Season Inquest

Now we have all slept on it how do we think it ended up where it has.

Personally I think the owners shafted the fans. Promised so much then took it all away. There is no rhyme or reason why they did what they did and there was never an explanation either.

Proper fans will follow through thick and thin but these aren't the people they need to reach out to it's the occasional people who go down for derby games or when results are going well then they will spend money. 

They got so many things wrong this season right from the squad to the ground facilities. One gate at the top open, a couple at the bottom, bar running out out of beer and toilets in such a mess I'd rather p**s behind a bush. Talks of a  new stand then never gets a mention again just keeps fans clinging to dreams.

A club statement should be announced this week firstly with truths about what went wrong this season and what is planned for next season in the Mickey Mouse league. I would think that some players who they had pencilled in won't be coming now as it would depend on survival in the championship. I would think we will lose double figures in regards to players leaving which in some cases wont be a bad thing as there just not good enough. Ioane, Doyle, Walker wont stay. We should have built a pack round Ioane but he's far too good for Championship 1 and clubs will getting in touch with him today with regards next season.

Throwing money at players isn't the way forward either. Look at the likes of Brighton in football 3rd in the premier league because they are well managed and obviously owners who know how to run a sports club.

Can't say I will be looking at club updates like I did last season and counting the days down for the season to start with enthusiasm. Yes I will be down next season but mainly its because I have done for the last 50+ years.

I think that there have been so many mistakes made this season.

Starting with signing big names which didn't deliver, Allowing Miller to leave. Sacking/Letting go of Lovegrove without a credible replacement in the wings. Allowing so many of our squad to leave during the season and then being unable to replace them adequately.

I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I think the owners decided that they were paying too much to keep a side in the Championship and wanted to pay much less. I am sure this could have been achieved as other clubs have done. However to change direction mid-season was always going to be difficult.

I think the fans have been tremendous even upto and beyond the final whistle testerday. They deserve better. Some fans have been more vociforous than others about pointing out these mistakes but this does go with the territory.

I will also be back next season and hope that in moving forward we can learn from our mistakes. I do think that in Foster we do have the right man in taking us forward in the manner which we would like (more substance less hype).

I've no doubt we will lose some support due to relegation but by doing things better in the future we can turn things around and come back.

1 hour ago, Mr Hicks said:

Now we have all slept on it how do we think it ended up where it has.

Personally I think the owners shafted the fans. Promised so much then took it all away. There is no rhyme or reason why they did what they did and there was never an explanation either.

Proper fans will follow through thick and thin but these aren't the people they need to reach out to it's the occasional people who go down for derby games or when results are going well then they will spend money. 

They got so many things wrong this season right from the squad to the ground facilities. One gate at the top open, a couple at the bottom, bar running out out of beer and toilets in such a mess I'd rather p**s behind a bush. Talks of a  new stand then never gets a mention again just keeps fans clinging to dreams.

A club statement should be announced this week firstly with truths about what went wrong this season and what is planned for next season in the Mickey Mouse league. I would think that some players who they had pencilled in won't be coming now as it would depend on survival in the championship. I would think we will lose double figures in regards to players leaving which in some cases wont be a bad thing as there just not good enough. Ioane, Doyle, Walker wont stay. We should have built a pack round Ioane but he's far too good for Championship 1 and clubs will getting in touch with him today with regards next season.

Throwing money at players isn't the way forward either. Look at the likes of Brighton in football 3rd in the premier league because they are well managed and obviously owners who know how to run a sports club.

Can't say I will be looking at club updates like I did last season and counting the days down for the season to start with enthusiasm. Yes I will be down next season but mainly its because I have done for the last 50+ years.

I think it's been obvious for a long time how we ended up where we are. The people leading the club off the field this season have got things massively wrong. In that I include the owners Ryan and Kaue, Jake Webster and Steve Wilkinson. The sacking of Rhys was clearly not down to on field performance, the subsequent results from the next 2 coaches have shown that. Rhys had a better record than both of them. There has long been rumours of a bust up behind the scenes between Rhys and the owners, which seemed to happen after the defeat in the challenge cup to Batley. If that's true or not I guess we will never know, it's in the past now and we've got to look forwards. Whilst Rhys had a better record than Foster, i do believe Foster is the right man for the job. He's got the team playing for each other and the shirt, and that was clearly missing from the time we had Jy-Mel in charge (I'm not laying any blame at Jy-Mel's door, he was shafted by the hierarchy with players leaving in their droves and being replaced by kids on loan). The performances since Matt has come in have certainly improved, other than one blow out score away Toulouse we have been much more competitive. 

I think the squad at the start of the season was more than fine, I would say it was in fact good and very capable. If we had kept that squad together i've got no doubt we would have been much better placed in the league and maybe challenging for the play-offs. Rhys, Miller, Gale, Chisolm, Santi, Crooks all left and with the exception of Miller, all went onto bigger and better things. The ground and facilities are what they are, it's pointless spending any money on them at the moment as the old stand is set to be demolished and the new one built. The new stand was only granted planning permission from Bradford Council on 18th September, Ryan O'Neil provided an update on the KCRLFC Supporters Chat on Facebook. It's a members group and you need to request to join, if you're not already part of that it may be useful to join.

Hopefully there is some form of communication from the club this week. There is the end of season presentation night on Thursday 28th at the club and everyone is welcome. On the social media posts for that it does say that an update will be provided, so I expect more info then and that it will be circulated elsewhere afterwards. Of course relegation will impact on retention and recruitment, we would be naïve to think that it wouldn't do, but I expected a big turn around in personnel either way and i'm hoping that Matt Foster gets to build his own squad with players that he see's a future with. Of the 3 you mention Doyle - fully expected him to leave even if we stayed up, i've heard he was Wakefield bound but not sure if their recent take over and new coach announcement will change this. Brad Walker - Happy for him to leave, I think he's been poor this season, especially for the rumoured money he is on. Mark Ioane - Apparently he is happy at the club, of course clubs will be enquiring about his availability but the latest i've heard is that he will be staying, no doubt this could change. If we managed to keep him that would be a real bonus.

So far for next season Junior Sa'u and Kyle Kesik have re-signed from the current squad. We've already announced Dee Foggin-Johnstone. It will certainly be a busy off-season and one that Matt, Jake and Steve need to get right to give us the best chance of bouncing straight back. Other clubs in League 1(Oldham & Midlands) are going to be spending good money if reports are to be believed, so it won't be an easy task. We don't 100% know the format of what League 1 will look like either, there's rumours of loop fixtures meaning 24 games rather than 16, and whilst not ideal that would be welcomed from a revenue front. You've also got to look at the players we've attracted in L1 previously, we signed Junior Sa'u, Eddy Pettybourne, Dane Chisolm, Kyle Trout, Con Mika etc whilst in L1 and i'm sure we can do the same again. This season just gone Doncaster signed Fonua, Vete and Fairaimo, so attracting good calibre players is still possible, we might just have to pay a little more than if we were in champ.

As a Swinton fan I am sorry to see you relegated - I am sure you will bounce back next season and I hope we can meet up again in the championship in 2025, assuming we have a good season next year

12 hours ago, Indigogo said:

 This season just gone Doncaster signed Fonua, Vete and Fairaimo, so attracting good calibre players is still possible, 

No they didn't sign them I C&$ sent them out on loan incidentally Vete had played for FEV and C&$ wanted to send him back but FEV daid no so off he went to donny

If you haven`t got the finances don`t gamble and end in a mess .We at Workington got promoted had nowt to spend and came back down , but rebuilt this season with local players , had a steady season and will build steadily up for the future . Being in Division 1 has enabled the Club to get the Club out of the red by concentrating on getting things right off the pitch .This is not a bad League , we just need more fixtures . I don`t know anyone who has attended games this season who has not enjoyed the games , probably because we know the players are young and local and are on a learning curve  . And if anything our gates were if not up certainly on a par with what we had in the Championship , as away support was negligible  ( your good selves excepted ) .