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Yes, in the interests of transparency, which has lately been so unfashionable in business and politics, the record can be seen here.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00123622/charges
Just search for others’ names and companies on this public register, should you wish to do so.
Well said, DM.
And UTI99, re. fans, customers and the Sky generation – it’s companies like Sky who have been responsible more than anyone for replacing fans with fickle customers. The big money they’ve brought into the game has turned the top clubs into global brands with customers worldwide, the vast majority of whom never actually attend a game.
Plus, the way TV income is distributed has widened inequality in football, and forced into administration many small clubs like ours, who now really struggle to keep up.
Local fans have become even more important to these clubs, as they are an important source of income where TV money is relatively small. So, the clubs should be working hard to attract and keep them.
But, there’s a feeling that SUFC is not doing this; that it’s taking them for granted, angering and alienating them by saying they talk crap, they’re morons, or ‘who cares’ if they leave after 60-odd years, etc. etc. And as if that weren’t enough, season after season we have witnessed a standard of football rarely seen outside public parks.
Now, for all kinds of reasons, the days of fans suffering in silence have gone. Even ours, who are now planning a protest, which will certainly attract regional and quite possibly national attention.
I don’t know if all this is a lesson they teach in the business schools, but it’s one the club would do well to learn before it’s too late. But, maybe it already is.
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We’ve been terrible this season just like we were in the season before we signed Mussy, Bara and Crosby, then look what happened.
That kind of argument can excuse anything.
Look, it was 17 years ago, with a different management, manager and players, plus a different attitude of the club towards its fans!
Complacency rules.
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You reap what you sow. Remember that.
Seems to me these words should be on the boardroom wall. Never been more appropriate.
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It’s not just the tedious football. It’s been the manner of it, the way it came about – the repeated signing of weak players, the revolving door of managers, the stubbornness of the chairman, the broken promises, and above all, the falling out with the club’s most important asset – the fans.
And, there seems to be no end in sight.
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I think naivety applies to a number of the players, they know they aren’t getting new contracts apparently but they aren’t exactly putting themselves in the shop window with their pitiful performances.
I expect their agents will be telling them they can get better clubs but in reality those we release will finish up in non league or part time.Disputes over contracts – haven’t we been here before? Remember a few seasons back how performances suddenly went off the boil after ‘words were had’ when Swann allegedly refused to discuss contracts during a decisive time in the promotion push.
And now rumours are circulating that contract offers have been withdrawn just as performances have gone from bad to worse.
Coincidence?3 users thanked author for this post.
Good post NI.
We shouldn’t forget the role of the ‘selection committee’ at GP, which must carry the can for wasting so much money on inadequate players.
I have no idea what role Swann junior has in this, but the very idea that a lad in his 20s might be experienced enough to know and recognize in others the attributes which go towards making a suitable player for a club like ours, is really beyond belief.
That’s because it’s not just a question of a footballer’s skill, but also has to do with their character and temperament, and whether they can respond to the kind of management style in place at the time.
And that’s why managers are keen to make these decisions for themselves. It’s also why – despite the odd success – someone so young and comparatively inexperienced is ill-qualified to make such important decisions on behalf of the club.
UTI99 needs to realize that it’s the club who has transformed fans into customers.
Ability to pay has become more important than loyalty and commitment.
Swann’s response to the elderly season ticket holder is perfect example, with decades of loyalty dismissed as irrelevant. His response was ‘fine, if he’s not happy, then he should stop going.’
But that, UTI99, is not how you grow the fan base. It is not how you develop fans of the brand, fans who these days have a limitless choice of entertainment.
Saying that fans’ attitudes “stink”, doesn’t help either. It just enrages supporters, and has the potential to be another ‘morongate’ moment which divides fans and club even further.
Really, if Swann junior did Business Studies at uni, dad should be asking for his money back.
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All true, and knocking the elderly season ticket holder who said it would be his last season, was a particularly cheap shot.
The chairman claims everyone’s been ‘working so hard’ and blames Covid, but as other say above, this is the same at all clubs, yet their fans haven’t had to put up with dismal performances season after season.
As has been said before, it’s not just the league position, it’s the repeatedly dull performances which are driving fans away, coupled with management that doesn’t seem to give a fig about the fans.
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How does the saying go – ‘One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day’…
Let’s not get complacent. It was a good 3 points and a reasonable show against the liverless Cods, but there has to be a lot more of the same to ensure survival.
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Sounds out of his depth and clutching at straws. He signs a manager with no management experience, and approves his decision to hire Swann junior, who also has no experience, but ‘has a plan to get the club into the Championship’. Yet, he can’t put his finger on why performances have been so poor.
I’m sure he means well, but I really don’t think he’s able to see the error of his ways, and while he’s surrounded by ‘yes men’, nobody will tell him.
Should he go? Got to be careful what you wish for in these straitened times, as has often been said. Some would say it couldn’t get any worse, tho’.
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