Nail on the head. Whilst better players will obviously make some improvement, I think the big concern is that no matter who it is it won't make enough difference until the deeper problems are addressed.

The point being that I'm sure Rovers fans would rather be in our position than theirs.

they have more chance of winning games, but the spectre of possible relegation, whilst unlikely, remains.

Well if so it seems they have a different outlook to Hudge.

I thought this thread and the points being made were about our medium term approach, declining crowds/revenue and the cost-cutting, not on-field success. In that respect (providing they stay up, which they should), they are arguably on a relatively upward trajectory compared to the last few years, we seem to be on a downward spiral.

Not for one minute saying that I'd rather be in their position in the league table, but they have improved crowds despite having worse results and a cup run to pay for, so it does show that people will turn up to be entertained. We on the other hand, seem to be giving up on improving gates and resigning ourselves to existing on a low budget. I think we've got that wrong, personally, and if we give up on getting the fans back as quickly as possible, it only gets progressively harder to convince them to return.

How great it is to see a thread like this full of people who really care, worried about their Club and trying to make sense of it all. While that is the case, I think that there is always a modicum of hope left. We are just ordinary fans trying to understand it all really.

The analogy with Castleford is interesting, they play in a tin pot ground (which I love) have little money, are an unfashionable Club who have never claimed to be 'Big' and yet their fans are compared with ours so positive and up for it, simply because somehow somewhere their Board and their Coach consistently give them grounds for hope for the present and the future. Anyone who has witnessed the Sweet Caroline moment will know exactly what I mean. When I saw it unfold around the ground and the faces of everyone who stayed to the end to be part of it I really envied those Cas fans.

The fact remains that a team that is trying and that plays some attractive rugby with a consistent level of spirit will inspire people, the gates will start to come back and thus the money role in. All we all need is a bit of HOPE. But we are totally devoid of any at present. We persist with our lot but the coaches can do nothing about getting their heads right, while on the terraces all the younger, less committed and perhaps less dyed in the wool fans drift away disillusioned and skint, so that now we are just left with us lot the compulsives, the fanatics and the old stagers who are so steeped in history and the culture, we turn up whatever we are given to watch.

Then as if to find something to p*ss them off too, we decide to do the one thing that their dedication and lifelong love for the club will not countenance and merge our youngsters, (one of the only flickering lights left in an ever darkening picture), with Rovers, which for many now is the final straw. You really couldn’t make it up could you? We have got miles away from any sort of hope out on the field to retain the casual supporter and have now started to jettison the rest by getting into bed with a Club they and their families have seen for generations as the mortal enemy. I have listened to the arguments and there are certainly some points to commend the move, I can see that, but it has been handled badly, not explained properly and foisted on us all almost overnight so that now people will simply not countenance the idea and more irreparable damage has been done.

Somehow, I think myself that as a Club we need to adopt a Wheldon Road type siege mentality, develop some honesty and make some tough decisions towards giving the supporters some hope again. Not persist with (as I'll be honest I did) celebrating mediocrity (a place in the top eight which we were very fortuitous to get), relying on a few big names to get the interest back while all the time appearing to be selling off the family silver to our evil uncle across the river. When it comes to the point when dozens if not hundreds of people like me, who have had a season ticket for donkeys years are considering 'that enough' its a blooming worry but really heartening to see how many others care too.

So on field success isn't an important part of this? Entertaining rugby is all fine and dandy, but people will come to watch winning rugby. We weren't particularly entertaining in 2010/11/12 but still had impressive attendances.



Again, i'm not sure i'd be happy with watching the likes of Halifax and Sheffield in the name of entertainment.

Many of our financial difficulties can be laid at Pearson's door. He paid too much for the club and didn't do his due diligence properly e.g. the EBT liability.

He appointed McRae and followed his advice resulting in average players being signed on lucrative contracts. When he saw through McRae he then decided to pay off those players before their contracts were up.

Pearson's personality is mercurial, even capricious. He speaks without thinking and makes decisions in haste.

He then sacked Gentle a year too early and gave his inexperienced and unproven assistant a 3 year contract. Radford is a genuine, honest, hardworking guy but he's just not up to it. I honestly believe the reason Radford hasn't been sacked is because Pearson can't afford to pay him off.

He bought the club believing he would make money out of it but has had to pump in more and more and I think he has now run out of money. I think he planned to sell it for a profit in about 5 years but now he couldn't give it away.

Other problems are not down to him. He bought the club as we were entering the biggest recession for generations and falling attendances can partly be attributed to the effects of this recession on an economically deprived, low wage area.

He also made a mistake by promising too much too soon. He should have under-promised and over-delivered. Instead of saying we would be a force in the game within 3 years or so he should have told us what a state the club was in due to years of under-investment and that it would be a long job to turn it around.

So in summary I believe our problems are down to the actions of the previous regime, Pearson's poor judgment and reliance on those he appointed to advise him and the state of the economy.

I will accept any criticism of the fans who have put their hands in their pockets year on year and have very right to criticise. If we have unrealistic expectations that is entirely the fault of the owner and the club's PR machine.

So where do we go from here? I think whatever happens in the next two months pass sales will be down. If we do really badly in the Super 8's then they will be very seriously down. Signing players won't change that. The only thing which might would be to appoint an experienced, proven, top class coach but I don't think that will happen. Next season will be another battle to scrape into the top 8.

I know we have had our differences in the past Seb, however this is a classic chicken and egg scenario.

Fans don't attend due to poor performances. Poor performances are down to inadequate players / coaching. Difficult to change playing staff in the short term without plenty of money. Money not coming through as fans are not showing.

With dwindling resources its either going to take a miracle set of events (6 academy players are ready for the start of next season and can play like Callum Watkins / jow Burgess etc) or someone which a serious wedge who is prepared to lose a fair bit until it comes good.

That someone with a bit of coin was Adam Pearson, but its hasn't worked out. I don't quite subscribe with the notion there has been false promises, its the nature of the sports industry to big up the prospects of a club. Of course there have been mistakes, EVERY club at some point makes mistakes. But when your are without a core structure, both in the team and the set up (which the likes of Wigan, St's and Leeds already had) then every mistake is felt that much harder.

For me, in retrospect, Pearsons biggest error was the appointment of Shaun Mcrae, who it appeared squandered money left right and centre. But this is retrospective. At the time, it was not an unreasonable appointment. Former head coach, knew the set up inside out, had good contacts within the UK and AUS game.

I don't profess to know the answers, but I think the club was at a much lower ebb than any of us really knew when Pearson took over. You say Pearson is clueless, but his strategy of investing into the academy set up to get a supply line of players had to be the way forward after KH left it in such a mess. Thats not clueless, thats long term planning. I actually admire that fact he has stood by his coach and tried to show some sort of loyalty to Radford. Please don't read this that I am an advocate of Radford, I am not. I feel he should have gone at Easter.

I think we will have a new coach for next season and that Radford will still be part of the set up. Pearson is not stupid and is a business man. He should know by now that season pass sales will fall, significantly and hence hit him in the pocket. Only a change of coach will prevent this, IMO. But then we have come full circle, money is down, lack of investment, poor performances.

There is that Chicken and egg again.

Staying away is anyone's prerogative. Staying away but still moaning about it is futile. Turning up and moaning about it it probably the best form of protest.