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'We have currently 11 of 12 clubs about to lose money for the third year running...it's a broken model'

Newcastle Falcons players dejected after Exeter Chiefs defeat. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Newcastle chief Mick Hogan has called for an end to Premiership relegation on the eve of a match that will have a huge say in whether the Falcons preserve their top flight status for next season.  

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The Semore Kurdi-owned club are favourites for the dreaded drop to the Championship, a favouritism that will be reinforced if the bottom side fail on Sunday to beat nearest strugglers Worcester, who are nine points above them along with Bristol with eight matches remaining. 

Managing director Hogan believes the league needs to be ring-fenced for the sake of its financial future and quality of entertainment. “I’m not saying this just because of the fact we’re currently in 12th and would be favourites to go down. It’s a view I have held consistently,” he said. 

“I don’t think it’s the same in every sport. I fully support promotion and relegation in football because it has got so many big clubs and the gap, while it is there, is not as big. The gap now in between the (rugby) Premiership and Championship is enormous and it’s only really the top team, London Irish, that have any chance of coming up and kicking on.

“The other thing people say is ‘you’re stopping the aspirations of smaller clubs’. Listen, they have had 25 years to get to the Premiership. How long do they want? It’s fair to say that if it hasn’t happened after 25 years it’s probably not going to happen.

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“And if you come up now with the way the system is and the funding and all the rest, you’re going to need £20/£25million to stay up there. That is too much money that is going to have to be spent to sustain the club at an artificial level. 

“I do get the argument as well where you can’t stop the aspirations, but at what cost? We have currently got 11 of the 12 clubs about to lose money for the third year running. It’s a broken model. 

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“A broken model because we’re all spending far too much money on players – and for six or seven of the clubs that money is not spent on players to try and win the competition, it’s spent on players to try and stay in the competition. That’s not right.”

Ranked 10th out of 12 in the top flight in terms of turnover and wage bill, Newcastle, who have just three wins in 14 games this season, are a club whose crowds are lower than the league’s average and struggle to reach the salary cap’s ceiling.

Hogan believes ring-fencing would attract more investment into the league and encourage clubs to throw off the shackles on the pitch, providing spectators with a more glittery spectacle. 

“If we had a Championship that was at the level of investment and the size of the clubs in the football, I’d be all for it. There’s an obvious reason why there is promotion and relegation within football. They have 92 professional clubs.

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Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards (second right) talks with Dave Walder and his staff during the closing moments of a Premiership defeat at Bath (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“We have got within rugby only 15 full-time clubs. The rest in the Championship are part-time. I get that promotion is great for clubs and everyone points to Exeter. Now Exeter did a fantastic job in getting up and then they have kicked on from there, but Exeter are very much the exception rather than the rule. 

“For every Exeter there has been a Rotherham, there has been a London Welsh, there been a Leeds who have gone down. Worcester and London Irish have been up and down a number of times. Bristol have been up and down a number of times. There are far more examples of where promotion and relegation doesn’t work and perhaps one obvious example where it does. 

“It can prevent long-term thinking, it can prevent investment. It just puts strain on vision. I know that people say it’s about rugby, it’s on the field. I get all that but I just believe as well that squads would be stronger if we didn’t have relegation because clubs would invest more in English-qualified players and take a longer-term view on them.

“I’ll throw this stat at you – six of the seven World Cup winners so far have come from a system where there is no promotion and relegation. The only one is England and that was 16 years ago. Are the two linked? I think they are because we have a style of play now in the Premiership that is all about not losing. It’s not very expressive as some of the other nations. 

“Again, you look at the PRO14 where there is no promotion and relegation. How many of their teams have won the Heineken Cup and have been doing better and better year on year? 

Exeter’s Carl Rimmer, Ian Whitten and Will Chudley pose after winning the Premiership trophy in 2017, seven years after the club’s promotion from the Championship (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

“Wales will probably win the Six Nations this year. Ireland have been dominant recently. It’s such an attritional game now that you have to be able to rotate squads perhaps more than we are able to in the Premiership and you can do that if you know there is no fear of relegation. 

“It [no relegation] doesn’t stop the ambition of clubs like Leinster wanting to win every year and Scarlets, there is no lack of ambition in the PRO14. But what there is is a system without relegation that promotes entertaining rugby. 

“The Premiership does as well, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not that negative approach to playing you can get in the Premiership.”      

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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