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Do you believe your voice is heard at the Albion, and do you care?



Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,575
Back in Sussex
Do you think you have a chance to have a say in how the club is run?

When the club 'reaches out' to the fans for input do you think your voice has a chance of being heard?

Do you actually care?

Would you be interested in joining a new independent supporters' organisation, paying a small annual membership fee, who would try and give you an opportunity to be heard.

(There are too many options for a poll for now so feel free to just discuss)
 


Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Nov 15, 2008
31,763
Brighton
Kinda. Insider sorted out a gus t-shirt. But I don't really have any strong opinions on things the club wants fans opinions of (vuvuzelas, new badge, etc), so I don't feel like I'm being listened to or not being listened to.

Without a strong opinion, I wouldn't see the point in joining the group, though I like the idea of the group, and maybe if I started to develop these strong opinions I would join it.

Having said that, I wouldn't want it to have too much power. A couple of losses and then what? Players forced onto the transfer market? Team selection pressure from them? Or even another sacked manager? These sorts of things would have to be banned by the group's charter for the long term good of the club, imo.
 




BensGrandad

New member
Jul 13, 2003
72,015
Haywards Heath
I am a supporter with no financial input to the club outside of buying tickets and merchandise etc. which I do through my choice and as such dont expect to have any input into the way the club is run.

I do not think that supporters should have, but I think that there should be a 'suggestion box' like we have with Insider, whereby any ideas that are expressed can be passed on to those that run the club.

I accept that this view may not be shared or liked by many who believe that we should have an input but it is my own view, rightly or wrongly.
 






8ace

Banned
Jul 21, 2003
23,811
Brighton
What annoys me is that certain fans opinions are listened to and thier opinion is taken to represent all the fans. Their views are often quite different from those of mine and of my mates.
I'd could be interested in joining a new independent supporters' organisation but I would want to do any work running it.
 


8ace

Banned
Jul 21, 2003
23,811
Brighton
I am a supporter with no financial input to the club outside of buying tickets and merchandise etc. which I do through my choice and as such dont expect to have any input into the way the club is run.

I do not think that supporters should have, but I think that there should be a 'suggestion box' like we have with Insider, whereby any ideas that are expressed can be passed on to those that run the club.

I accept that this view may not be shared or liked by many who believe that we should have an input but it is my own view, rightly or wrongly.

I'd rather this than what we have now where only certain fans are listened to.
 


clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
II think that there should be a 'suggestion box' like we have with Insider, whereby any ideas that are expressed can be passed on to those that run the club.

Surely these days ideas that you or anybody may have can be e-mailed or written in to the club?

From my standpoint, I would like to have a mid season forum, say after the January transfer window. I think just the one forum (pre-season) is not enough.
 




Billy the Fish

Technocrat
Oct 18, 2005
17,472
Haywards Heath
At the moment I'm perfectly happy that the fans have a voice and there's sufficient dialogue between the management and fans. That is largely a product of the club being generally well run for the past 10 years, and also a need to have a decent dialogue because of all the marches etc for Falmer.

Now the Falmer process is finished and we're going to be a normal football club again I'd be up for joining something similar to the old BISA (I was too young to be involed at the time but went to games with mates who went to the meetings) I think it would be a good tool to keep the management on their toes and to make sure standards don't slip.

As long as it wasn't too internet based and the majority of it's communication was low tech or face to face.
 


BensGrandad

New member
Jul 13, 2003
72,015
Haywards Heath
I'd rather this than what we have now where only certain fans are listened to.

That has been the case for as long as I have supported the club. Certain individuals believe that they are the club and as such other supporters do not exist or are not as important as them. If I had an idea I would send it to the club, probably to Insider if they liked it and adopted it all well and good if they didnt so be it, I wouldnt lose any sleep over it or stop supporting the club.
 






Superphil

Dismember
Jul 7, 2003
25,398
In a pile of football shirts
I would like to see the things they 'say' are decided on after consultation with fans published in the match program. They could even garner fans opinion by giving tokens at the turnstiles, and asking fans to deposit it into a receptacle representing their opinion, like they do in Waitrose for charitable contributions.

It goes like this, Club 'thinks' fans might want vuvuzelas banned in the ground. Rather than making up some hokus pokus about consulting the fans they give a small plastic token to each fan as they enter the ground. Then there is a row of boxes with a slot in the top,
'Ban them everywhere'
'Allow them everywhere'
'only in the singing section & kids/family section'
'don't care'

Then everyone can see just what the fans feelings are, and the club can make an informed decision based on a much wider representation of fans than just the select few who get invited to the Withdeam Portakabin on a Tuesday night in August. .

They could do the same with designs for new shirts, the new badge, pretty much anything.

Then again, it is TBs club, and I accept what he says, as I believe he, just like DK, only does things for the betterment and advancement of the club.
 


Ecosse Exile

New member
May 20, 2009
3,549
Alicante, Spain
Glasgow Rangers had a supporters group which was supposed to be the "voice of the fans", trouble is their were factions within this group that frankly, couldnt agree on the colour of shite!

I think we are fairly well represented at the moment as the ask the club option is there for us.

If the club really wanted to here what the fans think of any ideas they could always get Insider to start a poll on here.

I dont really like the idea of another BISA to be honest, it was great in its day but the person that would represent them in dialogue with the club will never be the choice of all members or fans.

Leave as is.
 




Ecosse Exile

New member
May 20, 2009
3,549
Alicante, Spain
I would like to see the things they 'say' are decided on after consultation with fans published in the match program. They could even garner fans opinion by giving tokens at the turnstiles, and asking fans to deposit it into a receptacle representing their opinion, like they do in Waitrose for charitable contributions.

It goes like this, Club 'thinks' fans might want vuvuzelas banned in the ground. Rather than making up some hokus pokus about consulting the fans they give a small plastic token to each fan as they enter the ground. Then there is a row of boxes with a slot in the top,
'Ban them everywhere'
'Allow them everywhere'
'only in the singing section & kids/family section'
'don't care'

Then everyone can see just what the fans feelings are, and the club can make an informed decision based on a much wider representation of fans than just the select few who get invited to the Withdeam Portakabin on a Tuesday night in August. .

They could do the same with designs for new shirts, the new badge, pretty much anything.

Then again, it is TBs club, and I accept what he says, as I believe he, just like DK, only does things for the betterment and advancement of the club.

Good idea :thumbsup:
 


ROSM

Well-known member
Dec 26, 2005
6,180
Just far enough away from LDC
Dont we get this kind of thread at least once a year?

When the new board took over in 1997 there was an offer of a fan on the board. The supporters' groups at the time (BISA, Supporters' Club, A21s and Seagulls over London) agreed not to take this up and the rationale I believe was that;

1) no one fan could speak on behalf of supporters

2) that one fan would become the victim of backbiting especially as there would be things that on occasions could need to be kept commercially confidential

3) any election would/could become a divisive affair

So the club met with all supporters' groups and they in turn were asked to communicate, discuss and therefore represent the views of their members (and in BISAs case, readers via publications/fansines, message boards etc) subject to the restraints of commercial confidentiality.

As work on withdean and then falmer progressed this group became more of a campaign group and I think it's fairly evident that there are a number of factors (Knight's drive, Perry's knowledge, Blooms' money) that have nearly achieved our goal. However all of this would have been worth jack shit without the fans' efforts.

But as we move on, and into more mundane matters, what should happen now. As BG says as a customer we dont need to have an input and to a degree I agree with him. But those same supporters' groups do still exist (democratically it has to be said) to represent their members. So on things like seating arrangements and supporter facilities by all means have ongoing dialogue with them provided there is the guage opinions, consult and feedback approach by those groups. If some supporters feel disenfranchised then why not join one of those groups and use the democratic process to their advantage?

Other matters such as kits and badges should be a wider choice. By all means use focus groups to select options but then wider opinion should be sought. Care must be exercised to avoid those nasty people who could hijack internet votes though (such as we did for southampton's kit a few years ago) :laugh:
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
No and No, but I am happy to moan like buggery when i don't like something
 






Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,575
Back in Sussex
So you can have an opinion if you're willing to PAY? Great idea!

Yes, exactly that dumbo.

I think it's important that it can be shown that members have had to make some small effort to join and a token fee, even if just a couple of quid, accomplishes that. Additionally any such organisation is almost certainly to incur some small administrative expenses and it would not seem fair to expect an individual to fund those.
 





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