Can Keighley replicate York?

[Mr Plow]

Probably not this season but next year if they recruit well could we see a revival like we saw happen to York? Seems like the right people are in charge and are shaking things up. Is this Cougarmania II?

[Mumby Magic]

I can see why you suggest York but I feel it is Batley they should try and replicate. Building a nice little stadium within budget, comfortably staying within the Championship each season etc

[HaxbyKnight]

9 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

I can see why you suggest York but I feel it is Batley they should try and replicate. Building a nice little stadium within budget, comfortably staying within the Championship each season etc

I can see why you suggest York, they were League 1  Champions last season without the financial backing of other teams in that league. They were recognised at the end of season awards for their performance on the field, and their outstanding work in the local community. 

[Mumby Magic]

25 minutes ago, HaxbyKnight said:

I can see why you suggest York, they were League 1  Champions last season without the financial backing of other teams in that league. They were recognised at the end of season awards for their performance on the field, and their outstanding work in the local community. 

I know but I can't see Bradford Council building a community Stadium for them!  It hasn't happened in the last multiple decades for Bradford, hence why I suggested the Batley or even Fev model.

[Mr Plow]

41 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

I can see why you suggest York but I feel it is Batley they should try and replicate. Building a nice little stadium within budget, comfortably staying within the Championship each season etc

Yeah I can see them becoming a Batley in the long term. Weren’t there plans for a community stadium a few years ago?

[Mumby Magic]

23 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Yeah I can see them becoming a Batley in the long term. Weren’t there plans for a community stadium a few years ago?

Don't know to be honest. Keighley needs it big style. The town has lost a lot character and vibrancy over the last few years. I think first step is a massive amount of volunteers to get them up and running again, survive this year then plan ahead. I know Mick O' Neill will keep them safe but I don't know about how much money he has to throw at it.

[Mr Plow]

9 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

Don't know to be honest. Keighley needs it big style. The town has lost a lot character and vibrancy over the last few years. I think first step is a massive amount of volunteers to get them up and running again, survive this year then plan ahead. I know Mick O' Neill will keep them safe but I don't know about how much money he has to throw at it.

Found this from 2014

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10922770.rebuild-bid-for-keighley-cougars-rugby-league-club-stadium-submitted/

youd expect they’d have a 5 year plan,as you said get this season over with then try and make them self sustainable.

the main stand backs into the cricket ground maybe have a Headingley like stand there. Do you know what the green building is next to it?

[gazza77]

39 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Found this from 2014

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10922770.rebuild-bid-for-keighley-cougars-rugby-league-club-stadium-submitted/

youd expect they’d have a 5 year plan,as you said get this season over with then try and make them self sustainable.

the main stand backs into the cricket ground maybe have a Headingley like stand there. Do you know what the green building is next to it?

It's the clubhouse isn't it? 

[Lowdesert]

2 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

Probably not this season but next year if they recruit well could we see a revival like we saw happen to York? Seems like the right people are in charge and are shaking things up. Is this Cougarmania II?

Two completely different demographics.  Certainly, Keighley could do to replicate York’s comeback - which is still in the process remember.

Forget big time.  Small compact facilities, foundation getting into schools and living to your means ain’t a bad aim.  On the pitch, lower level RL is more often far more entertaining than SL anyway.  

[Moomintroll]

I'd like to see clubs share ideas and collaborate more often in off-the-pitch matters. Has the RFL or any teams ever encouraged others to do that? 

[BD20Cougar]

Keighley in the championship/a league one promotion season would get four figure crowds every week. Whether we could go a step further and regularly get 2000+ into Cougar Park I'm not so sure. 

[gittinsfan]

4 hours ago, Mumby Magic said:

I can see why you suggest York but I feel it is Batley they should try and replicate. Building a nice little stadium within budget, comfortably staying within the Championship each season etc

The trouble is,a lot of SL posters on here think that well run mid table teams like Batley are no good for the future of the game.This because they have no serious ambition or prospect of SL.

[Mumby Magic]

1 hour ago, gittinsfan said:

The trouble is,a lot of SL posters on here think that well run mid table teams like Batley are no good for the future of the game.This because they have no serious ambition or prospect of SL.

They actually do having worked there voluntarily but its more a case of "if it happens"

[TIWIT]

Ordinarily I'd say merely surviving isn't very ambitious, but in the case of Keighley it is. But yes, they require a 5-year plan to re-establish themselves and start building towards promotion in another 5 years.

A team content to merely survive in the middle of the pack will soon start sliding backwards again and fan interest will wane.

[Clogiron]

To compete as a well run, established championship club is nothing to be ashamed of for many of our club's, it's when they start chasing the dream that they get into trouble. The SL club's may scoff at that and wash their hands of it but with the right promotion such as York and previously the Cougars have shown it could be a vibrant, entertaining, competitive stand alone League, it needs the club's to accept that and work together to achieve it.

[Mr Plow]

2 hours ago, gittinsfan said:

The trouble is,a lot of SL posters on here think that well run mid table teams like Batley are no good for the future of the game.This because they have no serious ambition or prospect of SL.

 It every lower league club is a SL club or wants to be. Chasing ‘the dream’ can be dangerous (see Bradford 2016). Halifax used the money they got from making the top 4 to invest it back into the club rather than slash out on big players.

yeah some clubs can aim for SL, Toronto, Toulouse, Widnes, Bradford even York but teams like Batley can still aim for the playofffs and win the 1895 cup

[AB Knight]

There was an interview recently with those running York where they said they are just copying the ideas from Cougarmania all those years ago!

Obviously it's not as simple as digging out the Cougarmania instruction book but they need to get into schools, make Keighley a great place to be for kids (U16s free is a great initiative at York and other clubs and should be rolled out across the lower leagues IMO).

A good team of volunteers is a must, here today at York we had about 30 people helping out doing everything from the PA annoucements to putting up advert hoardings to manning the turnstiles.

Also I dont know who is the coach of Keighley nowadays but they need to work on the brand of rugby they play, they don't play the most exciting rugby, they always seem to be a niggly side and that comes from having seen 7 matches involving Keighley over the last 10 years. A 'marquee' signing would work wonders for Keighley - I cant underestimate the lift signing ex SL players like Ash Robson, Andy Ellis and Graeme Horne has given York over the last few seasons. Not saying after recent financial problems Keighley should go out and sign a Sam Burgess but a high profile signing would really give them a lift.

Anyway Cougar Park is one of my favourite traditional rugby grounds and I hope they can start building up, if they can no reason why they couldn't be a steady Championship club. Best of luck Keighley!

[Tre Cool]

Yes they could, spread the marketing into the surrounding towns and villages and there's plenty of people to go at.  They've done it before and could do it again. Bit of imagination and then some momentum.

[guess who]

As a Cougar fan. Who went to his first fame during the Cougarmania days.

Its going to be interesting to see what happens.

A lot of fans walked away from the game, when we didn't get promoted. Not sure if these fans will come back.

Its just good to know the new owners have the club at heart.

I think there is a core group of people who will volunteer to help out.

[Wolford6]

Long term, Skipton would be a better home.

It's a reasonably-sized town, close to Keighley but under a  different local authority. Craven, District is  relatively rich longstanding Conservative Authority. It has no big soccer pitch and so a community stadium for a might find favour from a Tory government.

[Tre Cool]

1 hour ago, Wolford6 said:

Long term, Skipton would be a better home.

It's a reasonably-sized town, close to Keighley but under a  different local authority. Craven, District is  relatively rich longstanding Conservative Authority. It has no big soccer pitch and so a community stadium for a might find favour from a Tory government.

I don't think so, Skipton is small and touristy and wrong demographic.  Keighley is as big as Widnes or Leigh and bigger than Castleford and has no direct competition in the town in terms of pro sport (sure some people there support Burnley and Bradford City but they're not in the town).  There really is potential there with some investment and imagination. Maybe the sizeable asian community makes it a bit more tricky than for Cas/Widnes/Leigh but still.

[Wolford6]

1 minute ago, Tre Cool said:

I don't think so, Skipton is small and touristy and wrong demographic.  Keighley is as big as Widnes or Leigh and bigger than Castleford and has no direct competition in the town in terms of pro sport (sure some people there support Burnley and Bradford City but they're not in the town).  There really is potential there with some investment and imagination. Maybe the sizeable asian community makes it a bit more tricky than for Cas/Widnes/Leigh but still.

Keighley would be a fine base if Bradford Council was fit for purpose. but it isn't.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

5 hours ago, Wolford6 said:

Long term, Skipton would be a better home.

It's a reasonably-sized town, close to Keighley but under a  different local authority. Craven, District is  relatively rich longstanding Conservative Authority. It has no big soccer pitch and so a community stadium for a might find favour from a Tory government.

 

4 hours ago, Tre Cool said:

I don't think so, Skipton is small and touristy and wrong demographic.  Keighley is as big as Widnes or Leigh and bigger than Castleford and has no direct competition in the town in terms of pro sport (sure some people there support Burnley and Bradford City but they're not in the town).  There really is potential there with some investment and imagination. Maybe the sizeable asian community makes it a bit more tricky than for Cas/Widnes/Leigh but still.

Sorry, W6, but I agree with Tre Cool on this.  I cannot see that Craven District Council would be interested in a community stadium, especially if its main purpose was to be home to a semi-pro RL team.  Somewhere just north of Glusburn/Crosshills/Cowling you cross into predominantly RU territory.  Skipton has a well established union club, with the higher profile Wharfedale just ten miles further up the road at Threshfield.

The funding aspirations and abilities of Craven DC have always been modest.  For at least two reasons, this is not altogether surprising: although the area covered by the council is bigger than that of the erstwhile metropolitan county of Merseyside, the population of the entire district is only around the 55,000 mark (of which I would think about 15,000 would be in Skipton); because the council is fairly conservative (with and without capital 'C's), the concept of public sector intervention tends to be looked on as a last resort, and, if needed, there would be higher priorities than a sports stadium.  It's a long time since my 14 year stint working for them (which began on day 1, namely 1st April, 1974) but I still keep an eye on local current affairs, so I think my points are still valid.

I agree with you, Tre Cool, that the large population of Asian origin in Keighley is an issue, but I would see it as a challenge to be tackled by a revitalised Cougars going forward.  A structured approach to such integration of RL across all the community might even be the sort of thing that would attract grant aid; I don't know for sure, as it's not my specific area of grant aid expertise.  We have had Asian players in the past in English RL, but not really built on that, as far as I can see.  I would be delighted to have those observations refuted with reference to current activity, in either Keighley or elsewhere!