The Administration Thread

[RoyMac5]

2 minutes ago, RodleyRam said:

Other sports do a much better job of giving people a reason to come early and stay later. I think the club needs to move away from the concept of making money from the fans to giving fans a fun day out. People will spend money if they're happy and having fun and be more inclined to tell their friends and come back.

??

[SamUltraRam]

2 hours ago, Rammiesdad said:

Off the back of this discussion, I've  always thought were not very welcoming  for visiting supporters.  I know there are safety and security issues, but perhaps a fan park for visitors?  . You treat people like animals  you get animal behaviour IMO. Of course theres always a few idiots 

 

I agree with this as I know from experience when I go to away games I buy a lot of beer/food so there is money to be made by looking after the away fans.

I think it was at Brightons new ground (& possibly Reading) where due to the location of the stadium they've had to cater better for fans outside the stadium with big screens and live music. And at Brighton they used to get real ale in from the location of the away team - nice touch

I'll guess that as we've been in adminstration, we'll be free from the catering contracts of the past too

Edited April 12, 2022 by SamUltraRam

[Boycie]

11 minutes ago, angieram said:

I sympathise with the WiFi comment. If we're at home I have to get my prediction in before I go anywhere near the ground, or no chance! 

Mel always used to say it was too expensive to get decent WiFi but I don't seem to have a problem with it at any away grounds, just Pride Park. Odd.

Are away grounds actually giving free wifi? Or do you mean just phone signal?
 

Are the away grounds holding >26k fans?  I’m interested because I was at a Charter Meeting when this was brought up.  Did you get a decent WiFi/phone signal at Wembley? 

He said he could spend a fortune getting wifi and signal improvements done and still have complaints.  I swap to 3G at pride park, it gives me half a chance of at least a text getting out.

But them you see others getting a signal no problem. Maybe it’s the big providers who struggle.  
 

Wembley was sponsored by EE and I couldn’t use my EE signal there ?

[Gaspode]

1 minute ago, Boycie said:

Are away grounds actually giving free wifi? Or do you mean just phone signal?
 

Are the away grounds holding >26k fans?  I’m interested because I was at a Charter Meeting when this was brought up.  Did you get a decent WiFi/phone signal at Wembley? 

He said he could spend a fortune getting wifi and signal improvements done and still have complaints.  I swap to 3G at pride park, it gives me half a chance of at least a text getting out.

But them you see others getting a signal no problem. Maybe it’s the big providers who struggle.  
 

Wembley was sponsored by EE and I couldn’t use my EE signal there ?

I used to be on EE and struggled with a 4G signal in PP when it was busy - recently changed to Smarty (which runs on the Three network) and seem to get a far better connection (perhaps there are a lot less people using the Three network so I get a better 'share' of the network)

[Boycie]

1 minute ago, Gaspode said:

I used to be on EE and struggled with a 4G signal in PP when it was busy - recently changed to Smarty (which runs on the Three network) and seem to get a far better connection (perhaps there are a lot less people using the Three network so I get a better 'share' of the network)

I guess you’re right, it’s knowing who uses who’s networks.

[Mihangel]

6 minutes ago, Boycie said:

Are away grounds actually giving free wifi? Or do you mean just phone signal?
 

Are the away grounds holding >26k fans?  I’m interested because I was at a Charter Meeting when this was brought up.  Did you get a decent WiFi/phone signal at Wembley? 

He said he could spend a fortune getting wifi and signal improvements done and still have complaints.  I swap to 3G at pride park, it gives me half a chance of at least a text getting out.

But them you see others getting a signal no problem. Maybe it’s the big providers who struggle.  
 

Wembley was sponsored by EE and I couldn’t use my EE signal there ?

There's not a stadium around that has easily accessible WiFi, it's a big technical challenge and hugely expensive. As you allude to, EE are trying to improve 3G/4G at Wembley, not WiFi and still struggle to make it work.

[Jubbs]

6 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

Smarty (which runs on the Three network)

I'm on Three and get pretty much flawless 5G at all times at PP.

[Mihangel]

34 minutes ago, SamUltraRam said:

I agree with this as I know from experience when I go to away games I buy a lot of beer/food so there is money to be made by looking after the away fans.

I think it was at Brightons new ground (& possibly Reading) where due to the location of the stadium they've had to cater better for fans outside the stadium with big screens and live music. And at Brighton they used to get real ale in from the location of the away team - nice touch

I'll guess that as we've been in adminstration, we'll be free from the catering contracts of the past too

Brighton have done it to an extent but they've been more focused on their 'in the ground' catering. That part of their stadium is definitely better than ours.

It was one thing that made me prefer Kirchner to Ashley, I was confident he would be looking closely at how we grow revenue to be sustainable, and the catering offering is an obvious contributor to that. Ashley would undoubtedly be looking at how we cut costs to be sustainable. I know whose stadium would provide a more pleasurable experience.

[Mostyn6]

turn the concourses into snugs/lounges. Put some chesterfield leather sofas and chairs in. Put saloon doors on the toilets and stair exits, and introduce table service. Make it like a pub experience, with pub beer and pub food, then people will turn up at 1pm and spend their cash.

[Chester40]

2 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

turn the concourses into snugs/lounges. Put some chesterfield leather sofas and chairs in. Put saloon doors on the toilets and stair exits, and introduce table service. Make it like a pub experience, with pub beer and pub food, then people will turn up at 1pm and spend their cash.

I'm not sure if this sarcasm   .....I love it,  but think you are taking the proverbial!

[TomBustler1884]

Thanks for the shoutout @Rev! 

A few years ago, we had a meeting with DCFC and were showed plans for a Pop Brixton-style fan park with shipping containers surrounding a central courtyard seating area, with seats on top of the containers too. All of them had food or drink offerings, music, etc. It looked BRILLIANT.

The problem we quickly found was that the club has contracts with, I think, DNC and whoever runs the food vans currently there, so if they put something new in, they have to use the same old contracts. Until that is sorted, there is no opportunity of getting independent or local operators doing something different. Perhaps that can change with new ownership?

On another note, its interesting when the stars align and Bustler is on the same day as a home match. We often get quite a few Rams fans coming in on their way to or from the match, but I know from experience, routine is a big thing for people.

If I was CK and looking to change things up, I would be speaking to whoever owns the underpass going from Siddals Road to Pride Park. Once you come through the underpass there is a huge concrete plaza under the PP flyover that would be perfect for music, food, drink and as a gathering area. You could even paint it up with DCFC murals. Put a few permanent containers down there with bar and kitchen equipment so that traders can change every match on a "guest" basis. Get people coming from town to meet there, get the atmosphere going (a la Ajax vids) then march all together to the match through Pride Park. It wouldn't change routines too much for people, improve pre-match atmosphere and get people up for it.

If the club could provide the permissions and infrastructure needed for that, I'm sure there would be interest in running it for them, whether that is from somewhere like Bustler, or whether you hand it to a fans group to manage if they are trusted.

[Mostyn6]

1 minute ago, Chester40 said:

I'm not sure if this sarcasm   .....I love it,  but think you are taking the proverbial!

think outside the box Chester.

Why does a concourse have to be a cold, windy, concrete&steel, soviet-union 60s style?

Why can't you walk out of a pub straight onto a terrace? 

I know the East Stand concourse could be widened out another 15metres.

[TomBustler1884]

20 minutes ago, Mihangel said:

Brighton have done it to an extent but they've been more focused on their 'in the ground' catering. That part of their stadium is definitely better than ours.

It was one thing that made me prefer Kirchner to Ashley, I was confident he would be looking closely at how we grow revenue to be sustainable, and the catering offering is an obvious contributor to that. Ashley would undoubtedly be looking at how we cut costs to be sustainable. I know whose stadium would provide a more pleasurable experience.

My only interest in Ashley is that he has done it before, and would be keen to get us promoted to the PL to make us profitable. The massive downside is that I think his ownership would make supporting DCFC a dour, miserable experience. I would expect virtually no off-field investment or engagement.

[TomBustler1884]

58 minutes ago, Boycie said:

Are away grounds actually giving free wifi? Or do you mean just phone signal?
 

Are the away grounds holding >26k fans?  I’m interested because I was at a Charter Meeting when this was brought up.  Did you get a decent WiFi/phone signal at Wembley? 

He said he could spend a fortune getting wifi and signal improvements done and still have complaints.  I swap to 3G at pride park, it gives me half a chance of at least a text getting out.

But them you see others getting a signal no problem. Maybe it’s the big providers who struggle.  
 

Wembley was sponsored by EE and I couldn’t use my EE signal there ?

Don't give away the 3G tip - it's the only way to get phone signal at PP, don't want everyone doing it!!

[Oldben]

The upcoming season suggests a continuation of this trend in terms of transfers.

This season, the club was obliged by the 

efl to abandon its free agency pursuits or at least only make a limited number of signings on limited spend.

The club missed out on a number of free agents that I wished were signed.

We signed a large number of free agents, the most of whom were older players who had been released by their teams for a variety of reasons.

Assuming the team remains in League One next season, this means the club will have fewer possibilities for quality league one players, resulting in further constraints on who the club may recruit in League One.

I'm concerned about the team's need for quality and the fact that many free agents fail to pan out.

Last summer, just a few free agents piqued my interest and we signed none of them, but thinking about it, would we get any of those in League One and would we be more than competitive on wages, which is what the best free players look for?

To my mind, the club cannot compete in League One with a squad dominated by low-quality ageing free agents.

I'm not saying Derby can't sign free agents; there will always be free agents seeking an easier life in the lower leagues, and at League One level, you're essentially signing free agents who have already been rejected by clubs in the Championship, unless you're willing to pay them a bigger wage.

There are a number of clubs in League one all competing for the same few free agents, on top of the Championship clubs who get first pick options on those players.

There are just too many weak points in the squad as it now stands, let alone what the team might look like next season.

It takes time for players to bond as a team when at least 50% of the team is made up of newcomers.

Additionally, there is a possible 15-point deduction; you do not want a weakend team in that situation.

To climb out of league one, teams must invest.

League one team values include the following:

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league-one/marktwerteverein/wettbewerb/GB3

League one table table ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/table

League one top scorers ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/top-scorers

In my opinion derby requires a top scorer like these if they are going to compete in League one.

Together with a too assists player like these ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/top-scorers/assists

 

 

 

 

[Luke]

1 hour ago, Mihangel said:

There's not a stadium around that has easily accessible WiFi, it's a big technical challenge and hugely expensive. As you allude to, EE are trying to improve 3G/4G at Wembley, not WiFi and still struggle to make it work.

This is slightly incorrect, my rugby team Gloucester have WiFi which works flawlessly at the ground and usually c15k people there. 

https://landways.com/projects/gloucester-rugby/

[angieram]

1 hour ago, Boycie said:

Are away grounds actually giving free wifi? Or do you mean just phone signal?
 

Are the away grounds holding >26k fans?  I’m interested because I was at a Charter Meeting when this was brought up.  Did you get a decent WiFi/phone signal at Wembley? 

He said he could spend a fortune getting wifi and signal improvements done and still have complaints.  I swap to 3G at pride park, it gives me half a chance of at least a text getting out.

But them you see others getting a signal no problem. Maybe it’s the big providers who struggle.  
 

Wembley was sponsored by EE and I couldn’t use my EE signal there ?

Boycie, I think you are right, I mean a phone signal of any sort.

Anyway, now you've let the cat out of the bag, I just need to work out how to convert my phone to pick up 3G signal in the ground! ?

[Chester40]

29 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

think outside the box Chester.

Why does a concourse have to be a cold, windy, concrete&steel, soviet-union 60s style?

Why can't you walk out of a pub straight onto a terrace? 

I know the East Stand concourse could be widened out another 15metres.

I'm all over it!

Not sure that layout could house the amount of people who would be there? But totally concur with the sentiment.

Most grounds are pretty concrete-y, miserable,  draughty, drab places ....there must be a reason they mostly are, but it would be great it wasn't that way.

[Scott129]

36 minutes ago, TomBustler1884 said:

Thanks for the shoutout @Rev! 

A few years ago, we had a meeting with DCFC and were showed plans for a Pop Brixton-style fan park with shipping containers surrounding a central courtyard seating area, with seats on top of the containers too. All of them had food or drink offerings, music, etc. It looked BRILLIANT.

The problem we quickly found was that the club has contracts with, I think, DNC and whoever runs the food vans currently there, so if they put something new in, they have to use the same old contracts. Until that is sorted, there is no opportunity of getting independent or local operators doing something different. Perhaps that can change with new ownership?

On another note, its interesting when the stars align and Bustler is on the same day as a home match. We often get quite a few Rams fans coming in on their way to or from the match, but I know from experience, routine is a big thing for people.

If I was CK and looking to change things up, I would be speaking to whoever owns the underpass going from Siddals Road to Pride Park. Once you come through the underpass there is a huge concrete plaza under the PP flyover that would be perfect for music, food, drink and as a gathering area. You could even paint it up with DCFC murals. Put a few permanent containers down there with bar and kitchen equipment so that traders can change every match on a "guest" basis. Get people coming from town to meet there, get the atmosphere going (a la Ajax vids) then march all together to the match through Pride Park. It wouldn't change routines too much for people, improve pre-match atmosphere and get people up for it.

If the club could provide the permissions and infrastructure needed for that, I'm sure there would be interest in running it for them, whether that is from somewhere like Bustler, or whether you hand it to a fans group to manage if they are trusted.

That sounds so good ?

[Boycie]

10 minutes ago, angieram said:

Boycie, I think you are right, I mean a phone signal of any sort.

Anyway, now you've let the cat out of the bag, I just need to work out how to convert my phone to pick up 3G signal in the ground! ?

Pass it to a youngster, that’s what I do with tech problems m’duk.