Quote Ferocious Aardvark="Ferocious Aardvark"No it isn't, look at Wigan 2008 for instance. Or teams like Man City, Leeds Utd., even our good friends at VP. No doubt it's a very helpful factor.'"
Those clubs don't suffer from the same level of supporter apathy as Bradford. Without a successful team I can only see us mirroring the levels of support at Hudders at best, they too have a smart new ground yet it's not meant they've pulled in regular 5 figure crowds. Good marketing and a successful side are key, I'd say that we, more than most, need a side that's finishing in the top 4 at least.
[i...and I can't see that happening until our academy lads are starting to come through, that's some years off yet.[/i
That's because our best prospects seem to be aged 16-19 and are some way off first team selection. Sure some will progress quicker than others but it'll be a few years before any make it through. At best we can hope for two first teamers to come through each year but that's in a good year.
[i ...I just hope we've a club left when they're ready. [/i
Quote Ferocious Aardvark="Ferocious Aardvark"Sure. There are ways to promote a feelgood factor at any club, regardless of results. Perceived performance being one of them. In terms of doing the right things to keep the faithful happy, we are failing badly and that's why many are disenchanted. They see some players apparently not being arrsed, and then they read written admissions from players in the press that indeed this is the case.
If for example we were exactly where we are now in the league, but had ONLY played the entire Academy/Reserves throughout and they had, to a man, tried their bollox off, then I reckon many of the disgruntled would appreciate this, and the majority would be fairly gruntled. Just my own POV, but the combination of things are seriously peeing a lot of fans off, and it could be avoided is my point even if we aren't winning everything.'"
A slogan I've seen on info coming out of the club lately is "building for the future". I reckon the club needs to really start peddling this line a bit more and perhaps be a bit more bullish about the future. I agree totally with your analysis in the two paragraphs above.
Quote Ferocious Aardvark="redeverready"That's a massive gamble to put all your hopes on a bunch of kids who might not make it is a bit silly.'"
I'm happier seeing the club invest in the juniors more as if you look at Leeds it's clearly the path to ensure a sustainable long term future. The key is to find a balance so the current first team isn't allowed to wither on the vine too much. That's my main concern, that we're over concentrating on juniors to the detriment of the first team. Top players have been replaced by average ones and we're reaping the "rewards" of this strategy. Ideally we want to bring our youngsters into a fairly good 1st team enviroment and we obviously don't have that at the moment, it's a worry.
