END OF AN ERA : Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:30 pm  

Not posted on here for a long time but what ever you want to say about me whether I have an axe to grind, out to stir up trouble what ever rubbish is spoken believe me I am just another very passionate fan of the club and a fan like many of my age was brought up with the Cougars. I have seen them at the lowest point and at the very top but I'm afraid for me I can't remember days like this for many many years. For me we are witnessing an end of an era and yes you may say that is an exaggeration but those that believe everything will be ok and our Coach Paul March and Directors Gary Fawcett and Neil Cullen are good for the club then you really do need to wake up and smell the coffee because ever since JD left the club I have said that we would get relegated and these Directors would one day all but destroy the club and for me we are on the brink.

If it wasn't for the love of the club and supporting a family member within the team I'm not sure like many I know if I could step foot within the park again. Look back over old photos and videos at what the ground once was and what it is now, it's a disgrace. Terracing full of litter and weeds, weeds growing up the boarding on the terracing, broken/hanging off boards around the pitch, walking into the bar the smell and state of the toilets is vile, the food from the hatch yesterday £5.50 for a rock hard sausage butty with no butter on the teacake and chips that were raw, office doors with holes in, turnstile doors smashed and hanging off, the rubbish is just getting worse all because they cant pay the bills for the bins emptying and the list goes on and on. It's a great idea to have working committee to sort the ground out but how many times has this been tried they cant afford the materials to do anything and do you think you will be provided with hot drinks and sandwich as a goodwill gesture.. not a chance.

Paul March just cant take the blame for what's happening on the pitch at the end of the day he has people above him and like in any walk of life if you don't hit targets or you cant manage your workforce to perform you get sacked but instead these clowns give him a 2 year contract. There is still a lot of people out there pushing the blame onto the RFL, yes we know the RFL is corrupt and inconsistent when it come to decisions involving the cougars but look at the results from last year and they will tell you we should have never been in the position to get relegated. We have only our self's to blame for where we are. Then look at the team Marchy has built this year, over paid and over aged has beens. The team still isn't bad on paper and are capable of a better pre-season than this but its obvious they don't perform under Marchy. The all golds game for so many reasons was a disgrace and for parts of the game we struggled with the pace they were playing at just like we did with swinton who attacked with pace and tore us apart. We only beat swinton in the last ten because they had a man sent off.

Look at the season ahead and the attendances we have had so far and lets not blame the all golds attendance because it was played on a Saturday, I know the club are still in financial difficulties fact. If by chance we were to start winning when the season starts how are wages for players, coaching staff and club staff going to be played on the last two attendances, they aren't. One thing that is obvious when standing in the bar and ground just look around at the age group of fans for the cougars, where are all the 18-30s and families. No offence meant to anyone but its the same faces week in week out of an aging fan base and if they don't attract new young fans what will happen.

I could go on forever but Gary stop with all the stupid statements and promises of getting us into super league, building a brand new stadium and been a leading club in the community which doesn't exist and get the club out of the s**t you have put it in. For me the only thing Gary has brought to the club is destruction. You have destroyed the club brick by brick after cutback after cutback. There are loads of clubs out there that run on a shoe string and they aren't in the state we are. All you will hear is the debt they have paid off and the club has no money for staff etc but anyone who runs a business knows the books will say what you want them to say.

I know for a fact the bulls are in town and are working hard at attracting more young fans and are finding there way into schools all because we cant and when ever we do promise the junior clubs and schools anything after two weeks we have let them down once again. Keighley Albion juniors is one of the biggest junior clubs out there now with over 300 kids playing but the cougars cant do anything for nowt with them but yet the bulls are trying there hardest to throw everything at them

I say the only way forward is a clear out of coach and directors, hand on heart I don't take no pleasure in saying this but everything I have always stated on here as come true and we need a miracle because if we don't the club will not make it to summer never mind the end of the season.
Well done Gary you have had everything laid on a plate some many times from experienced people that could have really worked hard at put the club back on the map but instead you know best.

I hope you can walk round with your head held high

Re: END OF AN ERA : Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:07 pm  

What a shame that someone has to post such stuff, but to be fair the comments are valid from where I observe the current situation at the Cougars.

There is a big elephant in the room at the Cougars IMO and until people realise that it is there and needs to be removed then I fear that the current position can only get worse.

It is up to the people at the club to resolve this. How they do it is entirely down to them.

I know of lots of people who used to support the Keighley Rugby League clubs ( in its various guises) for many years but are now either followers by media or even worse are not bothered at all. A lot of these people had real passion for the club and the product on offer. Not all the things that have turned people away are entirely down to the club, but in all honesty they haven't helped themselves at times.

There will be a Keighley RLFC for the foreseeable future, in some form or other that's for sure, but at the moment the progression that is required just appears to be lacking.

Re: END OF AN ERA : Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:21 pm  

So things aren't going too badly then..

Re: END OF AN ERA : Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:27 pm  

Need to look on the bright side ................... Dulls lost and we cant be relegated this year (can we?). I guess really, Gary needs to stop digging, we've gone as low as we can!

Re: END OF AN ERA : Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:27 pm  

100% agree with the above post. I also have said this would happen years ago. However it was when we acquired the likes of JD etc. We all knew it was just a nice retirement package.

Like you say its the same people week in week out and no new faces. Lets be fair most of us only do it for the love of the club but for me personally over the last few years my love for the club has gone and i honestly think that like a big chunk of old fans i will loose all interest in KC.

Re: END OF AN ERA : Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:35 pm  

There are only two people that I can think of out of the past ten years at Keighley Cougars who demonstrated any form of integrity:

Helen Carter
Barry Eaton.

Re: END OF AN ERA : Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:42 pm  

104-4 wrote:

There are only two people that I can think of out of the past ten years at Keighley Cougars who demonstrated any form of integrity:

Helen Carter
Barry Eaton.

I would add a few others inclusive of Dean Muir, Jez Crowther, JD, Glen Barraclough, Paul Royston and Graham Kemp for a start.

Re: END OF AN ERA : Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:06 pm  

MICKY1920 wrote:

I would add a few others inclusive of Dean Muir, Jez Crowther, JD, Glen Barraclough, Paul Royston and Graham Kemp for a start.

I don't know a couple of them but I would agree with Paul.

I wonder if we could create a Dreamteam of people who have demonstrated real integrity within the past ten years at KRLFC?

Cmon, we only need thirteen - can't be that hard, can it?

Re: END OF AN ERA : Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:37 pm  

The 'Two Micks'

Re: END OF AN ERA : Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:23 pm  

May I say to a few Keighley is a great club and has been lucky to have so many people involved and great coaching teams but this people deal with what they have and try there best as that is all that can be done but marchy has had teams promoted twice has had low budget Keighley side (compared to other team budgets ) unfortunate to get relegated and there was issues around that too he knows the game inside out and lives for rugby he too would be on the list of great people if u let him
Take Jose at Chelsea put him on charge of bradford city and say win champions league it would not happen.
You do what you can with the budget you have which is prob the 4/5 biggest in champ 1 but I reckon u will see a final and hopefully promotion