Interview with Ian Kyle - BBC Merseyside

[cavjj]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dmpxq8

[PortDan1121]

I am keen to know how others felt about this because I dunno myself what to make of it. So I will try to respond as clearly and as openly as I can:

I'm a bit confused as to what direction this club is going really and what its aims are. I think a bit of clarity for the fans would go down well with what the goal is. Do we want to get into the league above? I am convinced we just don't want to.

I do feel like he's trying to cover himself. It's pretty evident they have sold someone to me. He mentioned Hmami but I'm not sure it's him but I could be wrong.

"The fans have come back but the sponsors haven't" - This is true yes. But we could easily get more fans if we made the club more attractive. Think of how many people live in Southport and we only get 1% at home games - Are you telling me the other 99% of people in Southport don't care about football? Especially during the world cup when there is no EPL or Championship - like I do think we may have missed an open goal. Those people may have come once, got a bite for it, and decided to come again and again. We need to advertise and market games properly. Especially around the town and do things like ticket offers. Then when the club has a bigger presence and more sponsors will want to get involved. You never know you might even get a new investor on the board.

The vibe I got from that interview was that the sponsors mean more to this club than the fans. I'd love to be wrong and I sincerely hope that's not the truth but that's the feeling I got. Non-league football clubs should have a community feel to them, maybe not so much in the league above but definitely in this league. I feel this club has a target market of corporate and businesses that will spend more money, but are rarer and harder to attract than a standard matchday football fan that will go, stand on the terrace, and have an ale.

I will always be there to support the team no matter what as I think we've got a cracking squad. I love going away with Southport, and the whole day out vibe. I just feel sometimes simple things off the pitch let us down at times.

[DanHayes]

Alarm bells ringing for me.
If you're banking on player sales to plug budgetary holes then your model isn't working.
We need new ideas on the board just as much as we need money.

[Port on the Kent]

Ian isn't daft, he has clearly used this broadcast slot to advertise the sponsorship and hospitality opportunities to potential corporate listeners. I wouldn't take it personally.

It is noticable how that side has suffered; prior to Covid you could bank on the posh seats being filled it was the empty gaps in the rest of the stand that were the problem. Now we have decent numbers of bums on seats with sparse looking hospitality seats.

For me, the sponsorship offer needs to centre around the experience rather than return on investment. Non League clubs are pissing in the wind if they think there is a tangible ROI from sponsorship. How many extra sales is a double glazing firm going to get from sponsoring the matchball or even having a perimeter board? The answer is nil or close to nil. From a profit maximisation perspective sponsoring non-league football clubs just doesn't make sense.

Where our strategy should be focused is on treating hospitality and sponsorship as corporate away days and events. Most medium sized businesses have a budget for team building, development, staff morale under different guises. We should be targettng this market and saying to businesses rather than twatting around on the marina trying to build a raft, come and have an afternoon at the football. Sell it as team bonding, provide a stadium tour. Go hard on the corporate parties, tell them that rather than booking out the bowling alley come to the game and have a drink... throw a round in.

Selling this product isn't easy in the current market but there's more to be gained offering it as an 'experience day,' rather than pretending firms are going to actually make money out of it.

[yellow blue]

i think that not allowing free drinks when you sponser a game has had some effect on numbers

[Churchtown Yellow]

“Free drinks” for sponsors aren’t free for the club though - it’s lost revenue. I’m sure they could make it a free bar again, but they’d have to up the price of sponsorship, which seems a bit counter-intuitive if we’re struggling for sponsors as it is.

Having been invited recently by a sponsor, the experience in there is very good.

I think Steve Dewsnip is doing a very good job in what are difficult times.

[Liamisdoingagreatjob]

I think we are kidding ourselves if we think corporate sponsorship is key to success. There are simply not enough corporates in the town. The location of HA is slso not good for that.

The answer to me has to be community focused and like it or not plastic pitch to bring in regular revenue and involve more people around the club.

[Swedes]

We're also kidding ourselves if we think offering "free" drinks will improve corporate input. That offer was great for fans fancying an upgraded match experience years ago, but now you can get a pint on the terraces without having to endure Mavis' thinly sliced roast beef and a mound of frozen sweetcorn it's not as appealing. For businesses, it might be best asking then what they're looking for from sponsorship, as what we can offer might not be able to match it.

[DannyJohnston]

I'm a bit confused as to what direction this club is going really and what its aims are. I think a bit of clarity for the fans would go down well with what the goal is. Do we want to get into the league above? I am convinced we just don't want to.

Ian has told me first hand that we don’t have enough money to be in the league above, too me that says more than enough about the clubs model, and his ambition. He mentioned that we are looking for investors but no one in Southport wants to invest, I highly doubt that - but if that is the case, are we looking further afield for investors, if not, why not?

Change needs to happen and it needs to happen soon, I see Southport Football Club mentioned online very little. That needs to change, we need to advertise the club a lot more, whether that is to get fans through the turnstiles or sponsors on board.

[Ralphy Rylance]

Whatever happened to Anthony Evans joining the board. We were last told it was put on hold due to illness.

[Ralphy Rylance]

I see Southport Football Club mentioned online very little. That needs to change, we need to advertise the club a lot more

I see us advertised plenty on local social media. Where are you expecting to see us online where you currently don't see us?

[David_1276]

Whatever happened to Anthony Evans joining the board. We were last told it was put on hold due to illness.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it had something to do with massively over promising and under delivering at Stockport. He had big ideas, but largely failed and sent the club spiralling into near bankruptcy. I imagine the plan was just to have him as an investor and not as a board member full-time anyway, as although he (potentially) had a decent amount of financial leverage- digging up his past investments and time with Stockport, where he was universally hated (and has done an interview apologising for), most likely mean he wouldn't be the right man to have anywhere near the running of the club.

[Roday1878]

I'm a bit confused as to what direction this club is going really and what its aims are. I think a bit of clarity for the fans would go down well with what the goal is. Do we want to get into the league above? I am convinced we just don't want to.

Ian has told me first hand that we don’t have enough money to be in the league above, too me that says more than enough about the clubs model, and his ambition. He mentioned that we are looking for investors but no one in Southport wants to invest, I highly doubt that - but if that is the case, are we looking further afield for investors, if not, why not?

Change needs to happen and it needs to happen soon, I see Southport Football Club mentioned online very little. That needs to change, we need to advertise the club a lot more, whether that is to get fans through the turnstiles or sponsors on board.

If they are looking, and I am sure they have looked further afield. What harm would a post online do stating that they are seeking investment or to sell the Football Club.

Advertisement and in comparison to the likes of Chester, and other NLN clubs in terms of social media quality is far from being on par, however this is not a grudge as I know it is run by volunteers, but what harm would it do to invest in this area like other clubs have by employing a communications / marketing person that in turn will see an increase in advertisement, ticket sales etc. - As it stands you can tell it is run by volunteers who struggle to have the time to commit to this and knowledge/time to produce content likes of Chester, again not a grudge, but you can tell that they don’t. I would like to see invest in this area.

[Alan Spences Pupil]

I do think & have felt for a while the present set up does not want to play at a higher level, the Manager would be out of his depth there anyway, there is a glaring need for a midfield general & a proper goal scorer, neither of which seems imminent now Carver has gone. I am told there is no money in the club someone quoted me we had brought in something like £50k inc the sale of Charles, Samson, Morgan not what was quoted at the time. If that is what is on the table & that's the future of this club we are in trouble without further investment, perhaps Northern Premier League is the level, if so why not say outright so we know where we stand.

[Stratford Excile]

Interesting comments because you never hear anyone from the club talking about the future goals of the club.

You never hear about the desire to get out of this league and where we would like to be in say 5 years time.

In reality isn't it any wonder that the Southport public are not motivated to attend Haig Avenue matches in greater numbers.

We seem to be stuck in the realms of mediocrity and that really is our future.

How will we attract further investment into the club when the future goals and ambitions are not laid out?

[Redrobe fan]

Interesting comments because you never hear anyone from the club talking about the future goals of the club.

You never hear about the desire to get out of this league

IIRC Mr Kyle does talk about the play offs.

When CC used to frequently talk about promotion and five year plans, people used to take the piss.

[loyal jay]

Interesting comments because you never hear anyone from the club talking about the future goals of the club.

You never hear about the desire to get out of this league

IIRC Mr Kyle does talk about the play offs.

When CC used to frequently talk about promotion and five year plans, people used to take the piss.

Silk purse out of a sow's ear comes to mind. The ground was showing it's age, 3 managers a season, 50+ players used - reality could never match his aspiration. A plan needs to be realistic, small steps each season but collectively they achieve a greater objective. As it stands, we could not compete at a higher level.

[Ralphy Rylance]

Whatever happened to Anthony Evans joining the board. We were last told it was put on hold due to illness.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it had something to do with massively over promising and under delivering at Stockport. He had big ideas, but largely failed and sent the club spiralling into near bankruptcy. I imagine the plan was just to have him as an investor and not as a board member full-time anyway, as although he (potentially) had a decent amount of financial leverage- digging up his past investments and time with Stockport, where he was universally hated (and has done an interview apologising for), most likely mean he wouldn't be the right man to have anywhere near the running of the club.

Surely any misgivings about his time at Stockport were evident before we announced he was joining the board though.

[David_1276]

Whatever happened to Anthony Evans joining the board. We were last told it was put on hold due to illness.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it had something to do with massively over promising and under delivering at Stockport. He had big ideas, but largely failed and sent the club spiralling into near bankruptcy. I imagine the plan was just to have him as an investor and not as a board member full-time anyway, as although he (potentially) had a decent amount of financial leverage- digging up his past investments and time with Stockport, where he was universally hated (and has done an interview apologising for), most likely mean he wouldn't be the right man to have anywhere near the running of the club.

Surely any misgivings about his time at Stockport were evident before we announced he was joining the board though.

You'd imagine so, however his joining of the board was subject to a vetting process as well IIRC- something which he almost certainly would've failed. It would be interesting if Rob could ask IK about the situation next time he does an interview, to see exactly the reason why Evans didn't make the cut.

Given how desperate we are for investment though, the board would be forgiven for jumping at the chance to have a businessman with the supposed financial backing of Evans (and being able to give the fans something to get excited about after a quiet few years), without giving a great deal of thought to his background.

[Ralphy Rylance]

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it had something to do with massively over promising and under delivering at Stockport. He had big ideas, but largely failed and sent the club spiralling into near bankruptcy. I imagine the plan was just to have him as an investor and not as a board member full-time anyway, as although he (potentially) had a decent amount of financial leverage- digging up his past investments and time with Stockport, where he was universally hated (and has done an interview apologising for), most likely mean he wouldn't be the right man to have anywhere near the running of the club.

Surely any misgivings about his time at Stockport were evident before we announced he was joining the board though.

You'd imagine so, however his joining of the board was subject to a vetting process as well IIRC- something which he almost certainly would've failed. It would be interesting if Rob could ask IK about the situation next time he does an interview, to see exactly the reason why Evans didn't make the cut.

Given how desperate we are for investment though, the board would be forgiven for jumping at the chance to have a businessman with the supposed financial backing of Evans (and being able to give the fans something to get excited about after a quiet few years), without giving a great deal of thought to his background.

I really don't think we'd be so tinpot as to announce an addition to the board before any vetting took place. One can only assume the subsequent delay due to illness was genuine rather than a smokescreen, but yes the question ought to be asked and answered.