So glad so many people are going this year who have never been before. Makes me really glad of the years when I got to sit at a table and commiserate with players facing yet another poor end to the season. And so glad that they changed the ticketing system this year so those of us who always go missed out on getting tickets.
Anyway, to your question, it is usually fancy dress, often with a sexy theme. Seeing Lloyd Sam dressed as Conan was really something a few years ago. So I would recommend getting down to the hire shop before all the Rocky Horror show outfits sell out.
In previous years it wasn't announced until much later and the tickets were through the supporters club and not through the club's ticket office. Also in prevoius years you had a good few weeks to buy them, this time they ran out in three days.
As MOG said it was nothing to do with funds and everything to do with what normally happens.
Obviously those of us who normally go should have anticipated the much higher demand but at the same time it would have been nice for the club / organisers to give some preference to those who have been every year. After all you can't buy an away game ticket for a big game if you've never been to an away game before.
Imagine how those of us who go every year feel about being rejected because newbies found out about it first.
To Be Honest, I've No idea. Just know that over the last few years, The POTY date was announced, You contacted the Club Supporters Club {Edit} and bought tickets. This year it seemed to be announced after Most tickets were sold to the Clique (I'm Joking: :-) ). Totally understandable that more people want to go to a successful Teams POTY rather than a relegated or even mid-table evening, but, think that people who have supported the Evening over a few "barren" years Should have been on some kind of "First Option" list and maybe asked First. Understand that with only 320 (Fanny, is that right ?) places that tickets will be snapped up quickly, but, and I'm being totally honest, the first I knew of this years date was when it was announced as a "Sell out", and I know of afew others in the same situation. As an aside, I (& others) will be collecting S/T votes (The last voucher in the book) on Saturday in The Lib & Rose Of Denmark, tho' I'm not sure about the "Con" club. (& if You don't vote the same as Me I'm gonna rip up your papers: Bitter ? Me ?).
In previous years it wasn't announced until much later and the tickets were through the supporters club and not through the club's ticket office. Also in prevoius years you had a good few weeks to buy them, this time they ran out in three days.
As MOG said it was nothing to do with funds and everything to do with what normally happens.
Obviously those of us who normally go should have anticipated the much higher demand but at the same time it would have been nice for the club / organisers to give some preference to those who have been every year. After all you can't buy an away game ticket for a big game if you've never been to an away game before.
Imagine how those of us who go every year feel about being rejected because newbies found out about it first.
I see your point and can understand.
I was unaware how they did this on previous years. The way it was done this year allowed me to be aware of the event and book.
Quite a few people who have attended every event through the lean years are feeling miffed. It didn't occur to us that this year would be any different and we were just waiting for four others to confirm that they were going. They took two days to get back to us and we then discovered to our immense chagrin that all the tickets had already been sold. I realise that the organisers are giving up their own time, and the first come first served system is what they have chosen to do, but for two supporters in particular, a lad and his dad who have attended every POTY I can't help feeling that they deserved better to be honest.
To Be Honest, I've No idea. Just know that over the last few years, The POTY date was announced, You contacted the Club Supporters Club {Edit} and bought tickets. This year it seemed to be announced after Most tickets were sold to the Clique (I'm Joking: :-) ). Totally understandable that more people want to go to a successful Teams POTY rather than a relegated or even mid-table evening, but, think that people who have supported the Evening over a few "barren" years Should have been on some kind of "First Option" list and maybe asked First. Understand that with only 320 (Fanny, is that right ?) places that tickets will be snapped up quickly, but, and I'm being totally honest, the first I knew of this years date was when it was announced as a "Sell out", and I know of afew others in the same situation. As an aside, I (& others) will be collecting S/T votes (The last voucher in the book) on Saturday in The Lib & Rose Of Denmark, tho' I'm not sure about the "Con" club. (& if You don't vote the same as Me I'm gonna rip up your papers: Bitter ? Me ?).
;-)
I can understand your point and can see why you may feel a little bit miffed.
I managed to get some tickets, but only through shear luck. I have been to the last 2 and believe me, last year you couldn't give the tickets away!
Exaclty - last year we only decided to go five days before the event and it was basically 'well we aways do so we should'. And to be totally honest had I known that it would count for nothing during the 'feast' I may not have done my duty during the 'famine'.
My only hope is that those who do go for the first time this year realise how lucky they are and replay the honor when if the bad times come around again.
We have been to two dinners before and as soon as they went on sale i bought them. am looking forward to this alot. am in a supporters club but have never been in a clique
Oh dear ! A few misconceptions here but with Eddie, Mark & Sasa to meet & greet tonight plus other "normal" stuff ( inc organising the whole POTY thingy with Ian Wallis) it will have to wait until tomorrow .
Psssst. While Fanny has her back turned I think we should all agree not to criticise the organisation or arrangements for the POY dinner. Just a thought to avoid any ill feelings at a time when we should all be warm, happy and friendly.
Genuinely don't mean to upset anyone at all: If I did I wouldn't bother with the voting,slips etc. Just thought I'd point out whys & wherefores of the disappointment that a few had expressed. Solly.
It certainly is different to how it was run 3 years ago when the fans forum were told to get involved because it was so badly organised in the past. For that they should be applauded surely?
I appreciate that these things take a lot of individuals time and I wouldn't want them to get angry about it. I think the speed of the sale must have taken everyone by surpise given how slow it has been in previous years. More just food for throught for the future I hope, not any criticism of individuals.
Never been before but managed to get ten. Not looking forward to.explaining to my Man U and Arsenal mates which player is who.
Nothing is ever perfect, particularly when run by volunteers generous enough to give up their spare time. Can understand people miffed, but then you have to appreciate 1. Despite the great season, the speed of volume of the ticket sales was probably far greater than anyone would have imagined, and 2. The additional burden on.volunteers to establish previous.attendees and contact them in advance.
while no one received preference, equally no one was disadvantaged.
However, knowing Fanny though, if people do have workable ideas to improve the process for next season, I'm sure she would welcome, appreciate and take on board your suggestions off line.
I had got over my disappointment and then saw this thread. After going through the lean years and helping to collect votes etc. finding out that all the tickets were sold almost before the announcement of poty made me remember the bitching that went on from some quarters about how it used to be organised. I, along with several other people who like me are five year season ticket holders feel that we don't count. We could at least have been given a decent chance to purchase ticket
You'll no doubt be aware that the Club asked the Fans' Forum to take on the organisation of POTY in February 2011 following a less than successful event the previous year. There is much I could add to that but it has little relevance here . Suffice to say that with the "rebirth" following that arrival of new owners and management , the Club wanted the event to herald the start of a new and successful era. Ian Wallis ( Bromley Addicks) and myself agreed to take the "challenge".....
As late as 23rd March 2011, I penned a piece for the OS, daily bulletin and forthcoming match programme to advertise said event . As this was the first time that Ian and myself had been involved ( in fact Ian had never attended any previous dinners) we were very aware that the wording of the piece was accurate & in no way misleading eg it stated that " If you book early you will be guaranteed 2 members of the playing squad at your table" and we ensured that this was followed through. It was also clearly stated that the FF was organising the event " on behalf of the Club" which was the wording agreed and we were given a great deal of assistance from the Commercial Centre( selling tkts) , Paul Ellison , Chris Clark ( Training Ground contact), Steve Kavanagh and Wendy Perfect ( who had been involved before) to mention but a few and the same help has been given this time and is much appreciated.
Bookings were fairly slow after an initial surge and as performances on the pitch were not the best, it was obvious that we would not need to transfer the dinner to the O2. On the day, we had 210 seated for the meal which included players, management staff plus Peter Varney and Martiin Simons. I should like to say that it was a successful event although those who attended should be the judges and we all looked forward to the season ahead when things could only get better in all areas ....
And so to the 2011/12 season. An early FF meeting saw Ian and myself , with the offer of assistance from other members including Craig ( VIP representative) agree to organise the dinner once again. On the face of it, the task should have been easier as we had the previous season's guidelines and the opportunity to begin our preparations earlier in the year. In fact, I contacted Paul Ellison in December 2011 with the date, and we agreed on meal prices, hire of equipment etc before the Xmas festivities kicked in. On 15th February, I forwarded the wording for this year's advertisement to the Club requesting that it be placed in the Stevenage match programme in tandem with the OS as the Commercial Centre had indicated their readiness to take bookings. Once again, it was indicated that "the early bird catches the worm" regarding players attending and the following statement was included : " At this present time, there is no guarantee how the season will end for us, but on current form , we expect this to bbe a sell out event" 'Nuff said....
NB I'm nervous that I may lose this post so will continue separately in a minute or two..
The news of the date/how to purchase tickets etc was duly posted in the Stevenage programme and I believe on the OS the following Monday. I travelled to Chesterfield on the Tuesday and spoke with several supporters who also made the trip about the event and urged them to buy their tickets as soon as possible , From the comments I heard, there would indeed be far more interest than last time....Returning home in the early hours, and not logging on until lunchtime on the Wednesday, I found an email from Dave in the CC telling me that 222 of the 310 places on offer had already been sold. As others have posted on this thread, the speed in which the tickets were selling was somewhat of a shock. Knowing that some fans were travelling from Chesterfield to Manchester for the Youth Cup match and would not therefore have had the same opportunity to purchase as others, I requested that a dozen tickets be kept aside for me to deal with directly . At 4.15pm , a further email from Dave stated that all of the original 310 places had now been sold but that Paul had agreed for a further 30 places to be made available .At this stage, there was a waiting list of 58 of which the additional 30 was taken and by 5.15pm , Dave emailed Matt requesting a post on the OS declaring that the event had sold out.
With both Paul and myself thinking along the same lines, it was decided on 1st March that the number of places could be increased to 400 if the serving stations and the disco area were dispensed with, the former meaning that silver service would be used. This increase allowed more fans on the extended waiting list to be offered tickets and the places were quickly allocated. So, 400 places for fans, plus 10 management , plus 10 Directors' table plus players which meant that 450 meals will be served and people accommodated on the night ; at this stage, Paul stated that this was the maximum number that the North Stand suite can hold. So that's where we are now.
I trust that you will see that the system we used was a fair and transparent one which I am only too happy to detail for you as above. A few things I should like you to bear in mind though :
*Ian and myself are volunteers. Ian works fulltime and runs his own company, I am retired but with family commitments and Chair of a very active Supporters' Group.We both are also members of the FF .We also both attend 99% of all matches, home & away , each season which takes up some of our "spare" time. And we pay for our tickets for this event. In fact, there are only 4 comps - Steve Rider , MC, and 2 for the guy who records the event , sorts the monitors etc .
*POTY is NOT an event run by the Club. It is run by the FF on BEHALF of the Club. As a result, there is no requirement for prioritising ticket purchase ie VIPs, VG, s tkt holders etc. We have no wish to access the Club's database - this is information for the Club only - nor would we have the time to do so. SHOULD it have been decided to prioritise in such a manner, there would barely be enough tickets to satisfy all the VIP 5 year tkt holders, let alone VG/annual s tkt holders. As Ian said, you can't fit a quart into a pint pot !
* Due to the fact that prioritising as above was not an option, and because this is an event for ALL fans, the policy we chose had to be "first come, first served" , making it accessible to everyone. We chose not to contact previous attendees , partly due to constraints on our time and partly due to setting a precedent. ie had we chosen that route, we would have to follow the same procedure NEXT year and with a 450 sell out this time, that would mean NO spaces for anyone else in 2013 . Surely that would not be fair ? The only means of advertising the event were the same as the Club uses for their events etc ie the Club website and matchday programmes. I believe we did check at an early stage in discussions whether the BIG Screen could be utilised but it was apparent that this is very costly. To think that last year we paid for posters around the ground in an endeavour to publicise the event further....
* Some unhappy fans have made contact via telephone calls or emails which Ian or myself have answered. Several stated they have attended the event every year but when I checked last season's list, oddly enough their names did not feature...To reiterate, we hold no records for years prior to our involvement 12 months ago , nor would we have any reason to do so. What transpired before the 2011 dinner is history now and we want to look forward.
I don't believe there is anything I can add to this , but feel free to post if you have any questions still unanswered. I hope that it has become apparent that whatever policy we chose to adopt, some people were going to miss out . It has already been stated that demand and the speed of sales shocked us and Club personnel in general. The question of a larger venue and how we might deal with selling tickets next time ( should we still be involved then) was raised at the most recent FF meeting in late March . It was agreed that the event must be held at The Valley for various reasons including the cost factor and the only suggested option would be to hold it on the pitch with a marquee although it was not clear whether this was viable. However, it was clear that the date that tickets go on sale should be advertised several weeks in advance...a kind of "save this date" reminder so that everyone is aware well in advance. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but ultimately, harsh as it may sound, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to keep abreast of what's happening and to react accordingly as we do when tickets for matches go on sale. Sorry , folks.
Hope that helped and wish I could conjure up another hundred or so places for 6th May ...but if you listen to Charlton Live on the night, BDL assures me it will feel as though you are with us !!!!
Comments
Do we have to wear our Charlton Life tie to the POY dinner or is the special badge sufficient?
;+)
Makes me really glad of the years when I got to sit at a table and commiserate with players facing yet another poor end to the season.
And so glad that they changed the ticketing system this year so those of us who always go missed out on getting tickets.
Anyway, to your question, it is usually fancy dress, often with a sexy theme. Seeing Lloyd Sam dressed as Conan was really something a few years ago. So I would recommend getting down to the hire shop before all the Rocky Horror show outfits sell out.
Must be the "New Clique/In-Crowd".
As MOG said it was nothing to do with funds and everything to do with what normally happens.
Obviously those of us who normally go should have anticipated the much higher demand but at the same time it would have been nice for the club / organisers to give some preference to those who have been every year. After all you can't buy an away game ticket for a big game if you've never been to an away game before.
Imagine how those of us who go every year feel about being rejected because newbies found out about it first.
ClubSupporters Club {Edit} and bought tickets. This year it seemed to be announced after Most tickets were sold to the Clique (I'm Joking: :-) ).Totally understandable that more people want to go to a successful Teams POTY rather than a relegated or even mid-table evening, but, think that people who have supported the Evening over a few "barren" years Should have been on some kind of "First Option" list and maybe asked First.
Understand that with only 320 (Fanny, is that right ?) places that tickets will be snapped up quickly, but, and I'm being totally honest, the first I knew of this years date was when it was announced as a "Sell out", and I know of afew others in the same situation.
As an aside, I (& others) will be collecting S/T votes (The last voucher in the book) on Saturday in The Lib & Rose Of Denmark, tho' I'm not sure about the "Con" club.
(& if You don't vote the same as Me I'm gonna rip up your papers: Bitter ? Me ?).
;-)
I was unaware how they did this on previous years. The way it was done this year allowed me to be aware of the event and book.
;-)
;-)
My only hope is that those who do go for the first time this year realise how lucky they are and replay the honor
whenif the bad times come around again.;-)
I''ll be back.....
While Fanny has her back turned I think we should all agree not to criticise the organisation or arrangements for the POY dinner.
Just a thought to avoid any ill feelings at a time when we should all be warm, happy and friendly.
Just thought I'd point out whys & wherefores of the disappointment that a few had expressed.
Solly.
Nothing is ever perfect, particularly when run by volunteers generous enough to give up their spare time. Can understand people miffed, but then you have to appreciate
1. Despite the great season, the speed of volume of the ticket sales was probably far greater than anyone would have imagined, and
2. The additional burden on.volunteers to establish previous.attendees and contact them in advance.
while no one received preference, equally no one was disadvantaged.
However, knowing Fanny though, if people do have workable ideas to improve the process for next season, I'm sure she would welcome, appreciate and take on board your suggestions off line.
You'll no doubt be aware that the Club asked the Fans' Forum to take on the organisation of POTY in February 2011 following a less than successful event the previous year. There is much I could add to that but it has little relevance here . Suffice to say that with the "rebirth" following that arrival of new owners and management , the Club wanted the event to herald the start of a new and successful era. Ian Wallis ( Bromley Addicks) and myself agreed to take the "challenge".....
As late as 23rd March 2011, I penned a piece for the OS, daily bulletin and forthcoming match programme to advertise said event . As this was the first time that Ian and myself had been involved ( in fact Ian had never attended any previous dinners) we were very aware that the wording of the piece was accurate & in no way misleading eg it stated that " If you book early you will be guaranteed 2 members of the playing squad at your table" and we ensured that this was followed through. It was also clearly stated that the FF was organising the event " on behalf of the Club" which was the wording agreed and we were given a great deal of assistance from the Commercial Centre( selling tkts) , Paul Ellison , Chris Clark ( Training Ground contact), Steve Kavanagh and Wendy Perfect ( who had been involved before) to mention but a few and the same help has been given this time and is much appreciated.
Bookings were fairly slow after an initial surge and as performances on the pitch were not the best, it was obvious that we would not need to transfer the dinner to the O2. On the day, we had 210 seated for the meal which included players, management staff plus Peter Varney and Martiin Simons. I should like to say that it was a successful event although those who attended should be the judges and we all looked forward to the season ahead when things could only get better in all areas ....
And so to the 2011/12 season. An early FF meeting saw Ian and myself , with the offer of assistance from other members including Craig ( VIP representative) agree to organise the dinner once again. On the face of it, the task should have been easier as we had the previous season's guidelines and the opportunity to begin our preparations earlier in the year. In fact, I contacted Paul Ellison in December 2011 with the date, and we agreed on meal prices, hire of equipment etc before the Xmas festivities kicked in. On 15th February, I forwarded the wording for this year's advertisement to the Club requesting that it be placed in the Stevenage match programme in tandem with the OS as the Commercial Centre had indicated their readiness to take bookings. Once again, it was indicated that "the early bird catches the worm" regarding players attending and the following statement was included : " At this present time, there is no guarantee how the season will end for us, but on current form , we expect this to bbe a sell out event" 'Nuff said....
NB I'm nervous that I may lose this post so will continue separately in a minute or two..
The news of the date/how to purchase tickets etc was duly posted in the Stevenage programme and I believe on the OS the following Monday. I travelled to Chesterfield on the Tuesday and spoke with several supporters who also made the trip about the event and urged them to buy their tickets as soon as possible , From the comments I heard, there would indeed be far more interest than last time....Returning home in the early hours, and not logging on until lunchtime on the Wednesday, I found an email from Dave in the CC telling me that 222 of the 310 places on offer had already been sold. As others have posted on this thread, the speed in which the tickets were selling was somewhat of a shock. Knowing that some fans were travelling from Chesterfield to Manchester for the Youth Cup match and would not therefore have had the same opportunity to purchase as others, I requested that a dozen tickets be kept aside for me to deal with directly . At 4.15pm , a further email from Dave stated that all of the original 310 places had now been sold but that Paul had agreed for a further 30 places to be made available .At this stage, there was a waiting list of 58 of which the additional 30 was taken and by 5.15pm , Dave emailed Matt requesting a post on the OS declaring that the event had sold out.
With both Paul and myself thinking along the same lines, it was decided on 1st March that the number of places could be increased to 400 if the serving stations and the disco area were dispensed with, the former meaning that silver service would be used. This increase allowed more fans on the extended waiting list to be offered tickets and the places were quickly allocated. So, 400 places for fans, plus 10 management , plus 10 Directors' table plus players which meant that 450 meals will be served and people accommodated on the night ; at this stage, Paul stated that this was the maximum number that the North Stand suite can hold. So that's where we are now.
I trust that you will see that the system we used was a fair and transparent one which I am only too happy to detail for you as above. A few things I should like you to bear in mind though :
*Ian and myself are volunteers. Ian works fulltime and runs his own company, I am retired but with family commitments and Chair of a very active Supporters' Group.We both are also members of the FF .We also both attend 99% of all matches, home & away , each season which takes up some of our "spare" time. And we pay for our tickets for this event. In fact, there are only 4 comps - Steve Rider , MC, and 2 for the guy who records the event , sorts the monitors etc .
*POTY is NOT an event run by the Club. It is run by the FF on BEHALF of the Club. As a result, there is no requirement for prioritising ticket purchase ie VIPs, VG, s tkt holders etc. We have no wish to access the Club's database - this is information for the Club only - nor would we have the time to do so. SHOULD it have been decided to prioritise in such a manner, there would barely be enough tickets to satisfy all the VIP 5 year tkt holders, let alone VG/annual s tkt holders. As Ian said, you can't fit a quart into a pint pot !
* Due to the fact that prioritising as above was not an option, and because this is an event for ALL fans, the policy we chose had to be "first come, first served" , making it accessible to everyone. We chose not to contact previous attendees , partly due to constraints on our time and partly due to setting a precedent. ie had we chosen that route, we would have to follow the same procedure NEXT year and with a 450 sell out this time, that would mean NO spaces for anyone else in 2013 . Surely that would not be fair ? The only means of advertising the event were the same as the Club uses for their events etc ie the Club website and matchday programmes. I believe we did check at an early stage in discussions whether the BIG Screen could be utilised but it was apparent that this is very costly. To think that last year we paid for posters around the ground in an endeavour to publicise the event further....
* Some unhappy fans have made contact via telephone calls or emails which Ian or myself have answered. Several stated they have attended the event every year but when I checked last season's list, oddly enough their names did not feature...To reiterate, we hold no records for years prior to our involvement 12 months ago , nor would we have any reason to do so. What transpired before the 2011 dinner is history now and we want to look forward.
I don't believe there is anything I can add to this , but feel free to post if you have any questions still unanswered. I hope that it has become apparent that whatever policy we chose to adopt, some people were going to miss out . It has already been stated that demand and the speed of sales shocked us and Club personnel in general. The question of a larger venue and how we might deal with selling tickets next time ( should we still be involved then) was raised at the most recent FF meeting in late March . It was agreed that the event must be held at The Valley for various reasons including the cost factor and the only suggested option would be to hold it on the pitch with a marquee although it was not clear whether this was viable. However, it was clear that the date that tickets go on sale should be advertised several weeks in advance...a kind of "save this date" reminder so that everyone is aware well in advance. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but ultimately, harsh as it may sound, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to keep abreast of what's happening and to react accordingly as we do when tickets for matches go on sale. Sorry , folks.
Hope that helped and wish I could conjure up another hundred or so places for 6th May ...but if you listen to Charlton Live on the night, BDL assures me it will feel as though you are with us !!!!
Onwards !!!
Jean