The revelation that Leicester Tigers are up for sale has split its fanbase
Leicester Tigers’ decision to put itself up for sale at £60m was always going to be something that divided their loyal supporters, and so it has.
The English giants announced the move on Tuesday following CVC’s investment in Premiership Rugby last December which gave each club £13m and cleared Leicester’s debt.
In light of this news, many Leicester fans are welcoming this potential sale in the hope that it will help the Tigers return to the top of English rugby again.
Leicester endured their worst season in modern times in 2018/19, finishing 11th in the Premiership and subsequently failing to qualify for the Champions Cup for the first time. This was a bitter blow for English rugby’s most successful team, and the fans clearly feel something must be done.
However, in recent years, Leicester have struggled to compete with the likes of Saracens and Wasps in bringing in new players. The days of the Tigers being able to attract any player in the world seem to be gone, and the financial lure of the Top 14 or England’s wealthier clubs seems too strong.
Therefore, the sale of the club – for a price of £60million, according to the BBC – may provide Leicester with more financial clout when it comes to attracting new players. This is what the fans have said:
https://twitter.com/HarryGoward/status/1143432211036876801?s=20
I love this idia @LeicesterTigers , rugby is moving forward and so are we by doing this 🤙🏻
— Jake Gilbert (@jakegilbert77) June 25, 2019
Potentially exciting times for the club, but it depends entirely on selecting and completing due diligence on the correct suitors. Any buyer needs to also buy in to the culture of the club and the passion us as fans have for it.
— Iain M (@RedLeics) June 25, 2019
I think this potentially a positive move by the club.
Looking back at the past, through rose tinted specs, will not secure the future or legacy of the club.
The brutal truth is that to be competitive in the Prem and Europe, you need deep pockets.— Mark murray (@Markmur29392563) June 25, 2019
Love this, beginning to show signs of moving forward with the rest of the higher ranking clubs. Good move I think.
— Jake Gilbert (@jakegilbert77) June 25, 2019
However, with Leicester’s success has come a lot of pride in the club and its culture from the fans, who feel that selling the club would lose some of its identity.
The fear of these fans is that the Tigers would become too commercial and could even be subject to a name change as it grows closer to being like football. The culture of the Tigers is sacrosanct to the fans who feel it cannot be subject to change with this sale.
Some fans are suggesting that the Leicester supporters take control of the team, in a similar way to Barcelona Football Club, in order to uphold everything about the club that they do not wish to lose. This is what they have said:
I dont like this idea at all. Yes we need investment but selling Tigers will loose our whole ethos. AIt could mean a name change, ground share and even moving out of Leicester .The prices of tickets will most certainly go up pricing most people out of being season ticket holders https://t.co/WxJGnhYq33
— Rebecca Earley (@beccap2007) June 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/lostmidlander/status/1143421405062684672?s=20
This does not sit well. This is rugby trying to be football but without the following.
— Simon Hill (@E151MON) June 25, 2019
This is really sad. Selling to private equity is always a short term measure. Private equity buy to make money. It means the fans start to get clobbered, ticket prices, shirts, programmes. Everything goes up.
— Toby White (@Tobermoree) June 25, 2019
Is it too late for a proper debate with fans about the potential to turn Tigers into a fan owned cooperative like Barcelona FC?
— Kevin Ford (@KF676767) June 25, 2019
Tigers could really break new ground by adopting a mutual structure like Barcelona FC. This club is owned by the fans and run democratically. It is a huge and wealthy corporation and able to compete in the marketplace of football without the need for private equity.
— Kevin Ford (@KF676767) June 25, 2019
As a member for 40 years I have very mixed emotions. There is certainly a need for big change but I have strong reservations about the route being taken.
— John Bailey (@kibby_john) June 25, 2019
Leicester have the largest and most devoted fanbase in English rugby. As a result, it is understandable that this sale is going to divide the fans. However, what they all want is to see Leicester rise back to the top again after a terrible year.
WATCH: Episode one of The Academy, the six-part RugbyPass documentary series looking at how Leicester Tigers develop their players
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments