A Century United
Highland Exile
Chairman's Blog
Last week I touched on the backroom staff at the Club. That is not of course the backroom staff that support the football management but what I would describe as the “engine room” of the Club.
I say that because I know whilst all fans will understand there has to be support services to any company (and the football club of course is no different) it is not just about the 90 minutes on a Saturday. Sure that is the pinnacle, but match day is the culmination of an effort by many many people in order to give the manager and players the best opportunity of succeeding during that 90 minutes. Get the fundamentals wrong and failure follows.
I am not saying that there is an exact correlation between success on the field and financial investment for as I have already highlighted in previous weeks it also has a lot to do with judgment and careful research. No matter what amount of investment is put into a football club if the right decisions are not made then it is a recipe for disaster. Success is a blend of contributions from everybody and support from the backroom staff is paramount to keep this ship on an even keel.
I know that supporters often refer to gate receipts as if that is the primary financial driver. Whilst that is of course very important income you might be interested to learn gate receipts represents some 40% of turnover. It is the activity of all the personnel behind the scenes that drives the revenue streams with improved budgets to enable the Manager to invest further funds in the squad.
I suspect this topic is not exactly exhilarating to our fans but it is only right that I give proper recognition to a fundamental part of the Club’s operation and to reinforce the hard work that all the administrative staff do as part of the total investment in football. It is probably not known by many that Southend United are leaders in the use of technology, a reputation that we are forever seeking to enhance. This brings further revenue streams and in turn reinvestment into the Club.
In the new Stadium that technology will move up a notch enabling us to communicate even more with our supporters and provide the service that you, our customers, deserve.
That leads me to talk about our fan base. As you all know this has grown substantially over the past five years. Whilst we are probably suffering a little from the mid table syndrome (coupled with the recession) I have no doubt that there are many loyal fans that follow The Blues fortunes, whilst perhaps not being able to attend at Roots Hall week in week out. For your information these weekly blogs are emailed to some 28,000 people on our database with a total number of persons registered approaching 78,000.
These numbers are a world apart from five or six years ago.
Steve Tilson, the players and indeed myself have often acknowledged the difference fans make which is not difficult to understand – when viewed in the extreme. It is easy to imagine how difficult it would be to remain motivated playing in an empty stadium compared to say 10,000 fans at Roots Hall roaring the team on. I am delighted the way in which our support has improved with many hundreds of fans travelling around the country for which I wish to thank you. I said in the Foreword for season ticket renewals that our supporters are rapidly becoming greatly respected up and down the country and one day I hope that other clubs will talk about us with reverence. To have a legendary fan base can only bring more and sustained success to your Club. However we have to play our part by not only attractive and successful football but also providing an unequalled service behind the scenes. It is for all these reasons I wanted to inform fans of the large contingent of personnel that keeps this well oiled machine operational and growing.
My view is that if the Club cuts services it also cuts its support.
Over the past few weeks I have covered a number of topics to provide what I hope on the whole has been an interesting insight into the Club’s operation and the improvements that we are continually making so as to increase the efficiency, not only in service but also the care and research to ensure effective and efficient investment both on and off the pitch.
I said at the outset that I would write these blogs “for a trial period” and “if supporters feel the blog is worthwhile it may be possible to introduce a Q&A”.
Over the weeks I have also alluded to my hopes and aspirations for your football club but it maybe that I have not answered all the questions that arise. I therefore want to invite supporters to review what has been aired so far and prepare any questions that you may have.
Next week I will just highlight some of the topics that have been covered as a useful reference for any questions and at that time will provide details to whom you should write in our media department (please do not address emails directly to me as this will simply clog the system). The media department will then give me a list of most commonly asked questions which I will answer in the week(s) following. I promise you I will not duck any issue! It is sometimes difficult for me to tell you what you would like to know and I think a forum, such as proposed, will be helpful and informative to all readers.
Until next week.
Up The Blues!
Last week I touched on the backroom staff at the Club. That is not of course the backroom staff that support the football management but what I would describe as the “engine room” of the Club.
I say that because I know whilst all fans will understand there has to be support services to any company (and the football club of course is no different) it is not just about the 90 minutes on a Saturday. Sure that is the pinnacle, but match day is the culmination of an effort by many many people in order to give the manager and players the best opportunity of succeeding during that 90 minutes. Get the fundamentals wrong and failure follows.
I am not saying that there is an exact correlation between success on the field and financial investment for as I have already highlighted in previous weeks it also has a lot to do with judgment and careful research. No matter what amount of investment is put into a football club if the right decisions are not made then it is a recipe for disaster. Success is a blend of contributions from everybody and support from the backroom staff is paramount to keep this ship on an even keel.
I know that supporters often refer to gate receipts as if that is the primary financial driver. Whilst that is of course very important income you might be interested to learn gate receipts represents some 40% of turnover. It is the activity of all the personnel behind the scenes that drives the revenue streams with improved budgets to enable the Manager to invest further funds in the squad.
I suspect this topic is not exactly exhilarating to our fans but it is only right that I give proper recognition to a fundamental part of the Club’s operation and to reinforce the hard work that all the administrative staff do as part of the total investment in football. It is probably not known by many that Southend United are leaders in the use of technology, a reputation that we are forever seeking to enhance. This brings further revenue streams and in turn reinvestment into the Club.
In the new Stadium that technology will move up a notch enabling us to communicate even more with our supporters and provide the service that you, our customers, deserve.
That leads me to talk about our fan base. As you all know this has grown substantially over the past five years. Whilst we are probably suffering a little from the mid table syndrome (coupled with the recession) I have no doubt that there are many loyal fans that follow The Blues fortunes, whilst perhaps not being able to attend at Roots Hall week in week out. For your information these weekly blogs are emailed to some 28,000 people on our database with a total number of persons registered approaching 78,000.
These numbers are a world apart from five or six years ago.
Steve Tilson, the players and indeed myself have often acknowledged the difference fans make which is not difficult to understand – when viewed in the extreme. It is easy to imagine how difficult it would be to remain motivated playing in an empty stadium compared to say 10,000 fans at Roots Hall roaring the team on. I am delighted the way in which our support has improved with many hundreds of fans travelling around the country for which I wish to thank you. I said in the Foreword for season ticket renewals that our supporters are rapidly becoming greatly respected up and down the country and one day I hope that other clubs will talk about us with reverence. To have a legendary fan base can only bring more and sustained success to your Club. However we have to play our part by not only attractive and successful football but also providing an unequalled service behind the scenes. It is for all these reasons I wanted to inform fans of the large contingent of personnel that keeps this well oiled machine operational and growing.
My view is that if the Club cuts services it also cuts its support.
Over the past few weeks I have covered a number of topics to provide what I hope on the whole has been an interesting insight into the Club’s operation and the improvements that we are continually making so as to increase the efficiency, not only in service but also the care and research to ensure effective and efficient investment both on and off the pitch.
I said at the outset that I would write these blogs “for a trial period” and “if supporters feel the blog is worthwhile it may be possible to introduce a Q&A”.
Over the weeks I have also alluded to my hopes and aspirations for your football club but it maybe that I have not answered all the questions that arise. I therefore want to invite supporters to review what has been aired so far and prepare any questions that you may have.
Next week I will just highlight some of the topics that have been covered as a useful reference for any questions and at that time will provide details to whom you should write in our media department (please do not address emails directly to me as this will simply clog the system). The media department will then give me a list of most commonly asked questions which I will answer in the week(s) following. I promise you I will not duck any issue! It is sometimes difficult for me to tell you what you would like to know and I think a forum, such as proposed, will be helpful and informative to all readers.
Until next week.
Up The Blues!
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