Just had a call from Steve Wraith regarding the first meeting of the Fans Committee. He had originally planned for us to meet in the Strawberry to informally get to know each other before we got down to serious business, this was for 23rd June.

Now a change of plans. Still have an informal get together, but now it's inside the ground in the Bransford (sp) suite (anyone been in there ?).

In attendance will be Rogan Taylor, David Stonehouse, Hazel Green (head of PR/communications), some other lady who is head of customer relations, there were other names mentioned but I didn't get them all. The club wants to show how committed it is to the whole thing. The club will provide a finger buffet, so it will be just like being in the Strawberry.

I'll keep you informed !

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Answers

alcohol perchance ?

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Travelling expenses? :-)

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Finger buffet, eh. How la-di-da is that :-)

Bon chance mon ami :-)

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

MacBeth,

I for one see this committee as a way of getting information from the club on matters such as the training facilities, youth academy etc, the real structure of the club.

Is that the general purpose of the committee? Will this information be made available or is that too much to ask?

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

these finger buffet things are always a bastard, trying to have a plate full of canapes in one hand, a pint in the other, and no way of getting the food into your mouth, so I'm told

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Stand next to the table Mac, it can be done

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

remaining not under the table is my usual finger buffet challenge, I'll be distinctly orange juice and lemonade

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

If you expect Macbeth to extract any meaningful information from this quango I suspect you're dreaming DeB.

This is perceived by the Club as a PR exercise, pure and simple - I only hope the participants realise this and don't allow themselves to be manipulated in that way.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

oh go on Clarky, let me at least have the informal get together before I have to turn into a cycnical old man !!

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

The club actually has someone in charge of PR/Communication?! Forget the training ground info....find out what exactly that person does all day! ;-))

Enjoy, MacB! Looking forward to hearing all about it.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Ya. will be real exciting to hear your matchreport MacB.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Sorry Macbeth - I just can't bring myself to believe these guys have genuine instincts.
My cynicism is based on the hatchet job they did at the AGM on the proposed Shareholders Trust - a structure that other enlightended Cubs are actively encouraging.
However, I readily accept that we must give them the benefit of the doubt on this FLC - at least until proven otherwise, as a lot of well-intended people are committing their time and attention to making it a success.
I really do hope you enjoy it, and that you and the others are able to use it for the benefit of the relationship between the Club with it's fans - which can only improve. This is badly needed.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Does any one have any first hand experience of any of the people who'll be there, either committee boys or official NUFC type people. Clarky I know you've spoken to David Stonehouse, any one else ?

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

David S. is a very nice bloke, and seems straight - he could be a great ally to the Committee if you can tap into him.

The only other one I have met is Russell Cushing, who again seems a genuine bloke and a Toon fan. He's the administration guy at SJP and doubt he will become involved in this matter.

The main problems that I perceive with the Club certainly do not reside with these guys.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

None of the other people you are concerned about are expected to be at this first meeting, although the person I'm most concerned about is.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

The saying is there is no time like now and I wish you luck on your first meeting. Led to believe only 4 gatherings per year and with the holiday season upon us it must be difficult to get everyone to attend the first one . I would have thought that Steve Wraith would have either have emailed or wrote to the members , phoning around is okay until the tish hits the fan and nothing concrete is availible. Got a touch of Survivor and Big Brother about it already, informal alliances been struck over the phone!! , June 23rd eh , bet my sweet bippy that July 7th is the most used phrase at the gathering. Then looking at it in my usual cynical way , the next meeting will be fixed for early October , by this time the season will be well underway and the questions we may want asked may remain unanswered till then, I know we will get a feedback from you Mac ,bol sweet bippy

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Ignore that last bippy, bliddy ghosts on the network, probably Lord Westwood looking down, FLC, bah , blighters , the club gone to pot!!!

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

The meeting was supposed to be this Saturday but two people had to go to weddings so its the 23rd. Organised by Steve Wraith by phone.

The idea of this meeting is to get to know each other informally (hic) before we get down to serious business. The suggested 4 meetings per year sounds like nonsense to me, and I'll be pushing for at least 4 during the season, but preferably every 6 weeks at the most.

One of the main concerns for me is ticket pricing, particularly for kids. This isn't an issue that wil bear fruit until next spring. Similarly any push on trying to sit singers together can be instigated now but won't blossom until spring.

This first meeting is to get to know each other ("norming" stage) and working out how we are to work together. I want the club to supply us with secretarial support as the idea of having one of the committee members doing it takes that person out of the available voices. I also need to understand what Steve Wraith's role is. I've seen the comment that he's supposed to represent the committee's views to the club. As they'd say on Ally "I'm not comfortable with that".

The other BIG concern I have is the approved means of reporting back on how things go. The suggested means are official club publications and local press. Well how much do we trust that ?! Life has moved on and the internet is king !

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

"Life has moved on and the internet is king".

Not at NUFC it isn't - have you checked the Official site lately? As bad as ever.

You'll scare the cr@p out of them with that sort of suggestion Macbeth. Big companies, and even those that just think they're big, get very uncomfortable with the concept of instant communication which implies loss of control.

I'm getting jealous now - it could get quite interesting if you are able to encourage several members to remain independent thinkers and not toe the party line and immediately tug their forelocks.

As for Steve Wraith's role - ask them why they feel the need for an intermediary at all? Surely it would be far more effective if the Committee reported back directly - and totally undiluted - to David Stonehouse, or even the big guy himself? Oooogah, even more discomfort and shuffling of feet - what you mean REAL two-way communication? Perish the very thought.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Official club publications and local press aren't a great deal of help to the ex-pat and other foreign audience they claim to be so eager to expand.

Funny how that internet thingy seems to be everywhere though! Certainly a small example of the impact could be your own site, MacB. Is it any coincidence that the person getting the most votes also had the most effective method of communicating his intentions to the largest possible audience at the lowest cost?

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Mac, tell them i'll do the website for them from here. Wasn't it SJH who said we should copy Barcelona, now they can!

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

As long as you get paid with the promise of the loss of Barton and Speed ?

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

Can they come up with a single, sensible reason for not allowing an amnesty to get the correct names on season tickets? Is it any wonder that they offered too many seats at stupid prices when they knowingly offered moved bond-holders extra seats as an enticement to go quietly and thereby tripled the seeming number of punters on their database who apparently could afford bonds? Their market research will always be fundamentally flawed until they have the correct personal details to play with. According to their crappy information I am a few years older, live in a much nicer area and have all sorts of excellent professional qualifications. Perhaps if they could put that right on their system they wouldn't be quite so surprised to find me slumming it on Tier 7 instead of clamouring to get into the 1892 Club.

Perhaps a look at their scouting database will reveal the selfsame problem and we'll finally understand why we pay so much for players who turn out to be bobbins, "When Ronaldo didn't sign we overtyped his name with Andersson to save space on the hard-drive..." ;-)

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

maybe it was more of a dual floppy problem, or did the Spanish 'ladies' fix that

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

Hopefully I will get my own name on my ST this time. I got it through one of the guys who was moved and he's been writing to the club all season to get it changed!

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

First thing on the Agenda should be how to relocate fans in the leazers end to the spare seats that will inevitably be splattered around the ground so that a MASSIVE family enclosure can be created.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

Move more people? cannot see the club going for that.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001