Crowd Figures Put Club In A Spin

John Powls wrote...

Vic

Why can't the Gazette have a relationship with Boro like Real Madrid has with Marca - half handling the club's PR and half acting like a 'normal' sports paper.

They seem to handle the partnership schizophrenia from both sides with credibility and the readership understands too.

We might then have someone handling the Boro PR in a way that is designed to recognise the fans as special customers and handle them like that.

If we could tie that in to a revolution in the club business structure that used the concept of a fan's trust and local business trust not as the 'take over in a crisis' mode but as partners in the business with the existing shareholders under Steve Gibson's Chairmanship. Each Trust could have one voting Board member representing its members. The trusts could raise revenue for the club thorugh share issues priced for all to be able to contribute - give as gifts etc. This could also tie in the many who live at a distance or abroad who will rarely buy tickets or season tickets.

It would give us all a say in the running of all of the club and a practical way to get our voices heard in the club and in the club's influence with local authorities. How could local politicians ignore a trust consisting of many/most of their current or future voters pre-organised round club issues?

It would also - if structured right - allow the trusts to influence but not override the Chairman, Chief Executive and Manager who have to retain the authority to make the decisions and account for them.

What I felt the other night - and have done on a few occasions over the years - is that when all of us; team, manager, staff, board, fans, local media want it badly enough and get together we can achieve near miracles. I was glad my son and I decided to make the round trip to be there for an experience we will remember forever. We should all want more or these more of the time and should organise to get it and sustain it. We came closest - in my experience - in the Jack Charlton era in the 'airbrushed' promotion season and the first season in Div 1.

I'm also old enough to remember a Jimmy Hill-ism from the era when he was raising Coventry from the doldrums and he said "You may be able to beat the team sometimes but you'll never beat the town!"

Wouldn't it be fitting if we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Boro's rebirth, phoenix-like from the ashes of a corporate failure by having a blaze of glory in winning the UEFA and FA Cups (not being greedy, you understand) and emerging from that victory beacon as the role models for a different, better 21st Century way of running a Premiership Club; sustainable, built on community and not oligarchs, fan/customer/shareholder and business friendly and successful.

Posted by: John Powls  | April 8, 2006 12:06 PM

mickymac wrote...

I would love it if I could buy some shares in my club.I wonder if Steve Gibson would release a share issue so we could have a coupe of (token)shares.It would be as good as having the latest team shirt.

Posted by: mickymac  | April 9, 2006 11:11 AM

Nigel wrote...

The club 'officials' who snipe at the supporters
for low attendences are fools, Mr. Lamb in particular should know better. Supporting a premiership club who are succesful in cup competitions is extremely expensive and he knows it. He should also remember that 'a small town in Europe' is a statement of fact. If Mr. Lamb can't forge a positive relationship with the supporters then he should consider his position because he is failing in a significant part of his job.

Posted by: Nigel  | April 10, 2006 12:13 PM

Mark G wrote...

The problem of diminishing crowds is a national one and it is down to one thing only - Rupert Murdoch. I'm afraid Sky has won the battle hands down.

Middlesbrough have lost 7-8 thousand fans who are now no longer bothered enough to turn up to the ground. Instead they'd wrather watch it at home or in the pub, just as Rupert Murdoch would want.

Listen to Century phone-in, how many of them say I saw the game on TV,or heard it on the radio etc? Under Bryan Robson Teesside was no more affluent but 34,000 used to turn up come rain or shine. It wasn't that the results were any better-in case anyone forgot we were relegated, it's just that Sky hadn't yet won the day.

I honestly cannot see us EVER filling the ground again. 5,000 spare seats against Arsenal - 4,000 against Man United , 4,000 against the Geordies - 10,000 against Roma and Basel.

What could possibly bring the stay away fans back again - nothing I suggest unless Sky is taken off the air which I don't want anyway because I enjoy watching other matches. So the whole thing is self fulfilling anyway.

Posted by: Mark G  | April 10, 2006 2:43 PM

Mick wrote...

The problem for low crowds stems way back to the 80's.

Remember football ID cards? They were the Tory governments idea in the fight to control the "football hooligans". Of course, that would mean that we would all be lumped together as if we were all criminals. Maybe we were seen that way? Football is a game for the common prole after all, isn't it?

Fortunately, it never came in. But, not long after this proposal came the Hillsborough disaster. Was it an just a terrible, terrible accident, or was there a more sinister reason for it? Liverpool fans say it was the police's fault, but no-one was ever punished for it?

It wouldn't serve a purpose for anyone to be found negligent. If it could be attributed to the design of the stadium, then changes would have to be made.

Clubs would have to either install seating in all areas of the ground or build new stadiums. That is exactly what the Taylor report said.

What do id cards and all seater stadiums have in common you may ask? Control! Everyone can be watched wherever they are and police know exactly who is sitting where. You can imagine the conversation in the control room "that man in the East Stand, row 36 seat 137 has just picked his nose, arrest him!"

I may be exagerating there, but not by much. Why should someone who falls asleep at a match be arrested and banned? Us fans have now been dragged into a police state where minor, insignificant things are treated as major. It isn't just about safety and preventing hooliganism, it is about herding us all like sheep. We are treated worse than naughty children.

Bernie Slaven used to say that in the future we would be strapped to our seat and released only at half time and full time. Well, no smoke no fire, eh?

Why is it stopping the fans coming, though? Well those who are not banned for life for looking at a steward the wrong way can't afford it. New stadiums cost money. We may still be paying the debt off for this one.

Also, we have a limited capacity now. Stadiums with standing areas would allow a lot more people and therefore reduce the cost of a ticket. I always said that we should build a large capacity stadium. That way, we could get more fans in (charging less per ticket) and still make the same money overall. But. the club knew better.

We used to fill the stadium at first when all the Marton happy clappers wanted to see our nice new stadium and participate in ridiculous forms of "American" entertainment such foam hand waving and clapping along to pigbag. (As an aside, who wants to hear pigbag when we start a game or score? All I want to hear is the ROAR of the crowd.)

But now, all of this doesn't appeal to the Marton happy clapper anymore. They've lost interest. And what of the fanbase that MFC relied upon at Ayresome Park?

Oh, you mean the salt of the earth working class types on low (or no) wages? They were priced out long ago. They would love to come to the Riverside regularly, but they have to carefully pick and choose which matches they want to go to, or maybe they can never afford to go! Ticket prices are too expensive these days.

Well, the governement won in the end. They helped price these proletariat hooligans out of the game and have, in partnership with sky, ruined the matchday experience. The atmosphere is not as good as it used to be because:

a. many of real fans are priced out
b. standing areas were always better atmosphere wise, at any club!

There are ways in which standing areas could be made possible, like in Italy where pressure sensitive barriers are in place that collapse when too much pressure is exerted on them, but it never be implemented. Why I wonder?

Please, let me know what you think. I hope I haven't offended anyone with my comments (apart from those responsible for the Hillsborough disaster; you still have a lot to answer for!).

And if you thought there couldn't possibly be any connection between football id cards and the Hillsborough disaster, think of the id cards that they are trying to force on everyone right now.

It was put to the vote to see if public opinion supported them; it didn't. 4 days later, the London bombings happened and we were told that we would have to have id cards now "for our safety". Hmmmmm......

Posted by: Mick  | April 10, 2006 6:34 PM

Mel Gaunt wrote...

Yet more negative stuff from a top Boro official, namely Dave Allen who tells us that it's all Steaue's fault that tickets won't be available till Sunday at the earliest so posting them is not an option. Why not?

The Post Office does a Guaranteed next day before 0900 delivery fo a fiver. Another option would be to arrange a meet in Bucharest and hand over tickets there.

I've already spent £375 on flight and digs and am working this weekend to get the extra cash to help pay for this, and get the lieu days to attend midweek.

Mr Allen should step out of his cosseted world of busuness class and directors box tickets and join exiles like me (and their are hundreds) who spend money and time to support Boro wherever.

I'm just hoping that those brilliant ladies in the Ticket Office have more imagination and flexibility than Mr Allen.

Kind regards from Melvyn (with a full head of steam up)!

Posted by: Mel Gaunt  | April 14, 2006 5:28 PM