Author: Darren Young
Will The Fan Experience Be Delivered On A Wing(er) and A Prayer?
The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. Michelangelo He did have a point, that Michelangelo geezer. But then he lived in different times; before we had to contend with social media and […]
Read moreThe Missing Generation Game
In the absence of opportunities to go to the game together, my son and I have found an alternative habit. We never miss an episode of BBC Scotland’s A View from the Terrace. To term it irreverent football chat would demean its talent for honouring football’s great truths. Eschewing the usual north-of-the-border obsession with the […]
Read moreBeing There: Is Sky Now The Limit For The Women’s Game?
With the news that Sky & BBC have agreed a 3-year £7-8 million deal to televise WSL / WC football, there’s a tangible sense of excitement and achievement in the air: perhaps best illustrated by the joyful tone of the tweets of those in the sport as the announcement approached. This feels like a big […]
Read moreGetting to Grips with Loyalty
The word ‘limbs!’ often accompanies a social media post depicting a crowd’s reaction to a moment of pure joy in football. The sight of arms (and sometimes legs) in the air, flailing about in rapture, is one of the things we love most about the game. But with Covid-19 holing football below the waterline and […]
Read morePitch Perfectly Highlights The Cracks In The Experience
Imagine, if you will, a nervous cricket fan contemplating buying a ticket for the third test of the current test series between India and England. There were only tickets available for day three, so they voiced their concern about the game lasting that long, given how English wickets had fallen quickly in the previous test. […]
Read moreCelebrations – A Great Escape
This might be politically incorrect – let’s face it, most political stuff is these days – but I’m pleased that footballers have ignored the request not to celebrate goals with hugging and kissing. Although it has been mainly just hugs, to be fair to them. The reason I’m glad is because, to me, it felt […]
Read more‘Granddad, Tell Me What It Was Like To Go To The Match.’
OK, I know. The ‘beautiful game’ that was born in England nearly 200 years ago isn’t going to go quietly, but unless non-elite levels of football get a handle on engagement in the age of Covid19, we might start to see a two-tier football world in the not-too-distant future. On the one hand, there’d be […]
Read moreASK THE QUESTION
I think we can all agree that, for clubs who rely on match day revenue for their survival, things will have to change post-Covid. Our White Paper, Season One of the Fan Experience Experience podcast and our People Developmentsupport have all focused on how important the Fan Experience is going to be in the immediate […]
Read moreUNDIVIDED - The Fan Experience Christmas Blog
Thanks to all our partners, followers, friends and family for supporting us in this most difficult of years. Who knew going to the football would stop being a thing? It’s been a struggle. I’m sure you know. But we’ve made it through and it’s time to reflect on this most difficult of years and to […]
Read moreTHIS YEAR'S MODEL
With apologies to Elvis Costello (whose new album ‘Hey Clockface’ is out this week and whose classic ‘Armed Forces’ is also re-released as an extended boxed set), ‘This Year’s Model’ for me is our up-to-date understanding of how Fan Engagement can support sustainable attendance growth, at all levels of the game, post-Covid. Among non-elite clubs, […]
Read moreWHY WE CAN’T LET THIS ALL END IN TIERS
In December, when the second national lockdown ends and we revert to the tier-based system that was going so well, football fans have been given a tiny ray of hope that they might also be able to attend football games again before the year ends. This will be limited to clubs based in low risk […]
Read moreWE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER PICTURE - PART 3
Our three-part blog that looks at the fallout from Project Big Picture concludes with the final stakeholders (including the most important one and the one that everyone wants well out of it - I'll let you decide which is which) concludes and also asks, where do they go from here? The Government Front and […]
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