Re: Pies
 

Maybe he's just sent them away to be re-sharpened? ;)

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I hope so Exile.

It would be easy for Andy to get upset that his "build it and they will come" attitude is failing - but he needs to remember that fan retention is important too

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Good points;

Don't think Andy has "downed tools" just think he he needs more proof that what he does (infrastructure wise) will increase HOME crowds and secondary revenues ;)

No point in paying out £1.5million for a stand that has 100 home fans using it.

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Kinda chicken & the egg situation really - just worried that if we don't have the required no.of seats for the chickens (or the eggs) to sit in due to having removed them on the proviso that we were building the new stand, will we get into trouble?

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Whilst we would all like to see a new stand at the Wham, it was only ever viable on the back of promotion.
I can understand Mr Holts reluctance to invest such a massive sum with current attendance levels + the fact the club don't own the ground.
AH has transformed facilities for home fans & created a playing pitch worthy of any in league 1, or even higher.
I'm sure that if we can get off to a good start this season, gates will increase. After all, nothing succeeds like success!
To be honest, I'd rather see a fanzone created at the away end, as I'm certain it would return vital revenue if catering was brought back in-house.
PS. In the meantime, please can I have some fried onions on me burger!

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Not set up for in-house catering as yet, the out lay alone ie the cost of either building or even buying a burger van wipes any profit for a few seasons! Better having out side caterers in who pay a sizable up front fee for the privilege, they loose out if game is called off. I'm sure if asked they would provide a range of pies which complements there other offerings :)

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a glorified garden shed would do. many non league clubs catering outlets are no more than this. if a mobile burger van was purchased it could be moved around to other events on a non match day. i,m sure there,s a fan we have who,s got all the relative food hygene stuff who,d do it. outside caterers rerely offer a product most want. if we did our own i think people whould accept any shortcomings as well.

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Is that the nux of the problem? An outside 'caterer' who, it appears, doesn't offer what many customers want and has to be told!

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The Fanzone made clever use of the area underneath the Clayton end terrace.
The food kiosks themselves were just single wall breezeblock painted grey, with a power supply provided etc.
Yes, this cost money, but I'm sure AH doesn't expect to receive an instant return on his investment. It will probably take a few seasons before the fanzone sees any profit.
The big problem with burger vans is their need to be mobile. They usually consist of only a hotplate for frying burgers etc.
Few, if any, have ovens. Which is what you need for pastry based savouries.
This is the main reason away fans cannot buy a pie for love nor money.
Employing an outside caterer is the easy option for the club.
They get a fee & the caterer gets guaranteed business.
BUT! Because it's only a few hours on 1, or maybe 2 days a week, they tend to charge exorbitant prices to make up for it.
The loser is the customer - and away fans ARE customers; who get little choice at inflated prices.
The question is, do we want away fans to enjoy their visit to the Wham?
To feel that the club welcomes & appreciates their custom?
Or do we carry on offering them expensive burgers, tins of beer & Portaloos?
For the answer, visit any of the league 2 fans forums.

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Well i would of thought if he wasnt doing the stand this summer a fanzone at the away end would of been a good idea 50k wasnt it for the Clayton one even less if the grant application had been done in time.

Away fans do like to come to Accy because its retro like it used to be but that doesnt mean you couldnt increase the numbers coming with a roof and decent catering and toilet facilities a la the Clayton End

Last year Carlisle took 3k to Blackpool yet brought only a third of that to Accy and AH and all at the Crown should be asking why and if they really did want to know i would be more than happy to tell them.

It seems to me it would be easier and probably more cost effective to increase the aggregate attendance by 12k in away fans than it would be with locals.

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Most clubs Blackpool attracts more fans always been the case,

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Ah my friend!
If only every visiting team brought 1000 followers to the Wham.
We'd be rolling in it!

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if we,d have gained promotion the other season i,m sure this would have happened as well as locals realising there is a football team in accrington. missing out on promotion pushed our ground development back in my opinion and only when we do gain promotion is when the home crowds will rise. the years of playing teams like stevenage, crawley, yeovil, cheltenham etc. can be wearing a little thin. lets hope this is our last season in div.2 and promotion is achieved this time round.

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Don't,t forget also all the ground work and general tidying up that as been done gas supply put in the central heating in the clubhouse actually works Andy has done a fantastic job so far maybe it has something to do with buying the ground or he has just put the brakes on for now but eventually I think we will see new office's roof on away end new stand and new changing rooms and clubhouse all takes time and costs money.

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Yes thats noted and taken into consideration but come on a factor of three three times simply doesnt cover it.

They have taken figures of up to 3k to plenty of grounds over the years and last year took just short of 2k to Morecambe as an away fans sell out and believe me theres not much of an attraction there.

This year they have very few "local" away games and i.m pretty sure if Stanlley made an effort marketing wise and set a target of 2k they could get pretty close to reaching it.