How connected do you feel to the club's values?

[Return of the Rev]

There's a lot of talk, much of it justifiable, about the changing face of the Albion.

Bit by bit, the slightly Fawlty Towers-eque cottage industry Albion of old is being replaced by a lean, mean, money-making machine.

Do you feel connected to the values of the Albion?

To be fair i did warn you all about this over a year ago but who listened? i'll tell you who f****ing nobody! All i got was do you want to go back to withdean

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

To be fair i did warn you all about this over a year ago but who listened? i'll tell you who f****ing nobody! All i got was do you want to go back to withdean

what else are they going to say Rev? SOUNDS LIKE SOME PEOPLE HAVE GOT THEIR HEADS STUCK UP THEIR ARSES .

 

[Hotchilidog]

I suspected as much Bozza. I think for many long-standing fans, we are delighted with the stadium, the matchday experience and the team. For me, it's never been better and I look forward to games more than I ever have in 40+ years following the team. In the end, though, the reason we expend much money, time and emotional effort in the Albion is because we identify with and care about the club as part of our local community. The reason we put up with Gillingham, Withdean, all the crap facilities and crap players was that we believed we were (slowly) moving forward with the club and that we trusted the club to make decisions that were in all our best interests. I know that the club has had to change and act more professionally and commercially to run the Amex successfully. But I think this has to be done without breaking that bond of trust between club and fans. If we feel this is changing, then it's right and proper that we challenge this and use NSC, TSLR and the channels of communication that the club (admirably) has open.

Ticket prices are an issue for many people, but for me it's the duplicity of a number of ticketing issues that is challenging this trust:

- selling more expensive tickets first when cheaper tickets are unsold
- promoting match pack tickets with a Boxing Day fixture they knew was likely to change
- promoting the auto-enrol cup scheme before the prices were announced and implying that you had to do this to guarantee your seat
- charging a booking fee per ticket for the auto-enrol (without making this clear)
- issues around the NSC ticket exchange and increasing the cost of issuing duplicates
- totally mis-reading the market for the Newcastle game (in my view)

Truth is, I just don't trust the club on ticketing issues anymore.

The aggressive stewarding in the North Stand also says: 'we don't trust you as fans'.

PG

This is a very eloquent and well thought out post, but with respect I disagree with most of it.

First up, the point of agreement, selling the more expensive tickets before the cheaper ones for games, unforgivable and I agree that the club have got this wrong. All available tickets should go on sale at the same time.

As for the rest, what did you expect? Before we were a club that at points was happy to preserve it's league one status and now our aspiration is to join the Premier league. When these priorities change so do the policies of the club.
Despite the raised ambitions of the club season tickets are still very good value with the innovative DD scheme. Not to mention that the facilities you get for that ST price are far better than any other in our division and many in the division above.

Ok the cup tickets seem expensive, certainly compared to the bargain priced ST, but what else do you expect them to do now that they are looking forward to moving this club onwards and upwards. The Newcastle game is an attractive fixture and I suspect it will sell well with those who cannot make a season long commitment to the Albion, and as a one-off price it is not too bad. Also if it is too much then you can watch it on tv, so it's not like you are missing out.

For every shout of "we are being ripped off" I hear another of "oh why don't we go out and buy a new striker?", do I really need to join the dots between these two positions? As a football club we are a million miles away from the Withdean years, and from my point of view I say thank goodness for that. The real truth is we have never had it so good. A great stadium, intermittently very good football and a genuine hope that we may once again reach the top flight. This does however come at a price. Given that the club have mitigated the most important cost, that of the season ticket, they can be forgiven trying to make an extra quid or two when the opportunity arises.

If this brave new world is not for you, then fair enough, find somewhere else to go or something else to do, the Albion do not own you.

As a final comment, I also agree with the sentiment that the North Stand stewarding does appear OTT at times, BUT they are only enforcing rules that are imposed on them by the authorities, and ultimately people in the north stand know this so if you seek confrontation you will find it. This of course doesn't make it fair or reasonable but it is just the way it is these days until the legislation gets changed.

However from my seat in the WSU, things look pretty good right now, even if we do not get promoted this season. For me it's not about that, it's about the matchday experience, the football, seeing friends and supporting the team and I'll take the current experience over the Withdean and a league one relegation battle any day.

 

[Return of the Rev]

This is a very eloquent and well thought out post, but with respect I disagree with most of it.

First up, the point of agreement, selling the more expensive tickets before the cheaper ones for games, unforgivable and I agree that the club have got this wrong. All available tickets should go on sale at the same time.

As for the rest, what did you expect? Before we were a club that at points was happy to preserve it's league one status and now our aspiration is to join the Premier league. When these priorities change so do the policies of the club.
Despite the raised ambitions of the club season tickets are still very good value with the innovative DD scheme. Not to mention that the facilities you get for that ST price are far better than any other in our division and many in the division above.

Ok the cup tickets seem expensive, certainly compared to the bargain priced ST, but what else do you expect them to do now that they are looking forward to moving this club onwards and upwards. The Newcastle game is an attractive fixture and I suspect it will sell well with those who cannot make a season long commitment to the Albion, and as a one-off price it is not too bad. Also if it is too much then you can watch it on tv, so it's not like you are missing out.

For every shout of "we are being ripped off" I hear another of "oh why don't we go out and buy a new striker?", do I really need to join the dots between these two positions? As a football club we are a million miles away from the Withdean years, and from my point of view I say thank goodness for that. The real truth is we have never had it so good. A great stadium, intermittently very good football and a genuine hope that we may once again reach the top flight. This does however come at a price. Given that the club have mitigated the most important cost, that of the season ticket, they can be forgiven trying to make an extra quid or two when the opportunity arises.

If this brave new world is not for you, then fair enough, find somewhere else to go or something else to do, the Albion do not own you.

As a final comment, I also agree with the sentiment that the North Stand stewarding does appear OTT at times, BUT they are only enforcing rules that are imposed on them by the authorities, and ultimately people in the north stand know this so if you seek confrontation you will find it. This of course doesn't make it fair or reasonable but it is just the way it is these days until the legislation gets changed.

However from my seat in the WSU, things look pretty good right now, even if we do not get promoted this season. For me it's not about that, it's about the matchday experience, the football, seeing friends and supporting the team and I'll take the current experience over the and a league one relegation battle any day.

WHAT THE HELL HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH WITHDEAN!

 

[Hotchilidog]

WHAT THE HELL HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH WITHDEAN!

I'm sorry I think I'm missing the point you are making. What part of aiming for the premiership, coping with a 3-400% rise in attendance, championship wages do you not understand? We have moved on as a club, thing were never going to be the same as they were. If they did remain the same, we would not be on the fringes of the playoffs we'd be in the middle of league one. You pays your money and takes your choice. If modern football is not for you, then there are local alternatives, go and use them. Take the caps lock off and have a cup of tea and calm down.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

To be fair i did warn you all about this over a year ago but who listened? i'll tell you who f****ing nobody! All i got was do you want to go back to withdean

WHAT THE HELL HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH WITHDEAN!

Please stop being a dick with stupid fonts, etc. Its very tedious.

Thanks

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Love the stadium absolutely, it's a thing of beauty and a joy to watch football in, but the truth is, the minute the final whistle goes I always every single time feel utterly unconnected to the TOWN. I feel immediately stuck in the middle of nowhere, jostling for transport resources with twenty five thousand other souls who would don't really want to hang around after the game at all. Be honest, who's genuinely staying for the beer and the banter and who's just killing an hour waiting for the queues to die down?

 

[Return of the Rev]

Please stop being a dick with stupid fonts, etc. Its very tedious.

Thanks

Please stop complaining about what i post and then quote it in your own post! very creepy

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I suspected as much Bozza. I think for many long-standing fans, we are delighted with the stadium, the matchday experience and the team. For me, it's never been better and I look forward to games more than I ever have in 40+ years following the team. In the end, though, the reason we expend much money, time and emotional effort in the Albion is because we identify with and care about the club as part of our local community. The reason we put up with Gillingham, Withdean, all the crap facilities and crap players was that we believed we were (slowly) moving forward with the club and that we trusted the club to make decisions that were in all our best interests. I know that the club has had to change and act more professionally and commercially to run the Amex successfully. But I think this has to be done without breaking that bond of trust between club and fans. If we feel this is changing, then it's right and proper that we challenge this and use NSC, TSLR and the channels of communication that the club (admirably) has open.

Ticket prices are an issue for many people, but for me it's the duplicity of a number of ticketing issues that is challenging this trust:

- selling more expensive tickets first when cheaper tickets are unsold
- promoting match pack tickets with a Boxing Day fixture they knew was likely to change
- promoting the auto-enrol cup scheme before the prices were announced and implying that you had to do this to guarantee your seat
- charging a booking fee per ticket for the auto-enrol (without making this clear)
- issues around the NSC ticket exchange and increasing the cost of issuing duplicates
- totally mis-reading the market for the Newcastle game (in my view)

Truth is, I just don't trust the club on ticketing issues anymore.

The aggressive stewarding in the North Stand also says: 'we don't trust you as fans'.

PG

Spot on.

I have questioned the club on the matchday Ticket pricing, but no reply.

There are also other points that have been raised, again without a satisfactory response.

Whilst they don't have to reply, and are under no obligation to do so, it does leave a feeling that as a club we are not so involved as we used to be. Maybe it's not a bad thing, we have aspirations to one day be a top flight club, and are no longer a cottage industry run on a shoe string, there has to be communication IMO.

 

[Peter Grummit]

Spot on.

I have questioned the club on the matchday Ticket pricing, but no reply.

There are also other points that have been raised, again without a satisfactory response.

Whilst they don't have to reply, and are under no obligation to do so, it does leave a feeling that as a club we are not so involved as we used to be. Maybe it's not a bad thing, we have aspirations to one day be a top flight club, and are no longer a cottage industry run on a shoe string, there has to be communication IMO.

Some on this thread have taken the line..."we have become more professional as a club, if you want us back fighting relegation with no money then go and watch someone else.."

If the Club were being truly professional as a business then

- communication and customer care would address the points I raised and not duplicitly treat fans as idiot consumers
- in regard to the Newcastle pricing decision, there would be an evidence-based evaluation of pricing options, with agreed objectives (revenue maximising, or perhaps aiming for a minimum crowd to meet broader objectives). This would be based on evidence of demand sensitivity to ticket price (price elasticities) in light of the availability of a close substitute (network TV coverage) and of income sensitivity (recession, Xmas spending). These options would be presented to the Board for a decision.

As a professional consulting micro-economist specialising in demand forecasting, that would be my advice. Have they done this or are they not 'professional' enough? What do you think?

PG

 

[leigull]

Love the stadium absolutely, it's a thing of beauty and a joy to watch football in, but the truth is, the minute the final whistle goes I always every single time feel utterly unconnected to the TOWN. I feel immediately stuck in the middle of nowhere, jostling for transport resources with twenty five thousand other souls who would don't really want to hang around after the game at all. Be honest, who's genuinely staying for the beer and the banter and who's just killing an hour waiting for the queues to die down?

I genuinely like staying after the game for a few more drinks and to see the highlights etc on the screens. The fact it also helps let the train queue disappear is just an added bonus

 

[Acker79]

- in regard to the Newcastle pricing decision, there would be an evidence-based evaluation of pricing options, with agreed objectives (revenue maximising, or perhaps aiming for a minimum crowd to meet broader objectives). This would be based on evidence of demand sensitivity to ticket price (price elasticities) in light of the availability of a close substitute (network TV coverage) and of income sensitivity (recession, Xmas spending). These options would be presented to the Board for a decision.

I believe for cup matches ticket prices are agreed between both clubs, and not just the home club. I'd imagine it's poor form to reveal who wanted more, because it upsets fans, and maybe this time it would be fine and newcastle would be the bad guys, but next time, we might be the bad guys wanting prices that are viable for us.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

For me, the question is the wrong way round. (Respectfully, Bozza.) While I completely accept that the change in the club is an inevitable price to pay for the progress we're making on the pitch, it's they who should be making an effort to retain the values we hold, which led us to fight for the club's existence. They could not, of course, remain what they were at Withdean, but they should never forget what they were. I don't see that retention of the values we fought for the club for is entirely incompatible with progress as a club.

All the time there are people at the club who went through that fight, I'm pretty confident they won't at least entirely abandon their connection with the support. But when Poyet, Knight, Perry and Bloom are gone, it'll be a very, very different place I suspect.

 

[Peter Grummit]

I believe for cup matches ticket prices are agreed between both clubs, and not just the home club. I'd imagine it's poor form to reveal who wanted more, because it upsets fans, and maybe this time it would be fine and newcastle would be the bad guys, but next time, we might be the bad guys wanting prices that are viable for us.

But in negotiations with the other club, you would use the evidence to argue your case. I just think they have got it wrong.

 

[Acker79]

But in negotiations with the other club, you would use the evidence to argue your case. I just think they have got it wrong.

They may well have used their arguments, but so will Newcastle, and perhaps Newcastle's arguments were more convincing, maybe Newcastle wanted higher fees and we managed to negotiate them down.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

I genuinely like staying after the game for a few more drinks and to see the highlights etc on the screens. The fact it also helps let the train queue disappear is just an added bonus

Same. And meeting friends in other parts of the ground and talking about the game.

 

[Springal]

Maybe we need to sack the board and out Tony Bloom? We didn't have this problem with Dick Knight, and now we are run by proper business men, used to making serious money, and wanting our football club to be a self-sustaining business, fans now feel we have gone too far that way.

 

[The Birdman]

I have had more contact with the club in the last two seasons since the days of Ron Pavey and his lotteries . How ever the club has moved on and may need a little bit of reminders now and again but thank goodness for Big Dick Knight in our hour of need and little TB now with his deep pockets.

 

[Return of the Rev]

I have had more contact with the club in the last two seasons since the days of Ron Pavey and his lotteries . How ever the club has moved on and may need a little bit of reminders now and again but thank goodness for Big Dick Knight in our hour of need and little TB now with his deep pockets.

And thank the 22,000+ who are stumping up every month,THE CLUB DON'T GIVE A TOSS WHAT THE FANS THINK THEY ARE FOOLED INTO THINKING THE SUPPORT IS LIMITLESS BUT WE ALL KNOW THE NEWBIES WILL BE ON THEIR TOES AS QUICK AS THEY CAME!