[maccawozzagod]

back to the shop ..... provided that the right sort of deal is made available by the Council then a shop is a essential addition to the Stanley family.

The shop we have is nowhere near big enough to accomodate the stock lines we need, either for just display or more importantly the actual stock of it. Part of the problem in the club shop is the lack of space to keep stock of all the different sizes that you really have to have. With the OSC stuff we made the decision to just stock Medium and XL purely down to where do you keep 20 of each size? We are quick to knock the lack of choice and the lack of stock but if you imagine 10 different lines of product in 6 or 7 different sizes it starts to become a little more difficult.

A proper shop would enable a little bit more stock and probably with it would come extra lines. Also it becomes a focal point IN TOWN where folk can drop in a get a bit of info on this and that (you could try ringing but it aint the same to some folk). I would hope that (space allowing) there would be room for a little table and a couple of chairs where folk could stop by for a brew. It's about integrating more with the fans and appearing to have time for them, and appearing to care about them.

Also, there are a hell of a lot of people who visit Accy but don't go anywhere near the ground. I am sure that many of these would probably go in and buy a bit of summat for footy fan relatives back home. Done right it could almost become a sort of Tourist Information Centre for footy tourists!

It's also about starting to have a presence in town. The whole town knows there is a football club and they all know exactly where it is. The fact they choose not to come is for a multitude of reasons and I think muddy car parks etc are closer to the bottom of that list. WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO start getting in peoples faces more and this is the starting point. Worldchoice and Ossy Mills are fine to get a little bit of free money in the bank but our own shop has to be celebrated and it has to be used.

We all feel obligated some times to go and buy something that we wouldn't ordinarily buy just because it is Stanley. I'd still have my Vauxhall tax disc in the window if Stanley didn't do one! So I really hope that they have plenty of ideas for stuff to put in. stanleys' merchandise will definitely be offered. They need to have a cheap range, a mid range and then the expensive range - currently we have only the expensive stuff.

I also hope they put in a TV with Stanley related stuff on a permanent loop.

Good luck Stanley with this venture and if you need any assistance with it then give me a call.