SACK THE BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blackie]

Amen to that

[haven lad 06]

Apparently  there's  supposed  to  be  an  announcement  on  a  possible  signing  this  week  so  maybe  its  a  case  of  waiting  and  see  what  happens.  Certainly  its  worrying  times  when  you  look  at  other  clubs  but  maybe  we  shouldn't  press  the  panic  button  just  yet. 

Don't  forget  it  was  the  same  last  year.  Infact  last  year  was  even  worse.  We  lost  Nanyn, Summers,  Tandy  and  Penny  not  to  mention  the  most  successfull  coach  we've  ever  had.  We  then  brought  in  the  Leigh  lads  who  did  a  decent  job  so  I  would  say  lets  wait  and  see  what  unfolds.  My  guess  is  DR  and  the  BOD  have  irons  in  the  fire  and  I  wouldn't  be  surprised  to  see  new  additions  at  the  club  before  long.

hope so marra

[Haven Crazy]

Without the current BOD I dn't think we would be in the situation we have been in for the last 3 years or so

[puppetmaster]

Apparently  there's  supposed  to  be  an  announcement  on  a  possible  signing  this  week  so  maybe  its  a  case  of  waiting  and  see  what  happens.  Certainly  its  worrying  times  when  you  look  at  other  clubs  but  maybe  we  shouldn't  press  the  panic  button  just  yet. 


jeepers, we're only just getting over the BS about nanyn that people actually believed and here we go again!!
lets all "hold our breath" and "wait and see", as "time will tell"

[forty twenty]

heard we signing a big name from wigan . cant tell u who just watch papers

[Blackie]

Another rumour I suppose to keep the forum going eh???

[WHITEHAVEN RLFC 4 EVA]

if u mean chris melling hes sighned for harlequins  a while back how do ppl no all this

[whats happening]

WHAT HAS DES BROUGHT TO THE CLUB? NOTHING HAS EVER TO BEEN ACHIEVED, THE STAND WELL WHAT STAND? WE WONT HOLD OUR BREATH WAITING FOR IT. HE NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO TREAT STAFF, PLAYERS AND FANS AS ALL THAT COMES FROM HIS MOUTH IS RUBBISH!!!



PERHAPS THE CLUB WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH A NEW CHAIRMAN! THEN MAYBE THE REST OF THE DIRECTORS WOULD    UNITE AS THERE SEEMS TO BE A GREAT DIVISION AT THE PRESENT.

I FOR ONE LOVE THE CLUB BUT DES HAS TO GO AND HE NEEDS TO GO FAST SO THINGS CAN HAPPEN!

[eternal optimist]

I do not know who Reg is or who whats happening is but I feel that I have a right of reply as things seem to be starting to get personal. I have no problem with anyone expressing an opinion that is what message boards are about. I do not agree with everything that is said but would not dream of coming on and rubbishing someone for expressing an opinion. Reg you seem to feel that the Board are a bunch of "old incompetents" and whats happening seems to think all I say is rubbish and I am responsible for the present "perceived" crisis.

What has happened is that we have not signed anyone yet outside of last seasons squad and that Mark Leafa has joined Castleford. Mark joined Castleford despite an improved offer from us. It would have been financial suicide for us to have tried to match that offer. We would all love to sign players but this is not fantasy football and we have financial constraints to work within. Cas will have average gates of 4-5000 next season with admission prices of ?14 (?17 to sit) and ?8, Widnes also charge ?14 and ?8 and will average over 3000. Compare that to us with admission of ?12 (?14 to sit), ?6 and ?3 and an average gate of 1800 - 2000 and you can see a big difference in income. We have the benefit of a strong, settled squad who are already looking forward to next season. As a board we are not complacent (or split!) and are still ambitious about our future. We are still looking at  improving and strengthening the team and should the right player become available at the right price then we will act.

Rumours abound on this board and are what makes the world go round but do not get carried away by rumours. As a Board we are caretakers of the club and would be quite willing to stand aside for someone with the right credentials to take over. In the meantime we will not commit financial suicide just to make a signing.

Des Byrne

[whitehavenRLforever]

I do not know who Reg is or who whats happening is but I feel that I have a right of reply as things seem to be starting to get personal. I have no problem with anyone expressing an opinion that is what message boards are about. I do not agree with everything that is said but would not dream of coming on and rubbishing someone for expressing an opinion. Reg you seem to feel that the Board are a bunch of "old incompetents" and whats happening seems to think all I say is rubbish and I am responsible for the present "perceived" crisis.

What has happened is that we have not signed anyone yet outside of last seasons squad and that Mark Leafa has joined Castleford. Mark joined Castleford despite an improved offer from us. It would have been financial suicide for us to have tried to match that offer. We would all love to sign players but this is not fantasy football and we have financial constraints to work within. Cas will have average gates of 4-5000 next season with admission prices of ?14 (?17 to sit) and ?8, Widnes also charge ?14 and ?8 and will average over 3000. Compare that to us with admission of ?12 (?14 to sit), ?6 and ?3 and an average gate of 1800 - 2000 and you can see a big difference in income. We have the benefit of a strong, settled squad who are already looking forward to next season. As a board we are not complacent (or split!) and are still ambitious about our future. We are still looking at  improving and strengthening the team and should the right player become available at the right price then we will act.

Rumours abound on this board and are what makes the world go round but do not get carried away by rumours. As a Board we are caretakers of the club and would be quite willing to stand aside for someone with the right credentials to take over. In the meantime we will not commit financial suicide just to make a signing.

Des Byrne

Some  don't  realise  that  not  only  are  we  competing  with  sides  that  get  3  times  our  own  support  but  also  charge   ?2/3  more  which  for  a  club  that  gets  5-6000  works  out  quite  a  bit.

Obviously  we  have  a  salary  cap  and  I  must  admit  I  don't  know  the  ins  and  outs  of  that.  I  take  it  then  the  bigger  the  support  the  more  your  allowed  to  spend  on  players.

[puppetmaster]

well said des

as you say everyone is entitled to opinions, and some dont agree with how you are running the ship, thats fair enough,thats their perogative to voice that opinion.

however i feel strongly when anyone gets personal, its not nice, its not big and its not clever, and its not welcome on this website!
you guys are pretty much in a no win situation, sit back and be slagged off or hit back and probably get more slaver for not being able to take criticism!

keep up the good work, even though i dont always agree with what you are doing!!! LOL

and stroll on next year!

[Jaypeet]

Some  don't  realise  that  not  only  are  we  competing  with  sides  that  get  3  times  our  own  support  but  also  charge   ?2/3  more  which  for  a  club  that  gets  5-6000  works  out  quite  a  bit.

Obviously  we  have  a  salary  cap  and  I  must  admit  I  don't  know  the  ins  and  outs  of  that.  I  take  it  then  the  bigger  the  support  the  more  your  allowed  to  spend  on  players.
[/quote]

I'm not an expert on the salary cap too, but one thing I can tell you is that clubs that have sufficient income can apply and are normally granted a larger cap.  I think the upper limit is ?600K+  which basically means that clubs such as Widnes and Cas can spend 30% more on playing staff!

As I've said before, I believe in the BOD and their ability to put together a squad for next season that is capable of performing at the top of our division.  I also have a lot of respect for a guy that is not afraid to come on here and answer his critics.

[RegDunnsFlatTop]

When started this thread i was quite angry but at no point did i become personal and i stand by my initial statement that the club AS A WHOLE is being ran in an incompetent manner. If all was rosy why was our application to the top flight this year dismissed not only because our ground did not meet the neccesary criteria but also because our 'business documentation' was not adequate. Surely by now the BOD should know how to present documentation of a required standard to prove our eligibility for SL? Another example is the persistent failure of the new popular side to materialise. Fair enough the board cannot magically produce the million required to start the said redevelopment but on numerous occasions funding has been announced as to being in place only to fall through weeks later. As for the argument that we have smaller crowds each paying less for admission than the better supported clubs in the division that is because our facilities are appauling however i would stress to the club that when running a business prices rise with inflation as do wages. People are not naive (i hope) to think that prices will stay the same forever or we would all be paying '10 bob' on a Sunday afternoon. The point is made about us being a poor club however we have a squad of 33. Although i appreciate the benefits of having an U21's side there are surely players currently on the Haven payroll that are surplus to requirements whos wages could be better spent elsewhere. With the backbone of the Haven side reaching retirement and in most cases no heirs apparent forthcoming it does make me think in the next few years we are going to struggle to compete. There are areas of the squad which have needed strengthening quite obviously for a couple of years now yet repeatedly this is ignored.

As for the whole Leafa saga why were we led to believe that he was coming back next year in a community role and why wasnt he made to sign a contract before he left for home three weeks ago? Thats incompetent.

Why were we told that if Wigan were to make Wilkes available for transfer that we had first option on his services yet he is banded around our main rivals whilst we make no attempt to sign him whatsoever. Thats incompetent.

Why repeatedly do our best players leave our club at the end of the season? Incompetent if you ask me.

New popular side re-development...................you guessed it incompetent.

The promotion of the club locally and throughout wider areas......... non existant.

The lack of new signings as those around us sign all and sundry as we make no attempt whatsoever to bring in fresh faces. Incompetent.


BOD as a whole...........Incompetent.

[Iddy]

Well, this is a lively thread.

I think we need to stand back and look at the record of the club over the last few years. Two grand finals. NL1 champions. Semi final this year. I've supported Haven for 30 years but I've never enjoyed it so much as in the last three - so thanks to the board for that.

The annual merry-go-round of over rated and overpaid players being snaped up by NL1 clubs justs serves to underline that fact that there arent actually that many good players in this league. We are fortunate enough to have some of the best. Rather than wasting good money on average players, we are quietly and steadily developing a generation of future stars. Rudd, Mattinson, McAvoy et al and more coming through in the U21's.  We have a good coach in place, with a settled squad to build on.

Personally, I would like to see any money that we do have spent on developing our young players and continuing to sign the best local talent. Its far better to build a team of local players that  "would die for" Haven rather than assemble a bunch of strangers who are only here for the money.

Ultimately, the club will only move forward by developing the ground and getting more fans through the turnstiles. From what I can gather, the board are doing as much as they can on the stand. Its a slow and painful process - but I think progress is being made.

We are following a different strategy to some other clubs in the league; building steadily for the long term rather than risking the future of the club by trying to buy short term sucess. This is the only sensible approach for the club to take and as such the chairman and board have my full support.

Keep up the good work

[brett kinghams mullet]

When started this thread i was quite angry but at no point did i become personal and i stand by my initial statement that the club AS A WHOLE is being ran in an incompetent manner. If all was rosy why was our application to the top flight this year dismissed not only because our ground did not meet the neccesary criteria but also because our 'business documentation' was not adequate. Surely by now the BOD should know how to present documentation of a required standard to prove our eligibility for SL? Another example is the persistent failure of the new popular side to materialise. Fair enough the board cannot magically produce the million required to start the said redevelopment but on numerous occasions funding has been announced as to being in place only to fall through weeks later. As for the argument that we have smaller crowds each paying less for admission than the better supported clubs in the division that is because our facilities are appauling however i would stress to the club that when running a business prices rise with inflation as do wages. People are not naive (i hope) to think that prices will stay the same forever or we would all be paying '10 bob' on a Sunday afternoon. The point is made about us being a poor club however we have a squad of 33. Although i appreciate the benefits of having an U21's side there are surely players currently on the Haven payroll that are surplus to requirements whos wages could be better spent elsewhere. With the backbone of the Haven side reaching retirement and in most cases no heirs apparent forthcoming it does make me think in the next few years we are going to struggle to compete. There are areas of the squad which have needed strengthening quite obviously for a couple of years now yet repeatedly this is ignored.

As for the whole Leafa saga why were we led to believe that he was coming back next year in a community role and why wasnt he made to sign a contract before he left for home three weeks ago? Thats incompetent.

Why were we told that if Wigan were to make Wilkes available for transfer that we had first option on his services yet he is banded around our main rivals whilst we make no attempt to sign him whatsoever. Thats incompetent.

Why repeatedly do our best players leave our club at the end of the season? Incompetent if you ask me.

New popular side re-development...................you guessed it incompetent.

The promotion of the club locally and throughout wider areas......... non existant.

The lack of new signings as those around us sign all and sundry as we make no attempt whatsoever to bring in fresh faces. Incompetent.


BOD as a whole...........Incompetent.

think you will find that no business plan was submitted because the rfl made it clear there was no point as we would not be allowed into SLcause of the ground......it wasn't that it wasn't up to scratch....i think we had 2 business plans to cover a new stand and a temp stand but the rfl would have none of it

then the rfl used this against us as well