For just a suggestion of how much Widdop is allegedly being paid, if you can put up with listening to and believe anything Mick Gledhill says, check out the Full 80 minutes “Assessing the Championship Club Season” from Feb 21st 2024.

Whilst not saying the exact amount the figure hinted at even had one of the other hosts saying “surely it can’t be as much as xxx k” with MG nodding oh yes it could.

My info has RD being particularly keen to get the Gaz deal over the line.
When it first surfaced on a brief online chat interchange with RD I mentioned asked / suggested that having achieved so much in the game that to go out playing for your home town club could be another important milestone / achievement and if there was any chance / truth in it.

The reply was, “ If not it wouldn’t be for the lack of trying.”

Well I did say “some” of the reasons all of which are valid ( football being one of the alternative sporting options ) and left the main one until last so your point is what exactly?

And coming from a family of sportsmen dominated by footballers it certainly hasn’t flourished here as nowadays none of us would lose a minutes sleep if we never watched another game.

It’s boring most of the time and there are much more important things going on.

Away from home.
Comparing football and rugby league in the UK is hardly worth the time spent to type it out especially with the younger population (where we are year on year struggling) who are from being toddlers to teenagers weened and exposed to football virtually 24/7.

So why didn't you start going again when promotion was on the table with the qualifiers?

We'll all continue to be divided re the Shay. Personally I feel like we're squatting in a soccer stadium. I don't like it, never have. Barrow and Keighley get more in their out of town RL grounds, need I say more?

I just feel something has to change. The same old fans turning up year after year, slowly declining through death and disinterest. Even the signing of an ex SL/NRL halifax lad appeared to stimulate zero interest - I bet not a single "missing" fan of years gone by was tempted to return following Widdop's signing. That says it all.

As I say, with the Council now wanting rid of the oversized Shay, it's a great opportunity for wholesale change. Just saying.

I don't know what the answer is regarding the Shay and our attendances, so many posts above make valid points regarding the reasons why people are not coming through the gates. I do think a lot of it is down to the Shay itself and that seems to tie in with what has been said above, even when we have had succesful teams at the Shay we have never really seen an increase in attendances.

I feel like we missed out on generations of fans over the years for whatever reason and now it feels like a total disconnect with the community and its really only this season and last that a lot of work seems to be going in to trying to engage in a serious fashion with the people of the area. I just don't know how you justify to a floating fan that the standard that we play at is worth 20 odd quid per game and that is always what I come back to.

Regards the Town forum as many know I do like to engage on there and there are some good posters on there but like anything you still have people who go on about 1998 like it were yesterday when theres actually such a small percentage of people that post on there that were even going back then and anything that is said is taken as gospel. When you gently remind them that Town have struggled a lot more than Fax over the years with finances than Fax have its made out like its a lie but I know people that were supporting them back to the 50's and 60's that remember them going from one crisis to the next. A lot of Town fans will simply forget that they were racking up debts in the early and mid 90's long before Fax ever thought of moving to the Shay.

Yes the rent arrears is not a great look and we do seem to be in a bit of trouble but Town have had more money written off by the council over the last 6 or 7 decades than Fax ever will have and have screwed more local businesses over than anyone will ever remember but some on that forum will still have you believe that it is all Fax's fault.

I really feel when it comes to the stadium it needs to be some sort of joint venture but Fax have kind of shot themselves in the foot if they had aspirations of that happening but I trust neither side to run the stadium on their own and feel like it would be a total disaster although I will admit to thinking it were funny if someone from Fax did end up with their hands on the stadium just because it would be worth seeing Hoodie, ShayTrev and Flea's melt down reaction.

The thing is how many of the opinions on the footy forum are based on facts , I mean I have some pretty substantial connections with the club ( not meant in a bragging way ) but I will be honest i bet Dave Grayson and bosomworths wives haven’t got a scooby do what’s going on .

[Part quote

“Town have had more money written off by the council over the last 6 or 7 decades than Fax ever will have and have screwed more local businesses over than anyone will ever remember but some on that forum will still have you believe that it is all Fax's fault.” End Part quote:

Add to that in doing so they’ve robbed the rest of the Calderdale tax payers more than any other local organisation ever, leaving then to pick up the tab and taking the tax man and tax payer for around £850 grand.