Will it help you financially when away fans dont come because of this ?

With respect you will end up as a feeder club where Cas will decide who out of their squad they think would benefit from a game at Keighley rather than doing nothing.

This is a foolish decision which will see the end of fans turning up to watch Cas reserves (why would they ?) rather than Keighley Cougars. I could understand it if you supported Cas. Not just getting at you but also at other clubs who have also gone down this ridiculous route.

The RFL who have allowed this to come about should hang their heads in shame. They are incompetant short sighted idiots who will bring about the Championships demise. I despair. It is not a conspiracy theory to say they are RFU plants.

very disappointed with this decision by Keighley and the RFL.
I was looking forward to this season but I am now going to think long and hard about whether I want to spend my time and money watching a feeder club. It as been said it was naive to think we could continue without the support of super league but can we continue without a dream.

Really sorry to hear that. But i am not surprised to be honest.

I was speaking to two long time Keighley fans today. They both said they are not going down any more. Makes you wonder how many more will say enough is enough.

Isn't it great to see such undying support from 'Obeone' and 'Stealth Comic' and the comments posted by 'Salfordlad' and the 'ex-Leigh Director' (according to his RLFans profile) 'Starbug'.

If you truly are a 'Cougar' then you must accept that you have to move with the times - as I said in my opening 'post'.

Had we not agreed a partnering role with Castleford then we would have been playing uphill, as we were in the first half last week at Batley. We have to ensure that we play on as level a playing field as is possible or sink into the oblivion which is 'Championship 1'!

I've been supporting Keighley and the Cougars for over 50 years as have my children, for almost 20 years. JD was amazed when I told him this last year and I felt that he realised how much Keighley and the Cougars meant to TRUE fans and supporters, who I believed that 'Obeone' and 'Stealth Comic' were. Possibly 'Stealth' is only a 'Comic' and not a supporter?

I have no time whatsoever for Salford, nor Leigh as they have had their chances in Superleague (and Salford still do), so why do they pass such comments?

The alternative is for 'Obeone' and 'Stealth Comic' to invest in the Club so that their principles can be maintained and ensure that the Club is successful.

Watch that video with your coach.

Cas fans are being encouraged to watch your team

Oh yeh they'll replace your real fans won't they ?

I have mixed feelings. Partnering is generally the wrong way to go, but that's not going to stop me watching Keighley. I hope Marchy can maximise on his time with Ian Millward and that our players can learn from the experience of the players that come our way. It is a one year partnership which therefore gives us the option of being independent again if we can at the end of it. I would like Keighley to be great without any help but at the moment that's not going to be possible. Of all the clubs it could have been I'm glad it's Castleford. Ultimately I would struggle to find the motivation to make the the 200 mile round trip to Keighley to watch us lose.

Looks like Leigh fans like 'Starbug' so much that he has to come onto our Forum!

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and I won't pass any comment on 'Salfordlad'

I asked a simple question , and made a general comment on the way all the Championship Clubs are reacting to decisions being made by SL clubs and the RFL

You mention the ' oblivion ' of Championship 1 , I agree completely , the RFL have made it a league of death for any heartland club , unfortunatly 2 clubs will be dropping into it either way , with or without a SL partner

I dont generally post on the Leigh board , especially about Leigh matters because I am highly disattisfied by the current management at the club , they lack insight into what makes fans ' tick ' and how many of the idea's used in the past will not work , a new blank page is needed ,and a passion and determination on a new level to build the club , the Keighley Club once did exactly that , it need to be done again

This is NOT that way , this is contraction , not expansion

Feel free. I am a passionate RL Fan who supports Leigh.

I have watched them for 57 seasons. I could go and watch Wigan if I so choosed as I can get there even quicker than I can get to the LSV.

Should my club go down this route' quite honestly I would have to stop going to our games.

I watch Leigh home and away.

This twinning/partnership/licencsing/franchising is crazy and must be stopped not condoned or all clubs will be gone soon.

So every Tuesday the coach of Cas will tell P.March which players are available. So Cas are only going to offer us people they want to get ready to play for them.

The big deciding factor for me will be when we have a enough players fit to play. I really do wonder when that happens how many Cas players will get a game.

We have some very good young players coming through the system. How are these lads going to feel when all there hard work comes to nothing. Because someone player from cas is getting a game instead of them?

I understand both sides of the argument and if people now want to boycott that is up to them. As I have said on another thread, I don't agree with it, but I think we were stuck between a rock and hard place. We don't have a large enough budget or resources like Fax, Leigh or Feav so I feel we had to do something to compete. They may perceive themselves are large enough to go it alone. I'm afraid we are not.

I'm very much going to view is as player loans which has been ongoing for years.

I think Marchy has been open about it and didn't want to use it, but I suppose felt is hand was forced.

The logic on here is a bit odd.

People who say they support the Club.

The Club has a situation put upon them by the RFL. As all Clubs have in Championship.

Do we sink or play on a level playing field. One said he would rather see his team loose every week.

I think you would soon get feed up of that.

Cougars did not create this situation and yet they have had to adapt.

And yet some people think the way to protest about the RFL is to boycot / punish your own
club. People want a winning team. Sorry but if players are not available options have to be
explored.

It isn't Marchy's magic show.

Where do you suggest we get players who are fit enough to compete soon enough to stop us being left a mile behind during this injury crises?

Some of the young talent coming through would be up to C1 level but for Championship a lot of them need a little bit more time.

Who if they were in Marchy's job employed to make a winning team would have done something different?

This goes much, much deeper than any one team.
This is about the integrity of the league we are in.

We could go down at the end of the season. Because Cas only make there poorer players available to us. Yet Dewsbury could stay up because they get as many of the best Bradford players they want. Far fetch but possible.

And just because other teams are doing it does not make it right.

Some people are so blinkered because they are only thinking about Keighley. That they cannot see the bigger picture.

From reading this and the related thread, I think most, if not all, disagree with the concept of this so I don't think people are blinkered at all.

So you are saying Stealth and I are not TRUE fans,you don't even know me so do not judge me.If I wanted to watch SL players I would travel to Bradford or Leeds but I don't.
Within 2 years Keighley will be Castlefords 'A' team,watch this space.

I will not spend my hard earned money watching SL players getting a runout at CP to get some game time coming back from injury or whatever,that just sticks in my throat.

Do you really think that these players will put their bodies on the line for Keighley?They get paid no matter the result.

I don't think anybody on here wants partnership with any club and would love Cougars to be strong enough to stand on there own 2 feet.

If all Clubs had we would.

The truth is a simple

We could loose loads of games get relegated to the league of death.

This way gives us a fighting chance.

Cougars is a business and has to make a business decision.

Some fans may not want Super League players in our team.

Others may come because there are Super League players in the team.

True fans have supported and invested in the growth of the club for years
but these same people are the keyboard warriors are not the ones who stand to loose money if the Club goes to Championship 1.

The Core of the teams players will be Keighley and they want to stay in the Championship. The directors have also an investment to protect.

I sympathize because they appear doomed if they do and doomed if they don't. I would choose the doomed which gives us a chance of staying in the league JD worked so hard to get Cougars promoted into.

I don't believe the majority want to see Cougars in the 3rd tier with no visiting support. I also don't think even the proposal of boycotting any games will do the sport any good.

What can't be cured may have to be endured.

100% with you micky

I just love the way certain use the term, real or true fan as a form of insult.

If it wasnt so sad it would be laughable.

I have £xK in the bank, do I invest it in Cougars or do I invest in a deposit for a house I'm looking to buy? With your sense of logic I choose the latter because my love for the club should be unconditional. Unconditional love is something I reserve only for my family.

You seem to compelled to draw this in to a bitter and personal argument, i'm not going to lower myself to this level of communication.

The fact of the matter is the club has made a decision I very strongly disagree with. I do not feel that decision is in the best interests of the game of Rugby League nor do I believe it best represents what I believe to be the values of the club I also feel the way it was relayed to the fans was extremely poor. I will continue to watch games, but not at Cougar Park or at the ground of any other partnered club.

I realise that my decision is drastic, and to an extent could negatively influence the livelihoods of many people who I hold in high regard at Cougar Park. However I no longer feel I can give my hard earned cash to an organisation that has embraced concepts that are anti competitive and against the spirit of fair play however much I love the club.

If the agreement with Castleford is torn up, I will willingly return to Cougar Park.

I thought it was the SL teams that stopped the U 23's- U 20's to save themselves each £100 k. Thus putting the onus on "Twinned" clubs to pay for the privelege of keeping these players match fit?

The above may well be the case and a situation out of our control.

The Club have a hard year ahead and still need support.

This will split the fans.

Some will accept the change and continue to support although with reservation.

Some will find the pill too bitter to swallow and no longer continue to be supporters.

Lets face it Cougars RLFC is a business - you have to move with the times - the one sure thing is new customers will not be interested in a falling club. The fans that have gone regularly home and away will still go. To survive we have to see what our competitors are doing and be better than them. New customers, can Keighley provide these without being at the top of their game?

You are right the club is a business.

Now, if a business (a shop for example) that you were a regular customer of came to a business decision that directly affected the product you were paying for in a way that you considered wholly unethical and communicated it to you in a manner that was way below the standard of what you'd consider good customer service would you still spend money with that business?

That is in effect the real question here.

But they are trading within the standards of the profession and governing body so cant be unethical? If the product only appeals to a very limited audience and the business is suffering you have to appeal to a wider audience at the risk of losing your original customers.