TOPIC: What should Phil King do?

On the basis of the other thread of the what has he done I would ask what supporters think are the pressing issues they would like to see improved at the club.
For me it would be,
1) Ticket pricing & ease of buying on a Matchday.
I find non match days the staff are helpful and its easy to get what you need. On match days it takes an age l.
2) general service around the ground on matchdays is very slow be it the bars, food huts, or ticket office.
3) communication to supporters considering we all give postcodes, a lot of people will of registered emails etc very little is sent out to these supporters/ it's consistent with some supporters receiving info that others don't.

Poor Phil King, what the present incumbents have done for the club is up there with Gerald Ratner and Walter Palmer in terms of good PR. He should just tell them to keep their faces and voices out of the media, let the PR guy and the manager do the talking because they have a mountain to climb to re-invent their profile - if they can? my guess is that the Lapping statement will come back to slap them in the face. Unfortunately as I said on another post, I can only see King lasting a short while before they envelop him in apathy and he walks.

What should Phil King do?

Ring his previous employers, ask if his old job is still going.

I'm a season ticket holder and often feel that the club could do more for us as a customer. There is lots to attract new business but the club must keep existing customers happy. Realistic suggestions for season ticket holders:

A free/subsidise drink pre-game from the club bars before Christmas as a gesture of goodwill.
A free/subsidised pie/burger during January when everyone is skint.
A free hot drink during a Tuesday night winter game.
Meet & greet with injured/not selected/suspended players pre-game once per month.
Q&A; with ex player pre-game once per season.
One free programme per season.
Random giveaways from the club shop (eg the blue t shirts last season)
Season ticket holder competitions every home game to win signed shirt/experience days etc.


Just a few suggestions... My tin hat is on waiting for the "feedback"!!!

Last season at Blackburn you got a free home match ticket on your birthday, not sure if you got it as a season ticket holder or not but I ain't been for 5 years and got an email saying just call us and we will send one out to you.

Having been down today a good freshen up is needed around the ground. All the Posters are old and faded and generally look a mess. The ticket office isn't very welcoming, covered in seagull shite. Whole place just looks rundown and unprofessional as if the club has just given up.

I love those suggestions above. Can just picture the Q&A; with the non selected player. STHolder" Why arent you playing" Player "Curles a tw at".

For me the service and ticketing needs reviewed.

I also think the club needs to have a serious overhaul of the terraces. My usual spot in the WRE now has a leak in the roof above me.

Get onto a property improvement company and see if they'll trade off labour and materials for advertising space.

I've not been down so since last season but it doesnt sound like much has been done. Maybe Mr Pattison has been missed after all with his toolkit....

Bars and service would be a massive priority. Get some of those that drink in the hive or rugby club back into the sunset and sporting Inn before games. Open afterwards and show the late kick off games.

Another member of staff on each bar would help.

I remember turning up for the first game of last season and in the East Stand the same bit of bird shite was still there from the end of the previous season. Not surprised to hear the spot is still looking run down.

Someone just tweeted about the shite in the D stand.

Aye the North end of paddock around the bar and toilets was pretty shocking really. Looks like they shut up after the Hartlepool game and done nowt until they opened for the game today.

Here's another basic idea, don't open all 3 sides for 'not very attractive' friendly games against the likes of Preston & Oldham.

Could've fit both crowds combined into the main stand/paddock side.

Maybe he should turn up to watch a game.

Lakelandterrier wrote:
Has he not seen us play then?

mattcufc wrote:
He should have 3 main goals
1) increase gates via better marketing, offers and communications. Other than the newspaper, how do we hear about the next match or what deals could be had? Use of social media, tapping into schools colleges, and local business is shocking.
2) increase revenue on Match day. The service and speed of service in the bars for example is a complete turn off. What about a bar meal, watch the lunchtime game and a ticket for X. What about putting in wireless so that you hook up to it when in the ground. The average football fan looks at his phone 10 times during a game, great way to push advertising about the club, merchandise, deals on next games and also what's happening after today's game...comedian in the lounge, £2 pint etc.
3) increase off field revenue. Meeting rooms for business etc is shocking, no offering, facilities are shambolic. How else could the stadium be used during the week like other stadiums are? Put the ticket office in the club shop is a great way of maximising revenue as people would buy merchandise as they pass through the shop. This is exactly why supermarkets buy milk at a loss, just to get you end and before you know it you have done £30. If you go to any of the new build stadiums, they will have outdoor 4G and indoor facilities plus grass. They then rent these facilities out all week to the local sports clubs etc. we can't do much of that other than the Neil's but as we are now using Crieghton a lot more, could we not put some cheap lighting up and rent out a floodlit 11 aside pitch for 10 hours or so a day. I went to Derby County and they have an indoor JJB type sports centre with multi pitches being used from 6 in the morning to 11 at night working round factory shifts etc. could they Gym facilities be hired out? Not only does all of the above generate more revenue for limited increase in fixed costs, it creates vital links between the club and the community so that the club is used for more than just the 90 mins on a match day.

Halpinsleftpeg wrote:
Point 2. It's all franchised out and they don't give a crap about it

I'd hope a bloke with his pedigree would conduct a full and thorough review of all existing facilities before formulating a plan to move forward...

Pretty sure he's identified everything that's wrong, not like he needs another pointless thread on the subject!

Sunderland do a very good kids club offer to the schools across the NE and Cumbria. I took my daughter a year or so ago. Basically you got an adult and kid ticket for £20 for the kids enclosure. Before the game they had all kinds of entertainment, penalty kick competitions, face painting that sort of thing!

As Phil was at Sunderland before, I'd expect to see more interaction with the local schools!

Point 2. It's all franchised out and they don't give a crap about it[/quote]

They must give a bit of a crap about it as when I met him couple weeks ago a lot of the talks and ideas were about how they can get more people down to the ground early & keep them after the game using the club bars instead of the Beehive, Rugby club or city centre pubs.
Was talk of replacing a lot of the teles with flat screens etc, sporting inn & Sunset getting a bit of modernisation.
It could be they get a % of sales, greater revenue means can charge more for the franchise, or maybe even looking at bringing it back in house in future?

Some good points made there Halpin but there's no need to get a comedian in as we already have one in the dugout.

Phil King is running the club now along with Suzanne Kidd. He'll have bettter things to do than sorting out the pies!

nobbyblue wrote:
Puppets for AJ & JN

Lakelandterrier wrote: Phil King was definitely there yesterday. Had a quick chat - seemed a capable chap. Definitely hope he can make a difference - but for that he'll have to avoid the influences from JN's swanky new Brunton Park office.

Sack his agent/careers advisor.

For me one thing is the beer (practically undrinkable) me & most of my mates drink beer, but drink lager in Sporting Inn & half time in Sunset suite. I tend to come down late & drink in town instead ( we all came down early & stayed in the bar afterwards too ) get cans of John Smiths in & I for one will come in earlier.

mattcufc wrote:
They must give a bit of a crap about it as when I met him couple weeks ago a lot of the talks and ideas were about how they can get more people down to the ground early & keep them after the game using the club bars instead of the Beehive, Rugby club or city centre pubs.
Was talk of replacing a lot of the teles with flat screens etc, sporting inn & Sunset getting a bit of modernisation.
It could be they get a % of sales, greater revenue means can charge more for the franchise, or maybe even looking at bringing it back in house in future?[/quote]

Tbh even if it is franchised they should still be ensuring it runs more effectively. I suppose the proof is in the pudding and we'll have to see if it happens. I won't be holding my breath though.