Exclusive interview with Paul Barber.

Hotchilidog · Jun 7, 2013

I really enjoyed the article, very good questions and clear cut answers that didn't avoid the issues. One thing it made clear was the scale of the job that he faces and the challenges that the club have to meet. Good work Walt.

keaton · Jun 7, 2013

Very good article and I can see most of his points.

But I'm atill worried about our running at a loss at the moment. Hopefully the sponsorship and commercial stuff can sort it out but it's a massive worry. And saying most teams are losing money is disengenous. We have have a massive home supprt, who by all acccounts spend a lot of money when we're there. We're not lumbered with any big earners signed in better times. Needing to get into the premier league to balance the books is not much of a business plan, and is the same mistakes Leeds, Portsmouth, Liecester et al made

Simster · Jun 7, 2013

Cheers Walt.

Herr Tubthumper · Jun 7, 2013

Good article with a lot of the current "questions" answered. Is it just me that gets fed up with Barber's constant line about selling us more stuff? He repeats this a few times. It's not a style of marketing, or thinking, I like.

Arthur · Jun 7, 2013

Very good read.

And this thread is refreshing to read that it seems the tide is turning regards to the feeling towards Barber. We're not a tin pot club any more, we have a great stadium, a very good squad and a state of the art training ground on the way. All of this costs money so the club needs to be a 365 days a year business and not just 23 home games. I appreciate It's going to upset the group of fans who were in bed with the previous regime because their services are no longer required. Those people should have a day off and enjoy the club. It's also going to upset working class heroes who think football is having it soul sold to the highest bidder. The trouble is football sold it's soul to Rupert Murdoch a long time ago and the reason we have a new stadium, decent squad and state of the art training facility on the way is because of the multi billion pound business football in this country has become.

All the time people are being asked to put their hand in their pocket it's going to upset people I understand that but I really don't see what all the bed wetting about the membership scheme is all about. It's no different to schemes we've had in the past (or currently have 1901 members get 250 additional loyalty points than normal season ticket holders). No one is putting a gun to your head and saying you've got to pay £30 a year to have a chance of getting a ticket. How many games sell out a year (home and away)? Not many, christ there were tickets for the Palace play off game on sale the day before the game!!

Keep up the good work Mr Barber.

Arthur · Jun 7, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
Good article with a lot of the current "questions" answered. Is it just me that gets fed up with Barber's constant line about selling us more stuff? He repeats this a few times. It's not a style of marketing, or thinking, I like.

Well don't ****ing buy anything that he is selling then!

Giraffe · Jun 7, 2013

Good interview, some well thought out questions and some good detailed answers.

But let's sort out this manager issue now please.

Icy Gull · Jun 7, 2013

Regardless of how things look at the moment I still have the feeling that we are in very good hands. TB has delegated to Barber and he comes across as articulate and intelligent, not afraid to face up to and deal with problems. I found that very interesting and it does allay some of my current fears about the way things are.

Not Andy Naylor · Jun 7, 2013

BUTTERBALL said:
Barber answered the questions well. In safe hands, very pragmatic.

NWT: Obviously you can’t go into details about Gus Poyet’s suspension etc but can you reassure the fans that the club is not losing out on preparation time for the coming season? Do you understand the frustrations of fans who have no idea what is going on and what the timescale is? From the outside looking in there is understandably a lot of concern.

PB: Unfortunately I’m not able to talk at all about the suspensions of Gus, Tano, and Charlie. I do totally understand that fans want to know what is happening. However, our priority has been – and will continue to be – to follow our processes with as much confidentiality, dignity, and professionalism as possible. I do appreciate that this may be frustrating for some people. And I’m very sorry for that.

He answered that question "well" by not answering it at all...

El Presidente · Jun 7, 2013

Great stuff Walt.

Barber is a professional, a lot of our fans want the Albion to be run in an amateurish way but be successful on the pitch. The two are mutually exclusive IMO.

Herr Tubthumper · Jun 7, 2013

Arthur said:
Well don't ****ing buy anything that he is selling then!

This might be a bit tricky if I wish to support my local football team.

Herr Tubthumper · Jun 7, 2013

El Presidente said:
Great stuff Walt.

Barber is a professional, a lot of our fans want the Albion to be run in an amateurish way but be successful on the pitch. The two are mutually exclusive IMO.

Who said anything about amateurish? You're jumping to conclusions. I think we all want it run professionally, and there are many alternative and successful ways of doing this. Being seen as an endless revenue stream and treated as a child are not my preference.

stss30 · Jun 7, 2013

The guy clearly knows what he's talking about with regard to the financial aspect of football. Love him or hate him, he's doing what he thinks is best for the club and I'll trust his judgement over some of the nonsensical ramblings made by some on here.

Herr Tubthumper · Jun 7, 2013

El Presidente said:
Great stuff Walt.

Barber is a professional, a lot of our fans want the Albion to be run in an amateurish way but be successful on the pitch. The two are mutually exclusive IMO.

As an aside what has Barber actually brought to the Albion so far? Disappointingly he has not brought in anything innovative yet, he's simply ramped up the prices of everything. Hardly rocket science and there must be many admin types capable of doing this. Even the shirt sponsorship deal was with a company we already have links with.

Nathan · Jun 7, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
This might be a bit tricky if I wish to support my local football team.

Hear what you are saying, but your local football team is in fact an international business.

Springal · Jun 7, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
As an aside what has Barber actually brought to the Albion so far? Disappointingly he has not brought in anything innovative yet, he's simply ramped up the prices of everything. Hardly rocket science and there must be many admin types capable of doing this. Even the shirt sponsorship deal was with a company we already have links with.

Biggest sponsorship deal in our history, biggest kit deal in our history for 2014, also a lot of streamlining within our day to day operations. The next 12-24 months are key to measure Barber on, as a lot has been clearing up the Ken Brown / Tony Bloom mess from moving to the Amex.

stss30 · Jun 7, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
As an aside what has Barber actually brought to the Albion so far? Disappointingly he has not brought in anything innovative yet, he's simply ramped up the prices of everything. Hardly rocket science and there must be many admin types capable of doing this. Even the shirt sponsorship deal was with a company we already have links with.

I think you're being very naive if you think all Barber has done is increase prices. He alludes to the fact in the interview, that our running costs are higher than he would expect so he will be trying to improve the whole infrastructure of the club to try and make it as financially viable as possible.

drew · Jun 7, 2013

Hamilton said:
Hear hear! Unfortunately I think they are tied into some ridiculous 10 year deal via the football league. Whoever agreed that supplier was insane!

I'm guessing you may know this already.

I wonder if there I s a release clause if we get promoted?

Arthur · Jun 7, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
This might be a bit tricky if I wish to support my local football team.

Supply and demand I'm afraid. What motivation will the club have to lower prices all the time people (even the ones who are vehemently opposed to what is going on) are buying their product?

Herr Tubthumper · Jun 7, 2013

Arthur said:
Supply and demand I'm afraid. What motivation will the club have to lower prices all the time people (even the ones who are vehemently opposed to what is going on) are buying their product?

I think we're talking at crossed purposes here. I am not neccessarily disagreeing about raising revenue , but there are many approaches to this. I'm slowing turning against Barber's.

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