Hi all, i wasnt sure where this would fit in topic wise with other threads open but please have a read;

I have recently read numerous amounts of comments regarding Rangi Chase on here and on the CasForum too and i am becoming increasingly worried about OUR attitude towards our players, we are becoming so fickle. Last year Rangi got the man of steel and alone more or less ran the push towards a play off place-granted we missed out but he sure had ago. In recent games he seems to be trying too hard and running around himself but i dont always blame him, Danny Orr is a true great Cas lad but at the end of the day is not a Super League half back anymore, a stint at hooker yes but we are back to the days of 1 half back and that restricts Rangis game and is forcing him to try things at silly times. I remember years ago when Noble left Bulls for Wigan, fans were in the stands on his last game with banners dont leave etc etc. We persistantly slag off our BOD but we are giving them ammo to sell Rangi-if we want to consider ourselves as a Super League outfit we do not accept bids for our BEST player because thats what he is. If we sell Chase we will not get all the funds towards players so lets not kid ourselves, over the years we have proven we dont replace players very well. I say for once we stop been negative fans and just get behind players, because i noticed comments regarding Williams on loan, i have watched him on all his appearences for Castleford and he is one of the worse defenders i have seen as well as Mitchell, send those players away. We are forever accepting talentless people from other clubs-second rate players and fans are saying we should sell Rangi. We should keep Chase and get rid of second rate players!!

Till the end of the season i wish i could do something myself to increase our crowd numbers and show people like Rangi, Ferres and Clarky there is a reason to stay, loyal fans that will back you till the end-what happened to our slogan Be Loyal, Be Loud, Be Cas and Be Proud!!! We need to create a new era at the club and that doesnt have to start at the BOD room or the Chairman, it can start at the ground up, get people down the lane again and roar as fans for the Tigers, win-lose or draw im there. Our neighbours are managing to increase there numbers.

You can slag this message by all means but just think to yourselves, why are we Cas Fans? Why do we care?? I care because i love my rugby club, my family love castleford rugby club and my deceased relatives loved Castleford rugby club! Can i just finish on that regardless of what league or what position we are placed at i will never give up believing we can become a top rugby club, you may call me deluded-stupid and a fool but im not im a cas fan through thick and thin!!

Good post.

What I feel about Rangi is that perhaps having to effectively control a game by himself has made him the player he is. Had he had an accomplished half beside him, would he have played more conservatively? I think perhaps so. Therefore, we naturally expect him to create great things and this is something which I feel is why opposition fans criticise him. It's not that he's a poor player and it's not that he doesn't create things; it's the fact that people believe he should be running rings around opposition players in each and every game. It's never going to happen.

I think Cas fans are a bit upset that barely six months ago he signed a new deal and loved it at Cas and now he said he'd be happy to move. We didn't have the interview in full so it's hard to contextualise the situation but still, bit of a turnaround. I was a bit miffed that in one of the articles I read he claimed he "had to look after his family first". Understandable, but Cas are paying him well so I do not get that at all and I don't think he'd get paid near enough as much as he would at Cas elsewhere.

Cannot agree with Williams. I think he, like many of our wingers, is burdened by having centres that aren't centres inside him. He certainly does have a bit of pace and can score tries. I'd like to see how he goes until the end of the season. I thought Mitchell would be a good defender in his first few games but I've become less impressed as the season goes on and think that Thompson and Holmes are our future back-row with Ferres at loose (hopefully) and another back-rower in the mix too.

As for the latter two points, I agree. Couldn't care less about Wakefield - they've got crowds up but whether that will be sustained when the prices for STs go back up, I don't know. For the fans we have, we have a number that only make it to the odd game but given we charge £20.00 on the turnstiles selling a ST for £100 or less is miles cheaper so more STs would be sold.

I don't disagree with either of the above posts, but they do lean towards sentimental rather than business reality. I'm a great believer in pride and loyalty, but players....teams...clubs and success these days is based on MONEY!....and Cas don't have enough of it, without liquidating some of it's assets. Sadly that means player like Rangi! I don't know the exact figures, but I could imaging that selling Rangi could net the club a £200K, or so, profit. How else can Cas get that sort of money into the club as profit/ I'm sure that they would love to hear suggestions.

I'd like to keep Rangi, Clark, and Ferres at the club. But equally I am sure that the powers that be, would also like to keep the club financially viable, and again that means MONEY. If the club can make a profit from any of their sales that would improve the clubs financial viability greater than a 2 or 3 position climb on the table, my guess is that they would take it.

I don't like the idea, but I'm afraid that's how business works and Cas will have to keep operating in this manner until (A) we have someone with deep pockets, or (B) we have alternative methods to significantly increase our revenue channels.


So...don't get me wrong, I'd love Rangi, Ferres and Clark to stay....but the viability of the club will always come first in the real world.

How much does having Rangi in the terms bring in in terms of ST sales, shirt sales, media profile etc, though.

Valid etc, and a real consideration.....but I just can't see it balancing everything out. It might well pay his wages etc, but would it return the same profit as his sale would bring the club?

A few weeks ago I put a post saying the attendance that we needed to break even at the end of this year. There ain't a cat in hells chance of us making that break even figure and a guestimate might well that we'll be in a position of £200k to £350k loss at this year end. Imagine a simple way of paying off that loss by selling one player! Either that or someone has to find another way of paying it off, which might well mean pitching it as a secured loan against the sale of the ground for example. However.....somehow it has to be paid!!

But realistically his wages would only be spent on other players so you are only gaining a transfer fee that may or may not be used against the business or in other players? To us, an extra £200k per year would be nice but I think his value to STs and as a club to market it is worth significantly more in the long-run with the right investment in the squad and a modicum of success, if we can get there.