Read the latest matchday programme notes from Barrow Raiders chairman Steve Neale ahead of Sunday’s game against Whitehaven at the Speed Competitions Stadium.
This Sunday we welcome our friends from Whitehaven, and we wish them a safe return journey.
After our last-gasp defeat to Doncaster, we are finally at the last game in the regular season and what better than a derby game.
There is still another week to go for other teams after this one, but it looks highly likely that we will finish in sixth place, which will mean a trip to Doncaster. After our two epic performances against the Dons, we will certainly have a chance of progressing and it would be Newcastle that lay in wait.
If we go down at Doncaster, we would still have another chance of progression with a game at home to one of the elimination play-off winners who finished between 7th and 10th position.
Our visitors today, Whitehaven, have had a remarkable season and they are almost certain to occupy one of those elimination play-off positions.
In Lee Butterworth, Whitehaven seem to have found a man with a vision who is willing to learn and is prepared to put in the hard yards. Whitehaven are lucky to have him and no-doubt he would be thanking those around him as I know it isn’t a one-man band.
I’m pleased that Whitehaven seem to have got their playing budget under control and have started diversifying income streams with success. Their World Cup Fan Zone brought the community together, and I think they have been at rock-bottom and now firmly on an upward trajectory.
There are a lot of similarities to the journey that we have been on.
When I first joined the board, way back in 2018, I also had a vision of increasing income streams together with being a true community club, making use of our Foundation to create a reputation for good that is attractive for sponsors.
We have done a remarkable job to consistently get our income over a £1mllion pounds a year, but we have perhaps been guilty of spending a little too much on the men’s team, with it taking an £800k chunk to run the whole men’s operation out of that income.
The introduction of the salary cap for next season will, in some ways, be a blessing. It will help us control player spending, but at the same time what you can spend is based on a club’s turnover.
The great work we have done in the last few years will still allow us to spend in the top bracket, which is £500k on salary cap items. Salary cap items are players contracts, match money, agents’ fees, travel, accommodation, and employer’s national insurance and pension contributions.
The salary cap will result in a drop in player spending across the game, but the beauty of the salary cap is that you don’t have other clubs out-bidding us for players that they can’t afford which eventually results in clubs like Feathersone, Halifax and North Wales going to the wall.
We have been told by the RFL that we are only one of three clubs who can spend to the maximum and there may be two or three other clubs putting up financial guarantees from their benefactors, but the net result will still be that we are around the sixth-highest spenders which ironically is exactly where we will finish in the league this season.
It is well-known in sport that there is a direct correlation between player spend and league position and whilst we we don’t expect to be running away with the league, we do expect that the money the board provides for the team makes us play-off contenders.
Of course, in some ways our isolation adds to our costs. We aren’t on the M62 corridor and if we are able to entice good players from outside of the area, we often need to pay a premium and have the travel costs to boot. That’s why it is so important that we continue or good work with our Furness Raiders team and support the JETS, Lions Development Programme pathways and our community clubs.
With the reduced playing budget, we are likely to have a strategy of having a more Cumbrian-based team and we hope that we can entice the very best locals to join the club.
The board is hoping to turn the club round financially. We have a vision of creating a sustainable model that aligns with the salary cap and achieving our long-term goals.
It seems in recent years that every last penny has been budgeted for and spent on supporting the team, which is a far cry from 2021 when we improved facilities with our investment in our MKM Marquee, big screen, and additional food and drink outlets. Those strategy decisions, that were actually planned a year or two before, have reaped rewards over the following years, but we need to get back to investing in projects that can increase our income streams.
If we have can bring the playing budget under control, whilst still planning to be a play-off spending club, then we can invest in projects that bring in increased revenue.
That increased revenue can be reinvested in further projects, and we suddenly start to spiral upwards. When surplus cash is then available, we can further invest in our pathways, our foundation, playing side, relationships, and perhaps be thinking of creating development officers and additional commercial resource to help delivery for our partners.
If we can manage this transformation, we suddenly find ourselves as a lot more attractive proposition for investment.
If we are running a profitable club, then the likelihood is that we will attract some board members with financial clout who feel they can make a difference. No-one wants to join the board (unless they have been registered crazy like me) when they know that any investment is simply keeping the club afloat. That isn’t attractive to anyone.
A well-run club that can look after sponsors and players better, by not scrimping and scraping and offering poor service at times, is the direction of travel we want. We want to be people focused and not have the constant worry over finances that drops our standards.
As a club, therefore, we welcome the salary cap. It is going to allow the club to reset and get back on the growth pathway.
The board of directors are absolutely determined to improve the club, but of course we need support. We recognise that the RFL perhaps view the Championship as an afterthought, but we will be lobbying hard for them to put more focus on Championship rugby and give it a higher profile.
We believe that the route to Super League should be through on-field performance together with minimum transparent standards. If we can get that in place, then our strategy will be to put action plans in place to achieve those minimum standards.
If we have a Super League goal, together with a profitable, well-run club, then we are hopeful that the massive amount of investment in the town can find its way to our rugby club.
We have a long journey ahead, but it’s going to be an exciting one.