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THIS 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 centre […]
Read moreWE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER PICTURE - PART 2
Our look at the fallout from the Project Big Picture debate continues here with the rest of the key stakeholders: If you haven't read Part 1, you can view it here The Big Six Although Liverpool and Manchester United were named as co-conspirators in this, the other members of the so-called ‘Big 6’ – Manchester […]
Read moreWE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER PICTURE - PART 1
England has always had a classic club versus country issue so it was fitting that, as the national team were recording a victory over the #1 ranked team in the world, all that anyone in football was talking about was the leaked proposals from Liverpool and Manchester United that were being described as ‘seismic’. Project Big Picture […]
Read moreSEVERAL WRONGS DO MAKE A RIGHT MESS OF UK SPORT - PART 2
Click here to read PART 1 The sportswriter eagerly gets the words down to turn ‘prepare for a difficult winter’ into the story that will eventually have the headline ‘no fans at games until March.’ It’s definitely a scare story, although it may well turn into a real living nightmare, that will attract clicks and […]
Read moreSEVERAL WRONGS DO MAKE A RIGHT MESS OF UK SPORT - PART 1
As a fan, it was very easy to get frustrated when the announcement was must made that the planned October reintroduction of fans into sports (mainly football) stadiums is now on hold, amid an increase in Covid-19 infections. Pilots for September have also been paused. You could see it coming. The virus is spreading more […]
Read moreTHERE'S NO SHORT CUT TO GETTING FANS BACK
At the end of the latest Jurassic World movie, Jeff Goldblum – after years of trying to warn people against meddling with science – tells a select committee that we are going to have to get used to a new kind of normal now, where the dinos and humans co-exist on earth, rather than having […]
Read moreHOW CLUBS CAN SURVIVE & THRIVE post-COVID
Who’d want to own a football club right now? Well, probably most people if that club was in the Premier League. But what about if that club wasn’t part of the elite; wasn’t one of those clubs that can withstand the financial pressures more than most because they have many more income streams available - […]
Read moreCreating Great Fan Experiences: The Missing Link in the Women's Game?
The news that the Premier League is set to support the top two tiers of English women’s football with £1 million will be welcomed with open arms at every one of the 21 competing clubs. The money is being provided to help the FA start next season’s competition by funding Coronavirus testing: an unexpected cost […]
Read moreDo We Need New Rules Of Engagement?
In December, at our Rules of Engagement event at Manchester City’s Football Academy, we shared our story. We presented a mix of films, interviews and talks to illustrate everything we’ve learned about fan engagement and league / club growth over the past 17 years. And it’s all about FOCUS. Put engagement at the top of […]
Read moreCulture At Clubs Doesn’t Just Come And Go
Before the lockdown curtailed all travel plans curtailed, I was at a meeting in Switzerland with a group of people described as the ‘leading European minds on the subject of the football fan experience’ and we tackled ways to improve the match day at stadiums and thus, encourage more fans to attend games in countries […]
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