No fans till March

Quoted from supertown

Hardly their fault is it

Well it was there decision to restart the league on 12 September, their decision to play the league cup round 1 before the season started on 5 September and to play 2 further rounds in September and their decision to get the EFL cup underway in the first week of the season, so IMO yes it is their fault.

I recall an early interview with Ollie where he was very critical of these exact decisions and it was his opinion football should not return until crowds were to be allowed back even if that meant waiting until 2021.

Personally watching games without fans is like watching Gavin and Stacey without sound, pretty pointless and not entertaining, especially given how we’ve started!!!

Given Grimsby’s much discussed prudence we will hopefully survive by the skin of our teeth but the future has to be very bleak for many clubs at all levels from Championship to Conference North/ South etc. and the knock on effect this will have on other local businesses will be equally devastating.

Think the club need to look into season passes for iFollow, like you can get if you live abroad. It needs to be simple to use and stable in operation.

I also think that we fans have given quite a lot to the club in recent seasons and although I know the fans will rally round again if things become desperate, it has to be matched by board input if needed. They have been in the black for a while and paying back loans while times have been relatively good, so the contingency that we say we have may need to come into play. This "proof of funds" in times of need that was levelled at Shutes.

Of course, none of this will be needed should the Premier League do the right thing, or the Government come up with a rescue package as they have for the arts. Somehow though, I don't think the Governmant will look as favourably on the world of sport as they do the luvvie brigade, who are mostly London centric. We are all oiks to them.

Quoted from Poojah

The club appears to have budgeted based on what would have been capacity crowds this season; around the 2,000 mark. They now have the value 1,300 season tickets (which look as though they will become iFollow season tickets now), and so they're working to a deficit of 700 tickets per match.

Philip Day suggested this would equate to a loss of £250k over the course of the season, though you'd hope a portion would be offset slightly by iFollow payments. Much of that will depend on how we go on to do this season of course; there aren't too many people who are going to be happy shelling out £10 a week to watch Town struggle in an empty, atmosphere-less stadium, particularly if at some point the spectre of relegation is removed.

I firmly believe that so long as this crisis doesn't run past the end of this season and into next, Town will be ok. The club has faced bigger deficits than this before. I do however fear for some clubs; it's hard to see all of the EFL 72 coming through this completely unscathed.

Philip Day also stated that the club, is run within its means and does not currently have an overdraft.
The club have put things in place to protect the club as much as they could do, not signing players too early, not putting season tickets for sale too early, putting in clauses into new contracts with regards to Covid 19 (that would be Philip Day being a solicitor), promoting players from the Youth set-up (well done Neil Woods and his team). This season is all about GTFC surviving off the pitch, first. I am confident that Mr Holloway and the players will start getting the right results on the pitch, if the the season continues.
I am happy that our board have not GAMBLED with GTFC existence, depending how long Covid 19 lasts, I am hopeful that GTFC will still be standing, not sure about Blundell Park LOL.

A good interview by Philip Day

UTMM

Quoted from The Yard Dog

Philip Day also stated that the club, is run within its means and does not currently have an overdraft.
The club have put things in place to protect the club as much as they could do, not signing players too early, not putting season tickets for sale too early, putting in clauses into new contracts with regards to Covid 19 (that would be Philip Day being a solicitor), promoting players from the Youth set-up (well done Neil Woods and his team). This season is all about GTFC surviving off the pitch, first. I am confident that Mr Holloway and the players will start getting the right results on the pitch, if the the season continues.
I am happy that our board have not GAMBLED with GTFC existence, depending how long Covid 19 lasts, I am hopeful that GTFC will still be standing, not sure about Blundell Park LOL.

A good interview by Philip Day

UTMM

The ironic thing is we don't need Blundell Park right now, even the main pitch at Bradley would do.

Now they know where they stand, the club should be absolutely hammering the iFollow streams. Set a target “attendance” and try hit it for every match or run a campaign until March to hit x amount of streams. You’ve got a product available to people who wouldn’t have been able to attend previously.

They have to reimagine themselves as a streaming service until March rather than a football club, see it as an opportunity & don’t wallow in it. Make it accessible, build a culture around it. See every stream as building towards something bigger rather than just a way of watching a match.

If ever the majority shareholder wanted to demonstrate the value of his benign loans, now might be the time to invest in the club’s digital side (shop, Youtube content, get some external advice & direction), given that 99% of interactions with the club are going to be coming that way this year. Would also benefit the commercial side - who wants to pay for a pitch side hoarding when nobody sees it? Digital ads on the other hand...

Excuse my ignorance, I’ve all but stopped watching news.

Has anyone actually stated there will be no fans until March? Or is this an assumption?

Weekly raffles for signed shirts etc, do prizes on social media for the best decorated living rooms, houses etc for matches. Home delivery by Ollie for randomly selected online club shop purchases.

Quoted from ska face

Now they know where they stand, the club should be absolutely hammering the iFollow streams. Set a target “attendance” and try hit it for every match or run a campaign until March to hit x amount of streams. You’ve got a product available to people who wouldn’t have been able to attend previously.

They have to reimagine themselves as a streaming service until March rather than a football club, see it as an opportunity & don’t wallow in it. Make it accessible, build a culture around it. See every stream as building towards something bigger rather than just a way of watching a match.

If ever the majority shareholder wanted to demonstrate the value of his benign loans, now might be the time to invest in the club’s digital side (shop, Youtube content, get some external advice & direction), given that 99% of interactions with the club are going to be coming that way this year. Would also benefit the commercial side - who wants to pay for a pitch side hoarding when nobody sees it? Digital ads on the other hand...

The club have to hang their hat on this, and go for it.  There will be LOTS of fans, and even disillusioned fans from yesteryear, who might actually watch if it's from the comfort of their own home.

It's maybe over-critical, but the club don't seem to have made much of a fanfare about iFollow, but now they HAVE to.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Excuse my ignorance, I’ve all but stopped watching news.

Has anyone actually stated there will be no fans until March? Or is this an assumption?

It's a guess, it could be more or less, just to give people an idea to plan around. It could well be the whole of the season and beyond though, who knows?

Quoted from Heisenberg

Don't try to buy any games on iPlayer, the BBC don't have rights.........

However, without being sarcastic this time, we have to support the club by paying for iFollow, and actually I believe if we get enough subscriptions, and presumably us being Town fans it's OUR club that gets SOME money even from away games, we can get through this.  Not with the same income, but definitely not zero.  We have a responsibility now.  There is a certain irony in this, as I vowed to give Saturday a  miss after watching 3 straight defeats on iFollow, but I'm gonna have to practise what I preach now!!

Thank you and for not rubbing it in too much, I meant iFollow and I have revised it now.