Jewell wrote:Wild WC wrote:Jewell wrote:Casey wrote:Wild WC wrote:should they freeze his ranking like they did or going to do with Paul Hunter ??
For the sake of the sport, yes. Snooker is on its knees, dying a slow death, at the moment. We need the prodigal son Ronnie to return to save snooker!
Snooker is experiencing unprecedented growth. More tournaments than ever, more money than every, more sponsors than ever, record ticket sales for the two biggest events, more TV hours than ever.
You couldn't be further from the truth Jewell.
Credit to Hearn, the guy is a wonderful spin doctor. He seems to have gotten most people singing from HIS hymn sheet but delve a little deeper and suddenly things aren't as rosy as they seem.
enlighten us then mr buisness brain
Okay then, I will.
For starters, he has managed to force out the sport's star light and major attraction, Ronnie O'Sullivan. If Hearn hadn't kept insisting on the onerous sponsership commitments at the tournaments then Ronnie would still be around, in my opinion. Hearn needs to realise that players are human beings and not commodities for him to do with as he wishes. I can see him forcing Trump down this road, at some point in the future.
Secondly, the whole sponsorship of tournaments is a red-herring which most people don't seem to get. Don't get me wrong, I am happy most tournaments have sponsors, but my problem is they are all mostly bookmakers. We all saw what happened to snooker the last time it put all it's eggs in one basket (tobbacco industry). If Hearn really was this great promotions man that he is cracked up to be then why has he not been able to diversify snooker's income? Also, why are most sponsors only sticking around for one year and then deserting?
PTCs. These tournaments are a joke and I think most of us will agree on that. The foreign ones seem to have a good vibe about them but when will they be upgraded to full rankers? I thought that's what the plan was originally? The likes of the PHC and Antwerp Open are still a million years from becoming full rankers, in which case you have to ask yourself, why do the players bother? Why bother playing in these tin-pot events if they will always remain just that, TIN-POT. I'll tell you why, it's because Hearn has blackmailed the players into playing, that's why. Nobody plays in these because they actually want to.
Money rankings. This one is nothing more than an ego trip for Hearn, I'm afraid. He wants the whole world to see what a great job he is doing by showcasing the player's earnings.[/quote]
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Sponsorship - You are wrong, way off in fact. Only 3 tournaments/series have bookmakers as their sponsor.
PTC's - The European one's are growing and we are starting to see smaller tournaments grow into full events - Wuxi for example. Also whilst the UK market might not be gagging for these tournaments, they still pull in big figures.
Ronnie - Ronnie pulled out because of himself, he can't travel the World and see his kids so he has to do what is right for him. Also, it's not Hearn that dictates the additional promotional work - it's the sponsors. They want to get value for money, so who can blame them? This is nothing new in sport, do you think McIlroy, Federer, Messi don't have to put in an extra shift for the money men?
Overall, your point that the game is on it's knees is completely wrong - couldn't be further from the truth and the game has never been in a better shape. it's not perfect and is years away from being so. However I would say it's only fanboys who don't know the real story that are blaming Hearn for Ronnie.