Day Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 MINUTES OF THE SUPPORTER CHARTER GROUP MEETING Derby COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB TUESDAY 30TH APRIL 2019, PRIDE PARK STADIUM DCFC Supporter Representatives (Alphabetical order): Bob Badwal (BB) Punjabi Rams David Mortimer (DM) Rams Active Gary Dempsey (GD) Derby County Disabled Supporters Club (DCDS) Kevin Hepworth (KH) Rams Trust Lynn Hemsworth (LH) Derby County Official Supporters Club (DCOSC) Paul Watson (PW) DCFCFans Peter Bonnell (PB) Derby County Collection Simon Penney (SP) 1884 Group/ Family Representative Tom Erkskine (TE) 1884 Group DCFC Senior Management Representatives (Alphabetical order): Faye Nixon (FN) Head of Marketing Grace Vivian (GV) Events Executive and Supporter Liaison Officer Mel Morris CBE (MM) Executive Chairman Robin Matthews (RM) Head of Broadcasting Tom Loakes (TL) Senior Communications Officer These minutes were produced from written notes taken by GV at the Supporter Charter Group Meeting. All answers we’re provided by MM with the added input of FN, TL & RM Welcome and introduction FN opened the meeting by thanking all Supporter Representatives and Senior Management for attending the meeting. GV began by asking MM the first question and then presented the questions which had received written answers from the club prior to the meeting. Updates from the previous meeting: 1. Would McFarland’s bar passes be available for Print@Home and therefore no need to pay for postage? 1.1 GV to investigate with TH Unfortunately, this is not possible as we can only use Print@Home for 1 event in a specific time frame that is linked to the access control system. Two events cannot be linked to the turnstiles whilst overlapping in time 2. For Season Ticket holders that can’t attend the game, could there be the option to give a Print@home/paper ticket to someone else instead? Could this be done for Essential Companions too? 2.1 GV to investigate with TH This is an ongoing investigation. 3. JW asked if there was any update on the club’s relationship with gambling and the presentation made by Andy at the recent Fans Forum. 3.1 FN said that first-team players and staff had been educated by the EFL about responsible gambling. Andy was part of the workshop. 3.2 JW added that the club don’t provide sponsorless adult shirts 3.2.1 GV/FN to pick this up with the Partnership Team Due to feedback from the SCG 32 Red have agreed to sell a selection of unbranded shirts starting with the 19/20 season. 4. PS commented on the plans for a singing section in the South Stand 4.1 FN explained that it is difficult to eject Season Ticket holders from their seat. 4.2 GV & FN have a meeting with some south stand supporters to discuss the possible singing section The club has worked with Club 84 (formerly 12th Ram) to establish a singing section for next season. Over 200 people registered their interest. Unfortunately there weren’t enough seats available together in the South Stand for a full singing section so Club 84 decided against it. 5. LO asked for the club to support in encouraging supporter groups to put up flags around the stadium 5.1 Derby County is more than happy to assist with putting flags up for any supporters who would like them displayed 5.2 NW asked if we could lower the East Midlands in Black and White flag. GV to sort This is ready for the final game of the season! 6. MM said that the Matchday atmosphere is great 6.1 LO asked for the North Stand atmosphere to be enhanced, perhaps through Rammie and Ewie, showing the bounce on LEDs, showing the drummer on the big screen, having an extra drum. GV to investigate further, along with the assistance from LO and SP. Rammie and Ewie now have drums in the North Stand area. Feedback was that it didn’t work in the South Stand so they are encouraged to entertain the other side of the stadium. Ewie visits the NS at half time to engage with families We are very proud to have recently been awarded the Family Excellence Gold Award 7. GD asked the club to look into the safety aspect of players kicking the ball into the goal where there is no safety net. 7.1 MM suggested putting a limit onto the seats directly behind the goal so that supporters cannot sit there until 10 mins before kick-off. This wouldn’t interfere with the warm up in place. GV to investigate. All pop up goals for practice on a matchday are now in front of safety nets. The main goals aren’t but players don’t tend to use them. 8. Could the club investigate the Roadrider parking at away games? 8.1 GV to set up a meeting with Emma Drury (Disabled Liaison Officer), TH, FN, LH and LO to discuss where Roadrider parks and the access problems Disabled Supporters face when the bus This is an ongoing discussion with the Away Clubs. Access guides are provided by the away club where supporters can then make an informed decision as to whether they travel or not. Unfortunately it is out of our control as to where the Away Club designate the away parking to be, although at some clubs, drop offs are available. The drop off points for coach 1 (carries disabled supporters) at away games is dependant on the away clubs traffic management. We normally arrange for coach 1 to be dropped off as close to the ground with the Police but each club has different parking restrictions. 9. Could we look into accessible transport to away games? We investigated several options to satisfy this request, from converting our own Sprinter @ the Academy up to hiring a suitable vehicle and outsourcing a driver to Skills. Fundamentally, none of these solutions allowed us to perform a duty of care for the users and represented a great deal of risk and exposure in the event of an accident or incident to the football club. We have identified a coach Service ( BIC - http://www.birminghaminternationalcoaches.co.uk/ ) This company already supports Birmingham City and Wolves with their WAV services and they are interested in working with us for the 2019/2020 season. Once we have a fixture list we can approach them for costings, and then it is down to us to manage the cost and expectations of the fans. Having weighed up all of the options and reasonably assessed any risk to DCFC and the individuals, this company represents the most achievable way forward. N.B. The only consideration for this service next season is that we are still in contract with Skills until the end of 2019/2020, and on occasion we only require a single Road Rider for an away fixture (up to 8-10 per season), if we offer this service then when we only require a single coach service we will be contractually obligated to Skills and therefore this service will be an additional cost. Agenda: Q1: the 1884 group How long is our lease on Pride Park Stadium and are we paying rent? MM: The initial lease is 24-25 years and the rent payment is currently being assessed. Q2: DCFC Forum Could Mel put some fans at ease regarding the stadium. As football fans we’ve seen this end badly too many times (Coventry, York city, even the 3 amigos) even if we completely trust Mel some are concerned. For example are Derby secure if the ownership changes and is there a plan for ownership to revert back in the future? MM: MM stated that his best interests are in the club and that he feels like supporters don’t trust him. This will always be a football club and the football takes priority. We will always play football at Pride Park as it is written in the agreement. There are actually 5 clubs in the championship that don’t own their stadiums so it is not uncommon. We cannot compare to Coventry and the stadium being owned by Mel Morris is no threat. Q3: DCFC Forum RamsTV is very impressive. What are the numbers of subscribers, and is the club pleased with the level of subscription? In relation to subscribers to RamsTV, the club is happy with the numbers so far. Of course, there’s always room and scope to improve but in a new way of watching live football. Clearly the red button option is not helpful, in addition to the pricing structure which is set by the EFL and with no room for change. Clearly for away matches these numbers are significantly higher but we are also pleased with the international numbers too. Q4: the 1884 group Can the PA volume be reduced in the South Stand pre-match? It is killing any attempts to start singing before games. The club monitors the volume of the output of the speakers across all areas and will continue to monitor this moving forward. It is obviously a fine balance pre-game to ensure there is an atmosphere leading up to the players heading out onto the pitch. Q5: the 1884 group Are the rumours regarding a roof on Pride Park true? If so, when is that expected to happen? MM: The question is whether our stadium can be used for more than 27 days per year. This would involve putting on a roof and then covering the pitch. The stadium will always be an place to play football in the best conditions. There’s a worldwide market for a project like this although it is a challenging one. We need something that wouldn’t take Pride Park out of action to fit. TE: This project is great for the city MM: Hopefully the city can partner with the club. It’s a community project afterall. Q6: the 1884 group Has the club looked into using space behind the South Stand for a fanzone, similar to Bristol City? This is something the club would need to look in to but from a space, and health and safety perspective, in addition to access, the current location of the Fans Park is the best-suited area for Pride Park Stadium. However, as always, we will investigate other possibilities. FN: The fan zone costs are pending and the club is currently looking at all possibilities. We have already started expanding our services with an external concourse bar and bottle bar in the South Stand. Q7: the 1884 group With so many players coming to the end of their contracts this summer, and with budgets seemingly quite tight, are you relying on the Academy to fill out the first team squad next season? MM: We’re not relying on them but we are hoping the Academy players will start to come through into the 1st team. It’s difficult when players come out of their contracts because approaching another club asking if they want to sign them on loan means if they are not good enough for us then they are probably not good enough for another club. Supporters we’re against the likes of Tomori and Bogle at the beginning but we had no choice to play them and persevere. Now everyone loves them. Players in the Academy do everything they can to justify their place in the 1st team. We don’t have to bother with servicing our own Academy; it does cost £5 million! GD: This season has proved that the decision to involve the Academy players and play some in the 1st team has been a good one. MM: We need a good balance. Imagine a production line. KH: Surely the better young players want to sign for DCFC MM: The current plan is to bring players through the Academy. Some players have had good careers in the championship but if they are sent to a league 1 club, there is a chance they won’t come back. An example is Max Lowe, do you renew his contract and send him out on loan or sell him? DM: If Max Lowe is sold, then we could use the money to put back into the Academy MM: That wouldn’t be the case as players are expensive. Even an u16 could be bought for £1 million! If we want the Academy model to work, we have to accept that playing these players will make some games suffer just to give them game time. BB: Do you have a limit on players you recruit? MM: It depends on the model we want to adapt. If it’s a cost cutting exercise, we can put Academy players into 1st choice positions next season. TE: We weren’t implying that if academy players played then we wouldn’t come to games. FN: It’s great to see our homegrown talent TE: Players have to have real courage to play in front of our demanding fans! DM: Frank has done a great job striking the balance between Academy and experienced players. MM: It comes between players with experience e.g. Bryson and young players e.g Sibley. Bryson is picked because of his experience. LH: It is great to see Bennett who has shown his capabilities this season. MM: He’s also got great confidence from a Manager that believes in him. He is a focussed player. Supporters should ask the question of whether MM should still invest in the Academy as the u18’s and u23’s could do no more. Q8: Simon Penney Can supporters have in input in the kit design? A question that’s been raised previously, was that of choice of shirt design / kit design for the forthcoming season, and it was also explained that the club & Umbro often decide on this up to twelve months prior to launch, due to production timescales, etc. It’s been noticed that another club have recently involve their supporters in a fan poll via the club website/social media to select a new club kit, so would DCFC consider a similar move to select one of the new strips from a range of designs provided by Umbro? Many years ago the club engaged with fans by launching a vote on several Puma home shirts. A fans’ choice Third Kit would be a great idea !! Clearly this is something for the club to consider away from the meeting and gain feedback from Umbro on the matter, but is aware that this sort of initiative would prove to be popular. Perhaps this would need to be more controlled to prevent fans from other clubs having a say, too. This is something for the club to take away and revisit at a later meeting with more information to hand. Q9: Simon Penney Is it possible that the concourse ‘queueing’ flow on match day can be reviewed? Finding both in the North Stand & East Stand the space for people queueing & consuming on top of each other makes it increasingly difficult to navigate both the queues or move along either concourse successfully. Could the club / Club DCFC consider monitoring this on a match day with a view to trialling a ‘queueing system’? The club and ClubDCFC is always looking to make purchasing items from the Concourse Kiosks as easy as possible on a matchday. This is something that the team can investigate with officials and report back at a future meeting, especially to help make navigating around the concourses – which are quite tight - as easy as possible. Q10: Simon Penney We would like to thank the club for the return of the ‘Fans Forums’ across the various locations over the last year or more, is this something which is set to continue into Season 2019-20? Under Mel Morris, the club has aimed to stage at least two Fans Forums per season and would be keen to adopt the same policy moving forward. The club has valued the opportunity to communicate with supporters in a public forum. A directive from the EFL is that each EFL football club must stage at least two meetings in alliance with regulation 115: 115.1 Clubs shall hold at least two meetings/fans forums per season to which its supporters (or representatives) are to be invited in order to discuss significant issues relating to the Club. The framework for these meetings shall be documented in the Club’s customer charter, but are subject to the following minimum criteria: 115.1.1 Clubs must be represented by the Club’s majority owner, board director(s) or other senior executive(s); 115.1.2 where meetings are not open to all supporters wishing to attend, the supporter representatives must be elected, selected or invited in line with basic democratic principles; and 115.1.3 individuals cannot be excluded by the Club without good reason (the Club acting reasonably). Q11: Simon Penney Are there any plans to bring back some of the more varied content broadcasted in 2017-18 such as ‘The Bootroom’ for example on Rams Tv? RamsTV is always looking to broadcast varied content and this season has seen the introduction of the likes of ‘Pass It On’, ‘Ultimate Footballer’ and ‘Movie Moments’, working alongside club partners. The RamsTV team will, as always, work over the summer to generate new-look content ideas for next season. Q12: Simon Penney Are there any future plans for further ‘Open Training Sessions’ at the stadium for the Rams Squad members for Season 19-20? Frank Lampard was very keen to stage an open training session last summer and, no doubt, it will be a topic to raise with him to factor into the players’ schedule in the lead-up to the 2019/20 season. Last year’s Open Training was a hugely popular event and the club would like to stage more to further engage with fans. Q13: Rams Trust With Mel now considering the possibility of selling the club, will he reconsider bringing a supporters representative on to the board to ensure supporters views are considered by any future owner? Answered above Q14: Rams Trust Can Mel guarantee that if the club is sold in future it will not be sold separately to the ground creating a risk to the club going forward? Answered previously Q15: Rams Trust Can the club confirm when the they intend to advise the council of the proposed sale of Pride Park, as legally required under the terms of the ACV? The Council has confirmed this has not yet been received. No comment made AOB: GD: Could Club DCFC look at concourse sustainability and their milk provisions. They are currently single use cartons. Could we look at milk in jugs for example? MM: Absolutely! This is something that FN and GV will look into and report at the next meeting. GD: What is the ticketing policy if/when we get to Wembley, especially for essential companions. FN: A meeting is being held on 2nd May to discuss this further. Supporters will be updated in due course. PW: Would Bielsa be a manager you’d have? MM: Frank is a perfect fit in that he is easy to get along with and we are now hitting form at the right time. He’s learned a lot this season. The likes of Tomori, Bogle and Mount are great players. DM: What is yours and Franks opinion of Bielsa and him sharing our tactics? MM: It’s the EFL’s choice as to how they deal with it although it was knocked off balance as a club compared to Leeds’ reaction. DM: We were distracted for that game MM: That’s why we look forward to the play offs! DM: How is the lease going to impact on the East Stand Development for example? MM: It’s a great opportunity to boost revenue. The same goes with putting on a roof, we could create a 40,000 seater arena, the biggest in England! It is an exciting prospect and we have already been in dialogue with a lot of event companies. GD: Does the purchase of the ground bring forward the East Stand development? MM: Yes, it means that people will come to the stadium for reasons other than football. If they enjoy it, they will then come to the games. In line with this, we are looking at hosting two day events in between Saturday games at the stadium. Although events like this take a lot of organising. Covering the grass would take two days so we are looking at how we could perhaps do this in two to three hours instead. This would need to keep the grass in good condition. The roof is minor in all this, it is the grass that needs protecting. We are already experimenting with this at Moor Farm. TE: What’s your opinion on rail seating like at the new Tottenham Stadium? Could that be done here? MM: The new ground is amazing and even has 3 different surfaces. This includes the NFL surface, events floor and the grass pitch. The seating angles in that stadium are surprising. FN: We are in constant dialogue with Safe Standing and we have a meeting planned to discuss any progressions. LH: It’s the seats that are uncomfortable. TE: Although Tottenham have proper seats. FN: Perhaps when we have this meeting with Safe Standing, we can invite the SCG along. DM: What would your advice when picking a new manager? MM: Picking someone who suits is key. FN: Having the younger age groups coming through is the best way to bring on the 1st team. DM: Will there be a bonus for DCFC if/when Will Hughes makes the England team? MM: Yes there will be. It was a sad time when he left although it’s taken a long while for him to get into this form. Hendrick and Vydra are doing well at Burnley. GD: What is the plan in terms of scouting? Do we have a Premier League or the Championship? We don’t know. We’ve seen DCFC destroy two PL sides already this season but there is always a chance that in the first season in the PL you can be knocked straight down. We need to ensure that we keep our players although they will need an increase in wages. We do have a list of prospective players. Duane Holmes for example has been one of the best purchases since Chris Martin. We have to ensure we don’t go down a league by pushing other players out We have a better back office and better players. We could always loan Mount if we go up but only one loan is allowed in the PL. We have to ensure we can facilitate their wages as 1st team players are on decent pay! GD: Surely the idea when we go up is to stay up? Yes but clubs are being relegated at 30 points or below. You can’t always say you’ll be fine. Take Huddersfield and Fulham for example. It’s a challenging cycle that is usually around 3 years. Brighton had a good 1st season, then new players came a long who wanted more pay and then so do the existing players. The players coming down from the PL don’t like it in the Championship and the PL don’t like the yoyo clubs. It would be hard if we came straight down. BB: What do you think of the Red Button MM: It is great for the armchair fans although clubs lose revenue due to loss in ticket sales. It’s not necessarily a valuable asset BB: How many international viewers do we get on Rams Tv? RM: 200-300 per game FN: We also are tasked with illegal UK viewers who are using the VPN PW: What’s your view on that? MM: If we see this, we will cut it off. We are committed to Rams Tv and the Red Button has killed off a great opportunity for the club. FN: It’s also difficult when the EFL set the prices BB: Do they pay you for this? MM: No, we pay them. Although we do need it to expand out fan base. MM, GV & FN concluded by thanking the SCG for their time and involvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinman Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 It’s taken nearly a year for the minutes to be published? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Ram Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 1 hour ago, tinman said: It’s taken nearly a year for the minutes to be published? Standard DCFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, Angry Ram said: Standard DCFC Keogh's typing them up while he awaits his appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Clough Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Surprised only 200-300 international viewers last season. There’s probably that many fans off this forum who go on weekly holidays and watch the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philmycock Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 RamsTrust still annoyingly self promoting I see. Who are RamsActive and what is their point? Who was our guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 27 minutes ago, philmycocu said: RamsTrust still annoyingly self promoting I see. Who are RamsActive and what is their point? Who was our guy? Rams Active - http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/fans-group-of-the-month-rams-active Our guy was Boycie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philmycock Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 2 hours ago, David said: Rams Active - http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/fans-group-of-the-month-rams-active Our guy was Boycie. I'd never heard of them. Really chuffed that this forum has the ear of Mel & the board. Tom @ 1884 Group seems like a proper legend. RamsTrust annoyingly are still around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBustler1884 Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 7 hours ago, philmycocu said: I'd never heard of them. Really chuffed that this forum has the ear of Mel & the board. Tom @ 1884 Group seems like a proper legend. RamsTrust annoyingly are still around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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