Lessons to be learnt?

[AFF]

The pre-season home friendlies are now completed. These are both, fund-raising ventures, as well as opportunities for t'Lads to show their paces to The Duo.

 

Leaving the latter on one side, the attendances were 1882 for Watford, 302 for Peterborough and, what, 240 or so last night? For me, the Watford gate was terrific although I was a little concerned at the relatively low number of Saints faces in the crowd. The attendances at the last two games were very poor indeed.

 

The quality of posters was good, although I'm not convinced at the numbers displayed. Press coverage was blanket. The initiatives with schools has been stepped up and well done to those involved.

 

So where were new and old Saints fans?

 

Tell me it's holiday time. Tell me that Peterborough and Northampton are not big 'draws'. Tell me that a game against, say, Aylesbury would be more popular. Tell me that £8 is too much to pay. Tell me that it will be allright and 650 will turn up for the all ticket opener against mighty Ford United. Tell me.

 

More importantly, tell me that the playing budget for this season agreed between The Board and The Duo in June was based, amongst other things, on a projected total gate for the 3 pre-season friendlies of 2414. If so, wellthatsallrightthen.

 

Tell me that the match-day programme is a good read at £2. [suggestions: Brief details of the new players that we are 'looking at', brief details of the whereabouts of last season's players, player movements in the Ryman, a commercial page.] For me, it will have won the award for The Greatest Programme of the Millenium Ever Anywhere last season on style, not substance.

 

The clubhouse looks very good. The Supporters Club are doing great things. We need to do more, methinks.

 

 

 

[Rob_the_Saint]

Some good points there well made AFF. A little attention to the ground during the close season would not have gone amiss. The same weeds and muck on the terraces are still there and a lick or two of paint would have freshened things up. As for the attendences, let's wait and see. A good start and a few goals going in will draw a few people back and a good early run in a cup will engender interest amongst the floating support. You're right, £8 is too much for Northampton schoolboys which is why I didn't bother but the League is another bucket of whales. See you on the 17th Aug. <img src="/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[mdetaylor]

If fans or the club want more substance for the programme they have to provide it unless you want works of fiction, bits nicked from other programmes or more adverts.

 

The style is indeed excellent (far superior to the rest of the league and better than some Nationwide programmes) but unless someone comes up with the articles, photos etc. then I fear 16 pages is all you will get

[AFF]

Hmmnn.

 

According to the matchday programme, the matchday programme is co-ordinated by a small but perfectly formed sub-committee of Nick Crowther, Lee Wood and that chap who used to drive the red tractor.

 

I was simply making a couple of suggestions for articles of interest and perhaps some others should give their views.

 

Oh, by the way. I'm not sure that we are creating enough chances from midfield, either. However, I don't propose to take my boots on Saturday. Then again....

 

 

[herts blue]

I guess I'm being invited to respond here, even though I have no influence over the programme other than supplying a couple of pieces to the printers for each.

 

First, I seem to recall that it's usual for pre-season programmes to be thinner than those on sale once the season gets underway, and that in past years we've had 8 page monochrome ones. I'm assuming they'll be bigger once the season kicks off (but I don't know). Whether they should be cheaper is something for the powers that be at the club to decide, though I'm thinking they probably should.

 

As for content, it's down to people being prepared to write it. Being on holiday I couldn't do a manager's page for the first two, but that was back v Northampton and I'll be doing a second (captain's or otherwise, I'm thinking about that) from Ford onwards. But in the end, I guess that people have to be prepared to get behind computers and contribute.

 

It's a fair point about the need for a page on general news about player movements, forthcoming games and the like. In the past there's been a general news page - other than the League one reproduced - that I did for a bit, and Tavs and Steve Trulock did for much longer. I don't think we had that last year, and with the Chairman doing his page, and Eamsie doing Park Life, it's not clear who's around to do that one any more.

[Colin Zeal EFM]

Last season there was an EFM / Saints Supporters page, but I stopped contributing (through laziness more than anything) and I think the Saints Supporters' reports dried up too.

 

I thought it was a good page for the programme to have though, promoting two Sunday League sides who represent the Saints, and I'll be happy to start that up again this season if people wanted.

[mdetaylor]

It is indeed a small committee - don't know what others do but Mr Wood does the design and not the content so he cannot make something from nothing.

 

I would have thought that by the start of the season when decisions have been made about regular content then it will be back to full size - I just think it is a bit early to criticise (the point about black and white in previous seasons is a very good one).

 

Have to agree though that £2 is expensive, some Nationwide clubs charge less and even in division one you rarely pay over £2

[AFF]

I suggest that constructive criticism is never too early, if appropriate.

 

We have: A page for The Chairman. A page for the Dynamic Duo [to include a free magnifying glass when it's Robbo's turn, please]. A page for the wit of the chap who used to drive the red tractor. The Supporters Club page.

 

The pages about the opposition was rubbish for the Peterborough and Northampton games. And no, I didn't think that the programme was a good read at £2 for the friendly matches.

 

We have half a dozen new directors. What about a profile of each of them? A profile of a different player each week. A 'back-room' boy? Half a page for each of those? A page from the Commercial Director is essential, I suggest. The football trivia thread on here has attracted interest.

 

According to the matchday programme, we have a photographer.

 

This stuff isn't rocket science. Perhaps the small but perfectly formed sub-committee should be enlarged, modestly.

[Colin Zeal EFM]

What about a Supporter's Profile page each week??

A picture, how long you been coming down?, favourite match?, favourite player? etc.etc.

 

Just a suggestion.

 

What about a page detailing results, players etc. from a season gone by?? I.E. for the Ford Utd game, profile the 1970 season with a picture, a list of results, clippings from the paper, a profile of the "player of the 1969/70" season. Call the section "Flashback" or something else as equally banal.

 

Just a suggestion.

 

[Webbo MFI]

there is a supporters profile on the website (see saintsfans) that no one has bothered to contribute to for months!!

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

As the most interesting supporter, I should get a page

[Charlie Farnsbarnes]

What about a Supporter's Profile page each week?? A picture, how long you been coming down?, favourite match?, favourite player? etc.etc. Just a suggestion.

 

 

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A great suggestion, CZ. Perhaps we could do a draw, say, a week prior to every home match, to select the featured supporter. At present, I understand that almost 70 supporters have already joined the Supporters' Club and the new season is still 3 weeks away so I wouldn't imagine there will be any shortage of willing participants.

[Guest]

This idea ran in the programme about 1994 ish

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

And due to the lack of humour of a vast majority of our supporters i seem to remember it was an embarresment.

 

How long have you been supporting city - Too long

 

Thats the kind of thing we had to put up with.

 

Mind you take me, colin zeal, bin fadhel, costello, griffiths, ratcliffe, mr winn, fenton and so forth and you have a cracking page ...Ban us!

[Woody]

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The quality of posters was good, although I'm not convinced at the numbers displayed.

 

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I'm not convinced either. I was told at the Peterborough game that only something like 50 or 60 posters were produced for the pre season friendlies. If this is correct and I have no reason to doubt the source, surely this amount is nothing like enough. Certain areas in St. Albans seem to be getting very good coverage while others appear to get none. Can we not try and target the whole of the St. Albans and also just as importantly all of the outlying areas, Harpenden especially. There is a huge untapped catchment area out there. Maybe we should be looking at additional gates rather than additional programme prices.