On the other hand, the Bradford Bulls have been in administration three times in 5 years.JustinHorton wrote:Well, let's for instance cite rugby league, where the broadcaster demanded that a number of club mergers take place. The clubs and their fans balked at this, quite rightly, and the plan was abandoned. It was silly and unnecessary and because people didn't take any notice of the absurd contentions that I quote above, several great rugby league clubs exist and thrive to this day,Alex Holowczak wrote: I'm saying if the largest broadcaster asks you to do something, you do it - I can't believe a broadcaster would ask something that's completely silly
The problem is that the broadcaster, and in fact the executives, probably would have agreed that merging the clubs was commercially better. They did that in the AFL too when the VFL expanded into the rest of Australia. There is talk of it happening in T20 cricket in England too, to streamline the domestic T20 competition. I'll trust the judgement of the executives that this is the right thing to do. But people who have supported a club for years and years won't like it when their club doesn't exist anymore. It was the same when the St. Louis Rams moved back to Los Angeles last winter, although US fans are more accustomed to it - it happens quite often. It was the right commercial decision for the team's owners to take, but the people of St. Louis were never going to like it.
It depends on the nature of the request and the amount of money involved. Some things are so minor they're not worth negotiating, and I'd argue fixing Carlsen to board 1 is one of them. Merging rugby league clubs was probably a decision that everyone except the clubs themselves and fans wanted to take, but the fans would never like it.JustinHorton wrote:"If X says something you do it" is rubbish. You think about it, because you're thinking people, and you negotiate, because you have something of value to negotiate about.
Alex has spent most of the afternoon watching darts, but is now watching the chess. He would enjoy it even more if the commentary stream would buffer.John Moore wrote:Carlsen on Board 1 for the last round - I wonder if Alex will be watching the game