It’s just so pleasing to read his views and plans. I have to pinch myself at times that we’ve struck gold with this bloke. The respect he has for the existing staff at the club is lovely, except that Tony fella.
No major investment while RD is owner covers that, I think, Ben.
Thanks for starting this thread. Just goes to show we are for non-members too. ;-)
That reference was about the Valley.
Nothing in the article about investing, or not, at Sparrows Lane nor any mention of Category 1 status.
If that was specifically mentioned in the interview then great but please amend the article to reflect that.
If not, it's a question for next time.
Agree that the interview was of interest to members and non-members alike. Always happy to praise CAST when they do something good and constructively criticise when they don't.
Great interview. I must admit I'm very surprised we are only averaging 4k sales on the streams. I think the stream is really good value for money and I must admit I hope they continue if and when grounds finally allow fans back, living in north wales means it is not possible for me to get to every game but the stream allows me to see the game as well as make a small contribution to the club. What are the reasons for the small tickets sales do people think ?
Great interview. I must admit I'm very surprised we are only averaging 4k sales on the streams. I think the stream is really good value for money and I must admit I hope they continue if and when grounds finally allow fans back, living in north wales means it is not possible for me to get to every game but the stream allows me to see the game as well as make a small contribution to the club. What are the reasons for the small tickets sales do people think ?
It's a low headline figure, but I reckon the majority of purchased streams are being watched by more than one person. 4,000 purchases could easily equate to 11-15,000 viewers.
The plan this season is to aim to be around about the play-offs by the turn of the year – “maybe 6th or 8th” then if necessary we can “add a bit of depth” to the squad in January. The ambition is definitely to achieve at least the play-offs by season end.
Without getting too ahead of ourselves, it would be a major surprise if we weren't top 8 by the end of the year. That implies we still have headroom within the salary cap, or have plans to get around it.
Great interview. I must admit I'm very surprised we are only averaging 4k sales on the streams. I think the stream is really good value for money and I must admit I hope they continue if and when grounds finally allow fans back, living in north wales means it is not possible for me to get to every game but the stream allows me to see the game as well as make a small contribution to the club. What are the reasons for the small tickets sales do people think ?
I think the numbers are a bit disappointing, but that seems to be the case across football
I can understand fans not wanting to give £10 to Roland or ESI, but it's disappointing if people are still using illegal streams
Great interview. I must admit I'm very surprised we are only averaging 4k sales on the streams. I think the stream is really good value for money and I must admit I hope they continue if and when grounds finally allow fans back, living in north wales means it is not possible for me to get to every game but the stream allows me to see the game as well as make a small contribution to the club. What are the reasons for the small tickets sales do people think ?
You can have a family of 4 watch a stream, but they would have purchased 4 tickets. Be interesting to see how we compare to other clubs.
No major investment while RD is owner covers that, I think, Ben.
Thanks for starting this thread. Just goes to show we are for non-members too. ;-)
That reference was about the Valley.
Nothing in the article about investing, or not, at Sparrows Lane nor any mention of Category 1 status.
If that was specifically mentioned in the interview then great but please amend the article to reflect that.
If not, it's a question for next time.
Agree that the interview was of interest to members and non-members alike. Always happy to praise CAST when they do something good and constructively criticise when they don't.
I'm sure they will sleep easy tonight knowing they have that ringing endorsement in their minds, with pointers on where they are going wrong too!
If Thomas is serious about his ambitions for the club, which I think he is as I get the impression he "doesn't do failure" is Sparrows Lane actually fit for purpose anyway?
Ignore the fact that he doesn't own it. Is it big enough to host the 1st team, an increased development squad, a bigger academy, a woman's team, CACT, improved medical facilities etc etc?
I haven't been there for about 25 years so others would be better placed to judge. I do know that other clubs have built specialist academies away from the 1st team training ground though.
Good write up, very glad to see CAST finally looking like they might get to a working relationship with the club. It’s been a long while coming!
Would say though, keep him / club away from influencing your surveys. They have the ability to run their own, and it’s vital you ask the questions YOU want to establish from fans without influence. Good luck
If Thomas is serious about his ambitions for the club, which I think he is as I get the impression he "doesn't do failure" is Sparrows Lane actually fit for purpose anyway?
Ignore the fact that he doesn't own it. Is it big enough to host the 1st team, an increased development squad, a bigger academy, a woman's team, CACT, improved medical facilities etc etc?
I haven't been there for about 25 years so others would be better placed to judge. I do know that other clubs have built specialist academies away from the 1st team training ground though.
Wouldn't it be great though just from a pay back point of view, as i think Sparrows is integral to Charlton, IF TS sourced a new training facility and left the old Belgian miser with a plot of land he cannot profit on from building on?
Great interview. I must admit I'm very surprised we are only averaging 4k sales on the streams. I think the stream is really good value for money and I must admit I hope they continue if and when grounds finally allow fans back, living in north wales means it is not possible for me to get to every game but the stream allows me to see the game as well as make a small contribution to the club. What are the reasons for the small tickets sales do people think ?
I think the numbers are a bit disappointing, but that seems to be the case across football
I can understand fans not wanting to give £10 to Roland or ESI, but it's disappointing if people are still using illegal streams
As a CAFC fan - yes, I get this, but I can contribute to CAFC directly in many other ways (VG, Jackpot, Club Shop, etc)
When it comes to footy on TV, I have been shafted by Sky etc for decades with exorbitant prices and crazy KO days/times.
For £1.50 a week, you can watch every club's stream (and more) on a proper TV, then buy yourself (e.g.) a replica shirt after 10 games and OUR club will be about even on the finances.
It's illegal.......... just like meeting 2 mates from different households in a pub after 10pm while pretending to be on the way to a doctors appointment
I’ve only paid for one stream & the quality was awful, sound was terrible & lots of stuttering yet my iptv streams , Netflix etc are perfect on my fibre broadband.
I wouldn’t mind paying for them if the quality was there but until that’s sorted I’ll support the club financially in other ways
Good write up, very glad to see CAST finally looking like they might get to a working relationship with the club. It’s been a long while coming!
Would say though, keep him / club away from influencing your surveys. They have the ability to run their own, and it’s vital you ask the questions YOU want to establish from fans without influence. Good luck
Comments
This is intresting, is the wage bill really that much smaller than 2 seasons ago?
We could break even on an average gate of 18k in league 1? Or does he mean this season after the sales of Bonne, Phillips and the KAG windfall?
Nothing in the article about investing, or not, at Sparrows Lane nor any mention of Category 1 status.
If that was specifically mentioned in the interview then great but please amend the article to reflect that.
If not, it's a question for next time.
Agree that the interview was of interest to members and non-members alike. Always happy to praise CAST when they do something good and constructively criticise when they don't.
Let's walk before we run
Premier league THEN we move on to chips
Without getting too ahead of ourselves, it would be a major surprise if we weren't top 8 by the end of the year. That implies we still have headroom within the salary cap, or have plans to get around it.
I can understand fans not wanting to give £10 to Roland or ESI, but it's disappointing if people are still using illegal streams
Ignore the fact that he doesn't own it. Is it big enough to host the 1st team, an increased development squad, a bigger academy, a woman's team, CACT, improved medical facilities etc etc?
I haven't been there for about 25 years so others would be better placed to judge. I do know that other clubs have built specialist academies away from the 1st team training ground though.
Would say though, keep him / club away from influencing your surveys. They have the ability to run their own, and it’s vital you ask the questions YOU want to establish from fans without influence. Good luck
Just a fantasy thought.
When it comes to footy on TV, I have been shafted by Sky etc for decades with exorbitant prices and crazy KO days/times.
For £1.50 a week, you can watch every club's stream (and more) on a proper TV, then buy yourself (e.g.) a replica shirt after 10 games and OUR club will be about even on the finances.
It's illegal.......... just like meeting 2 mates from different households in a pub after 10pm while pretending to be on the way to a doctors appointment