The Bobster (no login) from IP address 62.252.224.6
Firstly, thank you for the response, it is nice to have someone actually see what I am trying to say
Katie, I don't criticise the team, I never stand and slag them off in fact it is rare for me to even overly criticise a referee.
This year with shirt sponsorships, season tickets, 50-50 draws, raffle tickets etc. I have probably put £ 1,000 to £ 1,500 of my money into the club, just have that in mind
Over the last two years, under the ownership of DB and the Ownership of Mr Lea we have had basically the same type of organisation behind the scenes at the club, I think what has and continues to be regarded as administration and markering at the club is a joke and a threat to the existance of the club in the long term, I believe that and comment open it
However, 9 times out of 10 I will put a positive with my negatives and try and suggest ways to take it forward, we have discussed season tickets, childrens tickets, marketing, entertainment etc. on the official GB and I have tried to provide ideas all the way along the way
I am 100% behind Mike and the lads and always will be, but Im not 100% behind the club, the problem is I tend to challenge people to do something about it and prove me wrong and they so very rarely do
Now I would suggest that before you come onto any GB [ and I usually post on the official one ] and start picking out my name to slag me off, try and identify the differences between negative and postitive criticism
I want a success team and a successful club, Im never going to be a gushing cheerleader but would hope that one day soon Mr Lea will take my words and shove them right back down my throat. Then I will be happy to shake the man by the hand and thank him for running the club properly
Having meet Bobster once, I do know that he is a passionate man, and passionaltey cares about the club. Thise who read his postings carefully will know he does not criticise the team, but rightly expresses his concerns on the way the club in his view is being run.
I tend to agree with many of those views, and feel that we are now at a crossroads, in the future of the club. We have got over a very difficult summer, and are nearing the end of a season, where the team has achieved more than we could possibly have expected when we started playing in October. However the PR and marketing in the club are still way behind where we need to be, and it does not appear to be getting any better. Some fans myself included have written to Mr leas, asking what we can do to help, and putting ideas forward, no response, Mr Lea asked for people to contact him to help behind the scences, as requested I sent my CV, I had a 10 min meeting with NL, during a break in one of the games, but since then no further contact, this was some 4/5 weeks ago. He may of course not need my assistance, and may have not liked my ideas, but he should come back and tell people, that he is satisfied with what he has got.
I do not beleive that he can do it alone, and he needs the help of a professional PR man/Company, but something has to be done to put marketing/mechandise/PR to the forefront in the close season. Scuff has long gone on about the merchandise in Belfast, and I believe how good it is, and where it is avialable. We need the same overhere, to enable us to put the Steelers back in the Public's eye, otherwise we are not going to attract a new fanbase.
Stephen
Whilst not leaping to the defence of Norton Lea or the Steelers I feel that the ISL as whole should do some marketing to market their product, after all every game involves two of their member teams. Many Steelers fans live in towns that do not have an ISL club, me included, the catchment area is wider than the local environs. This is the same throughout the UK. Sure the clubs have a responsibility and should focus locally but why not a national campaign on local radio advertising the ISL and mentioning the nearest teams, give the website address, a national enquiry phone number. Get a big poster on the side of a few busses, small one on the back of them. Not many folk here in Leeds actually know there is Ice Hockey in Sheffield or Manchester, both less than 1 hours drive away - why should they ?