A sad situation to be in. The board want the fans to come and spend their money at the turnstiles, yet the fans want value for their money.
It can take only a couple of bad performances to lose many fans but many more in good results to claw some of them back.
This season has seen Carlisle struggle in all competitions, with our team being on the receiving end of massive goal defeats again and again.
Until recent games our defense record was the worst in the league.
Carlisle lost it's way and lost its supporters along the way.
With the season two thirds complete, it is difficult to see the lost fans returning this season. We need to secure our position in league one and then draw a line under it and move on.
That is when Carlisle United's battle really begins.

1. Managers and assistant managers contact to be sorted.
2. Several players contracts to be sorted.
3. Finance available to strengthen the squad.
4. Rebuilding confidence.
5. Persuading fans to buy season ticket for 2013/14.

This board have a hard job ahead and having heard that there's no money in the pot, i struggle to see how the fans can be persuaded to return.
Something has to change.

The problem this season is that the team and board havent matched the fans expectations. Year on year we've improved , so naturally this season the play-offs were a dead cert?!! , or so we thought. And with that not happening it creates negativity! As for madden , it's amazing what a forward can do with the right service. We're an established league one side and until someone comes forward and spends , thats where we'll stay.

Amazing how everybody focuses on the negatives and pays no attention at all to the positives with regard to the managers signings. All this talk of Madden (a player who showed no signs at all of being able to perform at league one level for Carlisle) and yet no mention of Rory Loy, returning from a career threatening injury and already back in amongst the goals...if he continues like this who cares about Madden. As for the club now being one of the "dullest" to follow - We nearly made the playoffs last season, did make them a few years ago, have been to Wembley twice in the last 4 years, have won silverware amongst other achievements and this is considered dull?? What are we actually expecting from a league one club? I'd take this "dullness" over what we had 10 years ago any day of the week!

I have watched CUFC for the last 20 years and have never had great expectations for the team. I think the level we are at at present is about right. I don't think we have the potential to be a successful championship side as we don't get the crowds needed to finance that. Greg Abbott is in my opinion not the man to take the club forward. There have been too many wrong decisions made ie bringing in Alessio Bugno who is not up to league 1 standard. When Andy Welsh came, he was Yeovil's best player and we have ruined him. There was supposed to be a plan B this season to cope if we lost Miller, well I haven't seen it. We obviously didn't utilise Madden in the correct way unlike Yeovil. I'm afraid that we have to accept that we are what we are, a half decent league 1 side, nothing more.

Carl I let your comment go from the 11th but not this time pal. As you seam to hate all things CUFC why are you bothering to make comments on the site? Bet you cant even name the team or any previous by the sound of it And as for always battling relegation er once 2009 season.Year prev made the playoffs remember that mate? Lst yearjust missed out on the payoffs in last game of the season. As for winning nowt, JPT is a big shiney bit of silver we won at Wembley in 2011 oh and we were runners up in 2010 sharing a gate of 73,000 nice little earner there. Finally on your quote of more talent in the Sunday league well. Danny Graham, Ian Harte,Keiron Westwood and even the much liked Gary Madine might have something to say about that. And Championship managers dont come to look at the pitch pal. So do us proper fans a favour and away and watch North End then you might have something to moan about !!!

This season we were weakened by the loss of two of our better players (Zoko and Taiwo) who we did not replace. Other teams strengthened, we fell way behind. The best we can hope for is a strongish finish and some decent addiditions in the summer.

Mike, I don't agree that Madden is a loss because he was totally ineffective in a Carlisle shirt. He's hit great form with Yeovil and good luck to him but he didn't show anything to suggest he was capable of that at Carlisle and certainly didn't produce anything we can consider a "loss".

It's a chicken and egg situation now. Fans (including me who never missed a game) aren't coming back because the team is depressingly poor to watch and not competing in many games. Trouble is, without the fans the club can't afford to invest in putting things right.

The point with Madden is surely that he wann't given the opportunity to perform as he is at Yeovil - you aren't the League's top goal scorer if you a bad player - the issue here is surely Greg did not play him in the right position or give a fair chance and this seems to be an issue in that Greg isolates players and will always pick certain players no matter how badly they perform.

The board surely need to take a long hard look at this season and they make decisions which are best for the team - at the beginning of the season, play offs should have been possible and now we could still be in a relegation battle.

To rely on Lee Miller so much cannot be good for the team and Greg has to take responsibility for this.

I went to the games at Portsmouth and there was a lack of ambition to win the game.

We are not safe from relegation yet.

I am not one for saying Sack Greg but surely if we are incapable of winning 3 games in a row then the board should use the opportunity not to renew his contract but then with no money who would they get? I only ask that they take a long hard look at the performances over the season and make a decision which is right for the club.

Thats a rather primitive argument from yourself, Chris Moore... the Paddy Madden now scoring goals for fun at Yeovil is the same lad who was at Carlisle a few months ago, unbeknown to us as a potential 20 goal a season man. Paddy, along with Rory Loy and Nahki Wells was brought to Carlisle to get goals. And I dont need to remind any body of the form and interest Mr Wells has produced since leaving Brunton Park.

Thats too much of a coincidence for me, two good strikers not utilised to the best of their abilities during their time here...

Perhaps you would rather Madden was scoring freely at Yeovi than have him here at Carlisle eh Chris?

Its surely time for a change in the summer..Mr Abbott would be a good start,lets not renew his contract..can't string 3 wins together in all his time as the boss..and the board are going to have to act to get the out of contract players to re-sign...Miller neing the key signature...lets get a decent charasmatic manager in that the players will play for and doesn't offer up utter drivel excuses when we lose

the above comment about paddy madden being the biggest miss is an absolute joke im afraid. If you go to CUFC games you would know that he done very little for us in the time he had with us and has only hit goal scoring form with yeovil. He looked very poor in most the games he played for us so to state him as a "big loss" is ridiculous. Its like saying Danny Graham was a big miss because he was top scorer in the championship the season after he left us (17/18games without a goal). Now saying tom taiwo and francois zoko are big misses yes I agree. The comment about madden is pathetic.