LJG
Peter Beadle
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 969 
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Post by LJG on Oct 31, 2014 19:45:04 GMT
I don't think Bristol Sport are seizing the moment so to speak, merely moving with the times, visit most professional FC's and you will see such initiatives. I genuinely feel sorry for supporters put out by this important issue. Looking at YT clip posted here recently when dear old Ray Kendall was interviewed from a portacabin in 1990 on the Saint and Greavesy show, saint commented about 'can you believe the club operates from portacabis'. if the saint were to pull into the club car park in 2014 almost quarter of a century later he will see that some things haven't changed, if he came in December he would be treated to Santa's Grotto. It's pretty clear that there is no intention from any of the club directors or chairman to change this, one mention of the word marketing to our directors would probably receive a response a long the lines of what's your favourite market Eastville or Southmead. We have been run like a non league club for many years off the pitch and as a result we have found our true home now, all we can do is grow old and hope that one day the club is bought by people who understand how to run a club professionally. Oh great another board bashing thread Hmmm ... seems a bit more like a stating cold hard facts thread. BCFC are light years ahead of us in terms of public commerciality and stuff like the OP just goes to highlight that. We haven't kept up with the times (that's plain for even the loveliest of board lovers to see surely?) and that's going to really take it's toll soon. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Oct 31, 2014 20:01:54 GMT
Problem as I see it is that the whole future of the club is built around building the UWE, you do have to wonder what the future holds if we have to scrap that plan. We will be left watching a non league club in a dilapidated Mem with no training facilities, just when 82ers start playing Div 1 football in a refurbished AG.
We just have to hope NH can pull off the UWE and DC gets us back into Div 2, if 82ers do screw up promotion our average attendance at the UWE in our first team could exceed there's. Although you fear comparisons with Stoke & Port Vale might be what we have to look forward to in the future.
How many fans will we lose if the UWE project dies and we remain in the Conference for more than a couple of seasons?
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Post by lympstonegas on Oct 31, 2014 20:07:35 GMT
Oh great another board bashing thread Hmmm ... seems a bit more like a stating cold hard facts thread. BCFC are light years ahead of us in terms of public commerciality and stuff like the OP just goes to highlight that. We haven't kept up with the times (that's plain for even the loveliest of board lovers to see surely?) and that's going to really take it's toll soon. Yes I can buy into that but I was referring to 1986gas last 2 paragraphs |
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LJG
Peter Beadle
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 969
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Post by LJG on Oct 31, 2014 21:01:20 GMT
Hmmm ... seems a bit more like a stating cold hard facts thread. BCFC are light years ahead of us in terms of public commerciality and stuff like the OP just goes to highlight that. We haven't kept up with the times (that's plain for even the loveliest of board lovers to see surely?) and that's going to really take it's toll soon. Yes I can buy into that but I was referring to 1986gas last 2 paragraphs Have you read Ollie's book? |
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Post by Curly Wurly on Oct 31, 2014 21:10:33 GMT
It's been apparent since we played them last year. Our PR was & is appalling and they have had ZERO arrests from the pitch invasion. We are a country mile ahead of us. Sorry to bang on but if we don't get new blood in, who understand how to market us, then we are totally ducked I don't think this has got anything to do with PR - I suspect something a whole lot more sinister, but that's another story. You are all correct, though - They have a slick marketing machine, we are still Rag Bag. Endearing though it was, we could be a whole lot more professional from top to bottom, even with our much smaller budget. |
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Post by lympstonegas on Oct 31, 2014 21:56:34 GMT
Yes I can buy into that but I was referring to 1986gas last 2 paragraphs Have you read Ollie's book? Yep but not sure of your point. City have always been ahead and I've had 1st hand experience of that with a son being moved out of Rovers then school of excellence and being picked up overnight to go into City's academy and on to pro terms through negotiations with Landsdown. Also had a son who played at Henbury with Shaq Hunter and Alefe Santos so aware of what Rovers had then. My point is that we have always held a danger of not attracting new players and fans through the schools etc due to our illustrious richer and higher status red neighbours as well as the likes of Southampton WBA and the like that target Bristol and the West Country. This has always been a threat and no more so when City were a 1st Division club and people were predicting our demise as who would ever want to come and watch or play for us now. We survived and I believe will continue to survive even IF City do get promoted this season. I happen to believe they won't by the way. I state this not as a Board lover but a believer that actually if we can achieve promotion this season we can do as well as Luton are doing now and the likes Fleetwood have done recently and that is gain a momentum and impedus that will attract new fans and investment that will see us do ok thank you very much especially if the new UWE or revamped Mem coincide with that rise |
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Post by gasshole on Oct 31, 2014 22:20:56 GMT
I don't think Bristol Sport are seizing the moment so to speak, merely moving with the times, visit most professional FC's and you will see such initiatives. I genuinely feel sorry for supporters put out by this important issue. Looking at YT clip posted here recently when dear old Ray Kendall was interviewed from a portacabin in 1990 on the Saint and Greavesy show, saint commented about 'can you believe the club operates from portacabis'. if the saint were to pull into the club car park in 2014 almost quarter of a century later he will see that some things haven't changed, if he came in December he would be treated to Santa's Grotto. It's pretty clear that there is no intention from any of the club directors or chairman to change this, one mention of the word marketing to our directors would probably receive a response a long the lines of what's your favourite market Eastville or Southmead. We have been run like a non league club for many years off the pitch and as a result we have found our true home now, all we can do is grow old and hope that one day the club is bought by people who understand how to run a club professionally. Bang on Fella. Really enjoyed watching the highlights that Dorchester Town uploaded to YouTube, remind me what level they play at. Seems to be a monumental task for Rovers to match that kind of Service. The Dinosaurs need to wake up before the big freeze sets in. GET COVERAGE OUT TO THE MASSES.....it's called advertising and it helps grow our unique brand. |
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Post by chelt_gas on Oct 31, 2014 22:33:17 GMT
BRFC are just so behind a modern business approach. If they weren't my club I'd have no sympathy for their plight but they are. Higgs needs help but if he doesn't ask for it we are doomed.
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LPGas
Stuart Taylor
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,240
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Post by LPGas on Oct 31, 2014 22:55:19 GMT
Rovers -£7 million
City -£55 million
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 22:56:33 GMT
Have you read Ollie's book? Yep but not sure of your point. City have always been ahead and I've had 1st hand experience of that with a son being moved out of Rovers then school of excellence and being picked up overnight to go into City's academy and on to pro terms through negotiations with Landsdown. Also had a son who played at Henbury with Shaq Hunter and Alefe Santos so aware of what Rovers had then. My point is that we have always held a danger of not attracting new players and fans through the schools etc due to our illustrious richer and higher status red neighbours as well as the likes of Southampton WBA and the like that target Bristol and the West Country. This has always been a threat and no more so when City were a 1st Division club and people were predicting our demise as who would ever want to come and watch or play for us now. We survived and I believe will continue to survive even IF City do get promoted this season. I happen to believe they won't by the way. I state this not as a Board lover but a believer that actually if we can achieve promotion this season we can do as well as Luton are doing now and the likes Fleetwood have done recently and that is gain a momentum and impedus that will attract new fans and investment that will see us do ok thank you very much especially if the new UWE or revamped Mem coincide with that rise No offence Lympstone but no idea what your son's experiences are connected to how a club sells itself off the pitch. As for board bashing or as Henbury Gas likes to call it "a hidden agenda" I don't get that either. As a small business owner every Sunday I ask someone to critique the past weeks work, sometimes it gets painful but always results in improvement and moving forward in keeping up with competitors. Why shouldn't freedom of speech and cold facts stop anyone having an opinion of how incredibly poor the club is run, having witnessed southern league clubs put more effort into marketing it makes me feel embarrassed to be honest. Of course it won't make a jot of difference as a sea of suggestions have been ignored repeatedly from lots of offers of free help. The board have an incredibly loyal band of supporters who will turn up in numbers week in and week out and will never try to affect change off the field, not even non league status has brought about a groundswell opinion and the board sit comfortably in this knowledge, some fans revel in the rag bag image in 2014. It's just a shame to see 25 years on since Ray Kendall's day that we are as rag bag today as we have always been and as a unique club it could only happen here! |
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 22:58:09 GMT
Rovers -£7 million City -£55 million Hootsuite Marketing Software £10 per month, offers to club to work for free, dozens. |
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dagnogo
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 872
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Post by dagnogo on Nov 1, 2014 7:07:52 GMT
Rovers -£7 million City -£55 million City's owner can write that off in a heartbeat. Rovers' owners are selling the Memorial Stadium to get that smaller figure back. Chelsea owe Abramovich hundreds of millions but if he never asks for it back, what's the harm? |
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Post by ellington on Nov 1, 2014 8:25:31 GMT
After our relegation I spoke to one of our players who expressed his desire to stay with us as he has , stating that he loved the club, the place but most of all the fans and their desire, not going to mention his name for obvious reasons but he did acknowledge how tinpot we were in terms of the day to day operation of our outfit.
We are rag bag non league Rovers but we need to start looking for ways ahead in the future and shake off that demeaning tag and persevere with alternative business plans in the realisation that the UWE may well not happen, a short and long term marketing strategy must be put in place and IF we do get promoted at the first time of asking then we oughta to be advertising for a CEO with a proven track record to get out there and put us back on the map , can only be money well spent in my opinion.
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Post by bs20gas on Nov 1, 2014 8:27:41 GMT
Rovers -£7 million City -£55 million £55 Million is literally spare change to Landsdown whilst £7 million is probably two thirds of Higgs fortune. |
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gas2
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 218
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Post by gas2 on Nov 1, 2014 8:55:12 GMT
55 million hes saved that and more by living n the channel islands
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Post by Topper Gas on Nov 1, 2014 9:19:23 GMT
After our relegation I spoke to one of our players who expressed his desire to stay with us as he has , stating that he loved the club, the place but most of all the fans and their desire, not going to mention his name for obvious reasons but he did acknowledge how tinpot we were in terms of the day to day operation of our outfit. We are rag bag non league Rovers but we need to start looking for ways ahead in the future and shake off that demeaning tag and persevere with alternative business plans in the realisation that the UWE may well not happen, a short and long term marketing strategy must be put in place and IF we do get promoted at the first time of asking then we oughta to be advertising for a CEO with a proven track record to get out there and put us back on the map , can only be money well spent in my opinion. The UWE Stadium correctly executed would answer most of those concerns, problem is in the absence of building the UWE there doesn't seem Plan B. As far as the previous poster suggesting things will be OK if we get promoted this season, as things stand a Play Off looks our best hope and then it's a complete lottery if we go up or not. I'd say we've a 1 in 4 chance of promotion, and I'm not sure if the odds will improve next season. |
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Post by ellington on Nov 1, 2014 9:19:49 GMT
55 million hes saved that and more by living n the channel islands What £55 million In tax he's saved? |
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LJG
Peter Beadle
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 969
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Post by LJG on Nov 1, 2014 9:30:53 GMT
Have you read Ollie's book? Yep but not sure of your point. City have always been ahead and I've had 1st hand experience of that with a son being moved out of Rovers then school of excellence and being picked up overnight to go into City's academy and on to pro terms through negotiations with Landsdown. Also had a son who played at Henbury with Shaq Hunter and Alefe Santos so aware of what Rovers had then. My point is that we have always held a danger of not attracting new players and fans through the schools etc due to our illustrious richer and higher status red neighbours as well as the likes of Southampton WBA and the like that target Bristol and the West Country. This has always been a threat and no more so when City were a 1st Division club and people were predicting our demise as who would ever want to come and watch or play for us now. We survived and I believe will continue to survive even IF City do get promoted this season. I happen to believe they won't by the way. I state this not as a Board lover but a believer that actually if we can achieve promotion this season we can do as well as Luton are doing now and the likes Fleetwood have done recently and that is gain a momentum and impedus that will attract new fans and investment that will see us do ok thank you very much especially if the new UWE or revamped Mem coincide with that rise My point was Ollie talks in the strongest terms about how unprofessional the running of BRFC is. That's someone from the inside looking out. I can't see the point you're trying to make as what you say seems to corroborate everything that was being said above - we've got a shabby set up and the difference is marked and not just in money terms but professional approach too. You end by saying our hopes hinge on going up this year and a new ground or redevelopment ... isn't that everyone else above's point? What an awful, precarious place to be. Come May next year and we're still down here because no one has bothered to fill the gaping hole in midfield or the empty onion bags at the end of the pitch and the UWE is announced as off how do you feel then? |
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Post by ellington on Nov 1, 2014 9:31:04 GMT
After our relegation I spoke to one of our players who expressed his desire to stay with us as he has , stating that he loved the club, the place but most of all the fans and their desire, not going to mention his name for obvious reasons but he did acknowledge how tinpot we were in terms of the day to day operation of our outfit. We are rag bag non league Rovers but we need to start looking for ways ahead in the future and shake off that demeaning tag and persevere with alternative business plans in the realisation that the UWE may well not happen, a short and long term marketing strategy must be put in place and IF we do get promoted at the first time of asking then we oughta to be advertising for a CEO with a proven track record to get out there and put us back on the map , can only be money well spent in my opinion. The UWE Stadium correctly executed would answer most of those concerns, problem is in the absence of building the UWE there doesn't seem Plan B. As far as the previous poster suggesting things will be OK if we get promoted this season, as things stand a Play Off looks our best hope and then it's a complete lottery if we go up or not. I'd say we've a 1 in 4 chance of promotion, and I'm not sure if the odds will improve next season. Have we also considered that without plan A or plan B or a third party investor can we afford to go up? Our crowds wouldn't significantly improve enough to warrant the extra wage demands of league football , which begs the question of whether we could emulate the Crawleys, and fleetwoods and now as it seems lutons and top league 2 the following season or face another season of struggle, too much uncertainty at the moment and although the UWE may get built its not as if the diggers are parked up on the Cheswick estate ready to rumble . I'm normally an optimistic person by nature and try to look positive but all this uncertainty makes this very hard to remain positive. |
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 11:17:26 GMT
1) Yes, I disapprove of Mr Lansdown's tax affairs but it is what it is. No point going on about it in the context of what BRFC should be doing
2) The Bristol Sport enterprise may well fall flat on its face - again, we can do nothing either way about that other than by the success of our own.
3) What we can do is affect the future of BRFC. As things stand, this is very much board guided as there seems very little appetite amongst fans to operate outside the existing structures of BRFC/BRSC/other club approved organisations.
We need to look at point number three. While we can all keep turning up, encourage others to do, bring along young uns etc etc, there isn't much else going on to effect the sea-change we need to see at BRFC. The club has been making some good deals available to encourage people to come along (I just got my Flexi 10 yesterday, there have been games where kids go free, we still market ourselves to UWE students etc) but other than that - nothing.
It seems to me that in the absence of the truly dynamic and well funded marketing of the football club, coupled with strong movement on the pitch and in the leagues, the only thing we can do in the context of all the above is to come up with ideas to piggyback on the club initiatives and try and push these along to be as successful as possible. I do believe there is still substantial goodwill towards BRFC in the greater Bristol area and we need to keep playing on that. If we don't then all really is lost.
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