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2016/17 Ins & Outs


David
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Customers or fans? This thread is going down a well worn path that has been debated here before.

 

The club wants us to be loyal fans and at the same time act like customers by paying our cash in return for a product (entrance to a game, replica shirt) without asking too many questions. A fan will want to know more than a customer. The thing with football clubs is they generally don't lose customers to other football clubs. They just lose customers who decide they don't want the product anymore. If someone isn't enjoying going to a certain pub or restaurant, they'll try another one. It's not like they say "I'm not going to a pub or a restaurant anymore, I'll just get takeaways" (maybe there is a comparison here, with the clubs as bars and restaurants and Sky Sports as takeaway).

 

The thing is that clubs think that the loyalty of fans means that they can sometimes get away with shoddy customer service or a sub standard product. And they are right. If I were to stop going to Motherwell games if it were an unpleasant experience, I'd have stopped years ago. But people change and not everyone has the same tolerance for poor performances or customer service. Hence dropping attendances.

 

What complicates matters is fan ownership. Fans already feel like the club "belongs" to them and as such some have more of an interest in what goes on behind the scenes. If you are looking for fans to buy into ownership, that only gets magnified. So I wouldn't slate anyone for wanting to know as much as possible. Even if I lean more towards Al B's point of view in that I care about the product on the park and everything else not so much...

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So when we finish top 6, a possible Euro spot and maybe a couple of later round cup matches we will be quids in then, lots of extra cash to add to the budget next season.

I hope that's the case definitely! R

 

Rather than budgeting worst case scenario meaning x amount of season tickets, x amount hospitality and prize money for 10th and no cup runs money. Which is how it was described.

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There are fans and fans. Some want to know every detail and some only want to turn up on a Saturday to watch their team. Each to their own. In principle I think that fans should be given as much information as possible, if they want it ie its not rammed down everyone's throat.

 

When the Society takes over members don't need to know everything as Al B has rightly pointed out. Members should be told important details and a bit more perhaps if they want it but don't forget they appoint a Board of Directors to run the club and it should be left to them and the club's employees to conduct day to day business without fear of interference.

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Ryan Stevenson sounded like he had virtually signed then went to Hearts. Not quite as close to a deal, but Samson was highly linked to us in the media and McCall made noises about signing him too.

Actually Ryan Stevenson was the one I would have also quoted.

 

Maybe I should have said once it became public knowledge rather than because it became public knowledge. Hard to tell without the facts.

 

I would rather not know until deal is done like the players we signed this summer. Don't think many if any had them mentioned or on the radar.

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Customers or fans? This thread is going down a well worn path that has been debated here before.

 

The club wants us to be loyal fans and at the same time act like customers by paying our cash in return for a product (entrance to a game, replica shirt) without asking too many questions. A fan will want to know more than a customer. The thing with football clubs is they generally don't lose customers to other football clubs. They just lose customers who decide they don't want the product anymore. If someone isn't enjoying going to a certain pub or restaurant, they'll try another one. It's not like they say "I'm not going to a pub or a restaurant anymore, I'll just get takeaways" (maybe there is a comparison here, with the clubs as bars and restaurants and Sky Sports as takeaway).

 

The thing is that clubs think that the loyalty of fans means that they can sometimes get away with shoddy customer service or a sub standard product. And they are right. If I were to stop going to Motherwell games if it were an unpleasant experience, I'd have stopped years ago. But people change and not everyone has the same tolerance for poor performances or customer service. Hence dropping attendances.

 

What complicates matters is fan ownership. Fans already feel like the club "belongs" to them and as such some have more of an interest in what goes on behind the scenes. If you are looking for fans to buy into ownership, that only gets magnified. So I wouldn't slate anyone for wanting to know as much as possible. Even if I lean more towards Al B's point of view in that I care about the product on the park and everything else not so much...

 

There's a massive difference between wanting to know, and throwing a hissy fit when you aren't told. The first one is perfectly fine, as long as it's tempered by the knowledge that it's not something you're entitled to.

 

Also on a more general point (and for the hard of reading CMWellfan), I never called you, me or any of us customers. The term was part of a list of various names we could be called, with the point being that whatever name you give us as a group, none of them afford us inside knowledge of business dealings.

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No, we really aren't.

 

For the average punter, which you are, I am, most of us are...the fan-ownership thing is just a scaled up version of the buy-a-brick scheme.

 

If you think that the club is spending money unwisely, or not capitalising on oppertunities in the way you feel they should, then you are 100% entitled to take your money elsewhere, or keep it in your pocket. But if you think buying into the 'Well Society affords you any kind of rights as far as the business is concerned, then you're going to be one very disappointed guy and have, it would seem, completely misunderstood what the 'Well Society is. I appreciate you might have your own scale for stupid though, and that's fair enough.

Yep! Fan ownership just means they are using your money.

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With first team players dependant on one or more players moving on, there still remains the outstanding position of assistant manager to be filled. McGhee has said there have been a dozen good applicants, for me I'd like to see someone like Gary Holt - presuming he will apply, which given he's unemployed is a reasonable assumption - youthful but with a good pedigree and should McGhee only see out his current contract, an ideal replacement

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on topic, it's very early doors. I expect there will be further movement in our squad. Unfortunately, the club won't be able to respend and incomes from player departures and I don't think an "inside knowledge" should be required to realise that.

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Given Holt left his role at Norwich because he wanted to pursue a managerial position it'd seem an odd career move to go for the assistant job at Motherwell tbh. http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36650786

He was on off the ball 2/7 and the impression I got from him on the radio was he was looking at getting back into the game, with the view of being first team coach/manager, but it certainly didn't sound like he would be ruling himself out as an assistant at any club. I may be wide of the mark on that as two weeks ago is hazy in my head. It remains to be seen who McGhee appoints but imo it is someone of that ilk that we need to be looking at

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Just me that finds it frustrating..... and when we finally get a "hot prospect" through the youth, the likely hood is he will move before playing in the first team?

This wasn't always the case. In recent years, and I can't define "recent", this kind of predatory behaviour towards signing good young lads before they gain first team experience, has become more and more widespread amongst the bigger clubs, as they have extended their tentacles. I suppose too that young lads and their parents are also becoming more ambitious and dream of their offspring becoming the next Messi.

 

No its not just you, its very frustrating.

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If you look at Chelsea and their model of basically 'warehousing' talent, then you can see an even bigger problem.

 

Not only are they purchasing players for their academies, young players are being bought, almost in bulk, then shipped put on loan, where good performances increase their value.

 

Many of these Chelsea players will get nowhere near the first team squad, yet will return the club a healthy profit.

 

A quick look at the website reveals that they had thirty five players put on loan in 2015.

 

Sporting Lisbon are doing much the same and in Scotland look at Celtic.

 

Did Celtic really need to buy Scott Allan or young Christie from ICT? Did they pay a fair price for them, comparitively?

 

I'm just glad that with Moult and Johnson, our sellable assets are tied down to two year deals presently.

 

In my time we have lost McKinnon and Lambert on Bosman transfers, watched McDonald, Pearson and Murphy go for fees which were a steal and now the question marks around Robbie Leitch at present. Hall is another one, but I suspect the compensation was a fair sum, to most on here.

 

We produced the best Scottish footballer in a generation in McFadden, let us hope we can bring some more through our academy before the vultures circle.

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TBF, we aren't averse to acquiring youth players from other teams. Ben Hall being a recent example (although he was a little older).

 

While it used to happen in the past, the interested clubs would often let the player develop in his local club and bring him in later.

 

Money speaks now, even at that age, and clubs don't want to miss out on the next big thing.

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