Sorry KC - I should have said "If" in my post.

I know nothing about the situation but there just seems to be too much smoke for there not to be a fire, and the deadline for the early renewal deal which ends 2 months before the current season ends is bound to add further fuel to that fire, whether its right or wrong.

My view is that if the club is in the doo-doo again, then it is going to come out at sometime, and the earlier it comes out with an explanatation of how it has happened and how they plan to avoid a repeat the better. The club with the help of the supporters can then make attempts to rectify the issues and move forward on a firmer footing.

Some things I think have been outside the clubs control such as Eric France owing us money and the rent for BV and delays on Newmarket. However, others such as on and off field recruitment have been in their control and TT and Fozzard have been employed after we knew about the Eric France issue - so if we were struggling at the time then they should not have been hired.

Also, there seems to be a constant stream of new merchandise produced, all of which costs money with no guarantees that the take up (given you are trying to sell more to the same limited audience with limited spare cash) will be sufficient to justify those extra costs. If the club wants to introduce new lines, they should consult with their customer base as to who is likely to buy them - put designs out on the website, twitter etc and based on the responses they can fine tune their merchandising strategy.

On the subject of the rent at BV, I would also be interested to know what the annual amount actually is, and what efforts if any have been made to renegotiate the terms with BOI, given they are not guaranteed to be able to sell the land quickly and make their money back - so would be better continuing to have a stream of income from WT albeit at a lower amount, then potentially a plot of land doing nothing.

The club promotes the strapline of "Together we are stronger" but imo as a supporter, sometimes it appears that is all it is, and that there is no substance behind it.

Jesus - no other business I can think of would be asked to submit a full set of financials to its customers when it makes a special offer!

If this is a short term deal to bring some cash into the club, fair play - there have been cash flow problems since the Eric France situation came to light and if this bridges a gap, then it makes perfect sense; if you can take advantage, then do so - if you can't, then don't; either way, don't expect that you have the right to carry out due diligence on the company before you make a purchase! I bought some underpants in the ASOS sale yesterday for half price - I did so without seeing a business plan, financial forecasts or a cashflow statement. Nice pants too - very snug.

what if you can't wear the pants until next year though, chances are you might have put some weight on by then and buying them in the sale might have been false economy.

Spot on.

And that's my problem, it has nothing to do with ASOS; in much the same way that most of the gripes on here are down to the individual to resolve, and nothing to do with Mr Glover.

Whilst I agree with you that more openness with supporters/supporters groups would be a nice thing, I think the club is between a rock and a hard place on this one. What would you expect them to say? "We just thought we'd try and milk you for a few extra quid on the back of some good results" - or "give us the money now or we're going under"? Neither message will go down well.

After all the speculation, it may just be a good offer, and nothing more.

The price for me is not the issue. Its the 2 week period thing.

AG has not been forward in coming backwards with snippets of info before but unless i missed it there has been no mention of anything regarding season tickets for next year??

For me its one of 2 things. a.) we are in the brown stuff and need some cash quick or b.) they realise they want/need to put the price of the ST up to £180 but so as not to show too big a jump have offered this deal at short notice.
Either way if people can afford it its good value for money although if lots take up the offer will this not then leave us short of cash over the off season in comparison to last year?

PMSL

If the club is bridging a gap in funding for this season using some of next seasons ticket money without telling us why it needs to after employing additional staff mid season, then without some honesty around it and how they plan to get back on an even keel, all it is doing is delaying the Cash flow problems till next season, in which case will the 2015 tickets be on sale as an early offer in march 2014?

You have a choice where to buy your pants, as supporters of WT, we only have one place to go and are not simply customers. Therefore,, why are we not allowed to ask difficult questions of the custodians of our club?

There's a world of difference between wanting to see the books to asking the club why any cash flow problems have occurred and what they intend to do to resolve and prevent them happening again.

You never know people reluctant to pay more for their season tickets may be more willing to do so with more honesty and openess from the club

Good point, and one that seems to have been overlooked so far. The offer is only open to gold members, after all. I may be wrong, but didn't Ken Davy do a similar thing at Huddersfield, after a couple of years of cheap season tickets? Everyone knows that for a club like Wakey, cheap season tickets are unsustainable in the long term, and even at £180, they offer good value for those who can attend the majority of home games.

You had also better get in touch with Asos to purchase some new pants

Do it quick - they're half price; these deals can't last forever!

This threads pants imo.

I believe Davy did do that and I believe uptake fell away. The price should be increased a bit at a time to take out the 'shock factor' otherwise overall revenue will fall and going by the whispers (which are actually closer to shouts) that is the last thing this club needs. Like others I have heard said rumours and I have no idea whether they are true or not but putting on such a short running offer only serves to fan the flames of the people saying the end is nigh. And this in itself would put some folk off as if the club were to go pop then their money could be gone. Glover and Co. would be gone and even if the club found a buyer there is no legal requirement that pre-bought tickets have to be honoured. So to those saying why should the club come clean about finances, there is your answer.

Put it this way, if today you thought you would want some new pants in 6 months, would you go to a shop that you had heard had financial difficulties and pay upfront for your undies and say its ok, i'll pop back and pick them up in the new year? Probably not. Now the shop might be doing fine, but whilst those rumours persist its going to be a problem.

And yes the thread is pants, a bit like the offer really. The price is right, but the t&c's aren't great.

I don't understand some of the posts on here.

Why is the offer unfair? They are offering to sell something cheaper than they would want to get the cash in....basic business.
It's not unfair to only offer that under certain circumstances.

I think Feline posted all th ereasons why people can't buy in the next two weeks, which is fine, but if they need that money, why would they open it up for longer? Clearly no one would buy in the next two weeks if there is no rush.

Clearly it is a matter of cash availbalility at both club and fan.
They are trying to get the cash that is available quickly. They will then try to get the rest at a higher but probably more appropriate price.

£180 is still pretty good compared to most clubs.

I think people will believe what they want to regardless of what message the club delivers in this particular instance. Given our recent past, I suppose it's not surprising. Even if AG did make a statement to the effect that there's nothing to worry about, there'll be those who won't accept it.

Seen another way, you could buy your season ticket for the full price on the first day of the season and still have no guarantee the club would make it to the end of the season. Either way, a certain leap of faith is involved. That said, I'd find it hard to imagine, in a worst case scenario, that any new buyer would not honour season tickets purchased in advance under a previous regime. Alienate those fans and you really do have nothing left.

As far as my pants are concerned, I tend to use a more spontaneous "as desired or required" strategy, rather than trying to forecast demand 6 months down the line.

Unfortunately this is how I see it. No idea if the rumours are true but the WO, constant CCJ's and the substantial first year losses all had the potential to damage consumer confidence, so much so that when a good offer comes along the consumers are questioning why first rather than purchasing.

No neither do I, but that's happening more and more lately. The club imo, are screwed if they do and screwed if they don't.

Ah we'll. bought mine and spent the £30 saved on merchandise. Put my faith in AG and that this is nothing more than a good offer.

Think this is a good offer for Gold Membership members. Like someone has stated, with all the rumours about the club flying about, when an offer like this comes along, it's met with doom rather than 'i'll have some of that'. The 2 week deadline is a tempter, those who have the money, can cash in. So you probably know that the early bird offer will be £180, going upto £200 for next season?

Well done mate. I'll be doing the same.

I've no idea on the finances of the club and have only seen the rumour mill and that is nothing to form concrete views on.

As a season ticket holder in the East Stand I am surprised that I did not get notice of this in the post. I was at the game on Monday night but did not hear the announcement. If it was made at half time then that is when I went to the loo.

I only found out about the offer by chance through this forum and already I've lost time in that narrow 2 week window.

From a personal point of view this is a very difficult one for me. We have 2 tickets in the East Stand and can't make all the games. Last season our tickets went up in price by £50 each. This year, if I can afford to buy them now then they have again gone up by £50 each. If I can't afford them now but later they have gone up by £90 each! So whilst last year it cost me £300, this year could cost me £440.

I accept that compared to other clubs it is a reasonable price. It is just that the scale of the increase and the limited time frame with minimal publicity is not helping me as a life long fan.

Yes, we could pay as we go to matches next year, but that doesn't help us. For health reasons we need seats and there is all the extra hassle of booking them.

Over the years there has been problems with booking tickets over the phone then trying to claim them on match day. It is hassle we can do without.

Added to the fact I have advanced £300 already to the club for something which has not come to fruition yet makes it a large cash flow issue for me. (For clarity I have assurances that it will come to fruition).

In addition, I don't live in Wakefield so travel a fair way on match day. I'm also going overseas in the next few days for 3 weeks. If I do take up the offer then I have to order over the phone. I hate this because last year I had to chase the club up for receipts. If I don't have a receipt in the post then I can't prove my purchase.

This sudden announcement, with little fanfare and 2 weeks notice is not helpful for me or others.

I expected an increase in season ticket prices. However to be honest I didn't expect such a dramatic one with such a short window of opportunity to keep costs down.

People are correct in that the club does not owe us anything by way of season ticket prices. The current regime has over the last 2 years built up a pattern of promoting the season tickets. This year differs in that the promotional period is much shorter and drawn into question with sceptism.

Since we can't make many matches and the fact that certain matches such as Widnes and London are heavily discounted for non-season ticket holders diminishes the value even more.

It was a tough decision for me last year, it is an even tougher one this year.

I agree that a decision window until the end of August would have been a massive help.

I didn't get a season ticket because I work away. I have however seen 5 home games at a cost of 110 quid. I would think the clubs done its homework before making a season ticket offer.
An offers just that, and offers normally have time restraints,

Just got mine over the phone, Credit card and pay for it in six weeks.

I called to ask about family ticket. Couldn't have been more helpful on the phone.
Great service.