Quote: RfE "Despite my antipathy to all things H********s I did attend most home games that season, I remember us getting 8k against Saints first home game, the '12,000' against Huddersfield ( sorry , had to get that one in!) but did we really have over 5k against Salford for the last home game ?'"
A simple experiment is to take the crowds from 2002 up to 2007 and compare them to the crowds 2008-2014 under the sole ownership of Hughes. up to relegation
315,236 fans attended 81 home games over the first period (3,892), whilst 285,987 attended the latter 102 home games (2,801).
This is a 30% decrease in crowds and about £20,000 per game drop in ticketing income alone. Over 102 games, that's £2,000,000+ less income. I believe we took about £200,000 on the gate last year.....we were £80,000 per game during that first period.
Now let's list the excused trotted out by the club.
1. The tie in with Quins wasn't working!
Whilst we were welcomed as partners when we arrived, Evans leaving and Hughes generally gruff demeanour when doing "business' his way soured the relationship. Quins NEEDED us when we arrived, but we had a responsibility to make ourselves part of the club in general, but we made no effort at all and expected the hosts to put everything on a plate for us. I remember how hard Petra worked at that time to make it a success, but once Gus was appointed, that was it.
2. The Name was confusing. The infamous RL
RL[/size.com. If ever there were proof needed of the insanity and ineptitude at the club in that period, this is it.
3. The Stoop was too expensive. I've seen the 2009-2012 accounts at the club and £225,000 was the average price we paid. WE decided to move our offices out because we didn't like the space we were given, saying it wasn't big enough? We already had a peppercorn staff at this stage, so space wasn't an issue and when I met with the RFL at the club, the meeting rooms and offices seemed perfectly adequate.
4. The fans don't get behind the club. This one grates me. I ran busses to Wales and Wakefield before I moved down here and filled them both. I did it through hard work and pestering folk. The club at the time had tried to put coaches on but gave up when nobody wanted to go........the difference was communication and a bit of effort. For Hughes to ask lapsed fans to return with no apology for his prior aloofness towards us points to his issue here. He really doesn't have a f&*(ing clue!
Excuses are easy. The problems happen when you run out of them and Hughes MacKay and now Loubser have now done this. They can't blame anyone but themselves for the carnage from 2012 onwards, not the slow decline before that period. Bad decisions, not listening to the RFL, ignoring fan feedback and bad judgement when recruiting have all led us to the point where avoiding relegation to the 3rd tier in 2022 is seen as a bright spot.
26 games until his 5k target has to be hit.......someone should remind him of the season average in 2006 (4,917)
