By Chris Chaplin
August 13 2003

Thursday 7 August had been the latest in a succession of hot sunny Summer days but instead of being in my garden at 7.15 enjoying a cold glass of wine I was walking through a largely deserted Welford Road on my way to a Focus Meeting.

I had undertaken the long journey from Gloucester in 30 degree heat and had been thankful for my car’s climate control as I made my way through the snaking rush hour motorway traffic jams and which gave me an unpleasant reminder of what attending Friday night games will be like but here I was at last walking alongside the pitch by the Next stand headed, on a beautiful hot evening, for the A&L where the participants in this event were to assemble.

The pitch looked in fine shape with its emerald green grass almost too perfect and not a weed in sight - how do they do that? There were signs of some building work being underway with an excavator leaning drunkenly at the end of an ugly scar along the terracing of the Crumbie, the machine abandoned by it’s operator in favour of the delights of the Swan and Rushes no doubt. More of this later.

As regulars know I am not given to great optimism where the machinations of the marketing men in rugby are concerned and the expression Focus Group had brought images of political parties and broadcasters to mind, so I had accepted this invitation with some scepticism.

I duly arrived at the designated location together with a few other participants including site regular johns, although it sadly transpired that we were to be in different groups, only to be collected after a few minutes and transported to the Underwood Suite, which was the correct assembly point rather than that designated by Sam Rossiter-Stead in his invitation, the auguries were not good but fortunately not prescient of what came to pass later.

We were welcomed by David Clayton (DC) who introduced Sarah and Sam Rossiter-Stead (SRS) to those assembled and set out the way in which the evening was to be structured.

We were to be split into two groups (a sort of bi-focal I suppose!) one to be chaired by DC and the other presumably by SRS. I considered myself fortunate to be allocated to the former.

There was to be a strict agenda the items to be covered being:

Facilities. Customer Service. Pricing. Catering. Perception of the Club. Perception of PRL

It was not to be a complaining session. Hmmm. I was nervous. I had a folder full of questions and complaints from participants on this site and it looked like it was going to be something of a challenge getting them heard let alone answered.

At the outset two burning questions were answered by DC:

Firstly - selection of the participants.

Apparently there had been three sessions in the week.

The first two were randomly selected from the club’s Season Ticket Holder database and were established on the basis of age groupings.

This evening’s groupings comprised supporters who had written or e-mailed the club “raising issues”.

Drinks finished and we repaired back to the original location where some of us had first assembled and proceedings commenced.

Before moving to the discussion I should perhaps say that for those of you, like me, who have not visited the hospitality boxes atop the A&L the blessedly air conditioned environment in which I found myself was very pleasant and enjoyed fine views over the pitch, with the height of the boxes in the A&L compensating for their location behind the goal line. I did think how different it would be watching Tigers from there instead of standing in the Crumbie or even sitting in the stand on a wet, cold winter’s afternoon. On balance I decided that I’d go for the ground - a Luddite to the end!

Anyway to business. The group in which I participated comprised two other male supporters, one of whom was well known to DC and had clearly been active in supporter orientated matters both in relation to Tigers and the NRSA (National Rugby Supporters Association). No I’d not heard of it either. There were also three female supporters in attendance. As I said DC chaired our group.

In that which follows where I refer to the “group” it indicates issues on which there was general accord between the members or at least nobody demurred from a view put forward by one of the members.

Facilities
Observations were made by the group as to the quality and condition of toilets at the ground, the quality of the PA system, lack of legroom in the seating areas and access for the disabled.

DC acknowledged the need to upgrade the toilets for both sexes but it appears that no substantial improvements will be made here until the redevelopment of the ground is undertaken.

As far as the quality of the PA system is concerned. There has been a minimal amount of work carried out on the system during this closed season but it has not been replaced as believed by supporters was to be the case. Again this is a project that will have to wait until the general redevelopment of the ground takes place.

Similarly on the matter of legroom it was acknowledged that to improve this ahead of the redevelopment would serve to reduce capacity and this too would need to wait for the arrival of the new stands.

In all these cases the cost of upgrading would be substantial and it did seem to me that it would not make commercial sense to spend substantial amounts now only to have the results ripped out in the course of the next few years.

On the subject of access for the disabled. DC advised that in its usual form of just the area provided in the A&L the club was fulfilling the PRL’s criteria. However he did agree that the additional area provided toward the end of last season, but removed for the Munster game, would be reinstated for the start of next season. He added that as part of the redevelopment plans a substantial improvement in this direction was envisaged and that viewing for the disabled at higher levels than presently possible would be provided both in terms of numbers of seats and their positioning at other than pitch level.

I thought this to be a very positive position for the club to take.

I mentioned earlier that a digger was burrowing across the Crumbie and this arises from the Health and Safety Committee expressing concerns as to supporter safety in the standing area. The infamous yellow hatching is to be disregarded and there will now be two barriers running the length of the Crumbie providing a lateral corridor along which supporters, emergency crews and vendors can pass. A real bonus this for those Crumbieites who have missed being able to lean on the back wall of the terracing and gain some support after readying themselves for the fray in the Captains Bar!

While DC was unable to provide a quote for publication here regarding the ground redevelopment it does seem to be progressing apace the club being in active discussion with the local authority in an effort to finalise matters. I would guess that given a fair wind we might see some action here at the end of this season as DC is hoping to soon be able to make a presentation to the Members and I would guess at a new stadium eventually being created having a capacity of around 20000. This is only my view of course.

Customer Service
The issue of the lack of response from the club to e-mails, telephone calls, letters etc was raised and DC advised that the club’s policy is that all communications are responded to within 48 hours. I rather expect that this will, in many cases, just be a formal acknowledgement, for if substantive issues are involved longer will surely be needed for the club to form an appropriate reply.

DC asked that if the club was non-responsive or the response was unsatisfactory supporters contact him on david.clayton@tigers.co.uk

Various issues were discussed surrounding communications between the club and the supporters including, of late, the changes to kick off times and the change of captaincy.

Ongoing frustration was also expressed at the lack of information regarding injuries to players and it was noted that other clubs had regular updates in the nature of “News From The Physio’s Room”. DC also commented that he wondered how many supporters had full knowledge of the facilities at Oval Park which were of the best in Europe. The group confirmed that the goings-on at Oval Park were so shrouded in secrecy that little was indeed known. DC promised to investigate the possibility of having an open day at the facility to overcome this lack of knowledge and information.

DC acknowledged that the first two issues had been poorly handled by the club and that greater explanation should have been given regarding the changes to kick off times arising from the Powergen Cup and the clash with LCFC vs Man Utd fixture as it was clear that supporters were unaware of the reasoning behind the changed times.

DC undertook to discuss the suggestion regarding injury updates with Dean Richards and it was observed by the group that given the accessibility of injured players to supporters their individual condition was hardly a well kept secret and that this was as it should be.

At this point DC reaffirmed that the club’s policy remained that fixtures were to be played with a KO of 3.00pm on Saturday afternoons. I subsequently provided DC with details of the e-Focus Group feedback on supporters preferred options were a 3.00pm Saturday KO impossible to achieve.

The decision by PRL to continue the league programme through the Six Nations was discussed and while I am unable to confirm how Tigers voted in the split vote I remain of the opinion that if Tigers did vote for the proposal it would possibly be the greatest example of a “Turkey Voting For Christmas” ever seen.

At the moment it has still to be decided as to whether the home Quins match will be played on the 14 February or 21 March.

The issue was then raised as to the communication to supporters of the establishment of the Tigers Travel Club as it impacted upon the LTASC arrangements admirably undertaken by John Griffiths.

DC responded that the club have been in discussions with John over the past few years and have not previously introduced the Tigers Travel Club as a consequence of John’s disquiet over the plan. This year the club decided to proceed with their plans to introduce the travel club but DC emphasised that it was not the club’s intention to undermine the LTASC but to provide a premier travel option for supporters. DC expected that the LTASC arrangements would continue as long as John wanted them to.

On the subject of the change in captaincy following the World Cup the group was of the opinion that doubt had been placed in supporters minds as to whether Martin was content with the change and indeed whether he would be remaining with the club.

DC acknowledged that it had been an error not to include a statement from Martin or to clarify the position regarding his ongoing commitment to Tigers at the time of the announcement in order to allay supporters’ misgivings and that DC would see that this was given urgent attention.

The group went onto comment that the club’s official website was seen by many supporters as a vehicle to sell goods to them rather than impart information. DC accepted that the site had lost balance between its marketing and information roles and that this would be addressed.

The group asked for clarification as to the circumstances surrounding the much lamented replacement of Tudor.

DC advised that Tudor’s departure was very much Tudor’s own decision and that he had wanted as little fuss as possible hence the low key approach taken by the club.

As to the removal and then reinstatement of Ian Cockerill’s programme column. While this was not discussed in depth at the meeting DC did acknowledge that this was another action poorly communicated to supporters.

Subsequent to the meeting I discussed this further with DC and he told me that it had been felt that it was perhaps time for a change and that a view from other supporters would be of interest. In the event it was subsequently decided that the supporters would appreciate wider ranging comment from Ian and hence his re-appearance, an event I for one greatly welcomed.

The question of clarity of the position regarding the U21s and Academy for next season was another issue which the group felt had not been communicated to supporters.

DC was able to confirm that while arrangements for funding from the RFU were still not finalised funding for the Academy by the club was not to be reduced in season 2003/4 and that furthermore the club was intensifying its scouting programme to identify promising youngsters. As for the U21s. DC advised that while the U21 league was not to feature next season the Extras would be revitalised and have a greater concentration on the inclusion of U21s.

It was mentioned by the group that the unofficial TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk website, although run by amateurs who had full time jobs, managed to provide match previews, where the official site did not, match reports for every first team game, which the official site did not, as well as numerous links and features noticeably absent from the official site. DC confirmed that the staff and directors often visited the unofficial site and understood the comments made by the group and that these too would be addressed when reviewing the format and content of the official website

DC advised that there was to be a change in personnel in this operational area and a new person with different skills was shortly to join the club to improve the poor communication which he felt lay at the root of the discontent that the club had identified amongst its supporters.

Personally, and given what the club has identified as a deterioration in it’s relationship with it’s supporters, I was left to say that a root and branch review was needed of the management and staff of this area of the club’s operations.

It seems to me that in all these matters the club may well be acting with the best of intentions but it’s failure to communicate these to the supporters has been lamentable and may indeed lay at the root of the current difficulties that the directors have identified in the club‘s relationship with it’s supporters.

Pricing
The matter of beer prices was given some time and DC advised that the club’s prices were competitive with those of other clubs although due to the relative lack of volume possibly not with pubs in the locality.

I am not sufficiently well acquainted with Leicester beer prices or how beer is purchased to comment further on DC’s response and the other members of the group did not pursue the issue.

The subject of replica home shirts was raised by the group and DC confirmed that prices in the club shop had now risen to £44.99 for an adult replica shirt.

The group commented that the price of the shirts was not as much of an issue as was the frequent changes to the design of the home shirt. DC advised that the club’s policy in this regard remained that the home shirt should be changed at intervals of no less than two years. The group pointed out that there had, including the latest home shirt, been a significantly higher number of changes than that which would be consistent with the club’s policy since 1997 and which in fact reflects a change rate of virtually one per year.

While unable to argue with the facts provided by the group DC went on to confirm that there would be no changes to the new home shirt for two seasons when the Bradstone main shirt sponsorship expires. This commitment was welcomed by the group. However the issue of the away shirt was then raised, which while also the subject of a commitment by the club to similarly not be changed earlier than every two years, is a commitment fraught with difficulty due to the shirt being changed in a different year to the home shirt and therefore incapable of being in synch with changes of shirt sponsor.

DC acknowledged this difficulty and promised to hold discussions to see how this could be remedied.

DC went on the advise that the club remained committed not to rip off it’s supporters by changing strips every year.

It seems to me that the directors, while acknowledging the lucrative nature of shirt sales are sensitive to a perceived slippage into football type shirt changes and that the marketing people have not thought through the strategy in sufficient detail. We shall need to wait and see what the club decides to do. Of course the simple option is to retain the current away shirt for a further two years until the possible end of the Bradstone deal and launch new home and away shirts at the same time. In the short term this would have adverse revenue implications but given the (relatively) low volume of away shirts sold compared to home shirts this would seem to me to be a small (again relative) price for the club to pay to convince it’s supporters of it’s good intentions.

Subsequent to the meeting I had a discussion with DC regarding the design selected by the club for the new home shirt and the shock of supporters at its modern leisure shirt appearance and the absence of stripes for the Tigers.

DC was able to tell me that initially some 20 plus designs were submitted by Cotton Traders and that these were quickly pruned down to a short list of around 8. Input was then gained from the club staff and a random sample of a dozen supporters who were in the club shop from time to time. This saw the short list reduced further to two designs at which point the Academy players were asked to view, wear and play in the shirts and they chose that which has now been adopted for the current season.

It seems that again with the best of intentions the club followed a selection procedure that they felt would give the right result. It seems from the fair number of supporters with whom I have spoken that the process has not produced a design that is greatly liked. Of course the staunch support that the club enjoys will see the shirts sell in goodly numbers, especially if the supply problems that dogged the early days of the preceding shirt are avoided. It will still be interesting to see how big an impact the new design will make when the crowd removes its weatherproof clothing next Spring and the balance between old and new is revealed especially given the popularity of the Vauxhall/Bradstone shirt..

Food prices were also discussed and the group felt that generally these were acceptable.

Catering
The group were of the opinion that the food offering at Wellford Road was generally superior to that found at other grounds although the demise of the hot potato vendor following the erection of the temporary stand outside the club house was regretted. DC noted this point and promised to find out what had happened to that particular vendor.

Comments were made as to the lack of “healthy eating” options and DC advised that it was intended as part of the ground redevelopment to broaden supporters’ choice in this area.

The group raised a question as to the removal of the members’ dining room adjacent to the ABC bar which was felt to have been a worthwhile amenity, especially for the many supporters who travel long distances to the ground and those that wish to entertain visitors. DC acknowledged this and the fact that the club enjoyed wide geographical support and promised to provide the writer with information in this regard (since received)

DC advised that the members’ restaurant had not been a profitable venture and had been closed as a consequence, however he went on to advise that similar facilities were envisaged as forming part of the ground redevelopment.

Perception of The Club
The group felt that the club was seen as struggling with the conflicting desire to remain a traditional rugby club and the demands of the new professional era.

The group also felt that the management of the club is perceived as being aloof, patronising, complacent and arrogant.

DC assured the group that these views could not be further from the truth but asked whether in a word the group would say that the club was seen as being uncaring. The group agreed that this would be a fair summation.

DC commented that he had been pleasantly surprised that after such a poor season in 2002/3 a season ticket renewal rate of 88% had been achieved and that they he had not fully appreciated the depth of loyalty that existed amongst the clubs’ core support.

He went on to say that he together with the other directors, staff and players were determined to demonstrate the club’s appreciation of this loyalty and reiterated that he believed that poor communication by the club to the supporters lay at the root of the current difficulties in supporter relationships.

For my part I felt that DC was being genuine in his comments here and I hope that we shall see this avowed determination demonstrated by deeds in the year ahead.

Perception of PRL
The group were of the opinion that that the PRL had little concern for the interests of supporters or for that matter players and was purely motivated by money to the exclusion of all else. This being exemplified by the introduction of and persistence with the two play-off systems as well as the recent decision to play through the Six Nations.

DC clearly could not comment on this view as a board member but I remain of the opinion that the club is often rowing against the tide on such matters.

With this the meeting drew to an end and many of the participants returned to the bar to moisten their throats, for my part I had a long journey back to rural Gloucestershire ahead of me and so with a number of others I bade my farewells and returned to my car which awaited my return to it’s location in the Tigers car park (if only I could get in there on match days!!!!! Now there‘s a prized item that the club could auction - a match day parking place for the season.)

As I wriggled my way free of Leicester’s urban sprawl in the summer twilight and with the lights of Fosse Park signaling the start of the long motorway journey home I settled down for the haul and soothed by the creamy voice of Ella Fitzgerald my mind wandered back to the evening’s events.

Had it been worthwhile? Well I had been sceptical as to David Clayton’s motives and motivation before meeting him but two hours of quite critical examination left me persuaded that he wants to set matters right in the fracturing relationship between the club and it’s supporters and unless he is extraordinarily disingenuous, which I do not believe him to be, I think that he and the club have been truly moved and not a little relieved by the level of loyal support provided by the supporters after a lack lustre playing year.

He seemed to acknowledge and accept criticism where it was valid and resolved to take whatever action is necessary to address those criticisms.

As is often the case when lost in one’s thoughts the miles sped by and I was soon pulling on to my drive, Ella having given way, almost unnoticed, to the more modern delights of Norah Jones.

My wife, already in bed, sleepily asked how the meeting had gone and against all my expectations I heard myself say “Pretty well really, David Clayton seemed a decent bloke, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens”


That really sums the evening up - Lets wait and see what happens.