Exactly and I don't get the parking and access issue at the Shay..as for the Ovenden park suggestion...

the biggest bug bear about the shay these days is the unfinished corner. this could bring in extra revenue straight away. big council fail. just sums them up.

Used to love my trips to Thrum Hall (but not the toilets there!) and it was sad to see it go but you needed to move with the times. Wish my own club had a ground like the Shay. What's the capacity? What level of crowds could you reasonably expect? I remember the heyday of the mid 80s saw crowds of 8-9k.

We moved to the Shay in 1998. The relegation season 1988-89 we averaged more than 8k at Thrum Hall, which ironically was higher than the 1985-86 title winning season! If I remember rightly, even in our 3rd placed Super League finish in the late 90s at the Shay, we struggled to get an average of 5k, but I do remember good crowds against Bradford.

Ah yes, Thrum Hall, with it's fire hazardous wooden main stand and the toilets in the opposite Popular stand knee deep in urine. But we all loved it, even the 2nd team got crowds greater than 2k. That's why I'm on a downer re the Shay. But I get it. We can't live in the past and I apologise for bringing the whole ground debate up.

Used to go up Thrum Hall in the early 90s. Whilst I was a diehard HTAFC supporter, I loved going to Thrum Hall and to see a crowd

I started going to watch Fax again when they moved to the Shay and the atmosphere was equally as good. The razzamtaz of Super League at the time worked and it was a real family occasion along with some great rugby.

I'm with Bullseye, you have a lovely ground, and it's a blessing compared to what many of us have to put up with. You perhaps are too close to it to fully appreciate what you've got, but surely when you come to our place you realise what slumming it really looks like.

I’ve always thought the land opposite the Wool Merchant where the gas works are would be a good location for a stadium.

Or perhaps The Shay?

Some people appear to be completely delusional, where exactly would money come from for a stadium? Even if we had it, it would be better used building a training facility and going full-time.

Same places that other sporting teams that build new stadiums get their money from. Its probably highly unlikely and a bit of a pipe dream but the best case alternative of both our towns main teams owning/running our current stadium together and making money off it is just as unlikely even though the obstacles are a lot less. Until their stuborn chairman leaves though its never happening.

Grix.

Go NOW.

Hard to ever recall a worse halifax performance than today. I cant honestly remember a worse one. We could have played for another 2 hours and not scored . First half when we had a chance squandered with stupid attempts to get it wo Walmsley . Manning showed exactly what Batley are all about . Hard work and together as a team . Halifax individuals with no togetherness and a rudderless coach . Defo time to go for grix

When he comes out and says that this performance has been coming, he may as well as said, I knew this was was going to happen but couldn't prevent it. A litmus test of the boards ambition. Bulls win tonight and we are probably in a scrap for 6th. A slow and steady decline over the last two months, punctuated by one good half against Swinton and a sending off against Barrow which covered up that game. The fact is that he has been unable to adapt since Keyes went down which I think speaks to his abilities as a coach. They settled for a non- descript assistant coach. He persists with Wood no matter what. You can comfortably push woody to 6. What was the point in Pickersgill? Throw in the debacle of Maher, King, Doro (clearly not at the club anymore), Maizen clearly going too. Tangata, Moore, Larroyer all should have been moved on at the backend of last year. The 1895 cup is just a ruse. Go look at the IMG criteria and you can see the literal the 0.1 you get for winning it.

I think fans can appreciate that other teams do get better, and some teams decline over time but the decay in the team is so evident and that the team is reliant on Keyes. Grix openly said this in his interview. He hasn't been able to get Jouffret or Wood to adapt their game. Controversial but maybe should have kept Aston over Jouffret. He's a flair, confidence player and I think he has been found wanting this last two months also.

I think using Keyes as an excuse for our awful form is somewhat exaggerated. Keyes form at the start was so indifferent there were calls for him to be dropped, and other championship teams don't appear to have outstanding half backs they rely on as much as Grix claims we rely on Keyes. So why is he so special?

It's all fallen to bits and I cannot see how this can be turned around. 42 nil is a shocker. I wouldn't be surprised if Newcastle beat us this Sunday, they had a useful win against Haven and aren't that bad.

The big question to ask is, What Next?

I've said elsewhere that the club is doing great things in the community, the LDRL team, Wheelchair team, Ladies team, but the main thing the club is judged on is the first team, and currently they are well below par.

Recruitment has turned out to be terrible, but most people were happy with it pre season, for whatever reason a few haven't fit in at the club, while many will have been signed by the old board the coaching staff will have had input. Further signings since must have had input but Pickersgill seems the strangest one, my theory on that one is we've signed him as a favour to an agent or someone to line up further signings, but that is probably just a conspiracy.

Grix seems out of ideas, while I've been saying "Grix out" for longer than most, I do partly feel sorry for the situation he is in, he lost his assistant (Finn) part way through last season, and then his brother left also, our fitness has been no where near since, although it is thought by some he is still involved. But ultimately he now has to turn the team around, people defending him say its not his fault the players aren't doing what he tells them, but as the coach he needs to get them to, or do something more to their strengths.

As Tony Fax pointed out, its rare once a coach at fax loses the crowd they get them back on side, but in reality I don't think changing the coach now is a good idea. I'd see the season out with Grix and have him leave then.