There is a time and a place for these words and im afraid we were way off the mark.

Been done before



That's the hard bit.

To be fair, it only needs one side doing. But it's the most expensive side!!

Judging by the standard of current and proposed Super League grounds we'd need.

1) A new, large main stand with plenty of corporate facilities and a media centre.

2) Rooves putting on the South and East terraces.

3) A new scoreboard.

4) Turnstile block in the SE corner reopened

5) Capacity upgraded to between 12-15k.

You wouldn't get much change out of £10m and I don't think the council will give us a penny, they're busy giving Odsal another refurb.

No problem, when I win the euromillions Cougars will be towards top of my list.

Sorry but when I hear stuff like this I despair , If it had been " It is our intention to become a top Championship club " then fine , quite simply to get from where you are now to Competitive in SL would require a 50 Million investment over 6 years , even winning the euro lottery wouldn't guarantee it Jeronimo

Why would the new board suggest anything else than an ambition for Super League? They are now in the business of rescuing a club and it would be potentialy suicidal to suggest anything else. They have to whip up interest, gain fans commitment to season tickets and going down to Cougrrr Park.

I don't think it would have the ring if it was announced that they only wanted to keep the club out of debt...

The only way the club will continue in any guise is to attract support - To announce thay want Super League status is setting the tone for the future.

Best of luck to them. It may even drag me out of my arm chair.

Because most of us on here are of reasonable intelligence and don't want it insulting?

You clearly havn't read the rest of my post have you?

They are not appealing to you and those that already support - to some extent, they already have 'your support' its the ones like me and potential supporters that the message is directed.

They have already thanked you in the Keighley News text..

So you are happy to be lied to ?

Or treated like an idiot ?

It's obviously pie in the sky at the moment - we all know we'll need a miracle to stay in the division - but the board have to show some ambition.
If asked to break it into manageable chunks, they'd probably say survival first, consolidate for a couple of seasons or more (!) and then the 'big push' for SL. But that isn't a dramatic headline grabber, is it?
It's better than saying "we have no desire to play in SL ever - in fact, you can stick it up yer a**e, Stevo!" when interviewed on Sky TV, innit?!

Ive supported this team long enough to appreciate both your questions.....


But this is a new board - with ambition, and I am keen to know more.

Alternative press release:

[iWe're keen to consolidate and entertain the few hundred fans we have - hopefully we will win a few a games but unfortunatley we will be relagated due to the points deduction. It's going to be a hard slog but I'm sure that the new board, myself and the 123 season ticket holders will eventualy see success, that is, unless we go bust again due to demotion and negative press releases..

Gary [/i

I'll buy that for a dollar

I think thats a touch strong, and perhaps a tad unfair.

All businesses need an ambition to reach for, no matter how remote. As long as they keep things in perspective and don't get into huge debt trying to live the dream then I have no problem with aiming high.

A business can only be taken seriously if great ambition is backed by a great business plan, be it a 3 year, 5 year or 10 year plan. So far we have heard the ambition, "we want to be in SL", now what is the business plan to get us there. Overspending and going bust is clearly not viable so what is it?

Surely a better statement would have been 'We are anly going to spend what we can afford and want to be as good as we can possibly be.'
A realistic and achievable goal.

www.sporthull.co.uk/hullkr/news/ ... ticle.html This gives an idea of what is required Sorry if my previous reply was a tad strong , but thats just the way it is , I dont want Leigh to even consider SL until we can draw 4/5,000 crowds in the Championship , and that is with a stadium already in place , so the jump from where you are now to competitive in SL is more than huge

www.sporthull.co.uk/hullkr/news/ ... ticle.html This gives an idea of what is required Sorry if my previous reply was a tad strong , but thats just the way it is , I dont want Leigh to even consider SL until we can draw 4/5,000 crowds in the Championship , and that is with a stadium already in place , so the jump from where you are now to competitive in SL is more than huge

Quite alright old bean, one would assume that having talked the talk they can walk the walk.



As long as they have done a root and branch examination of the business and put in place firm strategies and goals with targets and people responsible for attaining them then they are heading in the right direction. If, in a number of years that means we are in a viable position to have a tilt at super dooper league then so be it. On a personal level I have actually stopped worrying about reaching that level, but I can see why ambition is important to attract sponsors and new fans and to give a vision.

Check out this website.. snoop4directors.co.uk..oh dear oh dear..

give us a clue... Who are we searching on?

I've found me if that helps

I've done some research on the super league licencing for a piece of coursework, we really dont stand a chance for a long long time yet, as much as i'd love to see my home town in super league its gonna be a while... at least 2017 possibly 2020.

The criteria works on a points system, the clubs with most points get in, simples!

Stadium with a capacity of 12,000+ = 1 point
Stadium meeting standards of a premier 21st centuary competition = 1 point

Averaging 10,000 speccies = 1point
Stadium working at 40%+ capacity = 1 point

Club being solvent = 1 point
Club with an annual turnover of £4million = 1 point

Gaining a top 8 position in Championship over 3 years = 1 point
At least 25% of players being home grown = 1 point

Not breaching salary cap for three previous seasons = 1 point

Not having another rugby league club within 20 miles = 1 point

Thats just the 2009 criteria!

So realistically where are we now, and how long is it going to take to take to super league? Cos we won't be as lucky as Toulouse with the joy's of being an isolated club for expansion purposes.
I think we need to start working on bringing fans in to start of with.

The phrase trying to run before you can walk springs to mind...

"I've found me if that helps " - I Havent found myself yet! here is still hoping for the new year and 2010.

keighley......Super League ?? Yeah Right.....Thought there were certain criteria to apply for a license ??
Like not being in administration in the last 3 years.......cross
Like winning the championship or Northern Rail Cup......cross (a bit presumptious but not a cat in hells chance)
Winning the championship........cross (Less chance than the above)
Stadium criteria............cross

Cant see any other placing than bottom even without a points deduction !
Who was it that actually quoted this ?? and do even the die hard fans think this is possible in the next decade.

You can bet your bottom cougar dollar that Halifax, Widnes, Leigh, a new french mob and possibly a new welsh mob
will get in over the next 10-15 years, before Keighley would even enter anyones thoughs.

Remember cougarmania many years ago and it was great but those days are history which are likely not to be repeated in my lifetime. On a positive I do love games played at Cougar Park, great little ground and atmosphere and good craic.

Unless there's a miracle it's not going to happen.

When we were averaging 4500 fans, winning the old 2nd division and beating top flight teams in the cup they wouldn't let us in.

With half them fans now supporting Super League teams I just can't see the glory days returning.

I think our ol' friend Rhino boy is missing the point of the original post - all the cougar fans KNOW we aren't superleague material for a good few years yet, it was more or less a dig at the new director's lack of realism, and a 'wonder if we are going to be treated like idiots' kind of post.
Most of us on here are pretty happy with real rugby in the Championship for now, Rhinoboy, but thanx for your concern.

If you had actually read this thread you would have had no need to ask these questions, but then you would not have been able to look down your supercilious super league nose at us.