Some will say this post is predictable , some will say I am out of order ,
But to be honest I am not really bothered. I am more worried about the
absolute disgrace I watched today....to add insult to injury I paid to watch it.

Is it not time to grow a pair Mr Fawcett and do something about Paul March as coach of the Keighley Cougars ?
Is it not enough that we were led to relegation to the bottom of the heap ,
which after witnessing 3 of the 4 last friendlies is about all we are worthy of ?
Lets face it , games were lost that should have been won , end of , nothing to do
with the Dual Reg farce , we should have won more games under his leadership,
We were relegated because we were not good enough.

Is it not enough that Paul Royston Has resigned due to unproffesionalism and apathy from the Board down to coach.

Is it not enough that Team Coach Paul March was in the thick of trouble on the pitch again today and was sin binned today ? Should he not be leading by
example ?

Is it not enough that the bulk of the team had no respect for themselves let alone the other team. The language coming from some of our players today was embarassing and I am as broad minded as you can get. Before anyone asks if I was at a different game Paul Handforth was one that stands out with
the eloquent line of " Get up to them you lazy tw@#s " , if I could hear it so could the young children who were dotted about the terracing.

Is it not enough that Keighley Cougars were for a lot of the game
Run ragged by a newish team that had been sat on a coach stuck in traffic for
hours on end. Should have been total domination of the All Golds and a cricket score not an only just by the skin of their teeth Win.
It is a good job Handforth was kicking today as Danny Jones would have
Cost us the game with missed kicks as jappenrd on More than one occasion last season.

Come on Gary Fawcett , start calling the shots and take charge of this farce ,
Sack Paul March now before we get dragged any further into the mire .

Some of you may think I am kust whinging but ask yourself this , can any of you see us going back up after the last 4 results .....friendlies or not.

Agree with everything you say apart
from having a go at Jones when he wasn't
playing.March has to go before he does
any more damage.

'March' is just one of the boys and always will be. I don't venture into CP anymore because,well I have my reasons. He will never be respected by the players because he's on the lash with them,seen it done it.
Some may call it a bonding session,well that's just tosh.
The fella should lead by example but FFS that will never happen.
How many times will this fool get 'binned' or sent off this season and foook it all up? AND there is two of them.
One day I will return to the place where life was good but as it is it,you can shove it.

One last thing,I cycle pass the ground every morning at 5-15 ish and the gates are wide open,why the hell is this?

[code][/code]

To be honest True Brit I was just speaking as I find , Games were lost last
season by a small margin , had goals had been kicked games would have been won.
Just an observation , not a personal attack on Danny.

Nothing is won or lost in friendlies I accept all that, however, friendlies are a platform to gain match fitness and to try new things out etc etc. Surely, what has been exampled in the first four friendlies gives the fans a basis to form an opinion of what is to come. It's not looking too good. March may take the blame as the coach and this tends to happen in sport, but the players need to look at themselves too. In my opinion, I don't think March is up to the job and just can't see him taking us where we need/want to go. Sadly, I think the problems are much deeper rooted than that and we have to also look at the board. It feels like we are in a managed decline and promotion at this time seems a way off. I hope I'm wrong, but we are looking very average at the moment. The club should have axed Marchy a while back, but they stuck with him and gave him a 2 year contract on the back of a win at Sheffield. Paul Royston took over as performance director. This is not a criticism of Paul as I respect his fitness experience and ethos, but was he qualified for such a role? That role should be occupied by someone who knows RL inside out an back to to front, an ex pro if you like. What Paul doesn't know about Strength and Conditioning probably isn't worth knowing, but in terms of RL I think he is under qualified for that role.

There will be those who say give him time etc. I respect those views. There will also be the others who feel as though the writing is on the wall. The board will not sack Marchy they can't afford to. If I was Gary and I had the money to find a new coach would I do it now to wait until after the C1 cup? Probably the latter and if we crash and burn in that I'm sure the pressure of Mr March will intensify somewhat.

The time for changes to the coaching setup was half way through last season. That way the new coach is given chance to keep us up or at the very least gets a close season to form the team he wants and get them playing to his methods.

I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but on the face of it sacking a coach after a few friendlies is nonsensical.

I do however, agree that if we are poop in the cup, changes will need to be made.

There is a world of differance between sacking a coach, and getting rid of P March. In his time at our club he has not shown one iota of the qualities required to be regarded as a "professional" coach. The only way in which he satisfies any of the definitions as being a professional is that he has found a board of directors stupid enough to pay him.Every second he stays is a second too long.

I also have not posted for a long time on here as I try to bite my tongue as far as things at Cougars are concerned after I voiced my concerns last year and have been verbally attacked and threats made towards my friends and family by people connected to the board of directors last season when I simply said that people needed to stand up to the mark or walk away, but I feel I need to speak out after yesterday.
It breaks my heart to see the downward spiral this club is in. Its like a whirlpool and building up speed and momentum as each week passes.
The time for changes in now. These changes need to start from the top and right the way down. I am not asking for anyone to go in particular, what I am saying is it needs running correctly. The ground should be manned every day. Season tickets should be sold from an office, from behind a desk. Away travel should be able to be booked there too, along with private parties, functions, weddings etc. Club merchandise should be available to order, collect and buy.
The ground needs cleaning. Rubbish needs to be removed. Bin liners of glass bottles, food waste and toilet rubbish should not left in the car park. Its a disgrace, an embarrassment and totally uninspiring to anyone coming to use the ground, whether that be players before training/game, fans coming to support the team, or people coming to book the bars for a venue. I will happily give up a Wednesday during the day to help with tidying the ground, but I will not do it without the directors getting me the tools, paint bin bags required first. I could also do a Saturday too.
The bars are looking better in certain areas, the chairs are tidy, tables fine and its not as dark in the hall of fame since the walls were painted cream, but the available drinks is shocking. How can people stay behind and spend money over the bar when there is nothing to buy. Players and people left yesterday due to not having the alcohol of choice available. On a Saturday evening when the club advertised on Facebook, bring your ladies for a valentines day treat and there was two thirds of the bar pumps empty. The bars need to be a place people want to stay, have a drink with mates and enjoy a great beer. We are in Keighley - one of the best places around to get real ale with loads of microbreweries within the town and nearby town of Skipton. The bar should have food such as pie and peas, chip butties, sausage sandwiches available to fans after a game, not just during it. Whatever the players have for tea, make extra and sell it in the bar for £1.50, don't over price as people with food will stay for beer.
I then think around 45 mins after a game there should be events or bands on to keep people there, but these need to be well advertised and suitable for all. Race nights, Beetle drives, Bingo, live bands. Its not hard and its not rocket science, if the club looks after the fans, then the fans will stay and bring more with them.
The team needs a good shake up too. The team yesterday was a mixture of young, old and too old, but as Dean Hanger proved, if the mindset is correct age is not a barrier. The fact that one of our own young players who hurt his shoulder at the same time as when Paul March scored his great dummy try in the first half, was shouted at by Handforth and told "To get the Fook up and out of the way" or very near to that, which was heard on the terracing by the fans is just appalling and totally inappropriate. He is a rugby player and if he is injured, hurt, then that is what he is, rugby players do not fake pain and fellow team mates should help, aid and inspire each other. Then the discipline is horrendous, I totally agree we should not take things from other players, we should not be pushed around on the field and the players should not be dominated by other teams, but they is a difference in being physical and in being stupid, idiotic thugs, and at times yesterday the players were more like thugs. Our most senior, experienced players should not be sin binned and red carded. At this rate the club will be spending more money paying players fines then their wages.
I have offered my time, and skills to this club time and time again, and I will always be there to offer it again to help in ways which I can, I am happy to help clear the ground and prepare activities for children on a match day. I do believe that if everyone helps in a little simple way, then the club can pull itself back up and turn things around, but it needs to start quickly and people need to pull together not apart.

Jeff,understand what you say but like
next poster says it's getting rid of
someone on the basis of the whole time
He's breen at the club not like you say
a few friendless.Nice post Sam.

Tiger Handforth is possibly worse than P march in my opinion. Not just yesterdays game but in nearly every single game i hear him swear.

However yesterday was absolutely disgusting. He swore at the touch Judge and then called him a Bast*rd right in front of a ball boy and a ball girl that must have been around 10/11 years old. At that point someone either on the pitch or off the pitch should have told him to calm down.

1 minute later he assaulted one of the All Golds player for no reason. It could of been any player. He was intent of fighting with someone as he was so worked up. I suppose though what can you expect when you have the March brothers in your squad. A disgrace to RL them two. They where before they joined Cougars and still are now.

We need a team to be proud of.
We can only do this we a coach who is a leader.

We have a Coach unfortunately who leads by example.
Sadly that example is a total disgrace and embarrassment to Club when it comes to discipline.

The fans appear to not only woken up and smelt the coffee but are articulating real concerns.

I hope a constructive appropriate response and action comes from the Club to restore the fans faith and the Clubs repeatedly damaged reputation.

I will not hold breath as I could turn blue.

I understand Tony, it just seems wrong to get flustered by friendlies, as dire as they have been.

Swearing at family events is a pet hate of mine but usually involves someone in the crowd.
Now that we have smaller crowds, we can hear the players over the background noise. I seem to remember Barry Eaton being a real swearer even JD wasn't immune. If you go down to A team or academy games the swearing coming from the dugout can be quite embarrassing. Again, you can hear it all because there is no background noise to cover it.

However, I can understand an adrenalin filled player in a heated moment letting rip, it's human nature.

I think the favourites tag we have been given by the bookies will mean more games like this week where sides deliberately wind us up. If that's the case it could be a very long and scrappy season.

We can't allow sides to try to rough us up or push us around, sometimes you have to "push" back.

I am reminded of some of the quotes from Dad's Army - 'were all doomed' springs to mind let alone 'they
dont like it up em' and not forgetting 'don't panic'!

As a fan I will support the current team and regime,warts and all, (what other choice is there?) and I (hopefully) will still be here when they are all long gone. Being promoted this year would be great but if it doesnt happen we have another go next year - its not the end of the world. Not going bust again is for me the most important thing.

Nothing I say will I am sure have any influence anyaway, but with hindsight giving Marchy a two year contract may have not been the right thing (but still too early to say) and I can't see how the Board could back out from this now. Without money coming into the club we have to make do with what we have. I am really looking forwrad to the Season proper. Come on Cougars!!

Hi Dreamer , it is not just about the friendlies , it is the whole picture.

Last season when I was posting comments about the same subject I was constantly berated by various members here , now most of them have
seen the same problem and are just as angry with the situation.
,
Let's not mince our words here , the club is at it's lowest ebb for years ,
We have been relegated to the league of doom with what looks like no chance of
getting out. So maybe Sundays appauling show of aggression and indicipline was
the straw that broke the camels back.

Do we want to keep watching crap rugby against carp teams with crap attendances or do we want better ?