Did you not go to the Fans Forum? Do what Adey has already suggested to another pessimist go and ask OK you wll get anwsers to your concerns!

I think I would get OK's opinion that he will sell 7,500 full priced season tickets. My opinion is that he will not. I might be wrong, he might be right. But he will not be able to answer that question for a few months.

I've no doubt that OK will do a very good job on the marketing side and that he has many great ideas. But ultimately success for the Bulls will be driven by success on the field, in much the same way that Bullmainia in 1996 was driven by our CC Final appearance. Marketing alone will not save the Bulls. And the fact is that the new owner has zero experience in running a professional sports club.

I'm certainly more optimistic now than I was a few months ago, really hope that OK will transform the club. But I still think we're only half way out of the mire and will retain a degree of pessimism for the time being.

I appreciate you no longer reside in the UK, but you do remember the typical Bradfordian, don't you??

very downbeat and negative, woe is me etc....

it hasn't changed, still plenty of knockers about who would rather whinge/moan/put a dampener on everything than do or say soemthing positive!

Optimism may well sell merchandise & tickets in the build up to the new season. But unless that is quickly reflected in performances on the field that fans' optimism will quickly be dispelled as we have seen numerous times in boom & bust sports teams. IMO Cibaman's concerns are genuine & relevant, especially an apparent lack of RL nous & expertise at senior management level. A Gary Hetherington/Maurice Lyndsey/Chris Caisely type figure, on a quarter of the salary is required. Kath H is out of work?

You would only loose £400k if the 2000 don't turn up at all for the whole season. If they come to 50% of the games and pay £20 on the gate you will get more than £300k through the turnstile.

Sure it's good to have the cashflow from season ticket sales in the bank - but in broader terms the challenge is to get bigger average attendance not whether they buy season tickets or pay on the gate.

Don't forget to deduct the VAT from any calculations the wannabe accountants perform on here...

Also remember that some costs are variable in line with revenue (like turnstile and ground staff) so £1 loss of gate revenue does not mean £1 loss of profit, but rather less.

Offsetting that, fewer bodies means lower ancillary income, meaning the opposite.

Heath mentioned in passing that Geoff Evans had moved on, this might be common knowledge - if so it had slipped by me - but this may also have as big an effect on the team next year as Cummins becoming head coach. Whether that change of conditioner is for the good or not will remain to be seen.

I think there is more than a little truth in the idea of results being a big driver, but I suspect there is a new optimism surrounding the club right now which could prove to be even bigger.

One thing I desperately hope we've seen the end of, is this attitude of, "we're the big Bradford Bulls and we're above signing [ithis[/i player, or losing to [ithis[/i team, [ishould[/i be playing better, etc", a belief expressed on here many, many times. If we (a few of us) have lost this outdated, and never very nice, superiority complex, then the fans will hopefully be a little more forgiving than has been the case in recent years and we can ALL get behind the guys wearing the shirt. Ultimately, in this situation we really are 'all in it together', and we either sink or swim and I'd rather swim, even if the water gets a bit choppy.

And there are some bloody great sharks and other nasties circling round us too, in that water. And our best chance against those wakners is to stick pretty closely together. Any outliers will get picked off first.

Good piece on the Fans Forum on the T&A site www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... ulls_fans/

Good piece on the Fans Forum on the T&A site www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... ulls_fans/

One of the problems with the obsession tickets, both season and advance is that the effect it has had on the walk up crowd. This isn't just a Bulls problem but is more pronounced if your season ticket is discounted. People are reluctant to pay £20 for what the person stood next to them has paid £10 or less. According to an article I read about champagne they over produced, discounted to sell the over production. When the price went back up sales collapsed as even the people who had previously paid full price stopped buying it.

Similarly with discount on away game tickets bought in advance. it's a significant disincentive to simply turn up as to all intents and purposes you have incurred a levy, rather than the pre-payer receiving a discount.

Whilst we might sell less season tickets I'd hope the walk up crowd returns in numbers.

I'll stay firmly on the fence thank you very much, but in general people are a little too quick to label others as 'negative' if they have the opinion that 7,500 season ticket holders is a bit of an ask.

You may disagree but it's hardly bristling with negativity is it? There is broad middle-ground between happy-clappy and woe-is-me.

I'm not sure if any of Lynch, Godwin, Hudson or Platt are available for picking again?