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Lessingham Canary

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Posts posted by Lessingham Canary

  1. Posted

    16 hours ago, Greavsy said:

    Re the OSP, 

    I personally find the current silence from OSP members / pink un posters quite astonishing. 

    If you are going to use this (and other forums) to gain support and votes to get onto a panel, to represent the fans, then please have the decency to comment on items being raised, or have you been silenced by the club - in which case that would raise an even bigger concern for me. 

    one of the main themes for the latest agenda / meeting was a lack of info from the club / communication, and now following the first meeting there is even less! What is going on? 

     @Feedthewolf @Lessingham Canary & @ncfcstar you have all logged on today. Have you been silenced? 

    Hi Greavsy

    Im not sure why you find the current silence from OSP members astonishing.

    I think maybe you see the OSP as an action centered fan group, which has never been its intention, as we all know there are fan groups which do offer a channel for supporters who want to issue with the club via a particular channel.

    Since the inception the club have been clear that they wanted a panel that was representative of the fan base, and that is what they have, supporters who live outside of Norwich, some outside the UK, a mix of age and gender, to "act as a sounding board for the club’s initiatives to gain genuine supporter feedback on a range of non-football related issues". 

    The idea is that the panel is the sounding board, not that the panel take initiatives to supporters groups or forums, not that OSP take every issue raised via forums such as this to the club, the plan is that OSP meets Quarterly,  to  infrequently if it was intended to be an action group.

    We are certainly not gagged by the club in anyway, there will be items that are discussed, that cannot be shared, as they are simply in the formative stage and may never happen, the club will present such items to the panel and gauge their response, which may or may not influence their decision in the likelihood of said item coming to public consumption. Those items wont appear on any minutes, simply because they are very long term or unlikely to get any more airtime. 

    At the last OSP meeting we had over 20 various items from supporters wanting us to raise matters with the club , some were able to be discussed some simply didn't have the time,  those that were discussed were the ones considered most pressing, the others will be looked at possibly at the next meeting, which is scheduled for January.

    There are lots of fan groups set up that have the ear of the club, from Capital Canaries, to the Trust and the supporters social club, all who are afforded different levels of access to the club owing to their relationships built up over time.

    I have to say without exception, that every OSP member is enthusiastic about the opportunity to be a sounding board, all are regular attendees (apart from Ryan in New York) at home and away matches, all have their own strong views, and will if they can take issues to the club, and equally will try and direct those supporters to contact the club via the appropriate channel.

    The club is experiencing a lot of change of the pitch, the departure of the 2 Ben's, BK in particular being very open to various fans groups, and change while a challenge, should never be a threat, although the increased workload will undoubtedly make it challenging for a period for the remainder of the staff.

    Finally, i rarely post on here these days (i stopped after a family bereavement 2 years ago) but still enjoy having a read, but resist commenting on topics, and i enjoy seeing the fortunes of the PuP's in the Ray's Funds thread, which has been testament to all who have supported and kept it going for so long and had such a positive impact, proving that football forums can be incredible places, of which you are great supporter. Myself @Feedthewolf and @ncfcstar want to support the club by being the sounding board, we are fans the same as everyone on here and most other SM channels, and the desire to help fellow supporters is there, but we cannot be all things to all people. Most of the OSP have been approached to take up something, i have had quite a few personally, and when i speak to people at the club, i find they have approached myself as they maybe didn't like the answer they had been given by the club, a classic being someone who was very forceful in an argument around Chelsea tickets not being available to him, was then offered some that had been returned and then declined the offer from the club as couldn't make the match. 

     

    Long winded, so apologies for that, but wanted to try and shed some light on the overall picture.

     

    OTBC

     

     

    • Like 5

  4. Posted · Edited by Lessingham Canary

    On 21/09/2021 at 22:59, Greavsy said:

    @Feedthewolf @Lessingham Canary @ncfc star

    Any update on when the minutes are going to be issued? 

    I assume you will post a link on here when they are available too. 

    thanks 

    @Greavsy unfortunately the person who would sign them off is temporarily out of the business (football club) , hope to see them go public as soon as we get the club sign off asap,but unfortunately cant give a date right now, hoping will be soon.

    Cheers

  7. Posted

    19 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

    I've already said what I wish to say on the matter. If @Lessingham Canary as Chairman has a different take on it, he is welcome to do so. I shall not be commenting further.

    Communication is always key in any business, and its obvious the club are having issues with that at this moment, which is a shame and it is something they are keen to improve, and hopefully they will.

    I agree with @Feedthewolf and along with @ncfcstar we should pick up on issues raised via supporters on this forum,  our role is to look to to present the views of all supporters and  not address issues of a purely personal interest, and will do that as best we can, and a pinned thread may well be a good way of collating genuine feedback, and with 2 regular contributors of the OSP on here everything should get seen, as already mentioned we should not get involved in historic goings on between an individual and the club.

    I hope that the OSP delivers in helping present the views of all fans on matters that impact, we all want (hopefully) to have the best match day experience possible and feel a connection with our club.

    On my part i visit this forum, a few times a week and keep up with discussions, but don't post so much these days. This is still the best NCFC forum for fans, and a great amount of work is achieved by so many on here, PUP's do an amazing thing, raising money week in week out and the Rays Funds thread is so well supported, it has to be the envy of so many forums across the country. If we can harness that positivity and support to help improve communications with the club then we will make real progress.

    OTBC

    • Thanks 2

  8. Posted

    51 minutes ago, king canary said:

    Fair enough- sounds nice!

    How much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?

    Back then it was about 2k, now its 3k plus VAT and they have a players / sponsors dinner at Carrow Rd, back then it was a lunch at Colney as the players finished training! its an expensive dinner, but nice, if you can link it to  a company website may get a bit of mileage from it. We are now a community partner and that feels like far greater value, all depends on budget and what you want from it i suppose.

     

  9. Posted

    25 minutes ago, king canary said:

    Bit of a random question but has anyone on here ever sponsored a player? And what do businesses get out of it?

    I'm always intrigued as to why Office Furniture Scene, for example, pay good money to sponsor Kenny McLean- does he have to do adverts for them or something?

    Yes is have done this, sponsored Craig Fleming in his time at the club, and also sponsored his testimonial match, the player has no obligations in the deal, other than attend a lunch once a season with his "sponsor" at Colney, and sign a match shirt which is given to the sponsor, the company can refer to it in their marketing but few do, mostly done as someone wants to support their club. 

  12. Posted

    19 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

    So waiting for a communication about a lack of communication? What if no communication is forthcoming ? Will you communicate this? 
     

    Giving you what we have, the information will be communicated once its clear, not sure what else you would expect at this time, clubs don't know how many or even if any fans at all will be allowed in to stadiums at the start of the season, surely the last 18 months has taught us all not to take anything for granted and have a little patience?.

  13. Posted

    21 hours ago, Greavsy said:

    Appreciate the update, but the issue of lack of communication still stands. 

    They could put that on their website, and reduce traffic to their call handlers / online chat representatives.

    That was my initial observation. 

    @Greavsy @Feedthewolf

    The club have said they will be communicating with all members via e-mail, extract from the communication myself and Matt received from Caroline;

    Unfortunately, we have been forced to delay the fulfilment of all 2021/22 membership packs due to the most recent government update and the delay in the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Once we have confirmation on the lifting of these restrictions and the process for the return of spectators we will then facilitate the fulfilment of your membership pack containing full information on your 2021/22 membership and the ticketing process. Any further updates will be communicated via email.

  14. Posted

    1 hour ago, Greavsy said:

    Appreciate the update, but the issue of lack of communication still stands. 

    They could put that on their website, and reduce traffic to their call handlers / online chat representatives.

    That was my initial observation. 

    I have asked the question if it could be posted on the website or via the social media channels.

    Will update if / when we get an update.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    15 hours ago, Greavsy said:

    Thats not in dispute,  but rather than giving the same answer multiple times,  for general enquiries, they could put a quick couple of lines on their website. I know all comms has to be agreed before being published, but It would save caller traffic.

    I have asked the question of the club, and this is the situation; 

    "We are waiting till we get the green light from the government re crowds back, as in the packs will be sale dates, match pick info etc, rather than send new cards with a letter saying we don’t know when matches will be on sale, we will just send one when we know, we hope if all goes to plan packs will be with supporters by the 20th or just after" 

    Hope this helps. a difficult situation for all.

  16. Posted

    50 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

    The Trust are a supporters group who meet with the Club i believe quarterly under the terms of the memorandum of Understanding and the minutes of those meetings are available to read on their website if their members are so inclined but the new OSP are not a supporters group with a membership. They are elected on a 2 year term of office by votes cast from the fanbase at large including Trust members and the minutes are again available to read by anybody include those Trust members.

    Not for the first time i am struggling to see where you are going with all this but as i said sometime ago people who engage with you about NCFC and you know full well who i am talking about here knows that whatever answer you are given never ever meets with your satisfaction and back you come again and again.

     

    @TIL 1010 has summed up perfectly!

    • Thanks 1

  19. Posted

    11 hours ago, essex canary said:

    It is 'together we stand' approaches that we need. Neither emails nor multiple fan groups without clear boundaries are likely to succeed either in terms of effectiveness for fans or efficiency for the Club.

    What individual fans need to know is how to navigate the system to present their ideas or concerns. I would have expected that to be item number 1 on agenda number 1.

    @Essex Canary the system agreed for initial contact for individual fans to contact the supporters panel is via the e-mail address;  supporterrelations@canaries.co.uk or through any panel members you know personally, either way every suggestion / concern / topic will be considered and discussed, the role of the panel is to be a sounding board for the club, a bit of a conscience on matters that impact on supporters experience overall.

    Its not to negate any communication channels of existing supporters groups that already exist. This is a panel that will meet regularly, to discuss many varying points, many will be boring to most. @Feedthewolf (Matt) and @ncfcstar James are panel members and both regular posters on here, i'm more of a casual onlooker these days, so between the three of us, we are happy to pick up on any supporters concerns / issues / topics and take them to the table where we can. OTBC

    • Like 4

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, Feedthewolf said:

    It's a mixture of the two, although obviously on this occasion the BK8 situation was the number-one topic from both perspectives! Caroline has said that she wants the agenda to be fan-set as much as possible, but that also many departments around the club have expressed an interest in picking our brains on a variety of topics.

    Any fan can approach any member of the panel with anything that's on their mind regarding the fan experience (ie. not to do with on-field matters, playing budget, transfers, tactics and the like). However, if a fan has a specific complaint about their fan experience then Caroline Ellis should be contacted directly about it.

    The panel send in topics for inclusion on the agenda, depending on volumes of requests for agenda items will have a bearing on how soon they get included, both myself and Matt (Feedthewolf) will be pushing to get as many relevant items included on each meeting agenda as possible. What didn't come across in the minutes is the feeling and depth of hurt felt by employees of the club generally over the BK8 saga, and also the desire of the club to be all inclusive to sections of supporters and society as a whole, needless to say this a long term culture change, and the meeting last week was the first official one for the panel. 

    Any topics for inclusion at future meetings, can be sent to the following e-mail supporterrelations@canaries.co.uk 

     

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    1 hour ago, Feedthewolf said:

    Happy to report that the first meeting took place last night and was very enjoyable. It was lovely to meet Gordon @Lessingham Canary and James @ncfcstar in person, and everyone in the group seemed really positive and engaged. It was very much a light introductory session, just setting boundaries and responsibilities rather than actually discussing any 'live' matters.

    In terms of how it will work in practice, we will be electing a Chair and Vice-Chair via email vote this week. Once those two have been installed, they will be in charge of collating the views of all committee members (who will all engage with the fans they have contact with, and suggest agenda items). There will be a way for fans to contact the Chair and Vice-Chair directly, but Caroline (the Supporter Services Manager) was very keen to stress that if any fans are particularly annoyed about something or wish to complain, it's her job to engage with them individually so we should 'pass them up the chain', as it were.

    The club will sometimes lead the agenda where there are specific ideas they need to discuss with us, but they stressed that they wanted the meetings to be as fan-led as possible. Minutes of every meeting will be published on the club's website, and Caroline said that she was more than happy for me to post on here about the meetings. Naturally there will be some topics that we have to keep confidential, but whatever I'm permitted to share, I will.

    Hi All

    As a less frequent poster on here than Matt and James (2 great guys i met for the first time last night) i echo everything they have said above, so feel free to burden those 2 bright young individuals with scampi campaigns, and any booking requests for St Andrews Hall.

    One thing i would say, is the club seem very focused on the "whole fan engagement" process and there was evidence last night in a short space of time that there will be action as well as words. As always time will tell if they can please the majority of the people the majority of the time, but for a first meeting i am very optimistic that the club is "on the ball".

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

  24. Posted

    29 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

    A good call and a job indeed for @Feedthewolf @Lessingham Canary and the other poster on here who at this moment i cannot remember.

    @TIL 1010 im sure we will look understand how we get the best out of this opportunity to further transparency and communication between the club and fans, i'm sure once the first meeting has taken place we will all be a lot clearer. 

    The aim is for the group to meet once a quarter, there is an introductory meeting shortly, with the 1st proper meeting later in June i'm sure supporters will know more and have more channels of influence on certain matters as the months pass.

    • Thanks 1
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