After seeing us in action , we aren't far off the pace to play in super legue 2 ie middle 8 but the get up to standard of top eight it would take a long time and a lot of hard work , to finance a top 8 Super League team off attendance of 2000 impossible , even 3000 to 4000 what we got last time around is not possible .
Hard work in increasing the fan base would be needed after we get In The second 8 .
It's frightening the amounts of money some chairmen are tipping in !

They are a 'house of cards' though Lynda if they 'fall out' or die all can come tumbling down, as Leigh fans we should know that.

We averaged a little less than 5k in SL. And we were truly horrible for most of the year.

Gives me hope we can get 6k at LSV in the right circumstances, but I'm still not sure that would be enough.

I believe the proposed 'model' would achieve sustainability in SL, with gates of less than 6k. However, more than that would be most welcome, especially when you consider the atmosphere at LSV for the 2013 RLWC game.

The previous Board prepared a buisness plan which clearly demonstrated to the RFL that we could sustain a SL team on gates of 4k at LSV. How competitive we could be on those crowds is another question but gates are not the only revenue stream for a SL club and SL or even just the opportunity to compete to get there breeds optimism, hope and is already helping us attract high profile sponsors and attract people to see games that will actually mean something. We are not the old board and have different ways of doing buisness and far more resource, cash and professional services at our disposal as a group.

As a new board we have looked at past present and future and have produced our own long term Stratergy plan which is built around sustainability but also forecasts growth and targets maximising and growing all core areas of the buisness and associated revenue streams.

Eight months in we have already succeeded in many of our initial goals and stabilised the club financially in the process.

With all due respect to 2005 from a fans perspective it was like watching a carry on film in slow motion at times and the poor facilities combined with some of the comings and goings combined with the week to week humpings still saw us average nearly 5k so while we know we can be sustainable at 4k we would not accept 4k and would set the bench mark far higher.

As a board we are content with the start we've made and the response of ten town and community so far but are under no illusions we've made a couple of jumps up the rungs of the ladder and have to carry on working hard and raising standards.

We are realistic and the new structure is right for a club like Leigh in my opinion to build steadily and resist the temptation to just go for broke as we've done in the past.

The great thing about the club now for me and it was evident Friday night is that it's transparent and everyone from the coaching staff and team to the staff and great volunteers to the board are working together and are united.

Some sad and bitter know It alls will s and wait for something to jump on to have a pop at but 99.9 % of us Leythers believe in what's happening and want the same thing!!!

Great post Andy, this truly reflects the ambitions and intentions of our current board of directors. As a fan i can only respect what you guys are doing for our great club and i hope our dreams come to fruition in the future.
I also agree that we should move onward and upwards slowly without busting the bank as i can foresee many clubs going for the promise land without seeing the bigger picture.

Well done guys, keep up the good work

Michael

I'm with you I believe with a competitive Leigh team in SL in two/ three years time we can easily achieve 5/6k as a seasons average.

I also believe that we as a club have a major advantage over any other club in the country, our unique relationship/ partnership with LSV means unlike any of the clubs that own their stadia we do not have any overheads and major costs associated with running a SL standard facility other than paying set costs which are factored into our business plan and budget.

Our strategy and plans if successful see us as a top ten club by 2017 but (and it's a big BUT) this all depends on the support we receive and will require the support of the whole community which we are working hard to engage.

As you all know I'm not the numbers man but this is a very lose interpretation of how I personally see things (very rough overview and Mike Norris is the financial wizard who produces our financial plans and forecasts) but should go some way to demonstrate what can be be achieved!!!

- 1.2M RFL money
- 900k + Estimated Gate receipts (average of say £12.50/ £13.00 x 12 home games per SL season)
- Target 500k/ 1Mil in Sponsorship, Commercial activity, Directors cash investment and other income streams such as Lottery, Centurion TV, Retail Outlet and Online Shopping, Strategic Partnerships etc.

With 3million PA revenue we can be more than just competitive in my opinion especially when you factor in we are a hotbed of RL with massive talent within the community which I'm convinced will going forward want to play for us!

Ambitious yes, realistic certainly if we really all buy in to it as a town and wider community.

So, according to my maths, that would work on gates of about 6,000? (£12.50 x 12 games = £150 per person per season x 6,000 = £900k) There's the target to build towards then - and just think of the atmosphere with 6,000 Leythers and visiting fans in there!

I'm not the numbers man Keith but our numbers man is the best in the business.

Regards players deals again I'm not the Football Director and don't deal with players or their agents directly but I know what goes on and also know that most deals of any length in SL while P&R is active have clauses to protect both the player and the club.

We will only spend what we generate in the Championship and the budget is prudent mate. This won't change in SL and I wouldn't imagine other than young players you want to commit long term to in this day and age would demand four year deals though I may be wrong.

Beauty of the new structure means you don't drop like a stone from SL to Championship overnight and the middle eight means you can maintain a full time club and full time staff on a higher level of funding than ever before and come back again in my opinion without going back to square one.

Cheers Keith.

The new structure may not suit everyone especially the hap hazard run SL debt ridden clubs who may face going out of business unless they do the right things and go back to square one and rebuild. People like Francis Cummins of Bradford are already complaining about having to compete fairly for the right to play in the top division is this not the very essence of sport and competition???

We firmly believe we as a club are suited to the RFLs new structure and can work within it to build a sustainable and long term successful club over a number of years which will be at the heart of the community as you know we a passionate about giving something back.

The by product of all this should mean some bloody good games of RL in both SL and Championship this coming year and beyond and a greater interest and demand to see them as a consequence.

Good question Keith,

I will try to answer this as best and honestly as possible.

Financially and as a board and management team we are certainly ready for the challenge and speaking from a facilities and infer structure perspective the answer is also yes. We also believe we have the right man in Paul as a full time young and ambitious British coach to lead us into SL with his assistant Neil also full time and support of Derek and Steve the Sporting and Football Directors. We have also strengthened the back room team and added conditioning staff and additional coaches and will continue to do so ready for SL.

We also believe we have a core of young players who will step up and play in SL for us.

It's a big step overnight and that's why our preference is to build from the bottom slowly and progress again this coming year with a view to competing in 2015 onwards.

We did however have a business plan and presentation ready for an eventuality were a place may become available this year which won us even greater respect as a club from the RFL and demonstrated that while we know it would be difficult we had the resources and capability to step up this year should London or anyone else not make it. It was never our preference to do it this way as in reality we would not have the time to procure the required playing staff at short notice and been behind the eight ball from day one but all the same we demonstrated our qualities and our infer structure and facilities which are superior to any of our rivals and believe we won some friends also with our honesty.

Honesty sells the whole thing to me as does transparency.

Long term thinking combined with hard work and visible progress will do for me,

Good time to be a Leigh fan right now IMO.

Every time I hear what Andy has to say fills me with more and more confidence all the time. Keep up the good work guys.

I was one of the few that enjoyed SL not the thrashing a but seeing the ground full ish and the atmosphere that created .
I enjoyed visiting all the SL clubs best was Leeds away , we nearly pulled it off and we had a couple more games were we got close.
I think the LSV gives a lot better chance of making the cut.
I honestly think we would make a better job of it now.