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Let’s Be Frank, Would You Rather Watch Paint Dry?
Burnley v Brentford? This isn’t an actual game - not this season anyway - but a hypothetical match up, and not over 90 minutes but a whole season. And the question I’m asking isn’t who would win but which would you rather watch? It’s intriguing. One team is on course to beat every record going […]
Read moreThe Fan Experience Company Talk To Match Day Staff At Walsall FC
It was a pleasure to be asked to speak to the match day staff at Walsall FC on Saturday, ahead of their EFL League Two game against Salford City. The talk reminded staff of why fan engagement and the match day experience are so important and why the focus on fans, and families, began almost […]
Read moreDon’t Look Back In Anger
I was in Cyprus, waiting to do a presentation on fan engagement and experience to a bunch of sports clubs and professionals. Before my slot, and the coffee break, they had a guy from an MLS club. He spoke for about 15 minutes on some of the things they were doing with fans. It was […]
Read moreDon’t Miss The Signs (And Why Football Can’t Afford to Ignore Them)
You know what they say….you wait for ages for an advertising board incident at a football match, then two come along at once. Well, that’s sort a cannibalising what they say a little bit, but you get the gist. Bizarrely, over the last full weekend of August, celebrating supporters caused a perimeter board to fall […]
Read moreWhat does fan engagement really mean?
The phrase Fan Engagement is ubiquitous these days. Twenty years ago, when we founded the Fan Experience Company, it was seldom heard. Some of that we can put down to social media, of course, since back then, I didn’t have people shouting at me to produce more ‘content’. In recent times, of course, several interpretations […]
Read moreDoes Football Focus On The Wrong Things?
They say the more things change, the more they stay the same. And things are definitely changing. With regulation around the corner, adding to the growing focus that was accelerated by the pandemic emptying stadiums for 18-months, and the brief flirtation with a European Super League, there are signs that fans are going to have […]
Read moreIt’s Gonna Be A Bright Sunshiny Day
It was A-ha that sang about the sun always shining on TV. But generally, if it’s shining on the TV, it will also be out in real life too. And as the summer finally arrives in the UK, our TV screens are currently jam-packed with footage from sun-drenched venues at global sporting tournaments. The Paris […]
Read moreWho Should Vote To Veto VAR?
As one of the biggest critics of VAR for some time now, this might sound a tad hypocritical but are we in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if we get rid of it now? Wolves are, not surprisingly as they’ve been at the arse-end of a lot of the baffling decisions, […]
Read moreRed Flags: Are Fans Paying The Price of Loyalty?
Inflation is falling. Apparently. Although any trip to a supermarket, petrol station forecourt or coffee shop tells you that prices are continuing to go up in spite of what Rishi Sunak might tell you. There are some sneaky little practices designed to confuse too. For instance, the other day I saw a 50% sale at […]
Read moreHow To Stop Things Getting Even Messi-er
I was in Cyprus last September speaking at a sports conference. It was especially memorable for me as only three people spoke English – my one and only language – during their presentations throughout the day. Me, obviously, plus Pele (although he was starring in an American Express commercial circa. 1974) and another guy who […]
Read moreLet We-eeeee Entertain You
Blame the ‘commentator’s curse’ but as I drove home listening to the build-up to the Premier League game the other evening between Brighton and Wolves, they said the one thing they could guarantee was goals. Brighton had scored 16 times against Wolves in their four previous encounters, and Wolves themselves had scored 9 goals in […]
Read moreIs it Time To Say Tara to VAR?
I think the time has come, even if just for a little while. As I support a team that are mid-table in League Two so some might ask why I even care? The closest I’ll get to VAR ruining a Saturday afternoon is if I wanted to go for a walk in Stockley Park and […]
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