The line in the sand - Article

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

My 2cents worth, yes there are benefits to playing at ANZ But its probably the worst atmosphere for the fans.
In a stadium seating 80K and 11k turning up to watch the game really doesnt do much
So many empty seats, wonder what goes through the players minds when they look up and see the poor turn out.

The same 11k at LO or CSS make a lot more noise and make it that much more pleasurable to be at

And more pleasurable to watch on TV as creates an atmosphere of diehards close up to the action getting involved in the game.

Thats me BFF :frowning:
Cant get into the action unless they play here in Brisbane.
Have my ticket penciled for 27th May when we take on the Broncs

I will be returning from OS prior to that date never been to the Gabba yet, would not mind getting there. I have in-laws there mad Broncos fans

 

[tigermac88]

My 2cents worth, yes there are benefits to playing at ANZ But its probably the worst atmosphere for the fans.
In a stadium seating 80K and 11k turning up to watch the game really doesnt do much
So many empty seats, wonder what goes through the players minds when they look up and see the poor turn out.

The same 11k at LO or CSS make a lot more noise and make it that much more pleasurable to be at

And more pleasurable to watch on TV as creates an atmosphere of diehards close up to the action getting involved in the game.

Thats me BFF :frowning:
Cant get into the action unless they play here in Brisbane.
Have my ticket penciled for 27th May when we take on the Broncs

I will be returning from OS prior to that date never been to the Gabba yet, would not mind getting there. I have in-laws there mad Broncos fans

Do the Broncos play at the GABBA now?
:laughing:

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

My 2cents worth, yes there are benefits to playing at ANZ But its probably the worst atmosphere for the fans.
In a stadium seating 80K and 11k turning up to watch the game really doesnt do much
So many empty seats, wonder what goes through the players minds when they look up and see the poor turn out.

The same 11k at LO or CSS make a lot more noise and make it that much more pleasurable to be at

And more pleasurable to watch on TV as creates an atmosphere of diehards close up to the action getting involved in the game.

Thats me BFF :frowning:
Cant get into the action unless they play here in Brisbane.
Have my ticket penciled for 27th May when we take on the Broncs

I will be returning from OS prior to that date never been to the Gabba yet, would not mind getting there. I have in-laws there mad Broncos fans

Tell you what, its pretty unsafe being a NSW supporter here at SOO
It wasnt pretty when i was driving with NSW plates

 

[cqtiger]

"Talk about fairweather supporters, if we were an army i'd hate to follow some WT supporters into battle".

Hehe the die-hards would just march aimlessly, without question, into battle. The fair-weathers would just wait and see how the first wave performs. All the while our inept generals would blame it all on the enemy having better soldiers, equipment as well as the high ground as to why we aren't winning. Hehe

Hehe, Someone else mentioned the difference between a fan and a supporter. There is no difference. Unless you are a member then it makes no difference at all. However, unless you are a season ticket holder, who really cares? Hehe

We all know that the key criteria for ALL clubs is bums on seats. Season ticket holders are a precious commodity because even if they don't turn up to the game the club still has your money.

Nuff said (hehe)

Hehe…There's alot of chuckling going on CQ. :laughing:

'Mama, There's a lot of sobbing going on here so I thought to add a bit of laughter. Hehe

Seriously though. As has been said many times, this is a footy forum and everyone has their point of view. Some go over the top and others don't have a sense of humour but all are entitled to submit their view for scrutiny. Agree or not, but you are all in my tribe and you have the respect if this old dinosaur. Hehe

 

[foreveratiger]

"Talk about fairweather supporters, if we were an army i'd hate to follow some WT supporters into battle".

Hehe the die-hards would just march aimlessly, without question, into battle. The fair-weathers would just wait and see how the first wave performs. All the while our inept generals would blame it all on the enemy having better soldiers, equipment as well as the high ground as to why we aren't winning. Hehe

Hehe, Someone else mentioned the difference between a fan and a supporter. There is no difference. Unless you are a member then it makes no difference at all. However, unless you are a season ticket holder, who really cares? Hehe

We all know that the key criteria for ALL clubs is bums on seats. Season ticket holders are a precious commodity because even if they don't turn up to the game the club still has your money.

Nuff said (hehe)

Hehe…There's alot of chuckling going on CQ. :laughing:

'Mama, There's a lot of sobbing going on here so I thought to add a bit of laughter. Hehe

Seriously though. As has been said many times, this is a footy forum and everyone has their point of view. Some go over the top and others don't have a sense of humour but all are entitled to submit their view for scrutiny. Agree or not, but you are all in my tribe and you have the respect if this old dinosaur. Hehe

I'm one of those that go over the Top i admit it, but at least i have a sense of humour :mrgreen: :laughing:

 

[bigsiro]

There is some strong sentiment from those who have not yet paid for membership saying that the line in the sand has been drawn and they are not standing for this rubbish anymore. Fair enough.

There is also strong sentiment from those who have paid for membership telling others that this is no time to flake.
Both fair arguments.

Will the club die if fans don't renew? **I doubt it.** But if we say that the average membership is $100, then if there are 10,000 memberships the club makes $1 million (and the average membership is likely higher than $100….).
Hard to say that that kind of money has little impact.

So, will the club be in a better position if more fans get on board? **Obviously**
Would a massive drop in membership numbers make the club take note that the loyal fans won't accept rubbish anymore? **I think so. It would have to.**

And what about those of us who have paid for membership already but are really really angry? Would we be prepared to revoke our own membership (sans refund) and hand it back to the club? I am only a casual member as can't get to games enough but I would immediately hand it back (not in public) if there was a clear message attached that demanded what we all really want (other than a winning team), things like:
• Transparency (e.g. exactly where does the membership money go? who exactly is having input into team selections? where is the cap money allocated? why can't we have TPA's like every other ambitious club? etc…)
• Confidence in our management (possibly even a vote in that respect)
• Team selections based on ability and performance
• Better organised TPA's so that we can compete
• Accountability
there are probably others....
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Thoughts?

 

[foreveratiger]

When people buy Memberships every year Religiously of how the team is going, the Club is not accountable of how things are being run.
This year we supposedly have had an increase in membership to 12,000 I believe…..In my mind those figures have been botched, you can't possibly tell me after the Robbie vs JT saga in the off season that we have had an increase in numbers?
People that give there money ever year regardless of circumstances? Means you support the actions of the Club and the mess it got us in.

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I ask you Forumers this…..I work in an Organisation that has a Union, do I keep paying my money if I feel there not doing the right thing by me?

I understand and share the passion you have for our club and it's management and performances.

But I've been trying to make two points in this thread:
1) That a club without much money suffers more when you stop supporting them financially.
2) That membership is not representation, it is a subscription service.

Unionism is payment for representation - you might get a vote, or support in disputes, or lobbying for work conditions.

Football membership is a ticket and a hat. Maybe the club sends you special letters or gives you discounts on merchandise. You are telling the club that you will guarantee some attendance regardless of results or weather. It's like buying merchandise really - tangible and bankable income for the club.

Membership is not representation. Adding or revoking your membership doesn't really have any impact on governance at all. You don't select or vote for representatives, you have no specific voice, you aren't invited to annual reviews. If you want that, join the Leagues Club.

All that revoking membership does is save you money on games you don't want to attend any more, and take that guaranteed revenue away from the club. Maybe if membership drops astronomically there is an impact - perhaps the membership manager loses his job and the club tries to find out what the cause might be.

So the club rings you next time about your membership, and you tell them that you are not renewing because you don't support the governance of the club. Well that's fine and dandy, perhaps they write that down or tally it in their spreadsheet, but these people are not elected by you, they aren't going to give up their jobs because you aren't a member any more.

Worse still is that membership probably tracks very closely with results, so if we are losing and you pull your membership, they are probably going to explain it by on-field. And let's be honest, on-field is really all that counts for supporters, because we don't really know what happens behind-the-scenes. You might be upset with the way the club is run, but that's really only because your favourite player is not being selected, or your hated player is, or we just aren't winning enough for your liking.

I agree with what your saying in parts jirskyr and your posts are always brilliant to read and you would be in my Top 3 favourite Posters here as i find myself thinking the same way as you do 90% of the time .

I think what people want to see is progress within our Organisation and like you said as supporters the 1st thing that matters is performance on the field and for me i want to be Entertained when going to games and not having talks with whoever your going with and saying " How many are we going to lose by Today " ?
The reality is the Squad and the Coach we have doesn't draw much hope of Optimism .

In regards with how people fund the Club ? It's a Personal thing as everyone has there own Financial commitments and sometimes you simply can't afford it .
A mate of mine in Sydney had to make a choice either getting another Season Ticket or getting rid of Foxtel as his Mrs is about to have a Baby and will be a stay home Mum for a while , he chose Foxtel as he figured that $20.00 a week would get him plenty of games per week….it's also not cheap going to the Footy anymore .
I heard a Parra supporter ring up yesterday " Talk and Sport" and say that just to go to Brookvale Oval and watch the game standing up from the Hill would cost him $32.00 and wasn't going cause he couldn't justify that .

I usually fund the Club through Merchandise per year as for me the Out of Towners Membership is crap with magnet and key ring crap.

 

[happy_tiger]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

 

[hobbo]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

Geo was grooming FT to become a Moderator , geo even flew to Queensland to Asses him !
Geo realised FT drinks to much :laughing:

We're all lazy these days ( myself included )
It's just easier to watch the games on TV !
Not only that most people are time poor these days .

 

[foreveratiger]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

Ummm pretty much :mrgreen: :laughing:

jirskyr yourself and Geo top 3 :smiley: , hobbo is of his rocket :laughing: , some good stuff being grown around the Mountains where he lives .

 

[hobbo]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

Ummm pretty much :mrgreen: :laughing:

jirskyr yourself and Geo top 3 :smiley: , hobbo is of his rocket :laughing: , some good stuff being grown around the Mountains where he lives .

I told you , you drink too much :laughing:
It's off his Rocker … Not rocket :laughing:

I haven't smoked pot for 26 years , but I do get flashbacks occasionally :laughing:

 

[foreveratiger]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

Ummm pretty much :mrgreen: :laughing:

jirskyr yourself and Geo top 3 :smiley: , hobbo is of his rocket :laughing: , some good stuff being grown around the Mountains where he lives .

I told you , you drink too much :laughing:
It's off his Rocker … Not rocket :laughing:

I haven't smoked pot for 26 years , but I do get flashbacks occasionally :laughing:

It's how people on the Coast say it :unamused: , don't worry .
2 beers on the weekend and i drink to much :laughing:

 

[hobbo]

So what you are trying to say FT is that either Geo ,Hobbo or myself aren't in you favourite three posters on the Forum

Geo's going to be pissed at you FT

Something seriously wrong with our game and its mentality when fans can't find a way of watching their team live when they are over 10000 empty seats at most games

Ummm pretty much :mrgreen: :laughing:

jirskyr yourself and Geo top 3 :smiley: , hobbo is of his rocket :laughing: , some good stuff being grown around the Mountains where he lives .

I told you , you drink too much :laughing:
It's off his Rocker … Not rocket :laughing:

I haven't smoked pot for 26 years , but I do get flashbacks occasionally :laughing:

It's how people on the Coast say it :unamused: , don't worry .
2 beers on the weekend and i drink to much :laughing:

Your off your ROCKER :laughing:
Get aboard your Rocket … Next stop will be the Rainbow Bay SLSC ....( last drinks ) :laughing:

 

[happy_tiger]

Ummm pretty much :mrgreen: :laughing:

jirskyr yourself and Geo top 3 :smiley: , hobbo is of his rocket :laughing: , some good stuff being grown around the Mountains where he lives .

I told you , you drink too much :laughing:
It's off his Rocker … Not rocket :laughing:

I haven't smoked pot for 26 years , but I do get flashbacks occasionally :laughing:

It's how people on the Coast say it :unamused: , don't worry .
2 beers on the weekend and i drink to much :laughing:

Your off your ROCKER :laughing:
Get aboard your Rocket … Next stop will be the Rainbow Bay SLSC ....( last drinks ) :laughing:

Got a wedding on the weekend , any posts made by myself early Sunday morning might make less sense than usual

 

[hobbo]

I told you , you drink too much :laughing:
It's off his Rocker … Not rocket :laughing:

I haven't smoked pot for 26 years , but I do get flashbacks occasionally :laughing:

It's how people on the Coast say it :unamused: , don't worry .
2 beers on the weekend and i drink to much :laughing:

Your off your ROCKER :laughing:
Get aboard your Rocket … Next stop will be the Rainbow Bay SLSC ....( last drinks ) :laughing:

Got a wedding on the weekend , any posts made by myself early Sunday morning might make less sense than usual

Are you maid of honour again , at another one of those transgender gigs :laughing:

 

[jirskyr]

I think what people want to see is progress within our Organisation and like you said as supporters the 1st thing that matters is performance on the field and for me i want to be Entertained when going to games and not having talks with whoever your going with and saying " How many are we going to lose by Today " ?
The reality is the Squad and the Coach we have doesn't draw much hope of Optimism .

Based on this and other comments, it does make me wonder if WT could ever change their charter and give members voting rights.

If you can give membership and voting rights to a club, i.e. a place of business, then why not a football business?

On one hand that would be maximal fan involvement - imagine if you actually had the right to know about the workings of the club and vote on how things are done.

On the other hand, I'd imagine that this would then make club operations fairly public, and possibly not a good thing. I am not aware of any football club ever allowing fans to get involved at that level?

But without it, we are always stuck with this issue that membership is really subscription, and for all the nice feelings and monetary support, we don't really get a say except for mass "voting with feet".

 

[cqtiger]

Gee there was a lot of hype about the new "supporters" committee or whatever it was called? I read something from CEO Pascoe about how everyone on that committee had things to do when each meeting finishes.

All I know is one of those supporters who was picked, "NothingbutWeststigers" I think that's his monicker? Has put a few damning messages on Twitter lately re- the Wests Tigers (sorry Col)

Anybody know if that committee still meets? All just a PR stunt to me.

 

[innsaneink]

Gee there was a lot of hype about the new "supporters" committee or whatever it was called? I read something from CEO Pascoe about how everyone on that committee had things to do when each meeting finishes.

All I know is one of those supporters who was picked, "NothingbutWeststigers" I think that's his monicker? Has put a few damning messages on Twitter lately re- the Wests Tigers (sorry Col)

Anybody know if that committee still meets? All just a PR stunt to me.

I'd be interested to read what he has to say.
I know a female member of that group on a fb page and she's quite positive about all

 

[gallagher]

Is one of Pascoe's updates due?

 

[ricksen]

Is one of Pascoe's updates due?

There was one last week.

Welcome to the latest Wests Tigers CEO Update as we prepare for a trip to Newcastle for Round 6 of the 2016 season.
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Once again a lot has happened since my last update, the most important being that the footy is back!
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After the opening five rounds we find ourselves just outside the top eight, following two wins and three losses. The season started in sensational fashion with strong wins against the Warriors and Manly. Since then we’ve had three losses with plenty of opportunities for improvement for our coaching staff and young side. We’ve certainly been in contention in our three losses so far and if I few more things had gone our way we’d be sitting my higher up the ladder. I would also like to acknowledge that no one in this organisation accepts that the errors that have been made are acceptable, collectively we will work in alignment to ensure that these performances are not accepted for anything other than what they are – losses. This weekend we take on the Knights who will be pushing hard for their first win of the year. It’s never an easy trip to Newcastle but take confidence out of the fact that our players and coaching staff have left no stone unturned in the quest to get the Club back into the winners circle.
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Since my last update we’ve have appointed Mark O’Neill and he has joined us as General Manager of Football and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Mark back to Wests Tigers. As you all know Mark is a Life Member, Premiership winner and former Captain and in just a few short weeks has already had a positive impact on the Club. I look forward to working with Mark into the future as we continue to grow this Club both on and off the field.
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I’m pleased to announce that on Monday Paul Whatuira will join the Club fulltime as Welfare and Education Officer. As you all know Paul was a part of our Premiership winning side in 2005 and we look forward to him making a positive impact on the Club in the future. I’m sure that his experiences both as a player and in life away from football will be a big boost to Wests Tigers.
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I’m sure you have all seen speculation in the media in recent weeks surrounding the ownership of Wests Tigers. As you can all appreciate, discussions are progressing between our shareholders and the NRL, and that it is business as usual at Wests Tigers, and it would be irresponsible of me to pre-empt an outcome at this point. Rest assured that whatever happens in the coming month the Club is here to stay, it will remain Wests Tigers now and always and we are continuing to reposition this Club to become an elite organisation.
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It was great to be on the field at ANZ Stadium on Easter Monday and announce that the Club had broken its Membership tally record. We now have more than 12,000 committed Wests Tigers Members, with the number continuing to grow daily. I’d like to thank you all for your continued support of the Club, your involvement is incredibly important to our future success. At this stage of the year I’d like to ask for your help. We have very lofty goals for our 2016 Membership count and are calling on our current Members to help us get there. If you have family, friends or colleagues who have been sitting on the fence get them out to a game in the coming weeks, get them excited about Wests Tigers and sign them up as a Member.
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I’d like to thank all of you who have attended one or more of our first four home games for your support of the Club. To have four home games in the opening five rounds of the season placed a lot of pressure on the Club but we’ve really stepped up our game day activities this year and I hope that you’ve noticed a difference.
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This year we’re putting a larger focus on our core product, home games. We’ve developed a schedule for the year with each home game having a different theming with a range of activities at each venue. In Round 1 we celebrated our local community with Multicultural Round, with a number of performance groups on hand to entertain fans before, during and after the game. The following week we focused on our Junior Clubs at Leichhardt Oval, with a similar event to be held at Campbelltown Sports Stadium later in the season. In Round 4 we hosted what could be our biggest game of the year, the Easter Monday clash against the Parramatta Eels. With more than 36,000 people in attendance this game is now our biggest ever regular season crowd. Last week we returned to Campbelltown with a circus theme, with performers and plenty of activities for the whole family. Next week we have a Sunday afternoon game at Leichhardt Oval against the Melbourne Storm and will be celebrating the good, the bad and the ugly from the 1980s. Think mullets, music and fashion.
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As I’ve written about before we are committed to increasing our presence in our local community and making a difference to the lives of those who interact with us. This has continued in the last month and we’ve had some great programs and activities take place. Those of you at Campbelltown Sports Stadium last week may have seen me be locked up for PCYC’s Time 4 Kids. This great program raising much needed funds for the PCYC’s programs and we’re proud to be involved. You may have also seen White Ribbon representatives at the Stadium on Saturday, raising awareness for their very important programs that we wholeheartedly support.
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We also recently had a number of players visit local schools and provide support to students. Chris Lawrence and Manaia Cherrington spoke with a number of at-risk students at The John Berne School in Lewisham, providing them with insights into their career progression and topics such as the importance of mentors, hard work and goal setting. We also had Joel Edwards and Jesse Parahi take part in a special reading program with Year Four students at St Peter Chanel Catholic School in Regents Part.
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In the last month Robbie Farah took part in a special celebration to mark National Harmony Day, joining more than 500 students from across Western Sydney for the Harmony Walk around Merrylands Oval.
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Finally, if you’re stuck for ideas for how to entertain the kids during the school holidays we have a number of Wests Tigers Holiday Clinics coming up. First up will be Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Tuesday 12 April with Chris Lawrence, Tim Grant and others in attendance. On Thursday 12 April we head to Leichhardt Oval with Aaron Woods, Ava Seumanufagai and team mates taking part, before the final Wests Tigers Holiday Clinic at Mittagong Oval on Tuesday 19 April. Robbie Farah, Sauaso Sue, Matt Ballin, Dene Halatau and others will be spending the day with the kids in Mittagong.
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I look forward to seeing many of you at games and events over the coming month, and as always I can be reached via <ceo@weststigers.com.au>.
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Justin Pascoe, Wests Tigers CEO</ceo@weststigers.com.au>