Before I joined the forum I noticed there seems to be a lot more guests viewing the forum than there are posters. I wonder why this is? The interest is obviously there and it would be great if more people came on and shared their views.

Whether you're a former poster or a guest that isn't yet ready to take the plunge, I'm sure you've all got something interesting to say. So come on, let's hear from more of you!

One of the reasons is probably the same reason as why our crowds have gone down , ie the quality of our rugby and our inconsistent form .

Increase popularity of other forms of social media have probably lead to a decline in interest in this forum .


Some of the negative posts on here may put some people off posting .

Please don't say that ...
Negative or positive ... does it really matter?

I have noticed that a few of the recent posters are the type that claim they are positive and fully pro the Dons.
Nowt wrong with that.
But the point being that the moaners have begat the 'let's all get behind the Dons' posters.

My take is, if all the moaners deserted this forum it would pretty much become just a message board.
Boring!

The truth is nothing to do with moaners.
Times change ... people are more interested in asking'where are you? and 'good morning, what's happening bro?'
Typical reply ...

'Just had a bowl of weetabix and now I'm off to the dumpit site to log off.'

Fact is, we don't have game on a regular basis and our form is also irregular.

The person eating the weetabix is probably more regular.

I will stand corrected .

I, along with others used to be a very regular poster on the Sin Bin.
Now it is like a graveyard and I haven't posted in ages.
I would average 20 posts a day on a range of subjects, and I was far from alone.
The site was buzzing.

Old hat now ...

Begat

Its a bit Old Testament is it not. There is no wonder folk are giving up, 7 days and all that, its not ITD you know.

I believe there are a number of reasons why people have given up or don’t come on here anymore:

1) People’s interest in the club wanes when the team isn’t doing well
2) Fans expect Club Doncaster to provide the necessary investments to make the club successful again before they will come back

As Weighman said, there is a direct link between the declining number of fans and the number of people posting on the forum.

I suspect conflict between posters does stop some people from joining in. I’m not talking about differences of opinions, I’m talking about behaviour that crosses an acceptable line.

These types of contributions won’t encourage others, they will put them off.

It’s not all about being nicey-nicey but putting opposing points of view should be done with respect to those who don’t share them.

Perhaps, as S/O suggests, forums have had their day and people prefer to use other means of social media to say what they want to say.

We could really do with some of the people who don’t post anymore to give us a more definitive answer to the original question.

Looking at five of the most recent threads, here are the number of times each topic has been viewed, along with the number of replies made:

In The Dugout 25.8.17 - 570 views; 23 replies.
In the Dugout 18.8.17 - 881 views; 39 replies
This thread - 160 views; 8 replies
Crowds - 1157 views; 12 replies
York v Dons - 471 views; 9 replies

Total of above - 3239 views; 91 replies. That's an average of one reply for every 36 views.

There does appear to be some level of interest but the ratio of views to replies seems extremely low. It'd probably be more interesting if we knew how many unique viewers there'd been but I doubt we can get hold of that sort of info.

The reason why people have given up or don't come on here anymore is because they are sick of reading garbage such as that posted on this thread and those that simply can't come to terms with the fact that the Dons will never be a force to be reckoned with under the present set up.Thank you,goodnight and goodbye because I just can't stomach any more of this load of absolute tosh,it's even worse than In the Dugout.

Glad you are fed up the feeling is mutual . If you cannot debate goodbye !

This isn't a forum where you can debate because if you don't conform to the majority you are not welcome, Playing devils advocate maybe new posters are put off having their thoughts on here due to the old guard stalwarts who seem very set in their ways? both myself and tatty have expressed our views only to be shot down instantly, being a new poster and new to this forum I got the feeling of a clique and if any new folk with different ideas show up they are ganged upon. Like I say i'm only playing devils advocate so would like your unbiased view on things. COYD

Sorry Hally cannot agree about clique sorry you see the established posters that way.

The reason why you may have felt you were being ganged up on was because your early posts were using a confrontational tone. This was unlikely to endear people to your point of view. Once you started to debate properly and explained why you feel the way you feel, there was some headway made in getting a decent debate going.

I really enjoy a good debate and that's why I like coming on here. Throughout my life I've learned the most from listening to what others have to say. I don't always agree with people but if they can put a compelling argument for their case, I can often be persuaded to change my mind.

I'm certainly not a "yes man" and always want to listen to both sides of a story but I'm not going to be convinced that someone else is right if they simply tell me I'm wrong.

Maybe there's something we can all learn from your suggestion that it feels like a clique and perhaps we can all do more to make new posters not feel that way.

Maybe fresh ideas and a different approach could be the way? The club is in a huge rut and it seems some of the fans are happy to accept this, i'm not advocating pitchforks outside houses but where's the passion? as paying fans we can push for change instead of sitting on our hands and taking whatever garbage is being thrown at us

Hally said on his last posting “where’s the passion?” and I have to agree with him. Where is the passion? The fighting spirit of The Dons supporters seems to have disappeared.

Apart from the ‘passion’ where is the compassion? Carl has made some mistakes and I’m sure he would be the first to admit it, but aren’t we all capable of that? Instead of ‘kicking’ the man when he’s down, isn’t it now that he needs our support more than ever?

Come on you Dons! Let’s get behind Carl and the lads and pool our resources. We have done it before and can do it again.

Hally under the new system fresh ideas are being tried. Any suggestions you might have will be very welcome. Nobody has a monopoly on new ideas. We all, it seems, want the same end so don't be reticent if you have something to offer.

Maybe the last 8 or 9 forum meetings the issue of our discipline has been questioned but still we are no closer sorting it out and its killing us every sunday, also questions asked to carl on itd never gets fully answered, I get the feeling carl hates the thought of anyone questioning his authority and any suggestions gets quickly swept under the carpet. The club have to say there willing to listen to any ideas but cmon we all know that ain't the case. For me it boils down to how many times can I take being lied to

May be Hally you have no confidence in your fellow fans .

I attended my first fans forum & I thought there was a positive interaction between club officials & fans . The club are going to put proposals out on how to increase base . The fans will then say what they think & reply .

May be you should put aside the fact you have no confidence in club or its officials . I did & am hopeful for better times ahead .

Consider giving them another chance .

I really do feel the club are wanting to listen to the fans more. Here's some more details on one of the things we raised at the fans meeting about season tickets: Not knowing when the fixtures will be after the league splits makes buying a season ticket much less attractive. Firstly the club acknowledged the problem and said they'd look into it and further consult with the fans as to how season ticket purchasing could best work better for us. Hence this is one of the reasons why season tickets won't be going on sale early this year.

They also wanted to see if there were other ways the fans could be rewarded for showing loyalty to the club when buying season tickets. Gavin Baldwin said that the initiatives the Rovers had used to include various different season ticket packages had gone down really well. He was going to see what could be done for us.

Hally, I understand your concerns about Carl not fully answering questions on In The Dugout, we need to point that out to him and see if things can be improved. In The Dugout is a really good concept. I'm not sure how many other teams at our level will be trying to interact with fans in this way. I'd like to give the club and Carl some credit for doing it but it's a good point, we do need to look at how it can be made better.

The issue you raised about penalties is probably one for Richard Horne. Giving away penalties must really be a coach killer. We see it time after time in all the games we watch. One of the Hull tries in the Cup Final was on the back of a really silly Wigan penalty.

I used to post a lot on here but have to admit i have lost a bit of interest in the game due to various reasons. I now find that having followed the Dons home and away for many years i don't have the time to commit to it as i did previously, once you break the habit of going it's hard to get back into it.

Good point Rupertbear.

After all the pre season hype from CH about " the largest budget ","going for promotion" ,"we need to get out of this division bla bla bla the season has been an embarrassing failure.
We need to face facts, we are a poor team in a poor division where the standard of rugby is bordering on amateur and we are still only a mid table side.
A team that snatches defeat from the hand of victory, with a CEO that is only too happy to tell loyal fans that its wrong to criticize when they have paid their hard earned cash to watch games thrown away through silly penalties and lack of discipline.

Crowds are dropping as people find other things to do on a Sunday, than pay £15 to watch paint dry.

I have held a season ticket since the great days at Tattersfield, but chose to pay as I went this year.
That is something I have not regretted , even though I have attended all but two home games this year , i will be doing the same next year unless I am convinced other wise.

GT was appointed as he was "The man with the knowledge of the division" and what did he bring............Poor player recruitment, boring rugby and disappointed.
CH said it was GT's team and he had nothing to do with the selection but as I see it he was the man who appointed the man that was going to ensure our trips to the rugby wilderness would be short lived.

Now all we receive is the drivel from "The dugout".

For the love of God please knock this tripe on the head because you are turning the club in to a laughing stock.
Excuse after excuse and never a straight answer given, then calling fans for voicing an opinion.
I think a job in politics beckons Mr Hall when his tenure in RL is over ,which with any luck will be after next weeks game.

Club Doncaster need to look at the Dons and decide if they want the club to move forward with a new CEO or leave it to die a slow painful death under the currant one.
Carl thanks for all you have done ,but it really is time to go.

I like Carl ... what I question is his judgement.
I don't want him to go, I want him to stay.
But we really do need to pick better coaches ... I mean, if we got a good one, he may stay years and get us to where we want to be.
At the risk of banging on ... we haven't had a stand out coach since Ellery and possibly Paul Cooke.

Get bloody John Kear in.

I don't think anyone dislikes carl and he does take a lot of flak but most of that is brought on by himself, just look at some of his statements and targets over the last couple of years and tell me how many of those he has hit? The weekly ITD episodes are just cringeworthy with him waffling rubbish whilst somehow blaming everybody else but him, we are a broken unattractive club and attendances will only fall until something is done about it.

I will reserve judgement on RH as this is not his team and i think he deserves a season with his own players.
However looking forward, where are the next generation of supporters coming from, the clubs fan base is shrinking rapidly.
The highlights reels of the games are disheartening as we see undoubtably the best stadium in the league 95% empty, surely we can follow York and get a regular 1000 fans coming through the gate.

I enjoy a beer or two around York every now and again with work colleagues and have attended two of their home games this year when the Dons have had a free weekend or been away at the back of beyond .
They seem to go the extra mile to put bums on seats offering two for one deals and generating a good atmosphere , something that is lacking at the KM

We need to encourage more spectators and sponsors ,do we actually have anyone other than CH and his cronies in the boxes on match days?

What is wrong with giving the empty hospitality boxes to companies free or at a small charge and who knows we may pick up one or two additional sponsors along the way.

With further expansion teams muted to be joining the competition i fear we will rot and fester in this division until such a time as Club Doncaster see fit to cut us loose.

I know sports fans from the town are a fickle bunch but why the hell cant a town as big as Doncaster attract more than 500 people to watch the greatest game of all in what are fantastic facilities.

That question can only be answered by the stay away fans.
Over to you Carl

I agree that we’re probably only a mid-table side (perhaps more accurately described as a top eight team) but I don’t think the standard of rugby is poor when the top eight teams play each other. The games against the bottom half teams are often one-sided and do very little to attract fans to matches.

I understand that people have a choice of many different things to do on a Sunday. All clubs are struggling to keep their supporters. The Newcastle game was very tense with everyone on the edge of their seats most of the time. The result wasn’t the right one but the game was certainly entertaining.

I’ve had a season ticket since the bad old days at Tattersfield, which then included the great days at Tattersfield as well. I’m glad I never gave up on the club. If the loyal few of us had walked away in the late 1970s and the early 1980s there may not have been a club around in the late 80s and early 90s for everyone to enjoy. I sincerely believe that the best way to help bring success back to the club now is for us to all stick together and try to help the club move forwards.

I’m sure someone else on here called Carl a politician recently. If Carl was a politician he wouldn’t have said some of the things he’s said on In The Dugout. He would act much more diplomatically. Questions asked don’t always get thorough answers. He’s taken me to task on more than one occasion for asking what he feels are silly, inappropriate questions, but when he’s done that I’ve talked to him directly and we’ve sorted things out in a constructive and friendly way. The guy’s human and has a rant from time to time. His misdemeanours are not a hanging offence. We need to work with him to help make things better.

Here’s my overview of Carl’s performance:

It was an inspired move by Carl to bring in Paul Cooke. We finished 4th in the Championship in 2014 under PCs guidance.

A poor recruitment strategy resulted in an awful 2015 when we got relegated. Paul Cooke was voted coach of the year in 2014 and most of the fans respected him. This probably showed that even good coaches can make mistakes and get things wrong.

GT was appointed to take over the failing team but couldn’t stop us from getting relegated in 2015; the damage had already been done with poor recruitment.

GT was then correctly given a full season in charge with his own players recruited. We reached the play-offs but got soundly beaten at Barrow. It wasn’t the greatest of achievements, the rugby we were playing was quite one dimensional and boring, but we seemed to be turning a corner and had stopped the decline. GT was given another chance to rebuild for the 2017 season.

After a poor started to 2017, GT was sacked. As promotion was the aim, we were falling short of that target. I believe this was quite a decisive move by Carl and Club Doncaster.

A young, ambitious coach was brought in, someone who could probably be compared to Paul Cooke, apart from the fact that he wasn’t out there on the field guiding the team around. Richard Horne’s got experience of playing at the highest level and played in the backs. The coaches who tend to play the most attractive rugby are usually ex-backs.
It was unrealistic to expect GT to turnaround the Paul Cooke era overnight, it was similarly unrealistic to think Richard Horne could put right all the GT wrongs. He’s not been able to but it would be unfair to hold that against him.

In summary, I believe Carl has acted decisively when things have gone wrong and replaced two coaches. He made a mistake in appointing GT but we need to remember that GT had won this league with York. With hindsight, we can all see it was a bad decision.

Carl’s got things wrong with some of the things he’s said and done on In The Dugout but at least he doesn’t hide away behind his office desk. He’s always willing to talk to any of us. Other structures are being put in place off the field to help the longer-term prospects of the club.

I do not quite see how Carl seems to be the arch villain. He has done his job effectively for the most part with a few errors along the way. He remains passionate about the club and his enthusiasm to get things right seems greater now than ever before.

I do not agree with the suggestions the club is an embarrassment. The club was an embarrassment when we were being filmed for Another Bloody Sunday. The club was an embarrassment when it went bankrupt when we reached the big league. The same applies when we went into administration after the John Wright years. It was an embarrassment when Craig Harrison and his business partner pulled out after getting the club promoted.

At the moment we are under-achieving, not an embarrassment. With good recruitment in the off-season, there is no reason to believe we can’t bounce back in 2018 and be very serious contenders for promotion.

It should also be remembered that the levels of investment required for this to happen are because of Club Doncaster. If we were relying on income from gate receipts alone to fund the team, I’m sure we’d be in a much worse situation. Or maybe we could try to find a man with money who is prepared to back us until he either runs out of cash or decides to leave us in a financial black hole?

I would urge all fans to get behind Club Doncaster, Carl, and Richard Horne because we all need to be strong together. Let's make suggestions for changes and improvements and help the club get to where we all want it to be.