Commercial Activity

[Tink]

I looked in briefly on the open day today. I think this is the third open day the club has held, and this seemed to be the worst. No catering facilities were open, no stalls to sell merchandise, and no MCT stall to sign up new members. A missed opportunity to make money and to make it a better day for those attending. Also, why have it on a weekday when most people are at work? 
The last one was on a Sunday and included games for the kids to play in the car park (if I remember correctly). The open days are a great idea, but this one was poorly organised compared to the others.

[TONofmemories]

Not having anywhere to buy merch at the very least is absolutely brain-dead stuff. 

[Jamie_M]

12 minutes ago, Tink said:

I looked in briefly on the open day today. I think this is the third open day the club has held, and this seemed to be the worst. No catering facilities were open, no stalls to sell merchandise, and no MCT stall to sign up new members. A missed opportunity to make money and to make it a better day for those attending. Also, why have it on a weekday when most people are at work? 
The last one was on a Sunday and included games for the kids to play in the car park (if I remember correctly). The open days are a great idea, but this one was poorly organised compared to the others.

It wasn't an open day.

 

(Points still valid).

[Cet Homme Charmant]

2 hours ago, vikingTON said:

Call me picky, but I'd have thought a general manager operating a business would have an accurate understanding of that business's market and customer base.  

Of course in the ideal world that's absolutely true, but being realistic and based on the kind of salary we can probably afford, I would have thought that finding someone with that level of proven experience will be nigh on impossible. So, to some extent, taking a bit of a punt on someone with limited experience but who's young and ambitious is probably our most realistic option. 

You could say the same applies to the football manager. We opted for an inexperienced but ambitious option and, so far at least, it has worked well. That approach could also work with the GM, but of course only time will tell if that's the case with Dale. I just think we need to cut the guy a wee bit of slack and give him a chance.

[thehustler]

On 7/26/2024 at 7:21 PM, vikingTON said:

The only inconsistency apparent here is your and 'Dale''s 'our transfer policy will account for injuries and fitness - except when it doesn't but that's not out fault honest'.

Just like the pre-season matches that would prove excellent preparation until they didn't.

And the land purchased that would generate matchday revenue for the club until it couldn't. 

So it's being discussed among the growing set of tells that the GM as a prime bullshit merchant. You may empathise with that character trait but I agree with the above poster - this looks so far like a CV-padding exercise without credibility. 

Agreed. Never trust anyone that has swallowed a management jargon manual.

[TRVMP]

4 hours ago, Ferguson said:

Aye, you really don't have to look far to see where we would've ended up had it not been for community ownership. It's easy to forget that only 3-4 years ago we had David Hopkin saying that he was paying for first team lunches and player bonuses before resigning and leaving a fitness coach in charge of the first team for months, all before Gus McPherson claimed in a post-match interview that the club didn't have the funds for a team bus to a challenge cup game at Queen of the South.

Things are far from perfect in the boardroom but the Inverness situation is a stark reminder of the alternative.

Totally forgot about that, we had a fitness coach (no disrespect to him but he's had no experience in management before or since) in charge for what, three months was it?

[Ferguson]

6 minutes ago, TRVMP said:

Totally forgot about that, we had a fitness coach (no disrespect to him but he's had no experience in management before or since) in charge for what, three months was it?

Aye 3 months, 3 wins in 13 games. Obviously a poor record but he'd been handed an absolute binfire with no support. He's just been pinched from Queen's Park by Beşiktaş, so fair play to him.

[TRVMP]

5 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

Aye 3 months, 3 wins in 13 games. Obviously a poor record but he'd been handed an absolute binfire with no support. He's just been pinched from Queen's Park by Beşiktaş, so fair play to him.

That's a superb move for him. Glad he's doing well.

[capitanus]

1 hour ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Of course in the ideal world that's absolutely true, but being realistic and based on the kind of salary we can probably afford, I would have thought that finding someone with that level of proven experience will be nigh on impossible. So, to some extent, taking a bit of a punt on someone with limited experience but who's young and ambitious is probably our most realistic option. 

You could say the same applies to the football manager. We opted for an inexperienced but ambitious option and, so far at least, it has worked well. That approach could also work with the GM, but of course only time will tell if that's the case with Dale. I just think we need to cut the guy a wee bit of slack and give him a chance.

Why should we need to cut the guy a bit of slack?  VT is correct in what he says, a basic fucking understanding of your clientele and the marketplace in which you are operating is a prerequisite for the job.  

[Tubes]

Struggling to understand the reasoning behind not having some form of merch stall open at that today. Shocked at how stupid that is. How many folk attended? A few hundred people in the building and they can’t spend their money!

Edited July 30 by Tubes

[Pedrodelawasp]

3 hours ago, Tink said:

I looked in briefly on the open day today. I think this is the third open day the club has held, and this seemed to be the worst. No catering facilities were open, no stalls to sell merchandise, and no MCT stall to sign up new members. A missed opportunity to make money and to make it a better day for those attending. Also, why have it on a weekday when most people are at work? 
The last one was on a Sunday and included games for the kids to play in the car park (if I remember correctly). The open days are a great idea, but this one was poorly organised compared to the others.

How was East Hamilton Street this morning? Was incredibly slow around 13:00 this afternoon.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

1 hour ago, capitanus said:

Why should we need to cut the guy a bit of slack?  VT is correct in what he says, a basic fucking understanding of your clientele and the marketplace in which you are operating is a prerequisite for the job.  

Just my opinion of course, but I think it's unrealistic to expect us to be able to afford the experienced high-caliber GM that you, me, VT and I'm sure all Ton fans would all like. If that's the case, and if we therefore have to opt for a less experienced but ambitious alternative, then I'm willing to give that guy some time before condemning him. 

But, again, just my opinion.

Edited July 30 by Cet Homme Charmant

[capitanus]

8 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Just my opinion of course, but I think it's unrealistic to expect us to be able to afford the experienced high-caliber GM that you, me, VT and I'm sure all Ton fans would all like. If that's the case, and if we therefore have to opt for a less experienced but ambitious alternative, then I'm will to give that guy some time before condemning him. 

But, again, just my opinion.

But then again, he was hired as a General Manager and now he's the fucking Chief Executive.  Being a CE of an SPFL club carries an element of gravitas and prestige, an important person within the football community and also the wider Inverclyde community as a whole, and the money is not as bad as you would believe either.  Of all the people in the Inverclyde area - including many qualified and experienced business professionals, both active and retired, as well as many people actively looking for work in the area; as well as all the ex-pros in Scottish football who have a decent business background - surely some guy who got the job on the basis he was involved in 'social media' for a handful of teuchter clubs is the best of the 'alternatives' for the role.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

2 minutes ago, capitanus said:

But then again, he was hired as a General Manager and now he's the fucking Chief Executive.  Being a CE of an SPFL club carries an element of gravitas and prestige, an important person within the football community and also the wider Inverclyde community as a whole, and the money is not as bad as you would believe either.  Of all the people in the Inverclyde area - including many qualified and experienced business professionals, both active and retired, as well as many people actively looking for work in the area; as well as all the ex-pros in Scottish football who have a decent business background - surely some guy who got the job on the basis he was involved in 'social media' for a handful of teuchter clubs is the best of the 'alternatives' for the role.

But if a person with such extensive knowledge, expertise and experience had actually applied, you would imagine they would have been a shoo-in. Anyway, time will tell. He talks a good game, but we need to see tangible signs of real progress soon.

[capitanus]

3 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

But if a person with such extensive knowledge, expertise and experience had actually applied, you would imagine they would have been a shoo-in. Anyway, time will tell. He talks a good game, but we need to see tangible signs of real progress soon.

No, he uses jargon.  It impresses some like yourself who probably buy into it, but some of us can see through it.  Another 'Hawke the Cock' minus the feasibility study cheque.

[Chicken_Soup]

1 hour ago, capitanus said:

Why should we need to cut the guy a bit of slack?  VT is correct in what he says, a basic fucking understanding of your clientele and the marketplace in which you are operating is a prerequisite for the job.  

Because, unlike the Manager/Head Coach/Player roles, there isn’t a surplus of highly qualified or experienced candidates in the General Manager market. Therefore, hounding him out unnecessarily for us to enter that market, as an unattractive proposition, may be damaging for the performance of the club.  Whereas experience of time spent in the role might be beneficial. 

[capitanus]

4 minutes ago, Chicken_Soup said:

Because, unlike the Manager/Head Coach/Player roles, there isn’t a surplus of highly qualified or experienced candidates in the General Manager market. Therefore, hounding him out unnecessarily for us to enter that market, as an unattractive proposition, may be damaging for the performance of the club.  Whereas experience of time spent in the role might be beneficial. 

So, there is definitely no suitably qualified person in or around the Inverclyde area who has experience in running a SME or even a larger organisation who would relish the opportunity to be involved with the running of an SPFL club on a daily basis?

I suppose we're fucked for when he eventually leaves then.   Not.

 

Next.

 

[Cet Homme Charmant]

18 minutes ago, capitanus said:

No, he uses jargon.  It impresses some like yourself who probably buy into it 

Hahaha!, you're very, very wrong! I've 'bought into' absolutely nothing.  Trust me, in the industry I'm in and have been for over 40 years, I can see through bullshit jargon a mile away. I'm not impressed one bit by rhetoric, only by tangible and measurable results. You've obviously made you mind up that the guy's a dud, which is fair enough and you may well be proved right in due course, but I just think it's too soon to make that call.

[capitanus]

6 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Hahaha!, you're very, very wrong! I've 'bought into' absolutely nothing.  Trust me, in the industry I'm in and have been for over 40 years, I can see through bullshit jargon a mile away. I'm not impressed one bit by rhetoric, only by tangible and measurable results. You've obviously made you mind up that the guy's a dud, which is fair enough and you may well be proved right in due course, but I just think it's too soon to make that call.

I dont know if I have written him off already.  I just see him as the latest in a long line who rock up at the club to get everyones hopes up and piss off as soon as something better comes along, or die on their arse trying or not as sometimes is the case.

We dont really progress any, do we?

[Cet Homme Charmant]

14 minutes ago, capitanus said:

I dont know if I have written him off already.  I just see him as the latest in a long line who rock up at the club to get everyones hopes up and piss off as soon as something better comes along, or die on their arse trying or not as sometimes is the case.

We dont really progress any, do we?

We've stagnated for a very, very long time, that's for sure. The harsh reality is that we can't match the budget of most of our Championship level peers, at all levels in the club from the players and staff to the GM. So the only way we can complete with them is by being innovative and creative. Dougie has shown till now he can make us competitive on the park with two consecutive 5th placed finishes, despite the player budget constraints he has to work with. It's Dale's job to match that by increasing all our revenue streams so we can retain that competitiveness and hopefully at some point in the future, get into the Premiership. That doesn't seem likely in the near future, so we can only hope.

Edited July 30 by Cet Homme Charmant