Linnets' Fans' Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: admin on September 27, 2021, 01:15:58 PM
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Stephen Cleeve
@StephenCleeve
Friday at 545pm we will have a fans forum in the bar at the Walks before the Norwich Under 23s match - it will last an hour. Feel free to come and ask questions and suggest improvements. No press will be present other than our own team who may put together something afterwards
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Hopefully this will be a constructive meeting, would like to think ALL parties will go with an open mind and listen. I guess we won't have to wait too long to find out.
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Good news. Another small step forward.
Just putting this question out there so the Club has got time to arrange it if of interest...............................would it be possible to live stream the event so supporters that can't make it (5.45 may be a bit difficult for some), can at least see it and feel part of it.
:scarf:
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Good news, a positive step from the chairman. Let's hope we see some representation from the trust and FOTL . :)
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Good news, a positive step from the chairman. Let's hope we see some representation from the trust and FOTL . :)
Just out of interest, what are you hoping for from the representatives of the Trust and/or the FotL? Personally I think it would probably be counterproductive, far better to have SC, and the club, being the focus of the evening, particularly when time is limited, than to have a meeting that would be far more likely to go off on tangents.
Both the Trust and FotL have held members meetings in the past couple of months - the Trust had a Special General Meeting in August and the FotL had both an AGM in August and an open meeting (for members and non-members) earlier this month so I think their respective memberships (and they are a number of common members) are both reasonably up to date with things.
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A good opportunity for the Chairman to introduce David Hutchinson to the supporters.
:scarf:
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Good news, a positive step from the chairman. Let's hope we see some representation from the trust and FOTL . :)
Just out of interest, what are you hoping for from the representatives of the Trust and/or the FotL? Personally I think it would probably be counterproductive, far better to have SC, and the club, being the focus of the evening, particularly when time is limited, than to have a meeting that would be far more likely to go off on tangents.
Both the Trust and FotL have held members meetings in the past couple of months - the Trust had a Special General Meeting in August and the FotL had both an AGM in August and an open meeting (for members and non-members) earlier this month so I think their respective memberships (and they are a number of common members) are both reasonably up to date with things.
Agree with you Tony. 1 hour would not be enough time, to involve the 2 independant supporters groups. Let the rank & file have their say.
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I will be there has a fan and to sign up anyone who wants to join the Surporters Club after the meeting ,it should be good I hope all the moaners will be there to get things of their chests and tell the chairman what they would like to see happen
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I don't think you get it Mr Hill, even now. You seem to want to group all those disaffected supporters who feel disconnected by the club's recent actions as mere 'Moaners'.......you appear to be almost looking down your nose at them, as if they should just turn up to a match regardless. Some have very genuine reasons for not currently attending. The club ( and indeed the FOTL) needs to make real efforts to get these people back on board......a meeting such as the Fans Forum is a start...but only a start.....it will take a lot of work and eventually actions rather than words to get them back on side. Listening to them and acting on it, might save this club's future........being unnecessarily petulant and derogatory certainly won't.
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I don't think you get it Mr Hill, even now. You seem to want to group all those disaffected supporters who feel disconnected by the club's recent actions as mere 'Moaners'.......you appear to be almost looking down your nose at them, as if they should just turn up to a match regardless. Some have very genuine reasons for not currently attending. The club ( and indeed the FOTL) needs to make real efforts to get these people back on board......a meeting such as the Fans Forum is a start...but only a start.....it will take a lot of work and eventually actions rather than words to get them back on side. Listening to them and acting on it, might save this club's future........being unnecessarily petulant and derogatory certainly won't.
Very well said KES. Nicely put across.
Hopefully the time of the meeting (5.45 seems a bit strange to me) won't result in low numbers attending. It could be a bit tight for those who finish work ate 5 or 5.30. :dontknow:
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Probably be the fullest the bar has been this season? :cheers:
P.S. Will members of FOTL get 50p off a drink? :cheers:
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Good that SC is taking the first steps to re-engage with the fans. Shows at least he accepts there are problems and he is prepared to listen.
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Good that SC is taking the first steps to re-engage with the fans. Shows at least he accepts there are problems and he is prepared to listen.
Yep. Needs to be given a chance, even if this gesture is a bit late in coming.
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Better late... etc.
At least he is looking at the bigger picture and not just trying to bluff through that he has all the answers.
Let’s hope he not only listens but acts on things PDQ
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He should be looking for a large consensus of opinion. I hope the meeting is well attended, but if not, the timing on a Friday isn't great as B & G has already stated.....and I agree with asking people to join by Zoom or the like. If that isn't possible, why not put something up on the club website where people can express their concerns.
(The last inactive Saturday, was perhaps a chance missed....could have had an Open Day at the ground for new and old fans alike with a questions and answers session and bite to eat..maybe the new CD will organise something)
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Think the fans getting to see the new Commercial Director is vital, for both parties.
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KES80 you must have the wrong impression of me I have never looked down my nose at anyone in my life. All I want is to see the Club flourish and I will do all I can to help this happen in my own small way
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Is this inclusive of a ticket or can you just attend the meeting?
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I don't think you get it Mr Hill, even now. You seem to want to group all those disaffected supporters who feel disconnected by the club's recent actions as mere 'Moaners'.......you appear to be almost looking down your nose at them, as if they should just turn up to a match regardless. Some have very genuine reasons for not currently attending. The club ( and indeed the FOTL) needs to make real efforts to get these people back on board......a meeting such as the Fans Forum is a start...but only a start.....it will take a lot of work and eventually actions rather than words to get them back on side. Listening to them and acting on it, might save this club's future........being unnecessarily petulant and derogatory certainly won't.
Superb post Kes in response to the opposite from the chairman of the new supporters club. Think Mr Hill needs to apologise to the moaners and anybody else that has voiced their concerns, worries etc on where the club is heading!
The content of that post will certainly not encourage me to join the new supporters club.
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Bit confused Gordon remind me what made you jump to that conclusion, perhaps in future I will stop calling moaners to gripers and I must admit they have plenty to gripe about at the moment. So what do we do about it, keep griping on here or try and do something about it and in my small way this is what I am trying to do
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Be careful about disagreeing Malc. You will be famous on Facebook for 15 mins.
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Bit confused Gordon remind me what made you jump to that conclusion, perhaps in future I will stop calling moaners to gripers and I must admit they have plenty to gripe about at the moment. So what do we do about it, keep griping on here or try and do something about it and in my small way this is what I am trying to do
Moaners and now gripers. You say they have plenty to gripe about at the moment but what about the past few years! Are these people not welcome as members of the new Supporters Club or must they only be people who say yes Stephen you are right of course Stephen etc etc! Everyone has an opinion and the bull ****ers who have no intention of changing their ways just lead you further into the darkness.
I will gamble that friday will be yet another waste of 1 hour. Hopefully i will be proved wrong but i am not holding my breath.
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Bit confused Gordon remind me what made you jump to that conclusion, perhaps in future I will stop calling moaners to gripers and I must admit they have plenty to gripe about at the moment. So what do we do about it, keep griping on here or try and do something about it and in my small way this is what I am trying to do
Moaners and now gripers. You say they have plenty to gripe about at the moment but what about the past few years! Are these people not welcome as members of the new Supporters Club or must they only be people who say yes Stephen you are right of course Stephen etc etc! Everyone has an opinion and the bull ****ers who have no intention of changing their ways just lead you further into the darkness.
I will gamble that friday will be yet another waste of 1 hour. Hopefully i will be proved wrong but i am not holding my breath.
Everyone is welcome as a member of the supporters club,and no we don't just want people who will be yes men and kiss butt!
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You know Gordon you are so far off the mark its comical yes I speak to the Chairman and when I think he’s wrong I tell he’s wrong and he does listen we don’t always see eye to eye ,and regarding everyone on the committee is a arse licker is also very funny just ask Griss if he thinks we are bum kissers Iam sure he will give you a good answer. We are just a bunch of people trying to help and we don’t appreciate being be called all the time by the likes off you spouting untruths all the time and wish you would stop saying a pack of lies it’s getting rather tiresome Rant over
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"Pack of lies". Heaven forbid.
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You know Gordon you are so far off the mark its comical yes I speak to the Chairman and when I think he’s wrong I tell he’s wrong and he does listen we don’t always see eye to eye ,and regarding everyone on the committee is a arse licker is also very funny just ask Griss if he thinks we are bum kissers Iam sure he will give you a good answer. We are just a bunch of people trying to help and we don’t appreciate being be called all the time by the likes off you spouting untruths all the time and wish you would stop saying a pack of lies it’s getting rather tiresome Rant over
......but its ok for others to label people with different opinions, moaners, gripers and buffoons? :dontknow:
That's just a example. There are other things that have been said and accusations made both in the past and recently by people that use (abuse) their "positions" at the Club.
These have been continually, not just over the past few weeks, directed at people who also try to help, albeit in a different manner than some would want.
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B &G what has been said in the past is in the past is there anyway we could look to the future after all it is the future that really matters
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B &G what has been said in the past is in the past is there anyway we could look to the future after all it is the future that really matters
.................but Malcolm, its not all in the past. Its still going on. You personally have labelled people that have different opinions than you, moaners and gripers in the past few days.
Its not a case of the future being all that matters. We all need to learn lessons from the past. Some have been prepared to do this, but others have been determined not to allow this to happen.
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What we need ( and what we are lacking). Is strong leadership from the top. SC has decided on a one man MO. When things are going wrong he only has himself to look to. With a one man band ( as the club is). Then who motivates the motivator ?
Does anyone really have that much faith in the club being turned around? Fans forum on Friday for 60 minutes. Honestly what is that going to achieve ? Go on tell me I’m wrong.
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I have to agree Mall.
Put simply, there is just too much for one person to be responsible for and to try and control, once a club gets to this level...it needs a team of at least 3/4 with shared responsibilities.
This Fans Forum, though welcome, has been hastily arranged and isn't at a great time which implies to me that it still isn't a wholehearted re evaluating of the situation ....and that is what is required.
No one at the club (IC included) has been at their position at this level before........and that is a cause for concern.... everyone is trying to learn and catch up as they go along.........but in summary it appears from the outside, to me, that there are too few people involved in the high level decisions and also there is not enough experience of the NL within the club.
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Mallard, not sure if it's motivation and/or 'strong leadership' (which is often an excuse for 'bloody mindedness') that is required.
Maybe I see things slightly differently because I think we are in a completely false position within the pyramid so another season of NL football against the likes of Notts County et all is a bonus, albeit an expensive one for all concerned. Unfortunately too many seem to have bought into the idea that if we can only hold our own this season it will get better next year, I just can't see that being the case without radical change in vast areas of how the club is set up which is why going full time on the playing side was a huge risk in my opinion. For me, I think we stand a much better chance of 'building a club' at step 2 where costs are lower and we are more likely to be competitive on the field and so drawing in those 'fair weather' fans as the club is proving that it doesn't currently have a big enough hard core of fans to be financially viable at step 1.
As for what the forum will achieve, personally I hope it is the first step towards that idea of 'building a club' however, if people think someone (anyone) will be there with all the answers then they will go away disappointed. Much in the same way, I didn't see the FotL meeting as a 'one off' but the first step towards building some fan engagement back at the club, it wasn't perfect and imo the FotL still has a long way to go but it will only get there by being relevant to the fans and for that you need meetings like the one earlier in the month.
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A lot of truths Tony, we have risen up the league’s but the info structure has not risen with it and yes the FOTLSC has a long way to go but I also think we have come a long way. The ideal situation would be to have a Catering Manager and a Bar Manager this would go a long way to put things on the right track imo
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Nikki you are and it’s not the right thing to do I will be careful what I say in future if only we all did the same we need to pull together and let’s see if we can put things that are wrong with the club and endeavour to put them right
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B &G what has been said in the past is in the past is there anyway we could look to the future after all it is the future that really matters
.................but Malcolm, its not all in the past. Its still going on. You personally have labelled people that have different opinions than you, moaners and gripers in the past few days.
Its not a case of the future being all that matters. We all need to learn lessons from the past. Some have been prepared to do this, but others have been determined not to allow this to happen.
I've seen it on Facebook recently where some sad individuals are using clubs page to slag people off although I don't think anybody takes any notice of them these days as they are well known for stirring and probably not the full ticket.
Clubs page or the supporters page? :dontknow:
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You know Gordon you are so far off the mark its comical yes I speak to the Chairman and when I think he’s wrong I tell he’s wrong and he does listen we don’t always see eye to eye ,and regarding everyone on the committee is a arse licker is also very funny just ask Griss if he thinks we are bum kissers Iam sure he will give you a good answer. We are just a bunch of people trying to help and we don’t appreciate being be called all the time by the likes off you spouting untruths all the time and wish you would stop saying a pack of lies it’s getting rather tiresome Rant over
So far off the mark its comical, you really do not have a clue. You need to take those blinkers off and see for real what is happening. I stand by everything i post because i can assure you that it is the truth.
You put on here one thing that i have ever posted that is wrong and i will join your supposed Supporters club. What i will also do is when i write my book on my experience of KLTFC i will donate the profits to the Supporters Club!
The next thing you need to do immediately is apologise profusely for saying that i said everyone on the committee is an arse licker . At no time have i used those words and you really seriously need to get a grip of your typing skills making up such rubbish. SC has my solicitors name already from his past wrongful spout. If you are not very careful you will have it to.
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Yes Gordon Iam sorry you didn’t actually say the word arse lickers
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“Fans forum” - what a joke, it will be a waste of time. “Friends of the Linnets” - whilst I admire Mr Hill’s enthusiasm I cannot see his efforts helping the club significantly. In my view, Cleeve has a total disconnect with the fans. High admission prices, poor and disorganised catering facilities and no doubt COVID, coupled with the very poor results, have contributed to the low attendances. I cannot see attendances improving in the coming winter months; better results might help but not to the degree I think Cleeve envisages. The new commercial manager I fear will have an uphill struggle. Cleeve’s perception of the value to sponsors and advertisers of supporting the club is, in my view, excessive.
Falling revenue, unmanageable debt, poor management and an owner with a history of failed businesses and dubious background puts this club, in my opinion, in an unsustainable position. It may be the owner has the funds to continue supporting the club, but he has already said not. This is a typical scenario, an owner following a self-indulgent, egotistical dream. Never knowing when to give up, soldiering on until the inevitable sorry end.
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Regarding the catering side Iam looking into improving it not that it’s any off my business but if I see away to help the club and more so the fans then I will try and do so ,so watch this space
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Regarding the catering side Iam looking into improving it not that it’s any off my business but if I see away to help the club and more so the fans then I will try and do so ,so watch this space
Malcolm. If its not any of your (or fotl's) business, and you haven't been asked to become involved, my advice is to stay clear of it and not let your enthusiasm get the better of you.
I would think you have set yourself a big enough target with what you have already taken on with the Fotl's.
Just my humble opinion.
:scarf:
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I hear you but I can’t stand by when I can help
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B &G what has been said in the past is in the past is there anyway we could look to the future after all it is the future that really matters
.................but Malcolm, its not all in the past. Its still going on. You personally have labelled people that have different opinions than you, moaners and gripers in the past few days.
Its not a case of the future being all that matters. We all need to learn lessons from the past. Some have been prepared to do this, but others have been determined not to allow this to happen.
I've seen it on Facebook recently where some sad individuals are using clubs page to slag people off although I don't think anybody takes any notice of them these days as they are well known for stirring and probably not the full ticket.
Clubs page or the supporters page? :dontknow:
Grissles.... It appears that factions are developing among comrades even before 'Mr Jones' has been run off the farm. !?
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Angel I know I can be bit thick but you have lost me ??
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What the devil is going on in here ?? All this digging and griping at each other, seems likes its turned into a Have a Pop at everybody and anybody forum, what must casual visitors to the forum think? Can't we get back to the serious issues like glass glasses not plastic ones
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Angel I know I can be bit thick but you have lost me ??
Malcolm - a reference to George Orwell's Animal Farm
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Can't we get back to the serious issues like glass glasses not plastic ones
I thought there would be a reason Grissles went on the FOTL's committee. Its all clear (as glass) now :laughcry:
I would guess that comes under catering. :dontknow:
If so, Malcolm will soon be on to it!
:scarf:
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Angel I know I can be bit thick but you have lost me ??
Malcolm - a reference to George Orwell's Animal Farm
Capitalist Pigs feeding from the trough of the working man and all that kind of thing.
Of course, absolutely nothing to do with football! :laughcry:
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What the devil is going on in here ?? All this digging and griping at each other, seems likes its turned into a Have a Pop at everybody and anybody forum, what must casual visitors to the forum think? Can't we get back to the serious issues like glass glasses not plastic ones
Sorry Blue Moon but this is a far more serious issue than plastic glasses and that is what is wrong. We are again on the downward spiral and actions need to be done urgently. We now allegedly have a new commercial manager. I think he has been with the club more days than the several previous ones put together.
Just read back programme notes over the reign of SC and they are full of BIG News, BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS, big new sponsorships etc etc. You name one sponsorship that SC has managed to bring to the club that has been successful.
We ALL need to wake up and smell the coffee! Sooner rather than later.
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What the devil is going on in here ?? All this digging and griping at each other, seems likes its turned into a Have a Pop at everybody and anybody forum, what must casual visitors to the forum think? Can't we get back to the serious issues like glass glasses not plastic ones
:cheers: :laughcry: :laughcry: :laughcry: :laughcry: :laughcry:
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I should be going this evening so if anyone has anything specific (and sensible) then feel free to pm me and I will do my best. As I have said previously, I hope all parties attend tonight being prepared to listen, with it being time limited we can't afford to get sidetracked or for it to turn into a moaning session with no real positive steps forward.
Whilst I appreciate some who have been watching for years / decades may not like and/or trust SC, the fact that he is prepared to front up at these sort of events puts him way ahead of Bobbins etc from previous regimes imo, so lets see what is said this evening.
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I can tell you now, tonight’s forum will be a complete and utter waste of time. Of course fans are going to moan, gripe or criticise, call it what you will, because they are dissatisfied with way the club is run. Cleeve has said in the past it’s his club and he likes to run it his way. Do you honestly think he is going to take any notice of the fans now when hitherto he has ignored and alienated them in way only he could do. In any event, in my view it’s too little too late. The writing is on the wall, I fear it’s when not if.
Read Gavin Caney’s article in today’s YOURS local paper; it’s a brilliant take on the current situation.
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Maybe SC will turn up with a different attitude and genuinely will reach out to the fans for help.
Have things gone that far that they can’t be turned around ? I’m
Not so sure. I have advocated for a long time that the owner needs to bring in fresh investment and people to share the load.
Hopefully this 1 hour meeting will be a step in the right direction.
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Mallard, I wish I shared your optimism. Investors in a sinking ship are very hard to come by especially when you consider Cleeve’s colourful background. Of course, I might be totally wrong and everything will be hunkydory after tonight. I’m already getting excited, we should have a fantastic crowd next Tuesday night for sure!!!!
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As long as it isn't a "use it or lose it" session. Been there and heard that before.
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The success ( or failure) of the Club is in one person’s hands. If SC cones in with a different mindset then I’m sure fans and the like will respond accordingly. Tonight shouldn’t be about playing the blame game. That will achieve nothing. What we need to hear is plans on how the missing fans and new fans can be attracted back to The Walks.
Hopefully there will be some realistic plans and the usual ‘big story’ event that never materialised.
Over to you SC. Let’s see those wheels set in motion.
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Mallard, I disagree. You have to apportion blame so those who are to blame learn by their mistakes. Those who are so arrogant that they think they are infallible are very dangerous people. Recognising ones mistakes and making efforts to put things right is a trait to be desired. Something lacking with a certain person in my opinion.
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Won't be there but think Chairman could start putting things right by having Tuesday night Kids for Quid and reduce all other ticket set att £15 to include seating and terrace.We need to get atmosphere back at the walks. Saving petrol for Tuesday so can't make tonight.
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NW. With a sole ownership MO it doesn’t take any working out with who got things right or wrong. Both sit with SC
Yes people can sit at a forum and hammer into SC, but does that really achieve anything ?
To me and IMHO it’s about putting some structure in place to save the club. SC is sitting on a 500k loan. Under the present conditions I feel he could burn through that pdq. Then what ?
I really hope the meeting is constructive and that baby steps are taken to start righting things.
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You have to apportion blame .......................................
I'm quite sure that will happen anyway!
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Mallard, baby steps are definitely not the answer. We need bloody great strides. You and I both know the current situation is dire. The business is insolvent with unmanageable debt. Revenue is below expected and likely to fall even further during the winter months. Going full time is a colossal drain on funds and coupled with ever increasing costs such as travelling, power etc., the financial future looks very bleak indeed. My background is financial and I’ve seen this scenario played out many times and is somewhat prevalent with one man bands. Their ego surpasses reality and they plough on regardless of what is going on around them, generally headlong into the abyss. Instead of seeking help earlier when the business might have been salvageable, they don’t. They listen to no one. This in my opinion is where we are now. It might be that Cleeve has something up his sleeve but I would be amazed if he managed to find another investor. He has already said he would not put anymore funds in. In my view, he cannot make further extortionate demands on the fans. Maybe he has some fantastic solution he is going to enlighten you with tonight. As I’ve said previously, optimism is a wonderful thing in the right circumstances. I’m not sure this is it.
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Mallard, baby steps are definitely not the answer. We need bloody great strides. You and I both know the current situation is dire. The business is insolvent with unmanageable debt. Revenue is below expected and likely to fall even further during the winter months. Going full time is a colossal drain on funds and coupled with ever increasing costs such as travelling, power etc., the financial future looks very bleak indeed. My background is financial and I’ve seen this scenario played out many times and is somewhat prevalent with one man bands. Their ego surpasses reality and they plough on regardless of what is going on around them, generally headlong into the abyss. Instead of seeking help earlier when the business might have been salvageable, they don’t. They listen to no one. This in my opinion is where we are now. It might be that Cleeve has something up his sleeve but I would be amazed if he managed to find another investor. He has already said he would not put anymore funds in. In my view, he cannot make further extortionate demands on the fans. Maybe he has some fantastic solution he is going to enlighten you with tonight. As I’ve said previously, optimism is a wonderful thing in the right circumstances. I’m not sure this is it.
He needs a few more of these anonymous 25k main stand sponsorship deal.
Good work that one.
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NW. With a fans forum programmed to last 60 minutes what else but baby steps can be achieved ? To think that people will see any form of solution in that period of time is being unrealistic.
As for SC saying he wouldn’t be prepared/able to continue funding it. Well in fairness he has said many things in the past that maybe haven’t been delivered.
Hopefully with SC calling this meeting he is realising some of what you are saying NW. Whether it can be salvaged or not I think we should at least give the guy a chance to put his case. Let’s not seal the coffin lid down just yet.
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Couldn’t agree more Mallard this constant slagging off of S C IMO is getting us nowhere
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Mr Hill, the facts are painful aren’t they. I’m not so sure they are tantamount to slagging anyone off as you put it. I’m just amazed how well you obviously think Cleeve is doing and your undying support. It is to be commended and you should be very proud of what your doing. In my view you are misguided but what the hell do I know. I really really hope you make a difference. Realistically I think your tenure will eventually turn to exasperation in the same way as others who have tried to proffer help. One thing I can assure you, if you donate any of the funds raised in support of the incumbent owner it will be good money after bad.
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NW. Have to agree that whatever funds are raised won’t go anywhere what is needed.
It is difficult to understand where the Club is in terms of money with loans both internal and external and the shuffling around of companies that seems to appear each year. I am just hoping that SC is basically on top of all of this and he has a plan in place to involve the fans, sponsors and outside investors to keep the clubs head above water.
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Here we go again Malcolm.
People are not slagging him off. In fact more than one has said he needs to be given this chance.
Just because people have different opinions than others (although I believe it’s very clear which way that opinion is now swinging), I’ve seen nothing (at least nothing we have allowed through) that fits the title of slagging off.
You have to remember that there are some very worried and concerned people out there who believe they shouldn’t be playing the fiddle while Rome burns. They have seen it all before, some more than once. You can’t blame them for being concerned or voicing their concerns.
Read Caneys post in YLP. It’s very interesting and probably demonstrates the way many supporters feel, irrespective of them using social media to vent their frustrations or not.
It also, as some at the Club try to make out to support their own personal agendas, does not mean they are anti club. Far, far from it!
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Here is some of what Caney said in YLP
Ticket prices
You can dress it up however you want. The rot set in as soon as it was confirmed the Linnets’ season ticket prices were going to be the most expensive in the top-tier of non-League football this term.
It hasn’t got any better with seating prices coming in at £26 and £23 for adults, £21 for concessions and £11 for those aged 16 and under. It’s not family friendly. Is it any wonder people are having to pick and choose their games?
Matchday experience
Saturday’s match felt like I was attending a pre-season friendly – no atmosphere, a soulless bar with giant half-time queues and overpriced food that you had to walk through the away section to buy. Attending a matchday is about much more than the football and right now being at The Walks leaves you feeling short changed.
The chairman
Stephen Cleeve is entitled to his opinion. The problem is when you’re freely giving yours out, you have to accept people will disagree with you or potentially grow to dislike you.
There’s a way to communicate with, and talk about, fans and as someone who works in PR, Lynn’s chairman needs a crash course in how not to alienate people through his choice of words.
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Here is done of what Caney said in YLP
Ticket prices
You can dress it up however you want. The rot set in as soon as it was confirmed the Linnets’ season ticket prices were going to be the most expensive in the top-tier of non-League football this term.
It hasn’t got any better with seating prices coming in at £26 and £23 for adults, £21 for concessions and £11 for those aged 16 and under. It’s not family friendly. Is it any wonder people are having to pick and choose their games?
Matchday experience
Saturday’s match felt like I was attending a pre-season friendly – no atmosphere, a soulless bar with giant half-time queues and overpriced food that you had to walk through the away section to buy. Attending a matchday is about much more than the football and right now being at The Walks leaves you feeling short changed.
The chairman
Stephen Cleeve is entitled to his opinion. The problem is when you’re freely giving yours out, you have to accept people will disagree with you or potentially grow to dislike you.
There’s a way to communicate with, and talk about, fans and as someone who works in PR, Lynn’s chairman needs a crash course in how not to alienate people through his choice of words.
I stopped going after I turned up with £90 worth of wins for the 12th man scheme, then named in the programme the very next match as someone who wants the club to fail. He named Setch and Gavin Caney as well.
Not been back since.
It pains me to watch what's happening, really it does.
I still keep up to date through newspapers, this forum and social media, but Cleeve wont be getting a penny off of me until I read a full, public apology.
Been waiting 4 years now.
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As from Tuesday Night the price on the Gate at kings Lynn F C the entry fee will be £18 adults £16 for concessions children £5
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Good to hear and a sensible move I agree
Is it a bad time to mention season ticket holders?
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Well done Malcolm. Thankfully the owner has started to see the error of his ways. Will the season ticket holders be offered a refund on the difference ? Though I’m
Sure most , if not all will donate it to the Club.
Does the £18 include the £1 toward the loan repayment, Malc ?
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A Catering Manager is to be employed
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What about price for seating
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Well done Malcolm. Thankfully the owner has started to see the error of his ways. Will the season ticket holders be offered a refund on the difference ? Though I’m
Sure most , if not all will donate it to the Club.
Does the £18 include the £1 toward the loan repayment, Malc ?
Good suggestion Mallard
Have just written to Zoe to say I don't want a refund even if it was being considered
Happy to leave it in the club
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That I don’t know but I would assume so
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Malc, was it a worthwhile meeting ? Any chance of a brief summary on what came to pass, numbers at the meeting, SC’s ideas ?
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Yes it was worthwhile but it did get a bit out off towards the end but give steve his due he answered most Questions
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Hopefully that's a sound (if belated) business decision to connect more with the fans, encourage more through the gate, improve The Walks atmosphere and ultimately increase gate revenue.
(It is a significant drop in admission fee.......at this time of night I am not fully sure what to make of it and the full implications.......)
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It's a good move. The right thing to do.
Watch what happens when you start behaving like a decent club.
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I’m keen to hear all the positives that came out of last night’s meeting.
On twitter, Cleeve says reduced prices only apply to Grade B games, Grade A games are existing prices.
From Mr Hill’s posting I assumed all prices had been reduced!!
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I’m keen to hear all the positives that came out of last night’s meeting.
On twitter, Cleeve says reduced prices only apply to Grade B games, Grade A games are existing prices.
From Mr Hill’s posting I assumed all prices had been reduced!!
Thanks North.
Is that different than what was said at last night's meeting?
Personally I can see the reason behind that (not that I think its the right thing to do) but yet again we see the same old issue of poor/lack of communication.
Presumably, if Southend and Chesterfield had not already visited, they would be Cat A as well. :dontknow:
Cat A games are Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport, and Grimsby.
So that woukd be 6 Cat A games.
I can't see that helping to attract the casual/fair weather supporter, as the reduction appears to only apply to games that they are probably not interested in irrespective of pricing. :dontknow:
Difficult one to assess really. Maybe a smaller reduction, but across all games would have been better. :dontknow:
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Apologies for the delay, time and Parkrun wait for no man! Sorry, what was meant to be summary on last nights event as turned into War and Peace. Hopefully 'what was said' not 'what I thought'
A good attendance (around 50ish), listened to SC explain that last year was 'a disaster' and whilst IC wanted to stop and SC thought the £50k fine would have a better option but that the twelve point deduction would have meant relegation this year
Moving onto the current season, SC accepted that the club hadn't kept pace off the pitch with on it. Catering 'not great' and on SC's 'to do list'. New CEO David Hutchinson is full-time, although won't be based at the Walks and is looking at 'bigger projects' and longer term plans, so there will be another appointment to deal with local opportunities. Still obviously has issues with the council / Alive Leisure re training facilities and talked about the option of going to West Lynn but agreement couldn't be reached (this got a little bit he said / she said with a member of the audience and so the meeting moved onto the Q&A)
I won't list all, as some were pretty specific / individual but this is a flavour of the questions
Q - Why no media, won't build friends. A - Don't have friends in media and praised Reg and his team from KES who were there
Q - Was it £1000 for a burger van. A - No, but it was £1000 for 'catering'
Q - Season ticket price can't be justified compared to NCFC. A - Pricing is difficult and SC was concerned that a large number of season tickets @ (say) £250 would mean just over £10 per game which isn't enough to run the club.
This then opened up to a wider debate on pricing with SC admitting 'I have made a mistake’, particularly with the kids pricing. ‘Big games’ come with bigger costs (security) and basically that needs to be paid for so SC was worried that lots of kids in the seats would mean a lower income figure than if those seats were sold to adults. Now obvious that for the smaller games there is enough space so pricing will be adjusted. It got a little chaotic with exactly what was being proposed but I think we are going to a category system with £3 off across the range of prices for the non-‘big games’ and possibly something else for kids sitting down so let’s wait and see what comes out of the club in the run up to the Barnet game.
Q – How much does it cost to run this season. A – Obviously difficult to say depending on trips etc but ballpark figure of £80K was mentioned. Lots of costs to going full time, not just players wages – training pitch was again brought up, plus we now have a full time physio and full time analyst. Only time will tell if going full time was the right decision. Current (external) loans – Bounce Back £50K which we have started to repay, £430K Sport England which repayments don’t start for another four years but then its £4-5K per month
Q – Money for new striker (from Robbie Back). A – depends on crowds
Q – Is the club sustainable at NL level. A – Not on current crowds. Discussion around what people really want
Q – Why 2 year contracts. A- Only way to get some players, also anyone we paid a fee for automatically on a two year deal to ‘protect’ the investment. Some first team players are on one year deals
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A few personal thoughts on last nights meeting.
Fair dues for SC for holding such a meeting, no-one likes admitting their mistakes in public but he did so and has tried to address it with the price deduction for the lesser games, I guess he now has to wait and see if those who did cite the price as the reason for not going respond.
I think he is starting to appreciate that the club can't be run by him and a bunch of volunteers and expertise needs to be brought in on a number of fronts, catering being the most prominently mentioned last night but my guess is that there are plenty more areas where this applies. Whether he can attract and retain the right people and the club can afford them is a whole different story
Whilst I don't think the meeting and the price reduction have solved everything, I hope the big takeaway from last nights meeting is that, in the most part, fans were prepared to listen to SC explain his reasoning for decisions and are maybe more realistic than SC himself about the clubs 'natural' position in the footballing world.
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The 80k figure Tony, is that meant to be 800k ?
How does Bigger crowds equate to costing more per head ? Just by adding security
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The 80k figure Tony, is that meant to be 800k ?
How does Bigger crowds equate to costing more per head ? Just by adding security
Mall, apologies the £80K was monthly.
The big crowd issue was twofold - higher security requirement so increased cost and also linked into the issue of the pricing for child seats in the main stand. Basically if the club 'could' sell all those seats at adult prices then it would be losing out if it heavily discounted those seats for children as there is only a finite number of seats available. I suppose as we have come up the leagues the seating at the Walks, except for a very few 'big' games has always been big enough to cope so people have got used to that and now that is no longer the case (for example when Southend visited) you can understand why SC wants to maximise his income from those seats. Hopefully the Category structure will accommodate both views
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Difficult to know what to believe with SC. Maybe he forgets what he says. On a podcast of his he claimed the running costs of the Club were in excess of a 100k per month. Now we are full time the cost has dropped 20%.
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Difficult to know what to believe with SC. Maybe he forgets what he says. On a podcast of his he claimed the running costs of the Club were in excess of a 100k per month. Now we are full time the cost has dropped 20%.
Mark Hearle must have been on one hell of a salary! :laughcry:
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Like Tony I feel it’s a big plus that SC has seen the error of his ways and has finally pushed the doors open to welcome and indeed embrace some public debate into the running of the club. Shame it’s taken all these years for him to get to this point. That however is being negative and the direction to look is forwards.
The ‘employing’ of a full time Commercial Director is a massive commitment especially when he will be based away from the area. We have had so many false dawns on this particular subject, so pardon me for being a little reserved on this appointment.
I hope SC will now seek further help with regard to people sticking money into the club and who knows maybe he will put a phone call into The Trust and offer the pipe of peace to see if there is a way forward in this area. To my mind SC cannot afford to refuse any area of help and expertise to keep the club sailing.
Was there any mention of a back up meeting/forum to this one ?
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Difficult to know what to believe with SC. Maybe he forgets what he says. On a podcast of his he claimed the running costs of the Club were in excess of a 100k per month. Now we are full time the cost has dropped 20%.
Mark Hearle must have been on one hell of a salary! :laughcry:
Quality doesn’t come cheap.
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Is it right that David Hutchinson is the CEO and not Commercial Director.Does this mean he is taking on the management of the club.
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Well done Tony I don’t think you missed much out,and it takes a big man to admit he was wrong ,mallard there was no mention of further meetings but I believe there will be
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Very positive and healthy step by SC......... we wait to see what comes out of it all, but the meeting and the frankness of discussion are a significant step.
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100% KES. Let’s hope this is very much the start of a new beginning and not just a one off in an attempt to appease the fans.
The next home game gate will be interesting. Now SC has got fans attention let’s see him push on.
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Blue and Gold I think you should forget some of the figers being mention
against what MarkHearle was getting.
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Blue and Gold I think you should forget some of the figers being mention
against what MarkHearle was getting.
Whoosh!!!
I guess that post of mine went well over your head!
:laughcry:
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Mostly good news.
Everyone gets a bonus except the poor old Season Ticket holder who coughed up their money up front, only to see prices reduced.
2nd Season in a row the Season Ticket holders have dipped out. OK, last year was circumstances beyond anyone's control and we could get Home matches "free" on the Streaming.
Various incentives such as 50p off a pint before 2pm. Could the Club give Season Ticket holders a 50p off a pint or a Coffee?
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Think SC should reach out to the season ticket holders and not take them for granted. I’m sure there is something he offer them to compensate for the lack of value on their season ticket support. Maybe a free Programme would do it ?
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Free or reduced admission for a fa cup.match if we get a home tie?
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Is it right that David Hutchinson is the CEO and not Commercial Director.Does this mean he is taking on the management of the club.
Was there a press release about this vitally important appointment? I am not a Twitter or regular Facebook user.
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Think it was announced in SC’s programme notes in the last home game. Don’t know if there was any follow up in any of the local press
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Late to reply here but this sounds very promising.
Was anything mentioned discussed about food/drinks availability? Still baffles me how there is only one place serving hot food and nowhere near the main bar...
Also.. the tannoy.. it is near impossible to hear what is said/music behind the goals etc. Is this likely to be upgraded soon?
I have to say the game Tuesday was great - shame we didn't get all 3 points, can't quite beat a Tuesday night under the lights at the Walks!
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Late to reply here but this sounds very promising.
Was anything mentioned discussed about food/drinks availability? Still baffles me how there is only one place serving hot food and nowhere near the main bar...
Also.. the tannoy.. it is near impossible to hear what is said/music behind the goals etc. Is this likely to be upgraded soon?
I have to say the game Tuesday was great - shame we didn't get all 3 points, can't quite beat a Tuesday night under the lights at the Walks!
I have been informed that the tannoy is in the process of being upgraded. :oldman"
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I don’t know the financial situation at the club. I do know that the Covid/furlough/season of defeats were the cause of the problems, plus the gate price for some, with, thankfully, the input in effort and fiancé from SC keeping this level going. The crowd was bound to dip, but I firmly believe that “York”- level gates will return if we start winning and going up this excellent league. We still have the potential to be one of the best supported teams in the league. I’m always disappointed to hear the preference of being big fish in small pool from some people,