Paul Barber speaks out on bus price increase etc

[Thunder Bolt]

Said it before, say it again, the Odeon don't pay your fare to go and see a film at their venue. Why on earth should the Albion subsidise your matchday travel in any shape or form? Fair enough when the club was jumping through concentric circles of bullshit to get planning permission. but these days are gone forever. Pay your own damn transport costs!

Because it breaks the planning rules and could jeopardise future use of the stadium? Planning permission can be withdrawn, if the original criteria isn't met.

 

[MissGull]

Said it before, say it again, the Odeon don't pay your fare to go and see a film at their venue. Why on earth should the Albion subsidise your matchday travel in any shape or form? Fair enough when the club was jumping through concentric circles of bullshit to get planning permission. but these days are gone forever. Pay your own damn transport costs!

Too true.

 

[clapham_gull]

Financial Fair Play is being unilaterally being passed onto fans. Nothing more nothing less.

This is a wider issue than the transport.

I agree with it in principle but not in the way it is being dealt with. Like a number of good ideas come up with by the authorities it's the fans that ultimately suffer.

I look forward to the backlash from fans against the football playing industry. It's time it woke up.

When I hear another ex professional come pundit defending the wages on the radio or television, I simply turn off.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

So, he defends player's high salaries but gets rid of non-playing staff because of their alleged high salaries. We're simply chasing our tails to pay players more and more. Great.

The good news is that Barber doesn't seem to hang around in any job for very long.

He also leaves a trail of discontent behind him when he goes.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

hmm...if we are using the odeon brighton as an example..i wonder what the deal is with ncp to get free parking for evenings? They do obviously subsidise because they havent got there own car park and want to attract my custom...no mention of a transport levy for my ticket either...so not sure you have chosen a good analogy there

Well, substitute going to the leisure activity of your choice then, if the Odeon is a bad example. O2 Arena? Brighton Chilli Festival? Monkey World? The point is, you choose to go there, you have to budget to make your own way there. Tho I agree that you should not add on additional costs once you've bought something, because, as I said on another post, that's bordering on mis-selling.

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm sure there's plenty of accountancy wizardry in play, but it still doesn't stop this sentence from being quite chilling:-

“We continue to lose in excess of £8million per season, a sum that Tony Bloom continues to meet in full.

Esp when you stack it up against everything else that's been paid for.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Financial Fair Play is unilaterally being passed onto fans. Nothing more nothing less.

I agree with it in principle but not in the way it is being dealt with. Like a number of good ideas come up with by the authorities it's the fans that ultimately suffer.

I look forward to the backlash from fans against the football playing industry. It's time it woke up.

When I hear another ex professional come pundit defending the wages on the radio or television, I simply turn off.

Couldn't agree more. FFP in theory is a good idea IF the savings etc were generated by sensible wages, agents fees and the like rather than simply asking fans for more cash.

 

[Dowling93]

Just great for us people that have to rush off to work after matches!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Because it breaks the planning rules and could jeopardise future use of the stadium? Planning permission can be withdrawn, if the original criteria isn't met.

Is it actually possible to withdraw planning permission once something's been built and in operation for a couple of years when the original criteria were met at the time it was built? Genuinely interested.

 

[The Merry Prankster]

Said it before, say it again, the Odeon don't pay your fare to go and see a film at their venue. Why on earth should the Albion subsidise your matchday travel in any shape or form? Fair enough when the club was jumping through concentric circles of bullshit to get planning permission. but these days are gone forever. Pay your own damn transport costs!

So very much this.

 

[Deleted member 18477]

As I said elsewhere, football at this level is getting to a stage when it will destroy itself unless it starts looking outside its bubble.

The economy is in a bad way, unemployment is high, few people are getting inflation matching salary increases, yet football is still paying inflated wages and passing on the costs to the fans.

If there is one thing which can't be sustained, that is it.

This. Be interesting to see where football is in 10 years time in terms of season ticket prices to salaries. I've had to give up my season ticket this year due to it being my top luxury I can do without... I'm gutted but hopefully I'll still get to some games. Paying my Mortgage and bills is my priority obviously and then having some cash to enjoy life with friends and family (as they don't all want to go to football and some don't even like football)

Totally understand that if I'm not there someone else will take my seat and good on them but will that be the case forever? Hmmm.

 

[jgmcdee]

So, he defends player's high salaries but gets rid of non-playing staff because of their alleged high salaries. We're simply chasing our tails to pay players more and more. Great.

The good news is that Barber doesn't seem to hang around in any job for very long.

To be fair, what is there that you would rather see money being spent upon?

Although I agree that I'd rather have to pay out less money, if the money I'm paying is going to a good set of players on the field then I can at least agree with the idea of why it's being spent.

After all it's not like there aren't any cheaper players out there; there are loads. Just none that we want. Unless the entire market changes we're going to have to accept that the prices out there are what we need to pay if we want the talent, and equally accept that a good chunk of that money will be coming directly from us fans.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Financial Fair Play is designed as a way of stopping clubs living beyond their means. That SHOULD mean controlling payments to agents and bringing players' wages under control.

Clubs however are just keeping the wages etc the same and charging fans more to generate the extra income needed to meet the criteria.

Not really how it was meant to work...

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Couldn't agree more. FFP in theory is a good idea IF the savings etc were generated by sensible wages, agents fees and the like rather than simply asking fans for more cash.

FFP is a classic case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. It is the fans who are being screwed.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I'm sure there's plenty of accountancy wizardry in play, but it still doesn't stop this sentence from being quite chilling:-

“We continue to lose in excess of £8million per season, a sum that Tony Bloom continues to meet in full.

Esp when you stack it up against everything else that's been paid for.

Tho willing to die trying, we can't down THAT many more pies n pints. Nor can the club bang up prices THAT much, when even the slightest upward adjustment is met with squeals of horror. Flawed business plan?

 

[Geriatric Seagull]

The club is still jumping through concentric circles and rolling over backwards- e.g. Parking near the ground, no ticket sales at the ground! As far as Barber is concerned, we are not supporters we are customers who must be milked for every penny no matter how many agreements are broken!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

FFP is a classic case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. It is the fans who are being screwed.

Correct. You can also guarantee there will be clubs who ignore it and will escape punishment. Look at Pompey and what they got away with when going into administration.
I'm not advocating trying to beat the system ourselves btw.

 

[beorhthelm]

Said it before, say it again, the Odeon don't pay your fare to go and see a film at their venue. Why on earth should the Albion subsidise your matchday travel in any shape or form? Fair enough when the club was jumping through concentric circles of bullshit to get planning permission. but these days are gone forever. Pay your own damn transport costs!

this. more money focused on the playing side rather than subsidising travel, which has always been rather unfair anyway in excluding some people and not accounting for those walking/cycling/season ticket holders.

 

[Husty]

“This is not – and simply can’t be – just about getting our fans to pay out more and more.

Well, he fooled me.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Well, substitute going to the leisure activity of your choice then, if the Odeon is a bad example. O2 Arena? Brighton Chilli Festival? Monkey World? The point is, you choose to go there, you have to budget to make your own way there. Tho I agree that you should not add on additional costs once you've bought something, because, as I said on another post, that's bordering on mis-selling.

Well the odeon is a bad example for the reason i have pointed out ..and they clearly feel the need to subsidise parking to attract punters to the cinema...maybe the club felt it was necessary to do the same to rebuild there fan base ...for FFP or whatever they have clearly changed direction....and yes you are right various other leisure activities don't...but then the majority of what i go to doesn't involve a transport issue (your example of o2 is probably a good one where it is an issue and yet they dont subsidise)...whatever way u look at it communication doesnt seem brilliant at the moment...and as you have rightly pointed out adding on additional costs after someone has bought something seems out of order...still don't airlines do the same thing under ''fuel surcharges''? ...this debate is going to roll on a bit yet