There is a large article in the Free Press by Carl.
He spells things out what will happen if we don't get bigger crowds next season.
Oooops!

He states we need promotion next season to get increased revenue from the Championship in 2013. If not we couldnt afford to stay at the KM.

Quite sensible to me , not doom & gloom .

If that was all he stated the article would have been a lot shorter.

I wouldn't mind moving if they were considering Castle Park. The Keepmoat is far to big for us.

Lets move to Castle Park. Great ground now. Be more atmosphere and decent beer. And if Ryan and co buy the Keepmoat then our money won't be going into the rovers pockets.

On reading the article--- i would say that moving away from the Keepmoat is the last thing Carl wants.

The facilities at the KM are good but with a team like Fev struggling to pull in two thousand i just can't see the point of us playing there. Surely a smaller ground would create a far better atmosphere.

I think if it means saving money and having a better atmoshere, then it would not worry me to go to Castle Park.

I dont think playing at the Keepmoat or Castle Park will make any difference to attendances. The only way we will get the crowds back in my opinion is a move back to the other end of Donny that is the RL hotbed.

When I win the euromillions draw on Friday night the 1st thing ill do is pay for a new ground to be built on the sacred ground of tattersfield!!

So the club needs more fans coming through the turnstyles, you don t say. The club has done some brilliant deals over recent years, but there does not appear to be any long term plan to increase spectators which will be difficult in current times anyway. Similarly is there a long term plan/ strategy to attract business to the Dons, probably not having had to endure the diatribe at the Q & A after the last home game where the usual give us your money plea tactic was used. Also at the Q&A there did not appear to be much enthusiasm for promotion.

Does the advisory board still exist, do these people have any ideas on how to help the club.

And I m sure next season will be intriguing, however I feel it will be my last season as I have better things to do on my days off when it has been the same story for 20 odd years delivered by the same small group!

And a change of ground will make no difference, the problem is a lot deeper.

Well firstly we didn't finish fourth, let's dispel that notion.
We came fifth and it is because of this that we had to travel to Rochdale where we lost. We would have probably beaten them at the Keepmoat.
We would however most certainly have lost at Keighley, just like Rochdale did, since we had had a rehearsal a few weeks previous and we were dreadful, and Keighley just got better.

Secondly, there were only two successful clubs in our division, namely Swinton and Keighley.
Finishing in the top four is not a goal, it is just an intermediate step to a proper goal which is promotion.
Our goal next season should be promotion and that alone.

Thirdly there has to be a plan covering several seasons. A plan that is revised according to achievements. Now the plan may not be to be a Superleague club, or it may be. If a creditable plan cannot show how we can get into Superleague (if that is our goal) then we need another plan, say to be a good Championship side having an eye to winning honours in that division, cups/money etc.
We can't just suck it and see, that is not a plan.

Now one thing is for sure, if nothing changes we will stay roughly where we are, drop down our division or slowly go bust.
So something needs to change. One obviously is to get a better crowd on the back of better marketing and a better side.
Now if we take the view that the side of last season as a core coupled with some affordable journeymen will get us promotion, then fine. They had better be interesting journeymen though otherwise people won't get revved up enough to make a difference. If we slavishly adhere to our current policy of balancing books it may work, but it's a big gamble. Look at the Rovers, they shook things up, took a gamble and so far it's paying off, good luck to them. Their NEW target is moving from just staying in the division to making a play-off spot.

I think we should be bolder, but that is easy for me to say.
I have stated that if we had have been bolder with two more decent signings, we would have been promoted. That's hindsight maybe, but I still believe it.

Whatever the construction of our side next season, it must be better than last season in key positions. Though I think that the club did a marvelous job with the on-loan players that they got. Some quality there, but we are back to square one almost on that front. Will we have any of them next time?

So it will be intriguing next season, but we had better pick wisely or it won't go anywhere. We should analyse what made Swinton and Keighley better outfits that ours and where we need to improve.

What I do find off-putting about rugby at our level, is that there is too much change. Every season half the players ship out and by the time the new ones (normally young ones who need training) are bedded in and we have got to know them the season is over.
That is rugby on a shoe-string, hand-to-mouth basis, and it's no good.
I know that's not our fault.

Weren't Armthorpe Welfare talkng about moving to a new ground up by the M18? Maybe if we got involved with them would not the dual sporting use of the facility qualify for various grants?

I agree with Stand-Offish regarding "too much change" at our level, albeit a problem that is difficult to overcome.

Fans, especially kids, like to have heroes to support. That doesn't happen at our level anymore.

I don't think it matters where we play. I'd vote for where we'd get most supporters. There'd probably be as many people dis-pleased if we moved away from the Keepmoat as there'd be people happy to stay there.

Every club needs to have ambition. Without it you simply stay small and probably end up going backwards. We need realistic ambition based on sound finances. The finances are primarily governed by how many people turn up to matches and how much we can raise through businesses investing in the club.

It must be very tiresome for the club to keep doing their best only to find the people of Doncaster don't seem motivated to get behind the club and support them.

If there were 2,000 people in Doncaster like me, and the other die hard fans who regularly post on here, we'd be able to see a brighter future ahead. Ultimately I fear we will remain a very small player in the world of rugby league unless someone with mega bucks comes out of the woodwork or the people of Donny get behind the team.

Sadly neither seems very likely and a lottery win for Karlos (or me!) seems like the only hope.

I'm ready for the new season starting already. The season is too short. It's a long time until the Northern rail cup!

And it ought to be a lot lot longer to the Northern rail Cup ... as in never!
Just give those games over to league games and let's get on with it!
We can have a cup competition at the back end if we are that desperate.

[iQuite agree it does nt really matter where we play, after all what does the club need to do regarding managing the ground like in the past. I suppose all the day to day stuff is done by the Stadium management. You would think that would allow club officials to meet, greet and win over potential sponsors![/i



[iThe club does need to be ambitious, realistic and consistent which needs a 5 year plan, hard work, honesty and vision. Does anyone at the club have these attribute![/i



[iThe club previously had 2000 motivated fans, but over the years these numbers have been worn down by broken promises, constant begging for money, poor and inept management, virtually every former Dons supporter or former sponsor you meet can tell you a story of a dodgy deal or how they have been let down by people involved in the club over the years. This will never change without a total clear out, which is very unlikely! [/i

Trotsky, interesting post earlier. Who within the current Dons set-up, needs clearing out?

Would new faces bring instant self-belief back to the club, or would they need time to gain the fans' support?

What realistically can be done to get the missing 2,000 back?

Stand-Offish: I agree the Northern Rail Cup is a bit of a pain and not the greatest way to start the season ... but at least we can start to learn the names of all the new players for when the real league action starts.

we all know the Keepmoat is too big for the Dons.I was one of some that did not want to move to Castle park but i am begining to see that we need to.1,The reason being that guy called Ryan at the rovers harping on about buying the stadium,[its called a community stadium can he buy it? 2, like someone said on this thread i don't feel like putting money into his/rovers pocket.3, Would the RFL put future rl matches on at the stadium if the Dons was not there.i.e. again putting rfl cash into his pocket tho thinking about the rfl they do have that inclination to put money into the wendy ball game don't/haven't they.We can' say that some speccies will not go to Castle park cos its to far from Bentley, town ect.ect.We cannot go back to Tattersfield like someone was reflecting.I went to York road from Kirk sandall
then to stainforth then Belle vue if your a fan then you would at least go local.But beware if the Dons leave the Keepmoat the club might not get back whether he buys it or not.Maybe thats what Carl is thinking.Who knows.Watched a tape of Carl playing for Bradford Northern the other night.

I can’t believe that people are on here saying that certain people at the club should step down. I don’t always agree with some of the things that go on, however if it wasn’t for the people involved in the current set up then we would not have a club. I don’t see any millionaires on the horizon with money burning a hole in their pocket wanting to buy the Dons.It’s good to have ambition but sound finances must come first, if we blow it again there will not be another chance from the RFL for rugby league in Doncaster.
Also I think it’s a bit rich to have a pop at people who are trying to do their best for the club and then come out with stuff like ‘this will probably be my last year’ and ‘I’ve got better things to do on a Sunday’, if that’s how you fell then that’s fine but don’t have a go at the folk who are still here doing their best.

The club is making progress , we are breaking even . Can understand Carl's comments in the Free Press about the future. What Carl didnot mention was there is likely to be a franchise system for 2013 onwards.

We do need bigger crowds but last seasons crowds were up slightly, donot know about gate revenue though.

COYD

Please don't extrapolate one person to 'people'.
If you mean Trotsky, then say so.


The rest of us are staying ... he probably doesn't mean it anyway.
We all get p/ssed off from time to time.
He's a paying supporter and we need him.

if everyone toed the party line and thought the same, we would all be going baa!, like sheep.

Exactly. We need as many paying supporters as possible, which is why the loyal fans we have should get behind the club. You are correct in saying we do not always have to agree with the club management, but as i said earlier without them we would have no club to support as nobody else seemed interested in saving semi pro RL in Doncaster two years ago!

Can't fault you there rupert bear.
Anyone, as management, who touches a rugby league club with a bargepole is a saint (or a fool

).
So therefore full marks to our management. It is a bloody hard job.
Whether you are good at it or shoite, it's still a bloody hard job that most people would not entertain.
RESPECT.
COYD

I've seen many familiar faces,(true,loyal fans)some i would have classed as life-time supporters give up on the Dons over the last decade and I'm sad to say the majority of them will never return.

I ask myself why?

Times are certainly tight at the moment and there are many other ways of spending our hard earned cash,the fixture list in Championship League One doesn't help,but without a doubt the overriding factor i believe has been the mis-management of the club in the past.

I personally believe that had the management of the club not put all it's eggs in one basket in it's aim of reaching the dream of Super-League a few seasons ago then we would not have had to go through all the upheaval we have been through,and we would still be competing on a even footing with the likes of the Eagles at this moment in time.

The club lost the Trust of the fans and it will take many year if at all for the stay away fans to return.

The people in charge of the club today,and the remaining loyal fans must do everything in their power to win back that trust.

And I would add that this effect is not just associated with the Dons and their recent past.

Fans and ex-fans look at rugby league as it is today as a very fragile, undependable and an almost unsustainable product.
Never a year passes without clubs going into administration or breaching rules. This has become the norm and more worryingly is on the increase.

So I would suggest that trust has been holed below the water line.

The decline in industries such as mining has decimated traditional support and I can't see it ever returning. Plus a diversity of other interests hasn't helped.

Rupert, Stand-Offish, and Dragon Fan have made some very good points.

I don't agree with some of the things that the club do but I respect that they cannot please everyone all of the time. They do a good job in difficult circumstances and I fully respect them for it.

The bottom line is that unless we increase the supporter base, we will forever be a small-time player.

I suspect it's a chicken and egg situation: If we constantly win, people will be more inclined to come and watch; if we're doing averagely or poorly, it'd be the same few faithful ones there.

Can we get back the missing fans? If so how?

How can we attract new people to the game?

Is our only hope of moving forwards if some rich investor comes along?

What does everyone think?