LA , im not trying to make you or anyone else feel guilty people watch Leigh for the same reason i do , they love Rugby as a game , and love Leigh Centurions as a club .
Where have i said ex-fans are more important than new fans ?They are both the same value to the club , their money spends just the same , i just feel its easier preaching to the converted , and i have Never said MOST of the lapsed fans will never return , i said some , big difference .

You cannot expect anybody to watch Leigh for their entire lives , my own Dad was a Leigh supporter all his life wouldnt hear a bad word said against them , but didnt go to matches for the last 10 years of his life ,then one day i took , and he was like a big kid again , loved it , i know he would have loved the LSV .

The majority of posters on this Forum i know love Leigh Centurions , but a few feel bitter after past experiences,that is not the way to be , whether you agree with the current Board or not , still come along and support the club , before its to late , nowt to do with feel guilty .

LA , i personally agree with your tea-bags statement , i buy only certain products because i like them , and they feel or taste good , again everybody is entitled to their individual choice , but my owd Dad told me in 1960 ,"Choose yer team well Lad ", you only ever support ONE team , im a Leyther 100% and proud of it , i only cheer one club on.
Also does your profile name refer to the Town you were born , or your Team ?

.

Like i've stated I am not a marketing expert I have no idea how you get a product likie Wigan/Wire, its up to the club to pay an expert to do that not for me on an open forum to do it for them.

Dismiss my idea all you like but as long as you/the club continue to ignore non attendees opinions then you won't get anywhere.

In regards to your 2nd point then it isn't 1 particular reason I no longer attend and I have already stated my reasons, firstly the price is too high (you may say its similar to other clubs but doesnt justify me paying it). I play golf with my dad who's only day off work is a Sunday which I prefer to do and most of the people I used to go with now no longer attend.

So if the club wanted to market to me after reading this then they could intice me with a cheaper group ticket for a Friday/Saturday night game then yes i'd probably go. I haven't lost all interest, I regularly read these boards/match reports and do some questionable streaming of the games on the internet so i'm not a lost cause (YET).

It was on page 10, you stated the club needs lapsed fans more than new ones, i don't agree.

i'm not bitter about anything my last post shows the main reasons I don't go (its also to do with the RFL and losing interest in the sport as a whole but Demon wou;dn't allow me to use that

)

Than you, at least you understood the point I was making.

Both, I'll never stop wanting Leigh to win but whether I go again is another matter

Thats easy you just find yourself a Koukash

Quite rightly too. At this immediate moment anyway. We can work on the general state of the game once we sort out our own existence.

Stop the blame culture and lame excuses that is not going to change anything. Just look at the club facts from just over 16 months, last time we were in a mess!

1. The club has no financial plan A or B, very poor budgeting like past years. Every year we face a finacial crisis this year its earlier than usual.

2. Match day experience is very poor and expensive, club told last season too little too late this season as attendance shows.

3. In a stadium the club can't afford, charge us for everying and have all the revenue streams

4. No financial backer or decent sponsers

5. LISA has no money after Wednesday night.

6. Lost good loyal fans due to changing match day last year, Friday night failure ££££££

7. Wednesday night the Cheif exec was very unprofessional, would not answer questions, argued every point raised, offered somebody outside, calling other clubs facilities, acted surprised about contract with LSV despite saying he spent 12 years of his life building it, tells us it cost £1300 to turn under soil heating on for Swinton game, no clear messages or direction apart from were broke, tells fans we cant please everyone, then finally says its only short term if this and that happens were ok but that's months away.

8. Wont consider Saturday night 6.30 games

9. Expect fans to finance everything, fans are fed with this and are leaving

10. Dont worry even though we broke we are still financially self sufficient!

ANSWER>>>>>>>>The club has to restructure.

1. Remove the current board have a private floation to raise much needed capital ie shares but limit it to so many shares per person/fan.

2. Appoint a management team to run the club, PR to run the team etc and a new management team focussed on attracting new sponsers and revenues, match day experience, promotions and advertising etc. The mangement will be responsible and accountable to the shareholders at quarterly meetings, i.e a kind of fans forums but run more professionally and structured like a shareholder meeting.

3. Restructure the current debt with banks to pay back over 5-10 years if they dont accept force Sporting Club Leigh as it is today into bankruptcy and start a new club.

I hear it "But that will spoil our chance of going into super league?" I have news for you, with our finances and attendances that will never happen with the RFL, no matter how good our team and facilities are.

4. Reset the budget based on realistic attendances and forecast

5. If sporting club leigh is wound up it allows the club to renegotiate the contract with LSV for better terms. If not shareholders could consider a move or a ground share, dont have the club held to ransom like it is today, we need to do more for the fans and shareholders of the club to keep them and the club alive!

Who is appointing the management team?

You make a lot of valid points some I agree with but some I don't.

For example point 3 is a non starter the bank would not accept that and going into bankcruptcy would see our new club in Championship 1.

Our budget is predicated on paying off the overdraft and we are nowhere near the salary cap.

I still think our gates will get better when the weather gets warmer and the footie season ends.

When a business does this type of thing it holds a meeting of all potential investors and at that meeting they appoint an interim management team, normally 2-3 people to manage the flotation.

When that has happened , the club has floated then they advertise the management postions and interview on behalf of the shareholders.

At the first shareholder meeting, the shareholders approve the recommendations from the interim management and then the new team takes over and runs the club going forward.

Leigh Centurions needs new management, ideas a fresh drive and to be managed properly without going from crisis to crisis like it does. New brush sweeps clean and that is what is needed.

There is a lot of good young management talent out there. With a flotation and structuring the debt the club stands a winning chance rather than where it is today with its current clueless management who are out of their depth!

Does that answer your question?

Apologies for what might seem stupid questions. Who gets rid of the board. Once the board is gone who is running the club ie who gets the potential investors together.

Salford Lad,

I hear what you are saying but its a lot worse than we think. Every gate needs at least another 800 + on to carry on with the current plan.

No matter what is in the budget or the salary cap says if money is not coming in then the budget aint worth a cent or the paper its written on.

Nice weather etc will not do anything like that. Plus we need another Leeds or halifax play off game to boost the attendances for the remainder of the season. IF and buts again...............

If the club carries on as it is, it might not make the nice warm weather you talk of!

I hope I am wrong but tonight because the club spit its dummy with Sheffield we will lose money, that is stupidity at the highest degree when you are broke like leigh are.

Deamon UK,

Your questions are valid. Do you know something it all starts here with threads like this. But at some point the management have to hold their hands and be accountable. People like the other night at the LISA meeting, Trevor, who know they are in the , use attack as there only defence.

There are enough people who love this club who can make this happen and they will when they know what the real truth and how serious it is.

We can carry on as we are but unless something remarkable happens we are on a very slippery slope, we are only a few weeks away from the club closing its doors for good, and that is with the £15K LISA has put in!

All sounding a bit sensationalist and more than a bit wearing to me, personally.

I'm enjoying what your writing so far but lets not go overboard

Yep good response, Leyther Matt

But what else do you do when a business is in as much trouble as Leigh are?

Answer, wait and see what happens?

Yep we can do that, but what happens when it does go bust, with its finances and current cost structure its a certainty then what do you do.

Answer...........It will be reet in three months trust me, were self sufficent just need to carry on treating the fans like , charge them a fortune, then ask them to give me more money, be better when the sun shines and its warm. What a great great plan!

yeah, that'll pack 'em in

Sorry mate but you are way off the mark here.

Firstly there is not a snowball in Hell's chance that you could float a business like this on the public markets.
Secondly any potential investor wants to know what the management team is BEFORE they make the investment.
Thirdly no-one who invests in a Sports Club below the absolute elite does so with the expectation of making a profit so the only potential investor pool is people with an affinity to either Leigh or Rugby League in general.

I could go on with questions as to what capacity do "potential" investors have to implement management changes, who will pay the Interim Management Team whilst the funding is raised, why would management report to a shareholders' meeting etc but there is a match on tonight and by the time I had finished I would miss kick off.

We are in a difficult position due to both internal and external factors and everyone accepts that major changes need to be made but some of the drivel being spouted on here makes me glad I have always avoided the temptation to get officially involved with Leigh RL and if I feel that way then I am sure many others do.

My suggestion - let's all do what we can to generate incremental revenues for the club; alongside this any sensible ideas should be proposed to the existing Board and perhaps they will call a meeting of fans when we are not on the brink of a problem to have a proactive debate on how we move forward.

In the meantime I'm off home for some tea before the match.

COME ON YOU LEYTHERS!!!

Was just a general response to the everpresent doom and gloom on here, though I certainly don't see the club closing it's doors within weeks as you put it.

As it is, I'm missing the game tonight because of work commitments and I must say I don't feel anywhere as bothered about it as I thought I would be. I know it's unfortunately the one thing that as the club can't do a jot about, but there's no doubting whatsoever that there is a widening disillusionment with the game as a whole, and adding in an annual financial crisis doesn't help build enthusiasm. Hope I'm feeling a bit more optimistic by the time of the Barrow game.

I asked this very simple question yesterday, but no takers, so again

What should be the very 1 st part of a sports clubs budget to be allocated every year?

Topless women walking round serving beer. The rest pays for itself.

Insurance! Because without it there will be no sports talking place...

Not what you wanted to hear but a fact!

we.d have no team to market if we cut that part of the budget

Many a true word is said in jest, what you have suggested is absolutely correct