Update

I do get the point. I guess that my point Is, the only thing separating our owners with those you've listed, is time. Give it time.

They could demonstrate a sense of lessons learned this summer but I think it's much more likely that we'll see other staff leave, Wyke leave and a questionable managerial appointment. And more bad PR.

 

Are you a pirate?

 

Just a supporter.

 

Do you remember in league 2 when our previous owners took a calculated gamble, provided us with a top 3 budget and allowed our manager to bring in quality players which resulted in promotion and getting to a league cup final? Could our current owners have done something similar during their reign?

During their first pre season we already had the basis of an excellent league 1 squad. We were, Imo, one star player away from promotion. If only we had the ambition to pay the going rate for that one game changer. We'd probably be in the Championship right now.

During their second pre season we had sold a record number of season tickets and had received additional income through player sales and sell on clauses. An ideal platform to build a promotion winning squad without the owners investing much of their own money. What did we do? We showed zero ambition in the transfer market and wasted close to half a million pound buying average league one players in Poleon, Mcarten and Reeves.

And finally, we've just had a manager with not one, not two, not three but FOUR league 1 promotions on his record. We didn't back him and he's gone.

Credit to the previous board, they were far from perfect but they saw an opportunity and took it. Under the current regime we've now had a least 3 opportunity to take a similar calculated risk and and we've blown all of them.

 

Possibly one of your few decent posts. And yet .......... There are NO guarantees, in football.
Employment in this industry is as toxic as a zero hours contract, some are sucked in to.
Would supporters be willing to pay more ? Now there's a question !! Old stagers, perhaps - but those who can only see a bargain ? Doubtful. I could happily buy an ST, but as I'm only there for 9 to 12 games ...... why tie up a seat ? And I don't object to travelling AND paying my £20 / £25 as and when I can get to VP. But there again, I've supported City for almost 50 years, not 10.

 

I know the 'cheap' season tickets has been done to death.

My challenge around paying more is that Bradford is not a wealthy city. Although an extra £50-£150 a season might not seem a lot, to many people it is, especially when you factor in needing to buy several tickets for family.

We could raise, potentially, around a million a year through raising prices. However, I think the last season has now eroded much of that potential gain in the short-term; although it might lift our budget a little higher than most clubs in the division.

Alternatively our owners, especially the one sat on over £150m allegedly and who must be bringing in £10m a year without doing anything, could make the difference. Ultimately, we believe that their aim is to reach the Premier League and make a profit. I'm taking this from press pieces Edin Rahic did about ticketing in the Premier League, if we were to get there. If so, then putting the investment burden onto a fan base that isn't in the wealthiest part of the country, whilst hoping to reap personal gain later, might be good economics and financial risk management but it feels a bit unbalanced.

We will see what the summer brings. Hopefully, there will be evidence of financial commitment from the owners which in turn will help to improve the rapport with our fans.

 

The only person who could make more confusing post match interviews than Holloway.

 

Why can’t we have a timeline for new head coach published? Like, end of applications date, shortlisting date, interviews date, decisions date. At the moment we have this wide statement, we need to take as much time as is necessary to make this very important decision. However, the clock is ticking, shortest open transfer season ever, will the new HC be able to have input into the retained list, will he have any input into re recruitment? Or do we just say to him, here is your team?

I am really fed up of this bland statement that lack any kind of detail. If they don’t like rumours untrue or not, don’t provide a vacuum for it to be filled with rumours that gather momentum and swirl around gathering pace. James Mason is your man let him do the PR side, he is good at it. After such a terrible end to the season,they really need to up their game. Plus what kind of renovation is going on with the pitch, are we having a patch up job, or a full renovation? Once again the patch up job rumour I have now heard from several sources.

 

I hope your correct, but do you think another midtable finish without what's gone on this season is acceptable.

We've seen how resently fans have voted with their feet, a mediocre season next season with the above and no Cup runs to generate extra income we have big problem.
Gone have the days when football was the only thing on offer there are so many other things it would be so easy to do and miss the game.
This coming season is a big test for all concerned at the club flirting around the bottom 7/8 is certainly not acceptable, even if that sees the likes of Robinson, Patrick, Gibson .Devine getting regular game time.

 

The statement and its lack of detail also suggests there was no 'plan b' in place to address what to everyone bar R&R it seems, was a strong possibility back when Grayson only signed until the end of the season, and that is really worrying.

On another matter, there is a rumour circulating that Sam Collins, head of youth coaching has left the club.

 

I hadn’t heard that! Not great if true; VP has become the biggest colander this season we lose more than we retain!

 

Someone has posted that somewhere on here.

 

A very fair question. Not easy to predict although you did not actually ask for a prediction without knowing manager or players for next season but I see mid-table or better as the outcome of next season. The talk of two successive relegations and leaving the football league as posted on here (and no, I can't be bothered to go look up the names) is just a ludicrous overreaction. My hope is to remain relatively injury free, have a long term manager/coach in place and avoid a fixture crush at the end of the season. I also make what I accept is an assumption that the dreadful run of form in the first part of this year will not repeat itself next season. Those are my "targets" which I think will give us mid-table or better. Such a result will be acceptable if those targets are reached.

 

Ah, hadn't seen it, sorry for repeating.

 

I honestly don’t know whether ‘austerity’ is that much more of a factor for City fans than fans of other clubs. Price is important, but so is value.

I know for some, paying any money to go watch football matches is simply a non starter for financial reasons, as will be the case all over the country. And maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree but I tend to think that those for whom a Season Ticket is a an affordable outgoing, will have some degree of flexibility. For example, £250 would still be a reasonable price for 23 games. It’s a little over a tenner a game, for a full seasons ‘entertainment’.

I wonder whether the principle of underpriced season tickets driving high sales has become a self fulfilling prophecy. I don’t know of anyone who’s said ‘if prices go up, that’s me done’. But I know of several who aren’t renewing because they don’t see quality on display and have little faith in our direction as a club.

I’ll put it out there - I think we as supporters should be doing more to contribute financially. It costs more to compete these days, and I want us to compete. Leaving aside the concerns that many have over player recruitment and the ownership of the club, would peope rather pay £169 and see a team built with a mid table budget, or pay £250 to see a team built with a top 6 budget? I’d rather pay the higher price and increase the likelihood of seeing more quality, entertainment and success.

For me, the next fans forum should discuss it, sensibly. Never mind talking about internet memes and name calling, or who we nearly signed and what flavour pizza we fed them. Let’s talk about whether the assumption that more expensive tickets would actually put people off, or whether the era of frugality is over and look at whether fans want to pay more if they know is the only way to significantly increase the chances of seeing a better team in the short term.

 

Agree with this @Faithful Bantam. However caution first would be my motto, if we are turning into a youth development club, with only doing just enough to keep us in this division I would be very reluctant to part with anymore money. I want to see where we go next, both in terms of manager/head coach and player we bring to the club. Of course I would love it if we had our very own young players coming through, but it is a high risk strategy.

 

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure any of it matters. Rahic is going to appoint someone we’ve never heard of to be his proxy, Cellino style, and we’re going to spend next season at the arse end of the league.

 

The cheap season tickets are here to stay for the time being, having said that though there is nothing to stop fans funding extra monies to the club by way of a player purchase scheme .

 

Offy has your account been hacked
Cheap season tickets are the only reason our home attendances will be IOGGED above 12000 next season the actual number there will be a lot lower. As for a player purchase scheme I really doubt you would get many giving monies to our recruitment committee to purchase the likes of Poleon etc
Would you contribute towards your local supermarket to buy a new freezer
We don't own the club we don't have any say what happens we are like the proverbial mushrooms

 

My point was the tickets served a purpose, nothing wrong with fans paying extra, the supermarket jibe is irrelevant. We would lose more fans at a large increase , maybe an inflation rise each year