[Revived Red]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

In the grand scale of things the retail side is a contributor but not a club saver. The biggest source of income would be to increase the gates, unfortunatley result dependent, and the commercial side.

Absolutely correct, Dave. But the retail side is, or should be, more than a generator of income. It should also be a generator of interest; it should generate good vibes about the club. Potential large-scale sponsors will want a return on their sponsorship - they will want people involved and looking at their own product as well as looking at ASFC. At the moment, all that the outsider sees is apathy and lethargy. A thriving retail outlet (or two, or three) would be evidence of dynamism. Where is the "can do" attitude? It's all "can't do" with the usual reasons - too few staff, small town twixt Burnley and Blackburn, etc etc.

Where is the communication between club and fans? We don't want to know confidential information but some kind of meaningful communication would be helpful. Mr T and Valairian do a great job - but they need support. We only need to look through various recent threads to see examples. Just one - someone asked about the take-up of free season tickets that were offered to youngsters. I don't think that was ever answered - and surely it's not confidential. This thread is yet another example. By letting the national press present the story in its own way, the club was on the back foot.

It all gives a very poor impression. Again as others have said, we are a professional footballing team with an embarrassingly amateurish off-the-field approach. Let's be optimistic and assume that results will be good and therefore attendances will increase. The new supporters would certainly be unhappy about the current lack of retail back-up. The inability to buy tickets online is another problem. Yes, people can ring up to buy them - but not in the evening. And again, it gives a bad impression of the club.