it should be policed vigorously without exception.

what do you do if they keep over spending

And yet that is something the RFL are actively encouraging

Theres nothing we can do anymore, the clubs gone into admin and we're gonna lose points from the RFL. The only people to blame are those that let the club get into such a bad state in the first place.
You cant just say sack staff at the club, it's tight enough as it is down there. Who would you really get to do the jobs they do? It's alright saying get volunteers in but who's going to stand behind the bar and miss the entire game? Or stay around after closing up time and clean up?
I feel sorry for Colin in all this, he's ploughed money into the club and now look whats happened. Who's going to go down to the kitchen at 6am putting the ovens on and filling them with joints of beef for the meal upstairs?
At the end of the day nothing can be done other than carry on the work getting more fans into the ground, which lets face it was happening last season I certainly saw a crowd increase. We just need to get behind the lads for the start of the season, they're gonna try their best even with a points deduction. Lets just get behind them.

COOOUUUGGGAAAAAAAAAARRRSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe if looked toward how American sports are managed it could help.

I believe if they put more realistic salary caps in place it would attract more investment in to the sport.

More clubs would have a shot at glory for a start.

Investors might have a chance of getting a return.

A percentage of profit could be allocated to ground improvements, youth development etc.

Having a collective bargaining agreement for merchandise. All kits made by the same manufacturer, with a single online shop covering every club, reducing costs. The profit could then be distributed equally amongst all clubs.

It seems to work over there.

You keep punishing them, they'll get the message eventually.

Their cap would keep getting lower and lower until they reach the point that they break the salary cap and points start getting deducted.

You're nearly there , I'll let you know how I go on

As I pointed out earlier there are not huge savings to be made

That has to be the main focus of all clubs outside SL , we either increase our support and revenue streams or we die

i think points deduction is another very good idea.

widnes sell 2500 shirts keighley sell 300 shirts the profits should be split 50/50

That's exactly what happens in the NFL.

They have a deal with Reebok and whether you're the biggest franchise or the smallest, you get the same amount. (Very uncapitalist for the US, I know)

With the League operating as one it gives them massive buying power to the point that with the volume of merchandise being sold the likes of Reebok would pay the league to be an official kit supplier. Buying in bulk also tend to make items cheaper and therefore more profitable.

This puts an onus on the kit supplier to recoup that payment which means they'll be marketed better and on sale in large chains like JJB. The likely outcome being more kit being sold and everybody benefiting.

I know the logic sounds bizarre, but in the US it really does work.

dont know mate.dont think we could sell enough shirts to weald that kind of power

You'd be surprised, if all 22 semi pro teams were involved it would create a hell of a lot of bargaining power. Admittedly it wouldn't be the NFL by any stretch of the imagination but I reckon you'd looking at around £1m worth of merchandise per year at least.

Not quite what I had/have in mind but something in between

I don't know about the merits of the shared profits idea one way or t'other, but we can't JUST have an on-line shop, surely? A retail outlet at the club is a must, I would've thought.
We do try and reach new fans, a few of us on here go around putting up flyers before the home games, but it has to be said that a bit of consistency on the fixture list would help here; you might get a person to a game, and then by the time the next home match comes around, they've lost interest due to the length of time in between. Or one's on a sunday, the next one is three weeks on thursday or whenever, and that makes it harder for those potential new supporters to remember or commit to.
Maybe as well as posters, we need an active, easily approached supporter's club, with contacts in all our various outlying areas?

The idea of the online shop was that accessible anytime and would be along side anything the club offered at games.

It would also mean fans who live far away and/or don't get to many games to still purchase something.

It will be interesting to see the new directors approach to the supporters, will they support an ISA?? If they are going to be not for profit I would expect they will need some major involvement from the fans.

My point about the easily contactable supporter's clubs is that if an individual wants to go to a game for the very first time, they have a ready-made bunch of 'mates' to tag along with. No-one wants to go to the rugby and be billy no mates, this way they'll feel part of the whole thing much sooner. Hopefully it'd add to their enjoyment of the day and convince them to come to more games.
...Well, that's MY theory...I could be talking out of my a**e, of course, it wouldn't be the first time!

If you sat in a bowl of glitter first, you could give a sparkling speech .......

A good idea.

Four ways Mick

4) Sponsorship - The ground in the 90's was covered with sponsorship boards, this did two things, brought in much needed revenue and tidied up the ground making it look a whole lot better than it does today, it pays to look good, it creates a small but meaningful part of the atmosphere that is Cougarmania, what do the fans see at the moment when they come to Cougar park? - empty spaces where boards used to be, showing that once upon a time Keighley used to be a great place to be, a part of what we need to do is offer cut price advertising boarding, any income is better than no income at all right?

Just whilst we are talking of creating the Cougarmania atmosphere, the small things mattered to the youngest fans that we are trying to encourage to come to Keighley - Paint the Cougar footprints around the ground - kids love to see these

Invite the schools we are working with to a 20 minute pre match game with one cougar player playing in each team - provide free match day tickets to the participating schools and parents, how many extra spectators would we see on these days? which would create a better atmosphere and who knows how many families will come back as paying fans! - this can only increase the revenue in the long run

All the small things add up

It seems to me that there are people on here calling fior the heads of the Directors(2001 Ltd), in my view a little unfairly, directors of a rugby club and indeed any kind of business, can only act on the information given to them.