Wrestling,*winning the floor*,kicking game a must-have, threequarters built like brick outhouses, brute force replacing the old traditional skills....Little wonder people have lost interest, myself included. I had a season ticket for decades up until last season but the game holds nothing for me now. I still watch it on TV but more often than not I switch off long before the hooter sounds.

Brute force replacing old traditional skill?

The guys of the the late 80's and earlier were animals!

Ridiculous. The legends of old stuck it up their jumper, ran in, then kicked on the last. Occasionally they passed it once or twice, usually after standing still for a moment and looking around for someone.

The game now is much more fluid, fast-paced and exciting to watch.

We can try and debate why season ticket sales are down but the stone-cold truth is that it's because we haven't won a trophy since 2012.

We peaked at over 8000 ST's in 2012 and have been slipping down since, GF defeats pushing people away.

Rest assured, should we be successful this season, we'll reach over 8000 again.

I think it depends on what era in the past you are referring to.

My era of the 80's had players like Henderson Gill, Hanley, Andy Gregory, Davies, Woods, Schofield et al and I don't recall the "stick it up your jumper" game you describe. Far from it. The game had far more stand out skill full players and the game was more exciting to watch for me.

Like BBHO I have followed the Wire for years (35 in fact) but only went to a handful last season and it will be the same again this. Sky subscription binned too. When the game is all about winning a quick ptb, formulaic kicking game, de-biffed game, error elimination, high kicks to corners as route 1 rugby I lose interest. Probably because I'm an old git at 43 and my lost support is probably irrelevant to the powers that be, or maybe not seeing as Super League attendances are in free fall, maybe "the product" is not as exciting as it could be. Time will tell.

Nonsense. I went to my first match at Wilderspool in 1967. Styles of rugby may have changed but there is as much skill, speed, finesse and class in the game now as there was then. In the 1970s, I enjoyed matches like our unique ( because the comp only lasted one season ) Captain Morgan trophy win in 1974 but that match was nothing more than mud, grunt and wrestle for the entire 80 minutes. And that was a final between two 'top' teams!

If you want to see the skills from not so long go I suggest you watch a tape of the 1978 Challenge Cup final between St Helens and Leeds...That game was just as fast as any game you will see today...Fast free flowing RL, keeping the ball alive at any cost and none of the incessant kicking you see in the modern game.. I know the game is on the way out when some talk about the game as a *product*...Could you perchance be first year economics students or perhaps wanting to appear to be business savvy ? ? It's a game of sport not a widget on the end of a production line.

Will our season ticket sales for 2015 be down on previous...... Probably
Is there a single reason for them being down ......... Probably not.

Its got to be more than just coincidence that numbers are down since :-
a) No cup final
b) GF defeats
c) The overall economy
d) SKY constantly playing with the fixture list
e) People not being able to make Thursday/Monday/Friday games even if they were as originally announced.

Wait, wait, wait.

First off, 1978 is almost 40 years ago, hardly "not so long ago" is it?

Secondly, you claim that the game has got worse and then use an example from the past and say it was "just as good" as today's game is. The only beef you seem to have with it is the kicking, which we tend to avoid anyway as we're so shoddy at it.

Lastly, it is a product.

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing but don't knock a sport that is growing and is certainly NOT on the way out.

Nostalgia was a lot better in the old days

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

The overall standard of fitness and athleticism is obviously much higher than it used to be, and we do still see some very talented players, but I'm inclined to agree that the 'product' isn't as exciting as it could be. I think there is a real dearth of characters and 'showmen', for want of a better word, amongst modern players. There used to be loads - Hanley, Offiah, Davies, Edwards, Holding, Gill, Boyd, Sorensen, Andy Gregory, Harry Pinner, Bobby Goulding, etc. Since Briers retired I'd be hard-pushed to name any player who shows any sort of 'personality' out on the pitch these days. Maybe Ryan Bailey

Strictly speaking 'nostalgia' means 'longing for another place' ( not 'another [itime[/i' ) but I guess he means Wilderspool.....................

Isn't this the thrust of the argument though that the game is not growing. Average attendances are down for most teams and across the league in general.The number of teams in the top flight of Northern Hemisphere Rugby League has reduced also by 2 teams (14%). Attendances at the "Magic" events has also decreased. In terms of geographical spread and expansion SL has diminished with the loss of a Welsh and London team in the top flight.

I fail to see the growth in those statistics.

yes but a few out of shape exiled northerners pull on a kit in hemel hempstead and coventry so don't worry about dwindling attendances. The game is booming