Don't laugh: 3 new fan engagement initiatives

For once it looks like they're accepting they've made a mistake, obviously proof is in the pudding and yesterday's problem shows they have a long way to go, but at least they're making an effort to try and sort the communication thing out

Read an article written by the club's Senior Management Team which is included in Saturday afternoon's Valley Review
The below article is taken from Saturday edition of Valley Review for the visit of Northampton Town

Welcome back to The Valley, it’s great to have football back again.

We’d like to begin by thanking all of those that stuck by the club last season. The relegation really hurt us all and we know it was a difficult year for everyone involved with the club and we’d like to thank you for your support of the team.

We’ve talked about learning from our mistakes but actions speak louder than words and you will have seen a transformation in how we approach everything in and around the club this summer.

We’ve appointed a British Manager on a long-term deal and I am sure you will all agree that it feels like Russell Slade has brought a breath of fresh air to the club. Russell’s appointment together with the new signings we have made represent a change in strategy by the club and the start of a new era. Nicky Ajose, Lee Novak and Ricky Holmes came in at the beginning of the summer and in recent weeks we’ve brought in Declan Rudd, Andrew Crofts, Kevin Foley and Jason Pearce. They are talented individuals who are proven at this level and we have been very pleased with the response we’ve had from the fans and the media on the new approach.

While the signings have been very positive, there is still work to do and we are working around the clock with Russell to add players of the right attitude and quality to our squad. It may take a bit of time to build the team and for the squad to gel and we’ll all need to be patient over the first few months of the season while the players learn how each other plays and how to work best as a team.

We have lost players and we know that can be disappointing for our fans but the players we’ve lost all wanted new challenges and it is very important the members of our squad are highly motivated to play at The Valley and will give their all to help Charlton win.

Our new approach is not limited to the footballing side of things. It includes everything from the way we behave towards each other in the office, to the way the club do business with people externally and also, very importantly, the way we communicate with fans. The new era is about positivity; positivity for Charlton and ensuring that everyone associated with the club is working together to deliver a bright future.

Russell said in an interview last week that the club has a real “heartbeat” and that’s exactly right. The Charlton fans are such an important part of that heartbeat and we haven’t been maximising fully the passion, energy and effort that our fans have.

We’ve received a lot of comments from fans in the past saying that we are not communicating enough. We want to communicate better and more frequently with our fans, therefore this week it was announced that we are launching three new initiatives aimed at directly improving communication with fans. Our commitment is to engage with more Charlton fans than ever before.

Our aim for this season is to launch a promotion challenge. We want to get our club back to the Championship as soon as possible and everyone within the club will be working hard with that in mind. A lot of money has been invested in Charlton and we want the club to succeed. We are embracing the new era, things have changed here and the surnames on the squad list today on the back of the programme, amongst other things, reflect that. We have changed our strategy in recruitment and we are changing the way we communicate with fans. We need everyone to get behind Russell and the team to give us the best chance of getting Charlton back to where we should be.

This is a positive new era for all of us with an exciting season ahead. We don’t underestimate the challenge of getting Charlton back into the Championship and the players, the manager, the fans, the sponsors and everyone else involved at the club need to work together as part of a joint effort to ensure we have a successful season on and off the pitch.
We hope you enjoy today’s game.

The Senior Management Team

sammy391 said:

Addickted said:

I suspect that this is as a result of the EFL survey, which is mentioned.

Very true , the meeting with senior members of the club is also required/forced by the EFL/FA under their new guidelines!

So Katrien meeting 'official fans groups' isn't a voluntary engagement technique but in fact one forced by the EFL on ALL of its clubs!

Yes this is actually true. So no Katrien, I do not believe you when you say it's something you want to do.

http://www.efl.com/news/article/2016/efl-chairman-ian-lenagan-engages-fans-at-supporters-summit-3200628.aspx

"Outlining recommendations from the Government Expert Working Group’s report on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement, Lenagan confirmed at the conference, hosted by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF and Supporters Direct (SD), that all EFL clubs will now be required by regulations to meet with fan representatives at least twice a year as part of a wider commitment to ensure structured dialogue occurs regularly between supporters, clubs and relevant authorities.

Greenie Junior said:

For once it looks like they're accepting they've made a mistake, obviously proof is in the pudding and yesterday's problem shows they have a long way to go, but at least they're making an effort to try and sort the communication thing out

No they are not, it's just a PR exercise that's only been released on the back of bad news; they need to show they are doing something.

They are spending more trying to protect image with PR & Social Media companies than they probably are to the wages of a large part of the backroom/media staff inside the Club.

Believe a word of that shit at your own peril, especially when Katrien says the fans are the heartbeat of our Club - the same fans she accuses of stuff, tries to get knicked, etc. Etc.

Seriously? Why do we want to meet the SMT to hear more pork pies and dismissive comments. This is another PR disaster waiting to happen.

I'd prefer Slade to spend his time at the training ground teaching the players how to defend a corner.

You want to engage the fans do you? Here's some weird ideas:
Stop bullying them,
Stop making pointless statements
Perform a "what will the fans think" test on everything you do
Treat the fans fairly mentality.
Recognise that it is the FANS club
Start winning football matches
State what RDs plans are
Start being ambitious - we want to be in the premiership not developing players for the premiership!
Stop selling our players for peanuts Stop telling pork pies.

If you can't do those then DO ONE!

Btw, does any other club/fans ever talk about their SMT team?

Do not believe it, it's all PR.
The owner of the club is RD. He is the one that needs to convince us of a change( although I have a feeling it's too late)
If RD really means it the first thing that must be done is remove KM.
If it was a real new era and RD wanted to build bridges, KM would be removed.
Thus, KM still at CAFC , no new era.

Atletico Addick said:

Greenie Junior said:

For once it looks like they're accepting they've made a mistake, obviously proof is in the pudding and yesterday's problem shows they have a long way to go, but at least they're making an effort to try and sort the communication thing out

No they are not, it's just a PR exercise that's only been released on the back of bad news; they need to show they are doing something.

They are spending more trying to protect image with PR & Social Media companies than they probably are to the wages of a large part of the backroom/media staff inside the Club.

Believe a word of that shit at your own peril, especially when Katrien says the fans are the heartbeat of our Club - the same fans she accuses of stuff, tries to get knicked, etc. Etc.

I was on a wind up haha

Don't trust them.

Never will.

GOOOC

- All official fan groups will be invited for meetings with members of the club’s Senior Management Team on matchdays. We will decide which fan groups we want to invite and we will choose which dates. All participants must be in possession of a season ticket or full-price matchday ticket. We will also decide which members of the Senior Management Team will be made available and for how long. No recordings will be permitted and no minutes released after the meeting. Anyone acting inappropriately during the meeting will be subjected to a football banning order.
- The club will run a fan survey that will gauge fan opinion on various elements on the way the club is run, including the matchday experience and the club’s new website. We will choose which fans are invited to participate in this market research. We will choose whether to publish any results o the survey. All participants will be required to provide their full contact details and Season Ticket number.
- The club with run a Meet the Manager Evening at The Valley in September for season ticket holders, giving them the opportunity to meet Charlton’s new manager Russell Slade. We will choose which season ticket holders are invited; some of whom will be permitted to ask questions, which we sill supply, up to a maximum of one per person. At the event, season ticket upgrades will be available to purchase. There will be a paid bar. Normal levels of security will be in place for the event, including - but not limited to - a full search of each participant to ensure no alcohol or recording equipment is brought into the meeting. Russell will decide which questions he answers, purely based on whether he thinks the question is positive enough.

Too fucking late mare. The damage has been done. Crawl back into your bloody hole and don't come near our club again.

Greenie Junior said:

Atletico Addick said:

Greenie Junior said:

For once it looks like they're accepting they've made a mistake, obviously proof is in the pudding and yesterday's problem shows they have a long way to go, but at least they're making an effort to try and sort the communication thing out

No they are not, it's just a PR exercise that's only been released on the back of bad news; they need to show they are doing something.

They are spending more trying to protect image with PR & Social Media companies than they probably are to the wages of a large part of the backroom/media staff inside the Club.

Believe a word of that shit at your own peril, especially when Katrien says the fans are the heartbeat of our Club - the same fans she accuses of stuff, tries to get knicked, etc. Etc.

I was on a wind up haha

Over me head - nothing surprises me with some people on here haha

Trop tard ma cherie, trop tard. The article sets out pretty much everything that's wrong. But forgive me if I just don't believe you.