Fans Forum: The good, the bad and the ugly

At the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Lincoln last night, fans gathered for the usual forum that takes place after the AGM. It was a typically well attended event, streamed live on Facebook for us all to watch.

I’ll clarify before we go any further, I didn’t go. I had tickets but unfortunately other engagements got in the way. Half way through I was glad I didn’t, because it meant I could turn off and concentrate on something else.

I’m a Lincoln fan, I was interested in the answers to the questions, but I have to say I’m not sure the traditional fan’s forum has as much place in the modern game as it did in the mid 1990s. I’m not sure they’re compulsive viewing if they’re held at times of positivity and success. After all, a fan’s forum is about putting pertinent questions to the board, often difficult ones that they can’t wriggle out of. The truth at Lincoln City is this: there are no difficult questions, not really.

I’m going to cover Sincil Bank later on today, but aside from the ground and the training ground I found the hour or so the board were grilled for very hard to watch. My issue, predominately, was repetition and questions being asked that have been asked a hundred times before. One chap asked a question about the ground, the board answered it and then three further questions, worded differently, tried to prise a different answer from the panel. Where is the value in that? Don’t get the answer you want? No worries, Bob is going to ask it again but slightly rephrased.

I’m sorry if I offend people here, but some of the questions really were from the Ladybird book of Fan’s Forums, were they not? How much is a season ticket going to be in six years? Is the food being reviewed (answer in the public domain for best part of six months)? Will provision be made for fans to watch friendlies at the training ground, you know, behind closed doors friendlies that usually take place at training grounds. I’m sure to those posing the questions there was value in them and nobody at the club would ever deride a fan for repeating himself, but for a large percentage of us it was like watching a rerun of all the worst bits of your favourite TV show. On repeat.

One guy asked if Liam could reveal the location of the new ground and, unless I’m mistaken, after confirming the western growth corridor, a chap asked if he could specify a post code. What does he want to do, send a bloody letter six years too early? I know where the ground is going to be, anyone who reads the paper or the internet knows. I don’t know what street it is on because it hasn’t actually been built, but this is information in the public domain. I thought many of the questions felt like those you see on Facebook pages asking when the club shop opens or when tickets go on sale, the answers were readily available elsewhere but we wanted the club to tell us personally.

I was surprised to hear the question about a CCTV camera been moved from a path leading away from the ground. Now, I understand that poor chap had a bad experience and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone at all, but is a fan’s forum with the board the best place to raise that concern? It is council property and something the club cannot wholly influence. to be fair to Liam he genuinely does care and I’ve no doubt he’ll take that up with the council, but a fan’s forum was neither the time nor the place. The fact the club were hearing about it for time was even worse. Nobody should be attacked and everyone should feel safe leaving the stadium, but last week a car almost hit me head on at Hainton on my way home, what are the club going to do about it?

Maybe I’m just a grouch, but it seemed some people were scouring for questions that didn’t need to be asked. I felt as if perhaps one or two people wanted to pick at scabs that weren’t there, look for problems that simply do not exist.

Given the level of questioning in the first bit, I turned off at ‘half time’ as I feared the worst. I’ve heard players were quizzed on why they celebrate in certain places or train in front of certain stands. It seems my choice was vindicated. I’m not a fan of a football manager being quizzed on social media about tactics, recruitment and the like. I very much enjoyed the debacle at Grimsby, but I wouldn’t want other club’s fans watching ours. Maybe I’m just a grouch, but it seemed some people were scouring for questions that didn’t need to be asked. I felt as if perhaps one or two people wanted to pick at scabs that weren’t there, look for problems that simply do not exist. Even after the comprehensive clarity on the ground move, some on social media are saying it is purely a financial decision. It isn’t! How many times do we have to hear it? It is a decision that is taking place on a variety of levels, taking into consideration multiple factors. Why does everything have to be smoke and mirrors? Why does there have to be some level of distrust, somewhere?

That’s covered the bad and the ugly, now onto the good. Look, I know Liam Scully, you lot know I do. We chat on occasion and I’m involved in the working party looking to form a Supporter’s Board, but I’m not biased. Liam handles himself superbly, he answers questions honestly and he isn’t just delivering rhetoric for fans to digest. That talk about fan experiences and retaining the integrity of the club, it isn’t just words at all. I’ve seen him ‘in action’ so to speak, I’ve been privy to discussions in which he hasn’t just talked the talk, but he’s walked it too. I know from responses that he impressed last night, again, and believe me he will continue to do so. Liam is humble and incredibly respectful of Lincoln City and the journey we’re on and I firmly believe he will move heaven and earth to ensure we progress off the field at the same rate we progress on it.

I saw some criticism last night of the references to Doncaster Rovers, something I find bizarre. Apparently we’ve brought in some staff from Doncaster and we’re looking at their model as a good example of things being done correctly. Why is that an issue? The club are very firm in their claims that our model must be a fit for our club, not simply lifted from another, but if it has worked elsewhere we’d be mad not to look at it and learn from it. I used to manage a Howdens depot and every so often we’d go to another depot and look to implement ideas we’d seen before. I spent some time working at Cambridge Coldhams Lane depot, a brilliant place that made ridiculous amounts of money. When I took over in Louth, I tried to bring that blueprint with me, tweaking it where necessary. Why would you not do that?

I do feel as if I missed out a little by turning off early last night, especially after many of you expected I might tweet live or do some sort of running commentary, but I just wasn’t feeling it I’m afraid. That isn’t being critical of the club, the more accessible they are to fans the better, but for my needs as a fan there are better ways to communicate than listen to the same question phrased differently four times. For me, a fans forum is where board members are held to account, where grievances are aired and where dirty washing gets hung out to dry. All our washing is clean, the only grievance I have is our success is costing me more money in away trips and the board members are accountable for a sizeable change in fortunes both on and off the field.

Now, can anyone tell me if the club intend to subsidise the Wembley tickets for all the fans who have paid money to watch them this season? The 25,000 fans we get at Sincil Bank every week really do deserve some money off the non-negotiable price set by the EFL, don’t they?

EXTRA: After publishing I’m told the first question from the floor to the playing staff accused Lee Frecklington and Josh Vickers of being crocks. I rest my case.