JUSTINS CRY FOR HELP

[coolcuts]

Is the discount for trust members in PDB being scrapped? If so it will be costing me another £1 extra

[StaceyH]

Yes it is and yes it will.

[oliv272]

Do Junior RDST members still get 2 free tickets?

[Pigman]

Is the discount for trust members in PDB being scrapped? If so it will be costing me another £1 extra

Depends upon if you only joined the Trust to get the discount in the first place? If you did, then you won't need to pay the £15 Trust membership fee, so the extra will be pennies. If you joined for the reasons a person should join a Trust and will rejoin next year, then yep, it'll cost you a quid extra.

If we have to charge the same across the ground due to the stupid Conference ruling, then £15 is a fair compromise, remember, the club still have to balance the books and will be losing money on seated tickets which didn't attract a discount.

[Three of Diamonds]

Is the discount for trust members in PDB being scrapped? If so it will be costing me another £1 extra

Remember that the Trust's money goes largely towards the club anyway, so it's just a re-jig of what we pay towards. It does ask the question of the Trust what's it's role now? The Trust AGM asked the board to consider this and get back to us, we've heard nothing so far as there's no medium to communicate with them other than the club website or a press release. I should imagine the Trust will drop it's membership price or go back to being a supporters club of sorts?

[Trek]

I should imagine the Trust will drop it's membership price or go back to being a supporters club of sorts?

That's effectively the role that it's has undertaken since KC took over the Club and a reason why many, including me, discontinued membership because they saw no evidence that the rank and file fans were being represented at Board level. To continue as a Supporters Trust, and encorage more fans, to join/renew their membership they need to issue a clear statement as to what their aims and objectives are in the future.

[Three of Diamonds]

The Trust wasn't helping the travel club financially so in that respect it was just a fund raising machine for the club. I did raise the idea at the AGM that it perhaps should be looking to help the Travel club, and I hope that it shall.
Totally agree about the Trust releasing a statement but perhaps it should ask it's members first?

[Zippy]

Hi all,
I wouldn't normally post on here but do regularly visit and read what's going on, the views of the club etc. Quite a fickle bunch lol

However, I have felt the need to register and give my views on the "lost" fans.

For me personally, its all about cost. I watched England put 5 past Croatia about 12/18 months ago for £25. Of course they weren't the best seats Wembley has to offer but we were watching the best players England have to offer (who actually did perform that day) for only £8 more. Forget travel costs and food costs becuase I chose to travel to London, I chose to eat what I ate but for the football alone, it was £8 more.

No team performs consistantly well week in week out and I appreciate that but to charge £17 for conference football is disgusting. Its not even high level conference football. Who is there in the team that can change the way the game is going in an instant? Of course such talent is hard to find and finances might dictate that those players are out of reach, but you then can't change top end prices.

I was a season ticket holder through the Griggs era, grew up with the club and followed them all the way back down. Every home game, reserves, friendlies and a number of away day excursions. I came along during my teenage years with mates, there would always be at least four of us, sometimes a mini bus load. They were good times and leave me with a lot of fond memories but I was paying about £12 back then maybe £14 to watch League football. The standard of football we see now is nowhere near that and a lot of the visiting teams don't play such football either.

I agree with a lot thats being said about consistancy and passion of the players, everyone wants to see a player that wears his heart on his sleeve or who can turn a game with a bit of magic and people will pay to see that. But 11 bodies running around a field looking clueless on how to change a game won't put bums on seats. Even if we only had 1 home game this month, I doubt any of the attendances would have been much higher. Forest Green Rovers on a Tuesday night, based on a drab 1-1 draw with Hayes on the Saturday is never going to pull in the fan base.

I think its great that the club are targeting schools etc and looking at initiatives regarding free tickets in this area as thats certainly the way to start. I don't have much of an opinion on the new owners as I don't know them and haven't spoken to them. I've only read there press releases and what's been wrote on here. Time will tell but I'd like to think the early signs have been positive other than Gary Calder walking away very early on.

I know a lot of people will react to this saying, where are you now then etc well I do get to as many games as I can but my circumstances don't allow me to follow the team up and down the country anymore. I went to the Hayes game the other Saturday which was the first game i've been to for a while. I wasn't expecting much having kept in touch with you guys on here each week and reading your views on certain players and performances. But it was worse than I expected! I coached an under 13's team at Wellingborough Town last season that finished mid table that had more ideas of how to change a game. I didn't think we ever looked like winning the game (or losing it) and I was amazed at the lack of passion, on the pitch and off it. Yes there were less people there than normal or even the good times but the Terrace felt like a pre-season friendly. A lot of people are on here saying about getting behind the lads etc but surely the best way to do that is to sing and chant as fans? I'd rather play football in front of 500 passionate fans that get behind me than 3000 librarians. I don't believe all those that have disappeared over the years were all singers from the back of the terrace although I have to say there were a lot of new faces up there. Imagine what the gates could be with old and new?

To sum up, prices are too high. For me, even £15 is too high for this level and for the quality on show. Fans will turn on the team much quicker when they feel they have been robbed before they even sit down or take place on the terrace. Let them in at a good price and I think they'll be much more behind a team thats low on confidence. My mate that came with me to the Hayes game, pointed at the scoreboard during half time and said Forest Green Tuesday, I said yeah I know, he said you going, I said not based on this for £17. I must point out at this stage that he'll do anything for the excuse to get out and have a beer lol.

Finally I work all week in Leicester, I defend this club and sell its good points to anyone that wants to talk about football. They think i've lost the plot, they imagine we play in a park and that the chairman is also the person bringing on the oranges at half time. I've tried desperately to get them down to watch a game one weekend, lads day out type event, how much they say? I didn't know it had gone up and for the last year have been saying about £14 to stand. They are shocked, they can watch Sven's promotion chasing Leicester for a few quid more. Like others have said, MK Dons and Cobblers are up the road, playing League football for similar prices. Those neutrals that like to watch good local football who perhaps used to come to Nene Park are probably now sat there (more likely MK) where they can see a better standard of football. Even if Cobblers are poor right now, if their opposition are playing good football, neutrals will go to watch it as opposed to watching two poor teams playing out a drab draw. The last few Diamonds games i've been to have been awful and if that was a neutral, why would they come back? A lot of people that come to watch Rushden for the first time are neutrals or are looking to watch a local team as a 2nd team. The set up is here, its a good club in a good setting with a good family atmosphere. But until pricing is lowered, the football is consistantly better and their is a passion to be seen from the regular fan base and the team, those neutrals will never fall for this club like I did, you did and many others did. They just won't get that buzz that has kept those it has since the club started its adventure.

Now, shoot me down and tell me my opinion is wrong lol It was opened for debate and your all debating why, that above has come from a former ever present to fill you in with his feelings.

On the plus side, i've got a huge amount of respect for Justin, think he'll go far as a coach and definitely the right man for this club right now who will only get better in my opinion. The fickle bunch among you will slate that as we haven't won for 3 games now but of course victory at Grimsby will make him a Diamonds Legend again. I also still think its a great little club, which with Justin's passion transferring across the stands and the dressing room, a couple of decent players, lower prices, the up and running of the community work and bringing in the kids will go a long long way to getting this club back to the League. I sincerely hope they can do it, although I don't think this year will be and perhaps would be better to build for next. It's inconsistant now, but its a young, developing squad. Build for next year and then have a bloody good go at it next season. Hopefully, there's a gem or two lined up that can change games, produce a bit of magic and put bums on seats.

We might not be based in a major local city but there are enough people living in the local area to attract much larger crowds. Football is by far the most popular sport in this country, locals would gladly travel a few miles to watch good football, to be gripped by the passion and join the adventure if the above was to fall into place. Forget 1500, there are more than that in touching distance if the prices were far more reasonable and that the change was well promoted to raise local awareness.

I'll get my vest...

[Mad Dog]

Hi all,

To sum up, prices are too high. For me, even £15 is too high for this level and for the quality on show.

What would be the right price for you?

I'll respond to the rest of your post when I've had time to digest it!

[Zippy]

For the standard i've seen recently and for the level we're at then £10 would be much more attractive to the local community. I believe a much larger group of the local community would come to support their local team at that price and wouldn't feel hard done by if the game was a drab one. If football was consistantly good and we were one of the top teams in the league then it could be upped to £12. I know filling the stadium with 6,000+ is a long way off but the local community is still full of football fans who can't afford to travel to Arsenal, Manchester or Liverpool so why price ourselves out of it? Like I said in my post, we're not in a city but do we really not think that there are 4,000 local football fans. Those that still go, those that used to and then the new comers that just haven't been captured by the bug due to the high admission prices in the first place. New comers simply won't come at those prices. 1500 to break even at £17 = £25,500. If you lowered prices to £10 you would only need an extra 1000 fans (1700 based on recent figures). If the new prices were well documented and advertised to the local community do we really not think thats achievable? Of course to sustain it would need the passion, good football etc would the players raise their game if they were playing in front of larger and more passionate crowds? I'd like to think so. During the good times when the club was going up the gates were 3500/4000 consistantly i'm quite sure, the Terrace would always be full and there would always be a good atmosphere up there. The rest of the ground would always look well attended with the exception of the Airwair perhaps but there is definitely a local pool out there. I wonder how many guys now lay on the sofa on a Saturday afternoon or sit in a pub watching soccer saturday? So I guess we either lower prices or capture Jeff Stelling lol.

A lot to digest I know, maybe if I don't get shot down i'll post more regularly and get it all off my chest instead of bottling it up lol