The 500 Club
I can't exactly imagine legions of fans chucking their cash at a transfer policy which brought in two injured players over the summer, and a striker that hasn't scored yet. Harsh? Maybe, but it's horrendously naive.
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I can't exactly imagine legions of fans chucking their cash at a transfer policy which brought in two injured players over the summer, and a striker that hasn't scored yet. Harsh? Maybe, but it's horrendously naive.
Comments
I might contribute along its not GA spending it. Transfer policy like Waddock this summer. Would have been better signing Rendell and McClure than what we have.
I wonder if it is a scheme that has deliberately been designed to fail and can then be used to enable a takeover of the club next summer?
I don't think it seems too unrealistic to achieve.
However, it does stink of desperation and I worry that getting carried away hoping a small pot of money will revive our fortunes is wishful thinking.
If people pay in and we use it to buy a crap striker (seems very probable) then it is easy too see it eroding some goodwill toward the club.
If it raises enough to get a player or two in they absolutely must not have a track record of injuries and they will need to be a grafter. Basically if the fans are paying his wages (I realise we do really through buying tickets etc but this slightly different) then he will have to play and run himself into the ground as a minimum requirement.
If they use it to bring in a Dean Morgan or Leon Knight type I'd be very pissed off.
Interesting idea. I can see what they are trying to do but I can also see concerns over how that money is spent and the pressure it puts on the players bought in using the scheme.
I have simple question. What is the difference between this scheme and the Trust share scheme in terms of what happens to my money and where does it end up going? If I win the lottery tonight which fund should it go in?
A fund to start a youth set up still seems to have been forgotten though
500 people giving £150 sounds pretty doable to me.
Much better than the other stuff they've pitched in the past, and better than the £10 a month trust thing for no specific purpose idea.
I applaud people who love the club so much that they'd go to that level.
It's probably not for me on a particularly strained household budget, though those who want to donate more money to the club and get the exclusive photo and dinner evening with the squad are more than welcome to put their money into it.
@prufrock_91 I think you make a very good point about some people maybe being wary of donating money in this way to supplement the budget of an at times puzzling transfer strategy.
This is my favourite bit:
" We really hope that this scheme demonstrates our commitment to fan engagement"
It would also be interesting to know when this was planned. I imagine it is an idea they've had up their sleeve for a while with the intention of launching it in a season when we needed a boost (like this one).
While that makes sense, it also creates the impression the scheme is a knee jerk reaction to our crap start to the season.
Have a read of the t&c's @eric_plant I think you may have gone early with a favourite bit.
Very colourful website with lots of player pics. I hope the scheme is successful but fear until the club can come clean on the Ibe money it's going to fall on plenty of deaf ears.
I've also just cleared all my emails (junk folders too) for today and not seen anything from the club or the Trust on this. I wonder why an email hasn't been sent out? Seems another easy option. I wondered if the Trust weren't keen on a rival scheme but the money is going through the Trust so it must be on board. I don't mind the odd email from the club or Trust
I tell you what would be a kick in the teeth. To pony up the cash for this scheme to sign a player in the very same transfer window during which Aaron Pierre leaves for an "undisclosed fee"
Telling us what transfer fees our players leave for and being honest about who's injured and how seriously is the sort of "fan engagement" they could look to do now without any extra money
Very well said @eric_plant
Whilst I agree with Eric's slant on the matter, the bottom line is that Pierre is likely to want to move to a bigger club in January (if he doesn't, he needs his head tested). However if I was his agent, I would probably advise him to see out his contract and then get a huge signing on fee from his new club.
It's not so much him leaving, it's the prospect of another undisclosed fee
why does your thirst to know a fee make a difference ? It will be about 75k and tbh he is playing dreadful anyway.
Just reading bit more depth on the screen. If the club could confirm the ad hoc prizes rather than speculate I think I might be interested if I ever get some spare cash.
Not sure I'd want to be a player funded by this scheme though. Too much focus and pressure for me.
@eric_plant to be fair there was a quite detailed post on player injuries on 30th August on the club website.
Appreciate that communication is king as a fan owned club but there are confidentiality agreements in place and discussions still ongoing. Anyone that wants more detail I would really encourage to be at the Trust AGM & subsequent finance forum when more detail can hopefully be shed at that time once things have progressed further. It is frustrating not being able to say more but it is important these things are conducted the right way. It is not a deliberate cloak and dagger situation - it would be good to nip some of the false speculation in the bud sometimes!
It seems though @DJWYC14 that people on the trust have just accepted that "these things are conducted the right way." We don't have to sign these hush hush clauses. The trust should be giving this information to fans of the club. Its a fan owned club.
How you are even attempting to defend the awful information given out about player injuries is beyond me. It's been pathetic communication for the last couple of years.
Here here.
@Bacon_Sandwich I wasn't talking about the past couple of years, I was responding to a specific comment: ''being honest about who's injured and how seriously is the sort of "fan engagement" they could look to do now without any extra money''
A couple of questions:
How do you know for a fact that deals would have necessarily gone ahead if the club refused to honour another club's request for a fee to be undisclosed?
Do you think there could be a potential knock on effect of having transfer fees published publically in respect of bargaining with other clubs over transfer of players?
I understand fans want openness and transparency where possible, and the club is committed to doing so at the time it can in regards to the Ibe deal. From memory I remember a similar situation with the Hause deal before I was on the Trust board. A fair few people were not happy with the undisclosed fee initially but months down the line Trust members who followed it up and asked were told the detail as the water was under the bridge
I'll sign up for the 500 club but I don't need a photo or a night with the players.
I want Trust members to be consulted or at least have their input requested on one area of club policy - be it a hard or soft issue. That would show a commitment to engaging with fans.
Take whatever spin over what ever period you want. The injuries to players communication must be one of the worst in the football league. It's extremely frustrating to fans. Not to mention the club clearly talks garbage by saying players are close to full fitness when they clearly aren't. Ainsworth's idea it gives the team away is nonsense. It just winds fans from a fan owned club up.
If a club like Liverpool want a player and there is competition, I very much doubt its that much of a hurdle to get over.
No I don't think there is a "potential knock on effect of having transfer fees published". When do we buy players anyway? I'm pretty sure if you have any sort of contacts in the game it would be easy to get 'leaks' from Wycombe Wanderers players or staff. Do you think there is? If so how significant to Wycombe Wanderers?
Why should we have to wait for the "the water was under the bridge". What difference did that make to either club that the information game out later rather than earlier?
I'm so glad this readingmarginista twat says I'm more than welcome to invest if I wish!singlely the best example of self entitled know-it-alls that undermine every positive scheme the fan council are going
I'd have to look it up but I'm sure the other week they put out a story along the lines of some players have got injured in training but we're not telling you who it is. It was ahead of a match. When challenged they said something asking the lines of we're not in the habit of giving our opponents an advantage.
I'm off to find it. Don't trust myself to have remembered it correctly
It's clearly club policy not to give away injury news prior to matches when it could give the opposition a clue on how we may line up and how they then prepare for that. As with the recent news article though there are clearly a fair few long term injuries at the moment, as listed, that are a fair way off being close.
I have already explained why I believe it makes a difference, you don't agree. The accounts are published annually and include player trading totals. You clearly don't think this is enough. I look at the club compared to many others though and as a whole think WWFC is generally very transparent and open. Genuinely. Any questions I have ever asked the relevant people, board meetings, on matchdays, wherever, I have always received honest and insightful responses. Perhaps the communications could be more frequent and to be honest that may also be a resource thing rather than willingness. It's worth reiterating that many people involved with the club have other full time jobs including on both boards. I often find myself wishing I had more time to commit to help the Trust and club.
Surely then it's stupid to post an article on the website saying "Two new knocks sustained in tackles during Saturday’s clash with Colchester United have once again disrupted pre-match preparations" (yeah, I found it) without saying who the players are?
Better to say nothing than that isn't it? It just winds people up
I actually think that it should be compulsory for clubs to announce transfer fees when players move, take the decision out of their hands
@DJWYC14 firstly I do appreciate you giving some insight.
Happy with the training ground information?
Do you think the club updates the fans enough on long term injuries, particularly when they know the full extent of the injury?
Your comparison to other clubs I hope includes fans owned ones, not Blackpool or Charlton Athletic.
Why is it that most other clubs including Premier ones give theirvsupportets regular updates on injuries? Your policy of keeping supporters in the dark doesn't seem to be actually helping the team get results!
@Bacon_Sandwich Yes I am happy with the training ground information. There was a long document produced with details and a finance Q&A for anyone that wasn't happy, only three people attended.
I was actually taking a general view, how communication compares to other fan owned clubs, I probably couldn't say without having a closer look into it. I saw the Exeter article recently though and thought that was very good and something to aspire to in terms of level of detail.
I thought the post on 30th August was more than sufficient update on the injury situation.
I'm serving on the Wycombe Wanderers Trust Board but I am a WWFC supporter. The Trust's aim is to provide a sustainable future and safeguard the football club's heritage. I wouldn't be in my position now if I didn't believe the Trust wasn't doing its best to achieve those goals. I appreciate you may not agree with me but personally I have seen great progress made in many areas particularly in the last 2 years, which isn't a particularly long time of close involvement
In fact, the first year I think arguably too much progress made, and raised some expectation levels to a point that has been hard to control.
Back to Eric's point, It would be good if all clubs were made to announce transfer fees but that is just a utopian view right? It isn't going to happen unless there is some major change at the top of the game.
Interestingly DJ the Exeter version of the gas room were very critical of the "Exeter article". Not the right sort of communication apparently.
Any football supporter or any employee come to that will nearly always moan about communication. Actually I think our club and our trust are not bad on that overall although as alwAys there is room for improvement.
I would be very interested DJ in how your general thoughts about club administration, the trusts role and the supporters in general and the gas room in particular have evolved since joining the trust. Maybe in a new thread.