Thing is, AJ, whoever IS at fault, it probably isn't the backroom staff, receptionists, etc. It seems very unfair that they should lose their livelihoods for someone else's errors. I wouldn't want the Cougars to save a few bob by getting rid of the people who help make it all happen every Sunday.
We all like to think of the Cougars as 'our' club - the staff must feel that bond in a very real way, and to let them down would be bordering on unforgiveable. I'd rather pay a bit more to see them, than have people lose their jobs.

Disagree there Mick,i for one would not pay more to keep someone in a job.

To keep the club alive the axe has got to fall somewhere,IMO.How else is the club going to pay off that MASSIVE debt?

Where do you suggest ?

Shame for the Cougars, not what you need going into a season in the Championship, keep the faith and dont give up on your team.

I'm with you there Steve.

The customers at our place wouldn't pay more money for product just to keep staff in a job.

There's only 3 ways to dig our way out of this.

1) Get more fans coming in.

2) Make the business more efficient, cutting wage bills, letting staff go etc.

3) One of us hits the euromillions jackpot and runs the club through philanthropy.

Cannot say without a roll call of staff and salaries , but if a business losing that kind of money they must start with the high earners.

I know there are many other ways to save money but this is where it should start.

I am no expert in this field,this is just my opinion and the savings would be instant.

You have experience Starbug,what do you suggest?

Clubs at our level cannot afford many F/t employees so yes the 1 st place to look at is the admin , however you do need some and I'm guessing that you currently have the balance about right , once you have done that then it is all about maximissing revenue from anywhere you can and somehow getting more through the gates

My personal opinion is that all the non SL clubs need to work together on this , collaboration is vital , non of us are big enough to go it alone

I am assuming you do a decent amount of community work , but the question is , does this work pay off , do you have the resources to follow up the work done in the schools ? , do you get the kids through the gates at Cougar Park because of this work ? , if not why not , and what needs to happen to change this ?

Do you make any money from merchandise sales ? , do those sales cost money to achieve ? , how can you improve both the amount of those sales and the profit on those sales ? , you also have to avoid being left with unsold stock , How do you get the people of the town wearing Cougar branded stuff instead of leeds/bulls ?

Do you have the resources to get into the town centre/local supermarkets on a regular basis with offers to entice families to the matches ? , to achieve this , who are you targeting ?

How profitable is your lottery ? , how can you make it more profitable ?

Is keighley an attractive proposition for ' corporate ' type support , do you have the business and industry locally to bring in the amount of support that the RFL encourage us to chase ? , if it's not there is it even worth chasing ? , my opinion is that business/corporate support is either there or not , the business is there in the town and knows you exist or it isn,t

Is the televising of games at our level worth what we recieve for them ? , do clubs at our level get more sponsorship because of the televising of games ? , if not how can we change this ?

All these things and more need to be looked at from an individual clubs perspective and collectively by all the clubs , we are all in a fight for survival , and in a fight , numbers are stronger than individuals

More questions in that than there is about the universe, you debating hoar starbug. Bit quiet in Leyther land today?

It is only by asking questions that you find answers , unfortunatley pride sometimes stops people from questioning what they are doing , most sports businesses are run by people who have been successful in business , however that does not prepare them for running a business designed to lose money to be a ' success '

One way to keep costs down is to use volunteers as much as possible during match days.. Obviously there has to be employed staff to deliver corporate entertainment and administer the club/facilities.

It appears to me that the 'pay the wages at all costs' scenario, has potentialy cost the club. Thats not to say that that is a bad thing, but perhaps the wages offered, players, directors or otherwise, should have been capped..

They must have been nervous turning on the floodlights towards the end of last season.....

The thing is though that at the level we and you are at there is a lot more to be gained from increasing revenue than reducing costs , the costs will be very close to being as low as they can be to operate , more income is the real issue here , without adding costs

Merchandising is some thing we should look at.

We only sell stuff out of a converted shipping container when games are on.

At this time of year we should have been looking to blag a disused market stall and selling stuff on a weekend.

As for players and staff, they're costing more than what the club is making at the moment so unless revenue increases you would have to assume jobs will have to go.

the problem with cutting players wages is you get a less quality of player which leads to a lesser quality of product on the field which leads to smaller gates.catch 22 i think.

I have to disagree with those advocating folk at club lose their jobs as a result of the directors mess its high time they took responsibility for this. At the end of the day the cougars product on the pitch is working and the community work is great in addition to this the club has recently been getting new albeit small businesses buying into the product the cougars are selling. Why other folk should suffer for failure at the very top beats me, remember with the new consortium staff and players futures are secure.

I see where your coming from but I'd rather see us get beat by 50 points every week than not watch us at all because we've paid out too much and gone under.

Apart from us there are at least 4 other clubs that have been in a similar predicament in the last year and for all we know that's the tip of the iceberg.

Personally I think the RFL should take the lead and lower the salary cap to a level that makes it very difficult for any team to go under by breaking the bank.

and more importantly 100 % of your target fan base wouldn't know or care

Detatch yourself from being a regular go anywhere anytime fan and put yourself into the position of somebody who has never been to a RL match , or a kid of 7/8/9 , what would bring you back to Cougar Park after one visit ?

Is it ?

There's NO WAY Rachel would have strippers in the bar, though...

I think good vocal - and friendly - crowds would get people coming back, but it's always better for a first time visitor to see a win, which could be a problem...
So, we need to get a half decent attendance, loud but friendly. To do that, we need to reach a target audience, be it families, young adults or whatever, but people who will be paying to get in. Not just flooding schools with free tickets, but getting people to part with the readies.
How about a '2 games for twenty quid' kinda deal for a new supporter, where a season ticket holder can introduce a new fan or summat?

Its an idea , we can take it on board and look at it's merits

This is why I asked about your community work and your ability to get into town centres and supermarkets , I assume you give out free kids tickets with a paying adult , Does it work ? , what is your take up ? , do you give out anything else ? , who do you target when offering free tickets ? the dads ? or the mothers ?

What you are suggesting is something very familiar to you , atmosphere , a good day out , something more than just attending a RL match , you could call it something like , well I dont know , maybe , how about

Cougarmania

Maybe I am making it sound easier than it really is , of that I have no doubt , but it is what needs to happen , not just at Couar park but at all the grounds outside SL

I suggested last season that you and Dewsbury offer to pay for each others away fans to attend the 2 TV games , why would I suggest such a thing ? , why should your club pay for fans to come from Dewsbury to support the team trying to beat the Cougars ? , madness isn't it

But , if you could have got 5/600 of them to come the atmosphere would have been electric , you then appeal to the people of Keighley to turn out because you dont want to be outsung on your patch

When you then go to the Tetley stadium , you take 5/600 , the result is a good atmopheric match

Like the owden days , remember

i'm like you pal i can watch rugby anywhere but if one team is'nt as good as the others its an unfair advantage and not good to watch