Eastside Urchin Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I know in the past we have looked at things other clubs fans have done to get people through the turnstiles , or for ideas for fanzines, Displays etc But it appears that most Non League clubs could learn from Dulwich Hamlet after yesterday's clash with Hampton & Richmond pulled in 2856 fans. They used Non League Day and ended up with more fans than for their last game of last season where a win would guarantee a play off spot. They offered fans a chance to pay what you wanted to and while many would probably have put a couple of quid in,the usual hardcore would probably put the usual fee and a bit more in and on top of that they would if made a small fortune on goods , food,raffles and drinks. Yes we was hampered by not knowing till a couple of weeks ago if we were going to be playing at home or not but two weeks is a long time,clubs can arrange all sorts of things for an FA Cup match which is drawn ten days previously so we should of been able to do the same via the Supporters Association,sadly this appears to be hampered by having a meeting once a month ,which isn't itself a problem and is probably standard for most clubs but from being chair to the Comittee for a few years it was frowned upon to have e mail discussions about certain topics in case it confused certain people but in this day and age and with certain problems re our ground,perhaps with hindsight it would be something that should of been looked at. I know some people will feel I am digging the SA Comittee out,I am not,I only bring these things up because I want the best for the club and floodlight problem or not,we had about two weeks where something could of at least been advertised. I put something on here on Wednesday and not one Comittee member responded,yes not all use the forum but I bet most saw it. The fact of the matter is ,that we had 350 through the gate yesterday playing the league leaders in our first home game of the season,and Dulwich got nearly 10 times as many as us playing a near bottom of the table side. Say those 2500 extra fans that Dulwich had paid £7 each ,they will currently have £17500 more from one game than us and probably another £5-10000 from other means. Think about that the next time we are moaning about funds being available to strengthen the team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obis Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 This calls for OPERATION 500. Lets get all the ideas together to improve the gates. I'll kick it off: 1. Pay what you want. Albion Rovers have done this with moderate success but with decent profile for the club. Worth a try but I would suggest bring a friend for free or a loyalty card? 2. Print a few hundred red and white balloons and give these out in Upminster and Hornchurch town centres. If nothing else will give us some exposure. 3. Discounted season tickets. Say £100. Bradford City have done similar and they have doubled their gate. Not fair on those who have paid full amount but I'm sure they would be delighted if it worked. 4. Lets have some more colour. I would bet that those who want shirts and scarves would have bought by now, So what about a scarf seller next to the programme table with scarves at close to cost price or similar idea. ................ come on, ideas please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obis Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 p.s. I know that the Management do read the Forum (Colin said so in the match programme) so what about some ideas from them? This club needs our support more than ever. WE are all in this together OPERATION 500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 The one thing I noticed yesterday was that there was nothing enticing anyone to buy anything but raffle tickets,programmes and Supporters association membership which Kevin seems to have done a cracking job so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagger03 Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Rob - when we had other items on sale at the entrance last season, we had complaints that there were too many people selling things and that it was intimidating - I agree that we need a stall close to the entrance as the club shop is too far away. The intention was to have the club shop on the right of the steps leading up to the clubhouse but this seems to have been forgotten. We can get a table out close to the entrance, though only if the weather is favourable. I am taking orders for the new strip - if anyone wants the new strip they will need to order it in advance as the buying-in price is excessive (compared to last season), and I will need a £10 deposit. The Pay What you Want idea is nothing new - it might work once but I have doubts that it will attract any more people in the long run - if you look at the gates yesterday, it was only Dulwich who really did well - an excellent turnout there, though they are very much on a high at the moment. No other Isthmian club had significantly higher attendances. The reduced price season tickets is a ridiculous idea so early in the season - the season has only just begun, and it is not logical to suggest £100 for a 'reduced price ticket' (i.e. just £5 per match) - we tried it last season (midway through the season) and there was no interest at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 I always say that it gets cluttered at the front gates so not sure selling things in such a small space is the answer,but notifying people where they can is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside_Aggro Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 nowadays for the modern football fan it is too much money, from the premier league right the way through to those below us its the cost which drives many people away, could be something that is addressed but doubt it will go much further than what's mentioned on here. Take lowestoft away last season, unfortunately I wasn't there as i was busy but we took 3 coaches in total and for us in this league that is quite a lot of fans. Few people did mention to me that no scarfs or hats were available for all the new fans that jumped on the coach, not digging at anyone but its little things like that that can bring a bit more cash to the club, What dagger03 said about the club shop situation is true as it is too far away from the entrance to the ground, any away fans / New fans dont want to take a look around because they are either in the bar drinking or the shop is shut. Taking it back to money, it is a lot when you look at it. By the time you've paid the entry fee, bought yourself a drink & maybe something to eat then paid out for the new strip or a scarf you've already spent in the region of £20-60. Now that is a hell of a lot of money to spend at football and the match ball hasn't even been kicked yet, i know people at this club try extremely hard to get people through the gates & on the coaches to go to away matches but it is hard to do so when we have got so many clubs around us, Aveley & thurrock down the road, Dagenham & redbridge are a stones throw & so are west ham, Thats 4 other teams (2 of them higher up on the football pyramid) we have got to compete with and its a tough challege to do so. Dulwich only did well because the football club is next door to a massive supermarket and slap bang in the middle of Dulwich, Everyone knows there is a football team there. When its advertised then its up to the people whether they turn up or not, Clearly a lot of people did on saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cup of tea Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 All true. The other problem we have is that it's great to have ideas but we need the people to put some of those ideas into practice, or in the terms of advertising and marketing, most of the ideas will cost money and I'm not sure of what returns you would get on it. It's difficult, I think we just need to keep doing all we can and just build up the club over a period of time, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydick Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Exactly that Simon .. it's about ideas and being able to implement them. It's no good folk just posting on here saying things are wrong and sniping about the SA without actually offering any solutions .. that's no use to anyone. When we have run promotions .. handing flyers out in Upminster/Hornchurch town centre, shop window flyers, letterbox drops etc the benefits are negligible but then again we need to do this on a sustained basis not just as a one-off .. and that's a big ask for anyone (or even a group) to do. Personally, I don't think it's an advertising/marketing thing anyway. For the bigger games we get bigger crowds. Hereford last season .. 700+ non Hereford fans then we get 180 2 weeks later. Yes, there's always room for improvement but we get the majority of key messages out there whether via the website, Facebook or Twitter. Re Saturday, our crowd was 48% up on the Margate game last year (353 v 238). Different situation, granted .. first home game vs Christmas game; more away support this time, but then again we were top(pish) last season compared to bottom now. We can draw any number of conclusions from that. Some good points from obis, E_A, and dagger but these need club involvement. One recommendation I would make is that the SA and the club need to work much closer together so we can talk through these types of suggestions and feed back opinion etc to those who take the time to propose the ideas. At the end of the day the key objective for both the club and the SA is for a successful AFC Hornchurch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 I wouldn't have to come on here "sniping" as you call it if in the last two years of my tenure as chairmanship,some of the people on the Comittee would of bothered listening to me. Anyone who has been on there for the last 2-3 years would of easily seen my enthusiasm drain away in front of their eyes. In fact the one person I pushed the hardest to get onto the Comittee,young Jordan,the future of this club along with other teens,young men I can see feeling the same way as me and they've told me. The enthusiasm is going because there's no get up and go anymore. There's no fresh ideas,it's stale,it's a rigmarole. You turn up to a meeting and wish it away as quick as possible as some people want to get home to watch football,watch Eastenders,or go to work etc. Let's not kid ourselves,I can't remember the last time I went to a SA meeting with a spring in my step thinking I was going there to make a difference to my club,and people wonder if it was just a few other situations why I quit. It needs new blood,I am not saying it needs a mass exodus of people to leave the committee but it needs freshening up,enthusiasm,people with fresh ideas who love the club. If you had asked me 12 months ago what two young fans were the future if this club I would if said Jordan Newman and Harry Lucock. 12 months later One is a season ticket holder at crystal palace and the other although still a staunch urchin (as is Harry),is following arsenal more and more. Wake up instead of having a pop at me for actually bothering to debate things that might one day help us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 And the Hereford attendance was absolutely shocking for a game against an ex football league club. Should of been 12-1300 plus. We know the way forward nowadays is social media and you do a good job Andy,but it's not just you whose shoulders it falls upon to promote the games,events etc.But you as the main person responsible for the two accounts can ultimately decide what goes out. We need a sustained all out attack on twitter,with regards to games/events / functions /news We need at minimum 3/4 tweets per day,tweets a week or so before a games bad then every 6 hours leading up to the event detailing such and we need fans to retweet this and then again to talk about it /promote it. I have just taken on 15 away trips for arsenal on the basis of me having two twitter accounts,one for my business,one for football related stuff,I am followed by 3400 on the business A/C and 1700 on the arsenal one,I have 3/4 contacts with 5-10000 followers and a few more with 2-9000 etc. I ask them for a retweet, offer them a free transfer got a certain Amount of retweets per week. Last week one retweet at. 3pm on a Friday resulted in £1100 of bookings,cost me £60 in the job ,actual cost around £30 I go on twitter and facdbook and apart from games it can be dormant all week,it needs coverage,exposure like any business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cup of tea Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 It's obvious from the comments that first and foremost we all care about the club - and that's a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydick Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I was hoping for a response Rob, and you didn't disappoint .. much of what you said is spot on ... "Wake up ..." .. touche . Enthusiasm across the board has undoubtedly waned. It's been a tough couple of years with the adverse publicity around the betting scandal, match fixing and the player sackings along with on field relegation, play-off final defeat and the poor start to this season. But it's always darkest before the dawn and the recent performance provides encouragement that we'll turn this around, and we will turn this around. Re advertising, of course we can do more on the advertising and social media side, but everyone needs to chip in. I might not necessarily have the time to think about what to tweet next but I'll certainly re-tweet anything relevant that comes my way. Just make sure that @AFCHornchurch is mentioned in the tweet and it'll be seen and re-tweeted. If @AFCHornchurch isn't mentioned, the tweet will be missed. Re the committee, it does need re-invigorating with new people and fresher ideas. We need to look around at how other people do things and leverage off that if it works. We're not going to boil the ocean but we may be able to make small improvements. Maybe even start a separate thread to capture these ideas so we have all this stuff in the one place. However, none of this is likely to work without involvement from the club and getting them involved is like trying to nail jelly to the wall. We have a huge youth set up now (15 or so teams) .. 150-200 younglings we should be looking to engage (and their parents); we can do a lot more on merchandising (telling punters where the shop is is the first step) .. ; add colour etc; plus lots more ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missunderstood Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I wouldn't have to come on here "sniping" as you call it if in the last two years of my tenure as chairmanship,some of the people on the Comittee would of bothered listening to me. Anyone who has been on there for the last 2-3 years would of easily seen my enthusiasm drain away in front of their eyes. In fact the one person I pushed the hardest to get onto the Comittee,young Jordan,the future of this club along with other teens,young men I can see feeling the same way as me and they've told me. The enthusiasm is going because there's no get up and go anymore. There's no fresh ideas,it's stale,it's a rigmarole. You turn up to a meeting and wish it away as quick as possible as some people want to get home to watch football,watch Eastenders,or go to work etc. Let's not kid ourselves,I can't remember the last time I went to a SA meeting with a spring in my step thinking I was going there to make a difference to my club,and people wonder if it was just a few other situations why I quit. It needs new blood,I am not saying it needs a mass exodus of people to leave the committee but it needs freshening up,enthusiasm,people with fresh ideas who love the club. If you had asked me 12 months ago what two young fans were the future if this club I would if said Jordan Newman and Harry Lucock. 12 months later One is a season ticket holder at crystal palace and the other although still a staunch urchin (as is Harry),is following arsenal more and more. Wake up instead of having a pop at me for actually bothering to debate things that might one day help us out. Great post, and you could probably say the situation is the same for 90% of clubs at our level. IMO, supporters of rival clubs should get together more to discuss and exchange ideas or we are in real danger of losing what little we still have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 I say it how I see it Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside_Aggro Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Spot on post Rob, We need to wake up as a club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackballed Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Having read through the last few posts, I can see where Rob is coming from, those of you that know me will know I have been involved with this club for longer than I care to remember, I’ve seen more than one rise and fall. But this club can not exist without a strong fan base, this does not mean in numbers but together. Colin, Ken, Tony, Jimmy and Co have done a fantastic job keeping this club afloat but it’s not just a one way thing and now is the time we all need to pull together. I’m the wrong side of 60 now, and have not been to a match this season so far as I’m working in Korea, but it’s the younger supporters that must get involved or this club will not exist at this level much longer. Keep the faith Dibs PS Even Alan (misunderstood) has a point and I never agree with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside Urchin Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Indeed Dave, My gripe isn't with the club,it's some fans,many who are quick to criticise when things go wrong but many are no where to be seen at functions. This actually seriously gets on my tits. At the most recent quiz night I think I am right in saying that there were only 2 Supporters Association Commitee members at the Quiz and they were running it,do you know how piss poor that looks???? And at many functions there is only 3/4 tops. It actually disgusts me that functions are set up to help make funds available for the association and club but it's people who are associated to the club by being related or friends of fans who put their hands in their pockets to help out at these events along with a small minority of fans,not a majority. My challenge is to people,committee members,is,why are you on the Comittee? Is it to help? Do you need to be on the supporters Comittee just because you do a job on a Saturday,if not then I recommend you review your position as it needs people who want to be on there to raise ideas.awareness,to want to input into meetings and make a difference,not so people can see their name in lights at the AGM and made to feel important. And to others who do turn up to these events and support the club through thick and thin ,you have a think about why you shouldn't be on the comittee,as you are the sort of people who should be on there. There is a new membership secretary ,Kevin,who has amassed around 70 memberships already this season despite no home friendlies and one home league match so there are good things to write about but there are others who simply don't really need to be on there anymore as they simply don't contribute anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missunderstood Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Before you lot beat yourselves up too much just remember your amazing work for the teenage cancer trust last season. IMO it changed the perception that many of us had of your club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastside_Aggro Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Again, That as dominantly Jordan's idea and it worked wonders for the charity & the club, He is on the committee and its ideas like that (and actually pushed through) that contribute to the club & the community, great job IMO. Its things like this that need to be pushed when a meeting takes place, Doesn't have to be a small or big idea, as long as people can participate and actually turn up to events (as EU said) then everybody's happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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