What’s the story, Old Glory?

[General Zod]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... ton-dc-mlr

Looks like we’ve gone for it. Mixed feelings. I’m all for taking a gamble - just need to make sure we don’t throw good money after bad if it doesn’t work out.

And also need to be sure that the investment doesn’t end up in Dodbury Inc, or similar! The way they all carried on at the meeting the other day was, by many an account, so disgraceful as to be almost suspicious.

[Big D]

As some have noted elsewhere there aren't many pro alternatives.

Super 6 - god knows what will happen. I think the SRU board and the clubs are a bit fed up of each other. Board asked clubs for solutions before they came up with S6 and got no viable alternative. S6 is aiming to improve players, coaching and refs.

London Scottish - Semi pro

Nice - real young lads.

At least the yank side should be run professionally and the players get exposed to being a professional.

[Puja]

As some have noted elsewhere there aren't many pro alternatives.

Super 6 - god knows what will happen. I think the SRU board and the clubs are a bit fed up of each other. Board asked clubs for solutions before they came up with S6 and got no viable alternative. S6 is aiming to improve players, coaching and refs.

London Scottish - Semi pro

Nice - real young lads.

At least the yank side should be run professionally and the players get exposed to being a professional.

MLR is (at the moment) about English Championship level, so it's not going to be a step up on London Scottish as things stand. It is getting better season on season though and I think one of the hopes is that it might be a good earner in the future. The league structure is based upon Major League Soccer and, while the franchise fees are unlikely to go quite that high, I suspect $500k for a 30% stake might prove to be quite a shrewd investment in 10 years time.

Puja

[Big D]

As some have noted elsewhere there aren't many pro alternatives.

Super 6 - god knows what will happen. I think the SRU board and the clubs are a bit fed up of each other. Board asked clubs for solutions before they came up with S6 and got no viable alternative. S6 is aiming to improve players, coaching and refs.

London Scottish - Semi pro

Nice - real young lads.

At least the yank side should be run professionally and the players get exposed to being a professional.

MLR is (at the moment) about English Championship level, so it's not going to be a step up on London Scottish as things stand. It is getting better season on season though and I think one of the hopes is that it might be a good earner in the future. The league structure is based upon Major League Soccer and, while the franchise fees are unlikely to go quite that high, I suspect $500k for a 30% stake might prove to be quite a shrewd investment in 10 years time.

Puja

But it is professional. London Scottish are not a fully professional side IIRC.

A 30% stake will allow a say in how he club is run. Making sure it is run professionally for the type of player we may send over is more important for now than the standard even if it is championship level. I'm speculating but it is likely to be young academy pros rather than mid 20s who need a higher standard.

That is not me saying it is a good idea btw.

[Puja]

As some have noted elsewhere there aren't many pro alternatives.

Super 6 - god knows what will happen. I think the SRU board and the clubs are a bit fed up of each other. Board asked clubs for solutions before they came up with S6 and got no viable alternative. S6 is aiming to improve players, coaching and refs.

London Scottish - Semi pro

Nice - real young lads.

At least the yank side should be run professionally and the players get exposed to being a professional.

MLR is (at the moment) about English Championship level, so it's not going to be a step up on London Scottish as things stand. It is getting better season on season though and I think one of the hopes is that it might be a good earner in the future. The league structure is based upon Major League Soccer and, while the franchise fees are unlikely to go quite that high, I suspect $500k for a 30% stake might prove to be quite a shrewd investment in 10 years time.

Puja

But it is professional. London Scottish are not a fully professional side IIRC.

A 30% stake will allow a say in how he club is run. Making sure it is run professionally for the type of player we may send over is more important for now than the standard even if it is championship level. I'm speculating but it is likely to be young academy pros rather than mid 20s who need a higher standard.

That is not me saying it is a good idea btw.

Professional-esque. The official salary cap this season is $450k and, while most of the foreign imports will coincidentally get most of their income through coaching roles and perks, a chunk of the squads are semi-pro. It will certainly be larger for next year (being just the third season), but it's not really fully pro yet.

I suspect it's as much about what it can be in 3-4 years time as it is a current placement for youngsters. For the first year at least, any players loaned will be you helping them, rather than them helping you so much.

Puja

[OptimisticJock]

Said elsewhere but I'd rather see the money invested in the super 6. That would be the better long term investment imo.

[Cameo]

I dont really understand the aim here. If we want players to play there surely just offer them on loan for free. Are our players that bad that we need to be paying a club to take them.

If it is a financial move, who knows but sports teams arent normally a big win in that sense and I'd rather the money was invested in rugby here (Super 6 or saved for a third pro-team or pay to better train more coaches)

[Puja]

It's just been revealed that the fee to open a new MLR franchise for 2021 is now $4m. While that doesn't mean the SRU's share is now worth $1.2m, it is a good indicator that they may have got a bargain.

Puja