I guess the players who have come in are on modest contracts whilst the ones shipped out were on excessive ones. I think we needed more than 3k to spend more than last season. 2k probably would see the the spend just under.

Ahhh yes, that could have something to do with it. Its nice to see a blue chip sponsor on the shirts!

I also believe the directors are putting more money in to the club and they were waiting for Mr Vickers to fly in from New York for a meeting the other week.
So a lot of credit has to go to them also.

Mr Vickers?

Richard Vickers a director & Wakefield fan who is based in New York

Ok, cheers.

Fantastic. Its beginning to look like we have a decent regime! Roll on 2014 & Newmarket!

I think the OP.. was a good one, and one we need to keep asking so we don't get in the situations we have again.

So I think initially the 3000 members was to keep paying the squad of players we had last year, obviously we have lost some of the high earners & others smith, aiton, poore, amor, mellars & cockayne.
I dont think we have 2000 members; yet we have signed Godinet, Anderson, Ryan, Moore, Shulver and paid a transfer fee for McShane.

The chairman stated that when he looked further into the defecit if was much more than the 400k (perhaps 500k+) .... we have signed a few more sponsors but I think we all are surprised at the situation we now face ourselves in i.e. numerous half decent signings from the other side of the world all costs associated with that.

Yes KH might have negotitated good contracts.. but think there will be dark days ahead especially I predict a dramatic drop in attendances. We need to start the season well to encorage the walk up support.

So I am thankful to all the present team at WTW; however due to what has gone on before us.. we need to be on our toes, and ask these valid question's.

We really need to take the early points from the Bradfud and Solfud games.

I agree. In the last ten years we seem to have had some dark days, yet we've bounced back in face of adversity, and I think we're in that bouncing back stage now. However on one hand I cant help but wonder when our next slump will be, but on the other hand, we now have KH on board and some links to Leeds Rhinos, which it pains me to say, but I think they're the best administered club in SL and I just wonder if KH is putting those processes in place at Wakefield.

It's important to remember that the 400k wasn't a debt - it was a shortfall in next year's income against projected operating costs, the largest of which being player wages; since then, we've managed to leverage decent transfer fees for a number of players, which has had the double benefit of a) adding to the projected income and b) reducing outgoings for next year. I don't know the details, but the received wisdom that we were paying inflated wages to some players appears to be true, so getting those off the books will have had a significant impact. We've also seen new sponsors and commercial deals agreed, which again will have been of benefit in terms of income for next season.

The fact that we're now signing players suggests that MC's austerity regime has brought the books back into some kind of equilibrium between income and costs; I would imagine that we're pretty much at or close to the limit now, so any significant additions to the playing roster are only likely to happen if we have an equally significant upturn in ST sales, or a massive walk-up attendance during early season.

In my view it's right to be optimistic, but it's wise to be cautiously optimistic; like most fans, I certainly won't take anything at face value in future, but it does seem that we now have a fighting chance of staying out of the bottom 2 next season, and MC deserves credit for that. I never expected to be worried about my RL club having a sustainable business model, but I now find myself wishing for that almost as much as taking 6 points off Cas in 2014.

2,000 members under the current prices is probably better than 4,000 members under the old, as the income will be similar now but the 2,000 "lost" members will probably pay on the day, adding more cash to the pot.

Cheap tickets filled the ground but emptied the tills.

I very much doubt this...

I suppose it depends on the make up of that 4000 (if indeed that was how many the club did actually sell!). It would've been nice to know the actual breakdown between adult, concessions, young persons and juniors in order to get a better understanding of where the club stands financially between the two seasons.

add to it the rest of Slugger's post in your quote and he is probably correct

Unfortunately some of the current 2,000 will still be at cheap rates as starting price was still a bargain.
Objective now is surely to drag the rest through the gate though as said above.

I believe a win at Salford would get everyone back involved.

That's a big ask.....as the kids say these days.

Amazing things happen when people least expect it...

Just looked at their likely team on other forum.
This is certainly the right time to play them as it will take some time to gel but a good performance is all I'm expecting from our team. A result is a big bonus

Thats right dreadnought. I remember going to Wigan a few seasons ago & the main topic of conversation in the away stand was what amount of defeat would be a good result for us, then to come away with a win ! What a journey back that was.

My missus hasn't renewed this year but may well end up paying at the gate for a few games. I've upgraded to Platinium. So it's a definite net gain from our house.

As another example, last year i bought mine and my grandsons ST which was concession £80 junior £20 total £100,
this year concession £100 and my grandson is now a young adult £60 total £160, so over 50% extra from me and im sure there will be many more out there making up the shortfall.

And as MC said recently a good proportion of the cheap tickets were in fact counterfeit- hence the delay in producing this season's tickets

The two posts above are what I was referring to. I know a few people bought an adult ST for £125 and a junior ST for £25 purely to get the numbers up to the desired target. That same supporter has probably bought a ST this season so at the very least the income form that individual will be the same.