Away end (Port Vale)

[Filo]

All this debate centres around the clubs poor implementation of the unreserved area and complete lack of consultation with affected people, we did n't seem to have these kind of problems 3 or 4 months ago under the previous Media and communications manager

[Dagenham Rover]

 But standings not allowed 

[wesisback]

All this debate centres around the clubs poor implementation of the unreserved area and complete lack of consultation with affected people, we did n't seem to have these kind of problems 3 or 4 months ago under the previous Media and communications manager

Are you kidding me? Shaun skirted round every issue I ever took to him. Did you ever respond to Ryans offer on twitter? I'd be interested to know whether that's where your issues have stemmed from or whether your just a venemous Internet mouthpiece who shirks out of it when offered a chance to discuss it properly?

[Filo]

All this debate centres around the clubs poor implementation of the unreserved area and complete lack of consultation with affected people, we did n't seem to have these kind of problems 3 or 4 months ago under the previous Media and communications manager

Are you kidding me? Shaun skirted round every issue I ever took to him. Did you ever respond to Ryans offer on twitter? I'd be interested to know whether that's where your issues have stemmed from or whether your just a venemous Internet mouthpiece who shirks out of it when offered a chance to discuss it properly?

Internet mouthpeice? Don't make me laugh!

I had very healthy, prolonged and productive discussions with Shaun, he took the time out to contact me often to keep me updated on the specific disscusions we had and could n't have been more helpful if he tried, but rather than shout this from the rooftops I mentioned it briefly in one or two posts.


Don't forget it was this internet mouthpeice that only last week proposed that myself, Lewis and GB sit around a table and discuss his leading question he asked at meet the owners, this internet mouthpeice did n't get a response to that proposal!

[wesisback]

Yet you seem more than happy to shout out loud about 'fan engagement being abandoned' and that the previous Comms Manager spoke to you about relevant stuff to you.
So answer me this Dave. What has unreserved seating in the South Stand or a group standing at Port Vale away have in terms if relevance to you?
You seem to have missed my question also in my last post. I saw Ryan offer to ring you for a chat about your concerns. Did you take up that offer? You never know, you could have built something beautiful the way you and Shaun did.

[wesisback]

What a kind offer. I doubt Ryan or Gavin read Viking Chat often. Did you message any of those parties to sort this out?

[Filo]

Yet you seem more than happy to shout out loud about 'fan engagement being abandoned' and that the previous Comms Manager spoke to you about relevant stuff to you.
So answer me this Dave. What has unreserved seating in the South Stand or a group standing at Port Vale away have in terms if relevance to you?
You seem to have missed my question also in my last post. I saw Ryan offer to ring you for a chat about your concerns. Did you take up that offer? You never know, you could have built something beautiful the way you and Shaun did.

Wes, it has no relevence to me, but that should n't prevent me from commenting about how they implemented it, and Ryan did n't offer to ring me, he wanted me to ring him

[Tokyos Boot]

All this debate centres around the clubs poor implementation of the unreserved area and complete lack of consultation with affected people, we did n't seem to have these kind of problems 3 or 4 months ago under the previous Media and communications manager

Are you kidding me? Shaun skirted round every issue I ever took to him. Did you ever respond to Ryans offer on twitter? I'd be interested to know whether that's where your issues have stemmed from or whether your just a venemous Internet mouthpiece who shirks out of it when offered a chance to discuss it properly?

Internet mouthpeice? Don't make me laugh!

I had very healthy, prolonged and productive discussions with Shaun, he took the time out to contact me often to keep me updated on the specific disscusions we had and could n't have been more helpful if he tried, but rather than shout this from the rooftops I mentioned it briefly in one or two posts.


Don't forget it was this internet mouthpeice that only last week proposed that myself, Lewis and GB sit around a table and discuss his leading question he asked at meet the owners, this internet mouthpeice did n't get a response to that proposal!

I'm not sure there was much left to be said about it. The question was put to us (by one of our millions of members) to ask - presumably as a way to allow the club to wax lyrical about all the positive things they've done in fan engagement and to prove throwaway vitriolic comments like the one in question are as embarrassing and damaging as they sound.

The discussion centred around the denial of the comment and the accusations of me being a trouble causer - and i'm happy with the evidence put forward in my defence. By the way - it wasn't the only question i asked on behalf of our members, just to clarify.

Lets leave it at that why don't we instead of muck raking? As i'm sure loads of people on here have said before - it's boring... surely there are much more pressing things to be discussing?

If you'd still like to go out on a date though, i'm a carvery kind of man  .

Why not have a positive, helpful reason to meet up and discuss something useful instead of moaning.

[wesisback]

Apologies for that small error. Did you ring him then or request him to ring you?
You can comment all you want, but your claims are spurious at best and something I've no doubt Ryan and Gav would deny strongly.
I've always lived by 'You can't do business sitting on your arse'. Perhaps if you feel so strongly about these issues you could do something on your forum members behalf?

[Boomstick]

All this debate centres around the clubs poor implementation of the unreserved area and complete lack of consultation with affected people, we did n't seem to have these kind of problems 3 or 4 months ago under the previous Media and communications manager

No its not, its centred around moaning old duffers who want to sit behind people standing. Despite there being literally thousands of other seats available !!!!

[Jenny]

Exactly Boomstick... And the reason why we didn't have these issues when Shaun was around is because the club never did anything to create any issues!

Fair play to Ryan for coming in and being prepared to not only listen to fans, but put plans into action and not be afraid of upsetting a few people when he does,

[Boomstick]

Exactly Boomstick... And the reason why we didn't have these issues when Shaun was around is because the club never did anything to create any issues!

Fair play to Ryan for coming in and being prepared to not only listen to fans, but put plans into action and not be afraid of upsetting a few people when he does,

Here here!

Well done to Ryan for taking action and implementing something positive.

Really cant understand why some people are still moaning about it.

Ryan is doing a brilliant job it seems, and a massive step forward with regards fan engagement and the clubs social media

[Boomstick]

Yet you seem more than happy to shout out loud about 'fan engagement being abandoned' and that the previous Comms Manager spoke to you about relevant stuff to you.
So answer me this Dave. What has unreserved seating in the South Stand or a group standing at Port Vale away have in terms if relevance to you?
You seem to have missed my question also in my last post. I saw Ryan offer to ring you for a chat about your concerns. Did you take up that offer? You never know, you could have built something beautiful the way you and Shaun did.

Wes, it has no relevence to me, but that should n't prevent me from commenting about how they implemented it, and Ryan did n't offer to ring me, he wanted me to ring him

Did you call him then ?

[Filo]

Yet you seem more than happy to shout out loud about 'fan engagement being abandoned' and that the previous Comms Manager spoke to you about relevant stuff to you.
So answer me this Dave. What has unreserved seating in the South Stand or a group standing at Port Vale away have in terms if relevance to you?
You seem to have missed my question also in my last post. I saw Ryan offer to ring you for a chat about your concerns. Did you take up that offer? You never know, you could have built something beautiful the way you and Shaun did.

Wes, it has no relevence to me, but that should n't prevent me from commenting about how they implemented it, and Ryan did n't offer to ring me, he wanted me to ring him

Did you call him then ?

No, but given the fact that Wes monitors my tweets, he will know why I did n't at the time, thats not to say that I probably should have at a later time, but to do that it would be handy to actually give a contact number when asking to get in touch rather than going through the switchboard and in all likelyhood being passed from one person to the other

[ravenrover]

And yet another thread hi-jacked and gone off topic

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Exactly Boomstick... And the reason why we didn't have these issues when Shaun was around is because the club never did anything to create any issues!

Fair play to Ryan for coming in and being prepared to not only listen to fans, but put plans into action and not be afraid of upsetting a few people when he does,

But only if you agree with him.  It was said at the meet the owners that south stand STH would be contacted about the change, but has that ever happened?

Personally I don't care either way and I'm all for it, but still there should have been more done to adress those concerns.

On to the original topic there has been a trend of groups coming in and standing right at the front.  That's fine, but common manners says you don't just rock up and stand in front of a group of people sat down.  I don't see how that can even been debated.  I totally prefer to stand and I'll make sure I find myself somewhere to stand that isn't in front of someone else.  IF I got in to the ground too late and there was no room to do that then I wouldn't stand - it's that simple!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Let's get some balanceon this. The situation that occurred at Port Vale will not be allowed to happen at the Keepmoat. There are many issues that are still being discussed and I fully expect we will see good pro-active stewarding that allows/encourages people to sit (or stand) without compromising the enjoyment of others.

The club are more than willing to assist people who, after seeing how things pan out and they remain unhappy, wish to move to other areas without financial penalty.

You will begin to see more information in the coming weeks. All feedback is good feedback.

[BlackBank]

Just to clarify, the individuals in question aren't the "singing lot" they're their own group that wear lots of Fila and Burberry. Not sure if I need to spell this out but some seem to be confusing those that wear colours and sing and those that dress like extras from Football Factory and spend 90 mins pointing at opposition fans.

[wesisback]

And yet another thread hi-jacked and gone off topic

Exactly. Where's the moderator in all this?

[Jenny]

There will always be one stubborn git who gets to the stadium as the turnstiles open and goes and plonks himself in the middle of the South Stand towards the back and refuses to move when others around him stand and moans to the stewards... I can just see it now 

I think it has already been said that the situation at Oldham and Port Vale was slightly different as the entrance to the stands is at the back, therefore if you have less mobile people who don't want to stand and can't walk down a load of steps they will tend to be towards the back, this shouldn't be much of an issue at the Keepmoat in the South Stand where the entrances are at the bottom.

[Jenny]

And yet another thread hi-jacked and gone off topic

Exactly. Where's the moderator in all this?

Hi-jacking it?!

[Filo]

And yet another thread hi-jacked and gone off topic

Exactly. Where's the moderator in all this?

Responding to hi - jackers, having a dig

[silent majority]

Exactly Boomstick... And the reason why we didn't have these issues when Shaun was around is because the club never did anything to create any issues!

Fair play to Ryan for coming in and being prepared to not only listen to fans, but put plans into action and not be afraid of upsetting a few people when he does,

That's unfair Jenny, most of these plans were already being discussed whilst Shaun was here. Shaun worked tirelessly in the background for a long time (he was the first to catch on to IRWT) and had two disruptive takeover bids to cope with which diverted all his time and attention.

[Jenny]

Whilst they may have been discussed, he didn't implement them. My view of Shaun was that he was always happy to discuss but when push come to shove, decisions were not always made.

As for the takeover being disruptive, he was communication and media manager, he should have stuck to his day job and been given the chance to by his employers and then perhaps his time and attention could have been more useful.

I personally think Ryan is a breath of fresh air at the club, as do most that I have spoken to. It just seems to be a small pocket who is disputing what he is doing.

[GazLaz]

Exactly Boomstick... And the reason why we didn't have these issues when Shaun was around is because the club never did anything to create any issues!

Fair play to Ryan for coming in and being prepared to not only listen to fans, but put plans into action and not be afraid of upsetting a few people when he does,

That's unfair Jenny, most of these plans were already being discussed whilst Shaun was here. Shaun worked tirelessly in the background for a long time (he was the first to catch on to IRWT) and had two disruptive takeover bids to cope with which diverted all his time and attention.

We obviously don't see what goes on behind the scenes but my first impression is that Ryan is just out classing Shaun. Seems to have that extra energy and spark needed in that kind of role.

[silent majority]

Shaun made numerous changes to the setup at DRFC, it was his implementation of IRWT that started it all. His energy got the ball rolling and Gavin came in and gave it that extra shove. The list of achievements in those early days were numerous and some of which are detailed here; http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/irwt

I don't get your second point unfortunately. And I don't think anybody is disputing what he's doing. From what I've read on here most seem in favour although some are clearly upset about losing their seat in the SS.

[Filo]

Whilst they may have been discussed, he didn't implement them. My view of Shaun was that he was always happy to discuss but when push come to shove, decisions were not always made.

As for the takeover being disruptive, he was communication and media manager, he should have stuck to his day job and been given the chance to by his employers and then perhaps his time and attention could have been more useful.

I personally think Ryan is a breath of fresh air at the club, as do most that I have spoken to. It just seems to be a small pocket who is disputing what he is doing.

That air was n't so fresh a month or so ago

http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=250992.msg517503#msg517503

[Jenny]

That doesn't cloud my overall judgement of him though Dave, whilst it was disappointing I don't hold it against him and can see the good he is doing at the club.

As for the achievements of IRWT under Shaun, whilst I can see their merit, they are pretty small fry and I think fan engagement is taking better strides now than it was. the previous successes have been quite niche in my opinion and what is going on now will engage more people and at the right kind of target audience.

[Padge_DRFC]

I remember Burnley away. Some bloke walked all the way to the top of the away end then started moaning at me on the 2nd to back row for standing up.

I've just been on Manchester Uniteds, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday forum. They must have deleted this sort of thread as everybody has to stand up.

It's the fact that people go and sit 3 throws from the back knowing full well people wish to stand and then cry because someone stands in front. If your bones won't let you stand for 90 minutes or your too fat and lazy move further down