Eeyore claims the ASI has increased away support at City by 5% - so if away support last season averaged 1500 then that's an extra 75 fans a game - 75 fans at £30 a ticket average is £2250 per game - 19 games is £42750 - so spend £200000 and get back £42750 - business genius - put that on your cv
I think you are right about the name change. The last few weeks will not have gone down well with the FA, especially the way North Ferriby United have been treated. The Airco Arena wasn't unfortunate. The Allams have enough land to have built a bubble pitch for the audit but decided to teach Hull City Council a lesson. It isn't the best decision for Hull City AFC in the long run. Manchester City have shown what benefits co-operation with the local authority can bring. I know we are unlikely to get the same benefits but we could get Manchester City lite which would be a million miles better than what we have now. Swansea City pay a million to rent their ground, Manchester City pay a million for theirs and West Ham will pay £2.5 million for the Olympic stadium when they move in. According to the last accounts Hull City paid over £4 million to rent the KC. The damage from the Airco Arena will be felt for years. In one sense the £200,000 is a paltry amount. Given our budget it could have fallen down the sofa and he wouldn't have missed it. They deliberately decided not to spend it on Hull City fans. I can imagine them studiously studying the fine print to find a way of not giving us anything. The noisy minority annoyed him by being noisy. The silent majority annoyed him by being silent. Both sides didn't deserve his largesse so he's spent it on the away corner of the KC. I don't think it is a deliberate cock up, I think it is the mark of their characters. I don't hate the Allams, I want them to sell Hull City as soon as possible.
The problem with that argument is that if you apply the same logic to funding away travel or reduced ticket prices, those options would make even less business sense as they're not sustainable and there's no return to the club. Business wise, using the budget on something with a long term return and that you'd have had to spend something on anyway males sense. It's spent, but the money effectively stays in the club. For me, the issue is the lack of proper consultation with fans and the attitude to fans displayed by his comments. From what I've read, the ASI fund wasn't aimed at just dropping prices, it was expected to be broader, but the main aim was for clubs to find out from fans what they wanted. That to me is where the argument could be won, the cheaper tickets is to some degree a red herring.
Inc Increasing our away support arguably increases the vocal support which is claimed by Brucie to increase our chances of winning - £1 mill for each place in the league - no contest
It may only make sense for one season though. If all clubs followed our example then our away attendances would fall as would our income as they spent their money on their own grounds. We would then be left having to negotiate individual deals with every club. Again the long term consequences may outweigh the short-term benefit. I wouldn't be surprised if all the other Premier League clubs refused to spend their ASI money on subsidising trips to the KC. I don't think it will happen but it wouldn't surprise me. Under Assem Allam there is no consultation unless he wants it. In this case he didn't and led you and possibly James Mooney, up the garden path. I could see that appealing to his sense of humour. I hope HCST will be writing to other Premier League Trusts and ask them whether they thought they got value for money from Hull City's ASI expenditure.
'Arguably' being the key word. Some clubs have knocked a couple of quid off each ticket, I can't see that making a difference. I can't see an extra tiger travel coach driving the club on. Most don't use it.
In what way has he led me up the garden path? It only makes sense to spend it in one season, but the return should be longer. It means the argument is weaker for doing that again next season. For me, the big argument should be why were fans not involved in consultation. We know the answer, but that needs to be heard by the Premier League.
The fans were involved in the consultation through the FWG. They were asked for their preferences and if i remember Mooney agreed / said thats how it would be.
I don't disagree with what you put, and in that respect you're right, but the away stand element was never put to fans, so was never part of any consultation. There was also no indication that City fans were not to benefit at all. I think James Mooney was as much in the dark as we were. Unless they're including the move itself, I don't see where they've spent £200k on it anyway.
The rent City pays interests me, I presume City pay the SMC and looking at the other clubs you mention too much, and yet the SMC makes a loss every year the Allams own it. City and the SMC have the same owner, is it that books and cooking thing again?
On whether you've been lead up the garden path. The first question is when was the money allocated to the north east corner. The second question is how was it spent. Was it spent before the season started, a set amount allocated for each home match; to be spent on decking out the concourse, reducing the price of beer and food, etc. The third question is the dates you discussed the allocation of the money at the FWG. If Assem Allam had already spent the money there was nothing to discuss. The other alternative is that they'd already spent it on other things, thought it wouldn't be a problem and then the Premier League came knocking at the door, so they made something up to satisfy them. After all its not kept separate from the club's other income. It'll also explain why its taken the club so long to come up with an answer. They needed to find expenditure that qualified. In both cases I can see them not discussing it with James Mooney. You are right about the consultation and the need for the Premier League to hear how the FWG was discussing money that, on the face of it, already been spent.
I'm not sure. Its believable that Bartlett neglected the KC and that money needed to be spent on it. The demands on the club from the Premier League have also increased. As well as the club paying rents its also made loans to the SMC. So losses are possible. On the other side you have his hatred of the City Council and I suspect paying them anything above what he has to would cause him to choke.
There isn't an argument They've done what they have done, and it's perfectly acceptable in terms of the guidance I would think, whether we agree or not is, ironically, irrelevant People just need to realise what it says about their views on the importance of Hull City supporters.
I thought the FWG meetings were fulfilling that purpose? The fact that he totally disregarded the opinions offered is what should be criticised. There was fan consultation and none of the outcome came from that.
No one will ever be in a position to verify timelines and qualify decision dates, it's how they work. Their strategy is to use Mooney as an ineffective front, which is why it is not just pointless, it is a serious misjudgement to deal with him. I recall asking about who called the FWG meetings, who issued invitations (and exactly who to - individual or organisation) and, importantly, when considering what has transpired, who minuted the meetings, if anyone did. Were there minutes and is there something tangible to show what was discussed?
On one hand we have Dutch saying that the big issue is a lack of consultation, but we know they Mooney spoke with supporters about their ideas, but is that recorded anywhere; are there minutes, emails, anything other than word of mouth? If there is not, then that consultation might have no substance, which might make Dutch correct, unless the owners can show otherwise. Did they speak to anyone at the OSC? Are there any minutes of any of the FWG meetings? If supporters want to pin these cheats down then do it in a business-like manner. Why do you not see that, TOM?
They've all been noted by Amber Nectar and since being asked to represent this board, I've made notes, but there's no formal minutes.
