Best FF I’ve been to, potentially my last though as City Addicks may fold shortly.
TS being there with his key directors is a huge big deal, because he can hear feedback and steer his team and that is what he did.
I was impressed with him and the buy in he seems to have into engagement and development of the support.
A lot of ground covered due to the 2 year gap (I’m told) and a lot going on with the squad stuff so long meeting.
No sandwiches in sight not even a biscuit..
Edit: I directed Lucy to this CL thread prior to the meeting, so at least some of the issues raised here would have been noted
Who else was there apart from TS?
Pretty surprised that the clubs Fan Liaison Officer doesn't come on the clubs biggest fans forum. Even if she doesn't post anything you'd expect she'd at least want to have a browse just to see what's going on and what fans are saying about certain things.
How do we know that she doesn't come on and have a browse? I suspect that it's highly likely that she does, given her role. And if she does, I don't blame her at all for not advertising the fact in order to avoid getting dragged into things or having her every word - or personal view as a supporter - picked over as if it's an official club statement.
From what I've seen from Lifers posts and elsewhere, she's doing a pretty good job too. IIRC, she's got the Fans Forum up and running again (successfully, based on @Razil's view); she's written columns for the website; she's written a column for the programme; she's met I think most - if not all - the fan groups; she's done an interview with TS where she put forward genuine questions from fans that maybe some people wouldn't have asked; she tweets and gets involved in discussions with fans. Other Lifers have referred to her replying to their emails and queries promptly, and I've seen her in the Fans Bar before and after games this season talking to supporters. Bearing in mind that it's an unpaid role and again, IIRC, she has a full-time job, whether she posts on here to my mind is neither here nor there given how much she is already communicating/relatively accessible.
As far as I'm concerned the Fan Adviser (agree Fan Liaison would be a better title) has been a good appointment by the club and she and they deserve credit for the way they're going about it. Not everything is perfect about it and never could be (we're a tough crowd to please!), but IMHO I think it's a bit unfair to have a little dig - especially given that we don't know whether she is on here or not.
Have sent an email three weeks ago to her, still no reply. Very disappointing.
Have you chased it up ? Quite possibly inadvertently lost/deleted particularly if she was deluged with contacts.
Lucy has been ill. Don't know more than that, but it is the reason for the long delays. She mentioned this at the Fans Forum meeting and is now recovered and catching up with her backlog of correspondence.
And how much autonomy she gets in answering them. Does she have free rein to answer the questions that get asked or is she just being asked to see if certain subjects come up a lot then pass this on? I agree that at least a holding/standard response email would be good, but if she may be getting stonewalled herself trying to get answers.
Lucy has been ill. Don't know more than that, but it is the reason for the long delays. She mentioned this at the Fans Forum meeting and is now recovered and catching up with her backlog of correspondence.
Well that does make a difference.
However a quick tweet to let the fans know may have been wise to avoid confusion.
I don’t really think you can complain about not receiving a response from a volunteer. I’m not a fan of the role but I doubt it’s reasonable to have expectations of the person doing it for nothing within a professional organisation.
Except that, presumably, she wanted the position. A bit of interaction with fans is surely exactly what the position is about?
So, why do we also have a Supporter Liaison Officer employed by the club ?
Because EFL rules say we must.
OK, thanks.
But was he/she in attendance at the meeting & what does his/her role involve ?
I find it very confusing to understand who I should contact if I had a complaint/suggestion from a fan's perspective.
I don’t really think you can complain about not receiving a response from a volunteer. I’m not a fan of the role but I doubt it’s reasonable to have expectations of the person doing it for nothing within a professional organisation.
Except that, presumably, she wanted the position. A bit of interaction with fans is surely exactly what the position is about?
So, why do we also have a Supporter Liaison Officer employed by the club ?
Because EFL rules say we must.
OK, thanks.
But was he/she in attendance at the meeting & what does his/her role involve ?
I find it very confusing to understand who I should contact if I had a complaint/suggestion from a fan's perspective.
Surely this is another case of "too many cooks" ?
Tia Walby (Supporters Liasion Officer) left the football club according to twitter on the 30th August.
I don’t really think you can complain about not receiving a response from a volunteer. I’m not a fan of the role but I doubt it’s reasonable to have expectations of the person doing it for nothing within a professional organisation.
Except that, presumably, she wanted the position. A bit of interaction with fans is surely exactly what the position is about?
So, why do we also have a Supporter Liaison Officer employed by the club ?
Because EFL rules say we must.
OK, thanks.
But was he/she in attendance at the meeting & what does his/her role involve ?
I find it very confusing to understand who I should contact if I had a complaint/suggestion from a fan's perspective.
Surely this is another case of "too many cooks" ?
Tia Walby (Supporters Liasion Officer) left the football club according to twitter on the 30th August.
Would it not make sense for the club to communicate with its supporters that a fan engagement/liaison person has left the club and who they have been replaced with. These pieces of information are on both persons personal twitter accounts but as far as I can see nothing from the club in terms of Comms.
Surely the club would want the supporters to engage with a person in this role?
Next time there's a meeting, could someone please put forward the idea of being able to use match tickets, online instead when applicable ? The club can also then sell the seats if there is ever a demand.
I'm obviously not hoping for a part refund and watch the game online... but it would be great if there was an option of a swap.
My mrs just found out I pay £10 a game ontop of my ST which il be lucky to break even on 🤣.
Lucy has been ill. Don't know more than that, but it is the reason for the long delays. She mentioned this at the Fans Forum meeting and is now recovered and catching up with her backlog of correspondence.
Well that does make a difference.
However a quick tweet to let the fans know may have been wise to avoid confusion.
Surly an out of office auto reply on her email would have solved a very simple problem if she is off sick?
The club seem to agree with all the off field comments and say things will improve. We shall see.
As for on field, it was confirmed what we knew that analytics is what we will be using to identify players, as well as scouting. Everything's great on the training ground so .......
No specific mention in the minutes about the PA problems which I would have thought are quite important, both in terms of safety and the match day experience.
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
I think it's more telling that despite lots of other staff being present Keohane, supposedly "Director of Operations" wasn't invited to a meeting to discuss largely operational issues.
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
I think it's more telling that despite lots of other staff being present Keohane, supposedly "Director of Operations" wasn't invited to a meeting to discuss largely operational issues.
Tick, tock Tony.
Perhaps he had "other fish to fry" last Thursday evening......:
No specific mention in the minutes about the PA problems which I would have thought are quite important, both in terms of safety and the match day experience.
Second from bottom in League One and fans are moaning about f**king Bovril, embarrassing
No, because mundane operational stuff is what the fans forum is for and because there where lots of questions about the playing side anyway.
Nothing embarrassing from the fans.
From the players, yes
Agreed, there are plenty of other forums for discussing the team, and you don't need a FF to understand that fans aren't happy that our team is rubbish, whereas issues with ticketing, hospitality areas and lounges, the PA system, catering, club shop etc are less obvious and need to be brought to the attention of the club
I'm surprised the late replica kit wasn't mentioned also
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
I think it's more telling that despite lots of other staff being present Keohane, supposedly "Director of Operations" wasn't invited to a meeting to discuss largely operational issues.
Tick, tock Tony.
Perhaps he had "other fish to fry" last Thursday evening......:
Disappointed regarding the negative response and proposed 'review' of the WiFi still not being made available at The Valley.
I'd have thought it was a perfect opportunity for a provider to sponsor/subsidise a local secure free network around the ground. After all we are in the 2020s and the cost would be relatively neutral, even offering a token paid for a season purchase to those fans that find it a necessary side show pre match and at half time. A £10 season charge would surely break the back of the total cost of implementation?
Disappointed regarding the negative response and proposed 'review' of the WiFi still not being made available at The Valley.
I'd have thought it was a perfect opportunity for a provider to sponsor/subsidise a local secure free network around the ground. After all we are in the 2020s and the cost would be relatively neutral, even offering a token paid for a season purchase to those fans that find it a necessary side show pre match and at half time. A £10 season charge would surely break the back of the total cost of implementation?
Wycombe Wanderers have fan WiFi, which worked well on Saturday, whether in the stands or inside the clubhouse bar
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
I think it's more telling that despite lots of other staff being present Keohane, supposedly "Director of Operations" wasn't invited to a meeting to discuss largely operational issues.
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
I think it's more telling that despite lots of other staff being present Keohane, supposedly "Director of Operations" wasn't invited to a meeting to discuss largely operational issues.
Tick, tock Tony.
Don’t like the idea that he wasn’t invited, if he does get the push, could it be used as constructive dismissal?
Comments
However a quick tweet to let the fans know may have been wise to avoid confusion.
But was he/she in attendance at the meeting & what does his/her role involve ?
I find it very confusing to understand who I should contact if I had a complaint/suggestion from a fan's perspective.
Surely this is another case of "too many cooks" ?
Has a replacement been appointed?
Surely the club would want the supporters to engage with a person in this role?
https://www.cafc.co.uk/club/fans/club-charter
I'm obviously not hoping for a part refund and watch the game online... but it would be great if there was an option of a swap.
My mrs just found out I pay £10 a game ontop of my ST which il be lucky to break even on 🤣.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/uploads/0b94fd4a24aff6bf67abeb0097d71b28
We shall see.
As for on field, it was confirmed what we knew that analytics is what we will be using to identify players, as well as scouting. Everything's great on the training ground so .......
Nothing embarrassing from the fans.
From the players, yes
If not, it's surely only a matter of time before she joins the list.
Chief Operating Officer, yet he obviously has no interest in the operations of the Club, it's fans or where he and his team may improve their output.
Fecking disgraceful.
Tick, tock Tony.
Agreed, there are plenty of other forums for discussing the team, and you don't need a FF to understand that fans aren't happy that our team is rubbish, whereas issues with ticketing, hospitality areas and lounges, the PA system, catering, club shop etc are less obvious and need to be brought to the attention of the club
I'm surprised the late replica kit wasn't mentioned also
I'd have thought it was a perfect opportunity for a provider to sponsor/subsidise a local secure free network around the ground. After all we are in the 2020s and the cost would be relatively neutral, even offering a token paid for a season purchase to those fans that find it a necessary side show pre match and at half time. A £10 season charge would surely break the back of the total cost of implementation?