What "Rights" Do Fans Have (If Any)

To information from the club?

The club are basically asking fans for a £325+ investment, two months in advance based on absolutely nothing other than blind faith. We are not told what they are going to do with our investment and are drip fed the most vague information throughout the season which results in mixed messages.

In these increasingly austere times should all clubs be working harder to show fans why their investment is so vital and what the club intend to do with it other than sticking it in the bank in case we get relegated.

I'm sure the usual suspects will say it's none of our business but I beg to differ. A bit of honesty goes a long way.

 

they will "honestly" provide you with access to oakwell and a seat to sit in once inside for 23 games of football this year. thats what you are paying for and thats what they will provide.

 

spot on

 

When you go to the cinema you pay for your ticket before you've seen the film.

Often the film is disappointing and this puts you off going for a while. But occasionally you see a cracking film that you go on about for days to your mates.

 

Nobodys got a crystal ball mate....the best they can do is make forcasts,and hope they can achieve. If promises were made and not kept, that would be throne back in there face...
I think you either back the club unconditionally....or not...thick n thin..en all that..

 

No rights what so ever. We're really just customers that the club are trying to attract to their product.

But it makes sense for them to share and make people feel a part of the club. That's done through a relative openness & access but nothing that any other business wouldn't do.

 

First of all it isn't an investment it's the purchase of a service, the right to occupy a seat.

Secondly, the seat is still warm from Don Rowing's bum and the new gentlemen haven't even take their coats off.

Finally, we don't have right to information although I do accept that in this IT age where there is more access to real time information the media should be managed efficiently.

Let me take you back to the ways things used to be, simpler times when folk were errr... simple in my case. (queue violin music and sepia vision).

It was May and the final whistle blows on the last match (there was never anything on it as we were always thirteenth in the league), our simple folk clap the players off and their minds turned to summer activities, tending the crops in the fields... err no sorry that didn't happen. No it was the Cup final and beyond that the test matches and for the more avant garde, Wimbledon and that nice Mr Borg and the brat Mcenroe. A week in Skegvegas or for the more cultured Benidorm. Eventually as the players came back for pre season our simple folks minds would turn to the coming season.

The interest gathered a pace with the font of all knowledge ,Lodge senior imparting snippets of information on the back page to salivate upon with your mates in the pub... none of yer fancy lardidah mobiles texts etc... you know 'facemail' as it is now known.

Then in August you'd turn up at Oakwell, it was always 90 degrees, the players always looked good in their blood red shirts, Marbella sun tans and Barnsley blond streaks in their hair... the fact that you rarely knew any of the new ones didn't bother the simple folk and the cycle would begin again.

The simple folk tugged their fore lock and shuffled back to their hovels content in knowing that their betters had laid before them such a fine spectacle (that last line is for Redstar to explode about)

The point I'm trying to make is that back in the day my involvement in football was get up on a Saturday, have a pint with mi mates, go to the match shout a lot, have a pie, cheer or moan and then go home for mi tea.

I didn't 'invest' feel 'disenfranchised' or 'unloved' if the club didn't advise me of their 'strategic planning' I was a fan in much simpler times.

I think any fan above the age of 40 will understand whereas those under may not.

 

Kin'ell.

 

I think the same principle should apply to the business side of things as to the on-field tactics.

The club would not be expected to announce the team, complete with formation, intended tactics, players' specific roles etc on Thursday afternoon. The element of surprise is too important.

Similarly, the club's business intentions are private, like any other business. Most businesses have plans for investment, new product development, staff development and recruitment etc. They are obviously kept private to avoid giving competitors an advantage.

I believe we should give the new guys a chance and see what happens.

 

They are going to pay the bills, organise some football matches and keep Oakwell standing for another season. That's where your 'investment' goes and that's all you need to know. It's the same every season, you don't actually think your 'investment' pays for anything else do you? Oh dear, you poor lamb....

 

Everytime someone asks a question you see it as making an excuse. Tedious. I've renewed already.

 

Fans don't care about such rights. They just go and watch the footy and support the team. Personally my ST gives me the right to sit in the seat I have chosen, and that's it.

 

Just thought of a right. The right to come on here (or go to the pub or wherever) and moan a bucket load. A right worth fighting for.

 

No-one is forcing you to buy a season ticket, the rights you seem to think you are entitled to are quite simply the right to either buy a season ticket or not buy a season ticket, do as you see fit.

 

Beat me to it!

 

I am very grateful that you and your fellow administrators provide this outlet for the outpourings for the feelings of myself and my fellow supporters who need to be able to air their feelings about all things BFC. It is obvious that you see yourself as not only a provider of a safety valve, but also as a conduit for the feelings of the BBS to the club. Hence, you have built up connections to the club and have organised meetings between fans and representatives of the club, in the belief that by bringing the two sides together, you will strengthen the bonds between supporters and team. All this is very praiseworthy if you follow the logic that those ties will increase the loyalty of fans, and will therefore guarantee the revenue streams that are necessary to sustain or increase budgets. Whilst, there is some justification for arguing that the hardcore fan needs to feel loved by the club, in most cases, these are the fans that will turn up and support in spite of results. In order to increase revenues, the club must lure back the floating supporter, the supporter who votes with their feet. These floating fans are unlikely to feel the love in the room. There is only one thing that will get them back to the club in numbers, and that is a sustained period of better results. Wittering on about the match day experience, half time entertainment, effective communication with the fans and getting the next generation involved is all hot air if the team is constantly struggling, which apart from the odd sunny interlude, is exactly what has happened for the last 7 years. A string of wins and a chance of a top six finish brings positive thinking and ambition to the fan base. Talk in the pubs and at work becomes enthusiastic and word of mouth recommendations gets the floating supporter to try again. The ball starts rolling and attendances improve. This season, the club has limited funds to invest in better players. If it is to break the cycle of "21st will do" that has gripped it for years, it must make that effort. It has started well. There is a new management team in place. It is now time to grab the opportunity.

 

Top marks..