Would be better if they organised an event like this way in advance and held it at the training ground plenty of room for stalls etc get all involved with the Club involved and the junior reds the community would work a treat up there
Fanny Fanackapan As someone who decided to give it a miss both last year and today, a couple of things come to my mind .... For those who attended last season's event and who went again today, what was the main difference(s) ? Were there more activities for the kiddies last time? Was the signage, interaction with staff better last time ?
Me FF. I was there last year and this. I thought the organisation both years was pretty poor but gave the benefit of the doubt last year as it was the first attempt and organised late. Both years were very different and both had excellent sides to them which if combined would make a real fan experience. Last year was mainly in the car park, had bouncy castles, a score past the keeper competition, music van from a radio station, stalls etc and you could do a stadium tour for £5. They also had some Q& A's. This year we had players signing autographs and the picture thing which were both good and I liked the ability to go in a lounge.
Players training/doing skills both years.
It would be great to have a days schedule you could collect on arrival and make the Q&A's better advertised and with details of how to sign up and times (if memory serves, last year you had to apply online before the event). They are always going to be popular and over subscribed.
The main issues for yesterday was lack of organisation, if they had a few more things on the queues for the things they were doing would have been shorter, people would have stayed longer, the club would have made more money and there would have been a better experience for everyone.
I came last year and I missed some of the things you've listed but for us (my son and I) the outdoor activities were much more 'fun'. A quick scan of the room where the players met the fans I saw a number of tables that had activities happening at them but none of them would have been fun for him. The organisation seemed, as I've already said, to have been arranged by someone that has never had to entertain children for any length of time.
We didn't bother with meeting the players - that's not something we are in to and there were long queues (which is to be expected to be honest).
My biggest gripe was that the Q&A sessions were not 'advertised' anywhere, the room was too small (which is why some were not allowed in) and with the air conditioning not on (maybe we should find a local air conditioning firm to install a fully functioning system) it was uncomfortably hot in there. Had it not been on twitter half way through I wouldn't have found it at all.
We were allowed to wander around the stand unaccompanied and got lost - how many people knew that we have a Casino at the ground?
Other than the disorganisation I have to confess that apart from the Q&A there was nothing there that we would have been that bothered about seeing. There was very little fun to be had, in my opinion.
One point I will make though - despite not seeming to know what was going on or where things were I did have a couple of conversations with club representatives and they were all polite enough with us - just incompetent.
I wouldn't want them to refuse to do another one of these but I would suggest that if they do someone with young children gets involved is arranging the activities.
Other than the obvious problems, I am slightly (I repeat that's "slightly") concerned about the couple of comments about the catering/bar service. Have the new sooper dooper company not taken the reins yet, or is it a case of same horse different jockey?
My biggest gripe was that the Q&A sessions were not 'advertised' anywhere, the room was too small (which is why some were not allowed in) and with the air conditioning not on (maybe we should find a local air conditioning firm to install a fully functioning system) it was uncomfortably hot in there. Had it not been on twitter half way through I wouldn't have found it at all.
I did not attend. The club could have put a small group of fans together in advance to organise things better, but I detect the fun day had a lastminute.com feel to it, probably because the manager and several of the players are new to the place. Add to this, the loss of expertise behind the scenes over the last 1-2 years and it's probably going to be below par.
I know the pitch is an issue, but it doesn't sound like they had a couple of the keepers in goal for the kids to take shots at, or some of the youth players doing some tekkers. Could do the QA stuff outside in the stands (weather permitting) by placing the various speakers in different sections, so that folk could walk from one to another.
Could be an arduous day for the players and staff, but it should have built a lot of good feeling, instead of the disappointment I detect on here.
Communication is a 2 way process: the club know what they want to say, and we know what we want to tell them, so the sooner they tidy up this part of the business the better.
Wish I hadn't opened this thread. It was a PR event. Such things are counter productive if done badly. Nobody should expect to have their family insulted. What happened to "the customer is always right?"
I did not attend. The club could have put a small group of fans together in advance to organise things better, but I detect the fun day had a lastminute.com feel to it, probably because the manager and several of the players are new to the place. Add to this, the loss of expertise behind the scenes over the last 1-2 years and it's probably going to be below par.
I know the pitch is an issue, but it doesn't sound like they had a couple of the keepers in goal for the kids to take shots at, or some of the youth players doing some tekkers. Could do the QA stuff outside in the stands (weather permitting) by placing the various speakers in different sections, so that folk could walk from one to another.
Could be an arduous day for the players and staff, but it should have built a lot of good feeling, instead of the disappointment I detect on here.
Communication is a 2 way process: the club know what they want to say, and we know what we want to tell them, so the sooner they tidy up this part of the business the better.
The same coward mugs week in week out need to be ironed out and removed from the club, bottlers and mugs Been shown for what they are before and will be again, the last time people had to take into account that they bought kids with them, the next time they want to prey the kids are there again
He knows who and what he is and his muggy pals
Shit house kid bullying mugs how they are still involved in cafc astounds me
It isn't the first time it's been said it won't be the last,
Can anyone convert this into English for me so I can understand it?</blockquote
Would be better if they organised an event like this way in advance and held it at the training ground plenty of room for stalls etc get all involved with the Club involved and the junior reds the community would work a treat up there
The last one I attended (about 25 years ago) was at the training ground - possibly because we didn't have a ground. Memories are faded but the Charlton players played a game of cricket (some of them being better at that game than football) either way it was quite entertaining. There were plenty of stalls and my lad ended up with more autographs than there were players - all my kids returned home happy and worn out! Maybe use of a big screen for Q&A would be more inclusive.
We did a stall last years Club Day and I thought it all had the startings of a nice little set up which could be built on to make it quite a decent family event, but this year sounds like a step in a different direction which is a shame in my view.
Of course CAS Trust would be happy to help in future years (some including me have young families) if asked, but we weren't this year or last as Pico says, but did a stall in the fair area in the car park last time - also happy to pass on any feedback if anyone wants us to.
On the stewarding nla drop me a line if you like, am interested in helping with that if we can, and the new A block presents an interesting situation
Right now I'm dealing with some pesky Racoons and trying to put some towels out before the crowd - a little earlier at 6:15am, now enjoying a coffee and using the free wifi
Not so far.. Very fronty iguana yesterday and a small red snake, just hoping to get back alive..
Those iggys can be right nasty gits: here's a five-footer we had visiting us in Florida a couple of years ago. I told him he could put his towel wherever he wanted.
Comments
I was thinking about making my way up from Sittingbourne with the kids glad I didn't bother, my boy don't tolerate long queues or big crowds.
We didn't bother with meeting the players - that's not something we are in to and there were long queues (which is to be expected to be honest).
My biggest gripe was that the Q&A sessions were not 'advertised' anywhere, the room was too small (which is why some were not allowed in) and with the air conditioning not on (maybe we should find a local air conditioning firm to install a fully functioning system) it was uncomfortably hot in there. Had it not been on twitter half way through I wouldn't have found it at all.
We were allowed to wander around the stand unaccompanied and got lost - how many people knew that we have a Casino at the ground?
Other than the disorganisation I have to confess that apart from the Q&A there was nothing there that we would have been that bothered about seeing. There was very little fun to be had, in my opinion.
One point I will make though - despite not seeming to know what was going on or where things were I did have a couple of conversations with club representatives and they were all polite enough with us - just incompetent.
I wouldn't want them to refuse to do another one of these but I would suggest that if they do someone with young children gets involved is arranging the activities.
It is a fair point though.
The club could have put a small group of fans together in advance to organise things better, but I detect the fun day had a lastminute.com feel to it, probably because the manager and several of the players are new to the place.
Add to this, the loss of expertise behind the scenes over the last 1-2 years and it's probably going to be below par.
I know the pitch is an issue, but it doesn't sound like they had a couple of the keepers in goal for the kids to take shots at, or some of the youth players doing some tekkers. Could do the QA stuff outside in the stands (weather permitting) by placing the various speakers in different sections, so that folk could walk from one to another.
Could be an arduous day for the players and staff, but it should have built a lot of good feeling, instead of the disappointment I detect on here.
Communication is a 2 way process: the club know what they want to say, and we know what we want to tell them, so the sooner they tidy up this part of the business the better.
"Doing some tekkers" made me piss myself
We did a stall last years Club Day and I thought it all had the startings of a nice little set up which could be built on to make it quite a decent family event, but this year sounds like a step in a different direction which is a shame in my view.
Of course CAS Trust would be happy to help in future years (some including me have young families) if asked, but we weren't this year or last as Pico says, but did a stall in the fair area in the car park last time - also happy to pass on any feedback if anyone wants us to.
On the stewarding nla drop me a line if you like, am interested in helping with that if we can, and the new A block presents an interesting situation
Right now I'm dealing with some pesky Racoons and trying to put some towels out before the crowd - a little earlier at 6:15am, now enjoying a coffee and using the free wifi