The 1st priority is to address the product that we all pay our hard earned money to watch. Play exciting, attractive football and that would in itself entice people to come through the turnstiles. Due to the current economic climate its always going to be difficult to increase attendances. Keep playing the way we are and the opposite will happen.
Maybe so, you'd have to get someone with more financial nous than me to do the figures, but I genuinely think the biggest untapped potential is the pride that Barnsley people have for their town. Make everything about the club, the match day experience etc about the town and its people and I think a lot more people would buy into it. If they had any idea at all, Ben Mansford et al would get Dyson, Cunning Stunt, Michael Roach etc on board to come up with strategies to re-engage the Barnsley public. WSB is a fantastic publication and these lads have the ability to tap into what the people really want. It's got to all be a bit League of Gentlemen for me - a local club for local people!
Season ticket prices should reduce as more people sign up - that would incentive every ticket holder to promote the sale of more tickets. Start at £350 and end at £150 when the ground is full.
It's a real chicken and egg situation though isn't it. The crowds won't return until we do well, but the best chance of us doing well, nay the only chance of us doing well, is by more fans coming through the gates, enabling us to attract better players. Actually, there is another way, but that involves us dropping lucky with a combination of free transfers and academy kids and we can't rely on that happening. The best way for us to move forward is by every season ticket holder nagging someone to come along to each match who otherwise wouldn't. That would practically fill the home end every week and give Danny the money to work with, because money is very unlikely to come from any other source than player sales next season and we all know what happens when we sell a player! But the team have to do their bit and respond to the larger crowds in order to keep these new fans coming back. Dropping the prices won't help, as we've done it before to no success. Anyway, as season tickets are already on sale it's too late. What I would have done is make a promise on the sale of season tickets that if we sold x amount we all get a free ticket for the first home cup match upon production of one of the vouchers, if we sell y amount we get tickets for all home cup matches and if we sell z amount we get a £20 voucher to spend in the club shop. Something along those lines.
Wakefield Trinity tried that and it worked really well. They challenged the fans that if they sold 5,000 season tickets (about two years ago) then season tickets would be £99 for the season. They had actual players ringing round their database after training asking if they could rely on their support, and posted regular updates as to where the tally was. Agree with everything you've said above, other than the bit where you say we've tried dropping prices and it doesn't work. We've dropped prices, but we've never backed a drop in prices with a full on campaign to support it. It's like we've half heartedly dropped prices and expected fans to run around town putting posters up.
With season tickets already on sale for 2014-15, if we're going to be innovative, it'd have to be for the season after next. What we could do is say: to be financially viable, we need to sell, say, £4million worth of season tickets. Then the club and the fans set about hitting that figure in whatever way they can. If you're well-off and so inclined because you love Barnsley, chuck a grand in. If you're not well-off and love Barnsley, you can get in for £50. Start doing it now, and hold the money in escrow until, say, March 1 2015. If we've hit the target, hand out the tickets. If not, you get your money back and season tickets go on sale for a ~£300 flat fee again.
Never said they did. However, he was a fan that had the opportunity to help at a time we needed it. I now think that after 5 or 6 years it's quite obvious that we need a change at the top as we've not progressed. If we have to have a strategy of spend what we earn, we need someone in charge that can help us with that. I don't think we do.
Another dig at the chairman Dyson, not sure why but he's one of the people that can help us. Commercially I don't think theres a better person in the football league at it. Hopefully he'll spend time on it soon.
As I understand it Parachute payments have been set aside to guarantee the future of the club. I'm up for the investing in the club stuff though maybe on. Sliding scale from 100 quid upwards.
A dig is a subtle message. I don't want him as our Chairman. I want a Chairman who can offer day to day help to the club and be around. Not someone who will turn up half a day a month.
Wonder if the Trust will look to get us organised? Because I think they are still after Supporter Ownership? If they don't, we do it ourselves.
No worries pal. Does that Michael Roach who wrote the article in WSB post on here? Totally agreed with what he wrote in the fanzine, might check out onthepontyend.com...