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Post by dutchstokie on Oct 16, 2015 19:48:41 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local So us expats don't count then...??? Come on mate !!!
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Post by foster on Oct 16, 2015 19:58:15 GMT
What's wrong with both? If you want to he a big club you need a global fanbase. To a point . Prefer to keep it local in the main though . Having a big fan base abroad doesn't impact the home support. Everyone locally could support Stoke and you could still expand globally. All the top clubs have monster fanbases, especially abroad, which improves visibility and adds massively to merchandising revenue.
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 16, 2015 20:11:27 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local So us expats don't count then...??? Come on mate !!! Where you originally from mate ?
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 16, 2015 20:12:17 GMT
To a point . Prefer to keep it local in the main though . Having a big fan base abroad doesn't impact the home support. Everyone locally could support Stoke and you could still expand globally. All the top clubs have monster fanbases, especially abroad, which improves visibility and adds massively to merchandising revenue. I prefer to keep it local mate. I don't want to be like man u or Liverpool or arsenal . I like our local feel but I respect your opinion .
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Post by gonk on Oct 17, 2015 6:14:50 GMT
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Post by rawli on Oct 17, 2015 6:40:34 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local My dad's from SOT but I've never lived there. Neither have my sons and we're all ST holders. Would you rather we gave them up for locals?
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Post by jeycov on Oct 17, 2015 6:44:49 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local So if you move away from the area you change your allegiance ? As a matter of interest, how do you define local?
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Post by The Drunken Communist on Oct 17, 2015 7:17:18 GMT
I don't want to speak for Harry but I think he meant 'local' as in having a link to Stoke. Someone born in Stoke but moved away for whatever reason has that link, as does someone who's never lived here but their (grand)parents did & passed down the Stoke bug.
On the otherhand you get someone from say India with no link to the area, who only started 'supporting' us cos we are in the Premier League & on the tele, and will more than likely toss us aside when we get relegated again.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2015 7:18:02 GMT
All we need to do is sign a Chinese player,a Japanese player and a South Korean.
Bingo.
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 17, 2015 7:50:29 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local My dad's from SOT but I've never lived there. Neither have my sons and we're all ST holders. Would you rather we gave them up for locals? You'd be classed as local but even if you weren't no I wouldn't rather you give your ticket up. I'm talking mainly about swathes of Japanese tourists and such like in the main . The kind of day trippers that are too common at the likes of old Trafford
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 17, 2015 7:52:00 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local So if you move away from the area you change your allegiance ? As a matter of interest, how do you define local? Local . Stoke on trent and surrounding area
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 17, 2015 7:52:23 GMT
I don't want to speak for Harry but I think he meant 'local' as in having a link to Stoke. Someone born in Stoke but moved away for whatever reason has that link, as does someone who's never lived here but their (grand)parents did & passed down the Stoke bug. On the otherhand you get someone from say India with no link to the area, who only started 'supporting' us cos we are in the Premier League & on the tele, and will more than likely toss us aside when we get relegated again. It really isn't difficult mate
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Post by jeycov on Oct 17, 2015 8:03:54 GMT
There's an argument that fans / season ticket holders who travel for 2 hours or more are actually dedicating more time to the club on match days? If you moved away from the " surrounding area" would you support a different team? As you may guess, travel to home games means a mid morning start and mid evening finish for me The group that I travel with have an additional 2 hours for each journey.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 17, 2015 8:35:20 GMT
There's an argument that fans / season ticket holders who travel for 2 hours or more are actually dedicating more time to the club on match days? If you moved away from the " surrounding area" would you support a different team? As you may guess, travel to home games means a mid morning start and mid evening finish for me The group that I travel with have an additional 2 hours for each journey. Well said. For me it is a 270 mile round trip to the Brit. For a game at the Brit I usually leave home at about 10:45 and get back at about 7:45 pm (evening matches I leave at 3:45pm and get home at 12:30 ish) so most home home games involve a 9 hour day. I wasn't born in North Staffs but lived in Newcastle under Lyme from the age of 4 until I was 18 and supported Stoke during that time. At 18 I left to go to college and by the time I left college my parents had moved to Cambridge. So I have never lived in North Staffs since age 18 - and I am now 69! In the intervening years I have lived inLiverpool, London, Crewe, Wolverhampton, Plymouth and now the Lake District. For most of the time I worked I didn't have a season ticket - as I worked weekends and shifts. But I have now had my current season ticket for 12 years. So, I haven't been "local" for 50 years but I get to most home games and up to 8 away games each year. I reckon my support costs me close to £1,500 per annum depending upon how many Stokies contribute towards fuel each trip.
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Post by penkvillepotter on Oct 17, 2015 8:40:13 GMT
Another sell out for the Watford game over a week before the game, not sure what's stopping the club filling on the corner now to be fair? Aye, went to get my lad a ticket yesterday for Watford. Absolutely gobsmacked to find it's sold out. Summats happening. Anyway he's no.56 on the waiting list. A fucking waiting list for Watford, the world has gone mad I tell ya.
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Post by mrcoke on Oct 17, 2015 9:26:15 GMT
I was born in Worcestershire and raised from 2 in Newcastle (mother was born in Basford) and lived a few streets from where Pejic was raised and went to Wolstanton Grammar the same time as John Farmer. I left the area in 1966 and have since lived in Birmingham, North Wales, South Wales twice (including 2 years in Swansea so I know the Liberty well), but most of my life in the north east (Teesside and North Yorkshire) living in a string of places, but I am a Stokie, always have been and always will. It pleases me to here people say they support their local club, or they support a less fashionable club, even if it is not their local. I get brassed off with meeting people who support the "top 6" clubs. I have worked with people who are Scottish and support Liverpool, come from Worksop and support ManU, come from South Wales and support Spurs, etc. etc. and don't have any connection ; I don't understand them. Conversely I am quite happy to welcome Stoke supporters who genuinely want to give us their morale support and not just bask in reflected glory. I would be less generous spirited if Stoke were to win the FA Cup, get into Europe, etc. and loads of people in Singapore suddenly changed allegiance from Arsenal to Stoke.
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Post by mrcoke on Oct 17, 2015 9:36:25 GMT
Another sell out for the Watford game over a week before the game, not sure what's stopping the club filling on the corner now to be fair? Aye, went to get my lad a ticket yesterday for Watford. Absolutely gobsmacked to find it's sold out. Summats happening. Anyway he's no.56 on the waiting list. A fucking waiting list for Watford, the world has gone mad I tell ya. It sure is. The football style has changed and we have bought players like Arni, Bojan, Affelay, Shaqiri. I don't know how other "oldies" on here feel, but I feel like it is 1970 all over again. We got back into the top flight, secured our position by some astute cautious management, and are now building on firm foundations to create an outstanding squad of players, including an England international (plus a captain who ought to be) and a whole bunch of other internationals and European Champions' League players.
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Post by jeycov on Oct 17, 2015 10:04:43 GMT
Aye, went to get my lad a ticket yesterday for Watford. Absolutely gobsmacked to find it's sold out. Summats happening. Anyway he's no.56 on the waiting list. A fucking waiting list for Watford, the world has gone mad I tell ya. It sure is. The football style has changed and we have bought players like Arni, Bojan, Affelay, Shaqiri. I don't know how other "oldies" on here feel, but I feel like it is 1970 all over again. We got back into the top flight, secured our position by some astute cautious management, and are now building on firm foundations to create an outstanding squad of players, including an England international (plus a captain who ought to be) and a whole bunch of other internationals and European Champions' League players. Great post Sell out crowds should be sending out the message that we can justify expanding our capacity Unlike the 70s, football is a very lucrative business for those clubs playing at the highest level. Supporting competitions like the Asia Trophy, having international players at the club, all help to spread the word globally Currently I would say that Peter Crouch is the most well known footballer beyond our shores This creates more revenue, more disposable income? and promotes the club, possibly attracting better players. It's a win win as far as I am concerned
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Post by stokefaninde on Oct 17, 2015 11:23:52 GMT
I can certainly respect wanting the local support and being weary of outsiders but I think there is something to be said about the foreigner that chooses a less fashionable team. A person that lives thousands of miles away and does their due research and soul searching before choosing a Stoke, Sunderland, Fulham or Bolton is a different breed then some bloke that wakes up one day and decides to buy a Chelsea shirt. I live in the States and know exactly one other person who roots for an English club outside the top six (Ipswitch). In my experience, making the more difficult choice makes someone pretty loyal.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2015 11:35:39 GMT
Half season ticket sales very good according to the ticket office as well. We must be getting to the stage where there's literally a thousand or so tickets left for general sale factoring in approx. 21,000 season ticket holders plus tickets for community projects/armed forces etc. plus up to 2,800 for away fans.
The student, the exile or the guy who works shifts is basically left with an odd seat to chose from usually on the front couple of rows, and to add to the pain for a category A/A* match they could be paying circa £40-£50 for a ticket. Can't applaud the club enough for their season ticket pricing but it's got to be time to extend the ground in the corner and make it more affordable for those unable to commit to a season ticket for whatever reason......
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Post by rawli on Oct 17, 2015 11:38:42 GMT
Aye, went to get my lad a ticket yesterday for Watford. Absolutely gobsmacked to find it's sold out. Summats happening. Anyway he's no.56 on the waiting list. A fucking waiting list for Watford, the world has gone mad I tell ya. It sure is. The football style has changed and we have bought players like Arni, Bojan, Affelay, Shaqiri. I don't know how other "oldies" on here feel, but I feel like it is 1970 all over again. We got back into the top flight, secured our position by some astute cautious management, and are now building on firm foundations to create an outstanding squad of players, including an England international (plus a captain who ought to be) and a whole bunch of other internationals and European Champions' League players. We just need the south stand to fall down and we can complete the cycle.
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Post by elystokie on Oct 17, 2015 13:05:25 GMT
Half season ticket sales very good according to the ticket office as well. We must be getting to the stage where there's literally a thousand or so tickets left for general sale factoring in approx. 21,000 season ticket holders plus tickets for community projects/armed forces etc. plus up to 2,800 for away fans. The student, the exile or the guy who works shifts is basically left with an odd seat to chose from usually on the front couple of rows, and to add to the pain for a category A/A* match they could be paying circa £40-£50 for a ticket. Can't applaud the club enough for their season ticket pricing but it's got to be time to extend the ground in the corner and make it more affordable for those unable to commit to a season ticket for whatever reason...... I think it would be a good idea for the club to have some sort of official ticket resale facility, Newcastle used Trivago last season (and possibly previous seasons) to enable season ticket holders to sell on their tickets if they couldn't attend. I live outside the area and work shifts but I decided to get a season ticket as soon as Hughes was appointed (wasn't because it was Hughes, could've been pretty much anybody), a lot of the time last season there were people on here wanting it but my seat was unused a couple of times, this season my sister seems to have found an appetite for games so she's been using it. Filling in the corner is a no brainer, the sooner the better.
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Post by lordb on Oct 17, 2015 13:51:43 GMT
I prefer Stoke fans in the ground.
My definition of a Stoke fan: Wants Stoke to win. That's it.
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 17, 2015 13:53:36 GMT
I prefer Stoke fans in the ground. My definition of a Stoke fan: Wants Stoke to win. That's it. My mates a millwall fan that wants stoke to win when we play the big London clubs
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Post by skemstokie on Oct 17, 2015 14:14:41 GMT
I know mate, but a few hundred or so extra ticket sales over an 8 year period is peanuts and could be down to just playing style since MH took over. I guess that shirt sales here and overseas (ordered online) would give a decent indication, if that info was available anywhere? But how do you grow the fan base in an already virtually full stadium - other than by expanding the stadium - in our case by building the scoreboard corner which already has the footings in place and for which planning permission is still in place (although only for 2 more years, I think)? I'm sure we'll need to continue to give away or subsidise some of the seats in the new corner at cut price for a year or so - but that is how you expand your fan base in our position - by offers to encourage new fans and for existing fans to bring friends. Hopefully, a percentage of those new fans will become regulars. That is the only way to do it if a club is not in the happy position of either having a waiting list for season tickets or is in a part of the country where tourists/visitors will boost the numbers. Got to expand stadium if you want to expand fan-base,the stadium is the base which new fan`s need to be able to experience and at the moment they can`t.
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Post by skemstokie on Oct 17, 2015 14:23:12 GMT
That's often the case. Is there a system for people to let the T/O know in advance if they aren't going and the seats be made available for resale? This season I've regularly seen blocks of 2 and 3 seats together left vacant. They would go like hot cakes. If my mate can't use his ST at Spurs because of work the club offer an online buy-back facility whereby the seat is re-sold and he gets a pro-rata refund on his credit card. We might see something similar by 2025... That is a cracking idea in principal and well worth trying as i due to health issue`s cannot attend all games but when able can seldom obtain adjacent seats,this just might work. Also the club would gain with the ticket being sold for a higher price than season ticket price.
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Post by dutchstokie on Oct 17, 2015 14:26:53 GMT
So us expats don't count then...??? Come on mate !!! Where you originally from mate ? From Alsager fella.....the nice bit !!
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Post by skemstokie on Oct 17, 2015 14:29:43 GMT
I prefer our fan base to stay local Why? a fan is a fan . If you like something but do not originate from there are you not allowed to like? Are you not fond of foreign foods,beer`s etc
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Post by slpmarc on Oct 17, 2015 15:02:09 GMT
The club can not grow, in fact it will regress if we cannot attract more international supporters. The revenue created from the Asian market is massive and its a market that the likes of Manu and Arsenal have controlled over the past 20 years. Stoke are trying to get a small slice of this action so we can grow as a brand so we can compete as a football club. Anyone who is against or believes a supporter is someone that lives in Stoke and goes every game is IMO short sighted
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Post by stokeharry on Oct 17, 2015 15:52:13 GMT
Where you originally from mate ? From Alsager fella.....the nice bit !! Didn't know Alsager had any parts that weren't nice , posh fucker Lived in Alsager for 4 years before moving to Woore . Local enough for me mate Thumbs up
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