Perhaps the bloke is just p155ed off with all the 'advice' he's being given on this forum. All well meaning, I'm sure but the bloke is running a business that hasn't got a pot to pee in so tight are the club's finances. I'm sure he's well aware of the phrase "speculate to accumulate" but if you've nothing to speculate with in the first place then your chances of accumulating are somewhat diminished.

I'm as frustrated as much as any other Trinity supporter but given the choice between the 'smoke and mirrors' and secrecy of previous regimes I know which I prefer.

He's had a sarcastic pop on Twitter, big deal. He's the one at the sharp end with the pencil and the calculator trying to balance the books every week. His people skills may or may not be brilliant, I've never met him or spoken to him but if we want the happy smiling, "all is going well" (when it really wasn't) we could go back to a previous regime. Look where that got us.

Correct, only seen him once when we were both at the opposite ends of the Cats bar pre season, personally I'm neither for or against the man, but I do sympathise with the position he is in and the frustration he must suffer through trying to run this club, balancing the books, trying to be competitive on the field, all with one hand tied behind his back and fans that won't be pleased no matter how he try's to confront our on and off field problems, quite a few fans have shown their frustration at Smith being swooped up by the vultures up in Hillbilly land once again, I don't suppose he'll be too ecstatic either just part of his balancing act really, trying to do the impossible keeping all the fans happy and the club in business.

On the promoting the club thing.
They are clearly going th esocial media way. It won't benefit everyone but they have 19,000 followers on facebook and and push tickets and dates all the time on there. They must have similar numbers on Twitter.

So it's not that they are not doing any publicity, they are just doing it in a "low cost high impact way". It's arguable whether they could do more but they are doing something.

It would be nice to get a few more of that 19,000 down to Belle Vue though.

MC can post more or less what he likes on twitter or facebook but getting upperty with finicky fans wont get them back and could even put some more off going he needs to put brain in gear first and not just fire off. If he had put something along the lines of "We are constantly looking at all options of advertising the games but we have to stick by what we can afford and with 19000 followers on social media we are attempting to get some of them through the gates and it is a cost effective exercise if anyone has any ideas they will be all looked at" even if he thought do one you don't know the first thing. Keep sticking it to the fans and you will end up with even less of them Im afraid.

Les-goose..............there's a job waiting for you right now at Belle Vue?!!??!!?
They need you badly.

Completely agree. When the last clowns left everyone was on here saying "all we want is honesty" & "why cant we just spend within budget". Now we have a chairman who is doing that and people are not happy again.

Long and short of it for me is, that until someone comes in with some form of cash injection, or alternatively we can increase our match day turnover (new ground?) this is where we are at.
MC/CB have said they are not willing to pump more money in and who can blame them when a lot of "fans" wont even give them £22 every other week!

Its small steps, but if we can stay in SL, with suppliers on side (after the last lot screwed them over), debtors list down and possible cheaper rent (if it can be agreed), who knows, this time next year we may be in a position to market ourselves a little better.

In recent times I've had some interactions with Verity, the marketing person at Belle Vue. From my experience I can say she is the true professional and real pleasure to do business with. She is detailed, polite and very responsive and goes above and beyond what I would expect from a marketing person.

I had interactions and did some business with her predecessor last year, can't remember his name. To be honest I got the impression that this guy was very highly thought of on here. My experience was that he had little interest in my money, which I'd paid upfront about 12 months before I got anything to show for it. His e-mail responses, if they came were not always very helpful or sympathetic.

I know he went on to work for Leeds/Bradford airport and I wish him well. Based solely on my direct experiences with both I think Verity is a much better asset for the club in my humble experience.

I understand peoples point about low visibility marketing. If the promotions are via social media, such as Facebook (which I rarely use) then that can have some benefit. A lot of people seem addicted to FB and Twitter so it is an obvious, low cost place to go to.

I understand the club has barely two coins to rub together and maybe a factor in Carter's comments about not being keen on marketing. I do think (if they aren't doing it already) that spending £20-£30 on Facebook ads to a targeted audience in the Wakefield area before each game would be a good idea. Maybe Twitter ads too. These reach a far wider audience than just the followers of your feed/page.

I would like to see the marketing more visible but I don't know the ins and outs of the finances at Belle Vue. In recent statements Carter has been saying that advertising, hospitality and sponsorship income to the club has been rising. I take from that they must be doing something right.

Hopefully when funds are more available Verity can convince Carter to experiment with new advertising methods. (Although of course it might be a catch 22 situation, spend money to make money.)

He can post what he wants however he must also think about the outcome from his statements. I could say all Wakefield supporters are gullible fools other than the odd indignant post it would have little impact. He could post the same and the result once the word got around could prove catastrophic.
This is why he should consider what he is posting, he may think it but don't put it in writing especially not about your customers.

Maybe, just maybe, this is a cack-handed appeal for help? There is no cash, but they are unwilling to openly ask for volunteers on this front?

Many of the best things about this club have come from the initiative of the fans: TRB, IA (a loiner!), SandalCat, feline etc., SWAG, Supporters Trust, squad builder, supporters clubs, Trinity Heritage, Snowie & his maintenance team...

Do we have anyone with skills, enthusiasm and time to take on the promotion of the middle 8 games?

A small group of fans could, perhaps, make all the difference.
I'm sure the club would be more than happy to help out in any way they can with meeting space, information and possibly making players available for promotion.

Many have suggested ideas including a need for a greater presence in the city centre engaging potential support, is this a role for current fans?
I guess much of our latent support is in the over 50s club, do they use social media? just the WE?

The club's twitter feed is fairly good, especially for match commentaries, although that could be seen as counter-productive.
The updates that Lee did on his Trinity Heritage feed were also interesting, informative and stimulated interest. I follow Formula one's feed, and this is an excellent example, but not much more than a combination of the official feed and trinity heritage.

How do we get disengaged fans back through the gate?
The next couple of months is yet another turning point for the club. Is anybody up for the fight?

So many negative supporters. Yes it's been a tough old year. It always es me off to see so many drinking at. Conservative club rather than spending in the ground. But at least they are coming to the match. It's the stayaways who do my head in. Been watching Trin since 1960 and yes it's tough. But it's our team and the club needs us.

Why should the stayaways turn up? They are stayaways for a reason, fair weather fans or the disillusioned hard-core of yesteryear. There is currently very little reason to part with £22+. I admire you for sticking with the club all that time! Personally I would still be there week in week out if firstly I got value for money but more importantly if I was valued as a supporter/customer.

The only reason you should need to buy a ticket is because your a supporter of the team/club and u want to be a valued supporter what do you want a pat on the back for buying a ticket