How the "matchday experience" helps explain protests at LCFC

[fazzyfox]

2 hours ago, foxinsocks said:

What are they looking for?  Do they find it ever?

According to one memo last season, Sandwiches deemed to be larger than medium sized!

[Lako42]

The best piece I've read on the issue for a while. 

 

 

Well done @The Fosse Way you are bang on the money 

Edited 21 January by Lako42

[Daggers]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I thought the "article" (really? If I start posting all my rants on WordPress can I start calling them articles?) was a bit tone deaf to be honest. 

 

People are upset to the point of furious about the mismanagement of the playing squad, to try and make it about clappers and corporate "match day experiences" just because that's what a small fringe group who love Fan Culture care about is a bit shit. It's almost hijacking everyone else's anger. 

 

Does the OP actually go to away games? What ground in the Premier League has good toilets ffs? Or doesn't have security? The food is the same naff, over priced shit in every stadium. Every home support in the country these days is quiet and soulless and outsung by the away fans. Every ticket sold in the Premier League is over priced to the point of criminal. 

 

I absolutely think there's a whole conversation to be had about who actually wants the current match day experience and I definitely think prices in football need to come down.

 

But there's almost an implication here that we'd all be happy with Rudkin running the team in to the ground just as long as we got to stand on a terrace with a quality beer, a hearty home made pie and no security around to stop us bringing in pyros. 

 

I'll be honest, my season ticket could be £1.50 and Top could carry me in to the ground on a throne like a king with his whole family fanning me and handing me luxury cocktails and I'd still be livid about what's happening on the pitch. 

 

You don’t get to gatekeep what others are upset about, though, eh.

 

And the ‘But Mister, all those boys are doing it” line of defence didn’t even work in Yr4.

 

Almost an implication? That sounds like you are layering your opinion over the OP’s…because that’s no remotely what I take as the gist of the piece.

[davieG]

On toilets the one I used had 4 paper towel dispensers last year this year just 2. 
 

The club is saving pennies and losing millions. 

[AKCJ]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

I'm not gonna lie, food and drink at football has been so overly expensive for such shit quality for about twenty years or more, that I mostly don't bother. 

 

Yeah, it's only really a night game where I'm pressed for time that I'll get something to eat or if it's freezing i'll get a hot drink.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Very good article. It's why all their "fan engagement" is a sham.. They'll ignore what people ask for, and implement whatever they want regardless of if people want it or not.

 

All to chase their ideal demographic that won't kick up any fuss. 

Edited 21 January by Sol thewall Bamba

[The Doctor]

the over sanitisation, overpriced "match day experience" is hardly exclusive to us. It doesn't explain the protests or all clubs would be protesting, what explains the protests is ultimately that we're ****ing shit. The mismanagement has been going for ages has been generally ignored until it's impossible to do so, as we look at a second relegation in 3 years and a set of problems reminiscent of 2001-2004. If we were sat in 7th, getting conference league football, with this level of mismanagement and contempt for the fans, most would simply not bat an eyelid and say "we're punching above our weight, why are you complaining" (as they did when we were talking about the threat of relegation under Rodgers at the end of 21/22).

 

like the match day experience stuff is shit, designed around a corporate idea of what fans want rather than actually listening to fans, but it's not relevant to the starting protests at all.

[OntarioFox]

3 hours ago, Basingstoke Fox said:

Not to mention the mundane experience of attending matches. Everything about the pre-match routine for example (minus the PHG) is painfully generic & bland. 

It's the little things that just speak to a complete lack of imagination on the corporate side.

 

Case in point, while I like Kasabian and appreciate they are Leicester 'through and through', they've taken the relationship to the point of overkill, presumably based on some half-baked assumption that they're all we want to hear. Club Foot before kickoff is fine. We don't need Serge's poem. And I recently realised they've replaced 'The Boys Are Back In Town' with 'God Bless This Acid House' when the warm-up starts. Why?

 

It's like that one relative who vaguely knows you're into something, so buys you absolute shite themed around it for Christmas for the rest of your life.

 

I guess it's still preferable to that awful trumpet pop they forced on us, but still.

 

EDIT - Oh, and I definitely heard them (very quietly) playing LSF over the speakers after the Palace defeat. Read the room!

Edited 21 January by OntarioFox

[Vacamion]

 

I appreciate that the OP doesn't like the level of security, but since terrorists murdered crowds at Ariana Grande and The Bataclan, getting delayed while people are checked, and seeing what you might think is too much security, are going to happen at any large gathering.

 

If something terrible were to happen at a football match, questions would immediately be asked about entry checks and the level of security.

 

Whenever I get stuck in such a check, I don't blame the venue.  I blame the world we live in.

 

 

[Winstonthedog]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

I'm not gonna lie, food and drink at football has been so overly expensive for such shit quality for about twenty years or more, that I mostly don't bother. 

 

Correct ... always been overpriced and under quality.... to be honest its a rip off like all other grounds and venues ... and I try not to think how the food especially has been stored and looked after 

[Stadt]

Fundamentally the match day experience and footballing ineptitude stem from the same place - the owner is useless and doesn't hold anybody accountable. 

 

If you look after the little things you tend to get the big things right. The fact is the directors and the management are in their ivory tower and they refuse to listen to the fanbase. None more so than when the fans universally said no to digital tickets, yet they persisted with them unashamedly anyway - and oh, by the way, it's not a cash grab it's for charity - so there.

 

They're beyond complacent, they're just negligent.

[Stadt]

14 minutes ago, Vacamion said:

 

I appreciate that the OP doesn't like the level of security, but since terrorists murdered crowds at Ariana Grande and The Bataclan, getting delayed while people are checked, and seeing what you might think is too much security, are going to happen at any large gathering.

 

If something terrible were to happen at a football match, questions would immediately be asked about entry checks and the level of security.

 

Whenever I get stuck in such a check, I don't blame the venue.  I blame the world we live in.

 

 

But even so the stewards are pretty useless, complain, even mildly and they'll let you through. It's agency staff being better inconveniences than security operatives.

[aklaxon]

Fantastic article. Couldn't agree more.

 

It's as if some members of the club have naturally run their course, and they have never bothered to replace them.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the younger generation of fan doesn't know who the Birch is. 

 

Where's the community outreach? Mascot prices are extortionate. Where are the guests from local schools and clubs?

 

Where's any half time entertainment? They barely even put the scores on the screens at half time.

 

So much is happening in Leicestershire, every day, so many people that would love to do something pre match or at half time - for free and just to be part of the club for a day.

These aren't radical suggestions that you only see in American sports and the best clubs in the world, these are suggestions of stuff we used to do, and you see every weekend up and down the footballing pyramid. 

[FOTS]

5 hours ago, Vlad the Fox said:

Just a couple of points, did the old announcer really get binned off for that interview? I thought it was just something people had decided on here. Secondly I’d not heard about the club contacting people criticising the club, disgraceful behaviour, would love to know the details if anyone would post them. 
 

Good article though bringing together the smaller details circling around the main issues. Hate the search before you go in, it’s taking football back to the 80’s. 

Just on the searches point: simply say no to them.

 

I had a two minute stand-off with a yellow jacket before the Manchester City game. Told him I don’t want to be searched, his supervisor came and said “me speaking to you is stopping me from searching all of these people”. At that point I knew it was just a load of rubbish. If they were *that* bothered about searches, they’d search everyone.

 

just to add, I know it’s not the yellow jackets fault and told them it wasn’t personal but if you don’t hit back a bit then we’ll continually be taken for granted.

 

Needless to say I saw the game without being searched. 

[Footballwipe]

Yes, as others have mentioned, the whole issue of searches is completely inconsistent nonsense at the minute.

 

I get the bag search, even if I still think it's a bit much, but the fact people are searched basically on the whim of the stewards is what sticks in the craw.

 

If you're not searching everyone, then how is it decided? Every tenth person? The vibes you give off? The conscious/unconscious bias of the stewards? Cos they're bored?

 

You do everyone or you do no one. You can't pretend you're taking our security seriously if you're not going to check everyone going in.

 

All it comes across is as performative nonsense if you're not going to do it properly.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Just walk past them, they don't care enough to do anything about it.

[ThumbsUp]

2 hours ago, Vacamion said:

 

I appreciate that the OP doesn't like the level of security, but since terrorists murdered crowds at Ariana Grande and The Bataclan, getting delayed while people are checked, and seeing what you might think is too much security, are going to happen at any large gathering.

 

If something terrible were to happen at a football match, questions would immediately be asked about entry checks and the level of security.

 

Whenever I get stuck in such a check, I don't blame the venue.  I blame the world we live in.

 

 

The Manchester bomber waited outside the venue and the Paris attackers stormed the Bataclan with AK's. I'm not sure how pre-event searches would've stopped either of these or any future attacks to be honest. Maybe we should all get strip searched too just to make sure nobody's hiding some c4 up their arse.

 

Truth is, if you wanted to do something terrible the searches wouldn't stop you and they'd have to get significantly more inconvenient to all of us for it to be the case. I'm fairly sure the current state of security is a reflection of the boards attitude towards legacy fans that like to sing than some idea that ISIS would want to attack a Leicester vs Wolves game. 

[UniFox21]

Premise of bag searches is fine, it's the fact they attempt to search you as if you're part of some smuggling ring 

[Corky]

And then spend God knows what on extra stewards only to see a bloke run out of the Kop, almost reach the away fans, turn around and nearly get back to the penalty area before being stopped. Such a deterrent.

[davieG]

Perhaps they should search fans leaving they then might stop all those walking out with the flags which I see almost every match.

[Corky]

12 minutes ago, davieG said:

Perhaps they should search fans leaving they then might stop all those walking out with the flags which I see almost every match.

Nothing I want more than to take my "BRING THE BATTLE" flag to show and tell at work.

[ithuriel]

Matchday experience, bah,  if you're gonna go you'd be better of getting willy pullered and staggering in a little late, having a few more then pissing off home than subjecting yourself to any of that shite offered both on and off the pitch currently.

[sylofox]

I don’t get to games now.

 

But who's doing the searching and on what grounds.

 

If it's showsec they can only do it if they have been told your carrying something illegal (weapon or drugs) or if your acting suspicious. 

 

Ask them why they want to search you. If they say they've been told they've been told to search at random/everyone refuse and explain they are breaking the law. Only the police can search with no reason.

 

Other than police no man is allowed to search a woman's bag. Should only be done by a female.

[Vacamion]

1 hour ago, ThumbsUp said:

The Manchester bomber waited outside the venue and the Paris attackers stormed the Bataclan with AK's. I'm not sure how pre-event searches would've stopped either of these or any future attacks to be honest.

 

Terrorists change their methods.  Whilst there are terrorists attacking large gatherings, like the examples I quoted, we are all stuck with security checks.  We go through them in airports, getting into Museums in Big Cities and, yes, sporting events.  

 

 

1 hour ago, ThumbsUp said:

Maybe we should all get strip searched too just to make sure nobody's hiding some c4 up their arse.

 

Glad to see that you are relaxed enough about the subject to adopt a mocking tone. No need, really.

 

1 hour ago, ThumbsUp said:

Truth is, if you wanted to do something terrible the searches wouldn't stop you and they'd have to get significantly more inconvenient to all of us for it to be the case.

 

No, that's not the truth, that is definitely your opinion. 

 

If someone wants to bring in a machete, or a bag packed with explosives, or other stuff we haven't thought of, through a security check, they are going to have a tougher time achieving that than if there are no such checks. 

 

I can't believe I'm having to explain this.

 

 

1 hour ago, ThumbsUp said:

I'm fairly sure the current state of security is a reflection of the boards attitude towards legacy fans that like to sing than some idea that ISIS would want to attack a Leicester vs Wolves game. 

 

I disagree.  Any organisation inviting large numbers of the public to its premises has a duty to protect them.

 

As I pointed out with the examples I gave in my original post, a large gathering of people might present a tempting target for those who wish to do great harm.

 

LCFC, like other clubs, is bound to take measures to protect those attending.

 

Now, you might take correct issue with how security behave to fans once they are inside the ground, but that's not what I was talking about.

 

 

[The Doctor]

1 hour ago, UniFox21 said:

Premise of bag searches is fine, it's the fact they attempt to search you as if you're part of some smuggling ring 

i mean they don't though? it's literally just open the main compartment enough to see inside