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DET Column
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Wednesday, August 13 2008 |
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Football is back (some would say too soon) and despite what has been a very active summer for the club, we can get back to writing about what is really important to most fans – the match-day.
The American owners have started to have a very visible effect on the ground and the ‘match-day experience’. A new coat of paint and a new club shop certainly look the part. The new shirt has been fairly well received despite this moving away from previous assurances that each shirt would have at least a 2-year lifespan. There have been a couple of reports of the Bombardier lettering peeling off but nothing major as yet. The catering in the ground has also changed significantly – it is understandable that this would be a focus for owners with experience of US sport, but opinions so far are mixed. Whilst the quality appears to have improved, the choice has been more limited, and the traditional ‘pie & a pint’ seems to be being phased out. It now seems that you can’t buy a single portion of chips!
However, the most discussion has been with regard to prices. Prices in the ground could never have been described as ‘cheap’ but even Tom Glick has now admitted that we are being asked to pay ‘London prices’. What this means is that it is significantly more than most alternative pubs or restaurants in the vicinity of Pride Park. Fans have to make their own judgments on whether this is good value.
The Trust continues to be broadly supportive of the new board in their stated aims and is happy to work with them. The purpose of RamsTrust is simply put in that it is an independent organization for fans who want to have a say in what happens at the club. The Directors claim to have consulted fans on the new match-day experience, and we hope they continue to talk to supporters on a regular basis.
Another example would be the booking fees for tickets. If you buy a ticket on-line or over the phone, you will pay a booking fee of £1 per ticket. This is unfair on those regular away supporters who live outside of Derby. Fans usually want to sit together with friends when away sup porting the team and if you can’t get to the ticket office, it will cost extra. This penalizes some of the most loyal fans the club has.
Clearly the one thing that makes the biggest difference to the ‘match day experience’ is the performance ON the pitch. Regardless of the marketing, the decoration, the catering and comfort, one thing the Board cannot control is the players. Indeed GSE have readily accepted that they know very little about the football-side of the business and leave that to Adam Pearson & Paul Jewell. In turn Pearson has been quoted as saying Jewell will remain in charge for as long as he remains with the club.
After 26 competitive matches in charge, without a single victory for the American investors to enjoy, questions are now being asked with increasing volume. It is clearly too early in the season with a new squad to jump to hasty decisions, but equally the fans have been incredibly patient – and loyal – with very little in return for the past year. Nobody is in any doubt that things have to turn around over the next few games or the Board will have to turn their attention to making changes in other areas of their staff.
The Derby County Board have also agreed to send club representatives to the RamsTrust AGM on 4th September – to be held at Pride Park. After the formal business of the AGM we hope to give supporters and the club the opportunity to put forward their views on club affairs. This should be a great opportunity to discuss the fans concerns with the real decision makers – and we hope to follow in the footsteps of previous RamsTrust Forums which highlighted the real situation at the club. More details will be released shortly. To join RamsTrust, go to www.ramstrust.org.uk or write to RamsTrust, PO Box 6377, Derby DE1 9XP or telephone 0870 4321871 and leave a voicemail message.
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