[cite]Posted By: SoundAsa£[/cite]Can I just throw my hat in the ring here and compliment 'any' group of Addicks who get together and put in the time and effort to be pro active.
Some of the questions that FF ask are perhaps on the face of it a bit banal (pot holes/hot water/pies/beer/Ashford etc).....but they also ask some very pertinent questions too.
It would seem a good 'all round' question and answer session has taken place....some things being very important indeed and some not so important but all in need of answers never-the -less.
Well done to ALL concerned.
Thanks for the kind words - very much appreciated.
Please also bear in mind that, when specific banal questions are directed to us, we generally feel honour-bound to pass them on to the Club. More importantly, we try to gauge the general feeling of fans on particular issues and express those to the Club. This can be tricky when views are very polarised - and this week's debate about the question of how the Club plans to deal with failure is a good example. We had the question directed to us, but others were concerned that, by asking such things, we are heaping undue pressure on the Board at this crucial time. So, do we supress a valid question because others disagree ... or do we go ahead and ask? On balance we tend to ask ... but avoiding aggression and accusation ... more in the spirit of collaboration between Club and fans, if that makes sense.
Hopefuly our notes will be available shortly, but please recognise that we need to ensure that the Club is happy with any output we make public. Might take a day or two, but I'm happy to provide a general summary of any specific agenda point in the meantime.
surely what matters in the final stage of the season is the quality of home support (not necessarily more bums on seats); and possibly the numbers and thereby quality of away support.
For the home support, pre match build up might help, or even dare I say it a well publicised "happy hour" of at least lots of prepulled (if not some price reduction) pints before the game - now that would really create an atmosphere, and maybe get the punters in
For away support more Operations, but maybe a change of name, maybe not
[cite]Posted By: paulbaconsarnie[/cite]I like the idea that the northwich fan mentioned (in the keith alexander thread), of having an end of season, fans v 1st team game.
people could bid to get into the squad. perhaps keith peacock could take a couple of training sessions and manage the fans squad.
the match could be part of an end of season valley open day.
people might then appreciate the gap between pro and amatuer footballers, (though chris dickson has given most of us a clue).
no? thought not.
I doubt some of the 1st team could take the potential humilation !!
Shocked that Airman isn't one of the rose-tinted brigade.
I had it in mind to make him honory patron!
;o)
Seriously ...... the one action that will drive more fans to The Valley is results on the pitch. Fans need to see a steely resolve by the team to get promotion at all costs - and the momentum that generates.
It's about getting the buzz back to The Valley, getting everybody from fans to players singing from the same hymsheet, recreating that atmosphere that re-inforced Fortress Valley.
Fortress Valley 2010 ...... is the only campaign we need, if everyone pulls together and creates that momentum.
[cite]Posted By: paulbaconsarnie[/cite]I like the idea that the northwich fan mentioned (in the keith alexander thread), of having an end of season, fans v 1st team game.
people could bid to get into the squad. perhaps keith peacock could take a couple of training sessions and manage the fans squad.
the match could be part of an end of season valley open day.
people might then appreciate the gap between pro and amatuer footballers, (though chris dickson has given most of us a clue).
no? thought not.
A great idea PBS, but I think the insurance company might have something to say about that one.
Apologies that these minutes have taken a while to issue. Hope they prove informative.
In attendance:
Steve Waggott (SW) Tony Garrett (TG) Geoff Billingsley (GBill) Matt Dainty (MD) Gary Davenport (GD) Dave Rudd (DR) Gavin Barrett (GBarr)
Apologies from:
Suzanne Hillcock Steve Kavanagh David White
Matters arising
1 Player of the Year event
DR updated the meeting by explaining that all branches of the supporters’ club, plus other active fans groups, had been contacted asking about their willingness to help with the organisation and running of the Player of the Year (POTY) event. In short, apart from offers to help with vote collection, nothing additional was forthcoming.
The Fans’ Forum had fed this back to Steve Bailey and undertook to attend the next planned meeting of the POTY organising committee (Thursday 25th March) to offer direct help from both the Fans’ Forum and from the Football Club (in the form of Matt Wright (audio/visual/website), Paul Ellison (room hire/food/drink/staffing) and Dave Archer (ticketing)). It was felt that this approach would help to remove the ‘middle man’ and could improve the overall organisation process. The Fan’s Forum representation would also provide some measure of independence from the supporters’ club groups, hence offering the ‘transparency’ that some fans feel may have been lacking in the past.
2 Five year season tickets
SW re-assured the meeting that any potent new owners of the Football Club would be made aware of the five year season ticket scheme during the due diligence process. Existing commitments should therefore be honoured by any new owners as they would be fully aware of the situation prior to taking over the Club.
SW also pointed out that it would be terrible public relations for a new owner not to acknowledge the long term and financial commitment of the VIP five-year season ticket holders. He undertook to establish the exact legal position, however.
At the time of the meeting, about 300 (of the designated 500) tickets had been taken up.
3 Promotion/Fans’ involvement
SW explained that the Club is currently operating on a high League 1 budget, but that the Club is always working on financial options and considering contingencies for the worst case scenario. In the Premier League CAFC turnover was £42m, in the Championship (including parachute payments) the figure was nearer to £25m. Our estimated League 1 turnover this year is about £8.5m, therefore the Club has had to make drastic cuts to both playing and staff budgets since 2007. Budgets will have to be strategically managed next season according to league status.
Fourteen players are out of contract in the summer, and CAFC will continue to develop with a further emphasis on amassing a squad around being smart in the transfer market and the inclusion of youth – making schemes such as Valley Gold more essential now to the Club than ever before – plus a review of players’ salaries. Contracts based on incentives, rather than high basic wages, are becoming much more commonplace.
The Fans’ Forum provided the Club with a number of ideas which had been provided by fans in terms of a unification or rallying call ahead of the end-of-season run-in. SW responded positively to these points and indicated that it was exactly in keeping with what Phil Parkinson wanted, that is a consolidated show of strength across the fanbase and the Club. SW undertook to present the ideas which the Fans’ Forum had provided to the upcoming Board meeting later in the week.
Overall the members of the Fans’ Forum felt that the viability of the Club remained uppermost in the minds of the Board and that Richard Murray’s use of the phrase “promotion is imperative” had been taken somewhat out of context in the press, although it clearly reflects what everyone connected with CAFC is earnestly hoping for and working towards.
4 Bristol Rovers away match
SW explained that the Football League and CAFC had no choice or involvement in the decision by Sky to re-arrange this fixture. Only Bristol Rovers were consulted and this was to determine policing arrangements for the game. The home team receives a fee of £30k, the away team £10k, so decisions are rarely financially driven, and the late change of date was made exclusively by Sky to fill a vacant Monday evening slot.
On the positive side, First Great Western trains have been excellent in helping the Club over train ticketing issues and are currently in the process of re-imbursing supporters.
5 Hot water
Mick Everett explained that there is no hot water supply to any of the public toilets within the stadium except those associated with the lounges, Bartram’s etc. To install hot water would be a major task involving new plumbing and an outlay of several thousands of pounds. There would also be a large heating cost and, due to the Club’s current financial position, installation of hot water is not regarded as an essential item.
6 Boots for Africa
Details of this scheme were provided by MD. SW explained that the Club feels that it is ‘doing its bit’ already in terms of community liaison and links with Africa and other parts of the world, but that it would look at what might be able to be provided.
MD to send details to Mel Hennessey at the training ground. SW to inform Steve Gritt/Academy staff of the scheme. MD to arrange collection of any donated boots and equipment.
7 Support in the Ashford area
DR outlined the point which had been made by members of Valley Express – that support in the Ashford area seemed to be noticeably light. The Club was encouraged to investigate the point and identify ways in which recruitment of support in this area could be addressed.
SW provided a previously-prepared response from Rick Everitt which explained that “Ashford has been one of the more successful Valley Express pick-ups but has fallen off in line with the general pattern. It is included in advertising and radio competitions via Kent on Sunday and kmfm. The Community Trust ran a whole series of ‘summer slams’ there last year funded by the council. We target
schools in the Ashford area, as we do throughout Kent, and the Trust will have given out a large number of free tickets in that area during the season through its various projects. Ashford would previously have come under the defunct East Kent CASC branch, later CISA, but there is no active supporters group now. If there are fans who wish to develop an initiative in that area, we'd happily support that and I would suggest that the starting point needs
to be for fans to form a group and then we can assist with that through Green4, in particular, but more generally the programme, website, etc. I'm happy to meet anyone who wants to get involved".
The Fans’ Forum undertook to feed this response back to the originators of the question and to help with any initiative along the lines suggested by Rick.
8 Beer survey
The idea was raised that fans may prefer different beer options to those currently available, and may even be prepared to pay a little extra for beers of choice. The possibility of a beer survey amongst fans was discussed.
The Club is currently tied into a long term (three year), lucrative contract with Heineken, and can therefore only sell the brands available within the contracted deal. There is a ‘break-point’ withn the current deal in July and a survey could be appropriate ahead of this point, but recognising that the terms of the deal only allow the Club to sell products from within the available range.
The Fans’ Forum will organise a survey amongst fans to establish preferences from the ranges available within the Heineken deal.
9 Fans’ Forum events
The upcoming CADSA Quiz Night was discussed (Friday 9th April) – teams of six are required. Tickets cost £10 per head. The Fans’ Forum will field a team, and the Club is also encouraged to participate.
10 Big screen
It is recognised that the screen is quite old now and that, when bought by the Club, was already second hand. The estimated cost of buying a new screen (£80k-£160k) cannot be justified at present. The screen picture size has been reduced to save LED’s and it is also extremely expensive to replace existing LED’s.
The screen has an annual running cost of about £25k and, apart from KRBS, there has been little interest in advertising despite the Club approaching several large firms with local business interests.
Fans are asked ‘what is the minimum they would expect to see on a big screen?’ Reduction in the level of information and detail would lower running costs and improve the shelf-life. The Fans’ Forum will look to obtain feedback.
SW is also encouraging low-level sponsorship (£5k here and there could make a big difference).
11 AOB
TG raised some specific items abut wheelchair platforms and vending trolleys used for serving disabled customers. Paul Ellison has subsequently addressed these points.
[cite]Posted By: Dave Rudd[/cite]Fourteen players are out of contract in the summer, and CAFC will continue to develop with a further emphasis on amassing a squad around being smart in the transfer market and the inclusion of youth – making schemes such as Valley Gold more essential now to the Club than ever before – plus a review of players’ salaries. Contracts based on incentives, rather than high basic wages, are becoming much more commonplace.
That bit about incentive based contracts is interesting, and good to know.
SW also pointed out that it would be terrible public relations for a new owner not to acknowledge the long term and financial commitment of the VIP five-year season ticket holders. He undertook to establish the exact legal position, however.
Am I reading too much into this bit but why does he need to establish the exact legal position. Does the contract that has been sent out not cover this?
On the subject of fans' groups, the Green4 package enables us to send out very targeted emails. I've sent one tonight to 155 people who live in Eastbourne and Hailsham and it's potentially a good way to get to fans who might become active in a local area at no cost.
Basically a customer relationship management package that enables us to format and send out HTML emails to groups of fans according to a wide range of criteria, e.g. by postcode, purchase history, age, gender, etc. For example, if you have a history of buying replica kit, we can identify you in the database and send you offers and prompts, etc.
[cite]Posted By: somerton[/cite]With regard to the sceen switch it off, you can not read the players name now any way. Save the £25,000 which could go towards the pitch.
with the recent good weather we should be viewing the screen in HD this saturday.
The Fans Forum replied over a month ago to our concerns regarding the shite home support etc etc etc.
We were told the board meeting would tell us everything... ( bla bla bla)
AFKA's post was the best thread we have ever had on here.
So
why wil there only be 18000 v Col U????
Although the West Stand khazis be immaculate...
I rekindled the 'let's fill the ground' idea at a meeting with Steve Waggott last night. He will be putting specific proposals to the Board at their next meeting via the Target 40,000 meeting tomorrow night. Suggestions like 'bring a mate for a tenner' or something along those lines. Bear in mind that it's a real balancing act between getting the ground filled by offering massively discounted prices and upsetting those of us who have already paid full whack. We also want to make sure that any increase in numbers is made of those who are Charlton fans, not just people who fancy a cheap day/night out.
My advice would be to try to encourage any friends, family members and associates who were regulars a couple of seasons ago, but who have lapsed since our decline into League 1. Drag them out for these next three home games. Their support is vital. I have asked Steve to make sure that the Club does its bit to make that as financially easy for everyone as is possible.
The POTY event has stalled a little, despite the very best efforts of Steve Bailey and his organising committee, as Phil Parkinson is yet to commit to the proposed date (2nd May). Again, Steve Waggott is on the case and will try to get Parkinson to agree that date in the next couple of days. In the meantime, the current organising committee meets tomorrow night to finalise the plans for vote collection. Obviously, and if the date of 2nd May is confirmed, this only leaves about four weeks to finalise everything ... but it will be done. Steve and his committee are planning to offer text voting as an option for the first time this year.
More news on the POTY event after Thursday's meeting.
[cite]Posted By: Dave Rudd[/cite]Bear in mind that it's a real balancing act between getting the ground filled by offering massively discounted prices and upsetting those of us who have already paid full whack.
i can't imagine many fans complaining about other people getting discounted tickets for the last three games, especially if the boost in the suport helps us get the points we need.
Comments
Thanks for the kind words - very much appreciated.
Please also bear in mind that, when specific banal questions are directed to us, we generally feel honour-bound to pass them on to the Club. More importantly, we try to gauge the general feeling of fans on particular issues and express those to the Club. This can be tricky when views are very polarised - and this week's debate about the question of how the Club plans to deal with failure is a good example. We had the question directed to us, but others were concerned that, by asking such things, we are heaping undue pressure on the Board at this crucial time. So, do we supress a valid question because others disagree ... or do we go ahead and ask? On balance we tend to ask ... but avoiding aggression and accusation ... more in the spirit of collaboration between Club and fans, if that makes sense.
Hopefuly our notes will be available shortly, but please recognise that we need to ensure that the Club is happy with any output we make public. Might take a day or two, but I'm happy to provide a general summary of any specific agenda point in the meantime.
For the home support, pre match build up might help, or even dare I say it a well publicised "happy hour" of at least lots of prepulled (if not some price reduction) pints before the game - now that would really create an atmosphere, and maybe get the punters in
For away support more Operations, but maybe a change of name, maybe not
I doubt some of the 1st team could take the potential humilation !!
yes but aren't talking about how we help to win that promotion? (I accept this is a multi topic thread)
Yes for sure raz........... I was simply making an observation, albeit quite an obvious one..
I had it in mind to make him honory patron!
;o)
Seriously ...... the one action that will drive more fans to The Valley is results on the pitch. Fans need to see a steely resolve by the team to get promotion at all costs - and the momentum that generates.
It's about getting the buzz back to The Valley, getting everybody from fans to players singing from the same hymsheet, recreating that atmosphere that re-inforced Fortress Valley.
Fortress Valley 2010 ...... is the only campaign we need, if everyone pulls together and creates that momentum.
A great idea PBS, but I think the insurance company might have something to say about that one.
that should do it
You could sign for Millwall, and play against our 1st team next week.
I'm a bit like "Jim'll fix it" ...... I like to help people make their dreams come true.
;o)
But I think a game v the coaching and physio staff could be arranged.
In a minute.
In attendance:
Steve Waggott (SW) Tony Garrett (TG) Geoff Billingsley (GBill) Matt Dainty (MD) Gary Davenport (GD) Dave Rudd (DR) Gavin Barrett (GBarr)
Apologies from:
Suzanne Hillcock Steve Kavanagh David White
Matters arising
1 Player of the Year event
DR updated the meeting by explaining that all branches of the supporters’ club, plus other active fans groups, had been contacted asking about their willingness to help with the organisation and running of the Player of the Year (POTY) event. In short, apart from offers to help with vote collection, nothing additional was forthcoming.
The Fans’ Forum had fed this back to Steve Bailey and undertook to attend the next planned meeting of the POTY organising committee (Thursday 25th March) to offer direct help from both the Fans’ Forum and from the Football Club (in the form of Matt Wright (audio/visual/website), Paul Ellison (room hire/food/drink/staffing) and Dave Archer (ticketing)). It was felt that this approach would help to remove the ‘middle man’ and could improve the overall organisation process. The Fan’s Forum representation would also provide some measure of independence from the supporters’ club groups, hence offering the ‘transparency’ that some fans feel may have been lacking in the past.
2 Five year season tickets
SW re-assured the meeting that any potent new owners of the Football Club would be made aware of the five year season ticket scheme during the due diligence process. Existing commitments should therefore be honoured by any new owners as they would be fully aware of the situation prior to taking over the Club.
SW also pointed out that it would be terrible public relations for a new owner not to acknowledge the long term and financial commitment of the VIP five-year season ticket holders. He undertook to establish the exact legal position, however.
At the time of the meeting, about 300 (of the designated 500) tickets had been taken up.
3 Promotion/Fans’ involvement
SW explained that the Club is currently operating on a high League 1 budget, but that the Club is always working on financial options and considering contingencies for the worst case scenario. In the Premier League CAFC turnover was £42m, in the Championship (including parachute payments) the figure was nearer to £25m. Our estimated League 1 turnover this year is about £8.5m, therefore the Club has had to make drastic cuts to both playing and staff budgets since 2007. Budgets will have to be strategically managed next season according to league status.
Fourteen players are out of contract in the summer, and CAFC will continue to develop with a further emphasis on amassing a squad around being smart in the transfer market and the inclusion of youth – making schemes such as Valley Gold more essential now to the Club than ever before – plus a review of players’ salaries. Contracts based on incentives, rather than high basic wages, are becoming much more commonplace.
The Fans’ Forum provided the Club with a number of ideas which had been provided by fans in terms of a unification or rallying call ahead of the end-of-season run-in. SW responded positively to these points and indicated that it was exactly in keeping with what Phil Parkinson wanted, that is a consolidated show of strength across the fanbase and the Club. SW undertook to present the ideas which the Fans’ Forum had provided to the upcoming Board meeting later in the week.
Overall the members of the Fans’ Forum felt that the viability of the Club remained uppermost in the minds of the Board and that Richard Murray’s use of the phrase “promotion is imperative” had been taken somewhat out of context in the press, although it clearly reflects what everyone connected with CAFC is earnestly hoping for and working towards.
4 Bristol Rovers away match
SW explained that the Football League and CAFC had no choice or involvement in the decision by Sky to re-arrange this fixture. Only Bristol Rovers were consulted and this was to determine policing arrangements for the game. The home team receives a fee of £30k, the away team £10k, so decisions are rarely financially driven, and the late change of date was made exclusively by Sky to fill a vacant Monday evening slot.
On the positive side, First Great Western trains have been excellent in helping the Club over train ticketing issues and are currently in the process of re-imbursing supporters.
5 Hot water
Mick Everett explained that there is no hot water supply to any of the public toilets within the stadium except those associated with the lounges, Bartram’s etc. To install hot water would be a major task involving new plumbing and an outlay of several thousands of pounds. There would also be a large heating cost and, due to the Club’s current financial position, installation of hot water is not regarded as an essential item.
6 Boots for Africa
Details of this scheme were provided by MD. SW explained that the Club feels that it is ‘doing its bit’ already in terms of community liaison and links with Africa and other parts of the world, but that it would look at what might be able to be provided.
MD to send details to Mel Hennessey at the training ground. SW to inform Steve Gritt/Academy staff of the scheme. MD to arrange collection of any donated boots and equipment.
7 Support in the Ashford area
DR outlined the point which had been made by members of Valley Express – that support in the Ashford area seemed to be noticeably light. The Club was encouraged to investigate the point and identify ways in which recruitment of support in this area could be addressed.
SW provided a previously-prepared response from Rick Everitt which explained that “Ashford has been one of the more successful Valley Express pick-ups but has fallen off in line with the general pattern. It is included in advertising and radio competitions via Kent on Sunday and kmfm. The Community Trust ran a whole series of ‘summer slams’ there last year funded by the council. We target
schools in the Ashford area, as we do throughout Kent, and the Trust will have given out a large number of free tickets in that area during the season through its various projects. Ashford would previously have come under the defunct East Kent CASC branch, later CISA, but there is no active supporters group now. If there are fans who wish to develop an initiative in that area, we'd happily support that and I would suggest that the starting point needs
to be for fans to form a group and then we can assist with that through Green4, in particular, but more generally the programme, website, etc. I'm happy to meet anyone who wants to get involved".
The Fans’ Forum undertook to feed this response back to the originators of the question and to help with any initiative along the lines suggested by Rick.
8 Beer survey
The idea was raised that fans may prefer different beer options to those currently available, and may even be prepared to pay a little extra for beers of choice. The possibility of a beer survey amongst fans was discussed.
The Club is currently tied into a long term (three year), lucrative contract with Heineken, and can therefore only sell the brands available within the contracted deal. There is a ‘break-point’ withn the current deal in July and a survey could be appropriate ahead of this point, but recognising that the terms of the deal only allow the Club to sell products from within the available range.
The Fans’ Forum will organise a survey amongst fans to establish preferences from the ranges available within the Heineken deal.
9 Fans’ Forum events
The upcoming CADSA Quiz Night was discussed (Friday 9th April) – teams of six are required. Tickets cost £10 per head. The Fans’ Forum will field a team, and the Club is also encouraged to participate.
10 Big screen
It is recognised that the screen is quite old now and that, when bought by the Club, was already second hand. The estimated cost of buying a new screen (£80k-£160k) cannot be justified at present. The screen picture size has been reduced to save LED’s and it is also extremely expensive to replace existing LED’s.
The screen has an annual running cost of about £25k and, apart from KRBS, there has been little interest in advertising despite the Club approaching several large firms with local business interests.
Fans are asked ‘what is the minimum they would expect to see on a big screen?’ Reduction in the level of information and detail would lower running costs and improve the shelf-life. The Fans’ Forum will look to obtain feedback.
SW is also encouraging low-level sponsorship (£5k here and there could make a big difference).
11 AOB
TG raised some specific items abut wheelchair platforms and vending trolleys used for serving disabled customers. Paul Ellison has subsequently addressed these points.
That bit about incentive based contracts is interesting, and good to know.
Am I reading too much into this bit but why does he need to establish the exact legal position. Does the contract that has been sent out not cover this?
erm, what he said :-)
I've been looking at CRM's for my work. Anyone recommend any good uns?
Its an industry i work closely with - what kind of volumes would you be sending out yearly?
Campaigner and eCircle are the industry standard.
with the recent good weather we should be viewing the screen in HD this saturday.
The Fans Forum replied over a month ago to our concerns regarding the shite home support etc etc etc.
We were told the board meeting would tell us everything... ( bla bla bla)
AFKA's post was the best thread we have ever had on here.
So
why wil there only be 18000 v Col U????
Although the West Stand khazis be immaculate...
I rekindled the 'let's fill the ground' idea at a meeting with Steve Waggott last night. He will be putting specific proposals to the Board at their next meeting via the Target 40,000 meeting tomorrow night. Suggestions like 'bring a mate for a tenner' or something along those lines. Bear in mind that it's a real balancing act between getting the ground filled by offering massively discounted prices and upsetting those of us who have already paid full whack. We also want to make sure that any increase in numbers is made of those who are Charlton fans, not just people who fancy a cheap day/night out.
My advice would be to try to encourage any friends, family members and associates who were regulars a couple of seasons ago, but who have lapsed since our decline into League 1. Drag them out for these next three home games. Their support is vital. I have asked Steve to make sure that the Club does its bit to make that as financially easy for everyone as is possible.
The POTY event has stalled a little, despite the very best efforts of Steve Bailey and his organising committee, as Phil Parkinson is yet to commit to the proposed date (2nd May). Again, Steve Waggott is on the case and will try to get Parkinson to agree that date in the next couple of days. In the meantime, the current organising committee meets tomorrow night to finalise the plans for vote collection. Obviously, and if the date of 2nd May is confirmed, this only leaves about four weeks to finalise everything ... but it will be done. Steve and his committee are planning to offer text voting as an option for the first time this year.
More news on the POTY event after Thursday's meeting.
i can't imagine many fans complaining about other people getting discounted tickets for the last three games, especially if the boost in the suport helps us get the points we need.