I don't know about 'pride' or 'passion' or anything else the players might be thinking (and neither do they), unless the lack of it were to translate into not putting in the effort on the field. In my opinion, as I've said before, I've seen lack of confidence, lack of ability, silly mistakes, clumsy attempts to make tackles, not playing as a team, and dumb attempts to make hopeless passes, what I've not witnessed is any lack of willingness to get stuck in. The frustration that they suffer from when things haven't gone right, negative as it obviously is, shows that they care.
People carping in the pub instead of going to games aren't making valid points, they're regurgitating second hand gossipy opinions (probably from someone else who didn't go to the match) that they heard the last time they were in the pub. They are quite definitely part of the problem and not part of the solution (they could become part of the solution by turning up at a game), but as Mick pointed out, there is a fans' forum coming up, and will they be there?
There is little point in asking most of these people what they want, because we already know what that is, and it's something that no club is able to offer. They want to follow a successful side with lots of internationals, near the top of the league, playing rip roaring rugby and winning by big scores most of the time. You know, a little bit like the Bulls used to be for about ten years. We know that already, because that is what they come on message boards and tell us they miss about going to to games.
But life isn't like that. It's totally unrealistic and no club will always be in that position; we used to be, now it's someone else's turn. What we do have a team that is trying (and I'll yield to no-one on that), made up of some experienced SL players, some of above average quality, a few more than decent Aussies, and a goodly number of young players coming through. Despite results and current form it's a team worth watching.
Bradford Bulls dying? Dying my A***.
Whilst much of this is spot on, it is very risky to simply dismiss these people as glory hunters (my words, not yours).
The crowd the other day was horrendously low, and the next one may be even lower. Whilst it is frustrating, we 9as a sport) need to understand why fans switch off like this. Football doesn't see such a marked drop off after a few bad results.
There may be things that the club can do which are realistic, because as has been pointed out, other clubs haven't seen this dramatic decline, and I don't just use the dismissive comments about them being new fans attracted by foam fingers etc, so they weren't real fans.
It may be tough to get to them, they won't necessarily just turn up at a forum, but then usually only a few hundred max do at any forum, and when it comes down to it, it is up to the club to attract them.
),I also though Koppy continued his improvement over the last few weeks. He had probably his best game of the season in defeat at Quins and showed the same form yesterday imo. He seems to be running his weight now, knocking people backwards, something he hasn't really done before.
