article is starting to be discussed, instead of unsuccessfully trying to dismiss my post, with offhand remarks.
A bit rich from a poster who has continually failed to engage other than with hostility to anyone challenging the Irish position?
The Irish dominance of pseudo-European rugby is over. Money has spoken.
None of us may like it - I certainly find aspects of the current situation difficult to accept, especially the state of rugby in Wales. Probyn hasn't talked anything but rowlocks for ages, and I skip his column now, even Guscott ( ) is generally more relevant.
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
well if all the professional teams are going to collapse or vanish, it should satisfy some users who constantly hark back to the "good old days" of amateur rugby all round
Don't waste your time away thinking about yesterday's blues
Demelza - another Mother
Interesting point Rizzo about the good old days, which are almost 20 years gone now..wow...
So in those 20 years, the earnings of rugby players combined in the top European leagues have gone from zero to give or take 130/140 million pounds per annum.
And yet despite this incredible change in wealth, here we are still squabbling about more, and debating the financial future of the game. Madness.
tig1 wrote:Interesting point Rizzo about the good old days, which are almost 20 years gone now..wow...
So in those 20 years, the earnings of rugby players combined in the top European leagues have gone from zero to give or take 130/140 million pounds per annum.
And yet despite this incredible change in wealth, here we are still squabbling about more, and debating the financial future of the game. Madness.
Have they really or has the shamamaterurism gone along with envelopes for "expenses" that bore no real link with the expenses incurred.
Or the jobs with sponsors firms, yet supposed colleagues never saw the player at his desk!
Sure the salaries are now vastly increased compared to expenses but the amateur days had gone before official era of professionalism.
Do we now have a sham salary cap - we will soon I suspect?
tig1 wrote:.... So in those 20 years, the earnings of rugby players combined in the top European leagues have gone from zero to give or take 130/140 million pounds per annum.
And yet despite this incredible change in wealth, here we are still squabbling about more, and debating the financial future of the game. Madness.
All depends on your point of view really. This "incredible wealth" isn't really there at all. Just remember there are more than 80 Premier League
footballers who are paid more than an entire AP club's Salary cap! An AP Salary cap wouldn't even buy 4 Premier League players on the average (mean) PL salary of £1.6M pa.
For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost - but how you played the Game."
Comparisons with soccer are irrelevant - the big money just isn't there in the way it is for day soccer, tennis and golf and isn't likely to change that much - rugby isn't a world game and apart from New Zealand (and possibly Wales) Rugby union isn't the national sport in the countries that do play it and thus isn't going to command the same attention from TV and advertisers that soccer does.
Unfortunate for the top players perhaps but there's nothing wrong with playing your sport for pleasure.
) is generally more relevant.
