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

[Bozza]

For those interested, the Club Charter is here.

I'll add I think it's very poor form to update this document mid-season, as has been done, with no version control and nothing to outline the differences from one version to the next.

I think the changes are mainly the bumping up of replacement smart card and paper ticket fees, but I can't be sure.

 

[seagullondon]

That text vote is for charity, not for the club. Basically the whole thing is "if you would like to donate £1 to AITC please text this number".

And you also get a chance to win a signed shirt. It is purely a charity thing.

 

[Mancgull]

The club does need to change with the times and if it's becoming more commercial then that's ok as long as it doesn't lose it's soul and I think that's unlikely with people like TB at the helm. Just a little story that some of you may not be aware of but perhaps shows that the club cares about its supporters; my dad had a cardiac arrest outside of the Amex after the Coventry game last season. He was resuscitated by fans and medical staff with a defribilator which staff at the club had been trained to use. His heart had stopped and he had stopped breathing so this saved his life. The club very discreetly got in contact to check how he was and when he eventually got better, the club invited me and my dad back for the Ipswich game last season as special guests. It was all done very professionally and there was no mention of money. My dad was introduced to the staff who had helped him. As I live in Manchester, I can't go to many home games and my mum was concerned about letting my dad who is nearly 80 go to future games on his own. They went to the ticket office to see what they could do and the club managed to get tickets for my mum and to move my dad from his normal position so that they could sit together for the rest of last season. This season my mum has a season ticket next to my dad after she decided to go with him. Now frankly, I understand that beers and pies at the Amex may be slightly overpriced but you can imagine that I do feel connected to the Club's values and frankly I get a bit miffed when fans react like they do to a defeat in the way they do on here sometimes when we are making the progress we are as a football club without losing our values. I know my experience is very personal but I share it sometimes to show that people at our club do care about the fans.

 

[Acker79]

I think the changes are mainly the bumping up of replacement smart card and paper ticket fees, but I can't be sure.

For some reason I'm not sure of, I had a saved copy of the charter from the start of the season. I've just done a compare documents thing on word, and that price change is the only thing that shows up as different.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The club does need to change with the times and if it's becoming more commercial then that's ok as long as it doesn't lose it's soul and I think that's unlikely with people like TB at the helm. Just a little story that some of you may not be aware of but perhaps shows that the club cares about its supporters; my dad had a cardiac arrest outside of the Amex after the Coventry game last season. He was resuscitated by fans and medical staff with a defribilator which staff at the club had been trained to use. His heart had stopped and he had stopped breathing so this saved his life. The club very discreetly got in contact to check how he was and when he eventually got better, the club invited me and my dad back for the Ipswich game last season as special guests. It was all done very professionally and there was no mention of money. My dad was introduced to the staff who had helped him. As I live in Manchester, I can't go to many home games and my mum was concerned about letting my dad who is nearly 80 go to future games on his own. They went to the ticket office to see what they could do and the club managed to get tickets for my mum and to move my dad from his normal position so that they could sit together for the rest of last season. This season my mum has a season ticket next to my dad after she decided to go with him. Now frankly, I understand that beers and pies at the Amex may be slightly overpriced but you can imagine that I do feel connected to the Club's values and frankly I get a bit miffed when fans react like they do to a defeat in the way they do on here sometimes when we are making the progress we are as a football club without losing our values. I know my experience is very personal but I share it sometimes to show that people at our club do care about the fans.

Having been near your dad with my son when this happened, and remembering how shocked we both felt, this is brilliant to read. Good on your dad, good on your mum and good on the club.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I'm staggered that anyone could suggest Withdean is better than the Amex. Absolutely flabbergasted. I'm sure some of the people who suggest the Albion are too much of a marketing machine are the ones who say we need to splash out on a new striker in January. Let's be honest, Withdean was horrendously depressing. After the novelty of the first 2-3 years, it was horrible. Though I lived abroad, on my return trips I did my best to avoid home games but went to away games. We had to endure shite facilities and, let's face it, shite players. Looking back, McGhee's achievement of keeping us up with a forward line of Adam Virgo and Mark McCammon was nothing short of a miracle. How anyone can suggest this was better than the golden era we're currently experiencing is nothing short of mental.

Dick Knight certainly had his fans representative - but it was plainly obvious to most of us that he used them to get his story out. Nothing at the Amex has left me feeling more disenfranchised to the club than the decision to sack Dean Wilkins. That was the most disgraceful thing that's happened at this club since Archer left... not the club asking for £1 a text for charity under the guide of voting for MotM

Bloom and Barber's attempts to extract money from the fans is what I want - we need to be a professional outfit looking to progress.

The club does need to change with the times and if it's becoming more commercial then that's ok as long as it doesn't lose it's soul and I think that's unlikely with people like TB at the helm. Just a little story that some of you may not be aware of but perhaps shows that the club cares about its supporters; my dad had a cardiac arrest outside of the Amex after the Coventry game last season. He was resuscitated by fans and medical staff with a defribilator which staff at the club had been trained to use. His heart had stopped and he had stopped breathing so this saved his life. The club very discreetly got in contact to check how he was and when he eventually got better, the club invited me and my dad back for the Ipswich game last season as special guests. It was all done very professionally and there was no mention of money. My dad was introduced to the staff who had helped him. As I live in Manchester, I can't go to many home games and my mum was concerned about letting my dad who is nearly 80 go to future games on his own. They went to the ticket office to see what they could do and the club managed to get tickets for my mum and to move my dad from his normal position so that they could sit together for the rest of last season. This season my mum has a season ticket next to my dad after she decided to go with him. Now frankly, I understand that beers and pies at the Amex may be slightly overpriced but you can imagine that I do feel connected to the Club's values and frankly I get a bit miffed when fans react like they do to a defeat in the way they do on here sometimes when we are making the progress we are as a football club without losing our values. I know my experience is very personal but I share it sometimes to show that people at our club do care about the fans.

I very much like these two posts.

 

[Pavilionaire]

It's interesting that the club's song is Sussex By The Sea but the Mission Statement talks only about the City Of Brighton & Hove. Sussex has a population of 1.2 million, the city a shade under a quarter of that. The Greater Brighton area, including Worthing and Littlehampton, is 460k.

I think it's time the Mission Statement included Sussex as as a whole. Even the new training facility will be outside the city at Lancing. If the club is serious it needs to embrace the whole of the county, not leave anyplace more than half an hour's drive to the clutches of Palace in the north, Pompey in the West and Chelsea throughout.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I voted i dont care. Fought for the long term future. Soon as I stop enjoying it i will cancel my ST but I know there will now always be a club should i ever want to come back or should finance dictate that i could only make a few home games.

 

[jordanseagull]

There is a lot that goes on, that benefit the community. Just because they do a lot of community work, does not mean offering chartiable entrance prices to the 'main' event ?

But it's the Community STADIUM. A stadium for the COMMUNITY. Surely this emphasises that the Stadium itself should be able to be used by the entire financial and social spectrum of the community?

 

[Stumpy Tim]

The club does need to change with the times and if it's becoming more commercial then that's ok as long as it doesn't lose it's soul and I think that's unlikely with people like TB at the helm. Just a little story that some of you may not be aware of but perhaps shows that the club cares about its supporters; my dad had a cardiac arrest outside of the Amex after the Coventry game last season. He was resuscitated by fans and medical staff with a defribilator which staff at the club had been trained to use. His heart had stopped and he had stopped breathing so this saved his life. The club very discreetly got in contact to check how he was and when he eventually got better, the club invited me and my dad back for the Ipswich game last season as special guests. It was all done very professionally and there was no mention of money. My dad was introduced to the staff who had helped him. As I live in Manchester, I can't go to many home games and my mum was concerned about letting my dad who is nearly 80 go to future games on his own. They went to the ticket office to see what they could do and the club managed to get tickets for my mum and to move my dad from his normal position so that they could sit together for the rest of last season. This season my mum has a season ticket next to my dad after she decided to go with him. Now frankly, I understand that beers and pies at the Amex may be slightly overpriced but you can imagine that I do feel connected to the Club's values and frankly I get a bit miffed when fans react like they do to a defeat in the way they do on here sometimes when we are making the progress we are as a football club without losing our values. I know my experience is very personal but I share it sometimes to show that people at our club do care about the fans.

Tremendous post. Great to hear the club reacted the way they did

 

[Brovion]

Interesting thread. Yes I still feel 'connected' to the Albion, very much so. I still feel that it has a community ethos (AITC is brilliant), well sell local produce (Harveys and Piglets Pies) rather than the bog-standard corporate fare and there are fans on the board rather than just representatives of foreign corporations/individuals who are just there to protect their bosses investments. In other words it still feels like 'our' club.

I accept 100% that marketing and financially it has changed - but it HAD to. And yes some of the language used sounds depressingly 'corporate': maximising income potential scenarios, increasing brand awareness by leveraging media outlets, building triple loopback of customer investment by re-animating redundant sales units (I'm making this up now but you get the point), but it's all about generating the money we need to survive at this level - and hopefully progress a bit further.

When we become a totally bland corporate club where the programme is nothing more than a glossy sales brochure for the club's financial services, where the food is at Wembley levels of price and repulsiveness, and where fans are expected to turn up, buy a fluffy seagull and the latest replica shirt from the club shop and then sit there cheering (but not too aggressively) at the exciting bits, then I will feel disconnected.

EDIT: I have just seen the club's views on safe standing. That coupled with the increasing urge to enforce the regulations on home fans, but not away ones, means that the day when I no longer feel 'connected' may be coming sooner than I thought.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

As someone who started supporting during the Bamber era, the only way the club will progress is to become a lean, mean, money making machine.

If you don't like that, then following a professional football club probably isn't quite your cup of tea, perhaps you should go and check out a local non-league club instead............

Remember the Albion is a PROFESSIONAL football club, NOT some noddy sports and social club for people who like to feel 'part of a family'.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Remember the Albion is a PROFESSIONAL football club, NOT some noddy sports and social club for people who like to feel 'part of a family'.

That's it in a nutshell. Bingo.

 

[Superphil]

That's it in a nutshell. Bingo.

He makes a good point.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

How is having programme sellers, fanzine sellers and raffle sellers and a shop any different from Withdean where, as you approached the ground we had the same? (programmes, Withdean wager, club shop / van and fanzines for sale)

You are forgetting the people collecting money for charity, and in some instances, they are collecting for very worthy causes which I am happy to support. I've never felt pressurised to buy a programme or lottery ticket that I didn't want to.

At the end of the day no-one is being forced to hand over any money, and there's no sense of injustice if you choose ( like myself ) not to do so. The only thing you need to square is your concience, and if you know that you can't afford to buy a lottery ticket, or donate to a charity bucket collection, well, don't do so - no-ones going to blame you if you don't.

 

[Mayfair Seagull]

That's it in a nutshell. Bingo.

 

[JJ McClure]

Yes. The club wants to be successful. I want the club to be successful. Job done.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

I think my point is perfectly fair and valid, we fought tooth and nail to stop the Albion from becoming 'THE' local non-league team, and anyone who still hasn't realised that fact has entirely missed the boat..........

 

[Mayfair Seagull]

I think my point is perfectly fair and valid, we fought tooth and nail to stop the Albion from becoming 'THE' local non-league team, and anyone who still hasn't realised that fact has entirely missed the boat..........

Is it though? We actually fought tooth and nail to save OUR football club. Had we gone non-league, most of us would have carried on fighting for the club. Had we gone out of business we would have started it again like AFC Wimbledon. The status of the club was irrelevant, it's existence everything.

Currently it feels like OUR football club is moving further and further away from its hard-core supporters and is embracing everything that's wrong with the modern game in this country.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

I don't agree.

It isn't really OUR football club when you look at the nitty gritty of the way the professional game is organised. BHAFC is a Ltd Company, and like any Ltd Company it has a Chairman, a Board of Directors, and a number of Shareholders.

This has been the case since the club was founded in 1901.

Now, what you seem to want is something slightly different - I'm not quite sure what that is, but I would like to know how you think you'd expect a Professional Ltd Company to engage with it's er, ( I'll have to use the dreaded word that I loathe most ) ' stakeholders ', in the modern world.

I get the impression from your posts that you want to be consulted at every level, be involved in every decision making process, and have a major say in the way the club is being run. Or at the very least, that you want the whole decision making process to run on a kind of ' let's hold a referendum ' or ' focus group ' set-up. I cannot think of any Professional organisation that works under such a system ( that's not to say they don't exist ), but for the most part, such engagement makes the organisation impossibly slow, bureaucratic, and unable to function satisfactorily.

If you want to exert real influence, then I suggest you talk to a member of the board of Directors, Paul Barber is probably the best first point of contact. I'm sure that if you really feel you want to make a difference to the way ihe club is run, that he'll listen to your suggestions and put it forward as an item on the next Board meeting agenda, but realistically, that's about as far as I'd expect my representation to go.

Inevitably, even as a stakeholder in the club, I don't expect to be responsible for making club policy, or executive decisions, because as I said, it isn't really a club, it's a Company, Ltd by Guarentee and Articles of association.