Club Forum - Tonight (Just back from it)

[hans kraay fan club]

Not only are there thousands of Poles, but if you look at the demographic, a large number of them are men in their 20's and 30's over here for work, with a bit of time on their hands of a Saturday afternoon.

 

[vulture]

Not only are there thousands of Poles, but if you look at the demographic, a large number of them are men in their 20's and 30's over here for work, with a bit of time on their hands of a Saturday afternoon.

Hans,
Would they pay £25 ??

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Hans,
Would they pay £25 ??

I was talking about Southampton rather than Brighton, but as it goes these guys have a higher disposable income than a lot of people. Quite happy for the club to do special deals though - anything to get people in.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

By the sounds of things, the SmartCard thing, which sounds as though it acts a bit like an Oyster Card does on the Underground, is a glorified season ticket/voucher which you top up for whatever game you want to go to. If all you have to do is dial an 11-digit code to activate it for one game, I can't think of anything simpler. I suspect if you pay for the whole lot in one go, you might get it cheaper.

Smart card technology is capable of offering discounts to take account of past spending, not just future plans.

In theory, you could get a smart card and pay for the first game of the season at, say, £23.50. When you subsequently decide to go back for a second time, you might pay £23.50 for that as well. But if you decided then to go to every game that season, the club would have the capability of adjusting the charges so that you ended up paying in total exactly what a season ticket would have cost (say, £448 for 23 games) if only you'd decided to buy it in the first place.

In theory.

Although, I'd expect them to offer a smaller discount for the 23 match package bought like that, because the money wasn't paid up-front.

 

[Kenhead]

Southampton do have 3 polish players in the squard, so i'm sure that is a factor in getting polish people attending there games.

So all we need to do is sign some poles!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Or some pole dancers......

 

[BensGrandad]

Simple point about this no money at Falmer Ben has just asked me what will away supporters do about it.

 

[Cian]

Simple point about this no money at Falmer Ben has just asked me what will away supporters do about it.

Starve, and even that is too good for the bastards.

 

[clippedgull]

Simple point about this no money at Falmer Ben has just asked me what will away supporters do about it.

If you are referring to method of entry then i'm sure that tickets will still be available for advance purchases.

Possibly with barcodes to activate the entry barrier?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Simple point about this no money at Falmer Ben has just asked me what will away supporters do about it.

Here's an interesting explanation of how smartcard ticketing will work. It's produced by GCL, who are suppliers of a smartcard system to football clubs:-

http://gcl-uk.com/Documents/Executive Summmary.doc

The answer to the Away supporters question is that they too will be issued with smartcards, which will be 'hot listed' to give admission and the cards will be collected at the ticket barrier for future use by away supporters of other clubs.

The big difference seems to be that EVERYONE, season ticket holder, casual supporter, away supporter will have to be registered on the database before they can get into a match.

A nice touch is the 'buy back' scheme that allows season ticket holders who miss a game to have their account credited with the value of the ticket for the match they don't attend. And if they notify the club in advance, their seat can be sold on to someone else.

And you can buy a pie with your smartcard. And matchday travel as well.

The GCL system doesn't seem to have a mobile phone element. I guess that's part of another manufacturer's system.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

This is from another GCL document:-

7 The wireless movement

The proliferation of mobile devices and personal digital assistants makes it very likely that the GCL system of mobile ticketing will soon take off, as venues themselves begin to integrate wireless technology.

The ability to purchase tickets and other concessions or merchandise, pay for parking in advance, receive information and communicate with venues anytime, anywhere and from any device, represents the type of applications and services that will become prevalent in the future.

Undoubtedly, there will be countless benefits, but only as long as traditional ticketing outlets and sponsorship revenue streams are not overlooked.

In the early stages some ticket buyers will still prefer traditional methods since many supporters want to have their ticket or receipt in their hands prior to arriving at the venue. The GCL system does just that in two ways, by providing an e-mail receipt or text message receipt electronically direct to the supporter or paper receipt at the ticket office purchase point. These forms of receipt enable instant notification and gratification and the ability for the supporter to purchase on match day and attend the match with the receipt in their possession.


http://gcl-uk.com/Documents/GCL Benefits Summary.doc

 

[Cian]

I've used this entirely cashless system in a nightclub in Austria once before, its extremely disconcerting at least that first time, you really lose track of what you're buying.

 

[Captain Haddock]

Did anyone ask the club if it was thinking of printing the fixture list and posters in Polish?

At southampton they recon they have incresed ST's bt 20% with foreign workers/residents buying. I suppose it also helps they have 3 eastern European /polish players to watch.

In the Fulham friendly we played, there were loads of EF students sat by us who it transpired had come to see Woltz play!!!

The foreign markets are not to be under-estimated. There's plenty o' foreign students in Brighty, Worthing and so on and, of course, many footy mad Euro workers (esp. Polish).

I'd REALLY push to get new fans in now on the early crest of the Falmer wave via cheap tickets: buy one get one free, group tickets for 7+, language school special rates and even more activity on the schools front.

Getting the capacity up from 6,000 odd to 8,000 or more would be beneficial, even if NO further revenue is generated. It's makes the stats look better, the players feel better and MIGHT just add a few to the list of 'the fallen' i.e those hopelessly addicted to The Albion for ever more like us lot on here.

 

[Captain Haddock]

I have no idea if he 'wants to play for us'. The fact that his representatives are asking if the contract is still there suggests he does. Not as his first choice, granted, but what do you honestly expect?

I'm not questionning the proffessionalism of the squad one single bit. I think if he came back they would get on with it. Those who say we shouldn't get him back in case it upsets some of them are the ones questionning their proffessionalism.

How has Bertin behaved like a 'spoilt brat'. In not turning to train with a club he wasn't contracted to? In looking at other options? For employing a rubbish, undiplomatic agent? For being French?

As for the Leon Knight comparison, its frankly laughable;

Effort on the pitch?
AB; Yes LK; No

Atitude on the pitch;
AB; Good LK; Dreadful

Relationships with Management, whilst at the club;
AB; Fine, so far as I am aware. Feel free to enlighten me. LK; Dreadful

Relationship with fans, whilst here;
AB; Good, AB praised them after EVERY away game in the press. LK; Dreadful

After leaving the club;
AB; No contact - lack of tact and diplomacy.
LK; "I hated every minute of it, shit ground, hope they get relegated, etc, ect.."

Just the same, yes.

Fair enough. Tbh I'm REALLY undecided on this...I love the comfort of a deluxe fence!!!

 

[Captain Haddock]

:mushy:

He came back to us after the deadline, wanting the same contract. DK is only saying NO now because he wanted that same contract. As I understand it, DK was prepared to talk, but the offer was not the same, which is not surprising seeing as that money would have had to be allocated elsewhere. The club's budgets are tight, so a not unreasonable assumption was made - bearing in mind it was four weeks between the deadline passing and his finally contacting the club - that he was not returning.

He didn't want to play for us - then he decided he did, but not for the right reasons - it was only because no-one else wanted him. Would you trust someone who is only playing for you begrudgingly - as was the case here?

The Leon Knight point I was making was a reference to BEFORE all this nonsense kicked off with him, and how opinions were split at the time - not how it ultimately ended up.

The only other question is would it be worth it from (shocking mercenaryism) the profit pov?

 

[Kenhead]

What about travel to the ground by useing public transport? Obviously P&R will be alright as you can show the people that normally collect the stubs your card, but what about say a train or a brighton and hove bus?

 

[queens park pete]

I was talking about Southampton rather than Brighton, but as it goes these guys have a higher disposable income than a lot of people. Quite happy for the club to do special deals though - anything to get people in.

Could the Albion possible market the club to another group of men, under represented at football generally, but more common here than in most towns?:safeway2: