Considering the number of Wire supporters who came over, I thought the attendance of 2,196 was disappointing. It would appear that perhaps only a couple of hundred (if that) extra Cougar fans were attracted to come and watch this game against one of the best sides in the RL world. So why are the people of Keighley and the surrounding area not really getting behind the club and the team? The rugby being played on the pitch deserves a FAR bigger support. Is it still the case that folk are disillusioned with the game after what happened in '95? I've a pal who was at every game back then but has never bothered since. Is it that folk don't see any point coming because we can't achieve promotion to the exclusive club known as Super League? Do people go to Leeds to watch their RL? Surely no-one from Keighley could contemplate going to that place ten miles up the road to watch RL? Is the club not doing enough to promote itself and Rugby League in and around Keighley? I wouldn't really know about that as I am 100 miles away. I just don't get it though, the progress we're making is there for all to see so where are the fans?

I think you are underestimating the Keighley support. It looked to me that there was probably 700-800 from Warrington, which is a good following considering how far they had to travel, and is consistent with what was mentioned on their forum. That would mean our support was 1400-1500, which is nearly twice our usual. So overall about what you would expect, and shows that it is starting to grow each week.

If I remember rightly our attendance is on average between 1000 -1100 so far this season, if you count league games then its should be higher than that, Fev game was 1650+.

Actually comparing some of the other games in the fourth round our attandance wasn't bad at all: London Broncos v Dewsbury (652), York v Sheffield (551), Whitehaven v Salford (751), Leigh v Rochdale (1,229) and even Widnes v St. Helens was only 3,069. Maybe a sign of the times or apathy about the competition?

I think better clarity on the ticket situation would have helped, At first it was ALL TICKET ... tickets in high demand! grab em quickly .... To .... pay on the gate on the day. This game was never going to attract an attendance of 5,000 so they should have scrapped the all ticket idea from day one. If people know they can turn up at the last minute they quite often do (mates tagging along etc etc) I dont envy the backroom staff at the Cougars, It must be a labour of love sometimes ... a proper damned if you do and damned if you dont scenario on just about every decision they make .... SO ... that said I would like to clarify that this is not a pop at the club , just a possible reason to why the gate could have been slightly higher.

there were a LOT of Wire fans. i think many Cougar fans won't have wanted to pay to see a loss.

Given the comparison work by Len above I think people are being a tad over critical. Do I think the club rested on its laurels a little with regard to the Wire game, yes. Could they have promoted the game more, absolutely but would that have converted into a profitable paying fan? I'm not sure. As we keep saying money is tight and many people won't have the spare money at the end of the week to take their families, themselves to the game. Would a £1K marketing strategy been converted into £2K more at the gate for example. I'm not sure. Maybe this was a option for the club, but maybe their calculations didn't make it viable.

On a separate note, why is everything the club does questioned or criticised by fans? It feels like everything the club does is either not good enough or could have been done better. Let's take those negative specs off and start seeing the positives.

1) People asked for teamwear - it's been launched.
2) People wanted a good Champ squad - we've got one.
3) We played Wire in the cup and people wanted a good showing - you got it.
4) We've got a first class young coach who is performing wonders at the club.

That's just 4 things to applaud that I thought of in a short space of time.

I'm all for people having an opinion which may differ to mine, somebody else etc, but it just feels like of late all we seem to discuss is negatives.

Good post,remember what we had before the current regime.

Maybe they criticise because they care about the club and want better for it.

My single biggest criticism of the club is that it seems to look inwards on itself and doesn't want to get out there and sell itself to the Keighley public.

I've seen way more posters for Funfairs, Circuses and American Wrestling than I have for Keighley Cougars playing the Super League minor premiers at Cougar Park.