London Welsh appear to be in trouble again

There is a news article on the beeb this morning saying that they are facing another wind up order!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37794754
There isn't a lot of information but the club has been dogged by finance issues for a long time now and several times have pulled a rabbit out of the hat with last minute investors.

What would happen to the league should 1 team go into administration? Would the bottom side be relegated still?

Are the people in charge of issuing those actually called win up merchants?

The amount they charge at their clubhouse bar for a drink theres no way they can be short of a bob or two.

Richmond and Kew isn't the cheapest place to live I suppose!
Lon Welsh really need to consider the decision making of their board over the last few seasons. I think it was the season before they were first promoted to the prem that there was the first suggestion of the club going into administration.

You have to feel for the supporters - this club has been back and forwards so many time - I'm not talking about which league they play in but 'who they really are'.

I imagine a lot of them packed watching the professional side and turned to the amateur sides when they moved to Oxford.

I hope they have a clear separation of the club and the real London Welsh doesn't go down the tubes because of the mismanagement of the club by a few over inflated egos.

If they do the lawyers will feel a bit miffed.

TrailApe - I agree. However Richmond paid the price for miss management at the start of the pro era in England. And they managed to maintain club identity, build slowly, have a massive youth section and have worked their way back over the years to the championship level. Yes they carry their scars with them in making decisions about maintaining an armature team in a fully professional league - but there are back.

No reason why Lon Welsh wouldn't do the same.

no argument there propdavid, and reading a bit more on this it seems that the management at LW were either naive, deluded or simply telling porkies - the so-called saviour that saved them from the last winding up just never turned up, possibly a figment of somebodies imagination?

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will have less mercy than usual - and lets face it they are not the cuddliest of organisations in the first place!

Has anyone heard any more about the situation with Lon Welsh?

http://www.london-welsh.co.uk/index.php?mod=news_view&id=3031

Looks like they are going under for certain this time:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2016/12/06/exclusive-london-welsh-will-go-business-next-week/

The squad of 35 players have not received last month’s salaries and at a meeting on Tuesday were told to seek alternative employment, which will be extremely difficult halfway through the season. Understandably, many players are not willing to play against Doncaster if their insurance is not covered.

Got to feel for the players (and other staff who I also assume have not been paid). Cannot blame them for refusing to play this weekend.

Welsh had been given false hope by the supposed investment by a “major Californian-based investment group” which turns out to have been a work of fiction. Those who allowed a fantasist to string the club along for so long should be held to account. Unfortunately, it is the players and staff who will pay the price.

Nothing else to say really.

Why does a thread from years ago keep getting ressur-

Oh...

They've got some players that will be quickly snapped up by those Championship clubs that can afford them. Unfortunately for the players that is unlikely to be on good salaries as most of the Championship clubs will have spent what they can afford. LI are maybe the exception but I doubt they will want to sign any of the LW players.

This comes hot on the heals of Jersey having to sell and lease back their assets in order to survive. Is it time for the RFU to review how they fund a league they were so keen to see become professional?

I played them a lot during my London playing days. Not their 1st team but their 2nd and 3rd's. Their 3rd's were not to be sniffed at mind. They were top class.

I recall seeing them enter the pitch... a mix of 35+ and a few academy kids. Most of the 35+ chaps were winding down their semi-pro status. They had this 50+ year old on the wing... looked like JPR's older brother. I thought man, if I hit this guy his bones will turn to dust in an instant.

Cut a long story short, in that game he ended up with 2 tries (must have been a top quality player in his day as he had no pace but his reading of the game and his lines were still as sharp as the best of us). One of my buddies said to him in the bar that scoring must be a novelty, the chap calmed downed his pint, put his hand on this guys shoulder and said... "double figures every year". What a guy!

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/18543882/rugby-football-union-removes-london-welsh-championship

Yup they are gone...

And on the unoffy...all the LW fans are putting the blame solely at the feet of the RFU!!!

They had to go really.

It's a shame for any loyal fans but their litigious nature during their spells in the Premiership left a bad taste so not much sympathy for the club to be honest. Apparently nothing is ever their fault.

Maybe the WRU could invite them into the Pro12?

Why is the RFU being blamed?
As I understand it, most of the issues that Lon Welsh have had is down to admin problems and weird player/squad management.

On the flip side Richmond must be pinching themselves that they get another season in the championship - gives them a free year up and extra sponsorship opportunities that go with it. It would be a relatively short move if current Lon Welsh players were brought in to the Richmond fold.

Although I see the RFU made a public announcement before Welsh had a chance to talk to players and employees - that's not cool!

propdavid_london wrote:Although I see the RFU made a public announcement before Welsh had a chance to talk to players and employees - that's not cool!

But they had already been told to seek employment elsewhere. I think it's just a bit of scapegoating from London Welsh.

I am very sorry to see them go into liquidation because the club have many teams playing below the elite level and I would hate to see their weekly fun put at risk. I also feel sympathy for the championship players who have lost jobs.

Given their history over the last few seasons (litigation, move to Oxford etc) I am not surprised nor do I feel much sympathy for the clubs management.

Lets put this into perspective - this isn't the end of London Welsh as a club. But it is the end of the club as a professional entity.

They need to re-invent themselves and follow the Richmond model when effectively the same thing happened to them. Yes its taken since 1999 - 18yrs to climb back up through the leagues , but the club has survived.

So, all those teams below elite level, presumably also separate from the professional umbrella should still be supported and have the facilities that they are used to.