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Tuesday, 10 November 2009 00:05 |
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At this time of year we remember all those who have lost their lives fighting for their country and for those of you who want to find out more about QPR players who joined the armed forces and made the supreme sacrifice we refer you to some excellent articles written by Steve Russell which can be found at http://www.indyrs.co.uk/?p=111 and http://www.indyrs.co.uk/?p=231.
We look forward to finding out more about the initiatives the Club is planning in support of the Football League's Charity Partner 'Help for Heroes' and welcome the decision to offer free tickets to service men and women for the next Home game. It is also appreciated that fans will be given an opportunity to express our gratitude to the troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers when they perform a lap of honour at Loftus Road. We look forward to the offer of tickets at a concessionary rates to members of the armed forces becoming a regular feature. |
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 21:50 |
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QPR1st wishes to inform our members of a petition which has been created following an approach to the Football Supporters' Federation by a group of Sunderland fans arrested, but not charged, for their involvement at an incident that took place at Newcastle Central Station on 8th August between supporters returning from the Hearts pre-season friendly and Northumbria Police.
These supporters have continually maintained that they are innocent of any crime and were shocked and outraged to receive notice that they have been banned from attending games at the Stadium of Light around 28th November, nearly three months after the event.
This is despite the fact that not one person has been charged with any offence and that Sunderland’s own safety officer, Paul Weir, has admitted to fans that many will see no further action from Northumbria Police.
A spokesperson for the group, who does not want to be named while the criminal investigation is ongoing, said:
“Please listen Niall: ever since you came to our club you have shown a level of respect and understanding towards fans that is unmatched by any player or chairman in this country.
“Many of us caught up in the Central Station incident have repeatedly protested our innocence – we are teachers and civil servants, medics and office workers, all of us committed Sunderland fans. We are not hooligans.
“We understand that we have a fight on our hands to clear our names with Northumbria Police, but we neither expect nor wish to fight Sunderland Football Club as well.
“When you took over as Chairman you asked the fans to put the past actions of the club behind us and back what you were trying to do, and we did. Now we ask you in that same spirit, give us the chance to clear our names before you turn your back on us.
“We have supported the team through the bad times and the Club has no right to find us guilty until proven innocent and to ban us, without refund or right of appeal, now that things are starting to go well on the field.
“Whoever is in charge, Sunderland Football Club belongs first and foremost to us, the fans, and we urge all Sunderland supporters, and concerned fans of other clubs, to sign our petition – next time, it could be you.
“The petition respectfully requests our Chairman, Niall Quinn, to overturn this unfair club policy and reinstate all fans pending the result of proper legal action.”
Dr Malcolm Clarke, Chair of the Football Supporters’ Federation, and a Stoke City fan, added:
“We are seeing more and more clubs treating fans in this way, receive similar complaints from supporters up and down the country and are delighted that these Sunderland supporters are prepared to take a stand. We will help them in whatever ways we can.
“I have little doubt that the protest will attract the support and solidarity of fans the length and breadth of the country, many of whom suffer exactly the same problems at their own clubs.
“We sincerely hope Mr Quinn will listen to his team’s supporters on this issue. Sunderland’s Chairman has an excellent reputation as a man who truly values his team’s supporters. If he can’t see that this policy is deplorable then we might as well all just give up and go home."
If you want to sign the petition visit:
http://www.fsf.org.uk/petitions/sunderland-ban-quinn-petition.php
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Friday, 06 November 2009 07:58 |
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On the 15th October, a meeting was held between representatives of the Club and representatives of QPR1st Supporters Trust. The Club was represented by Ali Russell, the Deputy Managing Director and Joe Kyle, Marketing Manager. QPR1st was represented by Stephen Dedridge, Chairman of the Supporters Trust, Neil Dejython, the Secretary and Geoff Gibbs, the Treasurer.
This was an informal but very constructive meeting which mainly focussed on how the Club and QPR1st could work together and the Club’s Marketing strategy.
QPR1st would like to thank Ali and Joe for devoting their time to the meeting and also Laressa Kelly for arranging it.
Communication between the Club and QPR1st Supporters Trust
- In correspondence between the Club and the Supporters Trust, the Board of Directors have expressed a preference not to enter into discussions regarding the Football League investigation regarding Mr. Briatore. The Supporters Trust fully understands and respects the Club’s decision on this matter and do not intend to challenge it prior to the Football League concluding their investigation.
In consideration of this and also the context of this meeting (as an informal discussion regarding the Club’s marketing policy) it was mutually agreed that questions related to the Football League investigation would not be raised.
- The Club is keen to maintain effective and constructive communication with the Supporters Trust. Most communication now takes place via emails and phone calls and this reduces the need for face to face meetings. The Supporters Trust will not request meetings ‘for the sake of it’ but only when it is felt that such face to face contact will be of mutual benefit.
- In this respect, there was some discussion of the Official Supporters Club (OSC). It was explained that the Club wishes to promote the OSC and support its development, including utilising it as a vehicle through which information from the Club could be shared with other supporters groups. It was recognised that the Club has to deal with a number of supporters organisations and there is a need to consider ways in which communication can be streamlined. The Supporters Trust is happy to discuss with the Club and other Supporters Groups including the OSC about how this could be best achieved. The Supporters Trust also acknowledge the fine work carried out by the OSC, particularly in respect to fund raising for community projects, and look forward to seeing how the organisation will grow both in terms of its role and also in its relationship with its membership.
Communication with the Fan Base and other Stakeholders
- The Supporters Trust regret that an AGM will no longer be held for shareholders, as this event encouraged a sense of involvement and participation from fans who owned a small number of shares. It hopes that the Club will reconsider its decision.
- The Supporters Trust requested that the Club consider a reintroduction of the Fans Forum, as these events that were very popular and valued by fans.
- The Supporters Trust also suggested that the Club could run a stakeholders day and offered to provide further information about how such events had been run by other organisations.
- There was some discussion of the Official Website. Whilst fans understand that the Official Website wishes to present the Club in a positive light they also want it to be a source of accurate and reliable information, in contrast to some of the rumour and speculation found elsewhere on the internet and in the media. The Supporters Trust expressed the view that on most occasions the Official Website gets it right in adopting an objective and factual tone but on a small number of occasions, some statements have seemed over the top or exaggerated and may give an unintended impression of ‘hype’.
- The last Player of the Year event was discussed and the Supporters Trust welcomed that the Club had acknowledged concerns expressed by fans that attended about the level of commitment and respect some players showed towards the event. It is fully accepted that this was not the impression that the players intended but it may be that some of the younger players might need some support and guidelines about how to conduct themselves at such events. It was also pointed out that whilst in previous Player of the Year events, players were sat amongst fans around the hall on this occasion they were all seated at the back at the hall in two large groups.
- The Supporters Trust believes that communication between the Club and its disabled fans would be best served by the creation of a Disabled Supporters Group, in keeping with NADS (National Association for Disabled Supporters) guidelines. Whilst QPR1st will be happy to support the creation of such a group we believe that it will only succeed if the Club is willing to take a leading role.
Ticket Pricing Policy at Loftus Road
- The club are looking at ways to increase the fan base and get supporters to return to Loftus Road.
o Some initiatives involve a pilot scheme at university level where they hope to encourage fans to stick around for the long-term.
o The club would like to offer improved ticketing plans for university students in order to make it financially viable for them to come to Loftus Road.
- The club want to express to the fan base that the business model in place at Loftus Road is designed around making QPR a self profitable business that can stand on its own two feet.
- The club hopes to offer improved and attractive methods to pay for season tickets from next season through a direct debit scheme. This is a lot easier to manage now that the TicketMaster system is in place.
Loyalty Points
- The club feel the loyalty points system has worked well, but appreciate and recognise there were teething issues too. They have taken on board all the feedback they received and will be looking to improve and resolve any existing issues. They are also considering different ways of rewarding a larger number of fans who obtain a significant number of loyalty points. The Supporters Trust fed back that many fans find the loyalty scheme confusing and work needs to be done on helping ensure that fans understand it and appreciate its value.
Volunteers
- The Supporters Trust appreciates the hard work carried out by staff at QPR. It pointed out that within the fan base there are a number of individuals who are willing to help the Club out on a voluntary basis, able to offer a wide spectrum of skills and experience. The Club would welcome this voluntary help and there was some discussion about the role QPR1st could play in this by helping to create a database of volunteers. QPR1st will contact the Club to discuss this issue in further detail.
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 16:57 |
In view of our recent articles regarding what some fans feel is 'heavy handed stewarding' at Loftus Road, the following article whihc originally appeared in the Football Supporters Federation newsletter may be of interest.
John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood is arguably the best known football fan in England. Not only does he follow Pompey week in, week out but – as you might already have guessed – he even changed his name by deed poll just in case you couldn’t work out who he supported. But news reaches us that on Saturday he was thrown out, along with five or six other Pompey fans, during his team’s home game with Spurs.
And the reason given to Westwood for his eviction? “Taking the Mickey out of the stewards.”
That’s right – not swearing, not pitch encroachment, certainly not violence. Taking the Mickey. Call the cops!
As most will already know Portsmouth’s weekend tie saw ex-manager Harry “I’m Portsmouth ‘til I die” Redknapp returning to Fratton Park for the first time since his move to Spurs. Given that this was the second time he’d jumped ship from the club, the first time to Southampton lest we forget, the Pompey faithful are understandably less than happy with Harry.
So a few fans got together and produced posters with ‘Judas!’ written across an image of Redknapp. They sold them at a few local pubs for a quid a pop with all profits going to local charity the Tom Prince Cancer Trust.
Now let’s not forget chants of ‘Judas!’ have echoed across football grounds for decades - this is a word with a fine tradition among supporters! It’s a tongue-in-cheek insult that Redknapp is more than capable of taking on the chin. No one really thinks Redknapp is Judas Iscariot. Judas chose money over loyalty while Redknapp left Portsmouth for the second time in four years. We can’t see the similarity at all.
The stewards and police at Fratton Park were less than amused though.
During the first half Westwood’s group held up one of the posters they’d smuggled in. Stewards spotted it and demanded they give it up but it quickly disappeared only to reappear once our yellow jacketed friends had moved on. This is repeated a few more times before stewards swoop on the group and eject Westwood from the stadium where they tell him he’s been kicked out for “taking the Mickey.”
In a show of support and defiance towards the end of the game those around Westwood pass round the picture again, are spotted on camera, and chucked out as well.
It’s a worrying trend as more and more stewards seem to be dictating what is or isn’t morally acceptable. No one’s condoning racism, homophobia, or the type of insults Redknapp says he received to his phone. Those people are nuts, we don’t want them near the game, and they deserve whatever punishment they get.
But calling someone Judas – is that really unacceptable? Of course not, it’s just banter and as soon as you put a stop to that you kill off one of the main reasons why people go to games. Winding up the opposition, a few beers, and a bit of crack with your mates. As long as it’s within the law why should it be up to stewards to decide what is or isn’t morally acceptable?
How sterile do Pompey want their ground to be? This is a club famed for its atmosphere after all – if they’re not careful they might just alienate the very people who make it in the first place.
Clashes between Pompey’s more boisterous supporters and stewards at Fratton Park have been a running theme over the past couple of years. We hear that the Portsmouth FC hierarchy is meeting with the club’s fans over the next few days to talk about Saturday’s events and previous stewarding issues.
This is a step in the right direction and credit to the club for that.
Let’s hope common sense prevails and the Pompey faithful can get back to supporting their team without having to worry about whether a steward thinks the joke is on them.
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