There's some great quotes in this interview that offer us some insight into where we might be over the next couple of years. I have to say, looking back at pre season and all the fallout from Elstons ridiculous period as CEO, it's a huge credit to the staff, Chris Brereton and Michael Carter that we are where we are now.

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Wakefield Trinity Wildcats chairman Michael Carter has issued a rallying cry to the people of Wakefield – get behind your team, and we can spend the full salary cap in 2015.

The Wildcats secured their safety in Super League with seven games remaining, a feat many consider incredible following an off-season of turmoil. And Carter admits that their main target in 2015 is to get the crowds up again, saying if they can average just over 6,000 people they can – although won’t necessarily – spend all of the salary cap.

“The objective this season as I’ve said was financial stability and remaining in Super League. We’ve achieved both those things and we can now target new obstacles,” Carter told League Express.

“One of the big things I’m targeting is to try and excite the Wakefield public again. They’ve been let down too many times in the past, and we need to get them back on board.

“If you’re trying to sustain a Super League club on crowd averages of four or five thousand it can be done, but it’s quite difficult. If we can to around 6,300, it would give us the ability to spend the salary cap.
“That doesn’t mean we will spend it all, because I think we need to build the right culture as a priority. We’ve got that in abundance at the minute, and I can’t name one bad apple at the moment in our camp. They’re a tight-knit group and you see it every day.”

Carter paid tribute to the backroom setup – which he revealed he had to cut in half after taking the club on last year – as well as admitting he never thought the club would be secure in Super League so early in the season after such a hectic end to 2014.

“I have to say, going back to September of last year if somebody had said we’d be safe with seven games to go I’d have thought they were a little bit strange! We’re able to relax and enjoy the games of rugby again.
“We work really hard here off the field, because when I came into the club I had to get rid of people we just physically couldn’t afford. We went from a full-time staff of about 24 people down to 12. We cut the workforce in half and the people who’ve remained have been fantastic.”

Carter also admitted the club should know in the next couple of months whether they will head to a new ground at Newmarket, or stay at their current Belle Vue home. He said that if they do stay put though, major refurbishments will take place to ensure the ground is one of the best in the business.

“We need to decide where we’re going; hopefully in the next couple of months there will be a call regarding whether we’ll head to Newmarket or whether we’ll stay at Belle Vue. If we stay here then I’m hoping at least three sides of the ground will get a complete refurbishment,” Carter claimed.

“If we end up going to Newmarket then we’ll have a blank piece of paper where we can decide what we need to run a Super League club for the next 100 years. Both of those options are realistic, and before we make any decisions about Belle Vue we need to decide whether we’re staying at all.

“There’s an opportunity to buy the bowling alley and the gym behind the East Stand, and it would enable us to expand and get more car parking, for example. There are lots of plans we’ve put in place should we stay here.”

Sounds good. The club needed to sent a positive message out. Its now up to the Wakey public .

MC and his team have worked wonders at BV and are to be heartily congratulated.
I feel, that a gate of 6,300 is not a big request and really if the people of Wakefield cannot see that the club is now well run and going in the right direction for the first time in donkeys years, then they are blind. To say there are no other professional sports in the area I really don't understand the apathy in Wakefield. I think if Man United played in Wakefield they would struggle with their gates!
On another note I sincerely hope we stay at Belle Vue. I love the ground but god knows how they once got 37,000 in it!

Massive credit is due to MC and his team

To be where we are this season (safe from relegation and playing SL rugby) didn't seem very likely at all and
to be pushing for the 8 this season is just bonkers.

Every fan needs to do what they can individually to encourage new fans or "fallen" ones to come down to BV
on match days and enjoy the game and see if we can help the club achieve it's aim.

I think that once the decision is made to stay put at BV or, to move to NM and people can actually see progress in either direction, more people will believe that there is a strong future for the club and this could be the catalyst to increasing supporter numbers again.

Great interview, but he's got his work cut out trying to entice the Wakefield public without making ground entry dirt cheap. They have shown they're just not that bothered. I wish him all the best and I hope he achieves his goal.


I'm looking forward to seeing what the options are regarding the stadium.

Really great positive piece from the club
All I want for us is stability so we can build on and off the field, it feels to me like MC and his team are doing this

If the players keep doing their part on the pitch till the end of season then a massive advertising push nxt yr then it should be possible. We've lost about 1500 this yr du to last yrs problems and the way the boys were performing. This interview should be in wakey express not buried away I stumbled across it yesterday.
As the saying goes if they build it they will come look at widnes in the past n cas this yr their crowds are up coz of the wat they're playing

Was about to say same Wildwoman .
We all know and appreciate the fantastic effort that has been put in to resurrect our great
great club.
But the public of Wakefield remain cynical or oblivious(perhaps both) re. this progress.
I am no expert in marketing ,but this article should be made easily accessible to all ,followed by regular positive 'spin'(based on facts and truth).
For example the majority feel the ground situation has stagnated.
The public at large must be made aware of the 'exciting' developments taking place.

I'd arrange a media day at BV and invite the WE, YEP, Sky Sports, Calendar and the SL Show; put on a bit of a tour, let them see the players training, introduce them to some of the young academy players and their parents, and show them the new educational facilities. Lay on a bit of a spread provided by local food businesses and suppliers (journos love a free lunch) and try to get a bit of positive momentum in the media and the local community.

Great interview from MC by the way - exactly the kind of positive messages people need to hear.

Spot on Bren

Think that will happen when we have some news about Newmarket/redevelopment

WARNING LONG WINDED REPLY - SORRY.

I've read and digested what was said and I have genuinely put some serious thought into this reply.

First of all I hope that Mr Carter AKA Daddycool takes what I have to say as constructive criticism and open honest advise.

Nor do I wish to presume I know more than he does about Wakefields current situation, clearly I don't and probably never will that would be ridiculous. What I do have a good idea about however is how the game of RL in general works and how the Wakefield public thinks in particular.

First of all everything he said was spot on and why wouldn't it be he's a smart guy. That said it's nothing that wasn't stated almost word for word by Glover before him, Pearman before him, Richardson before him and Walker before him and on and on. They all meant it and were with the exception of Pearman reasonably sincere.

They all failed to greater or lesser degrees, as to why I wouldn't be so arrogant as to suggest I knew - I don't - no one does.

All I can do is offer my advise for what it's worth as to where I think the current regime is going right or wrong - this is the constructive criticism but mostly advice to which I eluded.

Rights:

1: Balancing the books. I've heard all the garbage through the years about speculating to accumulate etc but if the last 6 years of recession has taught us anything (and it should have) is that there is no substitute for being financially sound. How you interperate that is up for debate but for me it's basically the ability to cover your long and short term liabilities and although no accounts are available I suspect that is now the case.

2: I thought our recruitment this year was spot on - hard even taking Agar into account to explain quite why it hasn't made a better return but with similar shrewd recruitment next year I'd be very surprised not to see a marked upturn on the pitch.

The above is a very short list however the two ticks are against what in my opinion are far and away the the most important parts of running a club - and by some way.

Wrongs:

1: Relations with the fans. From my prospective and others may see it differently it's at an all time low. When the likes of Big Al refuse to watch the club then something has clearly gone wrong. We are not talking some petulant fool here but one of the most reasonable men I have ever come across on these forums. It's not just the loss of such a valuable and decent fan that's at stake here. It's also the loss of a fan and his family and some friends who IMHO are possibly worth one to two thousand pounds a years to the club. All the players and all the new stands in the world won't make up for that loss. Because if anyone thinks there are large numbers of Big Al families out there just waiting to be found then they are sadly mistaken. It will be some years and some silverware later before we can afford the loss of a single hardcore fan like Al. Mend some bridges now and drop some of the petty stuff because trust me we can't run this club in the same way you'd run your local multiplex, it's far more emotive and complex than that. If the Big Al situations and a few others are now sorted then fine job done and I apologise for bringing it up.

The above is my only real criticism and will probably stop me getting an invite to the Boardroom anytime soon, but then I don't think I'd want one because I'm not sure anyone would be listening - a feeling many others have passed onto me - this needs to stop for me. There is such a wealth of proven talent amongst our fan base created through years of struggle, it's almost criminal to ignore it. I'm not being naive either, I realise the final decision is Mr Carters and that WTRLFC is not a democracy but all the same nobody knows it all.

Into the advise stuff now and I accept some of what I say may not be possible but as they say if you don't ask… I'm basically going to tackle one subject Mr Carter raised and that's exciting the fans or by definition creating a feel good factor. It's always the hardest thing to fathom with Trinity fans and the last one to crack it on the pitch was Kear who may not have been the worlds greatest coach but certainly had charisma that fans seemed to buy into. It was certainly the only time in my 25 years that the attendance went up significantly and without giving tickets away - which is why I didn't include Glover who also created a buzz but one sadly built on sand - also I reckon that 2006 victory against Cas played it's part but it would be so so much better if it were a CCup win but that is something I realise can't be created to order.

2: Be as honest and upfront as we can about the Stadium good or bad, remaining positive without making promises we may not be able to keep. To be fair I think that's whats happening so just a reminder.

3: Make as many signings for next season before November as we possibly can (especially the big ones if there are any) and delay some signing info if we can so that the signings are announced in big groups rather than piecemeal for maximum effect, RL fans love this.

4: Make a massive fuss about any Academy players we sign full-time regardless of how much on the fringe they may actually be. It's a win win, if they make it we can all high five ourselves and if they fail well heck you gave them a chance. I'm not suggesting any exploitation here just positivity.

5: Make sure the merchandise is available by very early December, not doing will cost.

6: Reinstate the shirt presentation night at Mustang Sally's or maybe the revamped Unity Hall if ready. This was a great focal point for the coming season and held at a grimmer part of the year which made it a welcome relief. Do not hold it at the ground because that basically take away any glamour and cache there may be away from the event. Sure it will cost us in that we might have to accept a break even or even a small lost. However the excitement it created was worth it especially if the full squad was on show which of course they would be if most signings were made in November. It's also a lot easier to empty peoples credit cards on the night with a few beers in their bellies and rousing words in their ears. I know it goes against every bone in Mr Carters body and contradicts my own point but I think it does pay it's way it's just hidden on the balance chest as there is no column for good will or excitement generated.

7: Finally and if it could be budgeted for - an opening act on the first home game and some real cheerleaders. Chico was the first one I remember and rubbish though he is he had an effect as did Diversity and the lad who won I'm a Celebrity. Personally I don't watch them but others clearly did and it was another bit of theatre and feel good. Ditto the cheerleaders. Don't confuse this with the Dance Academy girls, I'm quite happy for them to frolic about all day long but not masquerading as part time cheerleaders please. Either have them or don't but they need to be the real deal in the modern era. This point is not vital but needed saying all the same.

So thats it from me, others may have more to add and I think they will all be worth a read.

I agree with you Vasty in relation to the relations with fans (and the other stuff).

There is a very anti-fan feeling from up high, and if you read MC's tweets they often feel the same. Lots of snider digs about "real fans" and do the Wakefield public want a super league team, etc.

Although this isn't a normal business, you do sometimes have to treat it like one. If the local multiplex stopped attracting customers, you wouldn't start going on about whether the people of Wakefield really want a multi-screen cinema, you'd work out why they weren't going anymore and devise a plan to get them back. The feeling I get is that it's "do you want a super league team or what?"

Spot on from Vasty. An additional point I would add is to review the non-smoking policy at Belle Vue. I cannot understand why a smoking area cannot be provided.

and where better to advertise than in your local cinema before the screenings

by the way vasty mustangs shut down but yes a shirt night presentations was where the shirts was reveal and provided a build to the next season