The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[ComradeDiego]

3 hours ago, Finlay21 said:

What has the shop being open got to do with a match preview ? There were a large number of people asking when shop was opening as it has been closed all week 

Just another example of the shocking communication between the club and supporters. 

it’s absolutely a scunnering.

[Finlay21]

10 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Last week there was no match preview at all. The club shouldn’t be relying on VOR or any other media outlet doing their work. It just comes across as incredibly tinpot. 

Voice does the interview with the manager and puts it online , what’s wrong with that ,the club have recruited someone who looks after social media and will be in place soon , think there’s more  important things to fix at the club than put out a  match preview that is available via another source online and in print , and club announced there was going to be disruption this week , if we win tomorrow not one person would be bothered if there was a preview or not , when the team are in poor form people moan about absolutely everything when really all that us annoying them is the team lost 

Edited November 19, 2021 by Finlay21

[ComradeDiego]

9 minutes ago, Finlay21 said:

Voice does the interview with the manager and puts it online , what’s wrong with that ,the club have recruited someone who looks after social media and will be in place soon , think there’s more  important things to fix at the club than put out a  match preview that is available via another source online and in print , and club announced there was going to be disruption this week , if we win tomorrow not one person would be bothered if there was a preview or not , when the team are in poor form people moan about absolutely everything when really all that us annoying them is the team lost 

Not happening unfortunately.

It’ll be just like the thistle game, first goal will go in (due to another defensive blunder from Baird and/or Fjortoft) then it’ll be an onslaught.

[Kitty_Boy]

44 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Communication has got even worse in recent weeks/months. To not even have a match preview is simply unacceptable 

I have written the match preview for several years and sent it to the previous Commercial Manager on a Thursday evening/Friday morning to add team news and quote from the Manager and post on the website.

I recently advised the club that I was struggling to find the time to continue and, hence, there hasn't been a regular match preview in recent weeks. 

Is that unacceptable, pathetic? That is a little extreme but I do think it is unarguable that the club could vastly improve its output/communication in this regard (social media, website, 'TV' channel). Hopefully the new Commercial Manager can address this.

The Chairman has on many occasions spoken that, off-the-field, Ayr United is a 'lean' operation. It relies on volunteers - like Robbo, AU Media etc. - to operate they way fans seem to expect. I'm not alway sure that is appreciated. Every penny spent on someone run the Twitter account, post content on the website, create videos etc. would be a penny less spent on the first team. It's a difficult balance.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Kitty_Boy

[rb123!]

1 hour ago, Finlay21 said:

communication has been poor long before the hub came aboard 

Even before the Dave Smith era it was poor 

1 hour ago, UpInTheAyr said:

Black & White TV needs binned too, too much upkeep to make it worthwhile, get the highlights back on YouTube. I'm sure there are fans who would be willing to handle basic social media stuff for free, like the match preview, prob even a few here. It shouldn't be that hard. But hopefully this is all sorted when the new Commercial Director comes aboard.

B&W TV either needs to be all in effort or binned not this half arsed tripe service we're getting just now, half arsed is being generious, more like quarter. Not sure if it's to do with no commercial manager or what but it seemed to be going south even before that

I mean when it first launched there was a midweek update from Mick McCardle and then there was supposed to be light hearted quiz interviews with players and club staff. All that stopped the minute Kerr and McCardle got sacked, never resumed under Hopkin, don't know if Hopkin blocked access or what. 

Watched the John Hughes intereview yesterday which for one got me depressed because it's refreshing to hear a manager talk his feelings and express them instead of the regurgitated shite we get most weeks, anyway more to the point they did a 15 minute midweek interview with the manager.

Dunfermline are a full time club and so are we supposedly so no reason why we can't do that. Too many aspects of the club from the out looking in and still towards a part time setup.

Edited November 19, 2021 by rb123!

[GaryMc93]

The decision to launch B&W TV when they did was bizarre as during a pandemic when fans couldn’t attend matches the club should have been trying to retain engagement instead of coming up with an idea of putting stuff behind a paywall. Add in the fact content was always going to be limited as away teams weren’t allowed camera operators at games and the squad were in a bubble so access to them was likely more restricted. Luckily not many highlights existed last season for anyone to really want to watch.

Also hard to believe any sort of in-house compliance testing was done before the site launched. Should have launched last season as free until the end of the season for season ticket holders and requested feedback to try and address issues before a full launch in the summer. Instead it was meant to be free to view until 31st Jan 21 and a subscription service after that. Not sure the club even acknowledged that wasn't happening.

[1nickydevlin]

Did we ever get a new comm manager ? 

[Trogdor]

18 hours ago, itzdrk said:

Team news ahead of tomorrow's match with Dunfermline and thoughts of manager Jim Duffy: THE HUB IS OPERATIONAL, REPEAT, THE HUB IS OPERATIONAL. 

 

[Finlay21]

27 minutes ago, 1nickydevlin said:

Did we ever get a new comm manager ? 

Yes , he will be announced soon , currently working his notice at current job , no point announcing until he arrives as you never know what can happen between now and then 

[placidcasual]

A hot take, I know, but I'd rather have at least 2 competent central midfielders than a white elephant of a pub.

[Trogdor]

11 hours ago, Kitty_Boy said:

Every penny spent on someone run the Twitter account, post content on the website, create videos etc. would be a penny less spent on the first team. It's a difficult balance.

There is such a thing as penny wise pound foolish though. Actually investing some money in a more polished media output all round may actually increase existing supporter engagement; community engagement and actually attract new fans. The club should maybe try it and see what happens? If it doesn't generate more buzz or attract new fans then cancel it. We'd be no worse off. Its the lack of effort to try anything different that frustrates me. The culture of this is the way its always been done is a problem for every business. We're lean and we'll always be lean in Ayr's case. That doesn't actually preclude change though.

I have no issue with the volunteers I think you and others do a good job given the time and resources contributed to it.

I think we should be careful not to confuse criticism of the how the club is run and decisions made by the hierarchy with the effort and dedication of our volunteers. 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Trogdor

[rgreig]

2 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

There is such a thing as penny wise pound foolish though. Actually investing some money in a more polished media output all round may actually increase existing supporter engagement; community engagement and actually attract new fans. The club should maybe try and it and see what happens? If it doesn't generate more buzz or attract new fans then cancel it. We'd be no worse off. Its the lack of effort to try anything different that frustrates me. The culture of this is the way its always been done is a problem for every business. We're lean and we'll always be lean in Ayr's case. That doesn't actually preclude change though.

I have no issue with the volunteers I think you and others do a good job given the time and resources contributed to it.

I think we should be careful not to confuse criticism of the how the club is run and decisions made by the hierarchy with the effort and dedication of our volunteers. 

This is 100% right. If you view social media (or any part of the digital platform) as purely a cost then you would view it as something that can be cut or should be cut to move budget into the team. However that would be an incredibly myopic perspective - most firms are not running social media teams as a hobby but because they see it as a way to strengthen the relationship with customers and engage with them outside the direct face to face visits. I don't think a football club is particularly different and in fact has a big advantage that people tend to get emotionally attached to a club in a way that they don't to a restaurant or similar.

If I were Dave Smith I would be looking for good examples of small clubs with effective social media and digital presences in the UK and then picking up the phone to speak to them about how they have approached it - there is a good chance they'd be fine to talk about it since it's not the core business.

[HMIP]

We’re not a happy bunch are we?  I didn’t realise the VoR was doing pre-match interviews with Duffy and posting them online.  Are they on you tube?

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, placidcasual said:

A hot take, I know, but I'd rather have at least 2 competent central midfielders than a white elephant of a pub.

The pub will help to buy the competent midfielders , the cost of the pub  has nothing to do with this years budget , and it’s the pub the fans have been asking for for many years , 

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, HMIP said:

We’re not a happy bunch are we?  I didn’t realise the VoR was doing pre-match interviews with Duffy and posting them online.  Are they on you tube?

They are on Ayrshire live and Voice of reason Twitter , not sure if on Facebook as I don’t use it 

[Finlay21]

1 hour ago, rgreig said:

This is 100% right. If you view social media (or any part of the digital platform) as purely a cost then you would view it as something that can be cut or should be cut to move budget into the team. However that would be an incredibly myopic perspective - most firms are not running social media teams as a hobby but because they see it as a way to strengthen the relationship with customers and engage with them outside the direct face to face visits. I don't think a football club is particularly different and in fact has a big advantage that people tend to get emotionally attached to a club in a way that they don't to a restaurant or similar.

If I were Dave Smith I would be looking for good examples of small clubs with effective social media and digital presences in the UK and then picking up the phone to speak to them about how they have approached it - there is a good chance they'd be fine to talk about it since it's not the core business.

I am led to believe that social media was discussed at the interview with the new commercial manager and falls  into his remit , let’s see how he handles it , agree it must massively improve 

[flood]

48 minutes ago, Finlay21 said:

The pub will help to buy the competent midfielders , the cost of the pub  has nothing to do with this years budget , and it’s the pub the fans have been asking for for many years , 

Is the pub open on match days or 7 days a week? 

The assumption may be that it will make money. Killie have tried various things at Rugby Park with the Sports bar and Killie Club, but not made any profit since they opened. It is now where the club shop is located and we have given up on a bar at the ground other than the ones in the Park Hotel.

[rgreig]

1 hour ago, Finlay21 said:

The pub will help to buy the competent midfielders , the cost of the pub  has nothing to do with this years budget , and it’s the pub the fans have been asking for for many years , 

Exactly - if the pub net makes money then it is clearly a good thing for the club. If Smith's investment means the club gets all the construction done without any debt then that is a massive win and I really don't know what else to say to anyone who would take such a short-term view that they would prefer putting money into a squad for a single season.

I have no experience of the hospitality trade but does anyone know how much operating profit the hub can reasonably expect to make?

[placidcasual]

1 hour ago, Finlay21 said:

The pub will help to buy the competent midfielders , the cost of the pub  has nothing to do with this years budget , and it’s the pub the fans have been asking for for many years , 

The fans have been asking for a competent football team for years too. When is he getting round to that?

I'm maybe being cynical but I'm not sure it's the right environment currently to be opening pubs.

[AyrExile]

7 minutes ago, placidcasual said:

The fans have been asking for a competent football team for years too. When is he getting round to that?

I'm maybe being cynical but I'm not sure it's the right environment currently to be opening pubs.

From memory i think the 'pub' will be open one or two days and a few evenings per week. The facilities will also be used to help support the club with full time football. It will provide things like office space and somewhere for the players to eat. Perhaps not an instant return like a new midfielder although over the long term it may help raise standards