| Club comms 20:08 - Apr 9 with 2448 views | HillAndDerry |
I get that it’s a results business. Ultimately performances on the pitch determine how we feel as supporters and there can be no dressing up a collapse of this magnitude. It’s a very tough job for the marketing team. However, does anyone else feel that the quality of club comms has been shoddy to say the least over the last couple of seasons and might be making a terrible situation even worse? Just a few examples:
- The ambiguity around injuries has been commented on by many. We know Ainsworth doesn’t share much on team news for tactical reasons but for some time now I’ve been unsure about who’s fit and who isn’t. The lack of clarity might well be deliberate because certain players aren’t pulling their weight and the club hasn’t wanted to reveal that, but it’s surely unsustainable as a long-term policy and not a way to foster goodwill from supporters?
- No one at the club has addressed the revelations from the latest accounts, which showed staggering losses. This strikes me as unwise and more likely to fuel concern and resentment. I accept that the club hierarchy had done a round of podcast interviews prior to their publication - and there’s obviously a limit on how many media engagements they can do - but wouldn’t it have been prudent for Hoos to deal with some of the questions around the results? If he explained the context, the reasons for the losses and the strategy in place to stabilise the situation (including contingency planning for relegation), perhaps the mood towards him might be a little less poisonous?
- The decision to hold a tribute to the 1992/93 team on Friday seemed crazy to me given the level of discontent with Les Ferdinand. His absence has obviously raised questions and looked quite embarrassing
- To be honest, I was a tad surprised the club marketing team thought releasing the Haka video was a good idea. Surely someone should have recognised the potential for that content to go viral and be used to mock a struggling club? Also, didn’t it run contrary to Ainsworth’s other statements about not giving the opposition an insight into training methods? I expect we’ll see a lot of that video again if we are relegated, as appears likely
- I noticed the club recently launched a new hospitality offering (The Corner Lounge) and decided to invite the supposedly injured Leon Balogun to be the player in attendance. Given the perception that he’s one of “Beale’s boys” who’s not bothered to show up since his departure, was this a sensible decision? They got away with it as not many seemed to notice, but this could have easily backfired
- Looking back to last season, Warburton’s departure seemed badly handled, with Les Ferdinand essentially confirming that his contract wouldn’t be renewed in the media with several matches still to play. Surely that contributed to the collapse at the end of last season? Wouldn’t it have been wise to keep that under wraps until the end of the campaign to ensure everyone gave maximum effort? I know that what LF says is ultimately up to him, but who was advising/briefing him?
As above, I accept that the main problem is on the pitch right now. However, the club comms over the last 18 months or so have been characterised by tone deafness and inconsistency: opacity where supporters want clarity (e.g. injuries and club finances) or too much transparency (Haka video). Whatever happens over the next few weeks, I think this needs to be looked at and improved.
Some might say we've got bigger things to worry about, and that's probably true, but I really don't think the above is helping matters.
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| Club comms on 20:28 - Apr 9 with 2313 views | HammersmithR |
The injury situation has been appalling and been handled terribly by the club. Nothing is ever said which I can understand to a point but only fuels what many fans think that a lot of the players have just bottled it.
Than the loan players.
1. Richards. What a joke he has been. Complete waste of a loan who we have to sign in the summer. He hasn’t scored 1 goal or made 1 assist whenever we have actually seen him.
2. Laird. When the going got tough he has just bottled it. Absolute laughable he will ever make it in the Prem. I will be glad to see the back of him.
3. Roberts. A good mate of mine is Leeds and text me he joined. ‘Good luck as you’ll never see him play’. This has proved to be right. What sort of scouting do we do?
4. Iregbunam. Can’t work him out but not what we needed. Apparently he has to play when fit. But like most of them is out injured.
5. Lowe. The bloke was smiling at the end of the game on Preston with an opposition player. Another one who can do one in the summer. So lazy as well.
Clearly Les has sanctioned these signings. All have been a complete farce and cost us thousands! | | | |
| Club comms on 20:43 - Apr 9 with 2245 views | PunteR |
Regarding the injury situation , i think the fans have it spot on. We dont need a physio to tell us someone is bottling it.
We know.
Lets look at the Balugun situation.
Players comes in because of Beale. Beale leaves. Player stops playing.
Player needs a move end of the season so player starts playing again.
Its as simple as that. |  |
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| Club comms on 20:49 - Apr 9 with 2207 views | colinallcars |
The club has a chance to communicate with us when they announce next year's STs (next week?).
Or will they just baldly put the details up on the website. |  | | |
| Club comms on 21:03 - Apr 9 with 2118 views | joe90 |
The comms/marketing team definitely have a tough job. They probably don’t have much say in what they communicate. To be fair the clubs comms are pretty similar to other clubs.
One thing they do that I really like is the alternative angle highlights. Sadly collateral damage from our current form. |  | | |
| Club comms on 21:12 - Apr 9 with 2091 views | colinallcars |
They remind me of our dear old queen - never complain, never explain, was the motto. | | | |
| Club comms on 22:17 - Apr 9 with 1946 views | Northernr |
I'll actually come back on this in more detail because I do speak to the media department quite regularly, they're really good with open dialogue between the fan sites and the their bit of the operation, and I've got stuff I can say on all of it both criticism of them and in their defence.
But just quickly on the injuries in particular, I completely agree with you, I think the coms on it this year has effectively made pariahs of their own players, I think there are huge lessons to be learned from it BUT... it's not the media team's decision. They are VERY sympathetic to our viewpoint on it. But if you're the press guy, and the manager, or the football management, tell you they don't want anything saying about Player X's injury, and you go out and say "yeh he's fcked 4 months" then you lose your job. |  | | |
| Club comms on 22:20 - Apr 9 with 1927 views | BrianMcCarthy |
Agree with Clive on this.
Also, I read on Twitter from someone I trust - maybe Chris Guy? - that the 92/93 reunion planning started last summer. Just bad timing that the flights etc were booked for all of them and then our form cratered. This isn't down to the comms team. |  |
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| Club comms on 22:30 - Apr 9 with 1895 views | colinallcars |
| Club comms on 22:17 - Apr 9 by Northernr |
I'll actually come back on this in more detail because I do speak to the media department quite regularly, they're really good with open dialogue between the fan sites and the their bit of the operation, and I've got stuff I can say on all of it both criticism of them and in their defence.
But just quickly on the injuries in particular, I completely agree with you, I think the coms on it this year has effectively made pariahs of their own players, I think there are huge lessons to be learned from it BUT... it's not the media team's decision. They are VERY sympathetic to our viewpoint on it. But if you're the press guy, and the manager, or the football management, tell you they don't want anything saying about Player X's injury, and you go out and say "yeh he's fcked 4 months" then you lose your job. |
I think most of us, in our time, have wondered whether the club and/or the players ever look at the boards. | | | |
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| Club comms on 22:43 - Apr 9 with 1868 views | daveB |
| Club comms on 22:20 - Apr 9 by BrianMcCarthy |
Agree with Clive on this.
Also, I read on Twitter from someone I trust - maybe Chris Guy? - that the 92/93 reunion planning started last summer. Just bad timing that the flights etc were booked for all of them and then our form cratered. This isn't down to the comms team. |
Yeah these things are planned well in advance, it was awful timing but wasn't something they came up with recently |  | | |
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