Yes we can - Crusaders, Wakey, Cas, Widnes....

Whats up with Widnes' ground ? and does Odsal have the required number of covered seats ? Same foe HKR ?
Cas & Wakey know ther are things to be done, but maybe others are unwilling to acknowledge the fact !

You say the mismanagement is in the past, but that has yet to be proved either way, and I cant think of any of the problems associated with Wakefield which you could say were down to the Franchise system. Wakefields problems existed in spite of the franchise system not because of it.
And yes, season ticket sales may be up at Wakefield but they are still much lower than Bradford, and yes average sales may be up but they are still much lower than Bradfords. Yes they are making impovements to Belle Vue but these improvements have been a long long long time coming and Belle Vue even then, wont be as good as odsal.
We only come back to the franchise system because you have brought it back to the franchise system, thats the kind of circular thinking I was talking about. Wakefield as club played in Belle Vue, had masses of overseas players, poor crowds and were by any realistic measure a struggling SL club before franchising had been put in place. And if the correlation between the entrance to SL of clubs like Paris, Gateshead, Crusaders, and London proves they are responsible for the struggles of the heartland clubs doesnt it also prove they are responsible for the massive improvement which has put about 10k on Leeds attendance? the attendance increases at Warrington? St Helens? Hull FC? Wigan? Bradfords attendances are historically pretty good is that down to the expansion clubs aswell? Huddersfield? Nor is there the desire in cumbria, hence their struggles.
If you want to look for a conspiracy, you will find one wherever you look. If Wakefield drop out next time and you want to find a reason which doesnt blame that club, use this. But it will do no good. The fact is, Wakefield are in danger come licence time because they havent made themselves indispensable, If they do everything they have promised, if they get a new stadium, get 10k attendances, stop giving playing positions to so many overseas journeymen, give more chances to youngsters you have developed and you wont be in danger.

And after the millions pumped in by Sky what state is it in now? We've had Crusaders and Wakey go bust whilst holding licenses. There is a question mark over Bradford's financial health. There's two clubs at least that are massively discounting their product with cheap ST offers (which is going to be bloody difficult to reverse). How many other clubs are trying to drink from a dry well? Before you jump on my back with the old straw man bollax - I realize I'm just fishing with my questions but if I was a betting man I wouldn't be afraid to slap down a few notes on the presumption that the game (SL clubs) is far from being in rude health.

compared to where the game was 10/15 years ago? Its in massively better health

Phew!

Everything's alright.

Thank goodness.

What does this have to do with Wakefield? Are the RFL buying Belle Vue?

Nothing's up with Widnes' ground (well, apart from the fact that it's in Widnes... )

I wasn't referring to their ground but the controversial way they have been denied SL spots in the past - including, ludicrously, because of financial mismanagement by a board that had been replaced by the time the RFL took action. And even more hilariously in view of recent events, the new board was led by a certain Stobart Group director...

But the RFL insanely decided to punish the new board (and of course the fans), perhaps in a desperate attempt to divert attention away from its own failure as a regulator to control clubs' finances properly.

And then there was Widnes' exclusion at the outset of SL....

The experience of the Giants in 2009 2010 suggests otherwise. Over 50% of the people buying their first ever-cheap - ST in 2009 bought a 'full price' ticket in 2010 and 2011. This is probably why the Giants have repeated the approach in 2012

Is this really true? I wasn't aware that the pricing structure had reverted back to full price in 2010 and 2012. I still think it's a risky ploy.

Is this really true? I wasn't aware that the pricing structure had reverted back to full price in 2010 and 2011. I still think it's a risky ploy.

Well the basic ground entry tickets for Bradford went up £10 this year to £85. Though there's a 10% drop on the number sold last year, this can be pointed at as being the fault of Bradford's poor season. However, the Bulls still sold over 10k and as they don't have the rich backer than clubs like Huddersfield etc have to pick up the financial slack of these sort of deals, the costs have clearly been worked out so that the club is not out of pocket from offering these prices

Aye, Confirmed tonight (in response to my specific question) just over 10.1k season tickets so far. About 10% down on the same time and comparable memberships last year. I paid £117 c/w £99 last year. Prima facie, season ticket income this year should be a bit higher than last year. Not what the naysayers will want to hear, I guess.

Good news, all the best to the club.