They were literally awarded a surprise £5m windfall last week when Leicester won promotion. I can't believe nobody looked at that and thought "actually, why don't we take some of this unexpected money, and use it to offset against these price rises". Like they've seen the stick they get when the increases are 5-8%, and it's generally 50/50 between the pissed off and the supportive. The fact they held off on the announcement until after the season proves that they knew for a fact there would be heavy pushback. It just seems like the easiest thing in the world to do, and they could even spin it. "we were going to increase by x, but we're using this money that's come in and wasn't budgeted for to offset most of that".
Thick as fucking shit.
And for the sake of what, £3m? That makes no difference. It won't make the difference between signing a player or not. Or investing in infrastructure or maintenance of the stadium. Even over the course of three years, that £9m will not be the difference between a 'pass/fail' on PSR. It will achieve nothing. Nothing except making your customer base implacably angry at best, or lose - forever - a massive chunk of them at worst..
They've hung their hat on two things.
a - the historic renewal rate, despite an unjustified run of consecutive increases
b - the misplaced belief that members = season ticket waiting list.
Our renewal rate his historically mid 90s%, regardless of price increase and reduction in quality on the pitch and ambition off it. They believe that their customers love their club so much that there is nothing Fosun can (or won't) do that will change that. I believe we'll be looking at a renewal rate in the 70s this Summer. We'll never know, because they'll never publish an embarrassing figure like that. But we'll know. We'll know because of the pre-match drink groups that go from 12 to 8. We'll know because we'll see how many new faces there are around those of us that do renew. We'll know how far season ticket offers go down the 'waiting list'. We'll know because we'll read and hear of the heart break of fans who are forced to give something up that they've been part of for years. We'll know of the conversations that our friends have to have with their children, because unfortunately season tickets just aren't viable any more.
And we'll know that it was all so unnecessary. It didn't need to happen. It achieved nothing positive. It didn't help the club survive. It didn't make the club competitive. It didn't help us sign a player that would've been otherwise unattainable. It didn't make the difference between a points deduction or not.
Three million fucking pounds. "Ah, but it's repeat revenue", Jeff will think. "It's £3m a year, in perpetuity". Well, you fucking cretin. You want to know what else lasts forever? Absence. Once people stop going, they stop going forever. They might make a handful of games, especially if a mate lends them a season ticket or what have you, but you've lost that customer. They're still a fan, they're still a supporter, they still love the club and share the highs and lows and excitement and frustration. They're still a fan, and they know more about this football club, and care more about this football club than you ever will. Fuck, we probably spend more time a week thinking about this football than you do, and it's your full time fucking job.
We are still fans. But you've lost a customer forever. You've lost somebody that was happy to pay a thousand pounds a year on a ticket and a pint and a shirt, because you wanted an extra couple of hundred quid off them. You've not just lost them forever, you've lost their children too. You've literally alienated generations of customers, because you wanted to rinse the one that was spending a larger chunk of their disposable income than any other fans from any other time in history.
You've absolutely fucked this, Jeff Shi. I genuinely hope that renewal take up is around 50%. I hope the 'waiting list' tells you to fuck off. I hope you're forced to put season tickets on general sale - could there be a more embarrassing thing for a football club that's spent the last few years felating itself over its renewals and waiting lists? I hope that, come the first game of the season, there's fewer than 25,000 people in that stadium. I hope the atmosphere is poisonous, and there's a protest, and a walk out, and that you lose your job. I hope that whichever clueless Fosun drone that gets parachuted in replace you undoes this madness, partially refunds those that renewed, and reaches out to those that you have hurt with an offer enticing enough to get them back before it's too late. Because once you've lost the people of this City, you're absolutely fucked. That would do irreparable, permanent damage to this club, to the community.
Three million pounds. You absolute fucking weapon.
