FansNetwork/The Arse - COLIN FARMERY: Pompey fans win £30,000! So what's the bad news?

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COLIN FARMERY: Pompey fans win £30,000! So what's the bad news?
Tue 12th Jun 2012 19:30 by Colin Farmery

Only at Pompey could the club winning £30,000 through the efforts of its fans end up being a little bit of a PR own goal.

In itself the the club's intention to use the money to offset new season ticket prices - if 5,000 fans buy them that's £6 off per fan ticket - wouldn't have been a bad one.

Except fans buying season season tickets never got to see that discount.

In reality this money was won after the season ticket prices had been set at the end of May.

The nPower 'Fanpower' contest had been clogging up Pompey fans' twitter and facebook timelines for a good couple of months. No matter. The ends justified the means.

But the official site statement that it has been 'factored in' to the prices simply means that £30,000 will go into the general club coffers.

That money, earned by fans' efforts, could have been so much better spent.

£30,000 would 'buy' 400 children's season tickets at £75 to be given away free with an adult purchase. Or it would buy 30,000 'Kids for a Quid' tickets to be given away free instead to schools and colleges.

The list could go on of more imaginative schemes than those two to get young people involved in supporting Pompey. They are the fans of the future, after all.

In the short-term the £30,000 may well be vital to the club's on-going survival battle. Administrator Trevor Birch has a tough job to simply keep the show on the road, so his decision is respected.

But it is to be hoped by the start of the season, the club will have been sold, putting it on a firmer financial footing.

So, whether its the Pompey Supporters' Trust, Balram Chainrai or someone else completely who end up owning the club then, I would urge a re-think of this decision.

Give the power to the fans to decide how this money should be spent. That would be a good bit of PR to kick things off...

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scottmcgarvey added 02:53 - Jun 13

Agree entirely, plenty of effort from a lot of fans there. Should be their call really, & I like your alternatives...

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pompeyinsydney added 01:16 - Jun 14

When has logic had anything to do with the way PFC is run ? Another example of a missed opportunity to show the fans that they really matter. One thing PFC really do need is an experienced PR dept that actually has some pull.