And he still has the big case ahead of him.
A big case of loot?
was sent forward for trial last December by Dublin District Court facing nine charges of theft, five charges of false accounting and one charge of deception, all relating to events at Bank of Ireland on Mespil Road, Dublin, on dates between July 2011 and March 2013.
In February, Judge Melanie Greally fixed the trial for May 7th, 2024, and remanded Mr Mullin on continuing bail.
Crikey. Heāll be banned from being a director for a year if heās not careful.
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Wasps and Worcester are apparently un serious financial trouble over in England. And i have fellas sayimg that my prediction for pro rubby is bollocks
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Will never ever understand why Wasps relocated from North London to Coventry in the midlands. Theyād have been better folding and going again.
Giving up that location was mental.
There is a fair bit of wealth in the midlands. Actually know of a few people through my work who are happy to go watch Wasps as they live in the countryside not too far from there
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Serious wealth in the Midlands. Coventry Rugby also have a big backer behind them.AFAIK they have a decent ground with a big enough stand. Wasps had hoped to take fair weather fans from Leicester as theyād be the nearest club to the Ricoh. They also own the Ricoh whereas they rented in Adams Park. Theyāve done a fair bit of investment up here too. Built a training ground, got links with small clubs etc. However, professional club rugby in England isnāt sustainable. Iād argue the two/three divisions below are more sustainable where clubs are happy to be at that level and cut their cloth accordingly
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I know that Kennedy at Sale was spending 1.5 million a year of his own money just to keep them afloat.
As a vanity project, thatās a fair vanity.
I think it will only support a semi pro system tbh, and even at that itāll be a struggle.
Iām not sure what the answer is. Club rugby on telly is a poor spectacle other than the big knockout games, and it falls completely between the two stools of EPL āglamourā, and GAA accessibility.
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Thats fairly accurate. In fairness they would rarely get 30k plus at a game. There is money and popularity in the midlands but not to the extent to cover the wages demanded by players to be completing at the top thanks to other clubs having big backers. Its not a sustainable business at all. Hence why i see the bubble bursting worldwide at some stage. The IRFU does deserve credit for keeping at some sort of level but they are being pushed to compete also with unsustainable levels of pay. Add in the concussion lawsuit its hard to see where the money will come from to pay that plus the ever rising wages.
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God bless the IRFU and all who sail in her.
Past that point in England now but the union funded model looks like the most sustainable approach even if it can have its drawbacks at times
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Agreed no system is perfect but its not a basket case. The only risk i see for the irish system remains keeping the top players and not having to match the over inflated wages in France or England
Is that a benefit of operating at a much smaller scale too though? It wasnt long ago they wanted to disband connaught as 4 teams was too many.
Itās also a benefit of our rugby friendly tax system which gives the players ā¬40% or their annual income here tax free I think. The humble taxpayer is propping up the sport.
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Yeah the only answer to that is keep churning out more and more players and make nobody, of v few at least, indispensable.
Iād say the gap to the UK is fairly shrank now tbh. France pays well but for a lot of work. I know previosuly the IRFU used to address these big counter offers around how many extra games you are playing for the 100k more for eg you are getting in Franceā¦
If you have to play 8 more games over 3 seasons in France thatās a seasons worth of games, if you can prolong your career a few years here by your gametime being actively managed you will make as much money over a slightly longer period of time.
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Massive help. The humble tax payer is propping up all sports though. A shamrock rovers player, or a jockey or an athlete is entitled to the exact same treatment.
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Scale helps but Wales and Scotland could have done similar and just couldnt get house in orderā¦ The natural division of provinces was a massive factor too as they were pre existing teams
Itās nearly 20 years ago since the Connacht fans marched on Landsdown Rd when there was a serious move to disband them. Considering the game isnāt even professional 30 years thatās a fair lifetime ago now. They looked at it again in height of recession when money was tight but was never really a threat then I donāt think
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That is still utterly bizarre.
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I think its down to the relatively short careers of professional sports people. A lot of the rugby and soccer lads would not be on huge money.