Re: If We Did Go Down : Sat May 28, 2022 10:50 pm  

I’m not too sure but I think sometime in the past michael carter said we wouldn’t be going with a full time squad if we were relegated

Re: If We Did Go Down : Sat May 28, 2022 11:17 pm  

Normycat1 wrote:

I’m not too sure but I think sometime in the past michael carter said we wouldn’t be going with a full time squad if we were relegated

He did if we lost to Bradford.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Sun May 29, 2022 6:40 am  

Trojan Horse wrote:

Highly doubt that. We wouldn’t have the backers but we wouldn’t necessarily need them.

We would have the largest fan base and attendances. I dare say some success of winning games would bring a few fans back.
We would receive a parachute payment I think.

The worst thing we could do is go part time especially first year down. That would be a huge error. If we go down we must set our stall out to come straight back up.

The best thing to do would be stay mainly full time (or your initial 21 man squad full time with rest made up of part time/academy prospects.

I don’t think we would. We don’t get great attendances now.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Sun May 29, 2022 8:14 am  

We getv roughly 3-4k fans in SL. Half that and that's what we'll get in the Championship. Bradford, Leigh/Featherstone, Widnes will have bigger crowds or similar.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 10:43 am  

Trojan Horse wrote:

Highly doubt that. We wouldn’t have the backers but we wouldn’t necessarily need them.

We would have the largest fan base and attendances. I dare say some success of winning games would bring a few fans back.
We would receive a parachute payment I think.

The worst thing we could do is go part time especially first year down. That would be a huge error. If we go down we must set our stall out to come straight back up.

The best thing to do would be stay mainly full time (or your initial 21 man squad full time with rest made up of part time/academy prospects.

Rather than have to battle to try and gain promotion, we need to throw all that we have into staying up.

Running a FT squad in the Championship, capable of gaining promotion doesnt come cheap and IIRC, the monies given to Championship clubs will be massively reduced from next season.

It looks highly likely that either Fev or Leigh will be promoted this time around, both of whom looked better in the 1895 cup that we do currently, plus maybe York.
A couple or few seasons in the Championship would be horrendous for the club.

Attendances would likely drop to 2-2500 which doesn't seem enough to fund a promotion chasing side ?

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 11:44 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Rather than have to battle to try and gain promotion, we need to throw all that we have into staying up.

Running a FT squad in the Championship, capable of gaining promotion doesnt come cheap and IIRC, the monies given to Championship clubs will be massively reduced from next season.

It looks highly likely that either Fev or Leigh will be promoted this time around, both of whom looked better in the 1895 cup that we do currently, plus maybe York.
A couple or few seasons in the Championship would be horrendous for the club.

Attendances would likely drop to 2-2500 which doesn't seem enough to fund a promotion chasing side ?

You get it however some still believe relegation will result in a golden period it will not.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 12:57 pm  

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:

You get it however some still believe relegation will result in a golden period it will not.

There is a "best case" scenario, if we were to go down, storm the Championship and win the GF, it "could" result in us coming back into the top flight with some momentum.
However, this is a long, long way from certain and every promoted side has struggled in their first season in SL and we would be no different.
Plus, the loss of revenue would be catastrophic and depending on the squad that we were able to put together, we could go further down the league pyramid before beginning to climb.
Bradford seem to be the perfect example plus, London, who are now looking like relegation candidates from The Championship.

Far better to maintain our position in SL, consolidate and then try to grow/improve. It's not easy but, it's preferable to play in the Championship.

Always worth remembering that there could always be a change in the structure or, new criteria, which could make it impossible to return.

The old saying about "being careful what you wish for" certainly applies here.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 1:00 pm  

Nobody is saying it will result in a golden period. That’s just a rediculous statement. And nobody is wishing for relegation I believe either.

I do think however we would be getting more than 2200-2500. Is that not around our current season ticket base line/hardcore support?

I think we are more or less down to our core fans now and have eroded to this point over the past few years since 2019.

I think realistically we would be looking at 3000-3500 attendances most games inclusive of away fans. If we were to be challenging at the top of championship I could see a modest increase on that as the season progresses.

As I said before I think that may be enough to fund a full time starting 17/21 man squad with the rest made up of young/part time players. You have to consider that some of our older high earning players would likely not be on the books.

Should we get relegated we would most certainly need to come back up the following year or it could be disastrous. I would hope the club approach it as such. That said we need to ensure with whatever is in our power that we don’t end up in that last spot this season.

One of fev/Leigh you wouldn’t expect to be in the championship next season also.

This is all what ifs but I think building a team to challenge for promotion would be highly possible for next year if needed. What we wouldn’t want to do is a Widnes/London. Not coming straight back up they look to have fallen into a decline of sorts.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 1:12 pm  

You forgot to include the revenue lost in servicing the stadium loan which will be due regardless of the division we are in.

Re: If We Did Go Down : Mon May 30, 2022 1:25 pm  

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:

You forgot to include the revenue lost in servicing the stadium loan which will be due regardless of the division we are in.

Even more reason to ensure we are challenging for promotion should we find ourselves in the championship. I would anticipate that this loan repayment would be covered by the income generated by the new facilities with some profit to spare.