According to the Collins English Dictionary, a supporter is:
Supporter (səˈpɔːtə)n
1. a person who or thing that acts as a support
2. a person who backs a sports team, politician, etc
3. (Medicine) a garment or device worn to ease the strain on or restrict the movement of a bodily structure or part
4. (Heraldry) heraldry a figure or beast in a coat of arms depicted as holding up the shield
You could argue that the simple fact of a footballer wearing a West Ham United shirt does restrict the movement of a bodily structure every weekend on the football pitch and doesn’t exactly ease any strain placed upon him.
There is plenty of discussion being held amongst the West Ham support on the KUMB forums and in general about the renewal of season tickets or memberships for the coming season. The carrot that is currently being dangled to encourage supporters to renew their financial commitment to the club though its advertisements is that the forthcoming season is the penultimate season at the Boleyn Ground before the move to the Olympic Stadium.
To read between the lines, the club anticipates high demand for tickets in the final season at the Boleyn as people take their opportunity to say farewell to the ground and the club will run a process of selling season tickets based on the season ticket holders for next season being “first in line”.
People buying season tickets and committing money in membership fees obviously boosts the revenue going into the club. To be honest I would not be surprised if an article in the newspapers or on the official website doesn’t come out some time in the near future saying that the money we as supporters put into the club is vital in securing a “top” talent and that our season ticket renewals could secure that signing.
Sporting institutions that sell season tickets or memberships are best served running their organisations like a business that has to look at the bottom line and be accountable to owners or shareholders of course but they also need to find a balance between the finances and not alienating its supporter base. Unfortunately West Ham United over the last couple of seasons have taken some decisions which still rankle with the supporters and is coming to the fore now in more open dissent against the owners (not just the manager).
Decisions like:
- Offering priority tickets to the play-off Final for those pledging to buy season tickets no matter the outcome (I personally know of three people who took this offer then cancelled their season ticket pledge before the start of the next season;
- The marginalising of the Supporter Advisory Board to the point where it is only in existence due to fulfilling UEFA regulations (and as correctly pointed out on the KUMB forums, a box-ticking exercise);
- £5 tickets to watch Manchester City’s superstars;
- The attempt to renege on the commitment from the previous owners regarding 20% off the price of a season ticket which was later turned into a guilt trip attempt and an offer of 5% over four seasons or the full 20%;
- The large increase in the cost of disabled season ticket prices for the 2013/14 season which was then reduced.
There are circumstances and counter arguments and differing opinions to what I present above and I fully acknowledge the club has to increase revenue and the owners have to run West Ham United as a business that’s in debt and needs to service that debt, but you need to find a balance when implementing decisions.
An example would be the removal of the season tickets for family members of John Lyall and Ron Greenwood. The decision was made by the club to remove free season ticket rights (which had been in place since the downgrading of executive box privileges) bestowed upon the families of two of the greatest, if not the greatest managers the club has ever had.
Murray Lyall, John's son said at the time: "I fully appreciate the financial plight of the club and can understand the reasoning why the season tickets have been withdrawn, but what I do find unacceptable is that no one in authority had the decency to contact us and explain in person."
That he was more concerned not about losing free tickets to watch West Ham but the manner in which he was (or not) contacted by the club regarding the decision that had been taken speaks volumes. Hard headed business decisions at times have to be taken but not at the risk of alienating the supporters, surely? It’s not a case of putting every decision made to a vote but the club would be well served in trying to build bridges, actual bridges with the supporters.
The SAB, for all the good intentions of those who joined, is not an effective vehicle in its current guise to communicate with the board the genuine concerns of the supporters and will not be allowed to be such a forum at the moment. The only mechanisms would be by tweeting a 14-year-old or the co-chairman, David Gold.
The Club's website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and programme all toe the company line and stick to their own agendas, rather then what you could consider to be a more honest, transparent and accountable view in a supporters forum that the club no longer seems to hold (only rarely for registered disabled supporters). Are the club so afraid of what they would hear if they actually did engage with the supporters and facilitate an honest discussion?
Thinking back to the first article I had published here on KUMB.com, I wondered if the club after Eggert Magnusson’s departure would start to engage the fan base. The more things change, the more they stay the same by the looks of things.
The supporters continue to support the team in general but feel they have not been listened to by the ownership and are now discussing as previously mentioned the renewal of a season ticket, even with the carrot being dangled of securing a seat at the Boleyn Ground before we leave it.
The commitment of a person buying a season ticket and any associated costs in my opinion does not make that person more of a supporter then a person who does not hold a season ticket or cannot visit the Boleyn Ground for various reasons as frequently as they want to. We are all West Ham United supporters through thick and plenty of thin.
Sporting institutions play on the loyalty of its supporters, a person who backs a sports team as described by the dictionary definition to keep the institution solvent and a going concern. You would not dare remove your commitment and support and see the object of your affections fail and fold as you are too loyal to the brand, the identity and the team.
However there is only so much further people can be pushed by the club before the current ill-feeling towards the manager starts to manifest itself into an entirely different protest altogether. The club would need to take positive steps before the person that acts as a support to West Ham United is no longer a supporter of the club as it currently stands.
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