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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Sept 10, 2012 11:24:34 GMT
The Supporters Council meets on Saturday for its first full meeting (i.e after all places have been filled). The agenda is now on the club website tinyurl.com/cxhtltdIf you have any comments or questions on any of these items, contact your representative on the Council |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 10, 2012 11:47:00 GMT
Might be an idea to include on the thread a list (with contact details) of who represents each stand etc. Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Sept 10, 2012 11:57:49 GMT
On looking at the club website, there is a list of members there, but not which category they were elected in, nor how to contact them. This is clearly something we need to sort out on Saturday. As an interim measure I suggest that anyone who wants to comment on or ask questions on any of the issues on the agenda could PM me, stating where they sit, and whether they are a member of any group relevant to their issue ( e.g under-18; wheelchair-user; OAP etc etc )
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Martin53
Academy Starlet
City til I die. Stoke til I croak.
Posts: 117
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Post by Martin53 on Sept 10, 2012 15:14:13 GMT
Might be an idea to make t-shirts for all the representatives, to wear at games. Then we could recognise you and bombard you with questions and suggestions all match!
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 10, 2012 15:19:57 GMT
Nah, they should all have a Supporters' Council hat
And then if they don't want to answer your questions they can take if off and say "I'm not wearing my Supporters' Council hat at the moment" ;D
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Post by roro on Sept 10, 2012 18:35:19 GMT
Hi Lakeland, I was elected to represent the Boothen End.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 10, 2012 18:41:08 GMT
Hi Lakeland, I was elected to represent the Boothen End. Ah, well, you are my rep then. I'm a block 23er. No problems myself but if I was in a wheelchair I would be mightily pissed off that whenever the row in front of the wheelchair bay stood up at times of excitement, I would not be able to see a goal if we scored one. The easy (but drastic) solution would be to remove a row of seats. A more imaginative solution (but more expensive) would be to find a way of raising the wheel chair bay up by 18 inches or so. |
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Post by roro on Sept 10, 2012 18:47:39 GMT
Taking seats out is a bad idea. I have always thought it was poor design not having a raised area for people in wheelchairs. If it is a problem, it has been a problem since the opening game at the Brit.
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Post by ST5-POTTER on Sept 10, 2012 18:52:05 GMT
Raised floor Should be done. It's just concrete it wouldn't be that dear to do.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 10, 2012 18:59:37 GMT
Taking seats out is a bad idea. I have always thought it was poor design not having a raised area for people in wheelchairs. If it is a problem, it has been a problem since the opening game at the Brit. Of course it has been a problem since the Brit was built - that isn't a reason for not tackling it though. I agree that taking seats out should be a last resort - that is why I described it as drastic. But it should be considered if the problem can't be solved another way. As Tim (above) says, raising the floor of the bay is the first option we should look at. But it may not be as easy as it first appears to be. There will be safety regulations (no doubt) as to the steepness of any ramp to get the chairs up to the new floor level. I think the Council should ask the club to look into this as a matter of urgency. It really is a disgrace that wheelchair bound fans often can't see the pitch at the very time when the action is at its most exciting. |
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Post by roro on Sept 10, 2012 19:50:00 GMT
I'm fully aware of the problem however, why has nothing been done about it? This now our 15th season at the Britannia Stadium, surely if it is a real problem supporters would of complained and I would like to think something would of been done.
Also may I add it won't be just a problem in the Boothen End, but around the whole stadium. I am pretty sure their is someone present who will represent the disabled supporters. If not it is something I will bring up.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 10, 2012 20:12:45 GMT
Yes, there will be a disabled rep. Disabled supporters certainly have complained in the past (in the fans Forum days) and the club has appealed to fans to remain seated in front of the diabled bays (a bit unrealistic I think) but nothing seems to have been done.
Hopefully the Council can make the club see the importance of sorting it out. We've just had the Paralympics which will have raised public awareness of both the abilities and the problems faced by the disabled - surely the will should now be there to solve the problem.
Good luck.
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Post by Onneravineet on Sept 10, 2012 20:13:34 GMT
Absolutely amazed at some responses to a valid point raised by Lakeland
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Post by roro on Sept 10, 2012 21:36:25 GMT
Cheers Lakeland. Out of interest, what are you amazed by Onneravineet?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2012 22:12:20 GMT
Cheers Lakeland. Out of interest, what are you amazed by Onneravineet? I think it's two people talking without expletives and childish rants that's amazed him. |
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Post by Onneravineet on Sept 11, 2012 8:22:06 GMT
Spot on Franklin, good thread, constructive replies and thought out solutions...all for the better, wish we had more of the same
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Post by roro on Sept 11, 2012 10:52:12 GMT
Cheers Lakeland. Out of interest, what are you amazed by Onneravineet? I think it's two people talking without expletives and childish rants that's amazed him. Who has been ranting?  |
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Post by harryburrows on Sept 11, 2012 11:37:07 GMT
Fill in the corners?
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Post by The Stubborn Optimist on Sept 11, 2012 12:49:10 GMT
I notice that at Old Trafford there's a dedicated, raised disabled area immediately behind the goal at the Score Board End, there are no non-disabled seats in front of it so there's no problem of an obstructed view.
Talking of facilities for our disabled supporters, do any of you remember Coventry's old ground, Highfield Road?
The Coventry fans who drove to the game in the little 3 wheel disabled vehicles (which appropriately for Coventry were pale blue) used to park them on the cinder-track behind the goals and watch the game whilst sitting in their cars. Not sure what "elf & safety" would make of that nowadays.
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Post by supersimonstainrod on Sept 11, 2012 13:02:26 GMT
What with the viewing difficulties and the inclement weather high winds/temp etc encountered at the Brit in the depths of winter i'd hazard a guess that the match day experience for disabled supporters and their carers can't be a great one.Hopefully if the club do ever deem filling in one of the corners to be financially viable they can address this by incorporating a bespoke suite offering warmth/more shelter from the elements,easier access to toilets,better sight lines, etc for diasbled fans.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 11, 2012 13:13:06 GMT
What with the viewing difficulties and the inclement weather high winds/temp etc encountered at the Brit in the depths of winter i'd hazard a guess that the match day experience for disabled supporters and their carers can't be a great one.Hopefully if the club do ever deem filling in one of the corners to be financially viable they can address this by incorporating a bespoke suite offering warmth/more shelter from the elements,easier access to toilets,better sight lines, etc for diasbled fans. That's a good point. Assuming that the next corner to be filled in is destined for the home supporters then better disabled facilities should be a top priority in the design. |
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Post by ruts66 on Sept 11, 2012 13:23:25 GMT
Could one of you lovely councillors kindly present video evidence to Mr Scholes of the South Car Park free-for-all at full time. I, personally, feel there's room for improvement...  |
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Post by bayernoatcake on Sept 11, 2012 17:15:24 GMT
What with the viewing difficulties and the inclement weather high winds/temp etc encountered at the Brit in the depths of winter i'd hazard a guess that the match day experience for disabled supporters and their carers can't be a great one.Hopefully if the club do ever deem filling in one of the corners to be financially viable they can address this by incorporating a bespoke suite offering warmth/more shelter from the elements,easier access to toilets,better sight lines, etc for diasbled fans. That would impact on corporate income, there'd be no chance of it happening. |
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Post by ange1 on Sept 11, 2012 17:57:47 GMT
I will certainly mention the South Car Park again, as I too have endured the "Whacky Races" exit on many occasions.
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Post by BoothenenderGaz on Sept 11, 2012 18:43:04 GMT
Would it be possible to mention Potters Foundation please?
When I was with the Fans' Forum, we pointed out the fact that the quarterly "newsletter" had not materliased in several years and unless anyone tells me differently it has been none-existant.
I am not sure if new members who join receive anything, but seasoned members of the foundation would like to see this. Some information about where the money has been spent and what the collective contribution has equated to in real terms would be nice.
It could be that the newsletter be published on the "Potters Foundation" section on the official site.
Whilst on the Fans' Forum and since, I have had a number of members of the Potters Foundation tell me they are in the process, or have cancelled their subscription because they have not received any information from the club or newsletter. Whatever your thoughts, it is frustrating to see money fly out of your account and not be furnished with the details of what that has achieved.
In an economic climate that sees people looking at value for money, I am certain that the subscriptions of the foundation provide this, but unless the newsletter that was promised is published and distributed, how are people to know
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Post by foster on Sept 11, 2012 19:32:47 GMT
Is this one of those meetings where they never answer any questions people actually want answers on?
Plans on the stadium expansion - rough date of when this could happen and how much of an increase.
Deadwood / Wage Bill situation - Plans to trim soon or wait for contracts to expire.
Youth team - Does it look like anyones going to break through? Are we looking at snapping up others on the cheap due to our EPPP status.
What would be deemed a successful season from the clubs perspective. Surely can't still be getting to 40 points.
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Post by RAF on Sept 11, 2012 19:42:08 GMT
Taking seats out is a bad idea. I have always thought it was poor design not having a raised area for people in wheelchairs. If it is a problem, it has been a problem since the opening game at the Brit. The best idea would be to make a little wheelchair park next to the main car park and have a big screen. That way they don't have anyone stood up in front of them and no one has to complain. H |
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Post by mattovstoke on Sept 12, 2012 18:09:14 GMT
My father is disabled and a season ticket holder at the Brit in the South Stand, believe me when i say its a massive issue for disabled supporters. The away support now has the row of seats in front netted off, i know this is not an option for the home support.
We were members of SWIM (Stoke Wheels In Motion) and when we attended their meetings it was bought up about the view of disabled supporters and Lindsey Leighton had taken it up with the club on numerous occasions only to fall on deaf ears.. Good luck and i really do hope something is done..
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 12, 2012 18:13:01 GMT
My father is disabled and a season ticket holder at the Brit in the South Stand, believe me when i say its a massive issue for disabled supporters. The away support now has the row of seats in front netted off, i know this is not an option for the home support. We were members of SWIM (Stoke Wheels In Motion) and when we attended their meetings it was bought up about the view of disabled supporters and Lindsey Leighton had taken it up with the club on numerous occasions only to fall on deaf ears.. Good luck and i really do hope something is done.. The daft thing is that, when we got promoted and they started to use part of the south stand for home supporters, they could easily have netted off a row of seats in the home areas in front of the wheelchair bay before selling season tickets for that area. Or even gone the whole hog and taken the seats out. But, they couldn't even think far enough ahead to do that!  |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Sept 12, 2012 18:16:15 GMT
On another thread someone has pointed out that the spelling and typos on some of the stuff on the Official site would make an educated 10 year old cringe. Given that it can be accessed all over the world, it does not paint the club in a very good light.
I realise they are not the best payers in the world when it comes to non playing staff, so we can't expect miracles, but surely someone on the payroll is educated enough to be used as a proof reader.
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