A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Ron brought the subject up and we understand more now. Your point is valid, but at the time the perception of the funding my have been different.
Agree with all you have said (if Charlie 1 will permit me) and definitely agree with this about Mooney, but he is where he is and we are where we are; all he can do is keep his head down - unless he has gone native.
Unfortunately he can't keep his head down, he is often the person the local media makes initial contact with for such matters. Monkey & organ grinder springs to mind.
I know what you mean, but, to be fair, he has being doing a pretty good job of keeping his head down for some weeks now.
I don't think it is against the rules. From what I've read, other clubs read it the same way and spent some on facilities for visiting fans last year. Part of the problem is the rules don't seem to be listed anywhere, if they even exist at all. Some seem to have latched onto a version that may not be totally accurate. That aside, I doubt there's any that spent nothing on their own fans.
Some. There is also this insight into Evertons view, which highlights an issue that I had not considered before. Profiting from the ASI. Use the money to make more money. Everton's approach to the initiative is quite different to a lot of other clubs (from a Shareholder's meeting with Robert Elstone, Everton's CEO): We spoke for a while about this initiative and the different approaches that clubs had taken to investing the £200k per year that has been set aside by the clubs to enhance the away match experience. Mr Elstone reiterated what he had said in previous meetings that this is supposed to be about filling the away ends of grounds. He noted that the ticket price subsidy the Club had announced for our own fans accounted for about 25% of the total spend. Additionally the Club would soon announce a new role of ‘Away Fan Ambassador’ who would be available 8am through 8pm on match days to support the needs of away fans including providing live updates (presumably through social media platforms) of things such as traffic and weather updates. He is though really frustrated by the actions of what he called the ‘less proactive clubs’ who’d used the whole £200k to simply knock a few pounds off tickets for their own fans, especially those clubs who have a 100% away following anyway and so their actions are very unlikely to increase attendances. He has (or will) asked the Premier League to be more specific about their expectation for the use of these funds as the scheme continues in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
RH were really easy on Ehab tonight, though I gather that's the norm. They kept pointing out its not that bad to spend it on the away end, others have done it etc. The point is no one else has spent it exclusively in the away end. Even Ehab acknowledged that and said the rest are all wrong. The point is that they strung the fans and their communications manager along all year about this under the pretense that we could have some input, when really they'd decided they were punishing the fans and that was that. The PL specifically told us they only have some loose guidelines and don't want to dictate to clubs, but suggest discussing it with fans to see how they want it spent. Ehab once again was just fantasising about other clubs being uncompliant. He seems to think no one will ever look into his claims or challenge them. I suppose that's true in RH's case. One of the things I despise most about these ****s is their slimy dishonesty. They don't have the balls to try and defend their actions, they just cover it up for as long as possible, then when it's out they try and appease people with more lies. That formula has been followed for two years now and still some people trust them.
So, were City being non compliant last season when they spent the money on subsidising travel? The point was made on RH that Allam has consistently said you don't spend money on a council house but has done just that. Even more galling was the bloke from Hull FC saying how it had made it better for visiting rugby fans. Even the most rabid of Allam apologists cannot claim that was one of the aims of the ASI money.
I'm not too sure how that is when the away fans for the rugby are behind the goal and aren't in the same section as the football fans
My reading of it is that both would be compliant, but it was hoped that the initiatives would be more than just discounting travel.
Only quoting what the FC bloke said. Maybe the concourse improvements benefits FC fans more? He did say they were expecting 175 fans from Salford.
What I was referring to was last season City subsidised away travel now, under the same initiative, Ehab Allam is saying that is wrong.
I think Ehab's interpreting the rules in different ways depending on what suits his argument. If he's reading it differently to how he applied it last year, he should at least explain why.
FA say no > From now until we sell the club (NB we want a good home - 200% of its market value should do or else no deal) we will be looking after the interests of the shareholders (when we say this we mean that we shall piss off as many stakeholders as possible to show that we are in charge) > we shall change the name of the club anywhere we can legally get away with it (90% of instances) > why does no one want to pay £200m for our club? Spoke to Beeny and she said some nice magnolia paint in the away end might help to shift it.
This is the classic cluster-**** that is manipulated by those of a low moral standing. The PL will have pulled this initiative together as a result of FA, Govt., FST, etc. consultation and pressure. It was an easy thing for them, as no extra money involved, just a small slice of current monies pledged in common accord. Some thought of it as an altruistic opportunity, some as a mixture of altruistic and profit-generation and some simply as profit generation from away supporters and a poke-in-the-eye of their own supporters. Slack controls (who would have dreamt stronger ones were needed - arf) have meant there is unlikely to be any other sanction beyond outrage - this is the calculated part of the Allam strategy - I am not sure, but having held commercial leases, I would think he will have met some part of a clause that calls upon rolling repair and improvement/modernization. It really quite astute and confounds the theories thrown at me that the owners are clueless. These guys know what they are doing, it is the fact that they care not one jot for the sensibilities of anyone else that folk find so difficult to swallow. Instead of being outraged, be expectant, be prepared and move away from day-to-day involvement with them. Stop knocking on their door (Mooney is one of their doors), the principle that you have to keep in touch is a fallacy, leave that to the FSF, the media, the OSC (they appear to have no option as their soul is sold), the FA, the PL. The HCST should do as they are, ask questions, but consider them a little longer first. It is pointless trying to repair this situation, simply sum it up, learn from it and move on.
