Fulham Supporters' Trust

Report from the Fans Forum at Motspur Park on 28 March 2007
Fulham Supporters' Trust, Vice Chair, Jackie Morgan, was lucky enough to get drawn out of the hat to be invited along to the latest Fulham FC Fans Forum and her report is as follows:

"Please be aware that these Forums tend to take the form of the Club listening to fans and seeing where this affects future decisions they may take.

The club was represented at the Forum by staff from the Sales & Marketing and Communications Departments and there were eight fans in attendance. Although hardly a large sample, they were as representative as they could be in that small number, ranging in ages from 16-60+. At least I was armed with feedback from Trust members who responded to our email appeal for views.

Please be advised that, now we have had this meeting, we will be following up with the club on the issues raised and responses given. We believe there is no point holding these meetings if nothing changes or is seen to be being done.

First thoughts were that the club seemed genuinely interested in the fans thoughts on their 'Match Day experience'. Issues that were raised, either by the club or the fans, were:-

The club would look at whether a designated area could be found for next season where a Fulham 'choir', accompanied by a drummer(s), could be sited.
Feedback on the varying degree of competence by the match day stewards was discussed and instances given to the Club. The Club confirmed they will look at their training programme for stewards for next season.
The issue of away fans standing was raised and, although sympathetic to our views, the Club stated that they are somewhat tied by the current FA premier League reporting procedures which they have to follow regarding incidents of non-compliance by away fans to the relevant regulations.
The attitude of away stewards towards Fulham fans was also raised. If anyone has instances of mistreatment by stewards at either home or away fixtures, we would urge you to feed them into the Club, ideally with a copy to the Trust.
If you wish to do so anonymously, please forward your comments to the Trust and we will submit them on your behalf.
The PA system in the Johnny Haynes stand is on the Club's maintenance schedule for the summer - no more asking who the hell is playing or what the Fulham Flutter numbers were (well we and they hope so anyway!).
The highly sensitive issue of whether the Putney End should be used for home fans in the future was raised, interestingly by the fans, not the club. No view was expressed by the club, but your views would be welcome so we can pass them back to the club.
The only refurbishment work on the table for this year is the upgrade to the Hammersmith End (further details on the refurbishments to be sent out later this week to Trust members), some minor finishing off around other areas of the ground (i.e., logos on the ends of stands, etc.) and an upgrade to the electronic equipment. No plans have been submitted for the Riverside Stand.
The club recognise that ticket touting is an issue and potential use of new technology, and the new legislation which is going through, will help to stamp it out. (They are looking at possible IT solutions, but are not sure what's on the market, so this might come to nothing).
The club will consider putting the words of songs/chants in the programmes which it was felt would help get the kids involved with singing along.
Catering appeared to have general support - apart from over-priced burgers. The upgrade to the Hammersmith End would help the ambience there but poor old Johnny Haynes Stand fans will have to suffer a while longer with the poor layout in there.
The general consensus was that the kids' penalty shoot outs were the best kind of half time entertainment. The idea was raised of having kids run on the pitch with the flags of all the nationalities of our players before games.
It was generally agreed that we need an anthem - though no agreement on what that could be. All ideas will be considered - so if you have any, please feed them in?
The club acknowledged the fans' frustration over the unavailability of replica kits at the start of the season and have taken steps to ensure this wouldn't happen again. More info on this will be announced by the Club shortly.
Details on the cost of next season's Season Tickets and packages should be out shortly and the club are hoping to be quite creative, especially with away ticket packages to try and increase our dismal away support.
While acknowledging the difficulty the Club has when Sky decide to switch away games to highly unhelpful times (Everton away on Good Friday a prime example which was tabled), they would endeavour to consider fans needs when agreeing to switches in future. However, due to the financial hold the likes of Sky have over Clubs with regard to date and times of televised fixtures and the sizeable sums involved, it is difficult for many Clubs to object to inconvenient fixtures being imposed on them. Fulham do go some way to help away fans with the subsidised coach travel and the Club are to look into improving the logistics of travel arrangements for away fans. Various ideas were mooted to assist away fans regarding improving coach travel, greater range of pick up and drop off points, subsidised or free travel, group discounts on trains and planes, car parking to be allowed in with the coaches and a possible 'mentor' system to give junior season ticket holders independent access to away games, etc., and the Club have undertaken to look into many of these suggestions.
If you have any ideas or suggestions to help away support please send them in, however wacky they may seem? All suggestions will be considered for next season. Again you can comment directly to the Club or via the Trust.
A permanent memorial to Johnny Haynes is on the table which the Club, Fulham Supporters' Trust, FSC and other interested parties have been working on to make a reality. It is hoped that an announcement will be made soon and we will keep you informed.

That's a summary of what was discussed on the night - the club will be mulling everything over and are due to consult fans again, so look out for their survey. However, any Trust member can send their views to us so we can feed them in.

The club has promised to conduct Fans Forums on a regular basis as they recognise that these sessions can complement faceless surveys. However as numbers will be limited, make sure you have your say by letting us know your views and we'll try and ensure the Trust gets its own invitation to future Forums.

This one lasted for just over two hours - longer than anticipated - but at least I only had to endure 15 minutes of Andorra vs. England on my car radio on the way home!" .

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