The Well Society

[weeyin]

Not that I'm too worried about the revamped benefits package, but after the initial announcement I never heard about it again. I was certainly never contacted.

 

I think the general drive to raise funds for the "double your money" offer has actually been pretty good. I think now the new season is up and running and we can see the direction the club is moving, even more people may be encouraged to donate or bump up their pledge.

[Jay]

 

 

The recruitment campaign is where I struggle to see tangible differences between what is being done now and what was done before. I've noticed tables with fliers on them in the east stand and some other fliers in the toilets but really thats about it.

 

As for the rest of the things, they are all well and good but if the recruitment campaign is not correct and not touching the fan base then how are we going to capitalise on the opportunity that Les has presented. I dare say that there are plenty of 'well fans who have no interest in playing 7 asides, whisky, podcasts may be beyond them and they are not 'high rollers'. Have these guys really been thought of and targeted?

 

In terms of the recruitment campaign, that's simply because it's only just begun. A decision was made late on last season to postpone any attempts to mount a serious recruitment campaign until early in the 2017/18 season, with the optimistic hope being we would be in a far better place as a club and a football team, thus could combine a buzz about Fir Park with a recruitment campaign. The suggestion was that trying to mount such a campaign when Mark McGhee was failing to keep us in the division was probably doomed to failure.

 

A series of letters, as mentioned before, have and are still going out. I believe all letters will be sent out by early next week. Those will be followed up both by post and e-mail. There are also going to be two visual campaigns mounted later this month (hopefully) - one based around the "Every club has investors, we are now ours" message, and the other based on something I can't discuss at present. We are also on the verge of launching the Exiles Club (just waiting a yay or nay on a particular benefit) fronted by Ally Maxwell which, I suppose, could be considered a third campaign targeting fans abroad.

 

I completely agree there has been no real difference between recruitment recently and what was done before - but that genuinely is because it was delayed to capitalise on a refreshed excitement about Fir Park.

 

In terms of the second point, the above should answer the comment about the recruitment campaign. In terms of fans who have no interest in playing 7-asides, whisky, podcasts etc, that's obviously a reasonable argument. As I've said, events and initiatives will continue to be planned both this year and beyond, but realistically you are never going to be putting stuff out there that captures absolutely everybody's imagination.

 

The recruitment campaign is the first step followed by a very real message about what the Society stands for - personally I believe that's going to be more fruitful in encouraging support for the Society, and therefore the Double Your Money offer, rather than additional events - which are largely under-attended anyway.

 

Personally, I think that the priority has to be telling the Motherwell support that contributing to the Well Society genuinely keeps Cedric Kipre at the club for an extra year and, by upping their pledge or paying off a one off donation in 2017, we could be in a position of not having to pay Les anything off a future Chris Cadden transfer fee. That's the best way forward in my view. If a 'Well fan knows and understands all that but still doesn't want to take advantage of the Double Your Money offer, I don't personally believe they are going to regardless of what else you do. However, we will of course look to supplement the Society's income from pledges & donations by organising additional fundraising events both this year and going forward, in an attempt to get as much as possible out of the deal.

 

As always, any ideas for fundraising events or initiatives are obviously welcome if anyone has any.

[numpty]

Of course, with only a relatively small audience to market these things at, it's easy to annoy them by asking them to put their hands in their pockets too often, too. I have to admit that since I already make a monthly donation, I just haven't really felt particularly motivated to contribute to any of the other efforts Jay has mentioned (and I don't really know what would).

[Big Stall]

 

In terms of the recruitment campaign, that's simply because it's only just begun. A decision was made late on last season to postpone any attempts to mount a serious recruitment campaign until early in the 2017/18 season, with the optimistic hope being we would be in a far better place as a club and a football team, thus could combine a buzz about Fir Park with a recruitment campaign. The suggestion was that trying to mount such a campaign when Mark McGhee was failing to keep us in the division was probably doomed to failure.

 

A series of letters, as mentioned before, have and are still going out. I believe all letters will be sent out by early next week. Those will be followed up both by post and e-mail. There are also going to be two visual campaigns mounted later this month (hopefully) - one based around the "Every club has investors, we are now ours" message, and the other based on something I can't discuss at present. We are also on the verge of launching the Exiles Club (just waiting a yay or nay on a particular benefit) fronted by Ally Maxwell which, I suppose, could be considered a third campaign targeting fans abroad.

 

I completely agree there has been no real difference between recruitment recently and what was done before - but that genuinely is because it was delayed to capitalise on a refreshed excitement about Fir Park.

 

In terms of the second point, the above should answer the comment about the recruitment campaign. In terms of fans who have no interest in playing 7-asides, whisky, podcasts etc, that's obviously a reasonable argument. As I've said, events and initiatives will continue to be planned both this year and beyond, but realistically you are never going to be putting stuff out there that captures absolutely everybody's imagination.

 

The recruitment campaign is the first step followed by a very real message about what the Society stands for - personally I believe that's going to be more fruitful in encouraging support for the Society, and therefore the Double Your Money offer, rather than additional events - which are largely under-attended anyway.

 

Personally, I think that the priority has to be telling the Motherwell support that contributing to the Well Society genuinely keeps Cedric Kipre at the club for an extra year and, by upping their pledge or paying off a one off donation in 2017, we could be in a position of not having to pay Les anything off a future Chris Cadden transfer fee. That's the best way forward in my view. If a 'Well fan knows and understands all that but still doesn't want to take advantage of the Double Your Money offer, I don't personally believe they are going to regardless of what else you do. However, we will of course look to supplement the Society's income from pledges & donations by organising additional fundraising events both this year and going forward, in an attempt to get as much as possible out of the deal.

 

As always, any ideas for fundraising events or initiatives are obviously welcome if anyone has any.

 

 

Good words and it is encouraging, but really, all you needed to say was that you agreed with Goggles and Flippers initial statement....

 

"Only criticism I have is Les announced this in what March? We're now in September and I've yet to see some concerted and tangible effort to capitalise on this offer. You'll appreciate Jay, I've brought this up with you directly too."

[Jay]

Good words and it is encouraging, but really, all you needed to say was that you agreed with Goggles and Flippers initial statement....

 

"Only criticism I have is Les announced this in what March? We're now in September and I've yet to see some concerted and tangible effort to capitalise on this offer. You'll appreciate Jay, I've brought this up with you directly too."

I would have if I did agree with it, but I don't in its entirety, as I said. There have been attempts by the Society to take advantage of the offer above and beyond what usually goes on, as has been listed above. Its something I've had some chats with G&F about both online and in person!

 

The recruitment campaign isn't a specific attempt to take advantage of the Double Your Money offer - it's a necessary move now that fan-ownership exists, the offer is merely a bonus. Yet, it is probably the best way to take advantage of the offer.

 

Anyway, hopefully the recruitment campaign is a success and we can add a number of regular pledges to the current membership total. Those pledges are what will make our club a success over the long-term. If we can knock a fair wedge off of the debt then that is a fine bonus.

[Kmcalpin]

Between now and say the end of November we really need to push the double your money campaign. Adverts & features in the Motherwell Tinmes and Wishaw Press; posters around the ground, tannoy announcements; Society presence in all home parts of the ground; donation collection points and so on. We have a short window to do this. I realise of course that much will depend on getting volunteers involved, if only for a few hours, and thats notoriously difficult.

 

As far as attracting new members is concerned, the current Soicety membership stands at about 54% of total season ticket holders (I know that quite a few members don't have season tickets). So there's still at least 2,000 fans to sign up. Of that total, some cannot afford a monthly membership instalment; there is a considerable number of fans who are simply against the very principle of the Society or remain very suspicious of it or its leaders' motives; and there are those who don't consider it value for money. So there is scope to increase the membership but we will never reach anything like 80% let alone 100% membership.

[Jay]

Between now and say the end of November we really need to push the double your money campaign. Adverts & features in the Motherwell Tinmes and Wishaw Press; posters around the ground, tannoy announcements; Society presence in all home parts of the ground; donation collection points and so on. We have a short window to do this. I realise of course that much will depend on getting volunteers involved, if only for a few hours, and thats notoriously difficult.

 

As far as attracting new members is concerned, the current Soicety membership stands at about 54% of total season ticket holders (I know that quite a few members don't have season tickets). So there's still at least 2,000 fans to sign up. Of that total, some cannot afford a monthly membership instalment; there is a considerable number of fans who are simply against the very principle of the Society or remain very suspicious of it or its leaders' motives; and there are those who don't consider it value for money. So there is scope to increase the membership but we will never reach anything like 80% let alone 100% membership.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Newspaper adverts in the local press is something that I've been looking at recently as it's something I do in my day job. One of the things I've tried to do since joining the Well Society Board is build a relationship between the Society and the local media, as I was pretty surprised nothing existed in the first place - both in terms of a press relationship and any notable media plan. It's something we've built on as a result with, for example, the Syrian refugees coverage etc. But you're absolutely right, there should be a bigger presence in the local press and it's something I'll be looking to implement as part of the upcoming campaigns. Tannoy announcements and posters around the ground would also be a part of any proper campaign, so I will certainly be requesting those too.

 

As mentioned earlier, donation buckets were supposed to be around the ground from the start of the season but for whatever reason that stalled, and will now be rolled out firstly against Aberdeen in the cup. Volunteers are, sadly, an issue - if more folk were willing to help out then naturally we'd get more done. That said, those of us on the Well Society Board are there because we put ourselves forward and should be prepared to put the time in.

 

Season ticket holders are going to be targeted in the recruitment campaign too. You're right - asking people to fork over more cash on top of a season ticket isn't going to wield 100% success, but I'd like to think we could add to the numbers at least.

[Goggles & Flippers]

OK, so assuming all criticism is good criticism and I only do this because I also forwarded a tangible plan for the WS to consider to help crank things up when Les' announcement was made (so no naysaying from the sidelines without offering an alternative before anyone chirps up):

 

When Les made his announcement, that should have been a game changer. All current plans put on hold with the focus on how to fully exploit the double your money scheme over the following 8 months, set a countdown clock because this is now a major income stream for the club and for that reason the club should have aligned fully with any initiative. Jesus, if done right it could have netted £250k matched is half a million and think how much we'd all doff our caps for a player sale like that. Remember selling Arnier?

 

Any plans that would help further things get progressed, anything nice for PR purposes or tie up too much manpower, ditch till January 2018.

 

Sorry Jay but to cite a 7s tournament, whisky day, auctions, MFC Podcast book are one off's by dedicated and motived WS members, ancillary to the organisation. These are neither "concerted" or maximising income in a relatively small time window.

 

Negotiating large one off donations from certain members, well now we're talking, I'll give you that one.

 

Revamped benefits package & recruitment campaign ..... to be honest, the fact the benefits package sat in limbo for what? .... 4 months? Is an oversight and dropped ball by the WS. This should not be listed in among all the other stuff that has been done off the back of Les' offer as it is intrinsic to the WS's being.

 

Anyway, here's what I submitted, it is a tad back of a fag packet but it fulfils the tangible and concerted opposed to picking low hanging fruit:

 

So if the Bradford scheme was adopted in season 2017/18, with the East stand representative of the whole stadium (all figures based on 1,000 adults signing up):

• Currently East Stand has 1,000 Adults. Revenue is approx. £300,000 per annum from season ticket sales.
• Keep revenue neutral but aim to double attendance to 2,000 adults.
• Bradford scheme where club agrees to keep revenues neutral from previous season.
• The club retains £30 of every rebate for admin purposes (£60k extra on top of £300k if 1,000 sign up).
• The amount of the potential rebate differs with the number of people who sign up, same way a Blue Peter appeal totaliser does (beauty is club always gets £300k and ALL admin fees).
• That results in a £150 season ticket and a £150 rebate (if 1,000 sign up) of which the club retains £30 and fan gets back £120 rebate if max number sign up.
• That £120 rebate can be directed towards a WS membership (setting up a £30 per month DD for 4 months - purely to maximse revenue generated in 2017).
• Every £120 is matched by Les.
• Resulting in 1,000 new adult members of WS, £120,000 generated via subs, £120k matched by Les, shy of £250k added to the fund.
• Each of the 1,000 would be expected to add a further £180 over time to get to the £300 Claret threshold (£180k).
• Added to that, some may pay more in before Dec 21st, generating more double revenue.
• Existing season ticket holders may also put some of their £120 into the WS (which would be matched).
• Not to mention POD and Cooper stands if they follow the precedent.
• Above is for adults, but kids and youths could add substantially to this too.
• Combine with the offers for season ticket holders it can be sold as effective free football for a year.

This could be a real money spinner, total revenues from £500k to £700k for club and WS combined with Les' contribution:

 

120k from new ST holders

+120k matched gift

+60k admin from all 2,000 adults

+180k future WS sub revenue from new ST holders

+75k existing season ticket holders contributions

+75k if replicated via other stands

+75k matched gift

 

It would get a lot of press coverage, show that the fans are being listened to and reducing the cost of attending for your average fan.

 

However for us, it could max out Les' gift and also put even more direct funds into the WS. It needs swift action and buy in from all associated with the club. A vigorous and sustained advertising campaign and knocking on doors. Flow, Murrant, Craig, WS and club board, with an acknowledgment from the players they will need to get out into the community to sell it to the lapsed fans and those who have never considered it.

[superward]

I might not have read this correctly as I am on the train. But, is this not just fudging the books really? The club are essentially rebating what is new season ticket money back to the society (via fans) for it to be doubled to then come back to the club?

 

I think the idea and the Bradford model is a good one to drive season ticket sales perhaps but for it to be included in the double your money thing seems a little disingenuous and I'd imagine Les wouldn't accept it (could be wrong). Les double your money is targeted at new income streams into the society I would think and realigning an income stream that would be going into the club directly purely to double it due to his offer probably isn't in the 'spirit' of the offer.

 

It's kinda like the club cutting a cheque in August for half the season ticket value, sending it to the WS as a donation and asking for it to be doubled?

[Jay]

OK, so assuming all criticism is good criticism and I only do this because I also forwarded a tangible plan for the WS to consider to help crank things up when Les' announcement was made (so no naysaying from the sidelines without offering an alternative before anyone chirps up):

 

When Les made his announcement, that should have been a game changer. All current plans put on hold with the focus on how to fully exploit the double your money scheme over the following 8 months, set a countdown clock because this is now a major income stream for the club and for that reason the club should have aligned fully with any initiative. Jesus, if done right it could have netted £250k matched is half a million and think how much we'd all doff our caps for a player sale like that. Remember selling Arnier?

 

Any plans that would help further things get progressed, anything nice for PR purposes or tie up too much manpower, ditch till January 2018.

 

Sorry Jay but to cite a 7s tournament, whisky day, auctions, MFC Podcast book are one off's by dedicated and motived WS members, ancillary to the organisation. These are neither "concerted" or maximising income in a relatively small time window.

 

Negotiating large one off donations from certain members, well now we're talking, I'll give you that one.

 

Revamped benefits package & recruitment campaign ..... to be honest, the fact the benefits package sat in limbo for what? .... 4 months? Is an oversight and dropped ball by the WS. This should not be listed in among all the other stuff that has been done off the back of Les' offer as it is intrinsic to the WS's being.

 

Anyway, here's what I submitted, it is a tad back of a fag packet but it fulfils the tangible and concerted opposed to picking low hanging fruit:

 

I'm not for a second claiming that the measures undertaken so far are adequate - I've already stated that's not the case. Personally, I've been really disappointed by the lacks of events and initiatives that have actually been put into action, and how long it has taken those that have. However, I would point out that only the MFC Podcast book is something organised by dedicated and motivated WS members, and not the WS itself.

 

I completely agree regarding the benefits package. It's something I was personally moaning about on a consistent basis from January until it was finally launched. The timescale for that and, in truth, many other things, as mentioned above, is completely unacceptable and has to improve.

 

In terms of your idea - it's obviously something you pitched to the Society before my time, and then have sent to myself, and it's been something I have subsequently passed back on to the Well Society Board as a whole. I can certainly revisit it and seek out further opinion, and look to have it added to the agenda for the next Supervisory meeting, but I do tend to agree with superward that there are some issues with it, among some others, which would possibly go against the whole spirit of the agreement with Les. Les has made the offer because the only way he is prepared to step away from the Well Society is knowing that it has a steady, stable flow of income - his offer is entirely designed to increase Well Society membership - not just in numbers, but in ongoing monthly pledges and donations - in keeping with the long-term vision of fan-ownership. Even if the rebate is handed back with only the "recommendation" that it is subsequently invested in the Well Society, I don't agree for a second that most fans actually would. I don't personally believe what you are proposing satisfies the objective set by Les and, instead, seems to be more of elaborate way to cash in on Les using the fact that 'Well fans - Society members or not - already pay for season tickets. However, it would perhaps be something for Les to personally look at which is a suggestion I will make.

 

Essentially, it seems the crux of your proposal is I pay £300 for my season ticket and half of that goes to the club directly and other half indirectly, via the Society, so that Les doubles it. The fact that I'd get a Society membership out of it doesn't really mean a great deal, as there'd be no guarantee I'd pledge anything after that. With that approach, if we really wanted to, the club could just hand the entirety of Ben Heneghan's transfer fee to the Well Society as a gift or repayment for past loans on Monday, and the Society could just invest it back into the club on the Tuesday. The fee goes where it was meant to but the Society maximises the Double Your Money offer with bells on. I think, however, the agreement is not to do things that could be construed in such a way, in keeping with the fact that Les, for all his perceived faults, is doing the Society a massive favour here.

 

I think that the Double Your Money offer has to been seen more in the context of why it exists in the first place rather than just as if it's some sort of "free bet" error on a gambling website. I think it also has to be seen in the context in the long-term plan for fan-ownership which, in all likelihood, is going to be the model at our club for generations. We must maximise the offer as best we can but let's not overstate its importance. The idea that we would put anything else Society-related on hold doesn't stick with me, the Well Society itself and the obstacles and opportunities provided by fan-ownership are the priority - from now seeing first hand the amount of work that goes in to just keep the Society ticking over (while still recognising the faults and improvements that need to be made), it would be incredibly daft - and possibly disastrous - in the long-term to pin everything on Les's offer.

[steelboy]

Well not really because the Bradford model being used technically everyone gets their £120 back they can then choose how to use that cash, if they want to donate to the well society then great.

 

The big issue with this plan is it sounds good in theory but wouldnt work in reality. 1000 people have season tickets at £300 just now because they feel it is worth it. If we had to get to the 2000 aim and the price drops to £150 then that would be great for most people, however I can't see people who couldnt afford a £300 ticket spending £150 on a ticket and gifting the remaining to the WS. Where are the extra 1000 people willingly hading over £300 coming from?

 

That's how I read it anyway?

Aye considering the queue is full of adults passing kids season tickets to other adults it's a very long shot.

[Kmcalpin]

We have to concentrate on the here and now. We have three and a half months; just three and a half months to maximise the double your money deal. For the time being lets park the arguments of the past however valid they may be; we can always resurrect them later.

[joewarkfanclub]

I know we have had the club open day and the Well Society were involved in that. However, has there been any thought to having a one off Well Society Fun Day to get a large number of Motherwell fans down to Fir Park with the specific purpose of directing them towards a table where the Society are taking new pledges? Ive no idea how difficult/easy that would be to organise or whether it would be best held on a matchday or maybe the next international break but its just a thought.

 

Maybe in addition to buckets at turnstyles we should have a table inside every stand with folk taking memberships/pledges. Sometimes you need to be visible/in folks faces to make them part with their hard earned?

[Jay]

I know we have had the club open day and the Well Society were involved in that. However, has there been any thought to having a one off Well Society Fun Day to get a large number of Motherwell fans down to Fir Park with the specific purpose of directing them towards a table where the Society are taking new pledges? Ive no idea how difficult/easy that would be to organise or whether it would be best held on a matchday or maybe the next international break but its just a thought.

 

Maybe in addition to buckets at turnstyles we should have a table inside every stand with folk taking memberships/pledges. Sometimes you need to be visible/in folks faces to make them part with their hard earned?

 

The first point is a possibility - the issue you have with particular events is that they can often be very under-attended. I'm not entirely sure a specific Well Society day would have anywhere near the pull of the club's one, hence why it's often better to be present at the club's open day instead. It's worth investigating though.

 

The second point actually already happens - there are Society Board members at tables in all three stands at half-time and in the Cooper Suite before matches, with leaflets and membership forms, and the odd hand out for kids like Match Attax cards etc.

[joewarkfanclub]

 

The first point is a possibility - the issue you have with particular events is that they can often be very under-attended. I'm not entirely sure a specific Well Society day would have anywhere near the pull of the club's one, hence why it's often better to be present at the club's open day instead. It's worth investigating though.

 

The second point actually already happens - there are Society Board members at tables in all three stands at half-time and in the Cooper Suite before matches, with leaflets and membership forms, and the odd hand out for kids like Match Attax cards etc.

I should probably pay more attention! But then Im already signed up so I will cut myself some slack!

[Goggles & Flippers]

To counter the criticism, the club would implement at Bradford scheme season ticket drive, simple as that. Total season ticket revenues would be maintained from the previous season but the hope is it would result in increased attendances.

 

What people do with their rebate is up to them however there would be a strong drive and emphasis to put it towards the WS and help sustain the club, especially in the light of Les' offer.

 

If a fan chooses to put their rebate into the club then it is neither automatic or cute, its what the WS want us to do. Using a recent transfer fee as an alternative example is a tad disingenuous.

 

As for why I dragged it up, I believe that if you are going to be critical which I am of where we find ourselves in September, then at least make sure your voice is not 100% negative. If I play devils advocate then I should at least have tired to be the angel on the shoulder with an alternative idea in advance of sharpening my knife. Which I did.

[Jay]

To counter the criticism, the club would implement at Bradford scheme season ticket drive, simple as that. Total season ticket revenues would be maintained from the previous season but the hope is it would result in increased attendances.

 

What people do with their rebate is up to them however there would be a strong drive and emphasis to put it towards the WS and help sustain the club, especially in the light of Les' offer.

 

If a fan chooses to put their rebate into the club then it is neither automatic or cute, its what the WS want us to do. Using a recent transfer fee as an alternative example is a tad disingenuous.

 

As for why I dragged it up, I believe that if you are going to be critical which I am of where we find ourselves in September, then at least make sure your voice is not 100% negative. If I play devils advocate then I should at least have tired to be the angel on the shoulder with an alternative idea in advance of sharpening my knife. Which I did.

 

I'll be honest, my own personal take on it is that there's not enough evidence to suggest that nearly enough 'Well fans would put their rebate into the club to make it viable. That's not a slight on 'Well fans, I just think it's human nature - particularly in current times - to want to make a saving, and I think the majority would see the scheme as a reduction in the amount they pay for their season ticket, rather than the chance to join the Well Society. I know I probably would. The Society's current issue for me is that people still don't understand what it does - hence the plans for an orchestrated campaign that gets that message out. Folk who are unimpressed or unconvinced by the Well Society wouldn't put extra money in via a season ticket any more than they already do, in my opinion.

 

I don't necessarily agree that the transfer fee example is disingenuous. It was perhaps an exaggerated example to use, but the point still remains. There are many ways in which the Society could max out Les's offer by working with the club to simply shift funds about to make sure the Society's income for the year hits the target, with the club losing nothing at the same time. But we need to be careful not to cross the line from normal fundraising and increasing of memberships, into starting to deliberately exploit Les's offer. Obviously, if the rebate doesn't go directly to the Society then that argument probably doesn't apply here, but as above, I'm not sure I'd agree that fans would go for that rather than just keep their rebate.

 

As for "dragging it up", I'm pleased you did. The Double Your Money initiative is actually a trickier mountain to climb that perhaps it seems at first, so any ideas are welcome. It's easy to criticise the lack of progress on that front, it's harder to offer up genuine alternatives which, although I might not necessarily agree is viable, you certainly did and have. And I'm one of the worst for criticising the Society without offering alternative suggestions in the past, so I know what I'm talking about there.

[rinkydink]

Is anything planned to directly connect with those who have previously signed up in the early days of WS but who haven't then gone on to pledge? Or those maybe who pledged in early days of that model but may have chucked it for whatever reason?

[Jay]

Is anything planned to directly connect with those who have previously signed up in the early days of WS but who haven't then gone on to pledge? Or those maybe who pledged in early days of that model but may have chucked it for whatever reason?

 

Yes, letters have been going out and the last batches of this first run will be in Monday morning's post. They haven't went out quick enough, but they will be out by next week. Those will then be followed up by further letters and e-mails which should tie in with the campaign we're going to be orchestrating.

[superward]

To counter the criticism, the club would implement at Bradford scheme season ticket drive, simple as that. Total season ticket revenues would be maintained from the previous season but the hope is it would result in increased attendances.

 

What people do with their rebate is up to them however there would be a strong drive and emphasis to put it towards the WS and help sustain the club, especially in the light of Les' offer.

 

If a fan chooses to put their rebate into the club then it is neither automatic or cute, its what the WS want us to do. Using a recent transfer fee as an alternative example is a tad disingenuous.

 

As for why I dragged it up, I believe that if you are going to be critical which I am of where we find ourselves in September, then at least make sure your voice is not 100% negative. If I play devils advocate then I should at least have tired to be the angel on the shoulder with an alternative idea in advance of sharpening my knife. Which I did.

On reading your idea at first this morning it seemed that the rebate fans would get would be mandated to the society. Which is where the sticking point for me was. It was basically gaming the system/deal from Les.If that's not the case then that's fine and it's not really against the spirit of the deal. But the numbers are a tad wishful thinking imo.

 

Deal aside, I think it's still a decent suggestion on how to drive ticket sales up. It's a fairly big risk on the clubs part. But I don't know how we find out without a trial really. Perhaps we trial it in one stand next year and see what the uptake is.

[sinjy]

How would this work for those who qualify for a concession? I paid £180 for my season ticket in the East stand and many of those around me certainly look old enough to qualify for this price. To hike it up to £300 would be too much for some.

[wellowell]

All the Players and Management staff have all joined today great bit of PR as well as helping well society

[Jay]

http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2017/09/08/well-squad-join-the-society/

 

 

Motherwell FC can today announce that each one of its first-team players and football management staff has joined the Well Society.

The Society, as owners, support the club financially throughout the year, both on and off the pitch, and have done so since they took over the majority shareholding in October of last year, making Motherwell FC the only fully fan-owned entity in the Scottish Premiership.

The Society generates funds in a number of different ways, the majority raised from monthly contributions from members, with more than 1,000 fans pledging on an on-going basis.

Now, in a show of solidarity, every single player in the Motherwell first-team squad, along with the football management staff, has agreed to become a member and have signed up to a monthly contribution.

Joint Chairman of the Well Society Douglas Dickie praised this gesture saying: “It is fantastic that the players and the management team have agreed to join the Society and invest in our club, which is crucial for our success and long-term stability.

“This only underpins the unity we have throughout the club and will hopefully act as a catalyst for more fans to get behind the Society and its aims.

We want the link between the fans of the club and the players on the park to be strong. That comes from us giving 100% each and every week, but also with things like this, where we put something back because we care about this place. We are all honoured to be members.”

“All I would say to all the Motherwell fans out there is that the players and management have joined – it’s now your turn!”

Club captain Carl McHugh added: “We are building a very strong bond as a squad, something the manager has worked hard to encourage.

“This is our place of work, but the players have a genuine affinity with this football club, it gets under your skin really quickly.

“Even the new lads who have just joined say there is a special feeling about Motherwell and that’s why we have, as a squad, collectively agreed to join the ‘Well Society and contribute each month.

“We want the link between the fans of the club and the players on the park to be strong. That comes from us giving 100% each and every week, but also with things like this, where we put something back because we care about this place. We are all honoured to be members.”

Stephen Robinson expanded on that by saying: “I’m proud the players have taken this step as it shows what we’re trying to build here has solid foundations.

“We have guys who are genuinely committed to each other as teammates, but also to the club that does a lot for them too.

“As a management team, it was important that we also took this step as a show of unity with the fans and to further solidify our attempts for everyone to move forward in the same direction, which will hopefully lead to positive outcomes in the future.”

[Goggles & Flippers]

@Superward, I'd fully expect anyone coming into the Chapman to take advantage would immediately be given the hard sell. To not do it would be an oversight and negligent on the part of the club and WS.

 

As for the values being wishful thinking, I know of at least 5 lapsed season ticket holders. I'm sure every one of us reading this can cite similar numbers. Tell them they can get it for up to £180 a year then I'm sure a few would return. It was only a few years ago we had 18,000 at Hampden and average home attendances over 8,000. We can easily get these lapsed back if we a) let them know about it, b) incentivise their return and c) incentives those doing the selling it to them.

 

For the purposes of an illustration I used 300 quid as a datum. That is the rough adult price for the East/Hunter. Of course there are concessions and kids tickets, it would all be relative to what you pay.

 

It would work such as this, lots of media and exposure. Fans are incentivised to get their mates and those who have fallen by the wayside over the years to return. If you know a bit of arm twisting in the pub or a few chase up emails get you a £120 back on £300 you were prepared to spend anyway, you will be proactive. How many hours at your work would you need to work to make £120? Would you spare one or two chasing up you mates to save 120 when you think of it on those terms?

 

Upon taking out a season ticket you pay your advertised price ... in this case £300. Based on the uptake the maximum you can get back is 50% - £30 admin fee for the club to administer. So £120. A concession paying £180 would get back £60 if we hit target.

 

The club would normally issue the rebates in two tranches, one just before Christmas as a welcome boon, issued from the back of the club shop (got to give Provan a wee boost) and the second after the tight cashflow months of Feb/March. That way the club has additional funds (albeit ring fenced for the rebate) to play with in the short term. For the purposes of Les' offer I'd recommend that it would be returned in October for one year only to get max WS uptake.

 

The beauty of the scheme is this. The club agree to plateau season ticket revenues from the previous campaign. However the £30 admin free which is taken off any rebates at source per ticket immediately benefits the club and is in itself an increase in revenue.

 

We all remember how having a full Fir Park for Nancy or Euro games, with no free seats around you gives an added buzz and excitement. This offers a chance to both increase attendances, revenues and embrace what is the core of being fan owned .... the possibility to take innovate ideas for the benefit of the fans rather than just pumping them for cash at every turn.

[superward]

I'm in agreement it's a good idea to boost ticket sales. I'm just sceptical we would say much of the rebate paid back and I say that as paid up and monthly contributing WS member myself! I'm maybe too sceptical of my fellow fans mind you!