Well, as it says, Hello!

This account has been set up in order to provide answers to the questions of you, the supports of Keighley Cougars.

Whilst this account is being manned by an outside party, all questions asked will go straight to the chairman, Mr Gary Fawcett, who has asked for this account to be set up.

As well as this account, the clubs new media personnel will also be joining us under the name of 'Hello Trouble!' and he like Gary on this account, will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,

TheClubsVoice

When will the link up with Cas be severed ?

Seconded.

Not like we are using the players is it ?

Time to get shut i.m.o.

Are there any plans to exploit the ' crossbar challenge ' a bit more ?
A few volunteers walking around selling tje tickets would make a huge
difference and sell a lot more tickets.
It should be easy money with minimal risk.

The voice Do you sit in a big bucket seat then press a button that spins the chair to face the front

Only joking - this is potentially a good idea, but I suspect you may get asked questions you don't want to answer.

Here goes -

1. baring in mind the clubs stated ambition of SL by 2015, how likely in percentage terms is a new stadium.

2. Failing that are there contingency plans to replace the wooden stand and provide SL appropriate seating, access/egress, turnstiles, toilets, eating facilities etc.

3. What strategy have we identified to raise the crowd to a sufficient level.

4. What strategy have we identified to raise the team to a sufficient strength to win competitions.

5. If we get a new stadium will we own the facilities or will it be a Stadium Management Company?

Hello Trouble! Here,

Just like TheClubsVoice popping on to say hello and reiterate that I will be also happy to answer any questions you may have.

See above

The agreement with Cas lasts until the end of the year but it can be terminated with 1 months notice from either party at any time. However, the point of this particular question appears to be more aggressive than that - certainly with the use of the word "severed". There have been a number of comments to me that the dual registration agreement between us and Cas is not something we'd want as a club and it renders us to a status of feeder club to Cas. The agreement with Cas is clearly nothing of the sort and it would have been very silly not to take up Cas's offer of a partnership agreement in the light of the considerable movements and upheavals running across Super League and the Championship, once the Under 23 competition had been abandoned this season. As an aside, our club was committed to the Under 23 competition and stated that it wished for this competition to run indefinitely and for the Cougars to always be a part of it. I certainly feel that the loss of the Under 23 competition has weakened the game as it was a strategic part of the game. In any event, Super League teams had nowhere for their first teamers to get game time so the obvious route was partnerships with Championship clubs. With virtually all the Championship clubs signing up (even Leigh after they had said they wouldn't!) the club had to make a decision (for example, Whitehaven fielded Ade Gardner in our home game! Would any of our fans complained if Rangi Chase appeared on our side for a game or two?!). The obvious route was an agreement with Cas. The agreement is loose and not binding for both parties and has helped us in the past when we had injury issues. Further, we are not forced to field any Cas players so it's a matter of choice by our Head Coach whether or not he wishes to play anyone from Cas. Clearly, Marchy will make that decision based on performance reasons and nothing else. The reason why is that every time Marchy picks a team he wants to win the game so he will pick the best team to accomplish the task. Finally, and most importantly, people do seem to be hung up about this agreement which is tantamount to a loan deal only. And, interestingly, we have loaned players in the last 2 seasons without anyone raising any concerns. George Elliott and Jake Normington from the Rhinos (and Jake was a key player in our win over Workington so where would we have been without him?). And James Davey from Wakefield last year. Further, we have loaned Elliott Cosgrove from Dewsbury Rams this year and he contributed very well whilst we had him. Partnerships like the Cas partnership are nothing new and do not betray the fabric and essence of what makes Keighley Cougars the club it is. The critical issue in all of this is that we stay in the Championship this season, ideally getting into a play off position, and then we push on next season to become a top 6 Championship team. Given the change in the coach,our playing personnel and the structure of the game at the start of this season we had significant issues to face but we have faced them, the team is gelling and I feel we can go far this season (reference the good performance against Sheffield this weekend - not perfect because we started slowly but the performance showed that we should be nearer the top of the table rather than where we are)



We sold 12 tickets on Sunday 21st April. I would like the Crossbar Challenge to be a part of the match day experience but clearly, at 12 tickets per game, the club cannot afford to pay someone to walk around selling them. If someone, or a group, wishes to volunteer to sell them them they will get my full support. We have plenty of pre-printed tickets to sell and I feel that the Crossbar Challenge could contribute anything between £50 and £100 per match to the club (that is, of course, unless someone finally hits the Crossbar!)



Our stated ambition is to achieve SL status by 2018, not 2015. We are working on the new stadium process at the moment but it is early days. I would say to achieve an entirely new stadium is a 20% likelihood but a much higher degree of likelihood is that development will be underway with completion of the first 2 or 3 stages of the development having been achieved prior to entry into Super League, e.g. new stand and new gym at the Hard Ings end of the stadium and a proper seated area and media centre on the TV gantry side.




Again, as per previous question, if we can't get the total budget to completely re-develop the stadium we will look to secure the money for a staged implementation that will progressively give our club what it needs.



We are moving forward on a range of fronts to gradually raise the crowd to sufficient levels. For example, offline we need to win more games (which is gradually coming together), we have had our first go at distributing 20,000 free junior season tickets and we have learnt some interesting things from this so we will be better at it next season where we will be distributing 40,000. Further, we have built good relationships with a range of schools and this will bear fruit in the coming years. We have finally got some budget to promote now and again so you will see adverts in the KN and T&A raising the profile of the club and fixture lists were distributed in the KN a few weeks ago. We will do a season ticket offer prior to Christmas this year in much the same vein as Christmas 2011 and we are in conversation with Keighley Town Council to try to get signs on the Keighley boundary signs which state "Welcome to Keighley. The home of Keighley Cougars." and similarly, we intend to have a conversation with Bradford Council to have brown signs indicating where the ground is. Online our Twitter following has passed 2,200 and is increasing at a rate of 150 per month, our Facebook has over 700 Likes and our new website (to be implemented very soon) will be kept up to date in a way that makes it very attractive for people to come and visit it. We have also just signed up for Welcome to Yorkshire which will help promote the club online and offline. Bear in mind, this list is a tiny part of the things we are doing and we are doing it in a sustainable way that does not de-stabilise the club financially unlike various attempts in the past.



We have the club financially stable. As the seasons progress we will gradually strengthen the team in much the same way as Featherstone have. The race to Super League and staying in Super League is a marathon, not a sprint. The club will continue developing its young players and it hopes for a powerful partnership between the club and Craven College whereby the young academy players end up almost being developed full time and provide coaching services back to our children in the community to further develop rugby league in the area.



I'm not sure how it will pan out at the moment. Bear in mind we don't own the facilities at the moment. The RFL lease them from the Co-op and we lease them from the RFL. It may continue to be the same arrangement.

The matchday experience is a hot topic at the moment. You speak about building the support base gradually etc. It's one thing getting people down with promotions etc, but to keep them coming down takes a bit more effort. Without being rude, the matchday experience is at times flat with little to no attractions for kids. Some games we don't even see Freddy?!. Do you have plans to improve this area?

I can't speak for Obeone but it is quite clear that there are powerful movers within RL (Gary Heatherington for one) who have stated for several years that the lower divisions should be feeder teams to SL (as per the nirvana that is Australia). Whilst the current agreements between clubs are not yet quite at that stage, it's what might happen next that worries many within the game.


That is only your opinion - many would disagree.



NO! The obvious route was not to do it at all.

It has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of young players in RL, shreds the progression path for homegrown hopefuls, and was soley devised as a means of saving SL clubs money. That it might help lower division clubs was a smoke screen made of mustard gas. It undermines the spirit of our competition



Yes, quite a lot would complain. In my opinion it goes against the spirit of the competition, in the same way as Hunslet suddenly fielding Richard Moore, Rob Burrow etc in a critical game against us would be. I would sooner see Young Ben Stead.



As I understand it that is not strictly true - unless the rules have changed recently. There is a significant advantage to entering into a partnership rather than a straight forward loan deal. Some would say that this was the bait on the hook.


I beg to differ, they are new and they ruin the integrity of our game - just look at whats happening at Swinton.

,
Agreed, but clubs have become fearful and seem prepared to sell the future for short term gain.

When the new board took over the Chairman said, at a speech in the HOF bar, our ambition was SL by 2015. Now, it may have been a slip of the tongue or one pint too many but I clearly remember it being said because I, and those around me, were gobsmacked to say the least.

As for the "clubs stated ambitions" what are they and where can we see them? The website has not been the best over the last few years.

I want to make it clear that I am not "having a go at you" or anyone else at the club, just expressing an opinion.

It [isounds like [/ithe directors are doing plenty of good work behind the scenes. It would seem to be a big task though with only 3 directors, very few employed staff and apparently very few volunteers mobilsed just at present.

Financial stability is good if the club can gradually increase its level of expenditure whilst still breaking even.

But getting the crowds up is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. What comes first? The crowds and then the money and then the quality players? Or money first? It's right to put in place a sustainable business model - but those putting themselves forward as rugby league club directors have also traditionally put their hands in their pockets to finance one or two top signings to really fire up the other good work that lays a firm foundation.

In Keighley's case, periods of success and fervour have been kick-started by a signing of a high profile player that's fired up people's support and team performances:-

Ted Spillane (NZ) in the 1930's (leading to Keighley getting to Wembley)
Mick Clark (GB-from Leeds) in the 1960's
Trevor Skerrett (GB-from Hull) in the 1980's
Joe Grima (NZ-from Widnes) in the 1990's.

What is the chance of the directors making a one-off personal financial commitment to sign that calibre of player today to leverage up on all the other good work and kick-start the road to Super League in 2018 in a big way?

The new club website should be up and running at some point this week I'm lead to understand. The clubs ambition and any information in regards to Super League will most possibly be on the page dedicated to a new stadium/upgrade of Cougar Park.

If I came across aggressive I apologise but the link up with Cas just twangs me.As I've said before on here I don't want to see Chase etc at CP,£uper League does not interest me.By the way,if Rangi Chase was in the team which poor soul would be the water carrier?

The lads who pull on a Keighley shirt will give total commitment ,but the Cas players will not as they are just here to get back to match fitness or need game time etc.

For the last two seasons I held a season ticket,but this time round I have not stepped foot into CP,and will not until we are an independent club again,and I might also add its not just me who has stopped going to CP for the reasons I have put.