Pretty depressing announcement today and one of the biggest PR failures the club has made in a long time. There needs to be a follow up and a response from the club.
I worked out that I have probably spent circa £2,000 this season following the Boro and all the associated spend (tickets, transport, hotels). I love it and have been doing it for 27 years. Living away means I miss lots of home games but it’s still important to me to have my seat.
The tone of the email is at best incompetent and at worst it’s arrogant. It assumes compliance, can’t even be bothered to thank fans. No vision. No statement of intent. No attempt to provide a narrative on the cost increases for the club and why some of that needs to be met with price increases.
Then there is the 4 week deadline. Utterly tone deaf and pathetic. It is within the clubs power to make it more accessible for people. The least they can do is extent that deadline. That should be the ask of supporter reps and groups. It’s the one thing that will ease the cash flow pressure that a lot of my friends are upset about. Financially penalising people for not being able to use their Feb pay packet is not progressive.
Finally the response from the supporters forum is incredibly disappointing. It is a representative body of supporters not the clubs PR team. It is meant to be a critical friend of the club and act on behalf of its members. Putting out a statement that essentially says “Gibson came to a meeting and told us why this had to happen” is simply not the representation that fans deserve.
I will still pay it. I’m not happy about it but I will. While I am sure the club can explain why they are increasing prices the deadline, the lack of gratitude for support and the tone of communication all require accountability and addressing. Starting with an apology, a communication to all fans explaining the increase and extending the deadline to mid April.