Tea/coffee and late 1901 ticket - Paul Barber reply and then another Paul Barber reply

Giraffe said:

An additional note from Paul Barber this afternoon:

I’ve read your note. I’d make the following comments:

- you may not value the presentation box but we have close to 3,000 1901 members – and, as we all know, it’s a diverse group. If we’d sent out confirmation of a 5 year commitment to the club in a plain envelope, we’d receive different complaints.
- there is a lot of logic in a second contract term to asking people to re-apply for parking; the allocation in the second term is different for many people than their first term. The club needs to have all of its paperwork in order for a 5 year agreement.
- you may not like your “ribbon” but, for our security staff, it helps identify people that should be in the lounges from people who shouldn’t be. It’s part of a process to keep YOU safe, whether you're a “supporter” or a “corporate”.
- I don’t know where you buy your coffee in a commercial environment but the cost of 10p a cup isn’t even close! As I have said, provision of tea and coffee for nearly 3,000 people, 23 times a year costs the club tens of thousands of pounds.
- unfortunately, we can’t (and don’t) run a football club based on what is said or not said on social media.
- many of the changes we have made have been initiated by Paul Rogers and his team because of their experiences in the past 5 years of operating the 1901 club; they’ve been fully explained to the executive team and board - and fully supported.

I have been asked to be frank by a few people on this issue, and so I will be:

- 5 years ago the club (and its various partners) had to make a lot of decisions from a position of relative weakness, and with a significant lack of experience of the commercial and operational issues of running a football club business at this level.
- some of those decisions, all taken in good faith, were not all the correct ones; and, over the years since the stadium opened, we have slowly, but surely, taken opportunities to correct the initial errors. Not to have done so would have been wrong.
- at the end of 5 year contract period, it is essential that the club takes the opportunity to correct any of those remaining initial errors; it is also vital to ensure that a new, stronger foundation is laid to ensure the club is better positioned for the future.
- nobody at this football club has been “mean spirited”, “devious”, “deceitful” or “penny pinching”; the club’s staff and directors have simply taken necessary steps to make this football club – YOUR football club – more financially sustainable.
- to suggest otherwise is totally unfair and insulting to many decent, loyal, honest and hard-working staff that go to considerable lengths to ensure everyone enjoys their visits to the Amex.
- some of the stuff I have read and been sent in the past 48 hours has been, quite frankly, entirely detached from the reality of how this business operates, and the steps we must continually take to ensure we are competitive as well as sustainable.
- thankfully, it has been balanced by comments from others fully appreciating that with certain difficult decisions, the club will never win. Don’t take them, our costs spiral, the budget for players is weakened; take them and we "don’t care" about fans.

The reality is:

- in the past 4 years, we’ve taken many millions of pounds out of the non-footballing operational costs of running this business while also growing our revenues. At Championship level, neither is easy. Our staff have done a fabulous job in both respects.
- at the same time, we have improved facilities and services for our fans and we’ve maintained the key benefits – transport subsidy and interest free season ticket payment plans to name two – that the vast majority hold dear.
- we have created an infrastructure that is envied across the game, not least here at the Amex and at Lancing, where we have also established a category 1 academy in less than 3 years.
- thanks to these efforts, and the continued generosity of the chairman, we’ve also dramatically improved our playing budget – whilst also complying with the dreaded financial fair play rules (which, by the way, still exist).
- as a consequence, we are enjoying our 6th consecutive season in the Championship, we have narrowly missed out on promotion, and we have reached 3 play-offs in the past 4 seasons.
- we are now set to mount another challenge for promotion to the Premier League after yet more investment from the chairman to help us retain and attract the best possible players to the club amidst fierce financial competition.
- all these things are inter-connected; efforts to reduce costs and increase revenues enable us to put more budget on the field; they also give the chairman more confidence to increase his own commitment – which he has done season after season.
- we are more open, transparent, accessible, and make more efforts to communicate with more fans at more times, through a variety of different channels, than, in my opinion, any club in the country.
- in my opinion, we are incredibly lucky to be owned by Tony Bloom. And even more lucky that he is prepared to back us to an unbelievable level on the field while ensuring that our supporters are looked after to the best of our ability off it.

In summary, and after close to 20 years working in professional football, there are very few, if any, clubs quite like this one. It is very special in so many ways. From its history to its location, from its infrastructure to its owner, from the quality of our playing staff and coaches to the ambition of everyone, and from the way we are encouraged and supported to run the club, to the club’s incredible potential. In my opinion, it’s truly one of a kind. Sometimes I do think fans (and staff) should take a step back, take a breath, not be so quick to criticise, and take time to compare and contrast. No football club (or any other business for that matter is perfect – and don’t get me started on letting and estate agents!) but I do think we all might be pleasantly surprised at how fantastic this football club is. And, no, it’s not all about what we, the club do: please be assured that we don’t underestimate how big a part our fans have played – and continue to play - in making the club what it is today. Amazing.

As ever, please feel free to share this note if you feel it would be useful to do so.

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Eddiespearritt said:

All great Paul - but where the **** are my tickets that I have paid a small fortune for ? No acknowledgement whatsoever of the ridiculous situation you put the supporters in this week - supporters who just want what they paid for. Basic, basic stuff to get right and you blame everyone else for your failure.

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Easy 10 said:

He told you yesterday.
It couldn't be sent out earlier, because you'd only go and LOSE it.

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Paul Reids Sock said:

Pretty sure re: tickets yesterday he made it clear tat a small number were due to Royal Mail not picking them up as they were meant to.

Also I have no problem with the tickets being sent out late. When I had my season ticket it was sent out a few weeks before the season and I lost it almost immediately. If you want to blame someone it is people like me. I am Paul reids Sock, I am an idiot

Also - tea and coffee - at Withdean we didn't even have chips - CHIPS FOR GOODNESS SAKE

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Easy 10 said:

Doesn't seem like THAT small a number, given the number of people on here who have been affected by it. And only a tiny fraction of fans actually post on NSC, so lord knows how many of those prestine boxes are still floating around in the vagaries of the Royal Mail vortex, or sitting idly in post offices tonight having been too big to be posted.

And I don't understand how anyone could lose their season ticket in the numbers Barber seems to think justifies posting the new ones out out 20 minutes before kickoff. Mine lives in my wallet, year in, year out. I'm just as likely to lose it in November as I am in August, between them sending me a new one and the first game of the season. Whats the ruddy difference ? Its a nonsense, this year its come back to bite them on the arse and a lot of fans are being massively inconvenienced.

I'm sure there's some focus group or workshop that Barber went on that concluded that they must be sent as late as possible "for the good of the herd", but its bobbins really, isn't it.

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Neville's Breakfast said:

I have to say I have a lot of respect for Paul Barber's response to Giraffe. People are too quick to criticize the club. I'm hoping that a lot of the comments about tea, coffee ,ribbons and badges are tongue in cheek ?

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Taybha said:

Yes they are Paul .

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Bozza said:

I think the club pop in these little bits of incompetence from time to time just to remind us that, despite the apparent professional polish we see, it is still the dear old Albion that we are interfacing with.

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Bozza said:

I think the club pop in these little bits of incompetence from time to time just to remind us that, despite the apparent professional polish we see, it is still the dear old Albion that we are interfacing with.

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dejavuatbtn said:

Yep, underneath all this corporate bollox is our football club. Sometimes I just wish we'd recoup all the money we could get for these so called superstar players and posh ground, move back into Withdean, and slum it like a proper football club and supporters.

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Nixonator said:

Please be satire

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sheebo said:

We're really arguing about tea and coffee at the football now - RIP football [emoji38];

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Eddiespearritt said:

Here's the letter I wish Paul Barber would have written:

Dear 1901 Club Member

I'm writing to apologise unreservedly for the mess and considerable inconvenience we've caused by sending out the new season tickets so late this year. I could blame the supply chain which has not operated in the way we might have hoped, but ultimately we know full well that our contract is with you, and we have taken our eye off the ball here.

It is not unreasonable on your part to expect that season tickets will arrive in good time before the first match, and on this issue we have failed. We commit to learn from these mistakes and we do really value the support the 1901 club members give us, translating to income in excess of £3 million per season.

We have reduced the benefits of membership this year and we believe these measures are right in our attempt to balance the finances, and to correct the over-delivery that we felt existed in the first five-year cycle. However I acknowledge that some of the reduced benefits have only been communicated after the renewals have been secured, and this might seem a bit sneaky. Again we commit to improving the communication and transparency of our plans, in advance of securing your money.

We've got a great club and we're immensely grateful to Tony Bloom for his incredible support, but equally we know that you invest a sizeable portion of your income into the club too, and your expectations are something that we will be striving to fulfil over the next five-year cycle, with improved customer service and communication. I'm the CEO of this club and I'm determined to build a trust and a bond with all supporters, with honesty and integrity as the foundations.

Thanks for your support, it is genuinely appreciated, and apologies once again.

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TottonSeagull said:

FFS, get over yourself!!! So there's been a cock up on the tickets and you are no longer getting a freebie coffee!!! Have you nothing better to do then think up a fictious letter you would have liked to receive? 1901 club really does seem to be full of whinging muppets!

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TottonSeagull said:

FFS, get over yourself!!! So there's been a cock up on the tickets and you are no longer getting a freebie coffee!!! Have you nothing better to do then think up a fictious letter you would have liked to receive? 1901 club really does seem to be full of whinging muppets!

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