I know it's never good starting a post with a disclaimer, but here goes.....I'm genuinely not trying to cause any arguments or cause friction between posters but with every Leigh fan I talk to, whether its in the bookies, the pub or on social media websites, the question everybody wants to know, which doesn't seem to be discussed on here much, is, 'Where is all our money suddenly coming from?'

We (the people I've spoken to) obviously don't have any dealings with the day to day running of the club and have only seen MASSIVE improvements off the pitch with Rob and the new BoM, but are things really going that well with sponsorships, investments and ticket sales etc that our squad size can increase by about 30% and the quality signings we've made are as good as any in the league - from just 12 months ago when we were on the verge of extinction. I have no idea what ,or nor do I wish to, players in our league earn but from the outside looking in, it just doesn't look like it adds up.

I'm sure the board can and will put all our fears/concerns to rest.

This isn't a case of moaning when things aren't going well and moaning when they are, it all just seems a bit 'too good to be true' if you like, I'm sure I'm not the only one on here thinking this.

Jimmy this is my uneducated take on the affair. After AT left there no one at the club putting any money into it apart from the sponsorship deals, what was coming from LISA, and other fan based money raising agents. Correct me if I'm wrong but there wasn't a dedicated paid commercial person like Rob and the staff that we had were too busy keeping the club alive. The board at the time would'nt or could'nt inject anymore cash. Now we have a group of people who have put their hands in their pockets and are working hard doing the jobs that we didn't have the personel to do. As far as I can see this and the old money that was being raised has swelled the clubs coffers. I take my hat off to the group who have worked to get these sponsorship deals, who have given their hard earned for our club and all the fans who have carried on supporting LISA, the Touchdown Club and all the lotteries. If I've missed anyone I'm sorry.

[sizeCome On You Leeeeeeeeeeeigh[/size

Jimmy ,the current BOM or BOD whatever their title is , are doing a great job , and working very hard , each has his title and job to do , collectively they have pledged a certain amount of money each for the next 3 years ,hopefully in that 3 years we will them reap the rewards they deserve .I think im right in this statement , if im not please enlighten me .

Yes I remember the 'pledges' the directors made, I think the numbers that stuck in my head we're £10-15k each per year over 5 years, I'm kind of regretting making the post this morning as it looks like another negative thread when there are only good things coming out of the club. I've spoken to Andy a few times at the kit launch, poker nights, Twitter etc and had a few pints with Rob and I've no reason at all to think or to lead others to think that there's anything dodgy going on, probably just a case of not being used to good things happening at the club, like everyone else I just can't wait for the start of the season and see what the future holds.

Couldn't agree more, eveybody doing a brilliant job, I've spent more money on Leigh pre season than I ever any other season so somebody must be doing something right somewhere.

You are right the BOM are each putting in a "said" amount each year , for three years , abd have said they will put in any shortfall.
Hopefully there won't be any and the people of Leigh turn out in their number to support this team .
I do however understand why you have raised this subject as it would be a huge wage bill one would think and of course if we were to win our games , then the win bonuses will also be high.
However we had a budget and I'm sure we have stuck to it .

Lynda , if the people of Leigh don't turn up to show their support next season , they never will ,there are so many positives and incentives at the Club now , so many people working hard , they deserve Success , but wont get have it unless the Fans turn up in increased numbers , nothing is Guaranteed ,but as Mo keeps saying the Club needs everyone to show their support with their feet .

I think most who post on this Forum are already the Converted , its the lapsed fans we need to attract back , and with this Playing squad ,and Facilities at the Club , there is no reason why they should not start to attend again .

This isn't boom or bust strategy, without increasing gates at all we are massively above previous income, Toady wouldn't allow it anyway
We are Leythers to the core and believe in where we will be soon, we need the fans to sell this vision to friends and family, putting our club central to the community with that community totally behind their club

Jimmy,

I do not usually post on here and will not go into detail but I can assure you that we have a very prudently constructed budget which takes into account known revenues and costs (including salaries) and realistic estimates of variable revenues and costs (including win bonuses).

We have budgeted for under 2,000 attendances at league games and on this basis we are forecasting a small profit for the year.

Obviously things do not turn out as forecast so we have constructed an interactive, 12 month rolling forecast where we can enter actual performance and it will automatically update the model so that we can, hopefully, spot any "pinch points" well before they become an issue.

In addition (and not part of revenues) the BOM has significant equity commitments which are to be held in reserve against any unexpected occurrences.

Obviously we are mostly new to pro RL (I certainly am) but we are treating it as we would any other business which we were involved with and implementing basic KPI reporting, weekly performance reviews, 8 week daily cashflow forecasting etc - people say RL is not like any other business but that is down to the emotional side and is not an excuse for bad practices (some would also say I don't have any emotions...).

I do not claim we have all the answers (as I don't even know some of the questions yet!) but we are trying extremely hard to get this right.

Yours in sport,

Michael Norris

Just to add to what Mike says we are primarily all fans of the club and want what you guys do a successfully and sustainable Leigh Centurions.

We've committed to 3 years minimum of financial and professional impetus which helps underpin the club but it's the ability to increase revenue streams and performance off the pitch that is key to future success and that's something we can't achieve without our fans and having the whole community behind us.

You guys and are the lifeblood of this club as we will create the vehicle for the towns people to drive forward.

It's the towns club and needs the towns people to take it back were it belongs.

Hence the strap line "We Are All in this together" because we really are!

Regards

Andy Mazey

They wouldn't if they sat/stood next to you on matchdays

I think we will find out which way our club is heading on January 19.

Almost 3000 which was our best gate of the season for the same friendly last season despite everyone knowing we would be thrashing Wigan's under 20's.

This season they will have to play their best squad plus Leythers will want to see our new squad.

I am confident the gate for the game will be much better.

My dad says 6500 will be on

Depends on what Wigan a re telling their fans ie the team they're bring over.
Well have our usuall 1800 fans there and a couple of hundred neutrals maybe but I do hope he is right as a big crowd will put a lot of money in our coffers to start us off on a good foot.

I have managed to get 5 to come who would not normally.