Fans of the Future

I walked round the Cleethorpes Town pitch last week and saw a good sprinkling of new Town shirts. Just seeing youngsters in their colours sends a much more powerful message than us older fans (Dave Boylen excepted!)
Had a brief chat with a young dad and his two junior lads as we watched our new signings being put through their paces at half time. Neither boy had a Town shirt. Let's just say, they didn't present as a thriving middle class family and it gave me food for thought. My grand kids get so much in terms of holidays, toys, bikes etc. The youngest is getting a Sheffield United Kit as one of his fifth birthday presents so that he is like his friend at the new school. Cost is likely to be a much greater barrier for many Grimsby families.
When his dad was that age I bought him a Town scarf. Being exiles, we could only get to a few games a year. His local school was near Hillsborough and peer pressure swayed him to become a Wednesday fan.

If we have local families wanting to support GTFC and thereby maintain a club in the EFL, then those of us who can please pledge a small amount.

Well done Imperial and others.

I reckon this is a great initiative. Really imaginitive. It doesn't repeat Op P but utilises that same spirit. It avoids the accusation that the club didn't use the OP money the way it was intended (all of that fruitless debate). It doesn't cannibalise existing revenue for the club (maybe apart from a few 11 year olds who get new Town shirts anyway). It avoids the accusation that it's just giving money that will go out again to re-pay benign loans. It's great publicity. And it shows, YET AGAIN, that there are smart brains with a positive attitude amongst the fanbase.

Now I don't know if it'll work as planned, but I'm sure the group involved have thought it through and debated it a lot more than I have done. And if the ImperialCoroner can come up with a scheme like Operation Mariachi on his own, when he'd had a few, then this has got to stand a good chance!

flipping brilliant! 👍

I think it’s a great idea , Lincoln did something in the 2000’s like this when I child reached 8 they got a replica shirt.
It works because those children then became fans.
It’s all about engaging with the local town/city the connection is very important.
That’s what I keep working on.

Last night I floated on Twitter the idea of helping the cause by organising a friendly match to raise some funds for the cause. If each player chucked a fiver in to play, we might be able to help make a bit of a difference. Is this of any interest to anyone on here?

bit of a disappointing response? les than £600 raised and only 20 supporters - come on people - rally round what seems like a really good idea

Quoted from GMacademic

The Club negotiated a rate for us direct with Errea - through the Club. Representatives of FOTF and MT were present during the negotiations and it was agreed from the outset that the Club would not benefit from the shirt purchase in any way.

Our long term aim, with the support of the Club, is to then work towards heavily subsidized/free entry to kids/young adults in order to develop the next generation of Town support.

We chose Yr6 as they are the big fish in the small pool and others are more likely to follow their lead - as has been proven with the same initiative at Accrington and clubs across other sports.

It's all about working together for the greater good - engage and invest in the kids & the youth and in turn they will engae & invest in the Club, the Town and the Community

UTM GTFC FOTF

I like the idea and hope it pays off and gets more kids supporting the club. I'd say the ideology that the club are separate from this is a bit misleading though. They have set up contacts for you to get the shirts cheaper and the club do not benefit from this, so the club very much are part of this initiative. Anyway, good on you for going out and trying to make a difference

OK, I've pledged.  I really like the initiative on this one.  Fingers crossed it gets to the amount needed......

Only fair to mention then that the club work with youngsters daily, engage, in and out of classrooms, half terms, free tickets etc etc.

Quoted from marinerjase

Only fair to mention then that the club work with youngsters daily, engage, in and out of classrooms, half terms, free tickets etc etc.

But offset that by making it prohibitively expensive for families to watch Town regularly.

Fair point. Just think it’s folly to disregard/dismiss things the club do go out and do (and yes, I’ve voiced an opinion things could be done better before) with youngsters. It’s not like they don’t try. Club have shot themselves in the foot many times over - I’m by no means their biggest fan - but fairs fair. If the aim is attracting/engaging new generation of support it’d be wise to work alongside and not dismiss efforts. The famous five or whoever will need them. More than perhaps is envisaged.