Whilst it's not nice to let people go, it's a fair point Steve.

We've got reserves being paid to do development work.

I know junior rugby league is important and so is getting down with the kids but in my opinion it should be left to the 3 full time first team players to do it.

A lot of this massive bill that was due will be most likely be interest that HM Revenue & Customs charge on late and overdue payments. Over the last few years this interest rate has moved up and down from a high of 8.5% to a low of 2.5% that HMRC charge over the course of the year. This interest is added to the original value on a DAILY basis until the whole amount is paid. So I think a lot of the money will have built up there.

Doesn't make any excuses for how the club managed to get themselves into this mess. Just like our club did a few years back. It would be better if they were upfront with the fans in the first place and explain how it happened.

Good luck for the coming season, look forward to seeing you all when we play.

Thing is, AJ, whoever IS at fault, it probably isn't the backroom staff, receptionists, etc. It seems very unfair that they should lose their livelihoods for someone else's errors. I wouldn't want the Cougars to save a few bob by getting rid of the people who help make it all happen every Sunday.
We all like to think of the Cougars as 'our' club - the staff must feel that bond in a very real way, and to let them down would be bordering on unforgiveable. I'd rather pay a bit more to see them, than have people lose their jobs.

Disagree there Mick,i for one would not pay more to keep someone in a job.

To keep the club alive the axe has got to fall somewhere,IMO.How else is the club going to pay off that MASSIVE debt?

Where do you suggest ?

Shame for the Cougars, not what you need going into a season in the Championship, keep the faith and dont give up on your team.

I'm with you there Steve.

The customers at our place wouldn't pay more money for product just to keep staff in a job.

There's only 3 ways to dig our way out of this.

1) Get more fans coming in.

2) Make the business more efficient, cutting wage bills, letting staff go etc.

3) One of us hits the euromillions jackpot and runs the club through philanthropy.

Cannot say without a roll call of staff and salaries , but if a business losing that kind of money they must start with the high earners.

I know there are many other ways to save money but this is where it should start.

I am no expert in this field,this is just my opinion and the savings would be instant.

You have experience Starbug,what do you suggest?

Clubs at our level cannot afford many F/t employees so yes the 1 st place to look at is the admin , however you do need some and I'm guessing that you currently have the balance about right , once you have done that then it is all about maximissing revenue from anywhere you can and somehow getting more through the gates

My personal opinion is that all the non SL clubs need to work together on this , collaboration is vital , non of us are big enough to go it alone

I am assuming you do a decent amount of community work , but the question is , does this work pay off , do you have the resources to follow up the work done in the schools ? , do you get the kids through the gates at Cougar Park because of this work ? , if not why not , and what needs to happen to change this ?

Do you make any money from merchandise sales ? , do those sales cost money to achieve ? , how can you improve both the amount of those sales and the profit on those sales ? , you also have to avoid being left with unsold stock , How do you get the people of the town wearing Cougar branded stuff instead of leeds/bulls ?

Do you have the resources to get into the town centre/local supermarkets on a regular basis with offers to entice families to the matches ? , to achieve this , who are you targeting ?

How profitable is your lottery ? , how can you make it more profitable ?

Is keighley an attractive proposition for ' corporate ' type support , do you have the business and industry locally to bring in the amount of support that the RFL encourage us to chase ? , if it's not there is it even worth chasing ? , my opinion is that business/corporate support is either there or not , the business is there in the town and knows you exist or it isn,t

Is the televising of games at our level worth what we recieve for them ? , do clubs at our level get more sponsorship because of the televising of games ? , if not how can we change this ?

All these things and more need to be looked at from an individual clubs perspective and collectively by all the clubs , we are all in a fight for survival , and in a fight , numbers are stronger than individuals

More questions in that than there is about the universe, you debating hoar starbug. Bit quiet in Leyther land today?

One way to keep costs down is to use volunteers as much as possible during match days.. Obviously there has to be employed staff to deliver corporate entertainment and administer the club/facilities.

It appears to me that the 'pay the wages at all costs' scenario, has potentialy cost the club. Thats not to say that that is a bad thing, but perhaps the wages offered, players, directors or otherwise, should have been capped..

They must have been nervous turning on the floodlights towards the end of last season.....

Merchandising is some thing we should look at.

We only sell stuff out of a converted shipping container when games are on.

At this time of year we should have been looking to blag a disused market stall and selling stuff on a weekend.

As for players and staff, they're costing more than what the club is making at the moment so unless revenue increases you would have to assume jobs will have to go.

the problem with cutting players wages is you get a less quality of player which leads to a lesser quality of product on the field which leads to smaller gates.catch 22 i think.