Some posters will be aware that I have strongly tried to support the Club with recent price increases.
This was fundamentally because of the low revenue ex VAT that the club actually gets per head and the obvious inflationary pressures they were facing and the fact there had been frozen prices for many seasons.
I also thought in January 2023 that the club was in a really exciting place, FFP strong and poised to really kick on. You could smell the ambition and the resultant buy in from the fans. It felt like there was a real connection between club and fanbase.
I have always thought the pricing structure to be flawed:
I think Walk up prices are far too high everywhere in the ground - a bizarre obscene premium on EB SC's. New SC's are also at an obscene premium; and why on earth would you not package runs of matches when they were going to be under-subscribed?
I do think kids SC prices and Concessions in general are already pretty good value, while the Family Zone is ridiculously cheap and insanely structured. The gap between a FZ adult and kids and a Walk up equivalent is amateur hour pricing.
Frozen Horse was always ploughing the club is absolutely right furrow. I just agreed to disagree.
They got Sunderland revenues on 2/3 Sunderland attendances. Gibson clearly doesn't care how many are there, just how much they collectively pay.
But the club footed arrogance shown this time around leaves it impossible for me to defend Gibson.
1. The Club has regressed in every way since the EB communication of 2023.
2. The communication of the EB renewal of 2024 is utterly baffling. Not even an attempt to explain why anybody should buy into committing significantly more money with a third of this season remaining. No rallying call, no declaration of intent, let alone commitment. No thanks or even acknowledgement of current support. No explanation of cost pressures, no justification, no expression of regret at the need. This is what it is; its up to you. Oh and don't hang around, because you've got one pay day to sort it, or "gotcha". Need credit? Cheers I'll take a cut of that too.
Steve Gibson HAS converted another £107m of debt to equity. He HAS now put in £197m of Equity and Reserves into the Club. He HAS still got further outstanding loans of c£40m that he is unlikely to ever recover if he keeps the club in the Championship.
I was sceptical about him actually doing what he did in October last year, but it is irrefutable that he has now funded the club with almost a quarter of a billion pounds since 1993 AND it is still absolutely worthless.
I definitely don't question his financial commitment to the club and it must be soul destroying funding guaranteed Championship losses and trying to compete with richer owners.
But Gibson is immeasurably better at transporting toxic waste than he is running a football club.
I think he has got this pricing decision and comms seismically wrong and seriously mis-judged the mood and reaction of many fans.
It's too much, its too early, its contemptuously timed, arrogantly communicated and its likely to backfire.
I do feel really disconnected.
I am a Boroholic and it will take some combination of factors for me personally not to renew, but for the first time I will be leaving it to deadline day.
My Dad's just gone into a Residential Home, my 2 sons are questioning why they trawl up and down religiously from Leeds, my old uncle is becoming disengaged and the cousin I've been all around the country with for 40 years is as disillusioned as me, whilst his daughter is away to Uni in Sept.
That's 7 of us in the West Upper who can afford to go, questioning whether we will. Ive sat a few times midweek this season as the only one of our 7 there. It's not a good night out. Not sure I want 23 of them next season.
