What would we need for next season

I think that would help! Good idea!

P45 wrote:

Tim Drummond wrote:Team travel costs, for example, last season were £10,000.

Let supporters travel on team coach when supporters club are unable to run a coach..that would help with team travel costs.

According to the Club's published accounts the cost of traveling has reduced by 35% over the last three seasons.

2009/10 - cost of traveling expenses £13,765
2010/11 - cost of traveling expenses £9,930
2011/12 - cost of traveling expenses £8,830

There were fewer away games in the Western League and we didn't progress in many of the Cup competitions, which helped contribute to the lower travel costs.

We won't know the cost of 2012/13 (our first season back in the Southern League) until next March.

But this is already one area where the Board have been able to make some significant savings.

Let's hope guernsey don't make it to our league then.....boz

you guys are genuine fans,good luck for next season.

Cheers. Hope Poole Town enjoy life in the Premier.

What we really need for next season is an extra 100+ on the gate.

I agree. That's why I keep saying the club needs more income. People come up with "schemes" which are never going to work but extra people through the turnstiles obviously makes a big difference.
We want "people proud to be a Martyr" on a regular basis and not just caught up on the highs of a big match now and then. That is all very nice but it puts butter and jam on the bread only for a short while.

meurid p wrote:What we really need for next season is an extra 100+ on the gate.

Well that would be brilliant, But unless we are top of the league I can't see it happening. We will still have a couple of dozen "fans" who will turn up 20/25 mins after K.O to gain free entry!

Quite a number come at half-time too and I heard one guy say:"I wouldn't pay to watch this anyway." What a nerve!!! Anyone who sees any part of the game without paying is not a fan of Merthyr Town FC.

As has been said previously the only way to stamp out latecomers etc. would be to have someone on the gate for the entire game.

Any volunteers.

obviously it will be difficult to encourage a martyr supporter to man the gate after the start of a match.Perhaps the club can pay someone to do this who has no interest in football as such on a trial basis. It sounds as if their wages for that odd hour would pay for itself.

A video camera in the Directors Room trained on the gate could pick them up at least we would know who they are and how many we are losing in entry fees.

Tim Drummond wrote:Anyone who sees any part of the game without paying is not a fan of Merthyr Town FC.

It's certainly true to say that when I used to go in and see the last half hour of matches at the City Ground for nothing I wasn't a Nottingham Forest fan.

Royston Rogers wrote: A video camera in the Directors Room trained on the gate could pick them up at least we would know who they are and how many we are losing in entry fees.

Its not really necessarily lost entry fee though. That could only be assumed if we could be sure someone would pay if there is someone on the gate. What I mean is this: lets assume that the people who show up at half time to get in for free because they simply want to see some football for free then if there is someone on the gate they will simply go elsewhere to get their free football fix. Now, I am not saying it is wrong to stop people coming in for free, nor is it wrong to know how many people do so. But it is only lost money if these are people who show up intending to pay but there is no one to give the money to.

Incidentally by preventing people entering at half time for free it may actually result in less revenue and not more. Firstly if we have to pay someone to deter people coming for free then there is an outlay of a wage (a small amount) and what of those who are not really coming for the football at all but only to have a few pints in the club. Then again I suppose those who want a few pints up the club will just come a little later and skip the second half.

Again, I am all in favour of those who come in on match days paying. After all, I pay. Indeed last season I got in for free as I showed up early on week to watch some football on TV at the Candac. But as soon as there was someone on the gate I went down to pay (and buy a programme). So yes, in principle those who come in should pay. But that it the principle. It may, (MAY) result in less revenues for the reason I spelled out. The principle is sound enough though.

Speaking of which, as a community club maybe we could raise additional revenue by having more types of concession available- 4 quid paid by an unemployed fan may be better than nothing if 8 quid means that a person who would like to come but cannot afford to (I believe a giro for under 25s is only 50 quid or so before deductions such as bedroom tax or the % rent or council tax asked) - another one that could be tried is free admission to under 16s when accompanied by a full admission paying adult. Just a thought.

But either way, yes I agree with comments that those who can pay should expect to pay admission. If we had someone on the employed for the gate during the match could there be a discounted admission for after half time- 4 quid maybe.

While a lot of this may seem counter intuitive I am reminded of the GLC when they reduced fares on public transport they raised more revenue - people who were previously priced out started using public transport. I was thinking this a few months back when coming back from the racing- the train was nearly empty. If they had an offer on to say "travel all evening for a fiver" then that train would probably have been full and a fiver is better than an empty seat

Good post..

meurid p wrote:What we really need for next season is an extra 100+ on the gate.

From my own observations..

I would like to suggest,a "volunteer social/fundraising group"who are a organised body in their own right,helping our club to generate funds through various activities.

Equally important this group/committe having the drive and energy to make things happen, and the ability to make people sit up and get behind their ideas.....A meeting of prospective volunteers maybe???????

However,it would be a good idea to invite 2 volunteers from this group on to the board,"our club constituttion allows for this"their expertise could be utilised to assit our board in fundraising planning

With regard to employing, or at least paying, someone to man the turnstiles for an hour after kick-off I suppose if you paid them £7 for that hour (which I see is more than the minimum wage) then they would only need to collect admission from more than one person for the arrangement to be in profit. On the other hand, a point which might then arise is whether it can be justified charging the full £8 to someone for only (say) two thirds of a match. So maybe those entering perhaps 15 minutes or more after kick-off should be charged a reduced price.

I think free admission for accompanied children did operate up to a year or two ago, so that has been tried.

Apart from concessions, the question of lower admission prices in general crops up regularly. I think it can't be easy to balance the likelihood of whether reduced prices will attract enough extra people to cover the loss of revenue. Personally, I can't really see that for some of those disappointing midweek attendances we would have got enough extra people to have made up for a lower price.

mountain ash wrote
Speaking of which, as a community club maybe we could raise additional revenue by having more types of concession available- 4 quid paid by an unemployed fan may be better than nothing

I think this will be difficult to monitor.Who is to say who is employed or unemployed.I do not know if the unemployed have any way of proving if they actually are unemployed.I suppose you could say all old age who are not working are unemployed.Then some unemployed are on benefits which might make them better off than actually working.

It's a tricky one this. Although I'm sure "employing" someone to stay on the gate during the game is the easiest option in my opinion. I haven't seen it myself because I'm always up in the gantry but if it is that bad, then I think it will be worth it. It's an investment and we would see our cash flow go up on the gate.

I think the people who have seen this on a regular basis will be best to comment on that.

scamp wrote:mountain ash wrote
Speaking of which, as a community club maybe we could raise additional revenue by having more types of concession available- 4 quid paid by an unemployed fan may be better than nothing

I think this will be difficult to monitor.Who is to say who is employed or unemployed.I do not know if the unemployed have any way of proving if they actually are unemployed.I suppose you could say all old age who are not working are unemployed.Then some unemployed are on benefits which might make them better off than actually working.

There have been lots of things that have been offered over the years on concessionary rates. But usually these come with a requirement of proof (unemployed have a small book, students an NUS card). We already offer concessions to pensioners as I understand it. We should not really get into a debate about whether or not someone is better off working because that is one of means testing which comes with a lot of dodgy baggage (undeserving poor etc) and is in truth a political debate that has little bearing on raising money for the club.

From the point of view of the club the idea of discounts is to raise money for the club. If you wanted to be really clever and gimmicky from a marketing point of view the club could offer a passcard that would come with all sorts of discounts. How that would work is this - someone applies for a MTFC passcard (a concession card) and has to show proof of age/employment status etc. Card then shown when requesting concession on admission or other discounts. Card could last for a full season. Card need not be any more complicated than the laminate ones we use for trust membership (maybe add a photo of cardholder for extra coolness).

There are many demands on people's money these days and that is why a loyalty card of sorts can keep what we offer as "product" upermost in people's minds. Shops know this when they offer loyalty cards. Indeed, discounts for season tickets in a way do this too.

Paying someone to work on the gate would probably prove cost effective mind. Because if 20 or so people are coming in for free some (no idea how many) may be opportunist and would otherwise pay, as said above only one or two need to fall into that category in order for the thing to be self-funding. But if it results in deterring far more people who are on limited income then it may well be self-funding but it is not really maximizing potential revenues for the club. Or, to put it another way- if 20 people are coming in for free then at present we are making nothing. If two of these would pay 8 quid then less 6.50 for minimum wage for gate manning then we get 9.50 profit.

If on the other hand the people who currently come in for free would be willing/able to pay 4 quid then you get 20x4 or 80 quid and less the wage for the person on the gate this would mean 73.50 profit for club.

In truth we don't (for sure) know the reason why some people are coming later- for some it MAY be work commitments or other reasons. I come on the train for example- if the train were delayed (and that has happened in the past) and I show up a bit late I would still want to pay. If people are doing it for other reasons then addressing the possibility of people being on limited income plus that of opportunists simply trying to get something for nothing could/would be achieved by employing someone to work gate plus half price entry from half time.

As for concessions the only administrative difference is to replace discount for over 65s with discount for "concessions" then define what groups fall into the concessionary rate. There is no reason why there should be a range of concessionary rates- the rate for OAPs and unemployed/students could come under a single concessionary rate. Maybe looking at the pricing structure for a few other clubs at our level will give an idea how others do it and from that we can see "what works". Certainly charging half price admission from halftime couldn't hurt - its certainly better in terms of raising revenue than the current free admission after kick off that we currently run with

P45 wrote:[
I would like to suggest,a "volunteer social/fundraising group"who are a organised body in their own right,helping our club to generate funds through various activities.

Equally important this group/committe having the drive and energy to make things happen, and the ability to make people sit up and get behind their ideas.....A meeting of prospective volunteers maybe???????

However,it would be a good idea to invite 2 volunteers from this group on to the board,"our club constituttion allows for this"their expertise could be utilised to assit our board in fundraising planning

This is fair enough provided there are such people able to come forward. My own feeling (could be wrong) is that people who would be able and willing to do this kind of thing are ALREADY doing work for the club. Whether some kind of group on the above lines could/should be formed from existing volunteers is another matter.

It all comes down to more volunteers always being needed in order for the club to progress - there's a permanent appeal for such in the match programme.

Various other initiatives are being suggested on the thread (and this is nothing against any of them), but it should always be born in mind that anything new either needs someone extra to do it, or it means a rearrangement of duties carried out by the existing volunteers.

Great posting lads, keep this enthusiasm up and we will be laughing.

I am very intrested in more fund raising ideas, and indeed as Imp says more importantly the volunteers to carry them out under the umbrella of the Football Club, for example another 10 people raising an extra £1000 each through events, raffles, lottery etc over the next 12 months makes a massive difference, even half that would have a huge impact.

Our fundraisers, volunteers & contributors do an excellent job and shows the all hands to the pump attitude we need to survive and move forward.

I would like to see us double the uptake of season tickets as I think there is scope for that within our average attendance, for years for me the days are gone that I buy a season ticket for cheaper enty or financial gain, I see it as my personal financial committment to the club that if I make a game or not my attendance is covered, I know many others share that view and some wont and thats fine.

If anyone has any fundraising ideas they wish to get involved and carry out with the clubs approval then thats great, my contact lines are fully open and I will assist any individual or group as much as I can, and I am sure I speak for the rest of the board when I say, after all its YOUR CLUB....

We have shown over the past 3 years what can be acheived with a united front, hard work and togetherness, and for that we all deserve huge credit, lets keep on keeping on as they say, keep waxing lyrical about all things MTFC and who knows what can be achieved in the future..

Exciting times


UP THE TOWN..!!!!

I'll be bringing a fair few extra heads with me next season from as far as Cardiff and the surrounding valleys. I think social networking needs to continue to be utilised in order to get the youth through the gates and I think the bigger matches go a long way in making people more aware of the club again. Busting for the season to begin already!

Merthyr town is an exciting place to be ....we bottomed out when we had the three league relegation...and thanks to the trust and the real fans we didn't sink but have come out swimming faster than harder before...someone once said the night is darkest just before dawn....I think our client is not just heading for a new dawn but there is a buzz about the club and a vibe that it is on the up...we have a great club run on socialist principles...not what they can get out of it ....but what everyone can do to put into it....run by the people for the people...or was that Wolfie citizen smith?....anyway the next stage in the climb up is the 3G pitch ...talking to mr grobbelaar last night ...he as a world travelled business man said that our club will grow grow and grow when this next phase is achieved...a brilliant 3 g pitch from the anfield legend last night .....time for our own one.....boz

I think a fund-raising committee outside the Board could create problems. I think if anyone has ideas, they should be passed on to the board and arranged through them otherwise there could be the same problem when we had two different supporters' groups at the club.
The problem with giving a concession for admission to the unemployed is that if someone is not working, it does not necessarily mean that they have not got sufficient money.
Admission charges are constantly being debated. I did,however, notice that at Hungerford, the admission was £7 for adults and £4 for seniors.
I am not suggesting that Merthyr should cut prices. People seem to think that would bring in more fans but it never works out that way.