I estimate that HUFC need an annual income of £2 million in order to have a realistic chance of doing well in Div.2. This works out at an average league gate of about 5k. Whether we can achieve that sort of attendance depends on the performance on the field.
The club needs to explore alternative ways of raising money. Older supporters will remember the Pools on the Move lottery. This raised a substantial amount of money for the club probably the equivalent of £8k per week by today’s standard. I wonder if there is any appetite for a revival of that scheme. The club does have a match day lottery, maybe that could be expanded. Suggestions welcome.

This year we will benefit from extra gate revenue (for the short term anyways, as the poolie bug is rife in the town). Shirt sales should also be up, given there is a decent profit margin in them. Again due to promotion hysteria.
But For me the club shop is no where near where it should be. The merch on offer is rubbish. The online fan shop isnt too bad and the O'Neills items on offer (when in stock) arnt too bad. Increase this and market it a little better and im sure this would become alot more profitable for the club than it currently is.

Have paid open training session days - look at getting schools / clubs to fork out some wager to take a bunch of kids to watch and interact with the players once a month. Money for nothing and gives that little back to the fans / community. (works in the states, albeit there is a few thousand fans waiting to meet their idols)

I think we can rule out the stadium tour option

but match day lotterys spread into the wider community to gather more funds is always a shout - other than that Raj out and find a new sugar daddy

Pools on the Move & Stagswag didn't have the lottery & god knows how many others to compete with.

The promotion seemed like a massive missed opportunity from the club. Barely any promotion merchandise out beyond the 'We are going up' t-shirt.

Could have released so much more and fans would have been willing to buy up on that.

very very much a missed opportunity. The fact the club shop didnt even sell promotion flags and banners for the open top bus parade was a showing of a tinpot club (something i dont feel we are). Anything promotion related would have sold ten fold. Mascot teddy - scarfs - cups - bits and bobs that would be keep sakes for presents. As i have said, Raj is clueless and yet another showing he doesnt have the slightest of clues on how to run a football club. Yes he has a little cash and can pay the wages but it goes about as far as that. (even thats now questionable as the wont even buy players DC wants)

We need some quality players and quick, its ok raj saving on wages for as long as possible but at the end of the day we are relegation fodder at the minute.

[quote="Eiphos_3"]very very much a missed opportunity. The fact the club shop didnt even sell promotion flags and banners for the open top bus parade was a showing of a tinpot club (something i dont feel we are). Anything promotion related would have sold ten fold. Mascot teddy - scarfs - cups - bits and bobs that would be keep sakes for presents.
that was a big chance to sell any old crap that was pools related. mind you if they had have done it i,m sure there would have been some miserable bugger who,d accuse the club of ripping fans off because another club sold its merchandise for 50p less.

know there is a football club lottery around. weekly prizes and big monthly winner. accrington and stockport have this and i think its run by the same company. you buy a chance at a quid a week for one and can pay for it at different intervals in advance. not sure how much it brings clubs in but as they say every little helps.

All this doom and gloom started by the usual suspects who have self proclaimed ‘good contacts’ within the club...in true Walter Mitty style.
This happens every years at this time, some Billy no mates character starts the chorus off and they all start clucking and shedding feathers. It’s sooooooooo fecking tedious to see the torch passed to a new know all with ‘contacts inside the club’.
The ironic thing is if it wasn’t about finances it would be some other malicious gossip on how not to run a football by someone with a CSE in woodwork.

Loose Tonight and Daves off - nice dusting of doom and gloom added for this fine muggy tuesday

Financial security will be assured if the bottled water is cold and the gristleburgers are hot.
Simple!

I remember just before the pandemic matchday lottery wasn't getting done on evening and cup games, so can't have been many takers.

the club must be reading the forum - Sponsorship packages out today on the OS (across social media platforms anyways). Match day sponsor bull etc...

Honestly shocked Pools never made a limited edition kit to commemorate the promotion winning. While I wouldn't bother personally kits are big money, especially for the family and young person demographic.

I can't work out if the pitchside sponsorship seems cheap, or the player sponsorship seems expensive... Either way, 10 days isn't much time for people to get sign off from their company if they want to propose pitchside sponsorship in time for the new season.

never mind a ltd edition kit - this seasons would be nice to see - unless they are waiting for Giro thursday to announce so the masses can go out and shop

If the club’s reading your posts, they’ll just call it a day.

Promotion flags at a tenna each. Raj missed a trick by not making and selling 25,000 of those in a week before the bus trip to fund a striker. Call himself a business man!!

I think you would have 20000 left.

I was being sarcastic.

yes, but you know that kids and the younger end will buy anything with pools and the logo on it even with the inflated prices they ask. once any team get promoted they actually go abit OTT in selling anything to to do with this promotion to the extent of being sick to death of seeing it.

The club shop actually does have a lot of items in stock, not so much clothing but accessories and miscellaneous gifts. The club for the most part has never advertised any of them.

i bet the club shop doesnt even open on match days

I think a lot of stock is stored in a warehouse somewhere, haven't been for a while but I visited the club shop when it moved to it's new location on clarence road and its pretty small.

Whilst I know Raj doesn't enjoy adding more overheads to the business, surely he can see from a business perspective that a half-decent Marketing manager will probably make his/her salary back and more within a year. The club could do a hell of a lot more with engaging with current and potential fans, but if no one is in that position, then it ain't gunna happen.

It did pre pandemic so there's no reason for it not to in the coming season when more fans will be present.

Why, would you go in and buy something?

Can confirm at least before pandemic club shop was always open (and busy) on matchdays.

I understand a local marketing company has prepared a video for this weeks showing of the new kit.

Yes i would and im sure alot of other poolies would too - does it not make sense to open on match days like ?

the average home game will see a plethora of fans who dont usually come for games - many reasons i cba to list (use your imagination) so they may venture in and buy something - as stated previously we missed a trick by not selling promotion merch when the hysteria was rife through the town.

ill be first online when the new kit is released for me and the young'un UTFP

Surely there's room in Middleton grave for a pools shop!

Pools shop in a grave? That's a bit deep!

In all seriousness I think a shop in the middle grange would be good, but I'm not sure how cheap itd come.

Not necessarily...... the nature of the end of season scramble meant to be successful in sales you’d have had to wait till you actually gained promotion and no sensible business buys in stock in anticipation of a win as you can end up losing a lot of money if you fail.
Buying stock after the event would entail a delay in delivery and by then any ‘euphoria’ would have long evaporated.
It was a no brainer from the outset given the unique circumstances.

doubt it would be that expensive in the market area at the top. know accrington have had one for a few years thats run by volunteers. sell various second hand football related stuff as well as club stuff. for a team with far less than half of pools fanbase surely we could do something similar. its just someone willing to find stuff out and organise it is whats needed that live local.

a small market stall selling retro pools shirts / merch would definitely be a hit. A guy at work retired (lifelong pools fan) the hassle we had in trying to get him a pools shirt with his name on the back was a joke. This highlighted just how badly run the club is just now. Hoping we see a change this season.

remember not that long ago i lost my woolly hat walking the dogs down the blue lagoon before the game. didn,t bother going back for it as being winter i thought the club shop would have one. should have known better i really should. this is part of the club thats really tin pot and not improving.