the biggest difference between us and Leeds, was that they have long been regarded as a top side with a big following, even through all those barren years without winning things ( before 2004 for any rhinos reading

) they were always a big club with big support, so as a club it's easy for them to attract people.



i maintain that one of our biggest problems is that we had so many years in the doldrums that there just wasn't much "bloodline" in our supporter base, all the other existing super league clubs were strong clubs who had all played in the top tier and who all had a hardcore support, most of that support had been handed down through the generations, we lacked that and i think for most part we still do.

because of the competition for leisure activities these days and everywhere been accessible on every day of the week, the younger generation aren't as "hardcore" as previous generations, whereas lads used to go the games with dads etc that's not happening anymore, but in our case i don't think it's happened for 30+ years now.



it also hasn't helped us with the changing days of the games, a lot of our support are young families, couples, older generation who have lost the commitment to attend as they don't know what days we are playing and are reluctant or unable to go to games on thursday and friday nights and have possibly found other things to do with their time and money now.



then of course, i just don't think there is the interest in the Huddersfield public, look how many people are attending the shops and leisure facilities near to the stadium on a match day... could we not work with these companies to entice some of those people to the games?

was the marketing better when robbie paul was pulling the strings....

hard to say really, there was certainly more of a buzz, but that could be down to the extra couple of thousand attracted by the cheap season tickets.

sadly those days seem light years away now.

League position means b*gg3r all.



It's proper trophies not hub caps that count.



That's the currency these days like it or not.

Robbie is very astute and had a number of ideas but unfortunately he didn't have the budget to implement them

Pre Super League I don't think Leeds' crowds were anywhere near they are now.



I'd stand corrected but has anybody Leeds' average attendances pre Super League?



i.e. When they weren't winning anywhere near the trophies they have in Super League.

Bull - we got 9,000 the night we won the Hub Cap, because there was a genuine buzz in a town that has absolutely no real success. We got 23,000 down to Wembley in 2009. We've just failed to really capitalise on all this because the community elements and the marketing elements, to certain members of the upper echelons of the club, are the same when they absolutely are not. The club needs to MARKET itself and signing on a few extra marketing interns could be as valuable as signing a top player, because if we could get a few more fans, we'd be closer to the day we might be able to survive without Ken.

They were nowhere near what they are now, purely and simply because of the demise of the 'Mighty Whites'



When they get back into the premiership I'm sure you will see a marked drop off of Rugby League attendances.

So where are those 9,000 now?



If you think you are going to 'market' your way to 10,000 average gates year on year by just winning the LLS and then bombing in the play offs you really are deluding yourself.



Why did most of those 23,000 at Wembley disappear into the ether?



Because we've not even appeared in a final since.



People are attracted to success - simples.



There will always be a core of supporters that will stick through thick and thin but most want to follow a successful team.



You only have to look to the Bulls to see that.

You really think a Rhinos side that wins trophies year in year out will see a drop in attendances because of the 'Mighty Whites'?



What do you call a 'marked drop'?



1,000, 5,000, 10,000?

Leeds were pretty well supported in the pre SL days, even thought they didn't win owt, in the 1994/95 season they averaged 12,266 despite their last success been the regal trophy in 1983,since 1987 they have only failed to average less than 10,000 once, in 1996, so Leeds have always had the fan base to start with

as i said can't really compare us to Leeds, or indeed any other SL club who to my knowledge none of them have ever been as low as we have.



we literally had to 'start again' in terms of building support.

Some of the things you mention here I agree with, there is a lot of competition these days for Rugby league. The game now has to be regarded first and foremost as entertainment, And yes I know from your previous posts that you are more bothered about winning than being entertained, but I would suggest that you are one of a dwindling band.



I have heard the one about ( I was one of the 3 hundred who used to go and stand on the terrace in the bad old days ) so many time , that if everyone who claimed to be one of them was right , there would have been 5.000 there instead of 3 hundred. Fair play to them they must have been truly Die hard fans. I suspect if you are old enough you were one or them.



I was very lucky when I was a kid, My granddad was a fanatical RL fan and he used to take me all over , every ground that was in being in those days, I watched Huddersfield a fair few times and I was at Odsal when they beat Wakefield to become champions,

They deserved to win that day, and actually I saw them beat Wigan in the playoffs, It was one of the worst games I have ever seen, It was unlimited tackles then and could be a really dour affair.



The reason I mention this is because I think it was probably around that time that everything started to go down hill for Huddersfield, ( I never saw the celebrated side of the 50's, I wish I had. ) They became known as a one out football side, and they were compaired to Wakey, Wigan, Leeds, Saints Cas, etc a very poor side to watch, and the Fans voted with their feet.



There was little competition compared to today, and yet despite winning the championship crowds just withered away, or that's how it seems anyway, Today there's lots of competition, People want to be entertained.



Didn't we get up to approaching 8.000 fans when N Brown was here, Before he started to Wobble, We had a roll on, We are still doing at least as well in league position, where have the crowds gone, Could it possible be they don't like what they are being served.



Had I been a casual fan, I would have thought, Not paying to watch that ( despite them winning ) last week. I would have been looking for some classy football and a lot of try's against a struggling side, What we actually got has been well covered, and only the really committed fans are prepared to pay for it.

No matter what the club had done to promote that game, no matter how many free tickets they had given to the kids, No matter how much Face painting and all the rest, 3/4s of that crowd would have come away telling themselves, We secured 4th place that 's what matters, Its the win that counts. The other 1/4 would be leaving thinking what a load of S**** that was, And a lot of that quarter wont be back for a while, some not all season.



For me we need to develop a bit of style about our game, Lets build a rep for playing good open football, just like Cas did in the 60s, and yes it might not win us anything like it didn't win a lot for Cas, but we don't win anything anyway. It's a real shame things went sour with N Brown, First two years I thought we were really getting somewhere.