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Post by The Stubborn Optimist on Mar 14, 2022 14:07:46 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following.
Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right.
I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring.
So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years.
Over to you folks.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Mar 14, 2022 14:16:51 GMT
You didn’t listen after the Blackpool game then🙄 Yes, she's an apologist. She is absolutely rubbish. You've managed to find one game. Did you listen to her after Peterbrough? Why not question about Brown being put at Wing Back with Wilmot on the bench? By the way, you are in a minority. Absolute rubbish and how the fuck do you know I’m in a minority? Just remember what happened to Nigel Gleghorn/John Acres when they asked questions the club were not happy about. I tell you what let’s just have the Vale tosser and the useless Dave Lee at press conferences and then Blakeman,Sandoz and the ever useless Nigel Johnson instead shall we🙄
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Post by nottsover60 on Mar 14, 2022 14:21:17 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. But isn't that the point of the original post? As long as fans are prepared to accept the status quo there will be no progress and small minded clubs off the pitch rarely make progress on it. I know of no other club with a similar fan base for example which does not have some kind of fan zone. If that chicken burger was standard fare on the concourse I know of non league clubs who are far more imaginative and offer better quality food than that. Pre match fan zones and good food and drink attract fans to the ground early spending money which goes into the club's coffers. I accept you're not bothered but surely you can see the financial benefit now and the future benefit if you hook fans young. We do a great job with the 7s scheme but I can't help feeling that a lot of children that age will be totally underwhelmed by the match day experience both on and off the pitch when they use their free ticket.
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Post by kjpt140v on Mar 14, 2022 14:24:06 GMT
Yes, she's an apologist. She is absolutely rubbish. You've managed to find one game. Did you listen to her after Peterbrough? Why not question about Brown being put at Wing Back with Wilmot on the bench? By the way, you are in a minority. Absolute rubbish and how the fuck do you know I’m in a minority? Just remember what happened to Nigel Gleghorn/John Acres when they asked questions the club were not happy about. I tell you what let’s just have the Vale tosser and the useless Dave Lee at press conferences and then Blakeman,Sandoz and the ever useless Nigel Johnson instead shall we🙄 I can tell you are in the minority by the number of likes received and the amounts you have received. I also note you have conceded the debate due to, the language you are using and the deflection you are using. Kisses and love to you.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Mar 14, 2022 14:25:13 GMT
Absolute rubbish and how the fuck do you know I’m in a minority? Just remember what happened to Nigel Gleghorn/John Acres when they asked questions the club were not happy about. I tell you what let’s just have the Vale tosser and the useless Dave Lee at press conferences and then Blakeman,Sandoz and the ever useless Nigel Johnson instead shall we🙄 I can tell you are in the minority by the number of likes received and the amounts you have received. I also note you have conceded the debate due to, the language you are using and the deflection you are using. Kisses and love to you. Is that a serious post🤣🤣A 64 year old😮Christ almighty
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Post by kjpt140v on Mar 14, 2022 14:29:35 GMT
I can tell you are in the minority by the number of likes received and the amounts you have received. I also note you have conceded the debate due to, the language you are using and the deflection you are using. Kisses and love to you. Is that a serious post🤣🤣A 64 year old😮Christ almighty ?
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Post by owdestokie2 on Mar 14, 2022 14:29:56 GMT
Great post and some interesting and cutting home truths. On the subject of Stoke City FC and Stoke-On-Trent (and forget the pro or anti PULIS bollocks for a minute) TP brought so much energy to the place and then managed to create a synergy and an energy between the club and the area. He worked his socks off to put a competitive hard working team on the pitch that reflected the people and the area and it worked. There was real energy with everybody pulling in the same direction. A togetherness, the like that Over 50+ years of following Stoke I have never experienced before or since. We were a force to be reckoned with on and off the pitch. The issue at the club is not only what appears to be a lack of professionalism and leadership but a whole boat load of absolute nothingness surrounding the whole club. Apathy reigns and has for the last 6/7 years. The club is disconnected from the fans, the manager hasn’t been proactive in connecting with the area or the fans and doesn’t appear to encourage his players to either so you’re left with a whole load of nothingness. As for the city of Stoke-On- Trent, well it was once a proud leader of industry with the pits and the pots and steel also back in the day. Time moves on of course but I will never forgive Thatcher for destroying not just industries and jobs but whole communities and indoctrinating the ‘I’m alright Jack’ mentality into society. The heart & soul was ripped out of Stoke-On-Trent and lack of investment & intervention by successive governments has left the city beleaguered. Perhaps there is a reason for the so called S-O-T mentality that some have alluded to. Provide investment, positivity, innovation to the city and it’s residents might just react in a similar way. Destroy the place & provide little or no hope and people will end up beaten. Politically, Stoke was always very proudly Labour. Now, the people of S-O-T ended up voting for the very party that destroyed their city in the first place, based on the nonsense & lies surrounding immigration. Somebody needs to get hold of our great club, drag it into the 21st century, re invent ourselves & above all reconnect the club, fans, area with players & manager. The question is can the Coates’ visual that and can they appoint the right people at the right time. UTP! Sticking with the 1st part of your post, you nailed it. I’ll put my tin hat on now. The vocal minority, yes minority endeavoured to pour scorn on TP to advance their argument that he was “condescending” toward the people of the Potteries. What he did was to create a togetherness for the majority which stabilised our existence at the trough known as the EPL.
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Post by anewman on Mar 14, 2022 14:53:14 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. As well as all (but one) of Stoke's home games this season, I have also been to many Macclesfield FC games (when Stoke aren't at home), a couple of Man City games (my mate could not go and gave me his season ticket), and a Man Utd game. I think given the geographical location of the Brit/Bet 265 it is all the more essential that the experience is good as there is no choice of outlets. We walk up having paid £6 from the Michelin car park and are faced with rubbish food, rubbish drinks, miserable serving staff etc - that you have to queue ages for as no system. It's just not good enough. And the announcers at Stoke are awful and sound system poor - it all contributes to the rubbish atmosphere. At Macclesfield FC - the food (locally produced pies and hotdogs) are great quality; the beer is pub price (and you can drink in stand as non-league); they have staff walking through the stands selling food (burgers and excellent pizzas) and drinks; the pre match announcer is clearly a supporter (rather than a wannabe dj) and he makes jokes and is welcoming - teams are read out when players on pitch and the ball is brought out in a car. It all adds up to a better experience. I took a fellow Stoke supporting mate on Saturday and he remarked what a better experience it was. The atmosphere is built up (and the football is also very good). At Man City you can park for free in the surrounding streets, they have outside bars (with covered / heated areas) selling pub priced drinks - including from local brewery's and food outlets selling decent food. There are decent queueing systems and big screens showing recent games, also dj / bands. Why can't we have that on a smaller scale (say behind the sentinel stand)? At Man Utd (who are like us complacent) everything is rubbish. Overpriced rubbish burgers, no atmosphere etc. This would be so easliy rectified at Stoke - would make the mood better, we would spend more - thus putting more money in club coiffers. All these things if done positively created a better club, rather than the bargain basement stuff we have to put up with.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2022 14:58:40 GMT
Denise couldn’t give a stuff about the club, it’s for her brother and husband too play with and keep them away from 365 where the real money is! And old man Coates sometimes turns up at the ground and tells them they have all done very well like it’s grace brothers We have good owners but they lack the ambition to move us forwards in a meaningful way. "you've all done very well..." Coates does anything but that As for what Denise thinks, can't comment on that as no idea
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Post by kjpt140v on Mar 14, 2022 15:00:52 GMT
Is that a serious post🤣🤣A 64 year old😮Christ almighty ? Well you've proved my point,but not only that, you've also proved what a cowardly bully you are (immature). I can understand your adoration and love for Ange, can't really, we've all had our fixations as children and misguided crushes and lust. My advice is not to worry, you will get over it and move on. Love kisses and peace to you.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Mar 14, 2022 15:02:34 GMT
Well you've proved my point,but not only that, you've also proved what a cowardly bully you are (immature). I can understand your adoration and love for Ange, can't really, we've all had our fixations as children and misguided crushes and lust. My advice is not to worry, you will get over it and move on. Love kisses and peace to you. WTF are you going on about🙄Grow up FFS you’re a 64 year old adult
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Post by kjpt140v on Mar 14, 2022 15:03:22 GMT
Well you've proved my point,but not only that, you've also proved what a cowardly bully you are (immature). I can understand your adoration and love for Ange, can't really, we've all had our fixations as children and misguided crushes and lust. My advice is not to worry, you will get over it and move on. Love kisses and peace to you. WTF are you going on about🙄Grow up FFS you’re a 64 year old adult 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 The gift that just keeps giving.🤪🤪
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Post by TrentValePotter96 on Mar 14, 2022 17:56:18 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. The result/league we are in will always be the most important thing. But 'matchday experience' is increasingly important, the club needs to do more not entice people to give their money and time to watching Stoke. I've heard examples from people who say they enjoyed a non league game more, people who would rather watch soccer saturday on tv or go on a daytrip. There's more to do now. It also helps set a positive atmosphere around the club. We are in a bad run and it's being made to feel worse because the club looks like it can't be arsed.
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Post by theonlooker on Mar 14, 2022 18:09:12 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. Everyone goes for different things though, don't they? Some go for the day out and experience, some go for the football, some live and die by the results. Above all else though, its a good vehicle for clubs to make extra cash and to help build a lifelong affinity to the club and to bring people back time and again, along with forging good relationships with local businesses and helping those businesses to grow too. I drag my other half and lad with me to the games - lad loves it regardless, other half can take or leave it but comes anyway to spend time with the family. It's people like my other half that the matchday experience can help bring in and keep - the social side of it, meeting people, spending a decent amount of time with people in comfortable surroundings, and getting involved with something different.
At the moment, people in that bracket have a stadium that is a nut ache to get to and away from, with stewards and staff (in the main and in my experience...) that make you feel as welcome as a fart in a bathtub, with facilities that aren't far off a youth hostel - toilets soaked in piss, toilet doors that don't shut properly, non existent entertainment and food/drink options that would insult a McDonalds 'chef'.
It wouldn't or shouldn't cost a professional football club that much to engage with local businesses and even charities to help host an area where fans can spend a bit of time before the game to mix with people, engage with local businesses, enjoy a bit of pre match entertainment (local bands, comedians, ex player 'speeches' etc) to help create a bit of a different atmosphere.
Let's be honest, it can't be much worse - the atmosphere at Stoke right now is lower than a snakes belly. It's got to be worth a try surely?
It just takes a bit of thinking outside of the box and a bit of effort...
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Post by J-Roar on Mar 14, 2022 18:24:06 GMT
I missed the Blackpool game with covid and I'm shocked they didn't go around the pitch at half time. Sounds like a real basic thing to do? To be fair they wouldn't have made it round the pitch. I was shocked at how old they looked. Apart from Pej who somehow doesn't have a single grey hair
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Post by J-Roar on Mar 14, 2022 18:31:22 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. They aren't trying to appeal to you. They know you'll go whatever happens. When there are a thousand other things people can do and when it's possible to watch any match in the country from the comfort of your own home there needs to be something more than a freezing, difficult to get to expensive day out to encourage people to go. No one on this message board is the target they should be aiming for as we are, by definition, already addicted.
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Post by Pugsley on Mar 14, 2022 18:42:31 GMT
Great post and some interesting and cutting home truths. On the subject of Stoke City FC and Stoke-On-Trent (and forget the pro or anti PULIS bollocks for a minute) TP brought so much energy to the place and then managed to create a synergy and an energy between the club and the area. He worked his socks off to put a competitive hard working team on the pitch that reflected the people and the area and it worked. There was real energy with everybody pulling in the same direction. A togetherness, the like that Over 50+ years of following Stoke I have never experienced before or since. We were a force to be reckoned with on and off the pitch. The issue at the club is not only what appears to be a lack of professionalism and leadership but a whole boat load of absolute nothingness surrounding the whole club. Apathy reigns and has for the last 6/7 years. The club is disconnected from the fans, the manager hasn’t been proactive in connecting with the area or the fans and doesn’t appear to encourage his players to either so you’re left with a whole load of nothingness. As for the city of Stoke-On- Trent, well it was once a proud leader of industry with the pits and the pots and steel also back in the day. Time moves on of course but I will never forgive Thatcher for destroying not just industries and jobs but whole communities and indoctrinating the ‘I’m alright Jack’ mentality into society. The heart & soul was ripped out of Stoke-On-Trent and lack of investment & intervention by successive governments has left the city beleaguered. Perhaps there is a reason for the so called S-O-T mentality that some have alluded to. Provide investment, positivity, innovation to the city and it’s residents might just react in a similar way. Destroy the place & provide little or no hope and people will end up beaten. Politically, Stoke was always very proudly Labour. Now, the people of S-O-T ended up voting for the very party that destroyed their city in the first place, based on the nonsense & lies surrounding immigration. Somebody needs to get hold of our great club, drag it into the 21st century, re invent ourselves & above all reconnect the club, fans, area with players & manager. The question is can the Coates’ visual that and can they appoint the right people at the right time. UTP! Sticking with the 1st part of your post, you nailed it. I’ll put my tin hat on now. The vocal minority, yes minority endeavoured to pour scorn on TP to advance their argument that he was “condescending” toward the people of the Potteries. What he did was to create a togetherness for the majority which stabilised our existence at the trough known as the EPL. That together no one sang his name. Not one. Compare that to Macari. Even O'Neil gets a song. Totally condescending. Season over after 40 points. Blaming the fans for leaking tactics. Dumbing down expectations. I could go on. He did a great job but there is very very little affection towards him bar the odd zealot. Why?
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Post by leicspotter on Mar 14, 2022 18:46:18 GMT
I'll nail my colours before I start. I don't get this "matchday experience" malarkey. My matchday experience is determined by one thing and one thing only, what happens on the pitch. When I read someone complaining that the pre-match playlist is poor my initial reaction is one of total bemusement and WTF???? I'd suggest that if the playlist is a gamechanger for anyone then they've perhaps made a poor choice for which pastime they spend their proverbial Saturday afternoons following. Anyway, leaving aside my prejudiced, or as some will no doubt say, outdated, attitude, I'd be interested if anyone can give a few examples of clubs who they feel get the "matchday experience" right, also how they think they get it right. I follow Stoke home and away, have done for 50 + years. There's only a handful of grounds I haven't seen Stoke play at. Leaving aside issues regarding where a ground is situated, I can't think of anywhere I've come away from thinking "what a fantastic matchday experience that was!", apart from when we win of course. To be honest they're all pretty much of a muchness. There's away games I enjoy more than others regardless of the result. Fulham is a good example. However that's nothing to do with Fulham FC. It's because of it's location by the Thames. Other enjoyable ones are due to their historic or iconic status (Upton Park, Villa, Goodison Park, WHL for example). Most other grounds tend to based on a fairly consistent modern formula, some good, some bad, most fairly uninspiring. So I await to have my eyes opened to see what I've been missing these 50 odd years. Over to you folks. They aren't trying to appeal to you. They know you'll go whatever happens. When there are a thousand other things people can do and when it's possible to watch any match in the country from the comfort of your own home there needs to be something more than a freezing, difficult to get to expensive day out to encourage people to go. No one on this message board is the target they should be aiming for as we are, by definition, already addicted. I think this is a good point as regards the 'matchday experience'. Most that I know create their own experience pre and post match, so the only undecided factor is what happens on the pitch. I get that food and drink, concourse space etc etc could / should all be addressed, but none of this would stop me attending matches. But, as you rightly say, I am not the target audience for anything other than the 90 minutes. That said, when the ground is not much more than half full the club do need to look at how these factors might come into play. SCFC only has around 20k as a "captive audience" and some of those are finding the football so poor as to make them question their (sanity) continued paying. The most important thing is to get it right on the pitch, but other factors DO need to be addressed, especially with a stadium so that is itself so inaccessible. Peterborough's ground isn't anything special, but the town is close and has lots to offer, making for a very enjoyable day out (and night as it happens), and there are lots of other places that can say the same. Sadly, our meccano set on the hill is so isolated that it clearly does put a lot of people off making the journey
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Post by bayernoatcake on Mar 14, 2022 19:41:24 GMT
I missed the Blackpool game with covid and I'm shocked they didn't go around the pitch at half time. Sounds like a real basic thing to do? To be fair they wouldn't have made it round the pitch. I was shocked at how old they looked. Apart from Pej who somehow doesn't have a single grey hair True. I nearly accidentally killed Denis Smith outside my parents house as he was walking to the pub slowly and I came charging out the drive. Sorry Denis.
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Post by owdestokie2 on Mar 14, 2022 19:53:25 GMT
Sticking with the 1st part of your post, you nailed it. I’ll put my tin hat on now. The vocal minority, yes minority endeavoured to pour scorn on TP to advance their argument that he was “condescending” toward the people of the Potteries. What he did was to create a togetherness for the majority which stabilised our existence at the trough known as the EPL. That together no one sang his name. Not one. Compare that to Macari. Even O'Neil gets a song. Totally condescending. Season over after 40 points. Blaming the fans for leaking tactics. Dumbing down expectations. I could go on. He did a great job but there is very very little affection towards him bar the odd zealot. Why? Pugs I must associate and mix with quite a few zealots (not affection simple gratitude) 😁👍
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Post by anchorman on Mar 14, 2022 19:58:36 GMT
Great post and some interesting and cutting home truths. On the subject of Stoke City FC and Stoke-On-Trent (and forget the pro or anti PULIS bollocks for a minute) TP brought so much energy to the place and then managed to create a synergy and an energy between the club and the area. He worked his socks off to put a competitive hard working team on the pitch that reflected the people and the area and it worked. There was real energy with everybody pulling in the same direction. A togetherness, the like that Over 50+ years of following Stoke I have never experienced before or since. We were a force to be reckoned with on and off the pitch. The issue at the club is not only what appears to be a lack of professionalism and leadership but a whole boat load of absolute nothingness surrounding the whole club. Apathy reigns and has for the last 6/7 years. The club is disconnected from the fans, the manager hasn’t been proactive in connecting with the area or the fans and doesn’t appear to encourage his players to either so you’re left with a whole load of nothingness. As for the city of Stoke-On- Trent, well it was once a proud leader of industry with the pits and the pots and steel also back in the day. Time moves on of course but I will never forgive Thatcher for destroying not just industries and jobs but whole communities and indoctrinating the ‘I’m alright Jack’ mentality into society. The heart & soul was ripped out of Stoke-On-Trent and lack of investment & intervention by successive governments has left the city beleaguered. Perhaps there is a reason for the so called S-O-T mentality that some have alluded to. Provide investment, positivity, innovation to the city and it’s residents might just react in a similar way. Destroy the place & provide little or no hope and people will end up beaten. Politically, Stoke was always very proudly Labour. Now, the people of S-O-T ended up voting for the very party that destroyed their city in the first place, based on the nonsense & lies surrounding immigration. Somebody needs to get hold of our great club, drag it into the 21st century, re invent ourselves & above all reconnect the club, fans, area with players & manager. The question is can the Coates’ visual that and can they appoint the right people at the right time. UTP! Sticking with the 1st part of your post, you nailed it. I’ll put my tin hat on now. The vocal minority, yes minority endeavoured to pour scorn on TP to advance their argument that he was “condescending” toward the people of the Potteries. What he did was to create a togetherness for the majority which stabilised our existence at the trough known as the EPL. I agree. The irony in all of this ‘no aspiration, ambition and acceptance of second best’ rhetoric is that when we do find success, the vocal minority take it upon themselves to deride and criticise. My point is, they’re never happy. The amount of times I said ‘be careful what you wish for’ . As a club (and as a city perhaps) we need to reinvent ourselves….or just get back to basics maybe?! I think it’s been proved that it isn’t as simple as just changing the manager. IF the club decide to make the change or IF O’Neil stays, whoever it is needs to be creative & inspirational in their thinking, come up with a way of playing that conjure’s up results and use and reconnect with the fans and the area to reenergise the whole club. Make us hard to beat, get us defending for our lives & get us playing quick incisive football with balls into the box, 100% effort & desire and wake the bloody place up again. If the supporters can see that the team & manager care, they’ll back them to the hilt. I’m afraid that the half arsed vibe at the moment from team and fans has been evident for years now is reflective of what we see week in week out from the players unfortunately.
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Post by Gary Hackett on Mar 14, 2022 22:55:05 GMT
Great OP. Glad someone has raised the playing of Delilah as an issue. It is totally cringeworthy, kills any existing atmosphere (usually none in fairness) and doesn’t engage the fans. Reading the team sheets would be much better as you say. I’m not sure whether the reluctance to improve the matchday experience comes from the board, but based on comments on here the majority of fans think significant improvements could be made. We don’t even need to be innovative, just copy what most other clubs are doing! They do still announce the team sheets, only it's done about 20 minutes before KO, when there's no-one in the ground, by a bloke who wouldn't sound out-of-place doing The Shipping Forecast. Do they still do the shipping forecast ? It used to send me to sleep when I was a kid, nowadays I just listen to our commentary instead.
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Post by dirtclod on Mar 14, 2022 23:04:48 GMT
Mrs. Bale! Oh Mrs. Bale!
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Post by miggo on Mar 14, 2022 23:15:53 GMT
Never has a chicken burger better summed up the state of a football club than the one photographed at the ground recently and widely shared on social media. It's everything about Stoke City FC in a bun. A half-arsed, "That'll do" attitude that runs through the club from top to bottom. The problems run far deeper than Michael O'Neill failing to get an imbalanced squad to perform on the pitch. The whole match day experience is well below the standard it should be. The music before the game is poor: the playlist seems to have not been changed for a decade. The reading out of the teams a good twenty minutes before the players come out rather than when the players are out massively reduces the atmosphere. Think back to the Premier League years. Opposition players would visibly shrink when their names were roundly booed seconds before kick off. Our players would visibly grow when cheered. Now we have to listen to Delilah blaring out way too loudly over a substandard tannoy system, which stops any kind of atmosphere being generated in its tracks. As we've seen recently, the food is abysmal, refusing to move with the times. Not good enough. And if you don't go down to the concourse for a bite to eat at half-time, what entertainment is there on offer from the stands? Absolutely none. Yes, we do a great job in the community, but do we really need to hear about it every week? When we have a special guest, such as Shawcross recently, the whole thing again is carried out as if the club only found out it was happening five minutes earlier. Not good enough. Many, many smaller clubs do it so much better. Apart from the football (which is persuading nobody to attend at the moment), what else is there to entice people to the club on match days? The club has got a lot right over the years, but seems to be stuck thinking it's still 2010. Football, entertainment and the world have moved on. This. I regularly use this seasobs disasterous kit reveal as the chicken burger in this example but word for word its exactly how I feel.
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Post by mtrstudent on Mar 15, 2022 0:59:03 GMT
Never has a chicken burger better summed up the state of a football club than the one photographed at the ground recently and widely shared on social media. It's everything about Stoke City FC in a bun. A half-arsed, "That'll do" attitude that runs through the club from top to bottom. The problems run far deeper than Michael O'Neill failing to get an imbalanced squad to perform on the pitch. The whole match day experience is well below the standard it should be. The music before the game is poor: the playlist seems to have not been changed for a decade. The reading out of the teams a good twenty minutes before the players come out rather than when the players are out massively reduces the atmosphere. Think back to the Premier League years. Opposition players would visibly shrink when their names were roundly booed seconds before kick off. Our players would visibly grow when cheered. Now we have to listen to Delilah blaring out way too loudly over a substandard tannoy system, which stops any kind of atmosphere being generated in its tracks. As we've seen recently, the food is abysmal, refusing to move with the times. Not good enough. And if you don't go down to the concourse for a bite to eat at half-time, what entertainment is there on offer from the stands? Absolutely none. Yes, we do a great job in the community, but do we really need to hear about it every week? When we have a special guest, such as Shawcross recently, the whole thing again is carried out as if the club only found out it was happening five minutes earlier. Not good enough. Many, many smaller clubs do it so much better. Apart from the football (which is persuading nobody to attend at the moment), what else is there to entice people to the club on match days? The club has got a lot right over the years, but seems to be stuck thinking it's still 2010. Football, entertainment and the world have moved on. Don't you get a nice fuzzy feeling when the buildup is timed right? I care a thousand percent more about what happens on the pitch but I'll never forget the FA Cup final when it rose to a crescendo and a massive fan roar as the lads came out. Bits of luck like finding out Ethers was fit helped, but iirc there was a bit of showmanship to keep the energy right before. Not saying we can hope to match Wembley, just that there are things you can do. Crowd fans round the tunnel, announce bits at the right time etc. Been a while since I made an away game so no comment on the rest of your post, it's a good question.
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Post by newsteadst3 on Mar 15, 2022 6:30:55 GMT
On a similar theme, I thought the 50th anniversary of the League Cup win celebrations on the designated match day were incredibly basic and underwhelming. And, of course, it was almost impossible to hear the players' interviews. Mike Pejic talked about it in his column quite critically. He was disappointed not to have been able to share the celebrations more with the fans, not to have been able to walk around the pitch with the trophy, not to have been invited into the boardroom, not to have the directors at the celebration dinner (incredibly it seems no directors were there but MON who had no connection to the team in 1972 was). That seems to sum up the club's attitude, token appreciation and obviously no consultation with the cup winning squad, just like they treat the fans. Amazingly he claims that ten years ago the cup winning squad were publicly promised free seats for life at the ground but are still waiting and like the rest of us he had the email last week telling him it was time to renew his season ticket. How exceedingly shoddy and second rate that all makes the club seem. The Coates family cannot be criticised for what they have done for the club but the PR throughout the club is atrocious. Is this why Bluto has fallen out with the club?or part of the reason
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Post by nottsover60 on Mar 15, 2022 10:05:38 GMT
Mike Pejic talked about it in his column quite critically. He was disappointed not to have been able to share the celebrations more with the fans, not to have been able to walk around the pitch with the trophy, not to have been invited into the boardroom, not to have the directors at the celebration dinner (incredibly it seems no directors were there but MON who had no connection to the team in 1972 was). That seems to sum up the club's attitude, token appreciation and obviously no consultation with the cup winning squad, just like they treat the fans. Amazingly he claims that ten years ago the cup winning squad were publicly promised free seats for life at the ground but are still waiting and like the rest of us he had the email last week telling him it was time to renew his season ticket. How exceedingly shoddy and second rate that all makes the club seem. The Coates family cannot be criticised for what they have done for the club but the PR throughout the club is atrocious. Is this why Bluto has fallen out with the club?or part of the reason I didn't know he had? I did wonder why he and Marsh weren't there. It does surprise me though that so many ex-players go to the matches if they don't get free tickets.
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Post by newsteadst3 on Mar 15, 2022 12:05:22 GMT
Is this why Bluto has fallen out with the club?or part of the reason I didn't know he had? I did wonder why he and Marsh weren't there. It does surprise me though that so many ex-players go to the matches if they don't get free tickets. Think Bluto did not sure about Jackie Marsh though ,I used see him down the match occasionally. More so when we moved from the Vic. Used to see Cranny a bit too obviously Denis and TC. Don't really see loads of others though.
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Post by GoBoks on Mar 15, 2022 12:58:04 GMT
Argh! Mike Pejic is disappointed that he couldn’t walk around the ground with a cup the club won 50 years ago? Poor dear, he needs to suck it up. We’re disappointed that we have to have tin pot 50 year celebrations because the club has won absolutely nothing since then! What the hell, if we’d won 10 trophies in consecutive years, does that mean we’d be having a significant “anniversary celebration every year for the rest of our lives? I think you are missing the point. Perhaps you feel the League Cup win isn't worth celebrating 50 years on and I can see your point but for those of us around then it was the start of a golden era when Stoke were one of the best teams around, playing wonderful attacking football and only failing to win more trophies because of fate (five broken legs in three months when squads only had about 15 players) and refereeing decisions in not one but two FA up semi finals against Arsenal when they were a team of cloggers and Stoke were the purists' favourite. Most of us supporting them then would, I think, claim that that era even eclipsed the ten years in the Premier because of the way we played, outclassing other teams, and were glad of the opportunity to remember and show appreciation. That isn't the point though. The club chose to commemorate the occasion and then went about it in a tin pot, second rate way. If they considered it worth doing then they should have done it well. There should have been consultation with fans and players, there should have been more publicity. Like the Shawcross fiasco it ended up being more of an insult than a tribute, having the players stood on the edge of the pitch with a plastic cup in front of empty stands. Interviews and a walk around at half time would have filled an empty 15 minutes when we have to watch birthday messages and interviews with people we've never heard of. Some welcome of the players on the pitch in the ten minutes between the warm up and kick off could have been used to lift the big crowd just before kick off. Like Shawcross's farewell it stank of somebody spending all of 5 minutes thinking about it and is just typical of the half arsed approach the club has to publicity and fan engagement. You’re right. If you are going to celebrate, CELEBRATE in style! Even though I was “around” at the time, a celebration of winning a small trophy 50 years ago (albeit the start of a “golden era” where we won nothing else) just reeks of a bunch of old, old, guys sitting in the park swapping “I remember when ….. “ stories. I understand why some want to do it, but for me, no thanks……it’s simply another reminder of how unsuccessful we’ve been in the last 150 years.
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Post by GoBoks on Mar 15, 2022 13:44:16 GMT
I guess the old chestnut needs polishing! If you want entertainment, go to the circus! If you want good food go to a fancy restaurant! If you want to listen to good music of your liking, go to a concert! If you want to drink good beer while watching Stoke play, watch on TV! If you want to see a club winning things go and watch just about anyone but Stoke! If you want misery, you’re at the right place! And before certain posters get their knickers twisted, it’s meant as a joke……. And yes, many a true word spoken in jest!
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