Thank you, ateotd if you make £50,000 more or less this year with the new team, new coach, twice as many fans, the atmosphere and experience will be more than double the enjoyment of 2010 which first up is more important than serious financial gain in 2011.

Click on the pitch and things should really take off again.

In our group there are 5 adults and 2 kids. Just from observation I would think a 5:2 ratio is near average so extrapolating out we probably have about 4000 juniors/kids.

IMO, rather lower proportion nowdays, sadly - again just from observation. Guess must vary depending on where you are in the ground.

In my part of the stand, I can think of two juniors within easy distance. A few seniors. Nearly everyone else will be full-price. You don't see that many kids in the "family stand" nowdays.

The scary thing is that, going back to about 2005, two of the four sat to my left were juniors, and at least three of those sat immediately in front were. Now, only one of those is still a junior (I THINK...although I'm losing track of time and she's looking pretty adult now) but I've not seen any new juniors appear anywhere near.

you've hit the nail on the head with that post. The difference in finances coming in isnt going to be a great deal either way on the basic figures, despite people who dont understand the breakdown jumping on the £60 headline figure and assuming we have less coming in. The benefit will come if we get the additional revenue kicking in from merchandise, concessions etc. plus off the extra revenue we can attract through sponsorship due to a higher average attendance.

Off course this all has to be backed up by an improved performance on the pitch.

this is all something that should have been done years ago before the on field performances dipped but our marketing team for the last few years has been rather stagnant. The new blood coming in last year combined with duckett taking a bigger role seem to have revitalised things somewhat.

It all sets up 2011 nicely but we need better performances on the field to back it all up.

If we just pick up where we left off it'll soon take the wind out of the sails. However with the changes in playing staff and coach we should do better.

I can only confirm that Adey. The biggest difference between five or ten years ago and now is not just the lower crowds but the massive drop in the percentage of youngsters watching. To be fair, kids move the goalposts on what is 'cool' and what isn't pretty quickly, but if anyone has any ideas on how to make the Bulls more fashionable again ( is it really nothing more than just winning more games?), please get in touch with the club, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

I noticed Connor Twitterated this earlier:

"Bulls have already sold 10,300 season tickets for 2011. =#400000More were even sold yesterday at the normal prices! All bodes well."

Shows that the final season ticket out-turn will indeed be somewhat higher than the current announced quantity. And another one up the 'arris for the trolls.

Connor sounds pretty upbeat from that Twitteration, and I do not think he would express an opinion he did not genuinely subscribe to.

As he says, all bodes well

Just listened to the Potter interview on the T&A website, and it's interesting that he did single out Southernwood along with Diskin and Kearney in regards to combinations.....

Could be expected to play a bigger part than we thought - more so if our "stand-off target/s" fail to materialise.

This is a direct quote from an interview with Royce Simmons:

'St Helens went into October's Grand Final without both first-choice half-backs but Simmons is confident Leon Pryce will be back well in time for the opening match in February'

It looks like he has Leon firmly in his plans for next year and isn't looking for him to be realeased to Bradford.

There are three months to the start of the season and that is a long time for things to change.

Indeed it is, however if he is mentioning him already in his plans for next season it makes the move more unlikely. If Simmons wants to retain Pryce then it probably puts the cost on his signing higher.

Agree but if we are to get some form of compensation for Matt Orford then this would be sent to the Stobart Stadium as part of the release for Leon.

Like I say there are still three months and Simmons would like Leon to stay, but if we come in with an offer the St Helens board can't refuse then do the board upset the coach by selling Leon to Bradford or keep Leon for 12 month and then let him leave and join us for free next year?

I agree with that. It seems to be brewing up into a bit of a difficult situation (should Bradford make the right offer). Maybe a lot would depend on who Saints could either a) bring in to replace him or b) do they view Wheeler/Lomax ready or reliable enough to take the role.

I do agree that with the new stadium and such, the money may play on the Board of Directors minds.

I guess the question is how much do the St Helens board value Leon Pryce knowing that he has less than 12 month left on his contract.

With the new stadium not being ready for another year, you'll be down on turnover by having to pay Widnes stadium rent of the Stobart and I presume they'll be taking a % of all the bar and stall takings within the stadium, so if we do make a respectable offer -- £120,000 -- then yes it's going to be headache time for your directors.

From a Bradford point of view, I can't see us paying anymore than £120,000.

There are a lot of variables so I guess it would be stupid to rule out a decision in either direction. I do agree that around £120,000 would be the right price to make the board have to think about it very carefully. I guess only time will tell with this one but so far, the indications are that he's staying at Saints. As you said earlier, 3 months is a long time for things to change, so unless a definitive decision is announced we can only guess. The fact that the rumours are so strong and that neither clubs have dismissed them does suggest that there is definately some activity around the rumour.

To be honest, that sounds pretty non-committal. It doesn't say "Leon is going nowhere" or "Leon is key in my plans for next season".

Back to the question of the Pledge - and the perennial question faced by all clubs of all codes - what IS the secret of getting seats on bums and boots on terraces?

Ultimately, nobody knows, but I guess our experience (first Bullmania, now the Pledge) suggests that one thing that can work is to create a feelgood factor. Find a way to do it and take a flyer on it. You might fall on your arrse, but that's the aim.

Secondly, that you can create a feelgood factor even when your team is doing gash. Wigan demonstrated that too in recent times. You can be near the bottom of the league yet still fill the ground.

Third, and specifically talking about the Bulls, we obviously DO have in Bradford and district a large number of fans who when all is said and done DO want to come and support their team - even if they choose to stay away; they don't need that much of a reason to come back.

I have heard it said that sports fans are the eternal optimists, and I wonder if therefore the key is to give them the reason to be optimistic and positive that they seem to clearly be searching for, as an excuse to justify spending their hard-earned again?

And Matt Orford had 2 years left on his contract and was due to report for pre-season at the beginning of Nov.
Look how that turned out

True, but his was more to him being home sick and wanting to go back to the other side of the world. A couple of hours over the pennines isn't really comparable.

It would seem that Leon doesn't like the two hour journey over the pennines.

Does Leon still live in Bradford? I know he did a couple years back but don't know if that's still the case?

Yes, Leon still lives in Bradford.

Well i'm not sure if being homesick will be that much of an issue? The 2 hour journey's to training and matchdays must be a pain in the but he's managed it okay the past few years. If it's more a case of him wanting to end his playing days with Bradford, it may be slightly more likely that he will honour his existing contract, if the saints board decide that is what they want.

He's reasons for leaving aren't the issue. What is, is the fact that the Bulls took the line that Orford was a contracted player and "officially" was coming back to Bradford.

This is a similar line to the one Saints are giving about Pryce. I'm not saying he WILL sign for Bradford, but I wouldn't rule it out.

I agree, it would be stupid to rule out either as they are both possibilities.