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at the end of the day its a competitive world and each club has to be selfish and do what they need to do to survive and run a succefull ship especially in and area with so many clubs! if your a loyal enough batley/dewbury fan you won't be swayed, if not then it would only be a matter of time till they switch allegiances anyway!!!

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But at the same time, surely history and values should play a part. Especially for those half a dozen SL clubs that were in the right place at the right time and could easily have missed out at the expense of some of the CC clubs.

Halifax, sheffield, cas, Oldham and workington were in the right place at the right time.

But four of those could not hack the costs of Superleague and the other is favourite to bow out..

For a club that was in the wrong place at the wrong time - Widnes - who can afford to operate in Superleague.

Hull, Huddersfield and Salford were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but due to financial strength thay managed to get into Superleague.

If anyone missed out on SL in 1996 and should be in today, then by 2012 with the inclusion of Widnes they will all be in there.

To compete in the top league the clubs desperately need money none more so that Bradford. They were THE club for much of SL and sadly they have gone into a decline due to departing support. The flagship SL needs a strong competition and needs Bradford to be what they were once again.

If Bradford pull 500 fans from the Batley area I wonder how many of those will be fans new to the game and how many Batley fans??

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Halifax, sheffield, cas, Oldham and workington were in the right place at the right time.

the other is favourite to bow out..

Really?

Can you show me the odds please?

Now then, it's a race between Sandie....and Fairburn....and the little man is in........yeees he's in.

I, just like those Castleford supporters felt that the ball should have gone to David Plange but he put the bit betwen his teeth...and it was a try

Kevin Ward - best player I have ever seen

DSC04156_edited-1_thumb.jpg

The real Mick Gledhill is what you see on here, a Bradford fan ........, but deep down knows that Bradford are just not good enough to challenge the likes of Leeds & St Helens.
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Halifax, sheffield, cas, Oldham and workington were in the right place at the right time.

But four of those could not hack the costs of Superleague and the other is favourite to bow out..

For a club that was in the wrong place at the wrong time - Widnes - who can afford to operate in Superleague.

Hull, Huddersfield and Salford were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but due to financial strength thay managed to get into Superleague.

If anyone missed out on SL in 1996 and should be in today, then by 2012 with the inclusion of Widnes they will all be in there.

To compete in the top league the clubs desperately need money none more so that Bradford. They were THE club for much of SL and sadly they have gone into a decline due to departing support. The flagship SL needs a strong competition and needs Bradford to be what they were once again.

If Bradford pull 500 fans from the Batley area I wonder how many of those will be fans new to the game and how many Batley fans??

I meant right place right time before the P&R door was bolted shut.

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I am amazed no SL has ever offered the ST holders of any other club a half price ST if they switch to them.

For a club like Huddersfield, how many clubs are within 30 mins drive?

However, I think it is so wrong. The SL has become an elite club that look down their noses at the rest. Isn't this similar to the clique that caused the breakaway 100 years ago?

Batley have, on occasion, offered Huddersfield season ticket holders cheap entry to Mount Pleasant. I think they've gained a few fans in that way, including me. It's been done with the full support of the Giants.

There's no suggestion whatsoever in this arrangement that Huddersfield are looking down their noses at Batley. In fact I'd say the two clubs have a very good relationship. It works well for both partners.

Perhaps other SL clubs and other NL clubs do have an antagonistic relationship, but if they do they're just cutting their noses off to spite their faces.

English, Irish, Brit, Yorkshire, European.  Citizen of the People's Republic of Yorkshire, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the European Union.  Critical of all it.  Proud of all it.    

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An understandable reaction from many and i would agree to a certain extent, although having said that, the majority of the visits this bus is making are to areas within the Bradford district.

It might also shock people to know that people from Bradford do also go to places like Batley and Birstall to shop or in the case of Junction 27, eat, spend leisure time, go to the Showcase etc (and i'll get the dig in before anyone else does - yes this is because the centre of Bradford is an absolute **** hole!), so i can also understand the club trying to reach a potential customer base in places like this.

However, the Bulls are not forcing this product on anyone are they? Has it occurred to anyone that as part of the analysis the Bulls have done on their customer database they have noticed that they have a number of lapsed supporters from these areas? I know that as part of this drive to bring back the fans, the Bulls have done a lot of research into lapsed season ticket holders, looked at fans who have perhaps bought tickets on a sporadic basis i.e. attended the 'big games' etc. Maybe as part of that, it has become apparent that we have a fan base in these areas that we are not fully tapping into and the club feels it is worth engaging with these people.

It may seem cynical, and there may be some cynicism on the part of the club, i don't know but i do also feel there are other factors at play here, although that won't sate the resentment that some people seem to harbor towards the Bulls.

To me, the simple fact is the club has a need to draw back as many of those fans who have had some attachment to the club in the past or present as they possibly can. If some of those fans are outside the Bradford boundary and in sufficient numbers that it is worth investing resources in trying to reach them, then so be it.

Incidentally, i remember going to Dewsbury a few years back to watch the Bulls play a pre-season friendly. At the time, the Rams were pushing their own cheap season ticket deal and on that particular evening, they cleverly adapted their marketing to target the Bradford fans stating how good the deal was; so good in fact that in addition to having a Bradford season ticket it would be worth our supporters also buying the Rams ticket and going to watch them when Bradford games didn't clash. It worked; me and my partner's dad bought one, went to as many Rams games as we could take in that season and still do to this day.

I didn't feel defiled by the process, i didn't feel that this offer had been foisted upon me and that i had no chance to resist this slick marketing campaign or that the money was literally being lifted from my wallet against my will.

The boot may have been on the other foot, the "small club" touting to the "big club's" fans (i say that with the greatest respect) but the principle is the same. Clubs owe it only to themselves to make their business commercially viable. I wouldn't wish to see that happening to the detriment of others but i think there is more to the Bulls targeting these areas than some simple desire to try to rope the Batley fans away from the Mount.

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at the end of the day its a competitive world and each club has to be selfish and do what they need to do to survive and run a succefull ship especially in and area with so many clubs!

You're right, it's a competitive world and each club has to do what they need to survive. That almost certainly means the opposite to your suggestion though.

There is plenty of competition for people's time and money from outside the game without the clubs being "selfish" towards each other.

English, Irish, Brit, Yorkshire, European.  Citizen of the People's Republic of Yorkshire, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the European Union.  Critical of all it.  Proud of all it.    

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I meant right place right time before the P&R door was bolted shut.

If Batley can find someone with a couple of million a season to spend the bolt on the door may well come very loose indeed.

I do recall someone interested in taking Batley over a few years back who was talking big money (albeit not walking it)

If he had come up with the goods whose to say the Batley Marketing Bus would not be parked outside Odsal this very moment.....

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If Batley can find someone with a couple of million a season to spend the bolt on the door may well come very loose indeed.

I do recall someone interested in taking Batley over a few years back who was talking big money (albeit not walking it)

If he had come up with the goods whose to say the Batley Marketing Bus would not be parked outside Odsal this very moment.....

Can you show me those odds on favourites not to get a franchsie please?

Now then, it's a race between Sandie....and Fairburn....and the little man is in........yeees he's in.

I, just like those Castleford supporters felt that the ball should have gone to David Plange but he put the bit betwen his teeth...and it was a try

Kevin Ward - best player I have ever seen

DSC04156_edited-1_thumb.jpg

The real Mick Gledhill is what you see on here, a Bradford fan ........, but deep down knows that Bradford are just not good enough to challenge the likes of Leeds & St Helens.
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Without fully quoting the OP - its fairly indicative of ONE of the underlying views that hold back our game from within.

I just cannot see the issue.

ANY marketing campaign for ANY product - ATEOTD is down to individual choices and we all have a brain enough to decide where we go to watch rugby or buy food and clothes.

ASDA advertise outside Morrisons and vice versa - but them who like Morrisons stay there.

I have chosen to watch Dewsbury, Batley and Featherstone while paying for a Bulls season ticket - and I did that through freedom of choice.

And long may it reign - and while we are on reigns - lets get rid of some chuffin BLINKERS :ph34r:

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Unfortunately many SL fans don't give a stuff for the rest of the game as long as their own club is going to be OK.

Must admit, that statement really annoys me.

There is often a lot of arrogance amongst some lower division supporters who clearly feel that they are 'true' supporters of the game and take every opportunity to have a dig at SL.

I am a RL fan. It doesn't matter which division my club is in, RL is my passion, and I care for all the teams and people involved in it. I am not alone on that.

Of course there will be plenty of fans who care solely about their club and couldn't give a stuff about others, but that goes for fans all over the game, not just evil SL fans.

SL and its clubs gets ripped to pieces by many lower division fans, whereas it doesn't happen the other way round. No doubt its just the evil SL fans being patronising to the poor lower division clubs!

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Can you show me those odds on favourites not to get a franchsie please?

I'm sorry I can't because I did not write them down, I only read it so it may have been in RL & LE a few weeks ago.

Cas were favourites with Wakey second favourites, then it was Salford, Quins and erm can't remember the fifth, it could have been Bradford .

Salford are building the ground, and Quins sorted themselves with the RFL. I only suspect Bradford were listed so Lobby could back them to go down.

Wether they are still taking bets on a now lower shortlist I don't know that either.

But they are still taking bets on the labour leadership where three have no chance and it's "down to two" in reality - what a co-incidence.

Anyway it's another thread but if both clubs get their grounds passed and financed, the RFL will be in the biggest hole it has ever been in.

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I'm sorry I can't because I did not write them down, I only read it so it may have been in RL & LE a few weeks ago.

Cas were favourites with Wakey second favourites, then it was Salford, Quins and erm can't remember the fifth, it could have been Bradford .

Salford are building the ground, and Quins sorted themselves with the RFL. I only suspect Bradford were listed so Lobby could back them to go down.

Wether they are still taking bets on a now lower shortlist I don't know that either.

But they are still taking bets on the labour leadership where three have no chance and it's "down to two" in reality - what a co-incidence.

Anyway it's another thread but if both clubs get their grounds passed and financed, the RFL will be in the biggest hole it has ever been in.

So just to clarify for you - your post about us being favourites to drop out is wrong.

Now then, it's a race between Sandie....and Fairburn....and the little man is in........yeees he's in.

I, just like those Castleford supporters felt that the ball should have gone to David Plange but he put the bit betwen his teeth...and it was a try

Kevin Ward - best player I have ever seen

DSC04156_edited-1_thumb.jpg

The real Mick Gledhill is what you see on here, a Bradford fan ........, but deep down knows that Bradford are just not good enough to challenge the likes of Leeds & St Helens.
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There is plenty of competition for people's time and money from outside the game without the clubs being "selfish" towards each other.

Superleague is a top quality product that requires sales (if we are playing supermarkets).

So it makes sense for SL clubs to widen their nets at least up to the boundaries of other SL clubs.

Because ATEOTD Supoerleague clubs need each other to thrive.

There's no indication that RL fans choose to go to either an SL club or an NL club.

The indications are that the bulk of those outside SL towns and cities would rather stop at home than watch NL

So Bradford are right to go find those fans and say "If you want to watch SL come and watch the Bulls" you don't have to live in Manchester to be a Manchester United fan, where would that club be with that rule.

Anyway given your Kirklees links and given Batley are your feeder club shouldn't the Fartown marketing department have go there first??

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Neither Batley nor Dewsbury can sustain Superleague. What they ought to be doing is setting themselves up as partners to the Bulls or Rhinos, with offers on cheap joint-season tickets for fans. If they dont, the long term future will be grim.

If you're currently an unmarried or longstanding diehard Batley fan, you'll watch Batley come what may. However, if you have a family, no matter what Batley offer, there will be a big financial advantage in taking your family to Bradford under the new season ticket scheme. Those kids will grow up solely supporting the Bulls unless there is a joint Bulls-Batley marketing arrangement.

For any combination of Batley or Dewsbury with Leeds or Bradford, it's got to be the way forward. The Superleague club can send squad players to the junior partner and each club can provide the other with additional spectators when fixtures dont clash and/or they are playing in London, Cumbria, France etc.

Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police

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I think you misunderstand Parky. I think it's fine that the Bulls go and do some marketing in the Batley area. There is plenty of opportunity for cross-promotion between clubs. And this is also true between Superleague clubs.

Even in the most die-hard RL areas the proportion of people who attend matches is tiny. It is not a zero-sum game. If Bradford approach their promotional activity in Batley in the right way they can benefit both clubs and the game overall.

English, Irish, Brit, Yorkshire, European.  Citizen of the People's Republic of Yorkshire, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the European Union.  Critical of all it.  Proud of all it.    

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For any combination of Batley or Dewsbury with Leeds or Bradford, it's got to be the way forward. The Superleague club can send squad players to the junior partner and each club can provide the other with additional spectators when fixtures dont clash and/or they are playing in London, Cumbria, France etc.

You mean like Jermain McGilivary, Alex Brown, Josh Griffin and numerous others that Huddersfield have loaned out to Batley.

The bulls have any other "new" ideas :D

A lot of Yorkshiremen believe that when God created the world, he made it with perfect balance.

He balanced the hot areas with the cold areas. the dry areas with the wet areas.

And, in creating Yorkshire, he created the most glorious place on earth - full of majestic beauty and sporting giants.........and for balance he created....... Lancashire.

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Cas were favourites with Wakey second favourites, then it was Salford, Quins and erm can't remember the fifth, it could have been Bradford .

Salford are building the ground, and Quins sorted themselves with the RFL. I only suspect Bradford were listed so Lobby could back them to go down.

Not to sound like an uppity Bradford fan on the backfoot - but it certainly wasn't Bradford who were listed. This board would have gone into meltdown if they had. :P

SQL Honours

Play off mini league winner - 2002. Bronze Medalist - 2003. Big Split Group Winner - 2006. Minor Stupidship - 2005, 2006. Cup Silver Medalist - 2008, 2009

CHAMPION - 2005, 2009, 2010

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Not to sound like an uppity Bradford fan on the backfoot - but it certainly wasn't Bradford who were listed. This board would have gone into meltdown if they had. :P

"Five engage Super League clubs clubs risk losing their licences if they do not deliver new or improved stadiums within the next two years. The five, who have received written warnings, are reported to be St Helens, Celtic Crusaders, Castleford Tigers, Salford City Reds and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, with the latter three clubs under particular threat".

This was the basis of the odds for losing the license (with the RFL stupidly? guaranteeing one would go no matter what).

No Bradford are not in there. I don't recall Saints or Crusaders in there in the recent publication of the odds.

There were five though, albeit three have physically started or started doing something about it hence Cas and Wakey were clear favourites in the last odds.

Again it's not really for this thread but imagine if Cas and Wakey were both building stadia and the RFL true to their promise booted one out.

They could hardly argue SL is better without two clubs next to each other if they then put Widnes in.

It seems the odds are based on facilities only. I would suppose if they all get the facilities the one to go could be cut on another criteria like they are skint. But that may lead back to Cas and Wakey again. Widnes of course are not skint.

HKR/Hudgell may be getting skint - I'd have a quid on them but they weren't listed......

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Yep, harsh. A bit naughty from the Bulls IMHO.

It does highlight the problems of having so many pro RL clubs close together - you're all chasing the same fans. RL strength is also it's weakness. It's easier for clubs in big cities (e.g Leeds), as there are plenty of places to promote. Bradford, Halifax etc are so close together it makes it tough.

Yes but Bullford are chasing flory hunting fans perhaps who want to see SL. Becuase of our numpty-ish lack of P&R, folk from these two areas may never see their town teams in SL again

This is one reason why I have disliked Bradford

RL is a ##### joke on this note

Perhaps Bradford could try locating this bus to erm....Bradford city centre and other areas of Bradford

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Personally as a Batley chappie i really dont see the issue, if youre a Batley fan you will watch Batley, if youre not then Bradford are giving you a very reasonably priced alternative.

Its all about freedom of choice and if you removed peoples freedom to choose you will have something to complain about and ill be on the same bus.

I dont remember this sort of hullabaloo when Dewsbury were virtually giving season tickets away

Edited by Gary Coyle
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Neither Batley nor Dewsbury can sustain Superleague. What they ought to be doing is setting themselves up as partners to the Bulls or Rhinos, with offers on cheap joint-season tickets for fans. If they dont, the long term future will be grim.

If you're currently an unmarried or longstanding diehard Batley fan, you'll watch Batley come what may. However, if you have a family, no matter what Batley offer, there will be a big financial advantage in taking your family to Bradford under the new season ticket scheme. Those kids will grow up solely supporting the Bulls unless there is a joint Bulls-Batley marketing arrangement.

For any combination of Batley or Dewsbury with Leeds or Bradford, it's got to be the way forward. The Superleague club can send squad players to the junior partner and each club can provide the other with additional spectators when fixtures dont clash and/or they are playing in London, Cumbria, France etc.

Ho do you know they could not sustain SL, given a chance? I'm pretty sure a combined Batley/Dewsbury team would defo give SL a go if the fans wanted it (not sure if Batley/Dewsbury fans would prefer this or to be annually plundered by the handwavers)

I'll wager that many more SL players come from the Heavy Woollen area than Bradford

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Perhaps Bradford could try locating this bus to erm....Bradford city centre and other areas of Bradford

They are.

Happy to help. :happy:

Edited by Amber Avenger

SQL Honours

Play off mini league winner - 2002. Bronze Medalist - 2003. Big Split Group Winner - 2006. Minor Stupidship - 2005, 2006. Cup Silver Medalist - 2008, 2009

CHAMPION - 2005, 2009, 2010

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Ho do you know they could not sustain SL, given a chance? I'm pretty sure a combined Batley/Dewsbury team would defo give SL a go if the fans wanted it (not sure if Batley/Dewsbury fans would prefer this or to be annually plundered by the handwavers)

A few years ago, Dewsbury reached a gf and stated, win-or-lose, they wouldn't be seeking Superleague status.

This season, after winning the National Rail Cup, Karl Harrison stated that Batley wouldn't either.

Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police

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