It certainly was a hell of a week from my standpoint. Being stuck at home with Plantar Faciitis, I was lucky enough to receive a phone call from Neil Morris. the outcome of this was a fair stack of information I was granted permission to use ” As I see fit”. So I did.
Big mistake.
Some folks were deeply unhappy with the information I received about certain questions they had of the club. So, quick re-cap:
1: War of The Roses Tickets: Only available in advance if you sign up to the Business club, or full price on the day. This went down like the Titanic.
2: Donation of £3 to get in to the “Meet the Players” evening. This is a ‘compulsory’ donation for accounting purposes (if it is classed as a donation the tax man gets none of it, if it is an ‘admission fee’ the Foundation pays tax on it). Again, went down faster than a porn star.
Now, bear in mind that I didn’t make these decisions, but was meerly putting them to the fans. I’m no stranger to taking a bit of shit from people regarding the hockey. As I see it, it goes with the territory. But some of the responses (especially on Facebook) went far beyond anything I have ever experienced before. I got accused of calling 1 fan ‘every name under the sun’ and using ‘vile language’ on the Pyres’ Facebook page. Now, we all know I like a good swear every now and then. Shit, it’s almost become my ‘calling card’, but there is a line which I draw. I will never, ever wilfully insult anyone. Certainly not to the extent that some claimed I had. So when I called out this person and asked them to show me where this abuse had happened, they claimed it had ‘mysteriously been deleted’…. Now, i know I never delete anything from either here or Facebook, and I also know that there were no insults. Funny how the accuser had no proof, eh?
Anyways, this left me a bit down. I mean, some of the people involved in this are supposed to be involved in helping raise funds for the club, so in my mind should know better than to jump on the club when it tries to do just that. I worry that if the club and its fans who help raise money can’t see eye to eye on this, will this lead to further problems down the line?
My personal take (not the club line before anyone starts spouting off) is that certainly regarding the “Meet the Players” evening, people are just pissed off that something they once got for free is now no longer free. Well, such is life, folks. There is an old saying: You get nothing for nothing. But people keep on expecting to get something for nothing, and eventually, that just has to stop.
So, tickets… Now, This is more problematical. The thing is, whilst OI agree that the club hasn’t exactly gone about this in the best manner, a decision was taken that despite the claims of some is still within the wording (if not exactly the spirit) of what is written on the Season Ticket form. Yes, in previous seasons, the club has done the WoTR tickets at a discount, but this has lost the club money. And, technically, the ticket is still at ST holder price (£12). The only real difference is that this price is available to anyone who wants it for this ONE game only.
And as for the exact wording on the form… It mentions 2 discount prices for ST holders: 50% off ‘Special Games’ and ST holder price for non ST games. Now, as I read it (and had it confirmed in another conversation with Neil), it is at the clubs discretion as to what game, or games, it classes as special, and the club will announce this when the tickets are made available. Any and all other non ST games will be chargeable at the ST holder price. Despite the claims of some, in not making this game available to ST holders at 50% off, the club has not broken an agreement with ST holders. I do have a pretty good idea as to what game/s the club has in mind for this, and I’m sure that people would not be disappointed at the game/s chosen.
Anyway, lets look at some other stuff that doesn’t make my blood boil:
The Nottingham Panthers played the first pair of game sin their CHL experiment. The major thing we can take from these games regarding the quality of the UKs top league is that is is miles behind Europes best. Even with 5 extra imports brought in, the gulf between the standard of players employed by the EIHL, and those employed by the mainland is immense. We might get the odd guy who has played a couple of hundred AHL games, and a handful of NHL, but Europe is stacked with players far more capable and experienced. On the plus side, the Panthers had over 4000 people in for each game, which is impressive for August.