| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... 17:28 - Jan 4 with 5514 views | ColDale |
I'm talking off the field stuff here, but if Dale were to almost relaunch itself for the 2013-14 season, what improvements would you like to see happen? |  | | |  |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:02 - Jan 4 with 1049 views | DomDale |
I take it we're still on track with the 7 year plan? |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:09 - Jan 4 with 1037 views | DomDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 22:58 - Jan 4 by 442Dale |
That is beyond ridiculous.
The club should be incredibly concerned at such a situation. |
I'd hope it was a lapse of judgement and common sense.
I know the idea is give away tickets so the kids bring a pay-on-the-day adult. But if you're turning potential long-term customers away its bad business. If people like it, the chance is they'll come back for more. If you don't let them try, they'll never know and find something else.
I'd like to know the outcome of Morecambes free admission drive next week and whether any medium-long term increase in their support
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:13 - Jan 4 with 1022 views | ColDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 21:29 - Jan 4 by pioneer |
Missed the boat over the last two years when we had multiple all ticket no sale on the day games - so our attendences were less than they would have been with on line ticketing.
On line ticketing goes hand in hand with reserved seating because it gives the supporter the opportunity to select his (and his mates) seats. But that is something else this club has resisted for over 100 years.
If online ticketing was such a gimmick for clubs like us why do so many other clubs like us have it?
Again we seem to be looking for reasons why not to do things - clogs, shawl, whippets, park drive, little Rochdale . . . . . |
Think you missed my point because I agree with every word you've said.
My point was if we had online ticketing simply for the sake of it, it would leave it as a gimmick, and was more about what would have to be done to make it a success. | | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:33 - Jan 4 with 1003 views | phomem |
What was the point in the club shop selling tickets for the cheltenham game then not for Rotherham?
Crowd for tomorrow I'm going 1874 |  | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:57 - Jan 4 with 978 views | olympicdale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 17:54 - Jan 4 by Shun |
A wider youth scouting network, better youth facilities. Not sure how achievable any of this is on our budget, but I'd basically like to see more youngsters come through and get sold on. Crewe aren't much bigger than us yet they still do it even today. Copy them. |
A club of our size should be automatically concentrating on youth development, Id like to think in 10 or so years we would b looking at more and more players coming through the academy set up. As has been said with Crewe, theyve built theirs up through years and years of hard work, and its reaped benifits for them, elivated them into the championship in the process, allowed them to over achieve. Having players come through the youth levels always means more to the fans than signing the same old players, also the youth players are often club fans, so the club means more to them, our only success to date being Joey T, more investment should be in place for this. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:59 - Jan 4 with 978 views | Shun |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 21:24 - Jan 4 by surb_dale |
Personally think the club should seriously look to bring in a loyalty card scheme. A simple card scanner at turnstiles could be installed and fans could then accumulate points when attending games which could be redeemed for discounts in club shop, tickets, pies etc. The club can then build an accurate picture of who attends games and design better targeted marketing strategies. Incentives such as double points for attending less attractive/midweek games could be advertised. The club could even link the scheme up with local businesses. Seems a no brainer to me and probably more beneficial than spending cash on a decent pitch cover. |
I really like this idea. |  | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 01:36 - Jan 5 with 953 views | BlueDutch |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 23:59 - Jan 4 by Shun |
I really like this idea. |
I also think it is a great idea.
The trouble with great ideas is, they usually get ignored and classed as interfering.
At 2:10pm on the 1st, Rotherham fans were stood outside the Wilbutts stand in their 100's waiting to get in, with very few turnstiles open and a total lack of urgency or readiness to cater for this "unexpected number" of visiting fans. By 2:40pm the same amount were still waiting to get in!
Talking to an infrequent Millers(away) fan he remarked how poor things seemed in comparison to the fixture in which Daggers scored that memorable hatrick. General look of the ground, attitude of club staff and catering had all gone downhill since the 4-1 game. Even to me the outside of the ground looks scruffy and unkempt . We do also want to attract opposing fans so it shouldn't just be the home fans we aim to please.
A scheme similar to bury's with Premier season ticket holders getting a reduction should be in operation and and an ad pointing this out when clubs like United and City are away down south, but also opening it to all Premier clubs and maybe even championship clubs too. Depending on the opposition each match should be advertised individually, pointing out rivalry, history or anything that will possibly get fans through the turnstiles.
A breath of fresh air is needed for sure. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 04:07 - Jan 5 with 933 views | pioneer |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 22:58 - Jan 4 by 442Dale |
That is beyond ridiculous.
The club should be incredibly concerned at such a situation. |
Dead right - the Trust should take this up with the club, all the hard work the trust does is negated by this sort of nonsense. The club shopuld apologise unreservedly and provide the kid with a free ticket for another game for whichever part of the ground he desires.
What qualifications do the clowns making these 'errors of judgement' have? The club lost money (yet again) from some numpty behaving like a little bloddy Hitler.
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 09:20 - Jan 5 with 916 views | PotterDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 22:53 - Jan 4 by DomDale |
That the ticket was allocated for one stand and one stand only and free as a good will gesture. I tried to make my point we'd spend money anyway but no luck!
I'm not going to shell out another £20 for a game I've paid for anyway am I now? 
They need to think about the kids thoogh, they're the future. It was peanuts, or seemed it, for me to watch as a nipper! |
This is surely an individuals decision rather than a club policy. If not then there are serious PR issues, and the board may want to take a look at this if they want to increase revenue through the good will of fans putting their hands in their pockets in buying the incrementals associated with said revenue rather than simply just admission fees.
Is it possible for someone on the trust commitee to get an official line on this from the club and post it on here please? |  | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 09:58 - Jan 5 with 895 views | electricblue |
How about family targets.
Do a voucher handed at the turnstiles where certain home its two adults and two kids £30 in but in the main stand or willbutts lane..
You can target the family strategy several times a year..
Ie when kids go back to school aftervthe summer hols, halloween/bonfire, christmas new year, easter..
Or another idea..
Valentines day ticket bring your partner with this ticket for £5.. |  |
| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 10:00 - Jan 5 with 893 views | R17ALE |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 09:20 - Jan 5 by PotterDale |
This is surely an individuals decision rather than a club policy. If not then there are serious PR issues, and the board may want to take a look at this if they want to increase revenue through the good will of fans putting their hands in their pockets in buying the incrementals associated with said revenue rather than simply just admission fees.
Is it possible for someone on the trust commitee to get an official line on this from the club and post it on here please? |
We often raise concerns appertaining to some of the points on this thread, but the answers we get don't usually contain much substance.
1. We'll look into it.
2. I'll have a word with x and will see what can be done.
3. What problem?
4. There might be something in that.
It's like Director's Bingo! 
TRabbitts - Keytech was long gone by 2008. Their representative on the Board did leave under a cloud as it turned out he (and Keytech) weren't quite all they were cracked up to be, or made themselves out to be. Most people at the club were easily duped by the Ferraris and Lamborginis etc. Others weren't as gullible.
Re: other points, my take is that as a club we should get back to the core principal of being a Daley. I think if you had to strip away all the the sh1t, and define what it means to be involved with the club, the simple motto to which EVERYONE should aspire is that....
Every single person should put in more than they take out.
Do away with the hangers on, and good fer nowts. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 10:43 - Jan 5 with 853 views | BartRowou |
The ground could do with a decent tidy before next season. They should organise a group of volunteers to give it a good clean over a number of days and offer a decent incentive eg money off season ticket/all cup games free (admittedly could be zero)/club shop voucher. There are many lazy ne'er do wells knocking around during the six seeks holidays (not just teachers either - students too) who could be conscripted. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 11:47 - Jan 5 with 823 views | ChaffRAFC |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 10:43 - Jan 5 by BartRowou |
The ground could do with a decent tidy before next season. They should organise a group of volunteers to give it a good clean over a number of days and offer a decent incentive eg money off season ticket/all cup games free (admittedly could be zero)/club shop voucher. There are many lazy ne'er do wells knocking around during the six seeks holidays (not just teachers either - students too) who could be conscripted. |
Great call that, I've always thought our ground looks good from the outside until I walked up from my Dad's and as we got closer, it's really starting to look a mess. It needs a coat of paint, a good tidy up and tarting up a bit in general I think. Get a load of people who are doing p!$$ all throughout the day to get it done. Offer them a new shirt or something. |  |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 11:52 - Jan 5 with 815 views | ColDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 11:47 - Jan 5 by ChaffRAFC |
Great call that, I've always thought our ground looks good from the outside until I walked up from my Dad's and as we got closer, it's really starting to look a mess. It needs a coat of paint, a good tidy up and tarting up a bit in general I think. Get a load of people who are doing p!$$ all throughout the day to get it done. Offer them a new shirt or something. |
It was suggested that when they built the Willbutts Lane stand, they got the corrugated sheeting the wrong way round. If you look at it, it's blue on the inside and white on the outside which seems out of step with the rest of the stadium. I can't think of a reason why they would choose to have it this way.
Unfortunately, the long term consequence of that is that the white bit on the outside looks dirty having not been cleaned in 10 years. Had they got it right first time round, it wouldn't have been a problem. | | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:05 - Jan 5 with 805 views | justanillusion |
It's really annoyed me this season how in the T.D.S they have now shut one kiosk and got just the one open for all Daleys to que for hot drinks and pies.
As a result this season on more than a handful of occassions ive abanonded buying pies and drinks due to increased queing time
What was the thinking behind closing one kiosk? did anyone take into account that the home supporters in the T.D.S stand may not be happy at having their refreshment kiosks halved ?
Short sightedness from the club im afraid on this one influenced by 'penny pinching' - matchday experience suffers as a result for me and my son |  | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:08 - Jan 5 with 799 views | Lee_Bullet |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 11:52 - Jan 5 by ColDale |
It was suggested that when they built the Willbutts Lane stand, they got the corrugated sheeting the wrong way round. If you look at it, it's blue on the inside and white on the outside which seems out of step with the rest of the stadium. I can't think of a reason why they would choose to have it this way.
Unfortunately, the long term consequence of that is that the white bit on the outside looks dirty having not been cleaned in 10 years. Had they got it right first time round, it wouldn't have been a problem. |
That slopped part is technically the roof hence why it is white as per all the other stands in the ground. |  | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:09 - Jan 5 with 791 views | olympicdale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 11:52 - Jan 5 by ColDale |
It was suggested that when they built the Willbutts Lane stand, they got the corrugated sheeting the wrong way round. If you look at it, it's blue on the inside and white on the outside which seems out of step with the rest of the stadium. I can't think of a reason why they would choose to have it this way.
Unfortunately, the long term consequence of that is that the white bit on the outside looks dirty having not been cleaned in 10 years. Had they got it right first time round, it wouldn't have been a problem. |
They could do with fixing the broken fence/wall in the car park, Id feel a little wary about parking in there, there doesnt appear to be any security while the games going on, i.e hire someone to keep an eye on the cars. | |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:12 - Jan 5 with 785 views | 442Dale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:05 - Jan 5 by justanillusion |
It's really annoyed me this season how in the T.D.S they have now shut one kiosk and got just the one open for all Daleys to que for hot drinks and pies.
As a result this season on more than a handful of occassions ive abanonded buying pies and drinks due to increased queing time
What was the thinking behind closing one kiosk? did anyone take into account that the home supporters in the T.D.S stand may not be happy at having their refreshment kiosks halved ?
Short sightedness from the club im afraid on this one influenced by 'penny pinching' - matchday experience suffers as a result for me and my son |
The cost of opening is surely covered by people like yourself buying something when they don't bother with one tea bar?
Again, explain the decision - back it up with facts surrounding costs and revenue from a period of analysis. Whoever is in charge should be able to do this easily, and they should want to do so. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:27 - Jan 5 with 773 views | R17ALE |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:05 - Jan 5 by justanillusion |
It's really annoyed me this season how in the T.D.S they have now shut one kiosk and got just the one open for all Daleys to que for hot drinks and pies.
As a result this season on more than a handful of occassions ive abanonded buying pies and drinks due to increased queing time
What was the thinking behind closing one kiosk? did anyone take into account that the home supporters in the T.D.S stand may not be happy at having their refreshment kiosks halved ?
Short sightedness from the club im afraid on this one influenced by 'penny pinching' - matchday experience suffers as a result for me and my son |
To be fair, it's not the club that control the kiosks as far as I know. They are run by the Stadium Company who probably have even less regard for our well being than the club do!
I presume that whoever controls the kiosks has little or no knowledge of what it is like to be a regular paying customer at Spotland and so it is unfair to expect them to think like one.
Common sense is clearly in short supply at Spotland, so it maybe an idea for the person in charge to ask fans for assistance.
In other words, research the customer base to find out what they want!
But as Norden Blue said somewhere, that will never catch on!! | |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:27 - Jan 5 with 772 views | boromat |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 20:04 - Jan 4 by sykeboy |
have to admit that the cost per game is now a top priority,being an exile that does not qualify for the season ticket offer,and given my lad is now 17 the match day cost is £40ish which has made me miss a couple of games for the first time in years when they have been home games 2/3 in a fortnight.
i do think the young persons charge needs to be looked at,especially for those still in education,and maybe something which has been used for pre season games buy 2/3 games get one free half price could be introduced? |
Totally agree a few years ago the season ticket offers were changed so that there was no longer a students season ticket but an u19s ticket. This meant as a student I had a hike in season ticket price from 170 to 290!! the Season after we got promoted and I had yet another hike to 360. Luckily I managed to get extra work while studying to take the hit but I wasn't very happy and the club didn't seem bothered. I should imagine quite a few young supporters were lost with that decision. Very nearly lost me. | |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:28 - Jan 5 with 771 views | PotterDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 10:00 - Jan 5 by R17ALE |
We often raise concerns appertaining to some of the points on this thread, but the answers we get don't usually contain much substance.
1. We'll look into it.
2. I'll have a word with x and will see what can be done.
3. What problem?
4. There might be something in that.
It's like Director's Bingo!
TRabbitts - Keytech was long gone by 2008. Their representative on the Board did leave under a cloud as it turned out he (and Keytech) weren't quite all they were cracked up to be, or made themselves out to be. Most people at the club were easily duped by the Ferraris and Lamborginis etc. Others weren't as gullible.
Re: other points, my take is that as a club we should get back to the core principal of being a Daley. I think if you had to strip away all the the sh1t, and define what it means to be involved with the club, the simple motto to which EVERYONE should aspire is that....
Every single person should put in more than they take out.
Do away with the hangers on, and good fer nowts. |
Well all it needs IS looking into, and an answer to be forthcoming. It won't even take a lot of looking into, simply:
a) Who made this decision
b) Is this the club policy
c1) If it is club policy, what is the reasoning behind this
c2) If it is not club policy, can the information be passed on to the relevant people who made the initial decision to ensure that this situation does not reoccur
Its 10-15 minutes of a job but can have a lasting impact on the public image of the club. If someone can give me some guidance as to who I would need to email I will do it myself, as I am absolutely flabbergasted as to how anyone on the board would think that this disregard for supporters can benefit the club.
I know that there is an ongoing gripe that the club doesn't appreciate the fans, but this for me personally is the straw that has broken the camels back. | | | |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:37 - Jan 5 with 759 views | R17ALE |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:28 - Jan 5 by PotterDale |
Well all it needs IS looking into, and an answer to be forthcoming. It won't even take a lot of looking into, simply:
a) Who made this decision
b) Is this the club policy
c1) If it is club policy, what is the reasoning behind this
c2) If it is not club policy, can the information be passed on to the relevant people who made the initial decision to ensure that this situation does not reoccur
Its 10-15 minutes of a job but can have a lasting impact on the public image of the club. If someone can give me some guidance as to who I would need to email I will do it myself, as I am absolutely flabbergasted as to how anyone on the board would think that this disregard for supporters can benefit the club.
I know that there is an ongoing gripe that the club doesn't appreciate the fans, but this for me personally is the straw that has broken the camels back. |
The main problem, looking back over the years, is that someone, somewhere took the decision to abandon the traditional habit of employing Dale fans to run various departments.
Slowly every department recruited staff with no Dale dna in their blood. Pretty much anyone could get a job, and anyone did - jobs for the boys type of a thing.
So we shouldn't be surprised if staff don't react in the way we expect them to, because they aren't wired up (a bit tapped) like we are.
Once again....only fans know what fans want! | |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 13:14 - Jan 5 with 711 views | electricblue |
If theres a mid week game and a following weekend game or the other way around reduce the entrance fee by a couple of quid for each match....
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| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 15:35 - Jan 5 with 660 views | RAFCBLUE |
This is possibly will turn out to be the longest post I’ve ever registered on any fourm and it’s written without reference to any of the current individuals at the club but as Col’s original posts asks “relaunch” or in my world “start again”. It is not designed to be a definitive list or panacea but here goes:
The most successful organisations and therefore most successful football clubs in the world have targets. Without targets, there is no aspiration or performance management and failure is inevitable. What follows below is what I would do if I were Chairman of this football club.
1) Appoint a new blood broad business experienced Chief Executive.
A football club needs a broad business, experienced Chief Executive. Think of someone like David Gill (at Manchester United), Peter Kenyon (at Manchester United and latterly Chelsea) or Rob Heys (at Accrington Stanley). Size of business is irrelevant — good Chief Executives are worth their weight in gold and allow an organisation to flourish.
This role is the right hand direct report of the Chairman and Board. Direct reports to this role include, at League 2 level are four key roles:
- Head of Football — (current incumbent: John Coleman) overall responsible for:
o All football matters from first team down
o Player and football support staff management
o Footballing administration compliance
o Football in the Community
- Head of Commercial Operations — (current incumbent unknown) responsible for:
o Sponsorships
o Goldbond
o Club shop (including online shop)
o Media management (including official website and Twitter)
o Matchday revenue generation (programme, food kiosks, Radcliffe)
o Non-matchday revenue generation (sportsmans dinner, weddings, FIFA nights and other functions)
- Head of Stadium Operations — (current incumbent unknown) responsible for:
o Preparation of the ground and stadia for matchday operations
o Preparation of the ground and facilities for non-matchday operations
o Ticketing (Season Ticketing, Matchday Ticketing)
o Steward management and Ground Safety matters
o Food kiosk management
- Head of Support Services — (current incumbent unknown) responsible for:
o Human Resources, including performance appraisal process
o Finance, including payroll
o IT
Beneath each of these business stream heads, there would be other individuals appointed by the business head to support achievement of their aims, within their budgetary constraint.
2) Set targets for the 2013/14 season
By setting targets, I mean set proper, achievable targets for the 2013/14 season which must be achieved. For those four heads that would be as follows:
Head of Football:
1) League 2: Playoff participants — 7th place or higher — W 20 D 15 L 11 Target points: 75
2) Target Goals For: 92
3) Target Goals against: 40
4) Yellow Cards: 60
5) Red Cards: 0
6) FA Cup: 2nd round participation, including 1 home tie
7) League Cup: 2nd round participation, including 1 home tie
8) JPT: 1st round participation
Head of Commercial Operations
1) Net club revenue of £1.75m from all sources after all relevant costs of operation
2) Average home supporters — all fixtures - 2,300
3) Average away supporters — all fixtures — 200
4) Best in class Official Website of all League 1 and 2 clubs
Head of Stadium Operations:
1) No home postponements
2) Positive feedback from user surveys (see below)
3) Matchday occupancy of 24% (Average of 2,500 from capacity of 10,249) on
25 dates
4) Non-matchday occupancy of 51 dates (15% of available calendar days excluding matchdays)
Head of Support Services
1) Break even achieved along with compliance with all relevant financial legislation
2) HR contracts and performance appraisal reviews conducted for all staff, with relevant actions occurring as necessary
Targets for business stream heads cascade down to their direct reports — albeit smaller and more bitesized pieces of achievable work.
3) Make the club the heart of the local community
Rochdale is a financially poor town, but with people who want to and will support the club if the product is good and affordable. This was proven in the playoff and promotion seasons.
Matchday entrance prices have to be £15 maximum for adults (all areas) and £5 for children. There are 25 matchday experiences available in the targets above, including home and away fans. Football is a luxury and we cannot price people out just because they would like to come but cannot genuinely afford it.
The other 340 days in the year are the key to building a club. Presence needs to be made in schools, pubs, supermarkets and at events on a practical, daily basis. Projecting the image of a caring, accessible community based club is key to building for the future. That requires everyone from the Chief Executive down to play a part.
Bi-annual supporter feedback surveys should be undertaken via hardcopy forms and Surveymonkey and the results analysed.
4) Performance appraise
Like all successful businesses, performance appraisal of individuals is key. Every person from Chief Executive down gets a six monthly appraisal, based on their targets from their direct manager. For the football club it would make sense to do that in say May (end of season) and November (half year).
Non-performers will be placed on performance improvement regimes with more regular performance meetings in the next six months. If after two performance rounds (i.e. 1 one year) the non-performance hasn’t ceased then that person is moved on. Business is not a place for passengers.
The points 1) to 4) are actually exceptionally simple when you think about it. Its not about egos or hiding. In businesses I’ve run, I want success. I don’t see how “relaunching” or rebranding would change that or how difficult it can be to culturally move an organisation from a perceived or actual cba attitude to an organisation that the community values and is successful.
So, that would be my 2013/14 year of a five year plan. Thoughts/Criticism welcome. |  |
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| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 15:50 - Jan 5 with 649 views | PotterDale |
| Hypothetically + realistically speaking..... on 12:37 - Jan 5 by R17ALE |
The main problem, looking back over the years, is that someone, somewhere took the decision to abandon the traditional habit of employing Dale fans to run various departments.
Slowly every department recruited staff with no Dale dna in their blood. Pretty much anyone could get a job, and anyone did - jobs for the boys type of a thing.
So we shouldn't be surprised if staff don't react in the way we expect them to, because they aren't wired up (a bit tapped) like we are.
Once again....only fans know what fans want! |
But even from a business point of view it is baffling. | | | |
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