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[The Only Way Is Up]

Originally Posted by Red Light

Lets face it being a club member has lost it's buzz factor.

The only reason most people now join is for the discount on your season ticket - it's a no brainer - without it membership would plummet.
That is the reason I am a member plus the slight discount on away travel.

However, what is clear and has been for years is people's membership applications not being dealt with as quick as they would hope or questions / enquiries not being replied to (as highlighted yet again above in this thread).

It's all very well encouraging as many people to join PROVIDED that once the monster is created, the admin system in place can cope with the demand - my thought is, long term it has failed and eventually people once let down turn away, don't renew and are put off from getting involved.

I still question how many people joined for no other reason than to get the chance to get tickets for the Stoke FA Cup tie - and if those same people were still members 13 months later ? Was an answer ever provided ? There has to be some incentive to join - when the club were in financial trouble you liked to think you were doing your bit and contributing but I don't get the impression any more that people join for that reason.

Also, the majority don't want to be involved in the politics of how the club is run - they just want to turn up on Saturday and watch a game of football - joining so you are entitled to vote isn't important to most - perhaps it should be, especially now but that's reality as demonstrated by numbers voting in the past.

I wholeheartedly agree with the point made that being a club member has [largely] lost its buzz factor.

When members were fighting for the cause of saving the club, there was a strong feeling of pride in doing so, and that received much praise from the fans of other clubs, and from the media.

As time went by, the club's financial worries diminished, in no small part due to the money invested in it by members, but complacency has crept in, and a major element of this now being a fans owned club rather than one relying on the whim of a potentially dodgy owner. The fans owned bit has bought financial security - but at a price! While fans expect a single owner to fund the club to playing successes, there seems to be an unwillingness among some members to go the extra mile and dig deep - within whatever limits they find affordable - to achieve the same.

Fans ownership is a title for a Model. Within the model, each member has a role to bring. As a staunch supporter of the club, the member continues to bring as much income as possible to the club through season and match tickets, even though these are discounted as an incentive to stay as members. Nothing wrong with that of course! And if the discounts bring on board more members who pay at least the minimum membership charge, and maybe a bit more when they feel able, then it is great for the club, and great for the fans too when they see that money bringing success.

We don't have one sugar daddy at the club, but we do have thousands of them!

Every member is a sugar daddy - and if he or she wants to be generous, either all the time or just occasionally, there is a way to boost the club to success, and to say "I played a part in this" if they want the kudos. Others will remain in the background if they wish to shun the publicity, but can you imagine the reaction of other clubs' fans, and of the media, if we were promoted next season on the strength of the money raised by members to strengthen the squad? Can you imagine the feelings of pride that members would have once again?

Sometimes, such success can snowball. More success would mean more fans being attracted. More attendance money. More members joining. More sugar daddies!

Or we can just hope that things will miraculously become better, in spite of experience telling us that it usually doesn't happen by itself.

Lessons are boing learned at the club. We will benefit from the changes that will happen. Membership has not been a waste of time or of money: for one thing, the club wouldn't exist at all had the fans not rescued it, and while the learning curve has been steep, the experience gained from the time spent in one of the toughest leagues around will be used much more effectively than by bringing in strangers without the skills to work with the members to meet our objectives.

Do we need any more excuses to join or to continue membership?

[John Neals Dynasty]

Originally Posted by The Only Way Is Up

I wholeheartedly agree with the point made that being a club member has [largely] lost its buzz factor.

When members were fighting for the cause of saving the club, there was a strong feeling of pride in doing so, and that received much praise from the fans of other clubs, and from the media.

As time went by, the club's financial worries diminished, in no small part due to the money invested in it by members, but complacency has crept in, and a major element of this now being a fans owned club rather than one relying on the whim of a potentially dodgy owner. The fans owned bit has bought financial security - but at a price! While fans expect a single owner to fund the club to playing successes, there seems to be an unwillingness among some members to go the extra mile and dig deep - within whatever limits they find affordable - to achieve the same.

Fans ownership is a title for a Model. Within the model, each member has a role to bring. As a staunch supporter of the club, the member continues to bring as much income as possible to the club through season and match tickets, even though these are discounted as an incentive to stay as members. Nothing wrong with that of course! And if the discounts bring on board more members who pay at least the minimum membership charge, and maybe a bit more when they feel able, then it is great for the club, and great for the fans too when they see that money bringing success.

We don't have one sugar daddy at the club, but we do have thousands of them!

Every member is a sugar daddy - and if he or she wants to be generous, either all the time or just occasionally, there is a way to boost the club to success, and to say "I played a part in this" if they want the kudos. Others will remain in the background if they wish to shun the publicity, but can you imagine the reaction of other clubs' fans, and of the media, if we were promoted next season on the strength of the money raised by members to strengthen the squad? Can you imagine the feelings of pride that members would have once again?

Sometimes, such success can snowball. More success would mean more fans being attracted. More attendance money. More members joining. More sugar daddies!

Or we can just hope that things will miraculously become better, in spite of experience telling us that it usually doesn't happen by itself.

Lessons are boing learned at the club. We will benefit from the changes that will happen. Membership has not been a waste of time or of money: for one thing, the club wouldn't exist at all had the fans not rescued it, and while the learning curve has been steep, the experience gained from the time spent in one of the toughest leagues around will be used much more effectively than by bringing in strangers without the skills to work with the members to meet our objectives.

Do we need any more excuses to join or to continue membership?

Ploughing through your idealist post it sound's wonderful but it's not living in the real world.

You're basically advocating continual milking of the same cow, we live today in a society where Food banks have become acceptable, people sleeping rough at record levels and you think fans should give to a charity ran football club ran by idiot's who are only in it for their own glory, most fans have rumbled they waste our money hand over fist who in their right mind would give to this charity, we need the Swansea way.
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[Woody]

No doubting we've some good people on the board, such as Steve Lloyd. It's a dam shame that things aren't working out. I really think that Pete Jones is doing a lot of damage to the wst model, by not resigning he's created bad feeling to which I can't see the WST model recovering. I know the guy is a big supporter of the club, but he really should have 'took one for the team' a long time ago. If he'd done that 2-3 years ago it would've been interesting to see if we could have succeeded with fresh blood, new ideas and impetus, guess we'll never know

[Jebudo]

Originally Posted by Woody

No doubting we've some good people on the board, such as Steve Lloyd. It's a dam shame that things aren't working out. I really think that Pete Jones is doing a lot of damage to the wst model, by not resigning he's created bad feeling to which I can't see the WST model recovering. I know the guy is a big supporter of the club, but he really should have 'took one for the team' a long time ago. If he'd done that 2-3 years ago it would've been interesting to see if we could have succeeded with fresh blood, new ideas and impetus, guess we'll never know

I know Steve a long time, from years ago playing football with him, decent keeper as it happens! anyway a nicer fella you couldn't wish to meet, very much a people person and very approachable, maybe a re-jigging of roles with him and Pete Jones (chuck in Spencer at that) would do the club no harm at all.

[The Only Way Is Up]

Originally Posted by John Neals Dynasty

Ploughing through your idealist post it sound's wonderful but it's not living in the real world.

You're basically advocating continual milking of the same cow, we live today in a society where Food banks have become acceptable, people sleeping rough at record levels and you think fans should give to a charity ran football club ran by idiot's who are only in it for their own glory, most fans have rumbled they waste our money hand over fist who in their right mind would give to this charity, we need the Swansea way.
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Ah! You must be right, I'll give up then.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by Jebudo

I know Steve a long time, from years ago playing football with him, decent keeper as it happens! anyway a nicer fella you couldn't wish to meet, very much a people person and very approachable, maybe a re-jigging of roles with him and Pete Jones (chuck in Spencer at that) would do the club no harm at all.

Yeah, tbh I'd be really happy with that. I mean it comes to a point that an individual loses all credibility after so many years of us underachieving, makes no difference if people like or dislike PJ, he needs to pack it in now, really hope he doesn't just wait till he's voted off. It must also be disconcerting for other members of the WST board

[John Neals Dynasty]

Originally Posted by The Only Way Is Up

Ah! You must be right, I'll give up then.

Did not say I was right it's just my opinion as we all have them who can think for themselves, my reply was not to have a dig at you as your opinion is that, at least you have one, if we all agreed on everything it would be a sad sterile world.
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[eosceiriog]

Originally Posted by The Only Way Is Up

Ah! You must be right, I'll give up then.

It won't make a difference either way.

[Willywill]

The only way is up, is clearly stating “Let’s maintain the Status quo”. I must not disrespect his/her opinions, but seriously? Are we happy just to sit back and let the present regime run this club into the ground? We know the good that the Trust has done, but it’s now time to act.
If Monday’s Meeting is full of nodding dogs, then we have lost it. If we want a football club for our kids in the future, we need to get off our key boards and arses and get our views across.