Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: keyser_soze on May 13, 2022, 10:02:12 am
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Wow this really is root and branch. In Copps we trust!
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The contracts up at the end of next season and won't be renewed.
The club are taking the time to work out what's best for it and supporters.
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A tin of dog food would be an upgrade on what Sodexo serve up
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That's absolutely fantastic news, they have taken the proverbial out of the fans on the concourse for years with there attitude. Hopefully whoever the club gets this time will have something in the contract that keeps them on task so the club actually has some power to address issues.
Interesting to know if the have informed Rovers they wont be bidding or whether we are taking this opportunity to out them.
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It's been said previously, but a look at the catering side at the Knights would be a start.... They have folk queueing every time I go there and the food/service is great...
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That's absolutely fantastic news, they have taken the proverbial out of the fans on the concourse for years with there attitude. Hopefully whoever the club gets this time will have something in the contract that keeps them on task so the club actually has some power to address issues.
Interesting to know if the have informed Rovers they wont be bidding or whether we are taking this opportunity to out them.
Sodexo are moving away from stadiums.
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After going to The Legends game last week I thought they already had - the service was appalling. The amount of times I heard people saying they wouldn’t put up with that week in week out
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Can we employ dope burgers ( I know!) from Hull to set up a franchise here. They were on look north last night and look very nice.
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Another 12 months of Sodexho, they could hit real lows in that time, knowing they don't have a continuing contract.
This will come at the right time as there is a real appetite for better food at football stadiums. Footy Scran on Twitter shows that, hopefully a company or a few companies can come up with a sound business plan to out forward.
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That's absolutely fantastic news, they have taken the proverbial out of the fans on the concourse for years with there attitude. Hopefully whoever the club gets this time will have something in the contract that keeps them on task so the club actually has some power to address issues.
Interesting to know if the have informed Rovers they wont be bidding or whether we are taking this opportunity to out them.
Sodexo are moving away from stadiums.
They should move away from hospitals as well, the food at DRI is appalling
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Definitely see what the knights are doing. Food and service top notch
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I’d imagine the Knights get not much more than a quarter of our gates. It’s a much bigger and more complex operation for us. It sounds simple but it really isn’t. Their turnover of staff will be huge as these are casual part time roles, not full time jobs. So training and retention are massive issues. The queues and food are admittedly not enticing but it is a hard job to make absolutely everything work perfectly for a two hour period every two weeks or so. Don’t envy whoever wins this!
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CBCB but they knew this before signing the contract so I have little sympathy for them, that said post covid the service is shocking
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I think there is scope to have a mix of food outlets. I recall going to a game in Denmark in November. It was pretty chilly, but they still had a range of excellent food outlets from BBQ's providing bratwurst sausage and burgers to a breaded fish and chip outlet and even a place selling hot apple strudel or danish pastries. They also had outlets selling uncooked goods -crisps/sweets/pop etc and beer outlets......they were quick and set their prices to make it easy to take money.
You are not going to please everyone, but if you can provide quick fresh food you are more likely to sell it. I'm not sure how the Sodexo operation works and how much goes to the club and how much is retained by the company, but if you were able to charge independent retailers to hire a space (retaining their individual profits) then I am sure you would get a few interested. Those that were good would succeed and make a profit and those that weren't would soon move on.
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I thought the catering was totally outsourced-the club get money and then Sodexo get what they make each game. Sure that was what was said before I may be wrong though
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We probably have to reset expectations. Best we can hope for is doing fewer things, better and more simply. That way you manage expectations and deliver a better outcome as people get a product delivered capably. It probably didn’t help the last guys with expectations about such a wide range of food options. Keep it simple and they can get through customers quicker and with more consistent product and service. Touch point for most people is can I get served relatively quickly 2.30-2.59pm and then 3.40-4.00pm. Within reason, what it tastes like is not the overriding factor.
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Within reason, what it tastes like is not the overriding factor.
Call me old fashioned, but thats everything. 'Tastes like shit but at 99p I'll go every week' no-ones ever said that.
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CBCB but they knew this before signing the contract so I have little sympathy for them, that said post covid the service is shocking
They didn't sign it though.
I've lost count of how many times that company has changed hands during the length of this contract. We've had numerous takeovers, and even a management buy out to contend with, some have embraced the contract better than others.
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That's absolutely fantastic news, they have taken the proverbial out of the fans on the concourse for years with there attitude. Hopefully whoever the club gets this time will have something in the contract that keeps them on task so the club actually has some power to address issues.
Interesting to know if the have informed Rovers they wont be bidding or whether we are taking this opportunity to out them.
Sodexo are moving away from stadiums.
They should move away from hospitals as well, the food at DRI is appalling
and the military. the food and accomodation we get fobbed off with by them is appalling.
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We probably have to reset expectations. Best we can hope for is doing fewer things, better and more simply. That way you manage expectations and deliver a better outcome as people get a product delivered capably. It probably didn’t help the last guys with expectations about such a wide range of food options. Keep it simple and they can get through customers quicker and with more consistent product and service. Touch point for most people is can I get served relatively quickly 2.30-2.59pm and then 3.40-4.00pm. Within reason, what it tastes like is not the overriding factor.
Very sensible. Before we start thinking about different types of lovely street food, it's the basics that matter most. As you said week in week out (well, match days)
As said, the industry is such that it's minimum wage therefore resourcing events is not easy. It's just as problematic for large catering companies as it is for smaller independent caterers.
Then there's the supply chain issues, consistency of delivery and price etc.
As we all know, prices have rocketed so we have to take that into consideration too.
Tend to agree about keeping it simple but worthwhile looking at the pros and cons with other caterers at other venues.
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We should start talking to the wool market about how they set up. Each catering booth could be run independently, and local independent contractors would staff it, so no untrained agency 18 year olds.
Failing that, @footyscran on twitter flag up Barnsley fairly often for their creative, decent looking fare. Not that far for a chat.
Let's just get out of this cycle of cold burgers, rollover hotdogs and pints of piss that most of the country do.
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As a light hearted aside, I started following FootyScran on twitter. There's the odd horror on there (usually at a prem ground) but some food you can buy at lower league grounds (or in the vicinity of) looks fabulous!
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That's absolutely fantastic news, they have taken the proverbial out of the fans on the concourse for years with there attitude. Hopefully whoever the club gets this time will have something in the contract that keeps them on task so the club actually has some power to address issues.
Interesting to know if the have informed Rovers they wont be bidding or whether we are taking this opportunity to out them.
Sodexo are moving away from stadiums.
They should move away from hospitals as well, the food at DRI is appalling
I would agree with that , the food they served me was horrible ,my wife kept bring me food when i was in there
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We should start talking to the wool market about how they set up. Each catering booth could be run independently, and local independent contractors would staff it, so no untrained agency 18 year olds.
Failing that, @footyscran on twitter flag up Barnsley fairly often for their creative, decent looking fare. Not that far for a chat.
Let's just get out of this cycle of cold burgers, rollover hotdogs and pints of piss that most of the country do.
This sounds good in principle I agree, but the reality is this is a huge amount of hassle for independent operators for what amounts to at the very most around 1.5 hours of sales every 2 weeks or so. Being in the Wool Market for example is a full day or full multiple days of sales. We can’t offer that. It’s an hour before game and then maybe 30 mins within the game. It’s a lot of hassle for not a lot of sales.
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
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Thanks SM for clarification
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I’d love to see the club go local and employ local companies to provide the catering; local clubs for local people and all that
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As a light hearted aside, I started following FootyScran on twitter. There's the odd horror on there (usually at a prem ground) but some food you can buy at lower league grounds (or in the vicinity of) looks fabulous!
Other clubs at our level and below can do it, why should we have minimal expectations? Mind you after the shambles we’ve had for years, literally anything will be a step up.
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Wonder if it’s feasible to have a number of different (local) companies hiring/leasing the outlets. Gives a wider choice and competition to give decent service
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The problem is the people employed to work at these types of venues only do 3-4 hours a fortnight working in that environment , most or all with no catering back ground at all , each week you are training someone new so unless they are employed by the club or you pay descent money you will only ever get the same caliber of people doing it week in week out and nothing will change, there are loads of catering jobs out their so people can be picky were they work.
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
Covid and lock down caused a lot of people to leave the industry as people found not better paid jobs but jobs were you had a better social life , i still look at 40 hour week as a part time job , most people are used to doing 50- 60 hours a week this is why they leave , i currently manage 14 staff all doing 37-40 hours so they have a social life, the industry used to work hard for little pay and things after Covid has changed things for the better trust me
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
I'd be surprised if the contract was that simple they are usually much more complex to suit both parties.
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
I'd be surprised if the contract was that simple they are usually much more complex to suit both parties.
Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
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Good to see most posters above have got an understanding of the complexity of fulfilling a catering contract and some of the logistics involved.
Perhaps now, more will understand why the original long contract was beneficial for Rovers financially as Centreplate/Sodexo bore alot of burden so for us, it was a no brainer.
We might need a mix directly employed catering staff, a contracted caterer, supplemented by more local enterprises to provide an alternative.
Either way, it has to be financially viable for all parties.
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I hope cooplands puts an offer in. They do ace sandwiches
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The contracts up at the end of next season and won't be renewed.
The club are taking the time to work out what's best for it and supporters.
That will make a change!
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Can I just say that this is an issue at many clubs.
I was in the hospitality at a recent game at Liverpool and was astounded how it had regressed from 20 years ago. It's hard to screw up a carvery but they'd managed it. How? By letting the contract to an eejit who said they could do it for less. Now, at Liverpool you pay £20k a season for a table for four for a carvery. Toby do a better job.
Amazing what you can get away with when the football's good.
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Can I just say that this is an issue at many clubs.
I was in the hospitality at a recent game at Liverpool and was astounded how it had regressed from 20 years ago. It's hard to screw up a carvery but they'd managed it. How? By letting the contract to an eejit who said they could do it for less. Now, at Liverpool you pay £20k a season for a table for four for a carvery. Toby do a better job.
Amazing what you can get away with when the football's good.
My mate got tickets for hospitality at Liverpool 15 or yrs back, 3 course proper service Phil Neal walking round etc good day out tbf
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
I'd be surprised if the contract was that simple they are usually much more complex to suit both parties.
Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Quisling as usual? Wow. Someone posted exactly what I said earlier on in this thread - yet you attack me. I've seriously got under your skin for some bizarre reason?!
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Can I just say that this is an issue at many clubs.
I was in the hospitality at a recent game at Liverpool and was astounded how it had regressed from 20 years ago. It's hard to screw up a carvery but they'd managed it. How? By letting the contract to an eejit who said they could do it for less. Now, at Liverpool you pay £20k a season for a table for four for a carvery. Toby do a better job.
Amazing what you can get away with when the football's good.
My mate got tickets for hospitality at Liverpool 15 or yrs back, 3 course proper service Phil Neal walking round etc good day out tbf
And it’s still the same!
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Can I just say that this is an issue at many clubs.
I was in the hospitality at a recent game at Liverpool and was astounded how it had regressed from 20 years ago. It's hard to screw up a carvery but they'd managed it. How? By letting the contract to an eejit who said they could do it for less. Now, at Liverpool you pay £20k a season for a table for four for a carvery. Toby do a better job.
Amazing what you can get away with when the football's good.
My mate got tickets for hospitality at Liverpool 15 or yrs back, 3 course proper service Phil Neal walking round etc good day out tbf
Sad times when a former international player forced to work as a waiter well into his 70s. bas**rd Tories.
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If anybody wants to see what catering at football stadiums should look like then go th the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It is unbelievable. Fast food that really is fast food.
Quality is also fantastic.
You have 60,000 people not 7,000 and it works brilliantly. The efficiency and quality has to be seen to be believed with so many people to serve.
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They should get the German doner kebabs company as part of the change. I don’t like kebabs really but they are fantastic. The relishes are better than the kebabs.
Crisps etc should have their own self service machines.
We should have apart from that local firms running things. You could do worse than employ the burger vans outside and put them behind the counter.
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Bring back the Belle Vue burger kiosks
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Under cooked burgers, fat poured down the terraces. A hotdog was a sausage in a bread roll. A hot drink that burns your mouth and it lasts a month.
It doesn’t seem important the food, but while you’re doing something why not be the best?.
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Sod it get Greggs in :ermm:
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Don’t want any of their dog meat sausage rolls.
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I went to my first professional rugby game at Gloucester recently. I can't comment on the quality of the food as I only bought drinks, however the service was excellent. I had got to the bar and been served within about 90 seconds of the half time whistle.
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Ok. Let's just think about this.
Off we go to the Rovers. We turn up at the Keepmoat/Eco Power, looking forward to the game.
On a typical timeline, what do we purchase and when?
For me. First port of call is the BVB.
First purchase is two pints.
Second purchase could be a pie, pie n peas or a burger and onions from the van outside.
Third purchase. Another pint which takes me up to 2:45pm.
Next possible purchase is at half time depending on the queue I might have a pie if not had one pre match, or a tea if my tonsils need lubrication.
After the game. Back in the bar for a post match debrief and pint.
Now. That looks like I'm easy to please with pints, pies and tea. I spend approx £15 to £20 on an average matchday.
Whats your typical purchases are and how much you spend?
In addition, what percentage of what you spend should DRFC be getting?
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I would normally get a tea, hot chocolate, maybe a pie, maybe a bottle of pop and a programme.
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I would normally get a tea, hot chocolate, maybe a pie, maybe a bottle of pop and a programme.
So of that £10 or £12 your spending, how much do you think Rovers are getting?
It's not a trick question but I'm trying to gauge folks perception.
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About ten per cent of it.
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DBR until SM clarified I honestly thought that Rovers didn’t get anything from specific sales.
My match day spend about £15
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
I'd be surprised if the contract was that simple they are usually much more complex to suit both parties.
Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Quisling as usual? Wow. Someone posted exactly what I said earlier on in this thread - yet you attack me. I've seriously got under your skin for some bizarre reason?!
You call that an attack?
For somebody who starts most of his posts as a thinly disguised all out attack on the club I find that most hypocritical. Your post about the clubs social media policy, and your defence of the abuse levelled at the CEO as 'satire' is quite frankly a disturbing indication of the moral stance of those who do dish out the abuse.
I think you need to revisit your post and do a thorough edit of your position because its plainly obvious that your moral compass is off by a country mile.
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DBR until SM clarified I honestly thought that Rovers didn’t get anything from specific sales.
My match day spend about £15
Yes, not directly. I think many have an inflated view of what the football club makes out of it. Maybe this process of seeking new providers might shed more light on it and help us to weigh up the pros and cons.
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I like the idea of individual catering company’s taking over the current catering stands in the home stand. But I don’t think this will work for the away end when most home games there are only going to be a couple of hundred, if that, away fans.
COYR
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I heard current catering partner really struggled keeping afloat during lockdown. They've struggled to retain staff and been working with agency staff in recent weeks.
Contract with club means it's totally outsourced. They pay the club a set amount for the pitch and make what they can each matchday.
I'd be worried they might fold mid way through next season and then we have nothing on a matchday.
I'd be surprised if the contract was that simple they are usually much more complex to suit both parties.
Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Quisling as usual? Wow. Someone posted exactly what I said earlier on in this thread - yet you attack me. I've seriously got under your skin for some bizarre reason?!
You call that an attack?
For somebody who starts most of his posts as a thinly disguised all out attack on the club I find that most hypocritical. Your post about the clubs social media policy, and your defence of the abuse levelled at the CEO as 'satire' is quite frankly a disturbing indication of the moral stance of those who do dish out the abuse.
I think you need to revisit your post and do a thorough edit of your position because its plainly obvious that your moral compass is off by a country mile.
Yep I've obviously got under your skin somehow. No idea why. I've never gone out my way to say anything to you, or about you directly. I'd ask the moderators of this forum to confirm this. (They might want to have a quiet word with you as well in my opinion, and ask you to calm down!)
Quisling = traitor. That's what you think of me for occasionally questioning how things are being run with the club. I'd say that was an attack. A club I've supported since 1974.
The abuse you speak of was Gavin Baldwin having his image placed on a Netto logo. It is satire, whether you like it or not. I wasn't even defending it in that post. Read it back and tell me when I said I agreed with it.
The only one whose moral compass is askew is your own I'm afraid.
You've gone out of your way to call me out on here. You don't accept anyone who has a negative opinion of how things are being run with the club. People can disagree with me yes. I disagree with others on here too. But I do it in a civil manner. You do not! There appears to be nothing civil about you at all sir.
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Satire I believe is a way of criticising people in a humerous way.
In what way is the Netto brigade criticising GB in a humerous way with his face on a flag and constantly abusing him?
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Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Why are you like this on here SM when you're not like this IRL? You've derailed a reasoned discussion... why not just say, 'it's not that simple, it's actually like this', rather than call someone a name?
We don't all have your insight into how a football club is run. I'd have presumed a base level arrangement not that dissimilar to what Daniel posted tbh.
I've no ideal who Daniel is, but in the threads I've seen (presumably) him post on he's been nothing if not reasonable.
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Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Why are you like this on here SM when you're not like this IRL? You've derailed a reasoned discussion... why not just say, 'it's not that simple, it's actually like this', rather than call someone a name?
We don't all have your insight into how a football club is run. I'd have presumed a base level arrangement not that dissimilar to what Daniel posted tbh.
I've no ideal who Daniel is, but in the threads I've seen (presumably) him post on he's been nothing if not reasonable.
Nah sorry that's crap, only Daniel derailed the discussion with sniping. Have never met SM but I think he's probably taken enough shit on here to last 184 lifetimes hence some of his terse replies. I hope his sucessor doesn't post on here, fans have got way too used to information overload.
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The club could diversify into pre made microwave meals, something a bit higher end for those willing to pay more and pie and chips etc for smaller budgets.
Either have a lot of microwave’s around the food area , or create a self heating plastic tub that warms your meal up, at the touch of a button. Get the club crest on the boxes.
You could do takeout pizzas with the box with the club crest on. Pre order them before the match, pre pay that would cut down on queue’s for food.
Have a delivery service to seats for everything.
There is a profit there for the club they need to maximise everything they can.
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Under cooked burgers, fat poured down the terraces. A hotdog was a sausage in a bread roll. A hot drink that burns your mouth and it lasts a month.
It doesn’t seem important the food, but while you’re doing something why not be the best?.
Take me back to those days! Those were the best times
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The contracts up at the end of next season and won't be renewed.
The club are taking the time to work out what's best for it and supporters.
So if it’s next season that their contract runs out …THEY will still be serving the usual chaotic over priced dross this season then ?!
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Absolutely bfyp, it’s not that simple.
Old Daniel being a quisling as usual.
Why are you like this on here SM when you're not like this IRL? You've derailed a reasoned discussion... why not just say, 'it's not that simple, it's actually like this', rather than call someone a name?
We don't all have your insight into how a football club is run. I'd have presumed a base level arrangement not that dissimilar to what Daniel posted tbh.
I've no ideal who Daniel is, but in the threads I've seen (presumably) him post on he's been nothing if not reasonable.
Nah sorry that's crap, only Daniel derailed the discussion with sniping. Have never met SM but I think he's probably taken enough shit on here to last 184 lifetimes hence some of his terse replies. I hope his sucessor doesn't post on here, fans have got way too used to information overload.
I derailed the thread? Please see my earlier post. Then read that other fellas where he called me a traitor. Tell me where and when I started the sniping.
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The contracts up at the end of next season and won't be renewed.
The club are taking the time to work out what's best for it and supporters.
So if it’s next season that their contract runs out …THEY will still be serving the usual chaotic over priced dross this season then ?!
Won’t bother you you’re not going are you