Mooney#16 said:
Attendances have never returned in the BBT.
Which would be a good point were it not for the fact that at one point in the BBT the attendance was higher than the last season in the WNIR.
I think you sometimes put a little too much emphasis on the poor facility that is the BBT, which it undoubtedly is. With the right kind of team it is also the greatest home advantage in the EIHL. We have seen this several times in the past few years, reaching CC semi's, finals, and POFW as a result of it.
Blaming the rink for the shortcomings of the Team is Ragan-esque. Poor decisions, poor management and disrespect are not exclusive to a team playing out of the BBT.
I have yet to see anyone put forth an argument that simply having a new building will mean our current owner will become an honourable and stable leader. Bricks and mortar will not fix our problems.
As for expectations of this season? I think Whis is right in thinking playoffs is an achievement. Let's look at it based on what we can take an educated guess at:
Budget estimated at £6k / week
Kurka signed on enormous contract.
Bowns signed (good signing imo). Won't be cheap but not stellar wage.
Quiney gone
Likely to re-sign Richie.
Likely to lose one of Davies / Myers.
Likely to re-sign Piggsie / CJ.
Batch as yet unknown future.
If you have a decent handle on the wage demands of the EIHL you could reasonably suggest that, should all of the above come to pass, that Whis has already committed over half the budget on the guys listed above.
Which puts the Devils in the vicinity of £2800 / £2900 for 10 remaining imports. Ouch.
Now sure this is all guesswork, but even if the budget is £7k it's still not a lot to hire 10 imports (if indeed we will even have ten imports).
And while it seems universal that we all like and respect Whis, let's not forget (for those saying he is able to build his own team) that the biggest of those signings was not made by him. Would he have made it if it were his call? That's an interesting question for me.
Yes the team has costs. Yes sponsorship is down. But 'we've failed so we're going to squeeze you even harder financially' makes a pretty poor mission statement so blaming everyone but themselves looks to be the standard position once again. Perhaps it will be down to the 20 or so unhappy fans. Perhaps the council. Maybe IAW or Greenbank. Who knows the League could be next.
One thing is for sure, if this is the best position we have been in for years I dread to think what the bad times might look like.