Re: It's official - administration and new company : Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:42 pm  

Stealth Comic wrote:

Starbug, I agree with you about bringing more fans in, Cougars actually did a great job with that last season with a 25% increase.

Likewise regarding franchising services, catering, cleaning etc. They should stay inhouse where possible.

I was more on about tangible things like beer, merchandise, scoreboards, PA systems etc.

We've some ad hoardings still up from the Fiji vs South Africa Centenary World Cup Game we had. So in my opinion we should look to trade some this space in exchange for things that will improve the clubs infrastructure or sell on for greater profit.

Which tells you that the boards around the ground are of little real value , this is not a criticism , just the way it is , the boards facing outwards onto the by pass and ASDA at Hilton Park brought the bulk of the money in compared to the ones facing inwards , ultimatley a lot more people in the ground or a reasonable TV audience is what will produce real results , I'm not saying dont do it , just that dont expect people knocking the doors down

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:18 am  

I can see the point of free tickets for kids, but I'm not sure about for adults as well? Cheap certainly, free no. I think if you've paid for something you'll value it more; in the case of a ticket, it perhaps means you'll definitely turn up, whereas it wouldn't matter with a free ticket wether you did or not.
The problem is making sure they go to new supporters, not existing ones; A maybe not perfect solution would be to give them to schools/organisations on a strictly rotational basis, not just hand them out all over the place. So you may get a cheap ticket for one game because you go to a certain school or belong to a certain organisation, but if you want to go to the next game you'll have to buy, as it will be some other groups' turn to get the cheapies.
Maybe have a nominated game where a season ticket holder can bring a friend for a fiver or summat...

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:05 am  

forwardpass1 wrote:

Sorry, no more information than you have, thiis is just a general observation, like I said, in any kind of business the directors can only act on in formation passed onto them, this being by the people whose duty it is to do so....

Well your first post:

It seems to me that there are people on here calling fior the heads of the Directors(2001 Ltd), in my view a little unfairly, directors of a rugby club and indeed any kind of business, can only act on the information given to them.

seemed to infer that you knew a bit more about the situation.

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:25 am  

The directors are responsible for the company. It is them that sign off the accounts to say that the company is a " Going Concern", so I think it would be very difficult to miss a £183,000 debt.

Anyway in a business, such as a rugby club it is the directors that fully determine the direction the company takes, and should therefore be fully aware of everything that goes on.

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:45 am  

Mick W. wrote:

I can see the point of free tickets for kids, but I'm not sure about for adults as well? Cheap certainly, free no. I think if you've paid for something you'll value it more; in the case of a ticket, it perhaps means you'll definitely turn up, whereas it wouldn't matter with a free ticket wether you did or not.
The problem is making sure they go to new supporters, not existing ones; A maybe not perfect solution would be to give them to schools/organisations on a strictly rotational basis, not just hand them out all over the place. So you may get a cheap ticket for one game because you go to a certain school or belong to a certain organisation, but if you want to go to the next game you'll have to buy, as it will be some other groups' turn to get the cheapies.
Maybe have a nominated game where a season ticket holder can bring a friend for a fiver or summat...

As I posted earlier

The equation is simple , more people in the ground , the more willing businesses will be to pay for sponsoship , as for the rest , yes , but the difficulty is controlling the issuing of free adult tickets , that is the reason many BOD 's are unwilling to do it

But then again solving problems is what businessmen are supposed to be good at , unfortunatley too many seem to lack imagination when it comes to these things

Apparently your near neighbours gave out a lot of freebies and it was abused , resulting in most owners using that as an excuse not to do it , free adult tickets must be the aim , but as you point out , control is the issue here

Who gets them and uses them has to be cosely defined and also communicated to the paying fans , when you get the local ' glory fan ' boasting in the pub that he gets in for free you create all sorts of problems , so close control and letting the ' payers ' know what you are doing , why you have to do it , the long term benifits of doing it , and that you will do all within your powers to stop it being abused is vitally important

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:18 am  

You've got be really careful not to alienate season ticket holders and regular fans.

Why should they pay to get in and see people get in for nowt.

From personal experience though it does work.

When I was about 9 I got free tickets at school and it was what eventually got me hooked.

One thing that I really remember back then was how much more interactive the players were with the kids.

I used to remember Carleton Farrell running up and down the edge of the pitch high fiving everyone and being able to run on the pitch at the end of the game and shake the players hands and pat them on the back. There isn't that player/kid interaction of the early cougarmania years now.

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:42 am  

Stealth Comic wrote:

You've got be really careful not to alienate season ticket holders and regular fans.

Why should they pay to get in and see people get in for nowt.

From personal experience though it does work.

When I was about 9 I got free tickets at school and it was what eventually got me hooked.

One thing that I really remember back then was how much more interactive the players were with the kids.

I used to remember Carleton Farrell running up and down the edge of the pitch high fiving everyone and being able to run on the pitch at the end of the game and shake the players hands and pat them on the back. There isn't that player/kid interaction of the early cougarmania years now.

Communication

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:58 am  

Stealth Comic wrote:

You've got be really careful not to alienate season ticket holders and regular fans.

Why should they pay to get in and see people get in for nowt.

From personal experience though it does work.

When I was about 9 I got free tickets at school and it was what eventually got me hooked.

One thing that I really remember back then was how much more interactive the players were with the kids.

I used to remember Carleton Farrell running up and down the edge of the pitch high fiving everyone and being able to run on the pitch at the end of the game and shake the players hands and pat them on the back. There isn't that player/kid interaction of the early cougarmania years now.

My wife and I came to Cougars in the early nineties because our kids got free tickets - it really does work if the product is right.

I recently spoke to a fan from a superleague club who came to watch us and commented how good it was that players came into the bar after the game and interacted with fans. He said at his club you had to pay a fortune for the privilege.

There was a tangible spirit amongst the players last year I only hope that continues this year.

If the new directors are up to anything (and I assume they are) they should understand the tools available to analyse a business and set the necessary targets and responsibilities to take it forward.

I agree with being involved in every revenue stream and striving for customer satisfaction, but sometimes it makes sense to franchise ie the burger van. The key business decision is making the call of when its viable.

Yet again it seems that Cougar fans live in "interesting times".

I think its about time the new directors held a forum with the fans to give a broad outline of what they intend and to dispel the growing rumour mill.

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:03 am  

http://www.keighleynews.co.uk Basically the article confirms the new board of directors and the way they see us going forward, however to my suprise, more disappointment than suprise really is Neil is on the new board. Forwardpass tries to pass the criticism of Neil and Colin without evidence to the contrary that as directors they were ultimately responsible for ensuring payments were being made. How could we be told in papers weeks ago we are in stronger position yet this bill was outstanding, can someone explain this. The reason for my disappointment of Neil being on new board is simply that without a full and frank public statement the club in my view cannot be seen as moving forward as this is not the 1st time under the stewardship of Neil. Whilst I may come across as harsh all that is needed is evidence that as chairman Neil ACCEPTS responsibility. Without is whilst I will attend games and watch and support the players I will not be going in bar and spending money as to me its like rewarding failure. If at such a time as a full statement is public that is my position

http://www.keighleynews.co.uk Basically the article confirms the new board of directors and the way they see us going forward, however to my suprise, more disappointment than suprise really is Neil is on the new board. Forwardpass tries to pass the criticism of Neil and Colin without evidence to the contrary that as directors they were ultimately responsible for ensuring payments were being made. How could we be told in papers weeks ago we are in stronger position yet this bill was outstanding, can someone explain this. The reason for my disappointment of Neil being on new board is simply that without a full and frank public statement the club in my view cannot be seen as moving forward as this is not the 1st time under the stewardship of Neil. Whilst I may come across as harsh all that is needed is evidence that as chairman Neil ACCEPTS responsibility. Without is whilst I will attend games and watch and support the players I will not be going in bar and spending money as to me its like rewarding failure. If at such a time as a full statement is public that is my position

Re: It's official - administration and new company : Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:18 am  

girl power wrote:

http://www.keighleynews.co.uk

Basically the article confirms the new board of directors and the way they see us going forward, however to my suprise, more disappointment than suprise really is Neil is on the new board.

Forwardpass tries to pass the criticism of Neil and Colin without evidence to the contrary that as directors they were ultimately responsible for ensuring payments were being made. How could we be told in papers weeks ago we are in stronger position yet this bill was outstanding, can someone explain this.

The reason for my disappointment of Neil being on new board is simply that without a full and frank public statement the club in my view cannot be seen as moving forward as this is not the 1st time under the stewardship of Neil.

Whilst I may come across as harsh all that is needed is evidence that as chairman Neil ACCEPTS responsibility. Without is whilst I will attend games and watch and support the players I will not be going in bar and spending money as to me its like rewarding failure.

If at such a time as a full statement is public that is my position

This is the bit that I don't like:

"This significant work and achievement has – to the credit of anyone at Cougars and our supporters – come about despite the back-drop of an historic issue of managing a legacy tax debt".

I won't be satisfied with anything other than a full explanation of when and how this "tax debt legacy" came about.

Without knowing the "facts", I will reserve judgement on Mr Spencer, but am very surprised that he is allowed on the new board.

This could and should have been a new beginning.