Dear All,
You will recall that Mr Chansiri held a press conference on 6th November, as our planned meeting with the club for that day had been postponed to enable the press conference to take place, a meeting with the club took place on 24th November. At this meeting Mr Chansiri was present and we took the opportunity to raise with him the concerns from many fans about lack of action on refunds, ticket pricing strategy, post-covid football and future sustainability/strategy for the club. It was suggested to the Trust that we may wish to engage in the production of a club strategy to address these issues.
The Trust board subsequently decided to positively approach the club to explore this further, however in the conversation the club appeared to back-track on that commitment. The Trust then requested a further meeting with the club so that we could set out our concerns, we were asked by the club to set out in more detail the issues that we wish to raise. We have done this including all our questions and key messages, we have copied the full detail to Trust Members. Below are the headline agenda items and some key messages we wish to convey:
Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust
Agenda items for meeting with SWFC
1. 20/21 Season Ticket Refund Offer
Key messages for SWFC
- FSA are carrying out a further national survey comparing clubs, so this information is going to become publicly available. This is the chance for the club to explain its position to supporters.
- What the club do re 20/21 will have a connection with items 2 and 5 below - engagement is key.
2. Matchday and Season Ticket Strategy and Prices in the post-Covid era
Key messages for SWFC
- Club needs to be aware of economic impacts on fans – already not a high wage economy before Covid.
- Liverpool University research on the impact of the last recession on football attendances.
- Fans may have had a year away from going to games – lost habits, lost interest – and during that times supporters have become increasingly frustrated and alienated with how the club is being operated and how they are treated. Our belief is that if fans had been at games there would have been clear and visible dissent against the Chairman by now.
- Given the above context there is a need to think differently about the approach.
3. Club Financial and Scenario Planning
Key messages for SWFC
- Members do not expect the club to operate in a goldfish bowl, but they do believe the club can do much better on sharing the broad strategic picture with fans so that they can see the issues.
- If the financial realities the club face require a change in expectation among fans, then the club must paint a realistic picture in public about what fans can expect otherwise frustration and alienation will continue to grow between supporters and chairman.
4. Club Infrastructure Plans
Key Messages for SWFC
- Many members are sceptical that infrastructural improvements (beyond a new pitch and scoreboard) have taken place. What plans for the future does the club have?
5. Fan Engagement
Key Messages for SWFC
- Fans’ perceive there is radio silence on these wider issues.
- Fans see themselves as stakeholders in the club, not just customers with a transactional relationship to the club.
- We recognise that fan opinions vary with form and results on the pitch but the club need to recognise that the unhappiness is real.
6. Diversity:
Questions
- SWFC Ladies Team – The Trust plans to work with the Ladies Team, before we do, we want to understand the relationship between club and SWFC Ladies from the club perspective
- FA Football Leadership Diversity Code – are SWFC considering signing up to the code like our city neighbours? We are concerned that the club fan base is not as diverse as the city population. Does club have a strategy or plans to address this?
The meeting with the club is scheduled for Wednesday 16th December at 11am. We will update Trust members on what happens in that meeting asap thereafter.
To ensure you are kept up to date with full information please consider becoming a Trust member.
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