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Latics director in plea to fans
Reporter: by TONY BUGBY
Date online: 06 October 2009
ATHLETIC director Barry Owen is questioning the future of the football club in the wake of dwindling attendances at Boundary Park.
“The owners are investing millions of pounds to build a new stadium but I wonder whether the public of Oldham want a football club in the town,” demanded Mr Owen, chairman of Trust Oldham and the fans’ representative on the board at Boundary Park.
Mr Owen continued: “I appreciate there is a recession and times are hard, but our attendances have been nothing short of disgraceful.
“And it must be discouraging for the owners, who are totally committed to investing in the club but then see gates like the ones we have been getting.”
He added there appears to be a general apathy towards sport in the town as he says Oldham Roughyeds have also been struggling for support.
Mr Owen contacted the Chronicle to voice his concerns after the home fans in the games against Carlisle and MK Dons dipped below 3,500.
While that edged slightly above 4,000 for Saturday’s visit of Yeovil, the figure was inflated as it was the first of the club’s family days.
Special discounted family tickets were available at a cost of £20 for one adult and two children and £40 for two adults and up to four youngsters.
Rather than berating the stayaway fans, Mr Owen wants to know why they have stopped attending matches.
He said: “I would like to open a debate as to which way the fans want to take the club forward.
“I would like them to have their say and give us some ideas as what would tempt them back. Tell us what we are not doing which would make them return?”
Mr Owen wants to make it clear he is not criticising the hard-core fans who support the club home and away.
“The regulars who turn up week in, week out are brilliant, but they are being let down by the stayaway fans.” he continued.
Mr Owen says he appreciates money is tight, but added that other clubs have not suffered as greatly as Athletic, whose home attendances are down by around 15 per cent this season.
He admitted the cost of watching Athletic is probably one of the main issues, but explained: “It is expensive running a football club and a certain level has to be charged to keep the club solvent.
“Unfortunately, clubs at our level aren’t subsidised to the extent those in the Premier League are by television money.”
Comments
The experiance of being at a game is also poor. No scoreboard, a stand missing makes the feel of the stadium seem poor and they can't seem to do basic things like order a sufficiant amount of pies. 5 minutes after the half time whistle this weekend, for the 2nd time this season, there were no pies left to purchase!
We should be doing a huddersfield & cutting season ticket prices down to the bare minimum & guaranteeing bumper crouds week in,week out.£20 for a game,along with travelling,food,programme & a few pints adds up to about £60 for the day.u can go & watch city for that with certain entertainment, not 0-0s against yeovil & 3-0 defeats.add the current issues with public transport and getting to the game at BP,fans simply cant be bothered.THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION before people go mad at me!
and yes I have been the last few games at BP and the team have been excellent, other than against yeovil - so fair play to them.BP is an embarassment though, 3 stands - no atmosphere, freezing - its simply not aesthetically pleasing, which wouldnt have been a problem years ago - but u see other clubs the same size as the latics with new modern stadia and we should be jealous, not continually living in the dark ages at ice station zebra.
last thought - i think latics fans in general, along with the town of oldham, are sick and tired of the place. the town centre is a dump, theres no cinema or anything for kids to do.Its not vibrant enough - this is the councils fault and they are partly to blame for the attendances dwindling year on year. How can you attract new fans when theres nothing atractive about the place? new stadium, a.s.a.p before its too late
Hello Barry,
Years of apathy, fairy stories, unfulfilled promises, new dawns etc etc.... this has gone on for over 15 years and won't show any improvement until the club do something to show the are open and honest with the fans.
I have respect for most of the Directors but ?... and there is the problem. which I have explained to you in person.
Too many plastic mancs is the biggest problem. so when you move us to Failsworth of all places then expect it to get worse!!!!
Clearly, Mr Owen doesn't live in the real world, this year 20 people at my company were made redundant and those who were lucky enough to keep their jobs received a ZERO % pay rise.
So, if it's a choice between feeding, clothing and housing my and spending £40 (unlike Mr Owen, I pay for entrance to the ground, car park and refreshments) or watching football, then I'm sorry, but Oldham Athletic will lose out every single time..
So the club want some reasons why the crowds are down?
1. Don't demolish Boundary Park.
2. Don't move to Failsworth.
3. Explain to the supporters why every player we have sold the directors have seen fit not to disclose the fee. Trotman, Davies and Eardley all went for money but for reasons best known to themselves the board refused to make the transfer monies public. Why is that?
I see what Mr Owen is saying,the obvious resons like cost are evident. I go home and away to games, but I cant remember the last time I had any communication from the club other than a season ticket renewal form. Sometimes I think the Club could be more proactive about many aspects of the club, tickets, club shop etc. Do we use a database for anything?
Nobody is disputing the level of commitment by the three Amigos. But sometimes the club need to listen to the fans and market the stay away fans via SMS or DM or other innovative methods. We must have the data for these people? Same goes for the club shop, until recently that shop has been very very poor. But as a member of the travel club and a ST holder I have never been communicated to??? Thats the question I would throw at the club?
Where do you start? Boundary Park is a dying eye sore, the only decent stand is the RRE which we have to vacate everytime a 'big' club comes to town. HT comes and there are no hot drinks or food left, thing has happened 3 times already this season
The club need to 'grow some' and move the fans to the RRE and give the chady to the away fans, give the homes fans some decent continued facilities !!
Stop trying thing once and giving up ! Word of advise for the club and TTA, Market the club before its too late, you cant move to a new stadium with no business directory of fans database. Commercially the club is a 'joke'
Communicate with fans, find out how they are feeling and why the stayaway fans are infact staying away. This can be done by various methods, SMS, Post, e-mail, on-line pol etc. Devise a fan acquisition and retention strategy and action the findings - Listen to the fans rather than rant in the chron. Like I said noone has ever communicated anything new to me in god knows how long. In my opinion it needs a fresh pair of eyes, but all latics fans know things never change.
We need back to basics football, a large standing section charging £10/12 for adults. Most of my friends (all from Oldham) are either United or City fans, they all consider Latics to be their second team and would gladly go watch them if the prices weren't as high. I myself would pay what ever to see my team but if you want to tap into this fan base you need lower prices. PS if were already struggling to get fans from Oldham will we find any more lurking about Failsworth?
@ Eddie_m'gurk - you are right no communication with the fans at all, no marketing, no commercial enterprise with firms, business or fans. TTA should take a long hard look at how the club is run
Trotman £500,000
Davies £120,000
Eardley £325,000
I thought these were mentioned at the time of the sales of the players ??
Datebase? I think they use that to keep track on who's turn it is to get the butties for lunch
Why was this story never posted directly to fans on the Oldham Athletic website? An example of poor communication me thinks.
absolutely agree with the marketing and database points on here, they simply dont use them. simple things like questionnaires at the games, and the website is simply not interactive enough for fans (latics world is poor too) - theres so many routes they can go to - the board of directors need fresh innovative people on there, possibly from other industries with new ideas.i think mr owen has opened up a can of worms!
Invest in professionals. Work the channels, bubble the interest. Throw enough mud and it will stick. All I read is community, diversity, which usually involves free tickets, which is not addressing the real problem. I offered my services for peanuts 3 times. Because I was in a position to do so. Guess what????
Why was this story never posted directly to fans on the Oldham Athletic website? An example of poor communication me thinks.
the website is arguably the biggest tool the club has in terms of marketing and advertising its product. they dont use it enough - the internet is the future - they need to think big, use man city as a benchmark for their marketing and merchandise instead of competing with them.but the biggest issue is the price of a ticket and the day out - simply not worth the money.you start charging a tenner, people come, enjoy it then a year later more people come - its called a loss leader
RG2403 your bang on - I offered mate, I have years of business development and strategy experience with a huge national business. I was in a position to help out and heard nothing from my mails? As fans we hear lots about money, attendances "I get that" but I dont really see what we are doing about it apart from rant in the chron.. Think its clear from the comments what people think of the current BP marketing. Hope we are all wrong??
Latics should do what Huddersfield town did, sell season tickets for £100, they sold 12000, if we did the same and sold 10,000 this would generate more than the poxy 2500 at an average £300, this woul also mean more income generated on programme sales, half time pies and refreshments ( if they had enough ) also more money spent in the club shop.
Also the new ground should be built at the side of the existing ground and when finished the decrepid old ground demolished, and as for Mr Owens comments about oldhamers not wanting sport in Oldham you should be ashamed of that, not everyone Mr owen is as HIGH PAID as you are.
Here is my direct challenge to Barry Owen.
Try living on the minimum wage for 3 months (or worse still Job Seekers Allowance) and see if you still can afford luxaries as football.
I agree with Mr Owen regarding the apparent low numbers of supporters for both Latics and Rougheads, however I believe the answer lies in the population of the town of Oldham.
15-20 years ago when crowds for both teams were reasonable the town had ethnic minorities who in the main didnt support either team. We now have ethnic "majorities" who still don't support either team. Its simple maths.
There you are Barry, yet again, told you the same things over and over again, something wrong in BP, and surely you must have noticed it HAS GONE WORSE since Sean went, I wonder why ?...PR Dept, died, Catering Dept died, Ground dying, No publicity whatsoever,team still struggling.
How many Managers sunce Chris Moore went ?....I wonder why too.
The reason is right there under all your noses, however quite clearly and I'm sad to say this, some of the Directors have also acquired Rose Glasses !
Yes I agree clubs in the lower divisions are not subsidised, but I bet most of the players at Oldham are on hundreds may be
a few thousands more than a lot of the fans. And when you see players not pulling there weight and not digging in for 90 mins that short period of time, can really blame fans for staying away. I know Oldhams prices are not silly but I would rather watch kids play on the school field with passion and a love for the game rather than overpaid slackers.
I would be really interested to know what is "Business as usual" on a weekly basis about these matters, or is this a knee jerk reaction to the current poor attendances? I am interested to see what happens when Mr Owen collates this constructive feedback.
people are frightened houses sold three amigoes off in sunset latics another roughyeds who is commercial manager who is pr manager not enough publicity given to fun day dont forget people still have chron not all on internet keep the faith big al
Does the club actually have a project plan...
1.Researching other clubs of a similar size
2.Have short and long term objuctives
3. Are initiatives evalluated
4. How can we be more innovative and differentiate our club
5. Reduce costs and increase revenue streams
Sometimes it looks like we just want to tick the PC box and give free tickets away.
Another thing, why dont we have something simple like a "WHOS NEXT AT BP" on a board at the top of sheepfoot lane?
Barry Owen says "I wonder whether the public of Oldham want a football club in the town,” well if the club get their way, the club WILL NOT have a club in the town!
rg2403- "the website is arguably the biggest tool the club has in terms of marketing and advertising its product"
I thought that was Alan Hardy!
Why do fans not turn up? why dont buisnesses sponser the games? why is there so much apathy towards sport in Oldham?
Whos job is it to promote and work on these things?
Hardy and Hamilton do one it`s time to change whats holding these things back!.
£100 season ticket is a great idea. This would only apply if we sold out otherwise revert back to full price or your money back so there was no worry about having to pay in full for those floating fans. The club could then market and generate interest to get 11000 people signed up. The club would then make more on match day revenue as it would be full!
Also, the bars need to improve in the ground. For example, why not have a flat screen tv near the bar in the rochdale rd end, so youcan watch pre-match footy or uncle jeff. Get people in the ground earlier.
I used to be STH found it wasn't value for money for the football standard.Now I pick my games
Went to Hyde in friendly, saw guy being ushered in for free by one of our directors!!
Advertising, Commercial, Catering downhill since Sean left. Don't move to Failsworth, how many fans travel from that side of town?Have the board undertaken a survey of this?
These comments from Mr Owen are a welcome change of tack from the club. I have always supported the directors on here, while privately not always agreeing with them. Alas, there is not enough space on these pages to do the topic justice. There can be little doubt that when the 3A’s saved the club it was on the strength of the potential development opportunities for both themselves and O.A. Seeing the plan backfire spectacularly must have been gut wrenching.
The club is just an entertainment business to around 97% of the population.
It is this 97% that the club should be trying to attract. A 3 sided ground and £20 for on the day admission is very poor value. A family day when a particularly low gate is expected is not, in my view, the answer. Low prices should be available every match. Odd games do not maintain the habit or create loyalty and certainly don’t give newcomers a taste of a big game atmosphere.
Season tickets are excellent value but no good to 97% of the target fan. Have any of our directors made the suggestion to have a family day for every match. Put them in the away section of RR. Put the away support in the Paddock. No extra for on the day entry. £40 for 2A and 1C is still a fortune for most. 4 kids are just a smoke screen. Casual fans don’t want to faff about for the best price, ask them? You need to look long term with continuity and value. Fans are losing the habit, simple!
Quite correct Latics observer, these so called directors have not a clue how to run a club, Boundary Park has been run down since they took the club over along with the team, now they are wondering why the clubs fanbase is fading?. No or very little food and drink at half time three sided ground, best end always given to away supporters and since when have these idiots listened to the fans.
Too right Barry 'nothing short of disgraceful' we have a great club here and should cherish it, but that is dependent on the club, you have to work harder to encourage larger attendances, both on and off the field.The club should be positive about a new stadium though, fans will be more in number, only a pity that it is in Failsworth, if the new stadium was in Oldham Royton or Chadderton then there will be more, now is not to late!
Get BP buzzing again - £10 adults, £5 for the kids = a 10000+ crowd which will fuel more punters as it will the 'in' place to be.
I still maintain that the present directors are here for the land, not only that all the false hopes and promises, how much have they spent on new players since their arrival? and i mean bought players not freebies and loans, I bet nearly every club in all divisions have spent more than us. So Mr Owen try helping the club yourself by purchasing a ticket, and try buying a pie at HT when there is none.
The main reasons for the low attendances and stay away fans
1)The people running the club from owners down to the players come across as though they don't care about the club and its fans! There is no pride in the shirt or at the club anymore.
2)I would rather they would have invested there millions in players that would get us out of this division, hence winning games, more bums on seats at BP, more money for latics to then build a new stadium or improve Boundary Park. To quote the movie field of dreams "If you build it they will come!" Why hasn't anybody at the club grasped this concept?
3)Thanks to the Broadway stand being knocked down.
BP has become a crumbling eyesore that has no atmosphere and no soul anymore, a sad wreck of its oldself. Thats down to the owners lack of foresight and ambition.
4)Your paying £20 of your hard earned cash to see a club, where a corner shop has more spent on its products than the club does on transfers. Hence your paying to see freebies,has beens and people who can't get on another team who don't care about the shirt they play in.
Prove you care about the club TTA! Invest where its needed in the transfer market!
5)As a club you don't listen to its fans, I have emailed both Barry Owen and Simon Corney in the past with suggestions to help the club, I got no reply, not even a thank you. You need to gauge the fans more in the running of club a lot more than you have been doing.
6)You the owners and the board say your ambitious, then prove it, enough of the spin you have fed us for 5 years.
You need to show concrete proof of how big your ambitions are and they need to start baring fruit.
I wouldnt go as far as saying the people at the club dont care about the fans of the club? I just think you have TTA who are busy men. The playing staff is settled and showing a touch of form now, so wouldnt agree with that. Ist the day to day running, there seems to be a massive gulf between the Thinkers and doo'ers! And you can see that in the quality and fulfilment of the marketing strategy "if any strategy at all" Think that is clear with the comments of many on here.
I have worked in the Travel industry for 15 years. And to say the last 10 years have been tough is a understatement, Tsunami's, Terrorist Attacks, September 11th, Pandemics etc ets, rise in fuel costs etc. But the amount of times I have heard these excuses being used to cover up bad performance is unbelievable, yet Operators/Agencies are getting it right. Think a little of thet is going on at the club at the moment. Lots of talk about WHY! but not enough HOWS!
Regarding cheap season tickets - I am not too sure this would solve the problem to be honest. You always run the risk of not selling enough to make it work. Huddersfield attendances were relitivelly healthy anyway. IMO, we need to think loyalty, retention. Whats going to get people back. Initiatives trialed, marketed properly and evaluated. If it doesnt work, move to the next idea. I dont see that from the club.
I have also noticed the boxes have been empty for most games. Suerly something could be done, even if its not the full meal, bar etc. Kids parties (which currently only happen midweek before 6 - v.difficult to get down in time)!! Theme packages!! Better than empty, suerly? We know pretty much when they are going to be difficult to fill?
TTA are here for the land. Why not make a start on the redevelopment plan of BP while building costs are low? Can't get the finance? A group of financiers?
People are fed up, that's why they're not going. It's the club's job to get them to turn up with, mainly, a decent team. Marketing? Telling your potential customers that they are crap?
Think you are being very harsh on TTA. They have been trying to build something in Oldham for 7 years. But the moaners, the council, the residents have done their best to obstruct everything. They shoulder the debt, whilst still putting a decent product on the pitch with home crowds of 3500. If they were just here for the ground they would have cut their losses years ago.
I have seen the club mis-managed into this position over many years.:
- Marketing - As a Marketing Consultant Sean was the future, now Marketing from the dark ages.
- Ground - embarrassement
- Catering - can't even get supplies right!
- Prices too high. Huddersfield /Sean has it right
- Failsworth move..closer to City and Utd. territory...are you trying to kill the club?
Joe joked his Office hadn't changed – the club hasn’t .. Oldham is a dump.What supportive Council?
What a tremendous response from the people who support OAFC, and it all in there, lack of facilities, players who dont have a true commitment to the team,Harpo, Zeppo and Groucho at the helm, probably steering the Club towards a dammed big iceberg, and the lack of pies at HT is unforgivable! I think this may run and run I hope its read by Mr Owen and all in their bunkers??
Many schemes seem to be put forward to get kids back into the ground, but no effort is made to get the older fans back, offers like 2 adults for £30 could work and should be tested.
As i said earlier, back to basics football is what we need, we cant match the on pitch performances of City or United so lets offer people something they don't have, "atmosphere" standing sections and cheaper prices, get the people crammed in and give people a traditional form of footballing entertainment that cant be found anywhere else locally.
I'd go along and watch Latics, but £34 for me and the missus is too steep for an hour and a half of football at that level.
Fools. TTA are only here and only ever been interested in making money of the land around latics.Funny how they had all plans for redeveloping at present location then boom. they have already bought and submitted plans for failsworth which (Oldham drag our heels council approve wholeheartedly.) TTA are financiers who are worse than moore.They are going to kill latics. I will stop supporting them when they move because if I wanted to watch football in manchester then I would be doing it now.
the marketing at the club is very poor, catering terrible, fans have to feel wanted! the club shop, are still selling frankie bunn, t-shirts! the tta are the best owners, in my life time, but the people down the chain of command, seem lost of ideas.
barry, has a point with attendances. sky tv, and armchair city and united fans- who do not follow their [own] real club, do not help the situation. but far better marketing, and value for money- must be seriously addressed!
If the chairmen do read theses messages. Please dont take any notice of the likes of oldham Scotland, he talks absolute nonsense and doest even bother going to the matches himself. And to ask the directors to buy a ticket is ludicrous after they are funding the club each wk!
Hopefully one usefull suggestion may come out of this that might help the club. its the usuall moan moan moan on here. Not all latics fans are like that. We want the club to move forward and the new stadium if it goes a head is the best thing thats happened tothis club. Hopefully it will generate new fans and some of the moaners on here can stay and walk round boundary park at weekends!
There have been numerous valid comments aired on what must be the best response I have seen concerning Latics. Will Mr Owen really engage fans and potential fans? If so, the only way that would be digestible would be a questionnaire. The new ground has been mention many times. I think a new ground anywhere is better than none but I also think that (Mancunion) Failsworth is a poor choice for the people of Oldham. Accessibility, distance and from a business perspective it could not be much worse.
From the outset it has seemed like a done deal with no alternative, so be it! But less than 3 miles down the road is a top Premiership club. Where are the potential fans of the Failsworth area going to go if they are inclined to watch a football match? Where are the potential fans of Oldham, many who will already be into a 6 mile + journey be tempted to go? As an ex businessman of 33 years I would have to have done serious feasibility research and have a bomb proof business plan to take this on.
Has any work at all been done on customer base potential? In 55 years of being a fair weather fan I have seen around 70% of home games. The potential 7 mile trip across Oldham is already daunting. I like everyone else must except that the board know what they are doing. It is always going to be their decision in the end. But I do sincerely hope that the board are not in a hole big enough to warrant the selling off of Boundary Park and its land at ANY COST!
Brierley of Royton you are correct, the main problem with the clubs is that they keep trying to sell itself to the same group of people every time (families), what is wrong with a super 10 offer like Stockport do? I can't get to every game and I know of a lot of other people in the same boat, but I seem to recall this offer got overlooked by the board
Fryatt, these three idiots are the best directors in your life time? I have been watching Latics since 1965 and they certainly are not the best, I would rate more like the worst. And Holyoaks I do watch Latics but after the first few matches this season like many others, I have drawn the line and enough is enough. Its ok cutting costs at the club to stay in business is one thing, but also if you cut the cloth to fine it then too has a adverse effect.
As for talking rubbish, if i talk rubbish then you are saying many on here are talking rubbish to?, many say very much as i do. I would not be suprised once all of the TTA plans are in place, they sell the club but as they say only time will tell. And please tell me how much Barry Owen puts into the club? I might be wrong but hes there on the behalf of the supporters.
We also have a team of players who have no affability with the fans; they should be out in the community build relationships with the public.
For example, ROH is just a few 100 yard away from BP, when was the last time any of the player visited it
Further more, MK Dons apart the standard football being played is not far above that being played a few yards away on Clayton playing fields.
I think the main points are being lost by people now, Barry Owen is asking what would make you come back and bring a friend! Personal attacks on TTA or the club does not help anyone. Barry and the other Directors do what they can although I'm not sure what Hill does for the club?
The football will come this season but will it be before the crowds dip under 3000
The club is being run like it was 5,10,15 yrs ago it seems to me and other fans now that in order for the club to progress deadwood needs to be allowed to float away, many know who that is, I just wonder if TTA know?
Market the club market the team – shout, scream get the name Oldham Athletic on everyone’s mind
The Family day is no use to anyone if it ia only advertised on the day of the match and the CEO even forgets about it in interviews !!
I feel that fans have grown tired, weary and disillusioned with the direction that the club is being taken, right now.
Also the messages coming from the playing side too.
You have a board that say they are ambitious but have not a lot to show for it, in the 5 years that they have been here.
You have a manager who say's he wants young hungry players players, but loans/gets rid of the young players, rather than keeping them in squad so they can keep the regulars on there toes.
To the point where we have no decent cover in certain position. Example, goalkeeper(especially loaning out Greg Fleming) to keep Dean Brill on his toes and centerhalves to keep Sean Gregan on his toes.
Brings back Sean Gregan who certainly is not young and hungry.
His attitude towards the young players and the club last season was disgraceful.
I must admit that who ever suggested bringing an old fashioned football stadium atmosphere back, might be onto something.
Marketing the club as real alternative to the prawn sandwich brigade clubs.
Rather than trying to compete with them.
I hope I am proven wrong by the players this year, I will be the first in the queue if they do, for my big slice of humble pie with cream. Keep up the good run. KTF
I have only been twice this season, you are not going to tempt me back to a game by calling me disgraceful! And the regulars who turn up week in week out are not necessarily "brilliant" - a sizeable portion of them are miserable moaners who help deter the floating fans like myself. Unless we are 2-0 by half time, the atmosphere is pretty hostile towards our own players.
I just recently moved to Sheffield to go to university and Sheffield united run a scheme to allow student into games for £5 provided they purchase tickets before the game.
Why can't latic's offer something similar ?
Sheff united's attendance last week was 26,211
There hardly topping the premiership now are they
Don't Trust Oldham Council, they could not care less where the new stadium goes, Failsworth would be a major, major mistake, just look at their own poor decision making, TommyField Market,allowed to die by the council, the old Town Hall, left to rot. It is probably too late, you have already started talks with other land owners but it will be a big mistake.
Huddersfield are charging £24 to watch them against the Latics. I won't be going 1) because it's too much money and 2) the chances of Athletic putting up a good show are minimal.
We need owners and a manager who care about the club. Bring back John Sheridan. By the way, Oldham Council should look at the Galpharm Stadium, home to both Oldham RUGBY LEAGUE (heard of them) and the F.C. It's a disgrace that O.L.R.F.C. were denied sharing B.P. by D.P.
Have Your Say
I've been a season ticket holder for years - and never miss a game but...
The price is too high for the standard of football for your average punter. The only way people will pay that kind of money is if the on-pitch performance is better.
The standard of the marketing dept at latics is awful, since jarvis left, there has been nothing done. First i heard of the family days was saturday afternoon on the radio - they've not been marketed.
By Dj82 @ 06/10/2009 14:26:46