The identify paradox: modern club or traditional institution looking out for the fans and community?

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

I've noticed a theme amongst threads on here, the tension between the desire to not be run like a clown show and the sharp edge of acting like a hard nosed business, like the current big boys.

It creates a bit of a paradox. On one hand, the wish to be a big player and restore former glories. On the other, the club acting like certain other commerce hungry teams and doing things that actually feel uncomfortable. That we sometimes mock other clubs for.

With every instance of £6 or £7 pints, £650 seats for Sunderland games, or renaming the new stadium is the slow move from, well, the club rooted in its community and showing respect to its fanbase.

Where do you stand? Is this a necessary evil to fund the squad and compete? Going too far? Or do you wish to find a pragmatic middle ground?

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Mods please thread ban Dave and Azul immediately.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

There's indeed a real risk of a disconnect between a section of fans over the coming seasons.

 

[KaiserEFC]

It’s a symptom of the sport being absolutely done for the traditional fan unfortunately.

 

[Moomin]

When fans defend us having the highest beer prices in the league and say its " Event " prices and what they pay at Wimbledon you know the game has gone from the working class.

Can see in a few years that the crowd will be full of people taking selfies for their instagram accounts.

 

[Ragnar]

Unfortunately it’s just how football is now, and if you don’t adapt you will be left behind.

 

[Ragnar]

When fans defend us having the highest beer prices in the league and say its " Event " prices and what they pay at Wimbledon you know the game has gone from the working class.

Can see in a few years that the crowd will be full of people taking selfies for their instagram accounts.

The flip side is fans now expect their club to spend 100m a season now, players expect 100+k a week, the money has to come for somewhere.

 

[chrismpw]

Do it right.

The club is what it is with symbiosis with the fans. The fans wouldn't exist without the club, the club would never gave been what it is without the fans paying to watch over decades.

Do right by the fans, first and foremost. That extra £2 a pint isn't going to the club and transfers, its going to concessions anyway.

 

[Victus]

When fans defend us having the highest beer prices in the league and say its " Event " prices and what they pay at Wimbledon you know the game has gone from the working class.

Can see in a few years that the crowd will be full of people taking selfies for their instagram accounts.

That would mean we have won stuff and are relevant again, personally I'd give up a lot of what our club is to see us win things and share the moment with my dad before he goes. It's very selfish but I think anybody could understand it.

 

[Who's_up_for_cumpkins?]

The choice is modernise or die sadly.

In theory I could have coped with the remainder of my match going years being at GP and us being an ongoing PL outfit but not threatening the trophy cabinet whilst thumbing my nose at the plastic inauthentic lot across the way.

However, I think eventually you lose my two son's generation. For them we need to win something in the next ten years I think to catapult and sustain us into the modern era and old farts like me need to step back and let them take it on.

 

[davek]

More of a contradiction than a paradox.

Also, a contradiction doesn't necessarily have to exist - it just depends on how a stadium is run and what decisions are made in terms of exploitation of the corporate world and non-match day events and whether the club also want to squeeze fans on top of that. There should be a subsidisation of ticketing if our stadiums are going to be used as bill boards for companies and for use as multi-event facilities.

And I think that choice comes down to the type of owner you have: how much they are and what motive they have for being in football ownership.

I've said for ages the fan demographic will change and our unique identity will be eliminated or at least come under serious threat. The novelty of the new stadium shouldn't be allowed to obscure our hard won culture as a fanbase.

I'm going for a bike ride to think more about this...

 

[matty1878]

wha

 

[Bedfordblue]

 

[Sixty Nine Seventy]

We will inevitably become what we don't want to be. It's the true curse of commerciality whether we like it or not. The change will be slow and gradual so less noticeable but it will come. We still think we are The People's Club and to a degree we are but the commercial drivers are moving us away from the heartfelt notion. It's more noticeable now because of the big shift from Goodison so welcome to the new commercially focused Everton. The paradox really is that as much as we may complain about the changes you can't get tickets. We complain but don't do anything about it because as a 'traditional' club the fan base keeps growing. I grew up with Everton from 1966 and generally speaking loved every minute but this modern day Everton... nah, not for me. But I've still got a season ticket. That's the paradox, can't live with ya, can't live without ya!!

 

[Toffe3m4n]

It’s a symptom of the sport being absolutely done for the traditional fan unfortunately.

Absolutely blob on.

As much as I love the NFL, the 'Americanisation' of English football has slowly been taking a hold so that it'll start catering less and less to the 'traditional' fan and more to the 'general audience'. The new stadium will ultimately show this plainly in our case - the club will certainly be trying to get as many 'non-traditional' fans into it as possible over time to maximise revenue whereever possible. Will likely start seeing evidence of this soon enough.

For what it's worth - I'm generally non-plussed about it as a 39 year old lifelong fan who had a season ticket for years in my teens. We need to 'move with the times' so to speak if we ever want to be at least semi-competitive again (barring any future massive, wholesale changes to how Premier League teams can conduct/regulate themselves, i.e. salary caps etc.)