LEICESTER TIGERS 2020/21 SQUAD/TRANSFERS/CONTRACT THREAD Part 2

[Grumpy of Crumbie]

Guess so, copied for those who haven't seen it.

The Club’s commercial activities have felt the pandemic’s impact more than most Premiership Rugby clubs, given the size of its stadium and fan base. To date, the Club has missed out on approximately £5.0 million of revenues since it was last able to host matchdays or events at Welford Road.

The Board recognises and is grateful for the significant sacrifices made across the Club’s community to ensure a sustainable long-term financial footing for Tigers. Fans have kept season ticket money in the Club and sponsors have continued to be supportive.

Difficult decisions have had to be made, including salary reductions, reduced working time and using the furlough scheme as well as a redundancy process which concludes today and could potentially lead to the departure of up to 31 members of staff. In addition, a small number of players will leave Tigers to seek new opportunities elsewhere. We wish them well for the future.

The players were asked to accept reduced wages and, following feedback, we created a mechanism through which a proportion of forgone earnings could be reclaimed when the Club returns to profitability. At the same time, salaries of lower-paid players beginning their professional careers were protected. In common with other Club employees, these changes resulted from detailed explanations of the Club’s financial position and the necessity of the measures being taken.

Our focus throughout this crisis has been to put the club first and to ensure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Tigers. The vast majority of players fully support our recovery plans and will be working with Geordan Murphy and Steve Borthwick on the way forward, beginning with the phased return to training and proposed resumption of the 2019/20 season.

[Mark62]

Thanks for that, puts it all into perspective that at a time when there is very little employment available up to 31 people could be losing their jobs.

Also provides some clarity as to why Tigers have been hit harder than most, with £5 million having been lost in revenue. I can’t imagine that most of the other clubs will have got anywhere near that figure.

[Leicestertinytiger]

I imagine that means Reid, Eastmond and Bateman will probably be going now.....

[TigerReggie]

Just need a list now so we can all move on.

[SthrnTiger]

Guess so, copied for those who haven't seen it.

The Club’s commercial activities have felt the pandemic’s impact more than most Premiership Rugby clubs, given the size of its stadium and fan base. To date, the Club has missed out on approximately £5.0 million of revenues since it was last able to host matchdays or events at Welford Road.

The Board recognises and is grateful for the significant sacrifices made across the Club’s community to ensure a sustainable long-term financial footing for Tigers. Fans have kept season ticket money in the Club and sponsors have continued to be supportive.

Difficult decisions have had to be made, including salary reductions, reduced working time and using the furlough scheme as well as a redundancy process which concludes today and could potentially lead to the departure of up to 31 members of staff. In addition, a small number of players will leave Tigers to seek new opportunities elsewhere. We wish them well for the future.

The players were asked to accept reduced wages and, following feedback, we created a mechanism through which a proportion of forgone earnings could be reclaimed when the Club returns to profitability. At the same time, salaries of lower-paid players beginning their professional careers were protected. In common with other Club employees, these changes resulted from detailed explanations of the Club’s financial position and the necessity of the measures being taken.

Our focus throughout this crisis has been to put the club first and to ensure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Tigers. The vast majority of players fully support our recovery plans and will be working with Geordan Murphy and Steve Borthwick on the way forward, beginning with the phased return to training and proposed resumption of the 2019/20 season.

Thanks for posting. All sounds reasonable to me.

[Pearce9]

Perfectly put, thank-you for sharing and well done to the club.

[Coops]

I imagine that means Reid, Eastmond and Bateman will probably be going now.....

Until the club or player(s) formally annouce which players, it would be wrong to speculate or assume.

[Leicestertinytiger]

I imagine that means Reid, Eastmond and Bateman will probably be going now.....

Until the club or player(s) formally annouce which players, it would be wrong to speculate or assume.

No but I could see them leaving and with the excess funds being used to keep Taufua, Manu or Veainu at the club. Obviously purely speculation until anything is confirmed.

[Mark62]

I imagine that means Reid, Eastmond and Bateman will probably be going now.....

Until the club or player(s) formally annouce which players, it would be wrong to speculate or assume.

No but I could see them leaving and with the excess funds being used to keep Taufua, Manu or Veainu at the club. Obviously purely speculation until anything is confirmed.

Very true and tbh, Ford, Genge and Lavanini haven’t been confirmed by the club yet, just by reliable press sources

[Leicestertinytiger]

Until the club or player(s) formally annouce which players, it would be wrong to speculate or assume.

No but I could see them leaving and with the excess funds being used to keep Taufua, Manu or Veainu at the club. Obviously purely speculation until anything is confirmed.

Very true and tbh, Ford, Genge and Lavanini haven’t been confirmed by the club yet, just by reliable press sources

Don’t forget all the players did have offers on the table, so was individual choice if they decided to leave. Feel sorry for the staff being made redundant, not those players.

[Mark62]

No but I could see them leaving and with the excess funds being used to keep Taufua, Manu or Veainu at the club. Obviously purely speculation until anything is confirmed.

Very true and tbh, Ford, Genge and Lavanini haven’t been confirmed by the club yet, just by reliable press sources

Don’t forget all the players did have offers on the table, so was individual choice if they decided to leave. Feel sorry for the staff being made redundant, not those players.

[ABClub]

Am I wrong in thinking that we went through a previous bout of brinkmanship with the last contract Manu signed?

Every Manu contract more like. Natural when he has so many offers but can be drawn out...

Manu signed a 2 year extension keeping him here until the 2021 summer. If he's targeting the Lions tour in terms of international ambitions but doesn't think his body can make another RWC when he'd be 32 then perhaps he wants the payday now to secure himself financially.

With the international calendar due to be so messed up this coming year I wouldn't be surprised if Gats would consider Manu for Lions selection even if he were playing in France, hence not available for England. If you want someone to counter Damian de Allende then Manu would be first choice ahead of Aki, Henshaw, Parkes, etc.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Just the player clarity required now, that statement by the club says it all.
It sounds like we tried to keep everyone, the point about the low earners in the squad being protected is particularly important.

I would suggest McGinity is looking for a darkened room...

[Leicestertinytiger]

If we need another flanker I’d be straight on the phone to Gibson, knows they club, Cockerill is no longer here and I’m sure he would want to work under Borthwick. Has played 7 more recently.

[sapajo]

If we need another flanker I’d be straight on the phone to Gibson, knows they club, Cockerill is no longer here and I’m sure he would want to work under Borthwick. Has played 7 more recently.

An ex tiger so he fits the recruitment criteria perfectly