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Reply | Election result thread
at 10:22 9 May 2015
I think the final question is completely unfair on DA. I don't know him but always find his posts well informed and fair-minded. He answered your question straight down the middle so to suggest he's pushing some sort of agenda for personal gain is out of line. |
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Reply | The pitch
at 19:38 3 Apr 2015
But covering the pitch every night could encourage disease due to conditions caused under covers eg lack of air flow. To be honest you'd be better talking to the groundsman on that ....have you ever tried talking to or contacting him? |
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Reply | The pitch
at 19:18 3 Apr 2015
This assumes that the covers would have protected against the prolonged sub zero temps. History shows this isn't always the case. They are actually pretty ineffective over a prolonged cold period in my opinion. But that's all it is...my opinion. |
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Reply | The pitch
at 19:01 3 Apr 2015
This is an interesting one in my opinion. Obviously you want to cover grass for the least amount of time as covering reduces light to the grass and encourages disease. Also with low temperatures the grass plant can freeze to the covers meaning severe damage can be done when removing the covers. But yeah in theory you want to keep as much warmth in the soil as possible. Not easy to manage! |
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Reply | The pitch
at 18:57 3 Apr 2015
No offence to who told you that but they are just plain wrong. |
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Reply | The pitch
at 18:35 3 Apr 2015
I would imagine this is due to it being shaded for large parts of the year. Lower light levels with colder conditions cause for thinning of the grass and lower recovery rates. Some clubs have overcome this with the introduction of lighting rigs coupled with undersoil heating. Nice if you can afford it! |
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Reply | The pitch
at 18:21 3 Apr 2015
My point was I wouldn't take too seriously the opinion of someone who thought there was too much sand in a fibreand pitch. They clearly don't know/understand modern pitch constructions so probably aren't best placed to comment. It would be like asking me to comment on road construction (I haven't been to road construction night school you see) |
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Reply | The pitch
at 17:01 3 Apr 2015
Too much sand? In a fibresand pitch?
I'm guessing whoever told you that doesn't know much about turf science and pitch construction. |
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Reply | Game in doubt?
at 23:55 5 Feb 2015
Like I said I have no idea if they have been down or not. |
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Reply | Game in doubt?
at 18:17 5 Feb 2015
If the area in front of the main stand does not get above freezing during the day then you can't take them off surely?
And we can't compare the pitch to anyone's garden....the two surfaces are just not comparable. A garden full of grass will not freeze the same as a worn area under a stand. |
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Reply | Game in doubt?
at 17:53 5 Feb 2015
I have no idea if the covers have been down or not. However, I would imagine you can't just cover a pitch for weeks on end and expect it to survive? They will have been put down before Crawley, it was covered after the game til Stoke, if it was covered again it would be approaching 4 weeks of being covered. I know if I covered my lawn at home for 4 weeks it would be dead!
Also the covers seem effective against short spells of frost but prolonged periods can prove penetratable. I'm guessing that in front of the stand it will have been sub zero for days. If covers could protect against the temperatures we've had both day and night recently clubs wouldn't go to the expense of installing and running under soil heating. |
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Reply | New Kit 2013/2014 Season
at 18:22 17 Apr 2013
Excuse the ignorance but why would the 2013/14 kit be for sale in April?
Sounds like we are trying to find ways to criticise the club?
I'm pretty sure that its standard practice to put the new kit on sale in line with the new season approaching ie June time?
I would be surprised to see any clubs selling next years kit in April.
Happy to be proven wrong. |
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Reply | 99 ways to attract 1000 new fans
at 11:14 6 Apr 2013
Is the cost of a season ticket stopping the missing 1000 from buying them? In my opinion the club could sell them half price and lose money due to the lack of new buyers whilst losing out on half the revenue the die hards would have spent.
The lack of support isn't purely down to cost.
The club has to rejuvenate the match day experience. Create a day that people actually want to be a part of.
I would look at lining up a Saturday friendly in July,an eye catching opposition if possible, entry as low as possible, promote the hell out of it with the aim to give the crowd that day as much of a good time as possible.
In the past I feel we have tried to get a big friendly lined up to make it a much needed pay day and been happy with that. We should turn it around and make it a promotional day to show off RAFC and Spotland at its best. Good atmosphere, good fun and more importantly get the fans that wouldn't normally come back for a league game actually want to. Easier said than done I appreciate.
Another idea at least.
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Reply | Keith Hill in talks over a 3 year contract
at 14:13 4 Apr 2013
Nail squarely hit on the head.
It may cost a few quid to get ideas up and running but the way the attendances are heading there's little doubt that something has to be done to attract not only new fans but also the ones we have recently lost.
How to get the 1000 fans back that have been lost is open to debate and I'm sure there's no easy answer.
How would you go about it? |
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Reply | Keith Hill in talks over a 3 year contract
at 12:47 4 Apr 2013
We have had many a promotion aimed at kids. Free tickets in the hope they bring a paying adult along. And I'm sure this works for the one game it is aimed at and a great way to get new faces to spotland. In fact a neighbours son got a free ticket for a game,as he played for Bridge Colts I believe, and the father did indeed go with him and pay in.
However, when I asked what he thought, he wasn't complimentary on the day out. "I wouldn't pay £18 for that again".
Therein lies the problem. The fans we need, the ones that wont turn up on the terraces regardless of the performance, don't currently see a trip to spotland as a good value afternoon out.
The match day experience for the fan has to be improved if we are to see attendances go in the right direction.
You can have as many offers and promotions as you like, but until the product is something people will actually pay for, it won't solve the problem long term. |
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Reply | club shop
at 19:23 31 Mar 2013
Do you honestly think the co-op would provide valuable floor/stocking space for Dale merchandise?!? What turnover could they expect? What products would our items replace that could offer more profit annually for them? I'm
not sure we could offer them anything worth their while.
We seem to come up with over complicated ideas/schemes when essentially, as R17ALE points out, a common sense approach is all that is needed.
I read elsewhere about beach towels at £10. Using R17ALE's £2 for every £1 spent model that equates to roughly £6.66 profit per towel. Even if you shifted 200 in a year (quite generous I feel), that would be £1332 for the year. Whilst its a good idea and something you might expect the shop to stock it's hardly going to turn our fortunes around.
The single most worrying thing is attendances and all efforts should be focused on attracting fans. That is where I would be focussing all my attention, not on trying to get my merchandise in the co-op stores.
All in my opinion of course.
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Reply | Latest Figures
at 11:31 30 Mar 2013
Makes perfect sense. Surely these buying tactics are in place already?
The fact remains that you can only achieve a certain amount of sales whilst the core support/customer base is 1500+exiles.
The issue here is to create more demand for the match day experience which in turn creates demand in the shop.
That demand is either increased via reduction in ticket price or the quality of product ie the match day experience. As previously stated, I believe free entry wouldn't even fill half the stadium so it can't simply be the price. I believe the club should look at the day as a whole and create as much value as possible for the paying customer.
At Rochdale, what do you get for your money? Presently, 90 mins of 'rubbish' football. And the club put a price of £15-£20 on that. Value? Not for me and judging by the attendances I'm not the only one with that thought.
It's time to get the thinking cap on to enhance the match day experience and win some fans back.
It may be too late for this season but the 2013-14 campaign will soon be here and the club have time to make changes and deliver an entertaining day out that would be viewed as value for money by the floating fan whose business the club needs now more than ever. |
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Reply | Latest Figures
at 10:07 30 Mar 2013
Thank you for your reply.
I agree completely in not seeking refuge in easy excuses/reasons however they will obviously have an impact on sales and this cant be ignored if we are to look at the situation with an unbiased view. And I fully support your "work harder" ethos. Now is the time when every pound has to be fought for and a pro active attitude is a must.
I believe this attitude was shown when the club offered the recent 3 for 2 match tickets. Was this a success? Crowd figures suggest not? Happy to be proved wrong though. I think this shows that its not easy right now to get people spending their money at the Dale. Unfortunately, current league 2 football(recently described by Hill as rubbish) at £15/£20 isn't a product people outside the core 1500 supporters seem to want. And therein lies the biggest problem in my eyes. If we were to offer a game completely free of charge what would the crowd be? My guess is not over 4000. The interest just isn't there in my opinion. This is the issue that needs addressing in the main. I could of course be way off the mark. Anyway, I digress.
What do you put the drop in goldbond subscriptions down to?
Do you visit other club shops on your away days? What would you say are the main differences in ones you feel are performing better than our own?
Is the £2.50 a number with theory or history behind it?
I have never worked in a retail store and therefore my views may have very little weight in them but I would imagine the fortunes of the sales are directly related to the fortunes of the team. It would take extremely good management of the shop to reverse that trend in the positive sense. Impossible? No Improbable? Yes
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