Money situation improved or not?

[blue79]

We hear things like the financial situation has improved others say it hasn't.

Is Tara telling the truth when he says losses have been reduced or is it spin talk.?

Are we really still in deep do-do?

On other forums people claim we haven't a pot to **** in and that we remain absolutely skint.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Smiffy]

We are most certainly losing less per month.

But cashflow is and will remain an issue for the forseeable.

It doesn't help with 4,500 turning up every couple of weeks. Of which the majority are season card holders.

We need to get back up into the 6,000+ bracket asap. Hopefully with a decent little run between now and xmas. Fans will start flocking back.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

We are most certainly losing less per month.

But cashflow is and will remain an issue for the forseeable.

It doesn't help with 4,500 turning up every couple of weeks. Of which the majority are season card holders.

We need to get back up into the 6,000+ bracket asap. Hopefully with a decent little run between now and xmas. Fans will start flocking back.

The price of a ticket on the day for non season ticket holders, is a big issue. A big own goal from the club. £19 or £21 for Division 2 football is far too expensive in the current climate. It has put a lot of fans off, especially if they take any of the family along as well. I think more revenue would be made by having the tickets at £16. That would be a fair price to pay and would definitely add a lot more to the attendance.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

The price of a ticket on the day for non season ticket holders, is a big issue. A big own goal from the club. £19 or £21 for Division 2 football is far too expensive in the current climate. It has put a lot of fans off, especially if they take any of the family along as well. I think more revenue would be made by having the tickets at £16. That would be a fair price to pay and would definitely add a lot more to the attendance.

Comlpetely agree with this. Im a season ticket holder myself but some people i know who are not are missing out on maybe half the games they would be likely to go to so on that basis the club are losing out

 

[Mick]

We are most certainly losing less per month.

But cashflow is and will remain an issue for the forseeable.

It doesn't help with 4,500 turning up every couple of weeks. Of which the majority are season card holders.

We need to get back up into the 6,000+ bracket asap. Hopefully with a decent little run between now and xmas. Fans will start flocking back.

It will take more than results. Tuesday's performance, despite being a fortuitous win, was the type which will drive more fans away than it brings in.

 

[wickfordtilly]

but remember supporters groups voted for the increase, so brady will just turn around and point that out!! one of many many own goals since brady arrived at the club, along with making the fans pay for scotland, harris on a 3 yr deal, taking away season ticket for elderly fans, and now the complete farce of the season tickets not working,

 

[Beefy]

We hear things like the financial situation has improved others say it hasn't.

Is Tara telling the truth when he says losses have been reduced or is it spin talk.?

Are we really still in deep do-do?

On other forums people claim we haven't a pot to **** in and that we remain absolutely skint.

What are your thoughts?

I don't think any noises out of Roots Hall over the past six months have suggested that we aren't skint. We don't generate enough cash to cover our outgoings. We've reduced the gap between what comes in and what goes out (by spending less) but there is still a gap there and the only way we've got of meeting our tax and wage obligations is to rely on funding being found to bridge that gap every month.

 

[Gremlin]

but remember supporters groups voted for the increase, so brady will just turn around and point that out!! one of many many own goals since brady arrived at the club, along with making the fans pay for scotland, harris on a 3 yr deal, taking away season ticket for elderly fans, and now the complete farce of the season tickets not working,

By "making" you mean asking for up to 50% ?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

but remember supporters groups voted for the increase, so brady will just turn around and point that out!! one of many many own goals since brady arrived at the club, along with making the fans pay for scotland, harris on a 3 yr deal, taking away season ticket for elderly fans, and now the complete farce of the season tickets not working,

Ron Martin's property speculations have gone too far now.

 

[sufc_dave]

Definately agree with that the ticket prices should be lowered. I got a student ticket on the day on Tues night and it cost £14. I thought it would be around £10. I know its only £4, and it would have been better if I had brought the ticket in advance, but come on I'm a student! I'm always skint!

Putting the adult and student prices down to around £10 every now and again would definately bring in more of a crowd.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

I think the ticket price scenario is the same accross the country. Attendances are down pretty much everywhere. Man City could not sell out their stadium for their first game in the Champions League ever. Chelsea was 3/4 full on Tuesday.

Normal fans are being priced out of the market in the current economic climate, and for a lot of people if it comes to a choice of eating/paying the mortgage/putting petrol in the car or going to see football, I know what 99.9% of people would choose.

 

[Beefy]

I think the ticket price scenario is the same accross the country. Attendances are down pretty much everywhere. Man City could not sell out their stadium for their first game in the Champions League ever. Chelsea was 3/4 full on Tuesday.

Normal fans are being priced out of the market in the current economic climate, and for a lot of people if it comes to a choice of eating/paying the mortgage/putting petrol in the car or going to see football, I know what 99.9% of people would choose.

Whilst that's true, I'd suggest that the fact that matchday ticket prices in the lower leagues are pretty high across the board is because when Clubs have cut prices they have ended up taking a drop in revenue accordingly. If halving prices were to lead to an increase in revenue then I'd expect that most Clubs would do it.

The Club, like any other business, has to pitch its prices at the level where they think that they will maximise their revenue.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Definately agree with that the ticket prices should be lowered. I got a student ticket on the day on Tues night and it cost £14. I thought it would be around £10. I know its only £4, and it would have been better if I had brought the ticket in advance, but come on I'm a student! I'm always skint!

Putting the adult and student prices down to around £10 every now and again would definately bring in more of a crowd.

Totally agree. My son is now at Uni (Anglia Ruskin in Chelmsford) and I expect I'll have to cough up for him to come along which at £14 is a damn sight more than when he was on kid prices.

Also, one or two of his new Uni mates starved of their home town footie have expressed an interest at coming along, I have a MPV so plenty of room and fine, but I cannot pay for them too and at £14 a pop I suspect they will all be put off and stay in the Union Bar and watch the results come in on Sky Sports.

Come to think of it, if I take my son along (if he doesn't now prefer the Union bar cause his mates will be there instead of coming to pricey Roots Hall) thats £35 in total tickets, add £17 petrol costs, £3 prog, £1 draw ticket (I live in hope, but not the same as when they had that on the pitch shoot and win a car thing - I miss that), maybe £10 food and a fiver on drinks that tots up to £71. Maybe I'll stay at home instead aswell (two beer fests in town as the GB cycle ride runs thro' Hadleigh tour comes thro' Hadleigh in Suffolk).

All a little tounge in cheek, but not much.

The Club's marketing strategy, if one exists, is pure cack. If only they put down the ticket price then folk would come back in good numbers. All of the incidental costs re petrol etc would still be there but those will get forgotten about if the ticket price is made more reasonable. Say £15 adults and £10 students

So, unless I get a sudden wind of enthusiasm, guilt or whatever compelling me to Roots Hall on Sat, the Club has lost out again. They have not lost out on the £35 for my son and me on current prices. They have lost out on, based on my suggested more reasonable prices of maybe £45 (son, two mates and me) .......plus the prog, drinks etc

Multiply that up by others not going and ...............

Instead they get zilch

If anyone from the Club bothers to read this then do come back with a though thro' reply justifying your current 'strategy', it would be good to be corrected as to why the current approach is the right one.

UTB

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

If pricing is the issue why were our crowds still poor for the JPT or League Cup when prices were reduced?

 

[Napster]

If pricing is the issue why were our crowds still poor for the JPT or League Cup when prices were reduced?

Because price isn't the only issue. It's lots of things all mixed together.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

If pricing is the issue why were our crowds still poor for the JPT or League Cup when prices were reduced?

I can see what you are getting at but the first round of the JPT and League Cup never get good gates!

Until we play Manure or get to Wembley, then the glory hunters will come out of the wood work! :smile:

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I can see what you are getting at but the first round of the JPT and League Cup never get good gates!

Until we play Manure or get to Wembley, then the glory hunters will come out of the wood work! :smile:

But tickets for these games will cost even more - last time we played Man U it was £30 and tickets for the FA Cup Semi-Final and/or Play-offs are going to cost even more. If people can't afford tickets for a league game, how are they going to afford them for a big game?

 

[Its Only A Game]

Whilst that's true, I'd suggest that the fact that matchday ticket prices in the lower leagues are pretty high across the board is because when Clubs have cut prices they have ended up taking a drop in revenue accordingly. If halving prices were to lead to an increase in revenue then I'd expect that most Clubs would do it.

The Club, like any other business, has to pitch its prices at the level where they think that they will maximise their revenue.

The whole lower the price & the crowds will go up doesn't always benefit the club in cash flow terms though.

I've done no research and am guessing numbers but..............

Say we have an attendance for a game of say 4500 of which say 2800ish are season tickets. Thats hopefully 1700 paying punters through the door. At say an average cost of say £17 each (adult/student/child etc) thats £28,900 in cash.

If they were to knock say 15% off the price to an average of say £14.50, that would only generate £24,650. in order to catch up to the original cashflows they would need another 300 people through the door, or an extra 17.6% of paying punters.

Are that many really staying away from every match purely down to the difference of around £3 a game?

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

But tickets for these games will cost even more - last time we played Man U it was £30 and tickets for the FA Cup Semi-Final and/or Play-offs are going to cost even more. If people can't afford tickets for a league game, how are they going to afford them for a big game?

But they get too watch Man United!

Surely that would attract our 'fans'?
Maybe not though!