Pig-Headed And Controversial

After the recent decision to stop attending monthly meetings at PUFC, PISA have come in for criticism from Chairman Darragh MacAnthony. He has described us as pig-headed, looking to be controversial and intimated we will 'regret' our decision.

To reiterate: we have not 'pulled back from the club', sought to be controversial or regret the decision. We have simply decided to no longer attend monthly meetings which, frankly, we have come to regard as a waste of time

Below is the dossier of ideas we sent to Darragh We have included the replies we received from Bob Symms which we hope will go some way to explaining our frustration with the 'can't-do' attitude we have repeatedly come up against when offering help and support to the club.



Matchday Experience:
Whilst we are all delighted by the progression on the pitch, we believe that the existing match-day experience could be enhanced despite the obvious limitations of the current stadium configuration. We believe that, currently, there are few incentives to persuade supporters to arrive at the stadium much before kick-off. Obviously, this dilutes revenue opportunities and may, on occasion, cause delays and confusion at the turnstiles.

BS - over a period of time we have tried Live Music, Dancing Girls, Brass Bands, Bar & TV etc, but none of these have particularly brought in our supporters early. We also have a challenge with pitch usage prior to matches with team warm-up practise, but we’ll keep trying.


Family Stand Concourse.
We have members amongst our ranks who would be eager to discuss the provision of pre-match entertainment within the concourse on afternoon match-days. We believe that there are sufficient (and reasonably proficient) local bands and DJ’s who would be most keen to have the opportunity to do a turn at LR free of charge. (presuming that we have adequate licensing and indemnities in place)

BS - As above but have also tried Face Painting and games for the younger ones in the concourse. Music mixer & sound units are also costly, we recently invited Aaron’s brother to sing but the cost of the equipment was prohibitive.

There are numerous monitors/TV’s within the common areas of the concourse and, currently, these are not even switched-on. As well as depriving visitors of even rudimentary Sky Sports coverage (which is available in all neighbouring public houses).

BS - This was brought up at our Supporters Liaison Committee meeting and has been addressed.


POSH LEGENDS ON THE CONCOURSE.

We have an abundance of bare magnolia walls, why not invite art classes from all the city schools to join together and paint special Posh moments. The Family Stand is a functional, generic structure that serves its purpose well but the common areas present large, uninspiring areas of emulsioned blockwork. These lend themselves to community artwork projects such as the creation of Posh-related murals. This would present an ideal opportunity for local young people to become involved with the club through their school or college’s art programmes. The relatively small expenditure for such initiatives can be raised through local sponsorship from builders’ merchants, DIY stores.

BS - Again previously discussed and asked for permission from PUHL which was never given. Peterborough Regional College were also approached but the invitation was never taken up.
A new idea suggested could be to ask schools to paint scenes/pictures that could be photographed and put onto to acrylic that could be fixed onto the walls (like in the players tunnel) and changed periodically. Challenge to this is price but ‘free hand’ specials could also be tried.

2- LONDON RD END

The area to the south of the LRE at the junction with the family stand (adjacent to the match-control tower) is redundant on match-days. We believe that this area could be used on matchdays as a common smoking area with demarcation lines. Alternatively, this reasonably large space could be used to accommodate portable catering outlets or possibly barbeques at certain times during the season. There are already a collection of redundant barriers stored in this section that could be positioned to stop cheeky London Road Enders from taking a crafty ‘upgrade’! The latter would be a welcome development as sales at the existing pie outlets are severely compromised by the inability to serve all who require refreshments during a half-time interval without the probability of missing some of the second half.

BS - This area is a designated Health & Safety Emergency Vehicle (Ambulance, Fire & Police) Access & Turning Zone… We have put up smoking notices that Paul asked for !


WC FACILITIES

During a two-hour period of time on a Saturday afternoon, it is fair to say that several people might feel the need to relieve themselves of last night Vinadaloo…There are routinely a couple of thousand supporters in the LRE at any given match who feel compelled to squeeze their poops rather than bare their arses to the Royal Doulton bowl of death.

Are there any means by which this almost comical situation could be ameliorated? Seasoned London Road enders fine-tune their body motions to preclude any thankless trips to this wretched lump of porcelain but this kind of thing can leave a very poor impression on fledgling fans and guests.

BS - Agreed, not particularly nice but painted and refurbished during the summer. Old drainage and building a big contributory problem, will have another go during the closed-season.


THE PA SYSTEM

Is nigh on impossible to hear through in the LRE. The music is loud enough to put an end to any pre-match conversation, but the Announcer¹s words are just a noise ¬ heaven knows what would happen if he had to issue an urgent safety announcement.

BS - Again understand, but legally ‘fit for purpose’ ... new complete system extremely expensive but as development takes place it will improve.


ADVERTISING BOARDS IN THE TOILETS.

We understand that some of the boards in the Family Stand are still advertising THE MATRIX which is 11 years old this week. We understand that a company pays the club to have them there but don’t use them??? Can we Pisa use them to advertise our functions/coach trips etc or indeed the club could advertise forthcoming fixtures or who’ll be entertaining us in the concourse next month etc

BS - Will pass this on …

FOOD, DRINK AND SERVICE…

It takes too long to get served ¬ there are not enough staff/service points/not an efficient enough system. The food is low-quality and over-priced. This is far from unique to Posh but why do we have to follow this trend? Why can¹t Posh lead the way with fresh food, from local suppliers and beer from local brewer’s ¬ Imagine Oakham Ales and East supplying beer and noodles (as well as traditional burgers, pies etc).

BS - The age old challenge of staff saturation and service points hasn’t been solved at virtually any ground I’ve visited or the new Wembley, but we’ll keep trying on all points.


THE PRICING

The simplistic pricing structure for both Season Tickets and Match day entry provides very little incentive to fans to attend. Other clubs offer deals with their Season Ticket holders such as free League Cup 1st round games, free LDV Trophy matches, or free prize draws.

These things cost little but show the fans that they are getting a good deal. The match day entry prices could be banded/categorized as many other clubs do. Next season in L1, people will not mind paying £25 to watch Posh V Leeds but how many paying punters are you going to get for Posh V Exeter on a cold Tuesday in January @ that price? – Make it £15 or combine tickets so say 2 games for £40? – There are so many ways of doing it that it is quite amazing that we stick to such a rigid pricing structure. We do understand about business models and income streams,

BS - In the past when we’ve offered special discounts and it hasn’t particularly affected the crowd and when we’ve let the kids in cheap ... we’ve had three reported ‘incidents’.
It is difficult and we are aware of match ‘bundling’ ... will track as we progress.


COMMUNICATION

Is there anyway you would consider someone not employed by the club having some very serious input with regards to the content of any information that gets posted on the official website that effects US the fans. A FANS LIASON OFFICER if you like

On too many occasions information regarding tickets are vague which causes confusion. Eg: 11/03/2010 from www,posh.com

Peterborough United go in search of their first away win of the season this weekend at Watford and they are sure to be backed by a sizeable away following.

Over 1,200 tickets have been sold from the London Road Box Office and tickets will remain on sale until 12pm on Friday.
The game is not all-ticket, but purchasing in advance has a massive advantage as the price of the tickets will rise on matchday…………
TO WHAT???

BS - Understand, the right the price should have been added, will be brought up at the next Supporters Liaison Committee meeting.

POLSKA, PORTUGUESE AND POSH

Peterborough is a multi-racial and multi-cultural city. In the 2001 Census, approximately 10.3% of Peterborough’s population classified themselves as belonging to a non-white ethnic minority group, The largest non-white ethnic group in Peterborough is the Pakistani community (4.5% of the total population) but the city is also home to significant numbers of people from other minority ethnic groups such as, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the Caribbean Current projections for 2010 suggest the figure could rise to 16% i.e. 29,000

Although time is now limited, an end-of-season mini-world cup with eight invited representative sides from the respective local communities would be an invaluable PR project and should bring hundreds, if not thousands, of local people to LR who may otherwise never felt the need to attend. Such an enterprise could be augmented by ethnic food-stalls in the concourse and would certainly be an initiative whereby some backing from the PCC could probably be obtained. If the club could make a handful of youth players available as ad-hoc coaches, we believe that this could be a memorable weekend for all participants and spectators.

BS - We already have a partnership with PCC which is managing part of our community programme through the Unity Football Team which is a team brought together from all local religious and ethnic sects and competes in tournaments.
We also tried multi-lingual match advertising posters in local shops, could try again.


SHIRT SPONSORSHIP

In the event the club fail to secure a shirt sponsor for 10/11 would the Football League allow different sponsors throughout the season? How about if the club offered a package that would allow smaller business who still have a marketing budget to support the club? I.e.: a different shirt sponsor for each calendar month? We have no idea what the going rate IS for a season long sponsorship however if each business paid £20,000 per month or two for £35,000 for which they would receive a number of other incentives for the whole of the season e.g.

1- A guaranteed block of 30 seats in the Main Stand for the duration of their month with access to one of the bar areas before/during and after the game for entertaining their guests etc
2- qtr page advert for the whole season in the programme
3- A guaranteed block of 6 seats in the family stand with access to the box holders bar areas for the WHOLE season?
4- A guaranteed visit to their business by a player of their choice for marketing purposes
Added to that make the shirts the fans buy non sponsorship type just simply “The Posh” on the front?

BS - Will investigate.


FURTHER IDEAS

The club to invite supporters to form The Friends of Peterborough United Football Club

About Us
We are a campaigning organisation that appeals to Posh Fans of all walks of life and brings them together with a shared vision of a better match day experience at London Road
Our Mission
Friends of Peterborough United Football Club exists to help Posh fans look after the stadium.
Our Vision
Our vision is a Stadium where everyone can enjoy a healthy and enjoyable environment
Our values
We are committed to democracy, accountability and equality
We strive to work with other PUFC supporters groups in our campaigning for positive change
Our work will always be based on objective evidence and a long-term perspective.

Adults £5 per month
U 15’s £1 per month

Our aim before Jan 1st 2011 to have 200 Posh friends ultimately 2000 giving £120,000 per annum to PUFC for improvements to London Road that will benefit Posh fans now and in the future.

To maintain a database of Friends who, in addition to/or in lieu of subscriptions, undertake to donate a minimum of ten-hours per-season to work as cleaners, painters, carpenters or, where suitable certification and indemnities are evident, as electricians, AV technicians etc. Practicalities will dictate that much of these energies would have to be co-ordinated and administered during the close-season but a moderate amount of planning and liaison could make this a worthwhile exercise. (Obviously, all those brandishing, say, paint-brushes will be vetted to some extent so as to produce acceptable standards of work rather than to unleash an enthusiastic but messy free-for-all).

BS - again, this will be discussed at the next SLC meeting, maybe the three groups could join forces and implement a management plan .... good idea.

Letter from Adi Mowles, Chairman, PISA2000.

It feels odd to be writing a letter of apology at the end of what has arguably been one of PISA’s most successful seasons.

We have received numerous complaints, and some vehement criticism, for no longer representing our members, not living up to our ‘independent’ ethos and becoming apologists for many of the decisions taken by PUFC this season. And the criticism has been justified.

I have allowed a good personal relationship with the Chairman to cloud my judgement, in particular the issue of season ticket price rises, where perhaps I should have solicited more input from our members before unreservedly backing the increase. In my defence I did argue with the club for the early purchase window to be extended but was rebuffed without an adequate explanation.

I also fear I have become something of a ‘rent-a-quote’ whenever approached by the Evening Telegraph or other local media. I have backed each manager and responded to decisions taken by the chairman uncritically and with little regard to the opinions of the wider membership of PISA. For that I apologise.

As a result of the above, and the clubs continued negative response to many of the excellent ideas we put to them – we recently provided a comprehensive dossier of ideas on how to improve the match-day experience and links with the community and all were met with a negative response - we will no longer be attending the monthly meetings at the club. The committee and I have decided that we will be concentrating solely on improving the match-day experience for our members and living up to our independent tag.

And despite this – and the bloody awful season on the pitch - it has been an incredibly successful season for PISA.

● We implemented a £5 annual membership scheme which has been brilliantly supported.

● Secured discounts for our members at various city businesses

● We, with your considerable help, lobbied the City Council and helped secure the future of London Road.

● Provided coach travel to selected games.

● In only three months we organised and hosted a hugely successful evening to celebrate 75 Years of Peterborough United Football Club.

● We provided two ‘This is London Road’ boards for the tunnel at London Road

● and our finances are healthy once again.

Next season we will have the opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with old friends we thought we might never see again; yes, away days at Notts County, Rochdale and Brentford to name but a few are back on the agenda so look out for details of the PISA coaches.

We appreciate your support and hope you’ll continue your membership of PISA for another season. Membership for the 2010/11 season will be available from Saturday at Ebeneezers and it remains at £5. We are also introducing a family membership – Mum, Dad and kids – for £10.

Keep it POSH

Adi