Arriving a little earlier than the billed 6 p.m. start time, Christian (my Son) and I were able to take in the spectacle of the impressive Hollywood Monster frontage that has improved the stadium in recent years…
Little did we know that we were in for an epic four and a half hours before we would get back to the ice box car that would get us home again. There was a great cross section of the fanbase in attendance tonight, as we had faced a cancellation to the last meeting and it was good to see both some familiar faces and some new friendly additions. The panel was strongly represented too, with Davo, the Head of Supporter Services in charge of welcoming and the likes of Ian Dutton, MD and Craig Gardner – who some of you may remember from Wembley – giving us all handshakes at the door to the Jasper Carrot Suite. The rest of the panel comprised of Lungi Macebo, Chief Operating Officer, Aamir Javaid, Head of Ticketing, Dave Hoult, Safety Officer, Jake Malbasa, Engagement and Communications Manager, James Corrigan, Commercial Sales Manager and Bernard Vencatachellum, General Manager of Catering.
First of all, I’ve again read the usual accusations online that this forum is ‘only open to the usual suspects’. I don’t feel like my son and I are ‘usual suspects’. I’ve been very transparent on this forum in my reporting on the fans’ forums in the past, e.g.: Birmingham City Quarterly Supporters’ Clubs Forum Thursday 7th November 2019 – Joys & Sorrows (joysandsorrows.co.uk) and have never been told what to say by anybody from the club. I’ve certainly been happy to attend, and have been rewarded as such with a free buffet and tonight this included a welcome couple of bottles of Coke, but I had to make my own way there, and give up four and a half hours of my own time in order to do what I feel is a worthy thing in relaying important club news to you, the reader of this blog. As I said in the opening paragraph, I think the club have included a very broad cross-section of the fanbase, in terms of nationality, disability, online presence, supporters’ club affiliation or not, gender and UK location. If you feel excluded for some reason, I can only suggest you contact the club and ask to come along. There’s certainly no feeling among the people present that we’re a ‘closed club’ or that we wouldn’t welcome anybody as long as they’re a Blues fan!
Anyway, we ate a nice buffet that was very welcome on such a cold night (minus four from memory in the Kop Car Park) and quickly got down to business, introducing ourselves. There were people from Sweden!, people with dreadful tales of having to grow up in Vile-only schools, people like myself who had grandfathers and fathers who supported Blues and are bringing their children up in the noble tradition, and people who literally haven’t missed a match for longer than I’ve been alive. Maybe they exaggerated a little? I’m quite old!
Lungi confirmed that MACE were our Quantity Surveyors, and Buckingham our contractors and – as such – were looking to get detailed designs in for Board approval by February 2023. It was confirmed that some of the old (removed) seats could be made available for fans to purchase in the near future. Details of work already carried out is available here: https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/stadium-update-december Work will be reinstated at the conclusion of the current season, with Tilton first targeted for reopening for the 2023/24 start, with the hope it would include rail seating. The Kop would hopefully be fully reopened by Autumn 2023.
Lungi confirmed that the Ladies Team had retained last year’s team budget, so they were operating in the Championship with a Premier League budget. Their changing room and pitches have been improved and this was agreed with by Craig Gardner who suggested it was hugely beneficial.
Aamir said 19,000+ against QPR was the highest post-pandemic attendance at St. Andrews. We all agreed it was positive performances on the pitch that were translating into positive fan engagement. We have 10,500 season ticket holders this season, and have sold 2,800 away tickets to Sheffield United which was notable, but this was nothing compared to 3,400 for the seaside trip to Blackpool which included a commendable 85 disabled supporters. He thanked us all for our support and for making his team’s jobs so easy. He said he was looking to get disabled supporters’ tickets available online following a successful trial, perhaps by the start of February.
Dave Hoult thanked fans for their loyalty, particularly coming through Covid. Different security companies (stewarding) are now deployed throughout the ground, which we all agreed had seen an improvement in atmosphere and fan ‘handling’.
Jake said he was in charge of charity fundraising, matchday experiences, community work, equality diversity and inclusion and said he had seen improvements in this regard in the last two years. Sukh (sat at my table) is a member of the EDI committee and agreed that this is a really useful committee that has brought about really useful discussion and change. He conceded that the return to football post-Covid had ‘caught us all a bit flat-footed’, particularly because of having to ballot people for their seats. He praised Davo and Ian D for their guidance and support. He utilised a half-season survey and said the displacement of fans into the Upper Gil Merrick (obviously) caused problems on the concourse, which was where the Street Food concept came from. https://www.bcfc.com/news/hospitality/street-food-to-make-st-andrews-debut He praised Brummie ingenuity and said all sellers report a sell-out every match. He said working with the Blues Community Trust they have brought in a DJ, inflatable goal with Beau Brummie penalty shoot-out, to enhance the experience for our future season ticket holders. Bar 8 in the Main Stand has been upgraded, and £3 a pint offers for Amstel and Strongbow will help. Tom Ross plus guests in the Changing Room Bar, along with a Singer in the ‘Happy Abode’ are also helping the fans to enjoy returning to the ground. Live Music outside is to come, along with more face painting.
https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/blues-unveil-stephen-carr-mural. The mural will hopefully be the first of many upgrades to empty spaces in and around the ground, by local artists like Josh Billingham and Wingy. Craig, John (the gaffer), Troy and every first team player have collectively made 73 appearances in the community so far this season, with Alfie Chang the most busy having made three so far. He admitted the ‘Have Your Say’ campaign wasn’t as popular as envisaged as a third party who provided data had only gained a 1:6 return. They were looking to use in-house data in future to realise higher return rates. They will be seeking views on programmes, walk-out music and more, perhaps with a view to an action-point per month in specific response to fans’ opinions.
James said revenue generating across the men’s and women’s teams was his remit with corporate boxes totally sold out. He said fans could get a 25% discount at the ‘Gaucho van’. He was looking to broaden the matchday experience at all levels, including the Academy.
Bernard said he was looking to provide superior Conference, wedding receptions, parties through ‘Elior’ (https://www.elior.co.uk/) which have provided £70k of investment into the catering equipment. They are looking to provide more home made and local cuisines, reflective of the diverse communities of Birmingham. They have a good relationship with their charity partner – Alzheimer’s Research – and are presently trialling a new till system to speed up service. The Main Stand bar has been completely refurbished so it is larger and dedicated to service. The Gil Merrick has a brand new bar.
Craig accepted praise from the floor for the recruitment of such talent as Trusty, Longelo, Bielik, Hannibal, but said it was all down to the whole team, and pointed out that media speculation about the likes of George Hall departing was ‘total nonsense’. He said he wouldn’t lie and say no player would ever leave, but that if anybody was going to come in for the young players, they would have to come in hard’. “George will hopefully be staying, we have no plans to sell any of our youngsters. We are not a selling club. We wont be buying for the sake of it. We are going to be creative. If we can find another Bacuna or Chong, then we will have the funds for them.” He said the squad have a saying between them, “This is Our Time.” They feel that now, more than ever, is the time for togetherness, that they have an opportunity to succeed that they haven’t had for many years.
Davo said fans who wish to participate in ‘chip and win’ must be seated in the Gil Merrick and Paddocks simply because of the ongoing works.
Hot water in the toilets has been an ongoing question for many many years. It is – again – being looked into. I can only say I hope it is installed rather than simply looked into as it simply looks awful for a 21st Century football club with aspirations for Premier League football not to have running hot water for fans.
The lack of certain items in the Blues store was discussed (like women’s fit shirts) and the reason was minimum orders needing to be in the thousands. The club agreed that stock levels do need to be improved, as does the diversification of product…especially online. The club were looking into partnerships with local artists.
A disabled fan had written in to complain about so many home games being moved to night games, which they couldn’t attend. As a gesture, Craig Gardner has invited that fan to a breakfast with the first team, though it was accepted by the forum that the moving of fixtures was out of the club’s control, and more to do with Sky (though it did bring the benefit of funding to the club), and this happens to every club.
Dave was asked about the issue of children attending games alone, and it was confirmed that we have a new, ex-police, safeguarding officer Safeguarding | Birmingham City Football Club (bcfc.com) Stephanie Rolfe, who has agreed a new code of conduct that is now finalised, including all those 13 and under must be accompanied by somebody 16+. 14+ can attend unaccompanied. This news will be circulated on social media.
The issue of some fans being asked not to move between stands was because of the issue of potential overcrowding if they don’t return (after visiting an alterative refreshment stand, for example). The issue of segregation was discussed at length, and – whilst it can be seen as a ‘waste of seating’ it was generally accepted that it was necessary for safety, and wouldn’t be done unless absolutely necessary (it costs the club money!). It isn’t a police initiative, it’s actually a Local Authority request and is done in association with the club, and has been put in place following recent assaults on stewards. It is accepted by the forum that poor fan behaviour is always a minority but has worsened across all clubs in recent years.
The above ‘Twitter handles’ were recommended by the club for contacting them, following requests for more open communication. It was accepted that it was hard to ‘strike the perfect balance’ and that even when they committed to monthly communications there were fans who complained that there was nothing of substance in the announcements. Away attendances (for our fans, and visitors to St. Andrews) should be more forthcoming…
Ian confirmed that the EFL’s ‘Fan Led Review’-recommended ‘Fan Advisory Board’ was a ‘work in progress’ and that there should be two supporters meetings like this one per year, and apologised that it hasn’t been the case of late, the reasoning being – right or wrong – that they felt there was nothing of substance to report.
Tongue firmly in cheek, when asked where the next pre-season was going to be, CG said it could be Blackpool or America…but that it would be where the Manager and Players would gain the most benefit.
Christer of Svenska Blues suggested Sweden was an ideal spot. Food for thought!
Jake reassured the forum that he had worked hard to ensure fans with all Protected Characteristics were represented in the diversity committee and that their experience could be enjoyed.
It was agreed that we need to seize the opportunity provided to us by the Commonwealth Games (we are involved in the legacy committee), Jude’s involvement in the World Cup (we were the most mentioned British Club in the media) and would work with Birmingham tourism to attract visitors to our matches.
James was asked why ‘random’ people could attend away matches and confirmed that Platinum members who owned boxes could apply for up to ten tickets to allocate as they saw fit, but there was no guarantee they would be granted them. It was accepted that some may see this as unfair, but ultimately the person who paid for this box has the right to utilise these tickets…if they manage to get hold of them. It is something the club has to balance for their financial benefit as well as for the fans.
Bernard agreed to look at pricing, quality and staff prep training across the board, in association with Ian who agreed improvements needed to be made. Elior is listed on the French stock exchange so it’s certainly no amateur organisation, with contracts at some of the biggest stadiums in the country. Fans asked that the cost of living crisis be taken into consideration.
Aamir suggested giving disabled supporters a poncho and hot drink could ‘indirectly discriminate against able bodied supporters’. I’m not convinced by that myself, so if you can prove otherwise, let him know! The EDI group are looking at improving disabled supporters’ facilities such as toilets. Lungi said the new stands wouldn’t have disabled supporters’ seating on the halfway line as it would be too far from facilities.
It was confirmed that other venues (than St. Andrews) were looked into for BCFC Women. They included Moseley Rugby Club, Solihull Moors again, other non-league local clubs, but that St.Andrews for its facilities, parking, transport links, provided more stability and control of costs. It was accepted that the Solihull Moors ground may have been more ‘intimate’ for smaller attendances, but Craig put forward a case – strongly supported by Her Game Too – that the Women’s team should have as much access to the same facilities as the men’s team, whether it be the match pitch, training pitch or gym facilities, as possible.
The general feeling around the room was that the panel was very receptive to the questions we had. We had been explained the rationale by which we couldn’t ask about ownership issues, and were directed to the public statement instead:
In many ways, it is this that is the most pressing in people’s minds. It could produce points deductions, result in winding up orders, or – conversely – bring us to the promised land, billionaire owners, etc. What we have at present, though, is what we’ve had for many years. Mystery. It isn’t the fault of the people we were talking to, and we have to respect that, and accept the hard work they put in. Look at the work they channel into producing results on the pitch, such as last night (as I type)’s magnificent 3-2 win against Reading.
We were promised news of the ownership issues as soon as it could be provided, and we can’t ask for much more than that…other than running hot water!?
Keep Right On!
Russ
Happy Anniversary ?
Thanks wifey x