[OvalOwl]

Danny Baker on twatter:

Some people ask: is the Premier League the best league in Europe?
Seriously - I don't think it's the best league in England

[Maddix]

Frucking "Yorkshires Number One's"

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCHIN ON TUG HEVVA

[Maddix]

Good God they are so deluded Did anyone else hear them singing 'Champions, Champions of Europe'

That game was 40 years ago and if I remember correctly Bayern Munich won it 2-0

[St Charles Owl]

Apparently the first fan forum committee/steering group meeting was tonight and a couple of posters on Owlstalk were invited, do we know anyone who attended??  I have shamelessly stolen the notes that FlyingOwl posted on Owlstalk tonight about her notes from the meeting and thought it would be good to post it on here.  I am not a member on Owlstalk so did not ask permission to copy and paste what she wrote but my intention is not to steal anything or use the post in any derogatory way, so I hope that is ok with everyone.

Here is what FlyingOwl posted:

"Here were my findings from the meeting. I'm sure Ecclesall Owl and OakOwl will chip in if I've missed anything important off.

The main topic of conversation was tickets & getting people into Hillsborough, season ticket sales are up but ticket sales aren't reaching what they may have hoped. However the general consensus was that ticket prices just weren't the issue keeping fans away. The bad press received after the ticket categories were released put a dampener on everything. The club understands that but wants to underline that, apart from the Bristol game perhaps, prices have been spot on in their eyes as well as everyone else in attendance. What they want to know, and I'll put it to you now, is what is keeping the fans away? What do you want to see to bring you back? It's £20 a ticket vs Brighton....you can't ask for much better.
So that's my question to you & what I want to feedback. Genuinely, what do you want to see in order to go to more matches? Trust me, they are completely open to fans views on this. They want bums on seats.
There is an idea about a 2 or 3 year season ticket, with finance maybe being an option. Would that interest anyone?

Other topics raised were...
Arsenal game:
Media coverage has gone through the roof, attention not seen on Sheffield Wednesday in years.
Segregation not up to them at all. All down to the safety officers (SYP etc).
Hoped that many new fans were made that night & old fans who hadn't been in a while, rejuvenated.
Matchday Catering:
Those chairing the interview were initially under the impression that catering and service on kiosks, whether that be in a lounge or on the concourse, had gotten better. They said they invested heavily in training over the summer.
An idea of a 'pool of staff' between us and United was raised. With us not playing on the same days it's possible to have the same servers across both clubs. This would probably increase the standard of applicants as the job would guarantee better hours.
The chairman was not happy with our feedback on catering & will take action if not improved by the next meeting.
To ease the demand on orders for beer a pre-pour system was trialed in one of the suites before the Bristol game. This is a system many on here have suggested because it does take ages to get a drink at half-time & the queues are ridiculous. However, the pre-pour system wasn't working as efficiently as it should due to fans turning their noses up at a drink that was waiting for them...wanting a fresh one etc. Further ideas to provide quicker service are welcome.
Ideas Regarding Atmosphere (feedback needed):
The subject of the band will be properly raised and discussed at the next meeting. General consensus in the room though was in favour of getting rid.
Pre and post match music. A system where we can choose what's played like at Donny? More Wednesday songs before kick off? Is everyone happy with Waterfront as walk out music?
A 'fan coordinator', with a megaphone like in european clubs?
Flags on the Kop like Liverpool? Would need to be discussed with safety officers but this is something the club would be on board with.
Goal music? Yes or No? Was met with a mixed reaction. Paul Bell, the chief of operation, feels that the crowd can die down very quickly after a goal and goal music may boost us again....(I disagreed...)

Away End
Is always a sore point talking about Leppings Lane but without saying the actual words, sooner or later, it will be knocked down.
Club probably didn't realise how ashamed we are of the outside of the away end & how drab it looks. Tarting it up may have gone up on their ''list of projects'' (apparently there are many)
Is talk about maybe moving away fans somewhere else. Mentioned that we get shoved in a corner against Newcastle, Derby, Cardiff to name just a few. Has improved atmosphere at Leeds.

Other than that, there are big plans for our 150th but tight lipped right now. Kevin Pressman was offered a testimonial a while ago and turned it down. Club would revisit it but it's up to KP. Want to really promote the grassroots scheme they have, where kids from sports teams/scouts etc can walk out with the team or wave the big flag/small flags as the teams walk out. Spread the word on that if you have links to teams, doesn't have to be in Sheffield. Club wants to invest in the new generation. Mr Chansiri said he is in this for the long haul."

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

makes some good reading most of that. I am a member on Owlstalk (not an avid poster like on here like ) and i'm sure FO wont mind it being shared.

catering is wank. I went down against arsenal on 30 mins cos i needed a drink, was 5th in queue and didnt get back up until HT
Goal music is a big no no from me
Get rid of the band
not a fan of the magephone idea. It'll be given to some twat such as Tango
Leppings lane should be done AFTER the new Kop roof and should be kept as away end, perhaps with split seating though

[madsteve]

Generally all positive.

My thoughts:

Prices this season have been fair but the marketing of those prices has been poor. If the prices for the first four matches had been issued at the same time then the outcry for the Bristol City match would have been lessened. If Bristol City had been Category C, then it would have been all but eliminated.

A lot of fans have got out of the habit of watching Wednesday over a period when crowds have soared nationally so compared to other clubs, our match attending fan base has fallen quite a bit.

It feels like everyone is talking about Wednesday this week even here in the Midlands. It will be interesting to see how that affects crowds against Forest & Brighton.

The quality of the catering is decent and the offer of drinks & pies for £1 has been brilliant. I am amazed to see fans queuing outside the ground to buy pies from external vendors for £3 when they could support the Club & get pies for a £1. I would add that there is a limited choice of food and the quality of the staff serving is a bit mixed, although better than it used to be. I think that the majority of fans are not aware of the offers available & the quality.

I think the band serve a decent purpose in giving an atmosphere. There are times when the whole ground goes dead and the band at least creates some noise & helps to get the rest going. The fans in the North Stand are now starting to be the main source of starting songs so the need for the band might reduce in the future.

Music needs considering. Waterfront is good. So is Bleitzkreig Bop but it is a matter of opinion. It is very different with the Jumbo Screen because that takes precedence and it doesn't work when they play music that clashes with that. They need to look at how Brighton & Derby use the Jumbo Screen to pump up the atmosphere.

I think that flags and goal music are tinpot. We have started having flags (I know Arsenal do it) but I think it looks tacky - a bit American. Acceptable when Macclesfield did it and Rotherham & Doncaster but we are better than that. Goal music is not required. The fans know how to celebrate a goal.

The Away End needs attention. I would not be against moving to a new ground in the long term but we need to be filling the place first. Firstly, I would give the Away End a new name so Leppings Lane can be dropped. I would also prefer the name of the ground to be change so as to disassociate the Club from the disaster. Why not revert back to the original name of Owlerton? Many older fans still call it that. It can be done in stages by stealth. Call it Owlerton Stadium, Hillsborough for a year before dropping the Hillsborough.

Personally, I would move the away fans into a corner of the north or South Stand. This means we can dominate all four sides of the ground and charge them premium prices. SYP though are the toughest in the country on segregation so I guess this will be difficult.

[Owlkev71]

I would give any team who brings only a few hundred the north west corner then we could put the home fans on the west stand. Bigger teams can have the west stand all to them selves.

Definitely get rid of the cheerleaders.

Catering isn't too bad, maybe a bigger option on food and drinks.

Flags and goal music are for Americans, not us Brits.

The band can stay on for now.

The ground is due a facelift, I suppose its just when it is done that needs to be sorted out.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

regarding my catering is wank comment, it's more the service.
Tuesday for example, girl behind counter was properly struggling with the arithmetic and had no till to help her. I ordered 2 pies (£3 each), 2 peas and gravy (£1 each) and a fanta (£2.30). She was seriously struggling and I had to add it all up for her

[madsteve]

regarding my catering is wank comment, it's more the service.
Tuesday for example, girl behind counter was properly struggling with the arithmetic and had no till to help her. I ordered 2 pies (£3 each), 2 peas and gravy (£1 each) and a fanta (£2.30). She was seriously struggling and I had to add it all up for her

The service is hit & miss depending on who serves you. Some are pretty good. some are as you describe. A few years ago, we ordered the same food & drinks at every match and it was eight matches in before we were charged the same price twice. On one occasion, we were charged £1.20 for four pies & peas and two drinks because that was what the calculator said it was.

Incidentally, surely you got there before 7.15 when the pies were just £1.

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

no i was on tram and traffic was terrible. Got there at 7.40