How can we, as fans/customers, best voice our concerns over increasing costs to the club?

[Brighton Breezy]

I will reiterate:

- I don't think anyone should boycott any home matches.

- I don't think it is right to demonise Paul Barber. He responds to every single email fans send him, which I would imagine is rare for a man in his position and has attended numerous fans events to answer questions head on.

- This is not a problem specific to Brighton and indeed, the Albion are far, far from being the worst offenders.

- Tony Bloom is a legend for stumping up the levels of funding he has and continues to.

- FFP should not see clubs across the leagues simply charging fans more to meet high player wages and fall within he financial criteria. It should see clubs addressing high wages. The fact no one club will do this without everyone else doing it essentially means it will never achieve its aims, certainly not in the short term.

- Some fans are being priced out, whatever the sound reasoning behind it and as a result fans should, in a sensible and constructive, not long-term damaging financial way, voice any concerns they have to the club.

 

[drew]

you and others are assuming that we will get to the PL
what if
god forgive if we don't?
where will those new fans be then
as I said before its one hell of a punt

I'm not assuming we will get to the EPL but that is what I hope the club aspire to.

@Deadly Danson @Stat Brother

You should consider that I am a non-season ticket holder, as are many of the people I go with.

The match day prices were expensive before, but now they are obscene - couple that with the the ridiculous membership scheme, new travel costs and possible increase in food & drink prices - The Amex has become a very expensive hobby for non-STH's.

Football is a day out - I'm hardly going to abstain from food, drink and everything else I find enjoyable when I'm paying £40 for it.

I would love to go to every game at the Amex next season, but I can't afford to - I have been priced out - so instead I am spending my money selectively both at the Amex and elsewhere.

I'm in WSU (not the wings) and pay £22 per match which is probably what you could afford if you cut out the peripherals but you chose not to so don't blame the Albion for being priced out. The fact that there were 30k suggest there are plenty to take your place.

Pastafarian is right regarding Sky, if you want to campaign then do it against Sky so that any change affects all clubs and not just the Albion. How many on here moaning about the price of the Albion are quite happy to spend £60 odd quid a month on the very business that created the wage spiral in the first place. If Sky lose subscribers then they can't afford to pay for the rights and the the clubs get less money and so do the players. However, that is of course just for this country. How you do the same to broadcasters in other countries is another challenge!

 

[wilko1]

I will reiterate:

- I don't think anyone should boycott any home matches.

- I don't think it is right to demonise Paul Barber. He responds to every single email fans send him, which I would imagine is rare for a man in his position and has attended numerous fans events to answer questions head on.

- This is not a problem specific to Brighton and indeed, the Albion are far, far from being the worst offenders.

- Tony Bloom is a legend for stumping up the levels of funding he has and continues to.

- FFP should not see clubs across the leagues simply charging fans more to meet high player wages and fall within he financial criteria. It should see clubs addressing high wages. The fact no one club will do this without everyone else doing it essentially means it will never achieve its aims, certainly not in the short term.

- Some fans are being priced out, whatever the sound reasoning behind it and as a result fans should, in a sensible and constructive, not long-term damaging financial way, voice any concerns they have to the club.

Spot on... A little less moaning...and a little more support would be nice

 

[Buckley's Mad Eye]

Call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard and hit it fast with a major - and I mean major - leaflet campaign.

 

[Nitram]

This is all new ground for the club and fans. FFP when the stadium was being built was being discussed but the details and impact it would have on the clubs was not known.

All business plans need to be adjusted, better that this is done to address problems rather than bury our heads in the sand and get into financial difficulties like so many others. Football at the higher level is full of overpaid players, that's the reality, mostly driven by fans wanting new signings.

Bloom has done rather well so far and I will give him my support over financial decisions for the club. We don't know the financial situation but given what he has done so far is worth the benefit of the doubt to date.

The reality and romance of a club is a fine balance for fans. The increase in financial cost is inevitable if the club is going to develop and get better players, I think most understand this and if we had got into the premiership it would have been a big jump.
The transport issue should have been announced before season tickets were sold, best PR would be to give full refunds for those who don't agree with the new changes. However the club is still giving subsidised bus and train once in the travel areas.

 

[Westdene Wonder]

After two seasons have decided to go back to Withdean days and buy tickets when I think the opposition and our style of play will result in an intertaining match and mainly keep to Saturday afternoons, too often last season I was not ready for a Tuesday evening match after a dis-appointing Saturday,also if the club do not sign a required player then I can choose to miss matches until such time I feel I really want to go back,having a season often results in attending matches when there is little desire,buying tickets when you want to puts you in control.

 

[saafend_seagull]

The only solution is to sell Bridcutt, and Harley and play youth in their place.

Or wage cap over the whole division. I.e. £10K per week max, and 3 home grown players in first 18.

 

[clippedgull]

If Sky lose subscribers then they can't afford to pay for the rights and the the clubs get less money and so do the players. However, that is of course just for this country.

In the unlikely event SKY decided not to bid as much for the rights, BT will step right into their place. I think the greediness of players is here to stay for a good few years yet.

 

[Creaky]

The only solution is to sell Bridcutt, and Harley and play youth in their place.

Or wage cap over the whole division. I.e. £10K per week max, and 3 home grown players in first 18.

Not a viable nor legal option as that would be restraint of trade

 

[Lord Bracknell]

...
- Some fans are being priced out, whatever the sound reasoning behind it and as a result fans should, in a sensible and constructive, not long-term damaging financial way, voice any concerns they have to the club.

Voicing concerns is ALWAYS a good idea. Achieving an effective way to achieve this is also a good idea.

People shouldn't confuse Walt's suggestion with tearing down the goalposts or chasing the directors out of the ground.

 

[fcportaloo]

Nice post, with important points.

No fan should sign up for the new membership scheme. We save £30 and ticket allocation defaults to loyalty points. The same system as previously which I think most were broadly happy with.

Then as fans I really think we should be looking at a boycott one weekend. All fans, all clubs in all four professional leagues. No broadcaster will be able to ignore such a stance. If we keep turning up, paying £40, £50 in some cases £100 + for a regular game then average players will continue to earn obscene money as football morphs into an 'experience' not a sport

 

[drew]

Stop spending money at the stadium.
I for one can't understand why anyone needs to eat between the hours of 3pm and 5pm for a start. Is there anything insightful in the program? I'm too old to wear a football kit. Just turn up and support the Albion.
They will only start to listen when people stop choosing to spend their money.

Because some of us don't just stroll in moments before kick off! We also have a drink and chat with friends.

In the unlikely event SKY decided not to bid as much for the rights, BT will step right into their place. I think the greediness of players is here to stay for a good few years yet.

Then boycott BT sport as well. How hard is it to understand. If the money didn't go to players where do you think it would go. Afterall, the players are the product. It's a bit like a band saying all the money goes to the promoter of a show rather than them!!! The writer of a book letting the publisher have all the dough!

 

[GreersElbow]

People shouldn't confuse Walt's suggestion with tearing down the goalposts or chasing the directors out of the ground.

Given the location of the director's box, it'd be fun to watch them try.

 

[B.W.]

Great, reduce the club's income. Even for 1 game. Yes, that's a brilliant idea. NOT.

 

[cjd]

Voicing concerns is ALWAYS a good idea. Achieving an effective way to achieve this is also a good idea.

People shouldn't confuse Walt's suggestion with tearing down the goalposts or chasing the directors out of the ground.

All eminently sensible....but you know as well as I do, that NSC is rapidly turning into a major outlet and soapbox for every looney who has an insatiable desire to whinge, protest and bring to light any slight oversight/mis-demeaner/or opinion the club has.

In the last two-three months there have been half a dozen posters constantly whining and criticising the club.....one of them in particular, through ill-health doesn't even watch the Albion and hasn't done for years. Yet still they post their bile on this forum.

Walt Jabsco seems a decent enough local reporter....he really doesn't need to go out of his field of expertise and 'suggest' campaigning against every anomaly that affects very few supporters.

There are plenty of whinge-bags, misguided looneys and pedants on this forum to help dis-illusion Tony Bloom and all, who have actually done so much to transform us from a tinpot club.

I will stick with the Albion and it's forward thinking plans......the rest can watch local park football. They can then protest and whinge about all the dogshit they,ve just trodden in.

 

[The Merry Prankster]

Stop spending money at the stadium.
I for one can't understand why anyone needs to eat between the hours of 3pm and 5pm for a start. Is there anything insightful in the program? I'm too old to wear a football kit. Just turn up and support the Albion.
They will only start to listen when people stop choosing to spend their money.

Rik get hypo-glycemic without a Yorkie and Nick loves a Bovril.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

I have no problems with all the things the club are trying to do. But the consultation is key. The PR at the club has reached rock bottom and I can say that as a supporter for almost 29 years.

It seems the club act first and tell later. Scrap the booking fee and charge an extra quid for the tickets, but do it openly and in advance so we can make an informed decision. I would be happy to pay more for the 'R' bus, but let us know before the season ticket renewal what the cost is.

I genuinely think the club are trying to conform to FFP, but Barber needs to be far more open with the fans (not customers in most cases).

The forum on the 1st August will be very interesting.

 

[Crispy Ambulance]

FFP will never work until parachute payments stop.

 

[B.W.]

FFP will never work until parachute payments stop.

Sense. FFP, but only if you haven't just been relegated. Parachute payments = rewards for failure.

 

[e77]

Up until now I have seen the cost savings as being a necessary evil but changing the bus arrangements after selling season tickets was a bit naughty (to say the least). It as also stopped the club being able to claim everyone cross subsides parts of the transport setup they don't use.

This was the first summer that contracts were negotiated with an eye to FFP and the early indications are some sense has begun to be injected. However it will take two or three years for other contract renewals to be impacted by this.

To get back to the original question, I don't think a protest is warranted but perhaps it is time to send representation to meet Paul Barber?