Anton Rippon: Senior Rams fans right to feel angry over price hike
JUDGING by the subsequent flood of letters to this newspaper, I wasn't the only senior citizen for whom the arrival of renewal forms for Derby County's 2013-14 season tickets prompted an urgent rummage through old bank statements.
I doubt I was alone in wanting to check what I'd paid last year, because nowhere in the accompanying literature was there any mention of a 25 per cent rise in the cost of my ticket to see the Rams.
To be fair, over recent seasons the club has kept prices at reasonable rates. And, since they'd not made sensible but small seasonal adjustments to account for inflation. I suppose we all knew that this day was coming.
But a whopping 25 per cent – with no apology or reason? The letter from Sam Rush, president and CEO, didn't bother to mention the price rise. He might at least have acknowledged that some of the club's most loyal and long-serving supporters were going to be hit in the wallet. He couldn't really have hoped that nobody would notice. Or that, if they did, then they wouldn't mind. An explanation as to why it was necessary would have been appreciated.
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As it is, senior supporters to whom I have spoken feel taken for granted. Offended even. "They know we'll keep coming so they don't care," was a common theme.
But will they? It raised further doubts in the minds of many for whom supporting the Rams has been a lifelong passion.
Even before the price-rise shocker, I'd heard more than a few disgruntled voices. Daft kick-off times were one bone of contention. Five-twenty on Saturday teatime is a stupid time to start a football match. It inconveniences beyond measure the home fans. And apart from supporters of the away club, is anyone else in the UK watching?
Not all inconvenient kick-off times are forced upon the club by television, however. And turning out on Friday evenings is anathema to many old-time fans, for whom Saturday afternoons will always be the natural time to watch football. And there isn't another Saturday 3pm kick-off until the visit of Ipswich Town on April 6th.
Of course, we'd happily put up with the inconvenience if we could get genuinely excited about our prospects.
Sam Rush's letter did tell us that he was keen to improve the atmosphere at Pride Park – and we assume he knows the best way to do that. It certainly isn't achieved by fiddling around with where people sit.
Uncertainty about the ultimate aims of Derby County's owners will be the major factor in supporters' decision making. There are clubs with less support and less potential than the Rams but who seem to fare much better. I should imagine that most Derby supporters find that frustrating.
Which sent me on a daydream to happier times because, as regular readers of this column will know, I take pleasure in looking back. Judging from your letters, you do too.
We all have our favourite eras. For those who remember it, that of most supporters would be the Clough-Taylor days. Slightly younger fans might want to recall Bobby Davison, or Dean Sanders. And there are still a few fans of Carter-Doherty vintage around.
But this week, I'm not looking back too far. Only to the days after Pride Park had opened, when Derby County could give anyone in the Premier League a game and Jim Smith's wonderful team – Poom, Stimac, Eranio et al – were a delight to watch week in, week out. That would have been a better time to jack up the price by 25 per cent. Now, though? It will be interesting to see what the response has been, come April 14th.
6 Comments
by chriscollis
Sunday, February 17 2013, 11:16PM
“A very good article Anton.
Sam Rush shows little or no PR in dealing with the supporters.
He may have been overseeing the management of the top 400 sports people ( the mega rich ) but he / GSE are completely out of touch with the average Rams supporter.
Obviously they have given up on gaining promotion as this early pricing of season tickets suggests.”
by oldandwiseram
Saturday, February 16 2013, 10:20PM
“Anton, couldn't agree with you more. It is not the increase 'per se' that is the problem, but the fact that nowhere in the letter inviting me to apply for my ticket at 25% above last years price, is any mention made of this. As you say, it's almost as though they hoped we wouldn't notice! It is this lamentable and naive failure to communicate properly that concerns me most - it doesn't bode well for the future if not even a perfunctory attempt can be made to get this bit right. I'm retired now, but if, in my working life, any of my managers had attempted to communicate with our customers in this way, they'd never do it again - and I'd have had to embark upon a damage limitation exercise which would have pleased me no end.
Also, I agree on the Friday evening business. I've been supporting Derby for over 50 years, and even in the premier league debacle season, I don't recall many (if any) Friday games. This year we have three, and since I have a regular commitment on a Friday evening, where others depend on my attendance, I will miss all of those matches. I'm not impressed, and I find it incredible that in a season where our attendances have clearly dipped, the communication skills of our new CEO are so lamentable.
My son has not renewed for the current year, and since the seat next to me is always available, he can easily join me for matches he chooses to attend. Three regulars of many years around me have not renewed this year, and although I will renew, I will be interested to see what nights we are scheduled to play on next year. More Friday fixtures and I'll be joining my son for the occasional game - if my interest is maintained.
On that point, I was ill today and had to listen to the Radio derby commentary. I was very impressed - it left me feeling that doing other things on a Saturday may not be so bad after all.”
by ramification
Saturday, February 16 2013, 6:29PM
“Thought we had done with spin when Glick left but not sure now Really would like Sam to explain how he knows witch division we would be in by the third week of January because one things for sure if got promotion you would never get an adult ticket for £230 He has definately scored an own goal with his pricing for next season at a stroke he has lost another 3,000 season tickets”
by Anton_Rippon
Saturday, February 16 2013, 11:55AM
“And apologies to Dean Saunders for the typo!”
by supertonemoore
Saturday, February 16 2013, 11:40AM
“Amen to that Anton.
Possibly the lack of a personal response from Mr Rush is indicative of the number of complaints that have been levelled at the club, my e-mail response [3 in total] merely advises me to listen to him on Radio Derby on 25th February.
I suspect that Mr Rush is paying lip-service to our American owners and that specific complaints will be glossed over, other than the disability one already dealt with.
WARNING: Holding your breath for excessive periods can be detrimental to your health!!”
by RayJohn
Saturday, February 16 2013, 11:35AM
“Agree with the sentiments of the article.
There is no doubt that the football at Pride Park this year has been enjoyable, but anyone who has been to many of the away games will have, on the whole, seen a drab, negative serving of football.
Add to that, a general feeling that the club as a whole has no real plan/ambition to take the club to the next level, is poses a real quandry. Do I fork out my £450 to see a team that will play some decent football but ultimately end up as a bog-standard mid-table team, or do I keep the money in my pocket and pick and choose when I go to Pride Park.”