Paul Barber on communication, transparency, finances, the fans and club staff

[father_and_son]

Once again PB shows that he is the man for the job.

This club, this division and this sport have some difficult times ahead as they deal with stupid decisions made in the past by people not thinking about the long-term consequences.


As a supporter I feel immensely lucky that we have an owner like TB. I feel immensely lucky that we have a Chief Exec like PB. I even feel lucky that we have a well run and interesting board like NSC (some other club's boards I've seen really are dire!)


Yes, I'd like to have kept some of the great players who we have lost in recent years and I'd like a striker who can score goals now, but all-in-all , now is a f*cking fantastic time to be an Albion fan.

 

[beorhthelm]

on transparency, i have often observed that we football fans seem to expect, demand, a level of transparency and insight to our football club that we wouldn't expect of other companies and organisations we interact with, including politics. theres a lot covered there that should reassure most, i think those not convinced are being trouble makers.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

It would appear the club has outgrown some of the fans. Worse things happen at sea

 

[Postman Pat]

I do not have a problem with any of that. Except there is one thing missing. Respect for Accounting periods or not it is possible to give the fans a steer on where this current years huge transfer surplus currently leaves the club from a comfort perspective. Paul should not then fear us turning round and saying...oh well you can afford to loosen the purse strings a bit....as the vast majority of us can make informed financial decisions given the entrepreneurial nature of this city and the hinterlands.

I guess there needs to be some sort of commercial confidentiality with running a football club, if our competitors or clubs we are looking to buy players off know we are "comfortable" then the price of every player goes up and we get a moneybags tag.

We need to be able to keep our cards close to our chest.

Great response from PB by the way.

 

[dingodan]

Great signing.

 

[TomandJerry]

Very well written Mr Barber!

 

[Eeyore]

Im off the hook then. As I buy the merch, the beer and the food and so I can criticise that we bought (at the moment shit) midgets to replace our striker.

If you feel that the strikers the club have brought in are not of the standard required you have every right to express your view. After all, you are paying to watch them.

It's the term 'shit midgets', an abusive term, written from behind an anonymous user name, that weakens the credibility of the forum.

 

[nwgull]

Can't argue too much with what he has said, but, as alluded to in his comments the aim of the club is to get to the Premiership. Does the board really think that by buying 'strikers' from League One that is do-able?

I know that there never is any guarantee of success by 'spending money' but giving a just relegated striker a 3 year contract does not say to me that is money well invested. Have the board not learned lessons from the CMS 'experiment'?

Palace got to the Premier League in part thanks to a striker who had spent his entire career in the 3rd tier or lower. Forrest are looking good with a striker with little experience at this level right now. It's definitely doable.

Nice response by PB though. I particularly liked the bit about people who want cheaper tickets, pies and beer, whilst simultaneously wanting us to splash out on players.

 

[Giraffe]

The success of the club is their ability to provide products to upsell and there is no doubt that they have done that incredibly well. No one can dispute that.

Ultimately supporters have a choice whether they wish to partcipate or not. Many will just have a season ticket, many will buy club merchandise, many will buy food. The different success of these will govern how well the club do in the long run.

There is an argument that some fans don't want any of this, and if that is the case they don't pay for it, that's simple. When I went to Brentford recently I paid an amount to stand in a terrace to watch a football match, it was a very different experience to the AMEX but I enjoyed it just as much. Would I have paid more on the day for more of a an AMEX experience, possibly, possibly not?

What the club offer is more choice than other grounds. What is not yet clear to me at least is whether that is what the average football fan wants. But if it makes money and improves the success of the team thats what we all want I believe.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

We have Tony Bloom and Paul Barber on our side. We are very lucky.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is a DIV.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Can't argue too much with what he has said, but, as alluded to in his comments the aim of the club is to get to the Premiership. Does the board really think that by buying 'strikers' from League One that is do-able?

Forest bought Britt Assombalonga from League One Peterborough. Leicester bought Jamie Vardy from- at the time- non-league. Derby got Chris Martin from Norwich's reserves and Jamie Ward from League One Sheffield United. Burnley got Danny Ings from League One Bournemouth. Watford got Troy Deeney from League One Walsall. Bournemouth got Callum Wilson from League One Coventry City. Blackburn got Jordan Rhodes from League One Huddersfield. Huddersfield got Nakhi Wells from League One Bradford...etc. All scoring goals at this level.

So yes, it looks very much as though it probably is doable if you find the right player and fit him into the right system.

I'm happy to give Baldock a chance, far too early to write the bloke off.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

For the conspiracy theorists;

1 Why is the Chief Executive wasting time on an Internet forum ?
2 Why is Bozza so cosy with the club ?
3 Is the club now monitoring everything that is said on NSC ?


For the rest of us - I imagine thanks are due for taking the time to respond and or pass on the feedback.

Answer to Q1 :The bedwetters need their nappies changing.
Answer to Q2 : Bozza is a cult
Answer to Q3 : Knowledge is everything.

 

[mrhairy]

I complained to PB recently and he took the time and trouble to reply in depth, then met me and my family. Has my total respect. In fact if PB were to go for PM politics would not be in the state it is. We might then trust our politicians in the same way we have to trust him with our club.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

PB is a top communicator for sure

 

[Goldstone1976]

Answer to Q1 :The bedwetters need their nappies changing.
Answer to Q2 : Bozza is a cult
Answer to Q3 : Knowledge is everything.

You're skating dangerously close to an infraction for avoiding the swear filter with one of your answers there

On topic: I'm not surprised that PB's peers think he's crazy to respond to fans' emails and provide responses like the ones he has. I have dealt with perhaps 300 CEOs in my career and not one comes remotely close to his transparency and responsiveness. It's quite remarkable (Did I tell you I'm David Coleman?).

 

[Richard_419]

Fantastic Response! can't argue with a single point and am very appreciative that paul barber has taken time out of his day to try and alleviate some of our concerns.

 

[Baldseagull]

Can't argue too much with what he has said, but, as alluded to in his comments the aim of the club is to get to the Premiership. Does the board really think that by buying 'strikers' from League One that is do-able?

I know that there never is any guarantee of success by 'spending money' but giving a just relegated striker a 3 year contract does not say to me that is money well invested. Have the board not learned lessons from the CMS 'experiment'?

Arse gravy.

 

[ozzygull]

I find it really frustrating when I read some of the criticism aimed at the club board, how anyone can look at what we have now and the fact that one man alone has invested over 200 million of his own money can complain is mind boggling. The majority of people on here are sane, you should read some of the knob head comments people write on Facebook. I don't understand how Tony Bloom has not just told people to F off.

I really appreciate the club are as open as they are, it helps immensely if people understand why things are being done. It must be a massively complex situation trying to balance everything, players wages the clubs ambition, the price of tickets and pies. As I said yesterday I do not begrudge a single penny I spend supporting the Albion, but I understand that genuine fans might struggle to go to games. I really don't believe it is the clubs ambition to out price genuine fans, but I don't know what the answers are.

 

[Superphil]

Thanks Mr Barber, an excellent response, I remain team BHA, team Bloom and team Barber.

To assist in us all helping contribute further, please DEMAND that your contractors employ staff capable of understanding what a pint is, how to put it in a pint sized receptacle, what Bovril/tea/coffee is, how to count, how to operate an AUTOMATED till system, in fact, don't demand they do it, MAKE them do it. Until then you are only going to see match day sales of beer, beverages and grub going in the direction of places like the Swan, and other outlets in Brighton. I'm not threatening to take my trade elsewhere, or suggesting others do, to be fair, that ship has sailed. It's time the club stopped apologising for the dogshit service performed by it's chosen contractor, and make them improve it. Then he'll see increased revenue, which is, after all, what he explicitly said he was trying to do, and said he needed to see happen.

 

[Box of Frogs]

Our club could not be in better hands.