Fri, 8 Nov 2013 at 16:25 16:25 Dear Peter, Following on from my e-mail last month, there are a number of things that I would like to take the opportunity to update you on, including a more detailed ticketing update. Banning Orders Much has been said about the clubâs decision to issue 33 lifetime bans to those convicted of violent acts and disorder at our away game against Cardiff City last February. All those involved have been convicted and subsequently received national banning orders from the courts of at least three years, during which they will not be able to attend any football matches nationwide. Some supporters have suggested that we have been too heavy handed. We are prepared to listen to these concerns and there will be further opportunity for discussion with supporter groups in due course. However, violent acts and disorder are not welcome at Bristol City ; we are a family-friendly, community club and are confident our law-abiding supporters will fully back our stance on this. We should also make it clear that these banning orders are not connected in any way with events surrounding the recent Johnstoneâs Paint Trophy derby match with Bristol Rovers, which are subject to ongoing police investigations. Academy Bobby Reid and Joe Bryan continue to fly the flag for the Academy with regular first team appearances. Our ânext in lineâ players at the Academy have also seen a marked improvement of late, with the Under-18s winning their last four games. They will be in action against Newport County in the most coveted Academy competition, the FA Youth Cup, on Monday night (November 11th) at Ashton Gate. Kick-off is 7pm and I encourage you to come along and see the players of the future under the guidance of new coach Carlos Anton alongside Alex Russell. Entry is £3 for adults, £1 for concessions. Community The Bristol City Community Trust continues to act as a catalyst to improve the sporting scene in the Greater Bristol area. I would really encourage you to spend time watching this short video as it will give you a great insight into the heart-warming work they are doing in the community. They are working tirelessly to positively raise the profile of Bristol City FC and their results are outstanding. I am incredibly proud to be a trustee. Recruitment Since our last update, we have made three signings. Former Cardiff City goalkeeper Dave Richards, aged 19, has been signed to challenge for places with Elliot Parish and Frank Fielding having initially provided injury cover. We have also signed Simon Gillett and Karleigh Osborne on loan from Nottingham Forest and Millwall respectively to add depth to the squad. Both have already featured. Stadium The date for the Ashton Gate planning application has now been confirmed as Wednesday, November 27th. Ticketing Following on from the significant disruption and inconvenience caused to supporters at the start of the season and subsequent frustration in trying to order tickets online and over the telephone, we undertook a full review of our IT system. As a result we identified a number of areas which needed improvement (and substantial investment) and appointed an IT expert to oversee the implementation of new systems. Taking each area in turn: Turnstiles/Access control Problem 1: At the end of last season, after taking advice, we acquired new handheld ticket readers from an established provider in an attempt to smooth the flow of fans through turnstiles. This proved to be a mistake as the handheld readers could not cope with the surge in volumes coming through the turnstiles we experienced in the ten minutes prior to home matches. They could not read the barcodes on the tickets fast enough. As a result we have ordered 20 new fixed terminal readers which are due for delivery on December 20th (unfortunately there is a long lead time for this specialised equipment) and will replace handheld readers to solve this issue. Problem 2: In order to move away from Ticketmaster (and in so doing get rid of the £1.50 charge to our supporters for printing a ticket at home), we switched ticket provider and access control system over the summer. The readers we put in place could not always scan âprint at homeâ tickets and as a result we âswitched offâ this option when we were unable to fix the problem immediately. The solution to this is to change the printed barcode, which will be trialled when the new fixed point scanners above are installed. Provided the trial works well we will then switch âprint at homeâ back on immediately. Online ticketing The switch to a new ticket provider gave rise to consequential problems with elements of the online ticketing process: Problem 1: The original design from the software provider required a purchaser to select âaddâ when asked which method of delivery was required. The screen allowed a purchaser to continue through the ordering process without hitting this button, so that tickets could be purchased without the software telling us to post tickets to supporters who thought they had chosen this option. As a result tickets never arrived at the supporterâs home. This software bug has been fixed. Problem 2: The Wedlock Stand, with its unreserved seating, has caused issues. The software would not allow Wedlock season ticket holders to purchase their seat when we put a cup game online for sale. This software bug has been fixed and is being tested. It should be released very shortly. Problem 3: Some supporters, having bought an away ticket, hit the âprintâ button. While no e-ticket is provided by doing this, the system was telling us that the ticket had been printed (and therefore no further action was needed). This meant that some away fans did not receive their ticket. This software bug has been fixed. Telephone system Last season, in response to a number of fans pointing out that the 0871 number used by the club for making ticket sales was expensive to use, we moved to an 01179 number to eliminate this extra cost to supporters. While the 0871 system was expensive for fans it had an excellent queuing system â which, to put it mildly, its replacement proved not to have. When we had a surge in demand for early cup games, and the Rovers derby in particular, the telephone system went into meltdown. This system failure coincided with the software issues set out above. The outcome was completely unacceptable from everyoneâs point of view and left supporters rightly angry and frustrated. We are now coming to the end of a tightly controlled procurement process to identify a new telephone system. Given the history we are proceeding with caution, but expect the new system to be fully operational within 12 weeks. Thank you for your support, Jon Lansdown Vice-Chairman
Banning Orders Much has been said about the club’s decision to issue 33 lifetime bans to those convicted of violent acts and disorder at our away game against Cardiff City last February. All those involved have been convicted and subsequently received national banning orders from the courts of at least three years, during which they will not be able to attend any football matches nationwide. Some supporters have suggested that we have been too heavy handed. We are prepared to listen to these concerns and there will be further opportunity for discussion with supporter groups in due course. However, violent acts and disorder are not welcome at Bristol City ; we are a family-friendly, community club and are confident our law-abiding supporters will fully back our stance on this. We should also make it clear that these banning orders are not connected in any way with events surrounding the recent Johnstone’s Paint Trophy derby match with Bristol Rovers, which are subject to ongoing police investigations. Its a pity that fans have had to threaten a protest. If the club used the supporters groups at their disposal they would realise their action may not have the widespread support of all law abiding fans. The club have not got their narrative sorted out. Much has been said about the club’s decision to issue 33 lifetime bans to those convicted of violent acts and disorder at our away game against Cardiff City last February ... Because that statement is incorrect. Ending on a high, its good to see that the kids coaching courses have increased to new venues e.g Knowle.
The bottom line on banning orders is that violent behaviour is not welcome at our club - I want it to be a safe place for kids to go.
Then let the courts deal with this solely. What legal training does Doug Harman have to hand out life bans? What experience does he have? Read the clubs equal ops policy. What is the club stance on discrimination and the rehabilitation of offenders act? It is unfathomable. City have fielded ex offenders, employed ex offenders, they have a community trust that engages with youth offending teams, but they have also banned for people who have not been convicted of violent behaviour.
