Good chance today to get it right, ah well maybe next time!!

This is going to be something as trivial as not selling chips isn’t it or them not selling sweets?

It’s very early days, we nearly went out of business six months ago.

I’m not sure how helpful a Trust board member having a cryptic but public go at the new regime is right now to be honest. How about privately sharing your thoughts with the commercial department by e mail or face to face far more constructive I’d say.

I popped along today and thought the only thing they could've done to make a few quid more was open the food outlets and bars at the back of the cooper stand.

The food outlets were at Crimdon and Seaton today

A Sunday would of been the best imo , and it should of been done a couple of weeks ago.

Still , this is a step in the right direction, hopefully it will continue and improve in the years to come. Fans forum tonight at the Corporation Club, with top brass in attendance, so in all fairness they are putting in a shift.

A gentleman passed me clutching a tray of chips.........he looked less than impressed.

I've a bad feeling about this season already

I think the internet response is...

U ok hun?

Well if it isn`t sheik yahead, I am a paying customer, why do people have to bring the trust into it?

I sent Mark Maguire an email offering assistance in catering/retail, as he suggested when we met him and he didn`t feel the need to respond, hey fair enough if he has his own ideas, after seeing today I would say it is a similar scenario to previous seasons.

If you always do what you`ve always done then you will always get what you always got.

You still haven’t said what the issues were you just sound like someone with an agenda.

You represent the Trust because you are on the board it’s just the way it is and I reckon you could do yourself a favour by just considering that every now and then, you would probably do the Trust a favour if you didn’t post at all to be honest.

You are right PJ, you`re always right.

I offered to try and help the Trust in a fairly small way. It was in an area that I make a decent living in but the response I got was rude and offhand. Separate from that, you should think about who you're representing before you post on here.

Endless end of the pier shite and whining about catering doesn't give the best possible impression of a supporters trust.

Does anyone really give a fuck about the food, I know what I'm going to get if I get a burger or chips at the match

It’s all a bit oblique this thread... first post sounds ominous but later down the line it’s suggested the issue is chips?!
Thought the whole day was a great idea.

Kids were off , and about 5-600 turned up , I think that was more than expected ...I wouldn't have thought they would want 2000 for this ...safety and all that ...

Nobody actually goes to a game of football to be fed. Some of the garbage they sell at the bigger grounds is diplorable. I think Pools should do the best job they can of that side of things like everything in an ideal World but Football isn’t judged on customer service experience success is defined by having a good team and winning games. Ultimately lower league teams getting better crowds has zero correlation with how many bottles of pop or trays of chips they sell. It all helps to a degree but if it was a money maker for clubs at least one would make more of an effort.

It's early days. In the short space of time they have been in charge they have surpassed all my expectations. Give them a break.

It was a great idea the way they did yesterday - fantastic for engagement so huge positives. Agree they may have missed a trick commercially when you look at it in black and white, but in the long term if a free event helps engage the fans then I would suspect this will encourage fans to spend more in the club. If questions were answered honestly last night then even more so.

I disagree PJ, having a pie and a Bovril was always part of the matchday experience for many. Also it does and should make money, the mark up on a food at football must be astronomical, and they are hardly paying top dollar to those that serve it. Like it or not football clubs do serve food , and someone has to be the best and someone the worst , but in my experience travelling away, we are one of the worst , yet again , why is that ?. Spennymoor was well organised last week, why not us?. What we need to do, rather than run away from the problem , such as outsourcing the catering and doing away with things like programmes and not even providing ones at friendly games, is actually look to do things better, other clubs seem to manage , why not us?. IOR and Russ Green got there in the end with the catering , unfortunately by the time they did , the club was on the slide , but it proves with the desire to be the best and the right people in charge it can be done.

At what point ever have you not been able to get a Pie and Bovril at Pools?

I am not saying people don’t eat at Football I am just saying it’s not a main reason for them to go, that is about 95% down to having a decent and winning team to watch. I wouldn’t say Pools are one of the worst some of the places we’re you get pre bagged Burgers take that crown and they often when you visit the bigger grounds. Room for improvement to maximise revenue? certainly, a major priority in the grand scheme of things for Pools when only the months ago we were on the verge of oblivion? certainly not.

I never said you couldn't get a pie and a Bovril , though towards the end of last season you couldn't. I was disagreeing with you saying people didn't go to the game to eat. You know my views on Pools, I want only the best for HUFC, but I for one am prepared to now go back to basics and start from scratch, in other words I will cut the club some slack at least for a couple of seasons until they get their house in order. I agree the whingeing about the catering at this point is unnecessary , but I do hope in time , that things will improve off the field on all fronts, catering, programme, club shop, hospitality, ground etc. Revenue from all these things is important to improving things on the field. As I say , the club has more or less hit rock bottom, its going to be a long road back imo, so I'm resigned to things being a bit basic for a couple of seasons at least , and I will give those in charge my support and time to implement the changes and improvements necessary.

The open day yesterday was a fantastic idea fantastically executed. The kids loved it. The players, the manager and the chief exec were brilliant, approachable and helpful. Anybody criticising it is an attention seeking twit with a personal agenda.

can count on my hands the number of times i have bought anything to eat in football grounds. prefer to get there early and buy something in the town or before i get there. price and quality is usually high and poor. prefer a good winning team than be on top of the burger satisfaction league.

Well at HUFC we get neither

To have 600 to 700 fans turn up on a Thursday for an open day is tremendous. Nobody will mention catering if we win the first 3 games. Fantastic idea by the club.

Reading comments from those that went , it appears to have went well, so fair play to the club. Its easy to criticise, as it is to confuse criticism with someome genuinely wanting to see things improve and making sensible suggestions to that effect.

Is there only me old enough to remember the days of the 'award winning' pies?

And in the days when I worked outside of the area, unable to get home before the game, the pre-match pie was an important part of my evening.

In fact I might have bought a pie last night................

And a raffle ticket..........

And may have been interested in an auction............

Anyway, back to the award winning pies.........I feel a visit to Morrell's coming on. And as Mr Horden says, we all genuinely want to see things improve.

Well said. These people have saved our club from oblivion and still there are so called supporters who only try to find fault!!!

I am not an attention seeker, I didn`t say it wasn`t a good idea, I didn`t say the kids enjoyed it and I didn`t mention chips.

And just to clarify, the comment I made was MY own and not the views of the TRUST, as a paying fan who doesn`t want the same thing to happen in 2 years that just happened.
If we do not become commercially savvy and generate our own money, it will.

I think what has just happened has little to do with commercial department to be honest, the club generated pretty large sums in transfer revenue only for it to dissapear into a black hole created by outright conmen.

Improvements in that area can make the club sounder and more self sufficient moving forward though certainly.

Only because they dont want it to happen again and again and again...

What was the actual problem yesterday then?


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I was there yesterday it was a fantastic event and was great progress.

There were a number of areas that could of been improved upon and hopefully next year it will be even better.

I think there is a frustration when Pools are seemingly leaving money behind and supporters cant be criticized for that but the way they express this frustration is another matter.

The problem seems to be getting good trustworthy reliable staff on a casual basis is extremely difficult.

Whilst selling enough pies isn't the reason Pools nearly went bust it is a reason they might not be viable business even without money being taken out and has undoubtedly been neglected; any commercial revenue is welcome and shouldn't be dismissed as trivial.

Sensible post

On the issue of casual staff, anyone else think or noticed, that staff at other clubs, seem to want to be there, whereas at Pools they look as though they don't , almost press ganged into it. In the main referring to stewards, but they are a vital cog in the machine. Wonder why this is?

I reckon the revenue taken from shirts etc in the club shop from 4ish till whenever they closed shows the "commercially inept" comment to be almost totally wrong'

Inept does appear to describe the actual original post and therefore possibly the original poster.

If only 1 person didn’t enjoy yesterday than I think that’s good going.


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If only 1 person didn’t enjoy yesterday than I think that’s good going.


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So 2 people didn't enjoy yesterday? Shit. #RajOut

My personal view and not that of the Trust-

There are many factors to consider when being in business Bob, profit margin, selling price, demand, sales staff etc and whilst my Inept comment was used to provoke a response, which I have had by the way, it was probably Naive rather than inept.
All I want is the club to be a success and be sustainable, I understand most thought yesterday was a success so I will shut up now

The future is bright.

Commercially inept Pools shifted over 500 shirts yesterday.

I never mentioned it being the trusts view so why quote me as if I did. You state your comment was used to provoke a response which you've had. Now I may not post on here as often as I did but I do read it. and this quote of to provoke response you appear to be using on a fairly regular basis when you appear to get the response you don't want. From memory those words or similar have been used by you previously.

I never mentioned it being the trusts view so why quote me as if I did. You state your comment was used to provoke a response which you've had. Now I may not post on here as often as I did but I do read it. and this quote of to provoke response you appear to be using on a fairly regular basis when you appear to get the response you don't want. From memory those words or similar have been used by you previously.