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wexfordseagull
05/04/2007, 10:01 PM
is anyone interested in starting a supporters club,helping to raise money through golden goals,sales of merchandise ,running buses etc,it would be good if we could and put a plan to the club so they would give it there offical blessing

Thunder-WYFC
05/04/2007, 11:05 PM
I'm in!

wexfordseagull
06/04/2007, 7:40 PM
good on ya fella,but we need a few more!

Tazskool
06/04/2007, 8:33 PM
I'd really like to but living in England has its disadvantages :(

steno
06/04/2007, 10:21 PM
Shouldn't stop you from joining or setting up a UK branch:eek: . I'm sure they would accept postal applications;) .

Best of luck with it lads and ladies!

Tazskool
06/04/2007, 11:36 PM
It wouldnt!! I also have sent an email to the PR dept asking when kits will go on sale so I can buy one and get it sent to me :)

Wexford Youths FC International Department! ;)

brokenstar
07/04/2007, 10:51 AM
count me in lads! i live in Dublin but am home every other weekend. so anything i can do to help out, count me in!

passinginterest
11/04/2007, 11:12 AM
I'd certainly join any supporters club. I'm based in Dublin and not home often but I'd be interested in being involved in some capacity anyway.

On another related note, I was reading the posts about the Wexford Youths wikipedia page which points out our massive car park. Obviously this is needed given the location of the ground and the fact it would be a long walk form Wexford town.

It just made me think that maybe a shuttle bus service could be organised from the town to the ground. There is plenty of parking around Redmond square so maybe run a few shuttle buses from there to the ground? I think this would be useful for away supporters who want to visit the town and attend the match. Also useful for home supporters who don't drive or who just don't want to spend 45 minutes trying to get out of the car park at every game.

Make the charge for the bus €3 and everyone gets a programme?

Could be an idea for the supporters club to look at if it gets off the ground? Maybe a local bus company would provide the service for free or discounted in exchange for advertising in the programme or at the games?

Tazskool
11/04/2007, 11:44 AM
I have it on good authority that the PR guy at Wexford Youths is very interested in talking to you all about setting up an Official Supporters club..

I would suggest making out some sort of plan between us all and putting it to him. One of you are best putting it to him rather than myself cause I am not actually there but would still like to join :)

So ideas on what the Supports Club can do to help the club....

Golden Goals..
Organise Bus for fans on away days. (find a reliable bus company and get quotes on how much it is to each ground) just to show you are doing some honework into it all
Maybe write a small section in the match day programmes about your recent match youve seen..
Banners/Flags
Promotion of the club and bringing in new members
Setting up of a Kids section of the supporters club whereby they get a meet the mascot (whe we have one)
Designing of sew on badges to go on our kits with "Official WYFC Supporters Club Member" on it
Newsletter

Also having a spokesperson for the Supporters Club to communicate with the Admin of the Club to keep everyone walking the same direction and moving forward!!

Most of all I think that ALL members have to set an example to other fans, home and away, or dignity and keeping language to an acceptable level as we dont want to be seen as the "yobs who shout abuse".
Passion and pride can be displayed without resorting to swearing :)

Just throwing in some ideas...

I have the email of the PR guy for when we can get something abit more solid down to approach him with... :)

GO YOUTHS!!!

wexfordseagull
12/04/2007, 9:39 PM
can you get me a phone number and name so we can set up a meet

Tazskool
12/04/2007, 10:09 PM
He has said he wants it all structured down on paper first...which I can understand cause he does not really want loads of ppl all contacting him about the same issue throwing ideas at him..

I've build up a good reputation with him over the past month and he is a very professional person in his ways he does things.

Also I only have his email address lol..

YellowbellyRed
12/04/2007, 10:48 PM
Lads sounds like a good plan. Particularly like the bus plan. It would probably help get a little bit of singing at the game going if a bus could be arranged to leave <insert suitable pub name> 30 min before kickoff and return soon after the game. Might need a flexible pub landlord mind..Somewhere like the back lounge at the Gaelic Bar(as was) might be a good starting point. Anyway all a pipedream for me stuck down in smelly Cork. Looking forward to visit to Cobh, hope to see some of you there

brokenstar
12/04/2007, 11:02 PM
He has said he wants it all structured down on paper first...which I can understand cause he does not really want loads of ppl all contacting him about the same issue throwing ideas at him..

Understandable Taz. Heard about a few lads in one of the pubs in town wanting to set up an unofficial supporters club but it all went t*ts up 'cos they didn't know which way or what way to go. If it's to be official, we need to sort this out as a blueprint first, then find some way forward through the club itself. It's the only way to go. Amongst us on this forum, this thread should take priority lads!! :D

Thunder-WYFC
12/04/2007, 11:11 PM
So whos gonna take responsability for drawing up some kind of plan,I could help out alot but wouldnt be the best at setting the thing up.Are we gonna set us a dealine for a plan.

Taz what does he want?

Thunder-WYFC
12/04/2007, 11:22 PM
Also my flag should be on display for the Kilkenny game!

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l100/thunderwex/dscn03062.jpg

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 9:18 AM
Like I have said a few posts ago... a proper drawn up "business plan" kind of thing would be the best way to go...

A sense of realism is also needed as we cant go to him and say we want to do this ..this and this all in a few weeks.. and look fools..

------
So ideas on what the Supports Club can do to help the club....

Golden Goals..
Organise Bus for fans on away days. (find a reliable bus company and get quotes on how much it is to each ground) just to show you are doing some homework into it all
Maybe write a small section in the match day programmes about your recent match youve seen..
Banners/Flags
Promotion of the club and bringing in new members
Setting up of a Kids section of the supporters club whereby they get a meet the mascot (when we have one).
Designing of sew on badges to go on our kits with "Official WYFC Supporters Club Member" on it
Newsletter to let fans know of times for leaving for away games and where the coach will be stopping on the way!!
----------------

We need to show him that is will be open to EVERYONE irrespect of age and so forth. Something that everyone will like in the supporters club and most of all something to keep the youth of the supporters club with teh club for years to come!

It will be hard work for whoever decided to approach the club and run with the idea as they will have to do the hard work of organising everything till more get on board AND they will have to get more people on board.

Do you charge for the supporters club to cover costs? If you do then you need to make sure you have someone who is good and can budget properly and not flutter it all away. Also how much..?

I say we use this thread to discuss it all and really put something decent down and then approach him. He is not expecting us to meet with him instantly. Also I have said we will put something solid down and organised to show we do mean what we say and get this up and running.

If we go about this half arsed then Mick and WYFC Admin will not take any of us seriously....

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 10:00 AM
I think the biggest problem we face at the moment is that the majority of us on this forum are based outside of Wexford. For this to be truly successful we need to find a representative based in Wexford who can work closely with the club, and is in a position to handle finances, organise buses etc...

Ideally this would be somebody who is known and respected within the wider community (even just as a figure head with others in the background doing the majority of the work).

I've spent the last four years living in Dublin so many of my contacts in Wexford have been lost, so really we're talking about lads (or ladies) who are home a lot getting in contact with friends, families and community leaders and trying to get things moving.

I'm more than happy to help out with issues like setting up a code of coduct/charter for the supporters club. My degree is in English, Media and Cultural Studies so the writing up and wording of things should be where I'm best set to help out.

I'd love to see this organised properly and get off the ground so good luck to everyone.

Oh and Thunder - I think your flag should say Wexford Youths FC not Wexford Youth FC which it looks like at the moment! Just a little thing.

brokenstar
13/04/2007, 10:59 AM
Yeah, i'm kinda in the same boat as passinginterest here. Been living in Dublin for the past couple of years and am only home every second or third weekend and holidays really. But, likewise, if there's anything I can do to help out at all, I'd be more than happy.

This could be a great project lads, and imagine, our names could be written in the history books of Wexford Youths in years to come when we're topping the premier league :D :p

Thunder-WYFC
13/04/2007, 11:27 AM
Oh and Thunder - I think your flag should say Wexford Youths FC not Wexford Youth FC which it looks like at the moment! Just a little thing.

It does,I just forgot to highlight the s

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 11:30 AM
This could be a great project lads, and imagine, our names could be written in the history books of Wexford Youths in years to come when we're topping the premier league :D :p

Don't forget winning the Champions League, it's in Mick Wallace's five year plan ;)

G-Man
13/04/2007, 11:43 AM
Its a good idea alright lads. I also think a dedicated WYFC forum linked to the official page would be a good idea too.

Maybe a simple official supporters club membership cert on applying would be agood thing. Cost shouldnt be much, but see what we could get form the club for being a member (ie discounts on jerseys, monthly newsletters etc). To become a supporters club member, there has to be an incentive to join, it has to be attractive or people wouldnt bother. I think the mascot is a good idea to get the name of the supporters club out there, ie have an article in the standard/people/echo and get people to enter competetions to have their son/daughter as a mascot and run it through the supporters club. An end of year players award form the supporters club.

There is lots of ideas that can be done, its just a matter of getting them all down preoperly on paper and finding someone with the time and capability of doing it.

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 11:53 AM
It might be worthwhile getting in contact with some of the lads on the Limerick 37 forum too. Lots of them are involved in their supporters club. They could give some ideas on membership fees/benefits/service provided. Also potential costs and pitfalls involved.

I think supporters club player of the year is a requirement.
Mascot sponsored by supporters club.
Bus/buses to away games.
Membership certificate, regular newsletter, competitions to win match tickets/seson tickets/merchandise.
Season ticket discount for club members.
Club shop discount? (obviously there would have to be a club shop first, same goes for season tickets)
Bus from Wex town (maybe Gorey, Ross, Enniscorthy too) for home games players are from all areas so supporters should be too.
Most of these ideas would have to be very much officially linked to the club.

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 11:56 AM
Another primary concern has to be that the supporters club only spends what it brings in or can get in sponsorship.

Worst case scenario is that a small number of people become heavily involved, do all the work, and put their own money into hiring buses and the like. The whole thing goes bust as people lose interest and the same small few people lose money and become disillusioned by the whole thing.

Thunder-WYFC
13/04/2007, 11:59 AM
Get in contact with Philly on the KCFC forum on this.

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 12:53 PM
Someone has contacted the PR guy.. please if you are off here wait till we got something more concreate!!!

I want this to succeed more than anyone and I want it done right!!

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 1:25 PM
Taz i can understand you being annoyed but thousands of people have attended the games so far, about ten of us post regularly on this site and have been discussing the supporters club.

It's highly possible that whoever made the enquiry to the club has never heard of foot.ie or of what we are hoping to achieve. If it was one of the lads that post here then I agree it's a bit out of order alright, but there may be a valid explanation. (It wasn't me anyway!)

As foot.ie seems to be the best resource for discussing this at the moment is there anyone going to the next home game for definite? It might be an idea to print a few hundred flyers outlining our ideas for an official supporters club and directing people to this forum? Also maybe ask the webmaster to put a little story on the website and direct anyone interested to this forum?

brokenstar
13/04/2007, 1:41 PM
Yeah, there could be people from town contacting the club, so let's not lose the head. As I said, I've heard that some of the lads in Shooters were tinkering with the idea too, so there could be more around like that.

Passinginterest, that's a bloody good idea mate! I'm won't know if i'm def going till next week sometime, but if anyone could do that it'd be great. The club might, just might have some objections about flyers but the website thing is a very workable idea

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 1:43 PM
Even if flyers is a no go maybe just ask them to make a couple of announcements on the tannoy, before the game and at half time?

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 1:44 PM
Sorry lads.. just dont want our idea shot down thats all.. *deep breathe.. all calm now*

ForzaWexford
13/04/2007, 1:50 PM
Wasn't me! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94CsIla4UkM)


There is lots of ideas that can be done, its just a matter of getting them all down preoperly on paper and finding someone with the time and capability of doing it.

I agree. As passinginterest said flyers would be a good way to spread the word as such.

brokenstar
13/04/2007, 1:55 PM
Or a little paragraph in the matchday program? If this is possible? Everyone buys one, most people throw away flyers to be fair.

wexfordseagull
13/04/2007, 1:55 PM
it is important to know what the club want as well if we do not talk to them to find out where they want this to go then we would look foolish coming with ideas that are not in there plan.and by the way it was me who e mailed them for this very reason

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 1:57 PM
it is important to know what the club want as well if we do not talk to them to find out where they want this to go then we would look foolish coming with ideas that are not in there plan.and by the way it was me who e mailed them for this very reason

You need to have a chat with Taz :eek:

He may want to spank you :D

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 1:59 PM
Taz - I know you've been in direct contact with the club already, so maybe to avoid confusion and people contacting them asking the same questions maybe you could post any feedback from them here.

Same goes for Wexfordseagull.

Countyman
13/04/2007, 2:04 PM
Have a think about being "officially" linked with the club or being independant. There are pros and cons of doing both.
The Supporters Trust idea ala Dundalk and Galway is a good avenue too.
Best of luck with it.

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 2:07 PM
I have spoken to the PR Guy and have agreed that we here will put forth a concreate plan he can approach the club with.. and he has agreed the same is the best way forth.

Please please please.... can we all agree and get something down SECURE on here and then nominate someone to do this who can see all this through and make it a success!

On another note...

I have emailed a few coach companies and hopefully they will get back to me on pricing and so forth.

Now... we need a few more quotes on producing a simple "Supporters Club" newsletter. 1 page back and front..nothing special..
Of course any companies who do help the SC will get sponsorship on it!!
and looking to print about 1,000 per match to hand out at all games.. and email all memebers with their copy. (cutting down on costs)
This way members do not need to pick up a lefleat at the ground :)

Ticket/Merchandise discounting.. 5% sounds about fair?

Supporters Club Memebership: A yearly fee, one price for adults(over 12's) and 1 for Under 12's...

wexfordseagull
13/04/2007, 2:08 PM
thats why i want to talk to them to put it onto an open forum to see who's really interested and committed to put in the time to make this a long term success for all parties.

ForzaWexford
13/04/2007, 2:13 PM
Actually lads you're right about the program, having a paragraph/article in it would probably be just as effective as handing out flyers. And also a lot easier to organise. I think Taz should email the club and ask about it.

If they're keen on the idea aswell all that has to be done is drafting out a short article. Could I suggest that anything which is to appear in the programme be posted here in advance, so we can all agree on it's content? Or at least have the opportunity to have some input into the whole thing.

Once something is put "out" there there'll surely be a few more people interested in setting up a SC, and then we can actually go about doing what Taz has outlined in his posts.

passinginterest
13/04/2007, 2:15 PM
wexfordseagull - am I right in thinking you're based in Wexford?

If so maybe you and Taz should exchange personal email's and start working together on this? Obviously if you're in Wexford you're the ideal person to bring all of our ideas directly to the club, and to measure the amount of local interest.

wexfordseagull
13/04/2007, 2:29 PM
am based in wexford,would welcome any contact that will help this forward

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 2:34 PM
That's fine... but we do need to keep things in here atm till we have a direction and gathered some more info.

I have been emailed back by a bus company and will get reading the email, from them, tonite. Hopefully its good news :)

brokenstar
13/04/2007, 4:40 PM
The whole discount on merchandise/tickets would be a masterstroke to be honest. If we could get that included, it alone would draw a fair size membership i'd say

Tazskool
13/04/2007, 4:51 PM
I will get onto laying out a rough newsletter in the next few days...just with header and some areas for content and averts for the companies who have helped us do everything...

When I get all this together I will pass it on to wexfordseagull and write a full explanation down so he can follow my trian of thought on it.

got any more ideas on what we can do as a Supporters Club?

Thunder-WYFC
13/04/2007, 5:18 PM
Get our own banner made.Think most SC have em.

Tis-smeee
15/04/2007, 12:40 PM
Lads im heavily involved in the waterford one, if ye wanna talk to me give me a pm and well work something out

Tazskool
15/04/2007, 2:06 PM
I am awaiting a email back with quotes to take 1 bus to each away game... hopefully I will get this Monday/Tuesday..

Thunder-WYFC
15/04/2007, 2:20 PM
I think the most important thing atm is getting to away games and making abit of noise.

Tazskool
17/04/2007, 8:50 AM
I've had 1 quote back so far.. 50 seater coach will cost 500 Euros for any location among the first division clubs.. 10 euros per person...

Hows that sound? Cause I have no idea since I dont deal in euros or know the rates of such things.

passinginterest
17/04/2007, 9:42 AM
Sounds Ok Taz but I think getting 50 people might be a struggle for most matches.

I think away travel, in the early days at least, should only be organised for big games where numbers are guaranteed.

I thing te easiest and most important thing to establish first is a presence at home games. A core of supporters that stand together every week. THis will attract interest and encourage people to join and eventually the numbers will be there for away transport.

Tazskool
17/04/2007, 10:51 AM
I know but atleast we know what sort of ball park figure we are looking at for a coach to away games.

Like I have said in the pm.. a plan and focus and then approach the club is my thoughts on the matter...

Mick seems very big on community kind of things and I do think with a structure he'd jump at the chance to help out and support it...
On the first approach maybe asking if we can leaflet the crowd with the idea of setting the S/Club up and "we will be sitting here.. please join us and make noise" and an email addy for them to contact if they need more info and so forth...

I do think we have a good basis here right now as far as ideas and a plan forth... just getting the actual movement done!

Coaches yes maybe for the 2nd half of the season would be the earliest to being hopeful.

EDIT: After thought.... On the leaflet have a few tick boxes to see who'd be up for travelling to away matches on subsidised coaches and so forth.. just to get a generalised view of everyone who fills it in.. Im not talking 20 questions :P