[Albion] Fan advisory board

[Super Steve Earle]

They need to raise the issue of the trains post-Ajax, which was a potentially dangerous situation, not to mention hugely frustrating and inconvenient, especially for those travelling long distances. The whole train problem needs to be addressed, because the stadium is so reliant on train travel.

For the FAB to prove their worth, they should be bringing up the important issues - not whether to put the words up to Sussex by the Sea because a few old codgers have a failing memory!

I'm not an old codger and I can't remember song lyrics. Why the vitriol?

 

[dazzer6666]

Can I address all the points on the past couple of pages:

Meeting minutes – we have our own website because we have better control over getting the meeting notes on there. We do ask the club to upload them to the FAB page on the club website

The process for selecting and electing the new members was protracted and I cannot understand how you can have missed it. Nominations were submitted. FAB created the shortlist. Fans voted on the club website.

We had a Travel Scheme update last week. Minutes will go up very shortly. The subject of covered walkways was discussed. It is impossible to provide covered walkways everywhere due to cost. Are there any away grounds that have bought and erected this?

The idea of loyalty points for the men’s team for attending women’s games was discussed. And rejected. End of Binfest.

The question of a lack of communication from the FAB is a good one. How would you have us communicate? From the comments above people obviously don’t read club emails. It may surprise you but only a small minority log in the NSC. Thousands of people don’t use Twitter or Facebook.
If the FAB wanted to communicate with every fan, how should we do it?

The trains problem is a big issue for 50% of the people who go to the Amex. We discussed it at the Travel Review last week and it is important to understand that Brighton & Hove Albion don’t run the trains any more than they run the buses or the motorways. You can be absolutely certain that the clubs Travel Group are in constant contact with GTR (the company that actually run the railways) all season and including “live” during matchday when they manage additional carriages in to Falmer where possible, one thing we didn’t realise.

Bozza’s point is well made and absolutely correct. We don’t have control over the club website page, but we do after our own. We need to do better. This item will be on tonight’s regular weekly agenda. Expect to see a marked improvement. That being said, most people don't know about our website, only those who are really interested, so the question about how we could communicate better is really important.

Good post.

Re comms, we know 000s don’t use facebook or X etc but equally 000s do, and they talk to those that don’t. Perhaps think about having a set means of communication of anything you want to get out there (regular updates etc) - use here, facebook (there are several BHA groups), X and insta concurrently (same message at the same time to keep things simple your end). You’ll never hit everyone but you can try to capture as many as you can ? Put a link to the website in every post. Would the club allow a periodic comms from FAB using member emails ?

 

[Bozza]

It may surprise you but only a small minority log in the NSC.

I'm not picking on you, but these sort of comments from people who have zero access to NSCs traffic data always amuse me.

74,000 different people have visited NSC this month which means, either:

- A lot of non-Albion fans visit NSC, or
- NSC's fanbase is huge, for 74,000 to be a small minority.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I just want someone to speak up and get the words to GOSBTS removed from the screens. My life would then be complete

They should only be removed when everyone is tested as they enter the ground to ensure they are SIGNING the correct ones. It's taken long enough to get from "going up to win the cup" to "tell them all that we stand or fall" and some people STILL get it wrong!

And that includes "Oh Sussex, Sussex by the sea", NOT "Good old Sussex by the sea" twice

 

[kevo]

I'm not an old codger and I can't remember song lyrics. Why the vitriol?

It was only in jest. I just think there are more serious things FAB should be getting involved with!

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

The question of a lack of communication from the FAB is a good one. How would you have us communicate? From the comments above people obviously don’t read club emails. It may surprise you but only a small minority log in the NSC. Thousands of people don’t use Twitter or Facebook.
If the FAB wanted to communicate with every fan, how should we do it?

The trains problem is a big issue for 50% of the people who go to the Amex. We discussed it at the Travel Review last week and it is important to understand that Brighton & Hove Albion don’t run the trains any more than they run the buses or the motorways.

Here's a few:

1:

Set up a regular email that goes out to people telling them what you are doing.
Have a dedicated section in the programme.
Use your website properly and keep it up to date, publish your updates on Facebook & Twitter. Most people use them. Christ, even use The Argus if you think it's still relevant with an article or two a month.
Use Twitter and Facebook properly - weekly to update people.
Publish the minutes of your meetings and in a video - explain what they mean so people don't have to read through boring minutes. This isn't work.
Have face to face meetings with fans around Sussex where we can meet the FAB.
Have a dedicated section on NSC. As @Bozza has said, it's the most popular place to go for Albion fans.

2:

If the club can spend millions on a new fan park, they can find the cash to lease bendy buses for the P&R and look into running more trains.
Employ a transport manager if there isn't one already.

My invoice is in the post.

 

[Arthur]

Some of @Barry Izbak 's posts on here - earlier in this thread - about how the FAB has grown , worked on various things with the club or just as fans - especially after a difficult first few months where 2 members were asked to resign after breaching confidentiality agreements - and the challenges of trying to represent a massive fan base with lots of different interests, demographics and spaces where they hang out (NSC being just one of them) are worth a read.

And much as i agree that it would be good if the website, comms were more comprehensive / up to date. That takes time, they're volunteers and the Board now has 5 new members where that is a priority. And its also a bit of a moot point just saying they're an excuse for the club to avoid regulation over and over. Doesn't make their job any easier . Imagine joining NSC, seeing this thread and reading posts where you are accused of being a patsy for the club, or that its all a load of "tosh" , "Flawed", that the board has "no real idea", and "pursues personal agendas".

Would you then want to reach out to NSC and engage ?

But all the time the club are cherry picking who they want to be on the board then it's impossible not to think they are club patsys and yes wo/men.

They need to be 100% independent of the club.

Also you've only got to look at their website at what they've "achieved" it all appears to the benefit of very small minority groups of our support. I'm sure they are all very worthy but shouldn't they be looking at doing thing for the majority?

 

[Barry Izbak]

I'm not picking on you, but these sort of comments from people who have zero access to NSCs traffic data always amuse me.

74,000 different people have visited NSC this month which means, either:

- A lot of non-Albion fans visit NSC, or
- NSC's fanbase is huge, for 74,000 to be a small minority.

View attachment 168923

Bozza you are totally right of course. These figures are amazing.
To clarify, only a minority of my friends and family use NSC and they are obviously not a typical cross section of Albion support.

 

[Greavsey]

Good post.

Re comms, we know 000s don’t use facebook or X etc but equally 000s do, and they talk to those that don’t. Perhaps think about having a set means of communication of anything you want to get out there (regular updates etc) - use here, facebook (there are several BHA groups), X and insta concurrently (same message at the same time to keep things simple your end). You’ll never hit everyone but you can try to capture as many as you can ? Put a link to the website in every post. Would the club allow a periodic comms from FAB using member emails ?

Good suggestions, ultimately these days you have to use multiple channels to communicate the same message. It may seem repetitive, and it is for those with access to all channels, but the old adage "it is better over communicate" is highly relevant in this case.

Also, "you can't please all of the people all of the time" I expect will come in useful for you over the years in FAB. Good luck!

 

[Bozza]

Bozza you are totally right of course. These figures are amazing.
To clarify, only a minority of my friends and family use NSC and they are obviously not a typical cross section of Albion support.

Sorry - it's not really relevant to the discussion here. No-one including me has any real idea how many Albion fans look at NSC regularly, but a lot of people do and many of them are likely to be Albion-curious to some degree or another!

Following up from @Kuipers Supporters Club post, if I were involved I'd be trying the following to reach as many Albion fans as possible by plastering comms as often as possible on X(twitter), the numerous Facebook groups that seem to exist now, and on here. I'm happy to facilitate in any way that I can help with that.

I'd be stressing that when you do publish, however, you won't be able to respond to replies/comments - as that could become a full-time job in itself - but direct people to contact via the website/email.

Checkout Zoom note-taking or other transcription tools to help with that and speed things up. I'd imagine you could get it down to a 15-20 minute task to get notes ready to publish and with nine FAB members, that means once every two months or so if you take turns.

 

[AK74]

For balance, on the one occasion when I've contacted FAB [via email], the response was prompt and the outcome positive. I appreciate the efforts being made on fans' behalf, and while there's inevitably room for improvement, I hope the Board continues to evolve rather than fade into oblivion.

 

[Weststander]

I'm not picking on you, but these sort of comments from people who have zero access to NSCs traffic data always amuse me.

74,000 different people have visited NSC this month which means, either:

- A lot of non-Albion fans visit NSC, or
- NSC's fanbase is huge, for 74,000 to be a small minority.

View attachment 168923

 

[dazzer6666]

I'm not picking on you, but these sort of comments from people who have zero access to NSCs traffic data always amuse me.

74,000 different people have visited NSC this month which means, either:

- A lot of non-Albion fans visit NSC, or
- NSC's fanbase is huge, for 74,000 to be a small minority.

View attachment 168923

Have you de-duped all the burner accounts from those numbers ?

 

[chimneys]

Can I address all the points on the past couple of pages:

Meeting minutes – we have our own website because we have better control over getting the meeting notes on there. We do ask the club to upload them to the FAB page on the club website

The process for selecting and electing the new members was protracted and I cannot understand how you can have missed it. Nominations were submitted. FAB created the shortlist. Fans voted on the club website.

We had a Travel Scheme update last week. Minutes will go up very shortly. The subject of covered walkways was discussed. It is impossible to provide covered walkways everywhere due to cost. Are there any away grounds that have bought and erected this?

The idea of loyalty points for the men’s team for attending women’s games was discussed. And rejected. End of Binfest.

The question of a lack of communication from the FAB is a good one. How would you have us communicate? From the comments above people obviously don’t read club emails. It may surprise you but only a small minority log in the NSC. Thousands of people don’t use Twitter or Facebook.
If the FAB wanted to communicate with every fan, how should we do it?

The trains problem is a big issue for 50% of the people who go to the Amex. We discussed it at the Travel Review last week and it is important to understand that Brighton & Hove Albion don’t run the trains any more than they run the buses or the motorways. You can be absolutely certain that the clubs Travel Group are in constant contact with GTR (the company that actually run the railways) all season and including “live” during matchday when they manage additional carriages in to Falmer where possible, one thing we didn’t realise.

Bozza’s point is well made and absolutely correct. We don’t have control over the club website page, but we do after our own. We need to do better. This item will be on tonight’s regular weekly agenda. Expect to see a marked improvement. That being said, most people don't know about our website, only those who are really interested, so the question about how we could communicate better is really important.

Many thanks for that Barry.

You talk about the trains, but was any mention made of Mill Road PnR, which is an absolute disaster post game every game, since the bendy buses went?

 

[jackalbion]

Here's a few:

1:

Set up a regular email that goes out to people telling them what you are doing.
Have a dedicated section in the programme.
Use your website properly and keep it up to date, publish your updates on Facebook & Twitter. Most people use them. Christ, even use The Argus if you think it's still relevant with an article or two a month.
Use Twitter and Facebook properly - weekly to update people.
Publish the minutes of your meetings and in a video - explain what they mean so people don't have to read through boring minutes. This isn't work.
Have face to face meetings with fans around Sussex where we can meet the FAB.
Have a dedicated section on NSC. As @Bozza has said, it's the most popular place to go for Albion fans.

2:

If the club can spend millions on a new fan park, they can find the cash to lease bendy buses for the P&R and look into running more trains.
Employ a transport manager if there isn't one already.

My invoice is in the post.

There is a transport manager, its listed on the website somewhere and what @Barry Izbak said is true about the constant communication.

 

[amexer]

Can I address all the points on the past couple of pages:

Meeting minutes – we have our own website because we have better control over getting the meeting notes on there. We do ask the club to upload them to the FAB page on the club website

The process for selecting and electing the new members was protracted and I cannot understand how you can have missed it. Nominations were submitted. FAB created the shortlist. Fans voted on the club website.

We had a Travel Scheme update last week. Minutes will go up very shortly. The subject of covered walkways was discussed. It is impossible to provide covered walkways everywhere due to cost. Are there any away grounds that have bought and erected this?

The idea of loyalty points for the men’s team for attending women’s games was discussed. And rejected. End of Binfest.

The question of a lack of communication from the FAB is a good one. How would you have us communicate? From the comments above people obviously don’t read club emails. It may surprise you but only a small minority log in the NSC. Thousands of people don’t use Twitter or Facebook.
If the FAB wanted to communicate with every fan, how should we do it?

The trains problem is a big issue for 50% of the people who go to the Amex. We discussed it at the Travel Review last week and it is important to understand that Brighton & Hove Albion don’t run the trains any more than they run the buses or the motorways. You can be absolutely certain that the clubs Travel Group are in constant contact with GTR (the company that actually run the railways) all season and including “live” during matchday when they manage additional carriages in to Falmer where possible, one thing we didn’t realise.

Bozza’s point is well made and absolutely correct. We don’t have control over the club website page, but we do after our own. We need to do better. This item will be on tonight’s regular weekly agenda. Expect to see a marked improvement. That being said, most people don't know about our website, only those who are really interested, so the question about how we could communicate better is really important.

First of all thanks for posting and good for you in giving up your time to join FAB.
Looking at some of your points it looks like you are easily fobbed off. Covering of walkways and mention of expense sounds a very PB answer. Fact is nobody was expecting all walkways to be covered. Perhaps I may ask you to bring this up again and focus just on P&R Queues. This is the priority and very much needed as many have to wait up to an hour for bus I cannot comment on trains and accept they have no imput on regular bus routes. Sorry but as the club pays for P&R service they have 100% input as to how it is run.. Again I ask you to discuss again and discuss lack of buses and other potential P&R sites

 

[AK74]

How about a nice retractable tunnel for the train queue? Can be branded in BHAFC colours. Easily movable and storable. Probably costs less than 1% of the Caicedo transfer fee*.

Retractable Tunnels

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*or maybe not, I've no idea.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

If it has been raised and dismissed by PB, you'd have thought that the website would be amended to add that update. i.e. This is something that the FAB discussed with club and the feedback received was x,y,z. A log of previous issues raised with the club, with both positive and negative outcomes, would be useful to avoid them receiving the same suggestion(s) multiple times.

Agree, particularly important to log their interactions regardless but especially if they fundamentally disagree with the club stance on something (noting they are meant to be independent)

The club may well consider they have exhausted every avenue in their eyes, the FAB May disagree, and importantly that’s fine but it should be documented so unless something new on the subject comes to light we all know where we are and why .

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Wasn’t our very own @Hiney a member of this group, he doesn’t appear in the Bio’s on that web site?

He now lives in Cornwall doesn’t he?

 

[Justice]

One of the FAB members thinks travel to and from the stadium is easy and accessible. This could be tricky