BY JOHN DAVIDSON
A CASTLE made of sand. That sums up Toronto Wolfpack in five words.
A club with little foundations, no structure and one that has been badly run from day one.
Here’s my take on why the Toronto Wolfpack should not be allowed back into Super League in 2021.
From the beginning the Canadian club has been built on myths and gross exaggeration. They said they would have sellout crowds in season one – they didn’t. They said they would sell thousands of Fui Fui Moi Moi masks in their first year – they didn’t. They said they didn’t want any Sky money, and would land their own lucrative North American TV deal – they haven’t.
There has been too much talk, too much bluster, too many lies to keep track of.
The narrative at the moment is that it is all David Argyle’s fault, that everything was fine before Covid-10 hit – that is plain wrong.
Yes, Argyle has to take a huge chunk of the blame, but its not all his fault. He didn’t make every decision and wasn’t out there signing the players. He wasn’t running the club day-to-day. He wasn’t the one offending other people with his public comments.
Toronto have made mistake after mistake after mistake. Ask iLink Media Group, ask Brandsmiths, ask Salford Red Devils. Their salary cap management has been poor, how they’ve treated some of their players, Ryan Brierley for example, was terrible and how they dealt with the other clubs such as Sheffield, Castleford, Warrington, Wakefield and Skolars was dire.
Their business has been shoddily run, forcing creditors to start lawsuits or go public in a bid to be paid what they are legitimately owed. There’s been a lot of smoke and mirrors, with departures like that of Eric Perez and Adam Foggerty never properly explained. There remains more allegations under the surface, of former players owed money and staff in Canada owed wages, and this was all before anyone had heard of Coronavirus.
Look at the London Skolars, for example, why would you publicly announce that you are buying part of the club, and then never come through with the cash? It makes no sense, but it has hurt that club. You just can’t go round and treat people like that and expect no reaction.
Toronto have blown £18 million in three and half years, a figure that’s actually much higher when you include all the debts they owe and haven’t paid.
They were going to lose millions this year before Covid-19 struck. Their business model just simply doesn’t work. Maybe it never will.
The Wolfpack’s withdrawal from Super League in July has caused a huge amount of strain and embarrassment on the competition. So has the shocking turn of events that has seen players and staff not paid for four months. It’s a PR nightmare and makes the sport look even more amateur than it is.
How do we Carlo LiVolsi is a white knight, just because he has a few quid? He is a friend of Argyle’s, is he really just another Argyle-style owner? Proper due diligence and research needs to be done to determine if he really is legitimate and trustworthy, that this whole sorry episode wouldn’t be repeated next year or in 2021.
And generally the RFL’s record on due diligence is about as successful as the Titanic’s maiden voyage.
Breaking into North America is massively complex. It took football decades and countless cash. Rugby union has tried for many years, and spent many millions, and had mixed success. How can little ol’ rugby league, with barely a pot to piss in, actually crack it? And with its dubious leadership at the top? And with our shocking track record of 100 years of expansion.
They’re fighting a losing battle. Dreaming is one thing, but being deluded is another.
It remains to be seen if Trans-Atlantic sport is something that can actually work in the long run. If it did, wouldn’t the NFL and NBA, two leagues with huge resources, massive profiles and successful administrators, have done it? Yes.
With the financial damage caused by Covid-19, this is not the time for expensive expansion and risky ploys. This is a gamble took big to take right now. There should be harsh sanctions on Toronto, and that includes dropping them back to the Championship.
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