Teething problems

so game management then, to protect the lead into half time?

 

I feel compelled to but also bottle bar was out of (cider) stock at half time. As if the company didn’t have nearly 18 months to stock up. I forecast it before the game. Annoying. Simple things.

 

Ball Boys at Oakwell look like they can't be bothered. Their goalkeeper had to go fetch the ball down in the corner of the North stand in the first half whilst 2 ballboys just sat looking at their phones. Can't remember one instance of a ball boy actually going to fetch a ball. I'd let the local junior clubs be ball Boys. I'm sure they'd show a bit more enthusiasm.

 

With two home games though in four days as long as there are crates of the stuff any new staff can shift it. £4 in my pocket rather than BFC.

 

I love that they have digitised the season ticket but you still can’t pay with your card for refreshments. Surely the smart thing to do is link your digital ticket to your card and pay via the app.

Oakwell definitely needs some TLC. The annoying thing is even if they can’t resource the clean up they could have a volunteer day. Get us mugs to do it then a 5 minute meet and greet with staff. It’s not hard.

I used to laugh when I lived near Hillsborough at how dilapidated it was but we are certainly getting that way. If you can spend a million quid on a player you can raid B&Q for some paint and Wilkos for some wipes and sanitizer.

Le sigh.

 

Would it have been a better decision politically to have the supporters trust or similar take over the catering?

 

yes you are probably right. The are missing a trick one way or the other though. Especially post Covid people are wary of cash.

 

If they really don't accept card for refreshments then that's absolutely mental. Literally the only other companies I know of that don't accept card (in 2021! at the end of a pandemic!) are in places that just don't have phone reception or reliable internet. We're talking Scottish islands here.

If Frank down Birmingham market has managed to nip to Argos for a cheap tablet and a card reader then it's utterly bizarre that this hasn't occurred to a multi-million pound business after more than a year of downtime in which to get it sorted. Anybody else apart from a football club trying to run a cash-only operation at the moment would surely get laughed out of business.

 

Bolton had a queue for cash and one for card. Problem solved!

 

I suppose they’ve never felt the need as they’ve always ran out of everything, including hot water, often even before half time. It’s like a few years ago when they’d run out of shirts ten minutes into the Open Day, consider it a great success and promptly order the same amount the year after. You don’t need to attract more customers when you don’t have enough stock to service the ones who are already interested.

 

Definitely 100% correct. My mate asked on Saturday and they said no so I had to pay with some random 20 quid I had in my pocket. Absolutely barmy when as you say your local one man band bakers have managed to sort it out.

 

I guess so! I just find it completely bizarre that in a time where new bars and restaurants are opening up all over the place with really interesting offerings the club insists on treating its catering offer as an annoyance rather than an obvious opportunity to make some real money.

They're definitely not alone in the football industry, and I know I'm coming at it from somebody who's in the food and drink sector, but the lost opportunities there are painful. They've got more than 10,000 people gathered in one place every fortnight with pretty much an absolute monopoly over what they can eat and drink for the best part of two hours. Putting a decent offering together should be an absolute dream of a job.

 

Oh, I know. I’ve written many a post about the matter over the years.