Dear Thorne In The Side, Firstly I would like to say that I found your first issue of the season a very interesting read.
There wasn't' too much that I disagreed with and would like to congratulate you on the stance you took for the 'No To Woking' campaign, despite that the Football League had blocked the move two days prior to your publication hitting the terraces for the Port Vale game. You rightly pointed out that it is the duty of fanzines to help fight for such causes, and I'm sure, along with all the other supporters campaigning over the summer months, you more than helped the Football League make such a brave decision. A great advert for supporter power!
The reason for writing to you though is to underline something that you gave only a few paragraph's coverage to in the 'Relatively Speaking' column, that being the reduced rates for children this season. Personally I felt that just a few lines didn't do the club justice, and although you quite rightly spoke out on behalf of the elderly, whose season tickets have rocketed this year, I don't think the club have been given the credit they deserve on this matter. Alright, so I agree that the OAP situation could and should have been handled a little better, and as you rightly state the club should seriously think about their pricing policy in this sector of the market, but lets put things in prospective a little, £2 for children is a truly brilliant initiative! Not only that but I can now watch my beloved Bees for as little as £10.
For me, a family man who regularly takes his three children and wife along to home matches, I can do so for an amazing £26. I doubt that there are even many club's in the higher ranks of the non league that can match those type of figures! Prove me wrong?
If the club hadn't come up with such a transformation in admission charges, then I wouldn't have been able to attend half the home games at Griffin Park this season. It would have cost me 2x£15 's for adults (as my wife wouldn't take too kindly to standing on an open terrace in blizzard conditions) and 3x£7's for my children (as per last season). This works out at a£51 per game. A figure that quite honestly is far beyond my means on a fortnightly basis.
Now though I will be more than happy to encourage my family to Griffin Park, knowing that not only am I giving my children the best education possible, but also having peace of mind that it isn't going to cost me an arm an a leg in doing so - And I can even enjoy a beer during the half time interval - Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?
I have even heard people criticising the 'Free Admission' day against Peterboro on October 13th - Maybe these people feel that they should actually be paid for the privilege of watching Brentford!
I was always brought up on the theory that you get 'nothing for nothing' in this life, but let's just view the recent developments of this club with a breath of fresh air, and without the cynicism!
James Leighton - Acton
Dear TITS,
Down in the smoke for the Newcastle v Chelsea game, me and a mate took the opportunity to pop to Griffin Park for the Bees v Port Vale game. I must say I had a great time. After a few enjoyable pints in The Griffin, we took our place on the Brook Road terrace, buying an esteemed fanzine on the way. A very reasonable £10 entry was even more appreciated when I remembered I'd been forced to lash out £32 on my Stamford Bridge ticket. The constant signing was praiseworthy, especially "There's nowhere called Port Vale" and "You can stick your Robbie Williams up your arse." Tremendous!
The game wasn't the best admittedly and I thought Vale shaded the first half, but two quality strikes deservedly won the game for you in the end.
Reading Thorne In The Side after visiting Griffin Park I find it utterly incomprehensible that Ron Noades wants to move you from your home via Woking to a new stadium. The obvious question is why? Apart from the away end, the stadium is very tidy and quite atmospheric. In all fairness , you're not likely to do a Fulham in the next few years and so probably won't need a hugely increased capacity. Tell Noades you need to stay at your traditional home and that a new ground would be a disastrous move.
Wishing you all the best for the rest of the season,
Ian Cussack - Newcastle Upon Tyne
The reason for writing to you though is to underline something that you gave only a few paragraph's coverage to in the 'Relatively Speaking' column, that being the reduced rates for children this season. Personally I felt that just a few lines didn't do the club justice, and although you quite rightly spoke out on behalf of the elderly, whose season tickets have rocketed this year, I don't think the club have been given the credit they deserve on this matter. Alright, so I agree that the OAP situation could and should have been handled a little better, and as you rightly state the club should seriously think about their pricing policy in this sector of the market, but lets put things in prospective a little, £2 for children is a truly brilliant initiative! Not only that but I can now watch my beloved Bees for as little as £10.
For me, a family man who regularly takes his three children and wife along to home matches, I can do so for an amazing £26. I doubt that there are even many club's in the higher ranks of the non league that can match those type of figures! Prove me wrong?
If the club hadn't come up with such a transformation in admission charges, then I wouldn't have been able to attend half the home games at Griffin Park this season. It would have cost me 2x£15 's for adults (as my wife wouldn't take too kindly to standing on an open terrace in blizzard conditions) and 3x£7's for my children (as per last season). This works out at a£51 per game. A figure that quite honestly is far beyond my means on a fortnightly basis.
Now though I will be more than happy to encourage my family to Griffin Park, knowing that not only am I giving my children the best education possible, but also having peace of mind that it isn't going to cost me an arm an a leg in doing so - And I can even enjoy a beer during the half time interval - Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?
I have even heard people criticising the 'Free Admission' day against Peterboro on October 13th - Maybe these people feel that they should actually be paid for the privilege of watching Brentford!
I was always brought up on the theory that you get 'nothing for nothing' in this life, but let's just view the recent developments of this club with a breath of fresh air, and without the cynicism!
James Leighton - Acton
Dear TITS,
Down in the smoke for the Newcastle v Chelsea game, me and a mate took the opportunity to pop to Griffin Park for the Bees v Port Vale game. I must say I had a great time. After a few enjoyable pints in The Griffin, we took our place on the Brook Road terrace, buying an esteemed fanzine on the way. A very reasonable £10 entry was even more appreciated when I remembered I'd been forced to lash out £32 on my Stamford Bridge ticket. The constant signing was praiseworthy, especially "There's nowhere called Port Vale" and "You can stick your Robbie Williams up your arse." Tremendous!
The game wasn't the best admittedly and I thought Vale shaded the first half, but two quality strikes deservedly won the game for you in the end.
Reading Thorne In The Side after visiting Griffin Park I find it utterly incomprehensible that Ron Noades wants to move you from your home via Woking to a new stadium. The obvious question is why? Apart from the away end, the stadium is very tidy and quite atmospheric. In all fairness , you're not likely to do a Fulham in the next few years and so probably won't need a hugely increased capacity. Tell Noades you need to stay at your traditional home and that a new ground would be a disastrous move.
Wishing you all the best for the rest of the season,
Ian Cussack - Newcastle Upon Tyne
Dear Nick and Rich,
As I write the Bees are sitting on top of Division Two, and from reports, seem to be playing very well. It would be great if they could continue like this... Look out Newcastle!
I found your views on the Woking issue most interesting but very disturbing. As you well know, Maidstone United were my first love and we all know what happened to them. I just hope that a similar fate doesn't happen to Brentford.
Just for your interest Maidstone United have reformed and are climbing back into Senior football and played yesterday in an FA competition for the first time in 10 years.
They won 4-1 and at the moment are playing at Sittingbourne's ground.
Good luck for the remainder of the season, hope the results continue to flow and keep fighting the Woking idea! Remember 'The Stones'.
Clive Bornor - Maidstone, Kent.
Dear Nick and Rich,As I write the Bees are sitting on top of Division Two, and from reports, seem to be playing very well. It would be great if they could continue like this... Look out Newcastle!
I found your views on the Woking issue most interesting but very disturbing. As you well know, Maidstone United were my first love and we all know what happened to them. I just hope that a similar fate doesn't happen to Brentford.
Just for your interest Maidstone United have reformed and are climbing back into Senior football and played yesterday in an FA competition for the first time in 10 years.
They won 4-1 and at the moment are playing at Sittingbourne's ground.
Good luck for the remainder of the season, hope the results continue to flow and keep fighting the Woking idea! Remember 'The Stones'.
Clive Bornor - Maidstone, Kent.
Thank you for giving myself and Bees United a fair hearing in your last edition. I was also very pleased that you gave so much coverage to our cause.
It is very important that we build up our membership, and enlist the help of as many supporters as possible. Much work is going on, some of it behind the scenes, but we do need even more support. I know that many of your readers have great talents, and I dearly hope they will feel inspired to contribute those skills to the Supporters Trust.
A number of initiatives are in hand, including our campaign to encourage more members of the ethnic community to enjoy the Griffin Park experience. A great opportunity for fans to demonstrate goodwill across the borough.
If your readers would like more details on membership they can obtain literature and application forms from the away travel office or they can ring our secretary Bruce Powell on 07903 169104 or write to him at PO Box 19346, London W4 4WW.
Also they can visit the website "WWW.BeesUnited.Org.Uk"
Many Thanks
Geoff Buckingham.
Dear TITS
I'm sure it's been said before, but Brentford really need to sort out it's PR.
Not just how it promotes itself, but how it deals with people. Last season I wanted to be able to buy student-rate tickets and I was told by the club that I needed a 'BFC Student Card'. "Fair enough" I thought, but when I tried to get hold of one, I was informed that they didn't know what I was on about. I explained it to them, but then was told that they didn't have the relevant paperwork to issue me with the said card. That was already some way through the season, so I decided to carry on blagging my way as a junior to the few games I can make from Newcastle, and didn't bother following up my enquiry.
As a point of note, the only other way to purchase student tickets is to do so in person in the office before the day of the game with ID - not always easy from Newcastle!
Anyway, along comes the back end of last season, and the club announces the excellent season ticket packages; £80 to stand is good value - almost worth it just for a guaranteed QPR ticket!
However I ended up not getting a season ticket as I wasn't sure how many games I could get to. So instead, to support the club, I bought a 'non-playing membership' (a normal club membership to you and me), so I could hopefully be able to get a QPR ticket before they go on general sale, as well as discounts in the club shop.
I received an application form, and as last year, it mentioned the 'BFC Student Card', so I thought I'd try and go for that as well.
I was in London over the summer, so went to Griffin Park to apply for both, but again, no joy in getting a student card. I was told to ring up the following week. Eventually, after nearly a year of trying, I was told that I would be able to get one. But that's where this tale gets even worse.
Again I went into Griffin Park in person, but with only a fiver on me, I had no money for the postage. I had already paid 90p for my membership postage, so I asked if I could have them posted together. The lady in the office, who I shall mention as 'X', said she couldn't find my previous application, and that she'd leave a note on the other. Not a good way to deal with loyal customers, telling them you've mislaid people's ticket application, which may have credit card details on them.
It appears to me that there is an 'institutional lack of professionalism' amongst that staff at Brentford who deal with the public.
To my horror, it's not just the fans they treat with contempt!
When on my last visit to the office, I was waiting for my student ID to be photocopied as part of my application form. A rep' from a printing company comes into the office and speaks to our friend Mrs 'X'.
Every time, it seemed, he finished a sentence, he is interrupted by Mrs "X" answering a phone call. The bloke eventually said he was off to his car to get a catalogue. I don't know if that was just a polite excuse, but I wouldn't blame him if he decided to clear off, because that's the impression he must have thought that the club were conveying.
Can't Brentford have a system whereby calls that are not answered are transferred to another line? What makes it worse was that one of the phone calls was personal.
This was on the day of the Brentford versus India match, and another staff member received a call from Dave Woods of BBC Five-Live. From the answers given, the gist of the conversation was the he wanted to interview Steve Coppell about the game. I'm not sure if he was successful, but from the grain of previous experiences, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't.
The match itself was attended by a measly 3,600 fans - well I say that because the Evening Standard said 8,000+ was to be expected. I am not at all surprised, since the game, a rare event, was hardly mentioned in the press; another trait of the great Griffin Park PR machine. Do you remember last year when Fulham played India? Almost 10,000 turned up.
Brentford can do a lot more to promote itself - the media are often more than happy to print official press releases, since it saves them the bother of doing some real journalism (yeah, like they do that anyway!).
What if I had been a London student, wanting to watch a bit of local football?
I'm sure after the experience of dealing with Brentford's office staff, I may have gone elsewhere. Noades is slagging off the fans for not turning up; okay there might not be much to turn up for, but don't drive another 2,000 away by treating them like sh*t.
If you want to get fans through the gates, get the charm offensive going. Hyping up the India game more would have surely been noticed and brought more crowds in. With a large local community, Brentford had the chance to attract new support. Brentford have arguably the best manager outside the Premiership, and we could market that to our advantage.
Will we? Will we b*ll*cks!
Andrew Saffrey
I'm sure it's been said before, but Brentford really need to sort out it's PR.
Not just how it promotes itself, but how it deals with people. Last season I wanted to be able to buy student-rate tickets and I was told by the club that I needed a 'BFC Student Card'. "Fair enough" I thought, but when I tried to get hold of one, I was informed that they didn't know what I was on about. I explained it to them, but then was told that they didn't have the relevant paperwork to issue me with the said card. That was already some way through the season, so I decided to carry on blagging my way as a junior to the few games I can make from Newcastle, and didn't bother following up my enquiry.
As a point of note, the only other way to purchase student tickets is to do so in person in the office before the day of the game with ID - not always easy from Newcastle!
Anyway, along comes the back end of last season, and the club announces the excellent season ticket packages; £80 to stand is good value - almost worth it just for a guaranteed QPR ticket!
However I ended up not getting a season ticket as I wasn't sure how many games I could get to. So instead, to support the club, I bought a 'non-playing membership' (a normal club membership to you and me), so I could hopefully be able to get a QPR ticket before they go on general sale, as well as discounts in the club shop.
I received an application form, and as last year, it mentioned the 'BFC Student Card', so I thought I'd try and go for that as well.
I was in London over the summer, so went to Griffin Park to apply for both, but again, no joy in getting a student card. I was told to ring up the following week. Eventually, after nearly a year of trying, I was told that I would be able to get one. But that's where this tale gets even worse.
Again I went into Griffin Park in person, but with only a fiver on me, I had no money for the postage. I had already paid 90p for my membership postage, so I asked if I could have them posted together. The lady in the office, who I shall mention as 'X', said she couldn't find my previous application, and that she'd leave a note on the other. Not a good way to deal with loyal customers, telling them you've mislaid people's ticket application, which may have credit card details on them.
It appears to me that there is an 'institutional lack of professionalism' amongst that staff at Brentford who deal with the public.
To my horror, it's not just the fans they treat with contempt!
When on my last visit to the office, I was waiting for my student ID to be photocopied as part of my application form. A rep' from a printing company comes into the office and speaks to our friend Mrs 'X'.
Every time, it seemed, he finished a sentence, he is interrupted by Mrs "X" answering a phone call. The bloke eventually said he was off to his car to get a catalogue. I don't know if that was just a polite excuse, but I wouldn't blame him if he decided to clear off, because that's the impression he must have thought that the club were conveying.
Can't Brentford have a system whereby calls that are not answered are transferred to another line? What makes it worse was that one of the phone calls was personal.
This was on the day of the Brentford versus India match, and another staff member received a call from Dave Woods of BBC Five-Live. From the answers given, the gist of the conversation was the he wanted to interview Steve Coppell about the game. I'm not sure if he was successful, but from the grain of previous experiences, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't.
The match itself was attended by a measly 3,600 fans - well I say that because the Evening Standard said 8,000+ was to be expected. I am not at all surprised, since the game, a rare event, was hardly mentioned in the press; another trait of the great Griffin Park PR machine. Do you remember last year when Fulham played India? Almost 10,000 turned up.
Brentford can do a lot more to promote itself - the media are often more than happy to print official press releases, since it saves them the bother of doing some real journalism (yeah, like they do that anyway!).
What if I had been a London student, wanting to watch a bit of local football?
I'm sure after the experience of dealing with Brentford's office staff, I may have gone elsewhere. Noades is slagging off the fans for not turning up; okay there might not be much to turn up for, but don't drive another 2,000 away by treating them like sh*t.
If you want to get fans through the gates, get the charm offensive going. Hyping up the India game more would have surely been noticed and brought more crowds in. With a large local community, Brentford had the chance to attract new support. Brentford have arguably the best manager outside the Premiership, and we could market that to our advantage.
Will we? Will we b*ll*cks!
Andrew Saffrey
TITS COMMENT.....
Andrew, many thanks for your letter. Apologies for not including it in our first issue of the season but the 'No To Woking' saga forced us to drop the letters page!
If you've managed to read the rest of this issue you will notice that this fanzine has done nothing but congratulate the club on their excellent efforts over the past few months to drag supporters through the turnstiles and increase revenue. I'm certainly not going to go back on that and it appears that the supporters have also realised the efforts people are putting in. To be honest it's been an absolute pleasure to write such a positive edition.
The club has improved itself ten-fold with it's off the pitch activities and we've purposely avoided picking petty holes in what overall has been a massive improvement.
However, believe it or not, we received another letter recently along very similar lines to yours from another student who experienced problems for the India match and also the type of negative attitude you received from the club's office staff - So therefore you have a valid point.
I'm sure that with all the hard work put into the club by the marketing team of late they are fully aware that bad news travels so much faster than good news and will be keen to rectify the problems you've occurred. If they don't improve then let us know and we'll force the club to do something about it!
If you've managed to read the rest of this issue you will notice that this fanzine has done nothing but congratulate the club on their excellent efforts over the past few months to drag supporters through the turnstiles and increase revenue. I'm certainly not going to go back on that and it appears that the supporters have also realised the efforts people are putting in. To be honest it's been an absolute pleasure to write such a positive edition.
The club has improved itself ten-fold with it's off the pitch activities and we've purposely avoided picking petty holes in what overall has been a massive improvement.
However, believe it or not, we received another letter recently along very similar lines to yours from another student who experienced problems for the India match and also the type of negative attitude you received from the club's office staff - So therefore you have a valid point.
I'm sure that with all the hard work put into the club by the marketing team of late they are fully aware that bad news travels so much faster than good news and will be keen to rectify the problems you've occurred. If they don't improve then let us know and we'll force the club to do something about it!
Dear Tits,
I'm just replying to a piece that appeared in issue 38 with regards to the increase in season tickets for Old Age Pensioners.
In my case, far from being charged up to 100% more as you stated, my season ticket for this year was exactly the same as last year. Just thought you should know.
The only down side was that because I couldn't go along to collect it as usual, the club insisted I send them a postal order for 90p (yes, ninety pence) to cover postage. After 55 years support - 10 of them with a season ticket! That was a bit petty, I feel. However......they obviously need the money far more than I do!
Up the Bees,
Larry Signy
I'm just replying to a piece that appeared in issue 38 with regards to the increase in season tickets for Old Age Pensioners.
In my case, far from being charged up to 100% more as you stated, my season ticket for this year was exactly the same as last year. Just thought you should know.
The only down side was that because I couldn't go along to collect it as usual, the club insisted I send them a postal order for 90p (yes, ninety pence) to cover postage. After 55 years support - 10 of them with a season ticket! That was a bit petty, I feel. However......they obviously need the money far more than I do!
Up the Bees,
Larry Signy
Larry, that's great news, I'm glad that not all of the OAP's received such a shock when it came to renewing their season tickets. I have spoken to several people since, many who sit on the New Road, and they informed me that their tickets had increased in the region of £90 this term to watch the Bees, which was nearly double that of last year!
Dear Tits,
I was glad to see the Football League Board turn down Mr Noades request for a move to Woking, you must all be very pleased. I looked at the 'No To Woking' web- site and the opinion appears to be that this is the end of the story.
I don't want to be a damp squib but a few years ago the same Football League Board told the then Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Mr Archer that he would not be allowed to ground share with either Portsmouth or Gillingham! As you are probably aware Archer continued with his plans to sell the Goldstone ground and we ended up at Gillingham. The Football League then agreed that we could share with Gillingham as we had nowhere else to play.
As I say I don't want to be full of doom and gloom but no doubt your dear Mr Noades is aware of this. Really what I am saying is don't think you have won the war and relax as I am sure there will be more twists and turns before it is all settled.
Keep fighting and let us know if we can do anything to help.
Clive Tinkler - Brighton supporter and editor of 'Clubs In Crisis' web-site.
I was glad to see the Football League Board turn down Mr Noades request for a move to Woking, you must all be very pleased. I looked at the 'No To Woking' web- site and the opinion appears to be that this is the end of the story.
I don't want to be a damp squib but a few years ago the same Football League Board told the then Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Mr Archer that he would not be allowed to ground share with either Portsmouth or Gillingham! As you are probably aware Archer continued with his plans to sell the Goldstone ground and we ended up at Gillingham. The Football League then agreed that we could share with Gillingham as we had nowhere else to play.
As I say I don't want to be full of doom and gloom but no doubt your dear Mr Noades is aware of this. Really what I am saying is don't think you have won the war and relax as I am sure there will be more twists and turns before it is all settled.
Keep fighting and let us know if we can do anything to help.
Clive Tinkler - Brighton supporter and editor of 'Clubs In Crisis' web-site.
