How many more chances do we need to get it right?

[Urchinfanatical]

Firstly,before I let off a bit of steam,I would like to congratulate the team and all of those involved with the club on a truly magnificent season.

 

I have been watching the club for over 10 years now and while I very rarely post anymore,I do still contribute somewhat,albeit under another name.I have used a new name for this particular post as I believe it's in MY best interests to remain anonymous while posting this.

I,like many on here have moaned about one thing in particular,this thing irritates me greatly as I know it does others,but something has to be said ONCE MORE.

We are in a wonderful position compared to when the club was taken over back in 2009 but one thing hasn't changed and that is the farcical levels of communication between the Club and it's fans.There are clubs in the Essex Senior League who get information out quicker than AFC Hornchurch.It's ridiculous and the crying shame is,reading through the forum that there are more than a few individuals who would be willing to share such information at a moments notice.

Take twitter for example,rob and Andy have got it up to over 200 followers in the space of a little over a week,there is a Facebook page,there is this forum and we get games put into the Bulletin,on top of this we seem to have a healthy relationship with the Romford Recorder.The Recorder aside,it seems that the information coming onto these other media outlets is coming from anyone and everyone apart from OUR club.

Take the latest edition of the Romford Recorder,there is a plea for sponsorship,asking people to come forward to sponsor the club.Why on earth is this stuff not being put on the website first,do we not have anyone amongst us who works or owns their own business? I could name 10 off the top of my head,probably more given a bit of time but for some reason the club just thinks the website is more of a hinderance.

Pre Season friendlies,every single one that we know about has been found from other clubs websites this is actually what prompted me to make this post.It's a slap in the face for us fans to constantly find information from other sources.

We are a conference south club,please sort it out.

It's almost as if some people just don't like websites and forums.In fact I know one of the current owners dislikes the forum,the others seem ok with it with Colin appearing on here from time to time but another owner doesn't seem too hung up on it,to the extent that a couple of years ago they shunned the owner of this very forum for turning up,claiming we didn't need them in front of a few regulars at the bar.Wake up man.this is 2012 and clubs need these tools to survive.We saw last year that winning matches isn't always enough to get the crowds through the gates.Embrace the media sides of things and you may just find that it helps you out.Please for the sake of this club just listen to us for once.

[Eastside Urchin]

Ouch.

When i first read the post i thought that it was a bit over the top but i can see where you are coming from.

It is a bit of a pain to get our information second hand.

I know with sponsporship that perhaps the club feel they have approached the people they think could potentially help out but i suppose there is always someone out there who reads the forum/website or recorder who could help,who knows

With regards to pre season,i think for clubs its more about the playing side of things,getting the players fit etc,the matches themselves are more like an afterthought,the results are relatively unimportant but the fans do like to watch them and while this time of year its quiet news wise,these fixtures are eagerly awaited by some fans.

The website is changing,should be ready by July,hopefully news will be forthcoming with its arrival,we have an AGM this thursday,if you are an existing member or want to join,why not turn up,ask some questions as the owners of the club are,i believe in attendance.

I am not aware of the incident in the bar so can't comment on that to be honest.

I do agree that nowadays,news and constant news however big or small it is,if put out correctly can benefit the club massively.

[andydick]

It's an interesting post and one which does raise a number of valid points.

 

Clearly the club has come a long way in the last couple of years and quite understandably certain aspects of the business are not necessarily given 100% focus and I suspect media (as a whole) may fall into that category.

 

My view is quite simple and it's purely one of assigning ownership / responsibility. Ideally, anyone responsible for publishing information about the club, whether this is looking for sponsorship, announcing sponsorship packages, announcing friendlies, publishing season ticket prices, key dates (AGMs), player arrivals/departures MUST BE responsible for publishing that same information on the website (either directly or indirectly). Then, with a couple of widgets in place on the website we can automatically publish these articles to Twitter and Facebook at no extra cost. That way we get the information in the public domain and available to those interested in whatever format they subscribe to.

 

At the end of the day we're only talking information flow and the management of it. Possibly a bit more work for the Webmaster but assuming we set the site up as multi-admin with a good content management system in place then it's a breeze.

 

EDIT: What I suspect we don't have is a tonne of extra resource to throw at the media side of things, so it's essential we have an efficient as possible process in place to get the info out and a good set of tools that we can use to help us do it.

 

Andy.

Edited June 4, 2012 by andydick

[obis]

does anyone know how many hits the website has, and how many Urchins regularly use the Forum?

[Lord Upminster]

Fair Comment.

 

Food for thought for the up and comming AGM.

[Eastside Urchin]

Many people look at the forum and website as similar entities,they are not.

The Forum is a discussion board for topics involving the club,the website is an information board,and is used to get information out there.

My guess is that the hardcore supporters will look at the forum first for info,simply because a fair amount of gossip goes on here.

The website however is used by many to look at matches,info,stats,results,player,ground info etc.

Both are essential tools although the forum tends to be far more controversial as its unofficial

[Serious Sid]

Communication, or the lack of it, was my main beef in the years I looked after the website. It irritated me when I read news in the Recorder which should have been on our website first. I did voice my concerns to the Management on quite a few occasions but despite promises nothing really changed. I do believe some people at the Club underestimate the importance of the website - and to be really honest if communication from the Club had been good I would probably have carried on the job for another five years! When I do a job I like to do it to my best ability and the lack of communication from the Club prevented this. Mind you, I don't think I have the skills to take the website to the next level so its good that someone more competent has picked up the reins.

 

At the moment the website hit count is 676071 - that's in five years.

 

I shall be at the AGM on Thursday as I have to bring along the Season Tickets. I am sure the communication issue will raise its head again and I am sure promises will again be made but time will tell if leopards really can change their spots!

[Eastside Urchin]

so thats around 135'000 clicks per season

[Lord Upminster]

The club need to keep up with the times and take ownership of the web site seriously and use it as the powerful tool it could become. It should be the shop window of the club and its most powerful marketing tool (together with success on the pitch) to increase its fan base and ultimately revenue.

 

The website should be the official mouthpiece for the club, while the fans have the forum to air their many and diverse views and opinions of all things football and AFC Hornchurch.

[Serious Sid]

so thats around 135'000 clicks per season

 

Indeed. That's why I got so frustrated. I could see the website was popular and being visited over three thousand times a week yet people had to buy the Recorder to find out what was really going on at the Club. I made the point that if someone from the Club could communicate with the press why couldn't they communicate with me? My conclusion was they felt the website was inconsequential.

 

Yes, the website is our 'shop window' - which I also pointed out to deaf ears.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Serious Sid

[Eastside Urchin]

My personal opinion is that while posters used to be the best tool,maybe they still are as they are in the face on shop windows,the website,twitter etc are fast becoming as important,if not more.

I think that if all avenues were used effectively,our gate could increase to around 5-600.

[andydick]

My personal opinion is that while posters used to be the best tool,maybe they still are as they are in the face on shop windows,the website,twitter etc are fast becoming as important,if not more.

I think that if all avenues were used effectively,our gate could increase to around 5-600.

 

Would agree ..

 

Not everyone looks at the website, not everyone uses emails, not everyone facebooks and not everyone Twitters but most people who use the web will do one of them hence the need to get the info onto all media as well as the more traditional methods .. newspapers, posters etc.

Edited June 4, 2012 by andydick

[bridgefan]

Re Sponsorship - I would hope that if any fans have businesses or contacts that may be prepared to sponsor the club in any way that they would come forward and contact the club direct (rather than waiting to be contacted).

 

I agree that it is frustrating that information regarding friendlies, signings, injuries etc. are not shared and are often found out from other sources.

 

We should continue to encourage the Club to share such information on the website. In my view, the website should be the club's official mechanism for publishing information to the fans - moreso than the local paper.

 

Looking at it from the Club's point of view they may be equally frustrated with the supporters - for instance, those that run the club put in a huge amount of time to keep the club going (and get it promoted) and they desperately want more ongoing/weekly help from a wider group - The forum post for 'help needed' has only attracted two offers for help on clear up day and no offers of any additional ongoing/weekly help.

 

More action and participation from supporters (rather than just ideas/moaning) might give more time/impetus for the Club to communicate more. Surely its worth a try.

 

 

[BUFC]

 

 

I have been watching the club for over 10 years now and while I very rarely post anymore,I do still contribute somewhat,albeit under another name.I have used a new name for this particular post as I believe it's in MY best interests to remain anonymous while posting this.

 

 

Cant be Annie then...........too intelligent a post

Could be EU double bluffing - but there arent enough spelling mistakes

 

I will go for Treeboy....he has a way with words

[Eastside Urchin]

Ha ha you C0ck

I'll have you know that away from these forums my spelling is usually second to none but its not me and I doubt its treeboy either

[andydick]

 

Looking at it from the Club's point of view they may be equally frustrated with the supporters - for instance, those that run the club put in a huge amount of time to keep the club going (and get it promoted) and they desperately want more ongoing/weekly help from a wider group - The forum post for 'help needed' has only attracted two offers for help on clear up day and no offers of any additional ongoing/weekly help.

 

More action and participation from supporters (rather than just ideas/moaning) might give more time/impetus for the Club to communicate more. Surely its worth a try.

 

Let's not get into a tit for tat here .. at the end of the day the club needs to communicate a damn sight more than it is at the moment and there are people who are working very hard to lay down the infrastructure (kimble on the website, Rob with social media etc etc) to enable that to happen. That doesn't mean they aren't "participating" - participating isn't just standing on the running track with a broom in their hands !

 

Ideas aren't bad things; moaning isn't bad providing those moaning can offer a solution. All we can do as supporters is partner with the club to work out which of those ideas/solutions are viable given the constraints (financial and personnel) of the club. We can't boil the ocean but what we can do is get the foundations right then work towards knocking the first few items off the "to do" list.

 

If that "to do" list has sweep the running track near the top then that's cool - count me in for a session or two

 

Andy.

Edited June 5, 2012 by andydick

[Eastside Urchin]

I spoke to Colin earlier.

He understands to an extent some of the frustration with regards to communication and he has asked kimble to call him twice a week to gain information from the club.On top of this,any other information of importance will probably be put out straight away.

I think these threads are important to the club as are ideas from the fans but mark pointed out (as did colin in my convo with him) that only two people replied to the"help needed" thread.I am sure the usual suspects will rally round to give help as usual but we do need more.I think the club do get somewhat frustrated at the low numbers who turn up to events and days of help,I know I do at times but maybe this is something we could benefit from with our new outake on the media side of things,as for ideas,nothing wrong with a constant flow of ideas,many will be impractical but every now and then a few good ones come up and I certainly wouldn't discourage people from making ideas

[bridgefan]

 

Looking at it from the Club's point of view they may be equally frustrated with the supporters - for instance, those that run the club put in a huge amount of time to keep the club going (and get it promoted) and they desperately want more ongoing/weekly help from a wider group - The forum post for 'help needed' has only attracted two offers for help on clear up day and no offers of any additional ongoing/weekly help.

 

More action and participation from supporters (rather than just ideas/moaning) might give more time/impetus for the Club to communicate more. Surely its worth a try.

 

Let's not get into a tit for tat here .. at the end of the day the club needs to communicate a damn sight more than it is at the moment and there are people who are working very hard to lay down the infrastructure (kimble on the website, Rob with social media etc etc) to enable that to happen. That doesn't mean they aren't "participating" - participating isn't just standing on the running track with a broom in their hands !

 

Ideas aren't bad things; moaning isn't bad providing those moaning can offer a solution. All we can do as supporters is partner with the club to work out which of those ideas/solutions are viable given the constraints (financial and personnel) of the club. We can't boil the ocean but what we can do is get the foundations right then work towards knocking the first few items off the "to do" list.

 

If that "to do" list has sweep the running track near the top then that's cool - count me in for a session or two

 

Andy.

 

Don't know where you get 'tit for tat' from - certainly none intended.

 

I am just saying that the Club have been frustrated with the levels of help in the past and stating a fact that the Club want/need more help on matchdays (they have recently said that this is their no.1 priority from us as fans for next season) - this particularly includes regular help with stewarding, cleaning and litter

 

I also agree that perticipating isn't just standing on the running track with a broom (I didn't say that) - as you probably know the people that currently help out the club do so in a variety of ways including fundraising, social events, SA membership, matchday support, publicity, away travel etc. Help is needed across this range of activities and a number of specifics have been agreed with the Club and will be discussed at the AGM.

 

My point remains. To continue to move forward in a higher division we need more people to help. Many hands make lighter work.

 

Its not that I don't like ideas and constructive criticism - I welcome them - I just want people (even every now and again) to put forward their idea and also suggest how they could get involved to make it happen. Indeed your own example of getting involved and moving the online publicity forward is exactly the sort of thing I mean.

 

I look forward to sharing a broom with you (although sweeper was never my best position)

[Eastside Urchin]

Get a room you two but dont slip otherwise the broom insertion may hurt

[andydick]

 

Don't know where you get 'tit for tat' from - certainly none intended.

 

I am just saying that the Club have been frustrated with the levels of help in the past and stating a fact that the Club want/need more help on matchdays (they have recently said that this is their no.1 priority from us as fans for next season) - this particularly includes regular help with stewarding, cleaning and litter

 

I also agree that perticipating isn't just standing on the running track with a broom (I didn't say that) - as you probably know the people that currently help out the club do so in a variety of ways including fundraising, social events, SA membership, matchday support, publicity, away travel etc. Help is needed across this range of activities and a number of specifics have been agreed with the Club and will be discussed at the AGM.

 

My point remains. To continue to move forward in a higher division we need more people to help. Many hands make lighter work.

 

Its not that I don't like ideas and constructive criticism - I welcome them - I just want people (even every now and again) to put forward their idea and also suggest how they could get involved to make it happen. Indeed your own example of getting involved and moving the online publicity forward is exactly the sort of thing I mean.

 

I look forward to sharing a broom with you (although sweeper was never my best position)

 

Good stuff ..

 

As I said, all we can do as supporters is partner with the club to work out what the best way forward is. If the club's number 1 priority is to source additional matchday help then that's what we have to focus on but I'd still maintain a lot of the backgroundy, behind the scenes stuff still needs to happen because having some of this in place will allow the club to reach out to more people and hopefully secure that much needed help. Since the uptake via this forum isn't great, perhaps we should be putting something out on our other media channels .. either now or once the date for CDay (Clean-Up Day) has been announced.