The East Fife Thread

[Big Fifer]

Whilst I take on board what Angus has said about the ticket prices, and some of it I can understand, there's still a lot of problems and I'm not sure it's been thought through entirely. 

The increase for the pay at the gate I can first and foremost understand, although I think it would have been more reasonable for it to be £14. As Angus said, the board has made a mistake in not staggering the increases (as the reasons for the increase are things that will have gradually increased year on year as well). £15 is a steep increase, one that'll take quite a few by surprise next time they fancy popping down for an East Fife game. Do I think it'll drive the fans away in their droves? I'm not entirely sure but we'll see this coming season. As a concession (student) I am disappointed by the £2 increase on top of their pay at the gate price as well. If a concession is going to get a discount in the first place, then surely a discount to the increase would be somewhat logical as well?

If we're going to use clubs like Airdrie as a comparison for their ticket prices then by all means let's. Their adult price is more expensive (I believe they're full time), but their concessions are £10 which is not only cheaper but a larger discount even if they were charging the £15 we are. For me (obviously I'm biased) but surely concessions are one of the areas we should be encouraging more than most, apart from kids, to come to the games? Either it's those who are 60+ and are available every Saturday, or it's students who are skint and to which 2 or 3 quid can actually be a bit of a big deal. We're getting dangerously close to what clubs like Brechin charge for a normal adult admission. Similarly, where do we draw the line at full time students? What about those who are students still at high school? I like the fact that our child prices of £5, which is very good, include up to the age of 16. But it seems a tad harsh that when someone who's 17 or 18 and is either at high school, an apprentice or at soon to be at university gets charged the full adult fare or the mildly discounted concession. Can it not be tiered somehow? We need to be creative here, we have a high school of 1600 kids up the road from us, what's being done to get them along? I understand that trying to break the easy-to-support old firm tyranny that is rife across Levenmouth is no easy task but we need to try. Are the club doing anything on this front? They may or may not be, I'm ignorant on this point so I'm genuinely asking. 

As far as the season tickets go, they're mental. If we're taking the early bird prices, an adult season ticket has gone up by £58 (or 36%). That's enormous, and the highest increase is being delivered to the most loyal fans. A massive kick in the teeth to the people who are the lifeblood of our club, and is an increase that's not in line with the reasons the club has given (in the email sent only to season ticket holders). For a club our size season ticket money is vital, and I think it's a big gamble to be running with the increase as it is here. Again, can't we be creative? Can we look at direct debits? Can we spread the cost of season tickets over 12 months, with renewal schemes, with more rewards for season ticket holders? If we do it over 12 months then the club as money coming in regularly, including over the summer where I assume most players aren't being paid so allows us to build up a bit of cash before the season starts.

The concessionary season tickets are just as weird. The price has risen by £53 (or 43%), an increase that's being put upon those likely to have the least amount of cash but still go to games without a parent. Again, surely we can set up a direct debit here if the club insists on sticking with this? How many students have £175 to be spending on a season ticket during the summer? The club seems to have kept the child's season ticket price the same, which should be praised. But the 33% increase on parent and child and parent with two kids is putting out exactly the wrong message we should be trying to put out. If a parent is bringing two kids along to the game then they should be rewarded. Not to sound overly grim but if every Dad brought two new Fife fans to the game, once he kicks the bucket we have twice as many fans so that should be commended. Can we do more to encourage this? We should be aiming to grow our support year on year and the parent and child tickets are the perfect way to do it. Throwing massive price increases at them is not.

Whilst I understand the costs of running a club are growing, a better blend of price increases and appreciation of fan loyalty is needed. We need to do more to get fans through the gate, whatever the age, and I don't think this is doing us any favours. If the club make slightly more money from this, but lose fans/season ticket holders, that in NO way can be spun as a good thing. That's a disaster, we need to secure the clubs future in the here and now but also in 10 years time.

I agree with Angus that we want a successful team on the pitch, and that has to be funded, but if only the season ticket holders are sent the email then I'm afraid that's not enough. If we look at Hearts for example, their fans are asked to plough cash into their club left right and centre. But the open communications with the fans regarding everything going on at the club, reasons for increases, the reasons they're asking for more investment (and the various benefits fans can get from them) are shown in media outputs almost as large as my post is here! See posts like: http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/5863 for example. Constant communication with the fan base is vital to ensure that fans know WHY they're being asked to stump up more money, because as said if Angus comes on to explain that on this forum then people are more likely to come round to the boards way of thinking. But the majority probably don't sit on here, and won't want to part with more cash without the club telling them up front the reasons why and where we stand to benefit. 

Obviously I come across as extremely negative here and I apologise for that, as I have in the past felt the wrath of those involved with the club on this forum (East Fife fans are notoriously grumpy and complain like hell, I promise I ain't one of them!). A lot is done well at the club and more importantly done by people who give up their time and money to help the club they live and breathe for, but whilst that's the case I think a lot can still be improved upon and better communication with fans especially regarding these huge increases is certainly one thing that could have been done better.

Looking forward to the game on Saturday.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Big Fifer

[Pee Gee]

Great post!

[smuggfifer]

Whilst I take on board what Angus has said about the ticket prices, and some of it I can understand, there's still a lot of problems and I'm not sure it's been thought through entirely. 

The increase for the pay at the gate I can first and foremost understand, although I think it would have been more reasonable for it to be £14. As Angus said, the board has made a mistake in not staggering the increases (as the reasons for the increase are things that will have gradually increased year on year as well). £15 is a steep increase, one that'll take quite a few by surprise next time they fancy popping down for an East Fife game. Do I think it'll drive the fans away in their droves? I'm not entirely sure but we'll see this coming season. As a concession (student) I am disappointed by the £2 increase on top of their pay at the gate price as well. If a concession is going to get a discount in the first place, then surely a discount to the increase would be somewhat logical as well?

If we're going to use clubs like Airdrie as a comparison for their ticket prices then by all means let's. Their adult price is more expensive (I believe they're full time), but their concessions are £10 which is not only cheaper but a larger discount even if they were charging the £15 we are. For me (obviously I'm biased) but surely concessions are one of the areas we should be encouraging more than most, apart from kids, to come to the games? Either it's those who are 60+ and are available every Saturday, or it's students who are skint and to which 2 or 3 quid can actually be a bit of a big deal. We're getting dangerously close to what clubs like Brechin charge for a normal adult admission. Similarly, where do we draw the line at full time students? What about those who are students still at high school? I like the fact that our child prices of £5, which is very good, include up to the age of 16. But it seems a tad harsh that when someone who's 17 or 18 and is either at high school, an apprentice or at soon to be at university gets charged the full adult fare or the mildly discounted concession. Can it not be tiered somehow? We need to be creative here, we have a high school of 1600 kids up the road from us, what's being done to get them along? I understand that trying to break the easy-to-support old firm tyranny that is rife across Levenmouth is no easy task but we need to try. Are the club doing anything on this front? They may or may not be, I'm ignorant on this point so I'm genuinely asking. 

As far as the season tickets go, they're mental. If we're taking the early bird prices, an adult season ticket has gone up by £58 (or 36%). That's enormous, and the highest increase is being delivered to the most loyal fans. A massive kick in the teeth to the people who are the lifeblood of our club, and is an increase that's not in line with the reasons the club has given (in the email sent only to season ticket holders). For a club our size season ticket money is vital, and I think it's a big gamble to be running with the increase as it is here. Again, can't we be creative? Can we look at direct debits? Can we spread the cost of season tickets over 12 months, with renewal schemes, with more rewards for season ticket holders? If we do it over 12 months then the club as money coming in regularly, including over the summer where I assume most players aren't being paid so allows us to build up a bit of cash before the season starts.

The concessionary season tickets are just as weird. The price has risen by £53 (or 43%), an increase that's being put upon those likely to have the least amount of cash but still go to games without a parent. Again, surely we can set up a direct debit here if the club insists on sticking with this? How many students have £175 to be spending on a season ticket during the summer? The club seems to have kept the child's season ticket price the same, which should be praised. But the 33% increase on parent and child and parent with two kids is putting out exactly the wrong message we should be trying to put out. If a parent is bringing two kids along to the game then they should be rewarded. Not to sound overly grim but if every Dad brought two new Fife fans to the game, once he kicks the bucket we have twice as many fans so that should be commended. Can we do more to encourage this? We should be aiming to grow our support year on year and the parent and child tickets are the perfect way to do it. Throwing massive price increases at them is not.

Whilst I understand the costs of running a club are growing, a better blend of price increases and appreciation of fan loyalty is needed. We need to do more to get fans through the gate, whatever the age, and I don't think this is doing us any favours. If the club make slightly more money from this, but lose fans/season ticket holders, that in NO way can be spun as a good thing. That's a disaster, we need to secure the clubs future in the here and now but also in 10 years time.

I agree with Angus that we want a successful team on the pitch, and that has to be funded, but if only the season ticket holders are sent the email then I'm afraid that's not enough. If we look at Hearts for example, their fans are asked to plough cash into their club left right and centre. But the open communications with the fans regarding everything going on at the club, reasons for increases, the reasons they're asking for more investment (and the various benefits fans can get from them) are shown in media outputs almost as large as my post is here! See posts like: http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/5863 for example. Constant communication with the fan base is vital to ensure that fans know WHY they're being asked to stump up more money, because as said if Angus comes on to explain that on this forum then people are more likely to come round to the boards way of thinking. But the majority probably don't sit on here, and won't want to part with more cash without the club telling them up front the reasons why and where we stand to benefit. 

Obviously I come across as extremely negative here and I apologise for that, as I have in the past felt the wrath of those involved with the club on this forum (East Fife fans are notoriously grumpy and complain like hell, I promise I ain't one of them!). A lot is done well at the club and more importantly done by people who give up their time and money to help the club they live and breathe for, but whilst that's the case I think a lot can still be improved upon and better communication with fans especially regarding these huge increases is certainly one thing that could have been done better.

Looking forward to the game on Saturday.

Excellent response and well put, should hopefully own a few eyes.
I posed the question of price increase to everyone on the bus on Saturday, and to a man woman and child they all agreed that a price increase was due . But they nearly all agreed that the level of increase was excessive, and should have been phased over 3 years.
To coin the much used phrase from a car advert"you do the maths". If we sold 300 adult STs previous, we need to sell 225 just to equal this at the new rate.
Very risky strategy indeed.
Also bear in mind, your ST allowed you to miss 4 games and still break even against gate fee, this factor has now dropped to 2 games. Is it worth the risk?

[flyfifer48]

A suggestion of a better communication statement from the board.

'To enable the continuing positive developments of recent seasons and to ensure the manager has sufficient  funding to attract  the quality of player required to develop the squad. The board have decided with the exception of a child's ticket and over 80 ticket  to increase prices by 15% for all categories.

This is the first increase since season 2008/9 and reflects the cost of living experienced by all fans and businesses. We are aware this may cause hardship in some instances and in an effort to mitigate this we are willing to take 3 installments on full price tickets. The offer being,1st payment early June, 2nd payment July and final payment August. The 'early bird' price would still apply for a single payment.

We thank you in anticipation of your continued support in helping to develop and keep our club in a healthy position. 

 

[T-zero]

Barry smith, Kevin smith, pat slattery and Chris Kane signed new deals for next season

[LiamA]

And the season after!

[King Kebab]

Excellent start!!!

[T-zero]

And the season after!

Didn't notice that great news!

[mo83]

Barry smith, Kevin smith, pat slattery and Chris Kane signed new deals for next season

Kevin Smith is a class player. Always been impressed by him when I've seen him play.

[ewan_fife]

So that's Kyle Wilkie, Kevin Smith, Chris Kane and Pay Slattery signed up for next season. Good start! In barry we trust

[T-zero]

So that's Kyle Wilkie, Kevin Smith, Chris Kane and Pay Slattery signed up for next season. Good start! In barry we trust

Did Kyle Wilkie sign a 2 year deal or did he renew it during the season?

[sammytroot]

Kyle signed a 2 year deal prior to the beginning of the current season.

[east fife for life]

Got foundations for next season. Will Page be staying with us or will he be chasing a ft contract elsewhere? In Barry we trust

[T-zero]

Got foundations for next season. Will Page be staying with us or will he be chasing a ft contract elsewhere? In Barry we trust

Page said he's happy at east fife, isn't he training to become a teacher of some sort? Think he will be staying.

[Hooper]

Will changing to Astro effect players signing from the west if the club want them to train at stadium ? 

[King Kebab]

Awards night at the Nou Bayview last night, here's the list of winners...

Player of the Year - Ross Brown
Young Player of the Year - Jason Kerr
Player's Player of the Year - Scott Robinson
Goal of the Season - Chris Duggan (v Albion Rovers 04/03/17)
Top Scorer - Kevin Smith
Director's Player of the Year - Chris Kane
EFST Player of the Year - Jonathan Page
EFYA Player of the Year - Jonathan Page

[King Kebab]

Did anybody get a photo of next season's away kit that was previewed at the do last night???

[Forest_Fifer]

Did anybody get a photo of next season's away kit that was previewed at the do last night???

Failing that, a description would do.

[King Kebab]

Failing that, a description would do.

Red and white stripes down the front all red on the back!!!

Didn't really grab me tbh, would have preferred a variant of the purple of the last two seasons!!!

Claim the purple!!!

[smuggfifer]

Red and white stripes down the front all red on the back!!!

Didn't really grab me tbh, would have preferred a variant of the purple of the last two seasons!!!

Claim the purple!!!

Is it similar to the away kit from the league 2:Champions season, the one we wore at Firs Park?