When do we start to question Hopkin?

Er.........didn't we lose 3-0 at home to Fleetwood last season

 

You may well call it nonsense, but I remember that first season with Parky and we flirted with relegation, exactly the same comments were made, and fans wanted him sacked! Obviously you weren’t around then, but there are similarities. Oh by the way where the hell were you in December? Hardly a peep.

 

Great question. I think it has to start with the supporters.

The pervasive attitude amongst our fanbase is built around cheap tickets and 'just being happy to have a team to support'. We tolerate, even embrace mediocrity. Look at the cult workshop of Brunker - nothing personal, and I'm not doubting his effort, but never in a million years is he a professional footballer. We paid him 3 grand a week. And some tried to justify his presence on the basis of his effort and 'nuisance factor'. Just one example. Other fans are nowhere near as forgiving.

A philanthropic owner would be gŕeat - someone who'd willingly pump money in and entrust it to professionals who know what they're doing. But as fans, we have similar power. The 'poor little Bradford fans with no money' thing is massively overstated. Fans want value. Give us quality and we'll pay for it in numbers.

This is where I think our club and its owners have missed a trick. With the right marketing they could have found a balance between - initially - a modest or even negligible price increase with a good subsidy put in by the owners to build a quality team. With a message of 'the owner can't keep bankrolling this - so we're starting out by giving you a quality side and prices will go up in future so we can keep giving you quality. If sales drop, then so does the budget and you can quit moaning because you're getting what you paid for'. Worded more delicately, obviously.

Toward the end of the playoff final season, prices should've gone up to 250 quid. Everyone (just about) would've renewed. But it's moot, because Edin was running the show so he'd have ballsed it up anyway.

 

We had years of paying the going rate and had little success and poor gates

 

What, in the 70s and 80s? Life and society had moved on, ad has the game.

Gates dropped in the 00s because of apathy. We were rubbish, dropping like a stone and in financial crisis. People were re-engaged because of price but also because for the first time in years there signs that we could be in for better times. Again, value, quality, future prospects. Give people a bit of quality and demonstrate the capability and means to to better and they'll buy into it.

 

And vice versa under the Phil Parkinson reign we had cheap tickets and it didn't stop him improving the team.
Without doubt having more money to invest gives you a better chance of bringing better players in ( many said that was the case this closed season) and look where that's got us, the same could be said of Bury over the last few seasons brought big money signings in and they didn't perform.
The old board knew what they woud get from a Parkinson team, because Parky built the team around players who were already at the club no massive turnover of players as we've seen under Rahic and Rupp.
The manager is undoubtedly the key to suscess unfortunatly with what we've witnessed over the last 2/3 season that poor management has put our club back 4/5 years.

 

They're all variables which play a factor. The best chance of success any club will have is with a quality management team who're fully empowered and given the biggest budget possible.

My overriding point is that we've become fixated on the idea that people will only come if tickets are underpriced. I think that's wrong - what matters is price in relation to value. 'Are we likely to be successful? Am I likely to enjoy it? Is the football likely to be entertaining and am I likely to feel a connection with the team?". These are all key points.

The vast majority of those who buy STs will have the financial means to pay 50-100 quid more. And they'll do so if they have confidence in buying quality. Watch what happens when we go down - the tickets will be cheap but it won't stop fans leaving in droves because they don't want to watch the shite served up in league 2 and they've lost faith in the running of the club.

 

I think that is fair comment @Faithful Bantam, I've actually said if by the time the season ticket offer comes to a close 14th April I believe, if we are still in a similar position not knowing which division we will be playing in next season we will be lucky to attract 12,000.m IMO.

 

Well we agree on three of your points.

 

For me I will judge Hopkin next season when hopefully ( in Div 1 ) he will have been able to recruit the players he wants to play the system(s) he wants. At the moment he is making do with what he was left with and a January transfer window - where recruitment was difficult because of finances, not being able to get rid of the dead wood to help and clubs position in the league. At his former club he turned their fortunes around after a relegation hopefully if that is the case with us he can do it again.

 

Whilst am sure like you we should keep Hopkin and I am certain he has improved and motivated the players we have as well as getting them much fitter. I am decidedly disappointed that unlike Parky he hasn’t brought players in to the club in the right positions. I don’t think he has brought a forward player at all.

 

I understand, but I am not sure what restrictions have been put on him. Plus we are not an attractive proposition atm. We most certainly be able to throw money at it. I am sure he will be disappointed as the rest of us that he has not been able to bring in the players he wanted. Judging by the snippets that are coming out of the club and the increasing overdraft, who knows what is going, but I am guessing financial irregularities.