I'm reminded of a statement made by Michael Carter at the very beginning of his tenure as Chairman in which he said words to the effect of:

[iThis club will find itself playing at a level that the finances dictate, if that is SL then great but if the reality is that our level is the Championship then so be it, we won't spend money we haven't got and that the business can't afford.[/i

I don't disagree with that sentiment but you can't lay the whole responsibility for our dwindling business model at the feet of the supporters. Without some form of progress somewhere in the club then that statement becomes a self fulfilling prophecy!

The style of play adopted by our Coaching staff, some baffling decisions re selection, the absolutely rank awful performances by the team have all served to turn fans off!

Webster writing the season off as early as round 8

Then there's some rather unnecessary match day crowd control policies that have upset many of the fans and it's no exaggeration to say that these policies and those who've enforced them have made attending some games a less than enjoyable experience.

Throw in the stadium fiasco, though I know this is largely out of the clubs hands, it's still a dark shroud hanging over the club.

All of these things have contributed to falling crowd figures and therefore a business that deserves to be in the Championship. There has to be a recognition of ownership from the club that they are somewhat responsible for where we find ourselves.

I don't want the head in the sand blind optimistic platitudes that we were served from Glover and Elston but they did create an air of positivity and optimism which had us playing to larger crowds.
Surely there were some elements of what worked for them that we can adopt without repeating their sins.

This isn't a criticism of Michael Carter and Chris Brereton either, I'm a supporter of both. I don't imagine for a second that they're not wracked with worry and stress regarding how they find the right balances within the club. I know that their tenure will have cost them both personally and I don't just mean financially but with family and relationships.

But, sometimes we all have to accept that we might not have got things right and change elements of our thinking.

One things for sure, this era of dour austerity isn't working and if we don't change our direction we will continue to sink.

I've often heard the phrase "shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic" and someone said that to me yesterday when talking about Trinity.

My response was this,
Had the Titanic run head on into the iceberg, instead of going around it, then there wouldn't have been sufficient damage to the bow to sink the ship.

We aren't sunk, but we might have to alter how we're dealing with the problem or we might soon be shuffling deckchairs.

Unlikely, but possible scenario is that, a wealthy(ish) investor who is also a wakefield fan sees a way to indirectly help his beloved club without having to risk his money by putting it into the club itself. Said investor decides, if the price is right, to purchase Belle Vue from the BOI, then decides to lease it back to the club at a peppercorn rent until the club get sorted with a new ground, said investor then sells Belle vue at a profit!..

As I said unlikely, but not impossible....

Are you suggesting we spend money we don't have, Avenger?

Did you get that from my post?

Of course we have money, Sky gives us a huge wad of cash every year. Instead of using some of it to grow the business we have blown it all on poor players, coaches conditioners etc.

"this era of dour austerity isn't working and if we don't change our direction we will continue to sink."

Yes.

Welcome to kirklees.

Are there other options?

Doncaster was mentioned in this morning's Yorkshire Post

It did indeed.

[urlhttp://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/all-clubs/wakefield-wildcats-and-rams-consider-ground-sharing-option-1-7379606[/url

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pleasant,_Batley 7 miles away and has 7,500 capacity. Had some refurbishment work done recently... Some pictures of the ground although pitch is infamous... tims92.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/ba ... round.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pleasant,_Batley 7 miles away and has 7,500 capacity. Had some refurbishment work done recently... Some pictures of the ground although pitch is infamous... tims92.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/ba ... round.html

What sickens me somewhat in this era of corporate and personal greed is that there are countless of groups and individuals walking around in this world that have personal and corporate fortunes of billions. Take your Bransons, Souters, Gates etc of this world. To them a million pound thrown at a struggling community club like Trinity would be like you or me losing a pound coin in the street, yet it would bring joy and pleasure to thousands of people. Just how much money do some of these people need?

I cannot believe we have reached this position where our choices are either Dewsbury or Doncaster. It was folly to resign from Belle Vue because much like work it is easier to find alternative employment if you are already in employment. With us voluntarily agreeing to leave I would think the BOI are laughing their socks off. I doubt they have come across any organisation that would remove their only leverage, so I am not surprised they don't feel the need to talk to us.
The council have also lost any reason to consider putting a use clause on the land. It is an heritage site but no one will be using it for what it is designated for so they might as well use the planning permission to build houses.

Scarlet pimpernel - I can't remember exactly but didn't we have to give six months notice to quit? I'm sure you'd hava had plenty to say if, in December MC was telling us that the club had gone bust because we had to pay out for BV on Championship (or even Poor SL) attendances. I don't see what option MC had.
On the bright side!!!!!! Every new situation presents opportunities. For many people in Wakefield The Rams' ground is nearer than BV and certainly nearer than Newmarket so, emotion aside, relocation doesn't necessarily mean lower attendances. In fact, it could open up an area previously thought to be the province of Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford. It needs some marketing (yes, I know.....) but it could be a fresh start for us. Even in the Championship a successful team (yes, I know.....) could pull in 5000 speccies. How good would that be if we could have sell out crowds every home game? Perhaps I'm dreaming but the future of the club isn't in my hands so I've got to stay positive.

Scarlet P…….which part of the ground problem do you not get ???? We cannot afford the current rent …..if we hadn't given notice to quit when we did the lease would have carried on at the current price for a further 12months !!!!!!! What is so hard to understand about that ? If you can't afford it it you can't have it !!!!!!

More

Well instead of reading one line and deriving your opinion of my whole post from that, I suggest you read the whole post and place that line in its proper context.



What I'm suggesting is that we need a change of emphasis and priority, a redirection of some resources into something else.

What I do know is that if you continue to do what you do, you'll continue to get what you've got!

What we've been getting is going to send us on a downward spiral

It's a risk for Dewsbury, remember. If we survive the middle 8's, any marketing Dewsbury does for getting people interested in watching rugby league will give the newbies a choice of top flight with us or the league below with Dewsbury.

If we have to leave Belle Vue, Dewsbury is probably the best option. The nearest ground and not a natural rival.

100% correct.

If we keep spending all our money on renting and maintaining BV, we will continue to have a team.

Austerity - it seems like you have heard a big word on TV and are just repeating it to sound clever.

No more Newsnight for you Avenger!

As some else has pointed out, moving to Dewsbury or where ever could cost the club what they're hoping to save.

Anyone would think we are the only team paying rent and/or maintenance fees, guess what? We are not . ALL TEAMS, and in fact all businesses have these overheads.

At BV we have the benefit of being able to generate income streams from the bars, car parking and hospitality etc. to offset the rent and upkeep. Will we have the same options at Dewsbury? I doubt it.

It sounds like you think that Dewsbury s ground meets SL minimum criteria ? Has this been confirmed anywhere?

As far as I am aware it does not and never has.

Ie. Dewsbury is purely a championship option ,is it not ?

Probably only Salford paying more than us.

Would you pay £250k for a hole like BV?

Wouldn't you prefer to pay a fair rent and use any spare money to become competitive on the field?

Remember, the gates have down...largely attributable to poor ground and uncompetitive team.

Something has to change.

There doesn't have to be a minimum criteria anymore. That was ditched a few seasons ago.

Not quite true. It was relaxed a couple of seasons back but their is still a minimum standard criteria. A club can apply for an exemption but that is at the behest of the rfl.