Supporters group Red and White Army have joined forces with Sunderland AFC in an attempt to improve the matchday experience.The two have worked together on a fan survey which they hope will lead to positive change at the Stadium of Light. Executive Director Charlie Methven said: "Stewart and I are football fans. We know very well what it means to pay to go to matches, as that is what we have been doing on weekends for most of our lives. That matchday experience can either be awful, decent or brilliant. "Too often, British football clubs are insufficiently determined to make it brilliant and we think that is a waste. “One of the joys of taking over at Sunderland AFC is being able to put into practice things that we have always believed in," he added. "Involving SAFC fans as a constituent part of the club, rather than as mere paying punters, is a strongly held belief of ours. "Put simply, we are more likely to take the right decisions, if our fellow fans have been involved in actually making the decision.” "It goes without saying that the performance and result are very influential in how much we all enjoy a day at the football. "It’s not the only aspect, though, and we cannot control it. What we can do is ensure that everything possible is done to make the rest of the day out as fun and authentic as possible. "That is what this survey is all about, and we’d like to thank RAWA for partnering with us to deliver it.” Red and White Army chairman Andrew Hird said: "We’re very impressed with the club’s willingness to engage with supporters. "Right from the off, Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven have illustrated their determination to work alongside fans. As soon as they took over, they were quick to approach the Red and White Army to begin what we hope will be a healthy relationship. “I hope the survey will mark the first of many initiatives we work on together that will allow supporters to have meaningful input into the running of our club. The matchday experience is such an important issue that it should be natural that it is fans that help shape that," he added. “We can only do that by working with the club in an honest and representative way and this survey is a great tool to do exactly that. It’s about garnering ideas and inspiration from those that know their club best and finding the common ground with our new owners to make things happen for the benefit of all supporters.” Chairman Stewart Donald has already confirmed that 31,500 new seats have been ordered to improve the Stadium of Light. Supporters can take part in the survey here.
Lots of ideas and words, and I only hope that they have done their homework about NE football. It is a different world as we know, as the other fat Southern man has found out up the road. It will be a culture shock for them, so let's see how they handle it.
Hope, positivity, ambition and optimism are words you should maybe look up mate. Easy to say that stuff will go wrong but tell me why? How? Most importantly what's the answer? Should we just accept that the NE is a corrosive place for football nowadays, with too many challenges, and give up? What would you do? I'd be genuinely interested to hear if you have some ideas cos you might just have the answer,who knows?
The match day experience has generally been very good with the music and games on outside the stadium. It's once you enter the stadium that the match day experience plummets.
it's not seats we need it's players. Better start getting players in Ross first, but we are cursed by the looks of it talking about the Caraboa cup draw Sheff w at home, they are the team last season I oyed my ticket away after the 1-3 disaster and won't go back until major signings are made.
“Won’t go back until short leaves” turns 8nto “won’t go back until major signings” Full of ****. Just don’t bother going. What “major signing” do you expect? We’re in league one ****wit
British football clubs are insufficiently determined to make it brilliant Now there's a sentence to get your head around at 3:30am when you're back from the pub after a stoppy back
Put simply, we are more likely to take the right decisions, if our fellow fans have been involved in actually making the decision Don't know like, we've been behind virtually every sacking Short made and for a while and in hindsight well you know. We're not exactly experts in running a football clubs. I hope fan involvement is limited to stuff like replacing seats and choosing from a choice of nice kits(that's way more power than we're used too) beyond that being well informed is enough for me. We're not experts(no matter how much I like to think I am ) But sometimes the right decision will not be well received, but it can still be the right decision. Cause what do we know really? Common sense and logic can only take us so far. We can never give informed decisions cause we're not a fly on the wall of what actually goes on at a football club and what it entails. I think that's a pretty dangerous and worrying comment. First thing that's made think '****. Are these lads not as grounded as they should be? Are they swept away too? Are they behaving too much like football fans than owners? As far as match day experience is concerned I've have two demands, Be better on the pitch and be more efficient and quality aware of in ground facilities.
They can improve the match day experience by winning more matches. The pomp and circumstance before a match doesn’t really interest me. I’m too busy getting a drink or food! Don’t you have those entertainment thingys before matches? For the kids and whatnot? That’s a good idea to be fair.
It’s up to the individual to enjoy their match day experience, win, lose or draw. Go to the game, make new friends and make the best of your day. Yes, good performances and a few wins help, but we all know that’s not going to happen every week.
Surely it starts and ends on the pitch If you get 100% from the players it lifts the stands and that’s the only experience that matters Everything else is just bollocks really
Well no I’m sure I’d have a better match day experience seeing Duncan Whatmore busting a gut down the wing rather than some silly fanzone or other such tat
But what about the build up and pre match enjoyment We are not going to win every games As is other teams they will not win every game
If you could get a beer without missing any of the game that would do wonders for match day experience. It's no good them busting a gut on the pitch when 10k people around the ground are stuck in a queue and have been there since before the 1st half finish. It's nice sentiment having the total football view of 'so long as all is right on the pitch' but we a customers and they're providing services. So things need to right from squad effort to toilet cleanliness. Of course other things matter why replace the seats otherwise? Presentation, front, the way we conduct ourselves, the club striving for top standards every where. It matters imo.
