Supporters` Council - February 2017
Supporters’ Council Minutes – 7 pm, 2 February 2017
Purvis Suite, East End Park
Chairman: John Simpson
Secretary: Donald Adamson
Chairman’s Welcome – John Simpson
The Chairman welcomed rather more than 70 Pars Supporters to the Purvis suite for the Supporters’ Council meeting. He introduced the three elements of the night. Firstly, Ross McArthur would give a short address on what was happening around the Club, and then invite questions. Secondly, Mikey Mlotkiewicz would speak about his role as the new General Manager of Dunfermline Athletic. Thirdly, Bonar Mercer had very kindly agreed to act as Chairman for a panel of former players talking about their memories of playing for the Pars. The panel was Bobby Robertson, Ian Westwater, Kenny Thomson and Willie Callaghan.
Lorna Morton was doing a real-time account of the meeting for the benefit of Pars supporters unable to attend, and especially those members of the Pars family abroad. This was very much appreciated.
View from the Boardroom – Ross McArthur
Ross posed the question: where are we, as a Club, at present?
After eight months of the financial year (runs 1 June to 31 May), we are in line with Budget. However, the last four months will be challenging, especially as we have four major home games in April – being Hibs, Raith Rovers, Falkirk and Morton - having had relatively few home games in February and March. The new strength and conditioning gym was nearing completion, hopefully by the end of February.
The undersoil heating system was working, and was used for the St Mirren game. Much tender loving care had been applied to it by Purvis Group, led by Jim Thomson. Unfortunately, the supplier does not exist any longer, and thus repairs and maintenance can prove challenging.
A lot of planning work for next season had already started. This covered such areas as the Safety Certificate. stadium maintenance. sponsorship. IT systems (shop and ticketing). process for the recruitment of players. and improvement of the scouting system. DAFC had spoken to and visited both English and Scottish clubs to check best practice.
Ross wished to acknowledge the great support given by so many volunteers with their time. Without this DAFC would operate at a far lower level. The Club received vital support from many groups including the Centenary Club Lifeline, the 1885 Business Club, the DASC and the PST. This was very much appreciated. Gathered around the Club were a number of groups such as the Pars Foundation, the Disabled Supporters’ Group and the Heritage Trust which helped to make Dunfermline Athletic very much grounded in the West Fife community.
Drew Main had been appointed to the DAFC Board, following the sad and untimely passing of Margaret Ross. This in turn meant further changes in the Pars United CIC Board, and the Pars United (EEP) Board.
The results in the last two months had improved. There were less injuries and suspensions which allowed more continuity of selection. The January transfer window had seen the squad (and book) re-balanced, with several younger players going out on development loans.
February saw a series of tough league fixtures but the players were in good heart. We were due to play Hamilton in the Cup, and had wisely not budgeted on any windfalls! We would see what came.
As a Club, we welcome constructive criticism but we urge supporters to avoid abuse of players or staff. Together we will be stronger. We were making progress as a Club based on this principle.
The SPFL had introduced new rules and guidance on unacceptable conduct from 1 January 2017. All clubs must ensure any unacceptable conduct (chants, banners, misbehaviour, violence, pitch incursions, flares, fireworks etc.) is dealt with appropriately. Clubs are required to have official policy on such behaviour, notices within the stadium, in the Programme, on the website, make appropriate PA announcements, keep match records, and make an annual Return.
We are now required to obtain name and address of the purchasers (other than on the Match Day itself) of tickets for Home and Away games to assist the authorities identify culprits. As a result of this, DAFC, with limited staff, had decided on an on-line application approach for the all-ticket games such as Raith Rovers and Falkirk.
Ross and the DAFC Board wished to thank every Dunfermline supporter for their continued loyalty and support. It was greatly appreciated.
Ross said that he very much welcomed questions.
Q: Will there be ‘Pay at the Gate’ at Falkirk on Saturday?
A: This is very much a matter for Falkirk, in conjunction with the Falkirk safety officer and the police. We have sold 876 tickets at close of Thursday. We hope there will be one, and there might well be. It is not in our gift however. DAFC will be selling tickets at the shop until 12 noon.
Q: Why is it necessary to take people’s details if buying tickets in advance, but not on the day?
A: This is a SPFL requirement from 1 January. The background is the threat of ‘Strict Liability’ from certain politicians, and the trouble in identifying troublemakers at the 2016 Hampden Final.
A lot of Premiership clubs already sell tickets on-line for all ticket matches. And many smaller clubs are not involved in all ticket league games. There is an exemption for gates under 1,000. It is thus particularly a challenge to teams like Dunfermline.
Clearly there are issues with people buying tickets on the day, or otherwise moving seats within the ground. DAFC and only three other clubs made detailed representation to the SFPL. However, DAFC now has no option other than to apply the regulations as laid down.
Q: The ticket system is not working properly, what can be done?
A: We are working with the software company which operates the system to rectify and improve matters. The Falkirk game was the first real test and it has not gone well. It needs to improve. Other ticket systems exist but would cost more money to implement.
Q: At the Raith game, our family, with four children, was broken up because we bought tickets at different times.
A: This is most unfortunate. Many clubs to not enforce sitting in allocated seats but some do. This is a matter for Raith Rovers, and their Stewards.
Q: If the Club must bear the 1½% credit card company charge when selling away tickets, could we not just deduct from the cash being gathered in?
A: Rangers apparently did this when in the Championship and it caused considerable ill-feeling. It is just long-standing practice, and remember that we gain when teams like Hibs visit East End Park, and we receive the gross proceeds from them for visiting fans.
Q: When do we start the budgetary process?
A: This is already underway. In fact, we have several budget models running at the same time, depending on various outcomes for the season, and who we might be meeting next year. They are constantly being updated and tweaked. This is essential for planning.
Q: Will the Club ever get credit from a financial institution?
A: Most of Scottish football will probably be unable to borrow in the foreseeable future.
Q: Does the Club pay rent for the ground?
A: Yes. It received a one season rent free period, and has been paying rent since. [Details are on the Club website]
Q: Does the Club receive income for BBC Alba games which are televised?
A: The money from Alba goes into a pot rather than coming to the Club that hosts the game. This is a major problem because the gates are well down if televised, as are all the other income flows within the ground on the night. Next season’s games will reduce from 16 to 6, and we are promised that any one team would only host a home game once. It is different with the Scottish Cup where you do receive income directly.
Q: In the light of the new Unacceptable Conduct rules, there can be issues in the NW stand due to the passion of these supporters for their club. Would the Club be willing to speak to those supporters who are identified in the first instance?
A: The Club recognises that football is a passionate game, and welcomes the loud support it gets from the NW Stand. Obviously, we must obey the law and the regulations as laid down, for example, keeping access areas free, but we are very happy to sit down with any individual who feels picked upon to explore and rectify the issues. Indeed, I used to sit in that area of the ground, although I always sat on my hands (much laughter).
Q: Does DAFC support an initiative to explore ‘Safe Standing’?
A: Yes. The initial issue is one of cost to carry out a survey and consider a whole host of practical issues. Then there is the cost to implement.
Q: Celtic used a company to consider this. Costs came in at between £80 and £110 per person, I am told.
A: The Club is supportive of safe standing, but the issue will centre on cost and competing budgets.
Q: What does the Club want to do in its approach to Scouting.
A: We want to improve our Scouting network, and professionalise our recruitment systems. This will involve a much more standardised system, and more comprehensive coverage. Due diligence on all possible recruits will be enhanced.
Q. Has Malky Mackay been to Dunfermline yet in connection to possible changes to the Youth set-up in Scottish football?
A: Not yet, but no doubt he will be looking at FEFA shortly, and this may well include a visit to the four Fife senior Clubs. Stephen Wright has been invited to the next Supporters’ Council meeting in May. At this point, we hope to have more details about what changes will be made and the implications for both FEFA and Dunfermline Athletic.
General Manager’s Review – Mikey Mlotkiewicz
Mikey was born and bred in Dunfermline, and has always passionately supported the Pars. He worked previously at Fife College where he covered a wide range of marketing fields. He co-created ‘Lizzie Pars’, with Craig Nellies, as a vibrant DAFC supporters’ club. Mikey first met Ross in the bad times of early 2013, and quickly got involved in various aspects of PR and marketing to help the Club. He became Vice-Chair of the CC Lifeline fund, focussing especially on marketing. This culminated in May 2016 with being offered the role of General manager.
The role as General Manager is tremendously wide ranging. It can cover issues as diverse as safety issues (fill in a pothole), on-going maintenance matters (to paint or not to paint), marketing in all its forms (time for a tweet) to answering queries from supporters and the media (over 70 contacts per day).
The role covers:
Writing copy for a wide range of needs
Applying graphic design skills
Handling press and media enquiries
Managing Health and Safety policies, and dealing with issues as they arise
Co-ordinating Club events
Large range of tasks on Match-days
Managing staff issues
Working with the full range of DAFC related groups
Marketing campaigns in all areas
First point of contact for the supporters
There has been considerable progress so far. Mikey highlighted some of the areas where matters had been improved for the benefit of the Club:
On Thursdays, we now have a regular press conference at 1.30pm. We make it clear to the Press in advance who will attend from the Management and playing staff. We also now have a dedicated film room with sponsor backdrops, and no interruptions. On match-days, the members of the press have appropriate passes, and a secure area with free wi-fi. Relationship building is working well, as the Press come to know and trust us. The amount of profiling that DAFC now gets from BBC, STV, Sky is very much on the rise.
Clarity of operation is important, and we have developed policies in relation to security, social media, charitable giving in the recent past. This helps to ensure consistent and appropriate treatment.
We have improved signage and branding around the ground. We are also working with the Heritage Trust now on a project to place display boards, featuring aspects of the history of Dunfermline Athletic, around the ground.
Our PR is very active and includes a lot of stories and events about our supporters as well as directly about the Club.
We have improved our match-day information for supporters, and made this widely available.
We are always looking at new ideas to increase commercial income. For example, the ‘12th Man’ campaign has worked well, we have re-launched our conferencing offering, and are getting in income for the substitute bibs for the first time.
We partner with a range of football and non-football organisations. For example, we share ideas with Hibs and Falkirk, and enjoy a good relationship with Kelty Hearts. Outside football, we have worked recently with SAMH, Tesco and a range of West Fife schools.
Black Friday generated over £5,000 of sales. The Club Calendar sold well, especially on the signing night. Events as wide ranging as the Black and White Ball, and the Sportsman’s Dinner are now well established money raisers for DAFC.
In Social media terms, we now have 38,000 likes on Facebook (4th highest in Scottish football), 14,300 followers for our twitter and reach 2.3 million per month and our YouTube offering has been seen by 650,000 viewers over three years, with a highest video viewing figure of 16,000.
The future is already being mapped out for action:
We want to develop a proper CRM system which will co-ordinate our contact with our supporters so that we know them better, respond to their needs more efficiently and provide them with enhanced service.
We intend to improve the Club Shop in terms of stock, and environment.
We aim to upgrade the already excellent Programme. For example, we would like to have a Programme subscription service for those not attending.
We intend to launch in March a new Dunfermline Playlist using music selected by the fans and the players, promote local music as well as EEP Classics.
We will create further Dunfermline Athletic related events throughout the year in order to bring income to East End Park.
All forms of additional possible advertising revenue are being considered.
The match-day experience is the focus of much thought. This varies from supporter to supporter, and DAFC wants to enhance that wherever possible.
Many thanks to all supporters for helping me in my new role thus far.
Q: Could we listen to what the players listen to in the dressing room?
A: I am not sure that would be wise!
Q: The Tannoy system needs attention
A: We are aware of this, and will work to improve. Cost is a factor.
Former players’ panel – Bonar Mercer
Bonar then took over to introduce four former players with over 1600 appearances between them.
The players were:
Kenny Thomson 432 appearances
Willie Callaghan 426 appearances
Bobby Robertson 410 appearances
Ian Westwater 361 appearances
The format was that Bonar interviewed each player and then invited members of the audience to ask questions.
The result was highly entertaining, and judged by the amount of laughter and questions, it was much appreciated. This part of the evening lasted over an hour.
Chairman’s Thanks – John Simpson
John Simpson thanked the speakers, the players’ panel, and the supporters who had come along this evening. The next meeting was planned for May and the intention was to invite Allan Johnston and Stephen Wright.
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