I have put a subtle little change in there Meast, but I think that is behind a lot of the dissatisfaction and subsequent discord between various fans. Some hold the view that NB raised the profile of the club and transformed a number of players and are very greatful for that, the other view is that NB did do these things but did more damage through flawed, stubborn and inflexible tactics and his annual stay or go pantomime (which seems to have again raised its head before he has even taken over at Saints.

There is no right or wrong view, it is all opinion. Whatever the views of individuals the NB era did become devisive, but that era is over but the Ken Davy era is still here and that great man has been nothing but good for our club, collectively we need to move on and rally behind our greatest hero of modern times.

Yes see. We've been Jon sharps, John Kears, Mal Reilly , Garry schofield, Nathan brown and Uncle Tom cobbly and alls barmy army.

Think the only barmy army that we should allude to is ken davys.

Just because we have spent the full cap for a couple of years i dont see why we should suddenly be winning everything or the best, we have shown a few times we have been 2nd/3rd best. Wire have been spending full cap for 10/15 years and only recently have they managed to win anything. It comes from the roots and strength in depth. When the big teams have an injury, they bring in a young lad who will plug the void seemlessly, youth development comes with time and its obvious we are getting there, in 5-10 years if we continue how we are and can hold the young lads maybe we will get there! Look at the teams spending full cap..... we have been amoungst the top 4/5 in the last 5 years. Wire where 8/9th 3/4 years back and have since won 3 challenge cup finals and are off to old trafford. Stick with it, the board, team and coaching staff are doing all they can to make us a success!

Spot on

Brilliant post 'fro nips !!!!

The trouble with this board is people are always judging others, always trying to show they are the 'better' or more 'loyal' fan.
If people want to renew or not is down to them. Whatever their reason they certainly don't have to justify it on here.
As mentioned we all have different expectations.
I was going to give next season a miss to save myself a bit of brass, alot of annual leave and free up some Sundays, aswell as sometimes coming off nights, 5 hours kip, to the game then back to work. Plenty of reasons not to go.
However as usual I have decided to renew.

Despite my whinging on here, I don't mind losing aslong as the players show some pride and put the effort in, that is all I ask.

Well i have just resigned as a moderator only waiting for my badge to be removed.

I would like to explain however the reasons behind my disillusionment at the minute and why i wont be renewing my season ticket.

Too often posters on here IMHO do not see the bigger picture and just have knee jerk reactions to individual comments and incidents.

I have been a regular supporter of Huddersfield RLFC for over 34 years , during the bad times, and the really bad times.

Over the last 7 years i welcomed what i saw was the vision of the club and a chairman who was prepared to put the money into the club. During that time i really felt i put a lot of time, effort and money into the club in a number of ways.
I even identified and passed on to the club the names of the best barristers in the NE to represent the players involved in the Newcastle incident if charges were brought


I attended a huge no of games home and away, bought the shirts and the merchandise, persuaded many many people to come to games and buy season tickets. Took my kids to games and tried to get them involved.

Additionally i also had regular contact with the club about a whole host of things making suggestions and offering my time and money for nothing to help out.

I wrote lengthy emails to the club and had discussions with certain people about the ideas.
Whether people thought they were good ideas or not to me is irrelevant. ( although i know that some of them were implemented by the club).

Others were not taken on board and i have to say i still get infuriated with those traditional , conservative supporters who seem to be hold on to the past as some sort of badge of honour. IMHO they contribute to the holding back of the development of the club.

Among the suggestions i made was that the club issue an Official Traditional Fartown shirt to be sold with a brief booklet leaflet about the development of the fartowners to the Giants. I felt this would have been a good way of addressing the fartown giants debate. I felt it should be particularly useful to target it at the kids who attend, particularly as the club stopped doing shirts for smaller kids because they did not sell. A generic shirt has no sell by date on it unlike the season changing shirts so would have been more cost effective.

I even suggested the club did a traditional limited edition shirt for adults but it seems that it fell to Rod to have to do that.

I wrote a whole raft of proposals to the club about working with the supporters association and recruiting an army of volunteers to go out leafleting etc and to bring new people into the game.

I also suggested that the club organise a group of schoolteachers to develop worksheets that could be provided to schools free of charge which would develop the name of the Giants.

I even wrote up my own worksheets and provided samples to the club along the lines of
If Eorl Crabtree scores 12 tries and each try is worth 4 points how many points has he scored. If he played 24 games what is his average no of points per game. Questions like these fit in with KS1 and KS2 of the childrens maths curriculum. Maybe Jools can comment on this as she is a teacher ( i think). I also had hundreds of others about the capacity of rugby grounds etc

I am not a teacher but i could do this and see it as a good idea.

I wrote a children's book about the legend of the Giants but it needed illustrations to work. One poster on here ( and another forum ) helped me out a bit with some ideas but was unable to give it the time it needed.

I asked the club if they could put a message in a programme asking any would be illustrators to get in touch with me. This seemed to be to much hard work for the club.

I suggested setting up a stall selling pick and mix sweets in the main stand for kids. I offered to staff it and PAY out of my own money £200 to buy the sweets. This was too much for the club and it went nowhere.

I suggested that as part of match day entertainment the club contact all the party entertainers in the Krklees area. clowns, magicians, balloon shapers etc and asking them if they would come and entertain the kids before 1 match for free in return for some free tickets and a free advert in the programme and their name on the big screen. It would cost nothing to put in place, would have only required a few telephone calls and very little organising and IMHO would have helped improve the match day experience.

Dozens and dozens of other ideas i promoted. I costed them out, i suggested marketing campaigns all things that could have been done in conjunction with the supporters association and recruiting volunteers.

These ideas however, should not be seen in isolation, they were promoted in the belief that Ken would not pump money into the club forever and new revenue streams needed to be found that is based on [size=200NEW SUPPORTERS [/size
not those dinosaurs and super supporters who have followed the Giants for years, who will blindly follow the club now and would blindly follow it into oblivion Because they have always followed the Giants through thick and thin and are , "Loyal supporters".

The singing sections which have been much debated are a real hot topic for me.[size=200 ANYTHING [/sizethat improves the atmosphere at games has to be a good thing but no, i want to sit where i sit, if they want to sing they can come and join us, no one should tell us singers where to sit, those attitudes hold the club back IMHO.

I believe that when Ken turns off the financial tap the club will struggle big time. The effect of this may not be seen for 3 years and the club may end up whee Wakey and Bradford have being recently.

To prevent this i believe that the fans who may have some influence need to use that now and look at what can be done to build the club now. Any work that is done now will hopefully put off the panic actions that will occur in 3 years when the club is maybe faced with a financial disaster.

I no longer have the time or energy or financial wherewithall to continue with this. I gave it my best shot, got nowhere and am happy to pass it on to others.

I am now working every evening and every weekend to manage to do my job, i no longer can manage the time or financial commitment needed to be a regular supporter ( i will attend games) but not like i used to.

My demoralisation is not just with the on pitch performance but also the off pitch, the lack of vision or dynamism that seems to be there, the attitude of many fans.

Despite this i still think that the Nathan Brown years in years to come will be seen as the start of a decline unless something dramatic happens to stop the rot.

Good luck to the Giants and their supporters in the future but for me i will now take a back seat and direct my energys elsewhere.

The signing of Mullally, Ta'ai (certainly a big guy who can play prop) + the rumours surrounding Koppy + Josh Johnson having another year under his belt (and playing prop for England academy) point to baloo looking to strengthen the squad at prop. This will address a major weakness in 2013.

The key signing will be a 6 if the club can find one.

Also youngsters like Aspinall, Mason, Blackmore, Connor are a much higher quality than in previous years.

Would expect our 19s to be in the play offs at the end of 2013.

Wow Durham sorry you feel so down about the game! I think the worksheet idea is a good one- and yes it would probably go down very well. I'm not involved at primary level- but I have used rugby league in my job as a science teacher on a number if occasions in momentum calculations, speed, forces, health and fitness etc - I come from a school which has strong rugby league links- a number of the youngsters I teach have scholarships at the giants and some elsewhere.
I think many of those ideas are great and would definitely work. I do think that the club have become more inaccessible to the "normal" fan- at one time there was often the opportunity to chat to the players or staff and on an informal basis. Now you only get to do that as one of the chosen few with money who pay for the privilege. I was talking to Mattie Dawson at the kids disco and he said it was all a lot more formal at the giants than at castleford and he commented he didn't really get to chat with grown up fans much- but had been in to loads of schools.
Hope you rekindle your love for the game and the club soon.

A sadly demoralising but honest post Durham Giant. Some of your suggestions seem particularly good, I too have been surprised by the inability to market the club well, look at the record of average merchandising. I wish you well for the future and hope the players and staff at the club can show as much commitment as you have over the years.

Sorry to hear you're not renewing Durham you are obviously someone the fan club needs,I urge you to think again.
Jools, I feel that I must disagree with you when you state the club has become more inaccessible.I recently spent quite a spell on the telephone with Richard Thewlis who answered every question I asked him.The only things he wasn't prepared to answer were the questions that could have legal implications.All any fan has to do is e-mail,telephone or call in, you will have your questions answered.I am relatively new to forums but I do think that quite a lot of postings are in all honesty a load of cow cookies(I really mean bull****)with very little truth in them,the Danny Brough to Hull rumour is a prime example.Why so called fans start these tales baffles me,I am aware that other clubs spectators are in some part responsible but for our fans to then carry it on is crazy and can only do harm to the club.In my opinion the two things most super league clubs have in short supply are spectators and money,unfortunately without either one a club cannot hope to survive.Any true supporter of the Giants should in my opinion renew his\her season ticket and help Ken and his staff any way we can.Just to end this I have been a spectator since my father took me to the old Fartown ground at the age of 8years back in 1949 I played until I was forty,coached at club,town and county level and sat as an independant on the district league committee,in short a lot of my life has revolved around Rugby League and I would not change one bit of it and that includes paying for a season ticket for next season..End of rant.Ps nice one Murphy

And the supporters association has had many club officials as guests answering questions. Plus it is possible to speak to officials at home and away games.

It should not be a surprise that a small organisation cannot implement the uncosted ideas of hundreds of passionate fans. Getting behind the club is key.

Sorry to see you take such a drastic step, Durham.

As far as worksheets for schools are concerned, the Heritage Project are putting in place of mountain of material for use in schools directly related to the club and Rugby League. Have a browse at [url=http://www.giantssupporters.co.uk/Presentations/Teacher%20Presentation/index.htmlthe proposals[/url.

shame to see your not renewing durham due to circumstances... had many a good trip away days with you!

sure i will see you next season at some point..hopefully when the giants are surprising you!

Durham, its understandable, when one put a great deal of time, and effort into something and often it falls on deaf ears, and is not apprieciated, as you say you are a true giants fan and will carry on supporting but in a more moderate way, l hope you are wrong about the future, l think we are all concerned about the post Ken Davy era..
Jooles, Ivor and his commitee do a great job regarding meeting people in the game, they have had Ken, Nathan a host of players, referees, among numerous guest speekers The HGSA meet at the Turnbridge Club as you well know, l don,t know if you have been or not, but Ivor as with Durham must be very frustrated at the lack of support from the fans, the attendances at these meetings are frankly pathetic.
l live in Portugal so there is not a great deal l can do in organization, but l buy my ST each year, travel
20-25,000 miles and support as many ventures as l can, l jion organized trips eg. Catalan, MM, etc. and always spread the word, l know its not easy, following the Giants never is, just keep the faith guys, and good luck and happiness to you all

I know the hgsa do good things. I've been to a few events organised by them but I can't attend meetings midweek due to other commitments.
It's great that they organise stuff and its a shame more dont attend but as much with the club nowadays it's all formal/organised- not just popping into the pub after the game and having an informal chat like in the old days. You have to oay for the privilege of going into the bar.
What we really need is a proper clubhouse that IS the club that we can belong to.
Anyone got a spare portacabin we can stick in the carpark????

l agree Jooles, having been to some Ozzie leagues clubs, they are fantastic and generate a lot of income for the clubs, l have often thought something similar in town, but it takes money, a lot of money, eg the YM building is empty, it would make a fantastic sports and social club, and would possibly be an investment for the Giants. It would need lots of members to succeed no matter where it was.
Then again its easy to spend someone else,s money, and Sir Ken has already filled his boots.

I thought they may have gone for one of the two pubs by Willow Lane traffic lights
Grahams were / had closed down and it may have been possible to get a bit of their site for possible expansion later if it took off
There was also Bradley Mills club which also had the basic facilities in place --and profits (hopefully ) from the existing facilities would have allowed it to grow in line with demand

However --even if considered --nothing happened

The demise of the clubhouse at Fartown was down to its location (distance from new stadium) , vandalism , and political decisions

But when the club played there and it looked out onto the field --it was often full
The fact that the youngsters could meet and greet the players and that the average spectator got the chance to chat with the team created a good atmosphere ---but for whatever reasons as Jools says --it now seems (like the whole structure of the game) more formalised

Good idea Jools regarding a club house. It is the councils intention to develop land all about the stadium with several bars etc why not talk to the council about the possible siting of a clubhouse on part of the same location.They will discuss it if it's approached in the right way.Just a thought but you never can tell.

the leagues clubs are great , went to one the other week in penrith whilst over for the grand final but a lot of the profits will come from the pokies/gambling which huddersfield would not be able to get a licence for( i presume).. these places are open 7 days a week and keep a lot of the nrl clubs runnung.Huddersfield do need a club house though even if its just for match days

We [HGSA are having a meeting with the Directors in November. We shall raise the matter [iagain[/!

Good luck lvor. l really do think a clubhouse needs to be more central, opening a club by the stadium just on matchdays, l doubt will cover running costs, thats why Bradley School Club closed, the old clubhouse was in the heart of a community and struggled. lf its going to come about, l think it should be a proper job, but as l said before it will cost money, and there,s the rub.

What about re-development at Fartown, with a new clubhouse/changing rooms, renew floodlights and use as a training centre/venue for amateur & junior cups/admin centre/meetings etc. 3 pitches and good parking. Yes it's a bit of a walk to the stadium but there would be other users contributing (...and it would help St Joes out

)

id be happy with a prefab in the carpark tbh!!!!!
already suggested this idea to RHP.
If we could get all parties to agree we could fill in one of the corners at the galpharm to use as a clubhouse on matchdays and during the week it could be used to hire out for training/conferences etc