I meant in wanting someone to drive the club forwards when Ferres has resigned stating that his recommendations to do exactly that have been blocked.

Meant the business tbh

I heard something similar, although a bit more dramatic than that.

Isn't Ferres close to the France family? Interesting timing if so.

Going back to his statement and the counter-release by Fulton - it looks like the Chairman wants a CEO who will behave himself and not rock the boat; a poison chalice if you ask me and not the way to attract an applicant of quality - who wants to work at that level, but have your plans and ideas persistently curtailed?

My theory - a few people on the Cas BoD are looking to cash in their chips; the only realistic possibility they have of doing that is to flog WR; if only a 15k capacity, state of the art stadium was being built somewhere nearby!

steve ferres is a fix-it man. he has a good track record of sorting clubs out and pointing them in the right direction. he also excels in getting the fans behind him and creating a siege mentality.

he did it with us, he has done it with cas.

to quit like this speaks volumes.

I 100% agree with that, whatevers been put in is way is insurmountable, what that is we'll probably never know.

I think that we may be reading too much into this one.
Ok Steve Ferris has resigned because the Cas BoD wont bank roll all of his plans and Mr Fulton has said that they are now seeking a replacement.
It's common knowledge that our friends over t'common are short of brass and finding new investors aint easy.
Whether Cas are in a more serious financial predicament is not mentioned, only that they need urgent investment.
I agree that Ferris is capable of sorting them out, but he cant work with fresh air and IMO this is why he's gone, not because there is a more serious problem ?

Well we'll probably never know the details.

You have to admit he handled the "stadium" news very well and increased the season ticket/membership sales working alongside Fozzard it did look brighter for them.


I just don't see him quitting without the rug being pulled out one way or the other.

Problems both sides of the common apparently

New revelation or wishful thinking?

Problems everywhere, but hey, if it makes you feel better...

Steve Ferres is a "my way or the highway" kind of bloke, as we've seen for ourselves. He hit a wall with us, and he's hit a wall with Cas. Fact is, neither club has the sort of funds or ownership structure that would allow a Steve Ferres type free reign to behave like Napoleon and do whatever he thought best in the interests of the club (and no doubt himself too). And perhaps more to the point, Steve Ferres hasn't got the kind of brass that would allow him to buy a club and run it as he sees fit either.

He did a lot of good work for Wakey, and he did a lot of good work for Cas. But most owners have their limits when it comes to what they can afford to spend, or their willingness to speculate, and he just doesn't seem to accept this. It's easy gambling with someone else's brass - banks have been doing this for decades - but when it's your own money, most people are generally more circumspect.

The Cas BoD won't leave until they get back what they put in. Wakey have seen the same over the years (the 1979 Wembley team springs to mind). The Cas BoD have the ground as an asset, so there's no reason for them to shift until someone comes in and offers them a fair price for what they own. That won't happen, because no one will spend over 3 million quid to buy Cas RLFC, unless they think they can sell the ground for a substantial profit, and that's a big gamble these days. Even then, the team will still have to play somewhere.

I could see Ferres moving to Salford or Bradford in the near future. As someone posted on the Cas forum, you don't just up sticks and leave a well paid job like that unless you've got something else to go to.

I'm sure Cas are much better off for his involvement, and that's a good thing for the game as a whole. How they deal with the aftermath is anyone's guess. On the plus side, at least Feisal Nahaboo went to Fev.

I think he is a fix it man but worryingly for me he never stays in the hot seat too long wherever he goes. He genuinely seems to have qualities - but perhaps his way forward is beyond the means of most clubs. I don't think it would be a good idea to return to us as some suggest.

Wow - you're sooooooo funny !!!!

A rumour doing the rounds suggests Steve Ferres told Cas the only option would be Administration, the BOD declined and Steve walked away.

Make of it what you will.

I'd agree. Ferris is good at taking chaos and giving it direction and organisation.
We have needed that in the past but I think we are further on than that.

In terms of running a business AG is far more qualified than Ferris. In terms of running a sporting business, I think we have managed to steer through the early chaotic waters that Ferris would help with and need to continue in that direction. I think Ferris would try and repair old mistakes that have been patched and bypassed.

I'm not that impressed with Fozzard either. Not that I don't like him but I think we should be looking at experienced professionals now rather than rugby players that have learned a trade.

That would explain his reluctance to divulge details of what he asked the BoD to do.

Also would tie in with him trying and seemingly failing to bring in new investment. When Wakey were looking for investment pre-admin the potential investors, including Parkin, would only look at the club following a pre-pack administration as no-one wants to inherit the historical debt of these clubs.

It wouls also tie in with the fact that they still have Dickie Wright as a shareholder and Jack Fulton seemingly wanting his money back out of the club - despite his press release.

I suspect that there is quite a lot to this story and that more pain may be just around the corner. Perhaps the best thing for the club would be to take the pill now and then they just might have time to get the house in order in time for licence application time!

Not good for our neighbours!

The only way we could go into Admin would be if our assets were worth less than our current debt - which they are'nt. We cannot sell our major asset (ground) so I would suggest this is'nt what SF was reccommending.

It wouldn't matter if you can't raise the cash - many businesses are technically solvent and trading, but if the banks etc won't support the operation then they go bang.

The alternative is to top up the wage packets each month and keep trading as you are - which is what Ferres clearly didn't want!

Agreed - our BOD obviously think there is a better way out. Or as usual are just hoping someone will come in and buy them out.

I think it's probably more to do with not wanting to walk away with nothing - but that is exactly what they will get if they don't manage to alter the business model substantially in quick time!

Think that it a little harsh on fozzard, I follow him on twitter and his enthiusiasm and passion for what he's doing is to be applauded - he almost had me wanting to buy a Cas membership! (well not quite but you get the idea)

As a mouthpiece from the club to the supporters he has been excellent, especially when you consider the years of virtual silence or cringeworthy soundbites from tricky dicky.

If you think of the shifts in club ownership over recent years, do you think maybe Cas are the last of the old guard. There has been a takeover by modern savvy businessmen in recent years, probably started by Steve O'Connor at Widnes. But with us, and then Bradford and Salford, the nature of club owners has changed. Very savvy business brains. There is no reason why Cas are not an attractive proposition. They get good crowds, own their own ground, and should be able to grow the talent rather than buy it in.

The problem is maybe persuading the old boys to step aside and so the club is being held back. I fear for them come franchise time, because they have taken a step back or too since last time, with Glasshoughton seemingly biting the dust.

All fair points sluggger but we won't see another franchise period after this.

I can see what you are saying as I've seen him on there too, and my wording may have been harsher than I intended.
When I say I'm not impressed I equally mean I'm not unimpressed.

BUT, if you worked for a big multinational company, or even West Yorkshire Windows, would you employ him in that role? I think he has done a marketing or business degree (?) which is credit to him but he equally he has gained his experience working at Cas.

I hope he does well in the role he has, and progresses, but just don't think he fits what we are looking for.

Maybe I don't understand the role but to lead something like this I would expect is to be bringing in someone with external experience rather than making a good lad fit a role.
There is a big jump from being a mouth piece cheerleader on Twitter to managing the marketing for a big business.
I'd have thought AG would have a lot of connections in this area so wouldn't need to bring him in.

I think Fozzard working under Martin Hopkins would work well, his enthusiasm really does come through.As for Ferris maybe, maybe not. But I do like the idea of a little more experience on the board but personally I would go for someone with more of a financial background.

I think you would be surprised as to how important social media is perceived in modern business and also with regard to marketing a company through social media



On Ferres, I think it's sad for cas that someone like him is walking away from them, Cas will struggle to replace him with anyone with anywhere near his experience and connections and Mr Fultons Job add statement clearly shows they don’t have anyone waiting in line



Good luck to Cas think they need it, I would be very sad to not see them in super league and despite all the banter I think most "True" wakey fans would miss the rivalry