A terrible idea from BFC.

WIZARD OF TANGERINE

WIZARD OF TANGERINE

Well-known member
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
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Factually wrong this is a three way initiative between Club, BST and the Community Trust who already do a lot of work in local schools.

They as a collective have decided to give the shirts out and well done them. 👏👏👏
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
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Well good morning to you, what a delight to read this , your miserable sod!
The club are at long last going places & trying their best to win back the young supporters, that we lost under the previous owners , give your head a wobble !
 
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I agree with the OP. You shouldn't just hand out stuff to loads of people knowing a lot of them won't want it or use it. There are other ways to foster interest in youngsters that don't involve unnecessary waste. Let's hope the shirts do all manage to find their way to kids who want to wear them. Via charity shops or whatever!
 
Well Wizard you are probably in a very small minority. What Blackpool have done has been extensively welcomed by other clubs in the football world. You assume that for many parents getting to the ground is easy and cost free. It’s easier if you have a car and that prejudices your outlook in ease. Poverty is a real problem in the town, your views are largely irrelevant but I did feel the need to let you know how wrong you are.
 
We have been in a wilderness for many years and now that's changed we are reaching out into the Community which is marvellous to see.
I am sure in years to come we will see the benefits, marvellous initiatives keep up the good work everyone. UTMP
 
Peculiar post.
voyeur said:
I agree with the OP. You shouldn't just hand out stuff to loads of people knowing a lot of them won't want it or use it. There are other ways to foster interest in youngsters that don't involve unnecessary waste. Let's hope the shirts do all manage to find their way to kids who want to wear them. Via charity shops or whatever!
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Not a shock. Negative, aggressive ninny at the minute aren't you?
 
poolseasider said:
Factually wrong this is a three way initiative between Club, BST and the Community Trust who already do a lot of work in local schools.

They as a collective have decided to give the shirts out and well done them. 👏👏👏
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Yep, I can't believe the club have just decided to hand out shirts willy nilly without some thought and consultation.
 
I would imagine the marginal cost of a few hundred small shirts as part of a big order is relatively small. There may well have been a minimum order quantity for each size, and because they've already sold out of the first batch, the likelihood is that not many of that size would get sold, and they'd be left with a surplus. The only away shirts left in the shop are small kids sizes.
The administrative overhead of managing a scheme where people had to be offered a shirt, then decide if they wanted a shirt or not and come and collect it, which would require some sort of voucher, data collection and management, is probably far greater.
So they send enough shirts for every year 3 kid at each school. Doesn't cost the club any more to drop of forty shirts as it does to drop off ten. Some kids wont want them, and they'll get sent back to the club or given to other kids that do. Some kids might not have been interested, but seeing their mates in them might just encourage them to see what it's all about.
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
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My other half, who has never been a football fan, grew up in London. Her local team was QPR. They gave out teddies to kids in the 1980's. Even though she doesn't know much about football to this day, whenever QPR come on TV, she lights up and mentions that teddy. So these Blackpool kids who receive a shirt may not go to games this season or next but gestures of kindness last a lifetime and will be fondly thought of whatever they do in future.
 
It's a three way collaboration with the Trust putting in £15k to (largely) fund it. It covers the thirty odd schools in Blackpool.

Two things :

1) the target group was selected based upon research that the club had seen suggesting this was the age when children start to form attachments

2) like most such projects, there was a finite limit to what the Trust could afford

The OP's alternative is completely unworkable in my view. You can't buy in stock to cater for or anticipate a free for all, you would soon have to start turning people away and almost certainly wouldn't be able to target one group.
 
They will probably ask the kids at school if they would like one. Not a bad thing at all in my eyes. I know someone who has 4 kids and can’t afford four BFC shirts but would jump at the chance of having shirts given to their children Well done BFC I say. Scumbags wouldn’t have ever done anything like this
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
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Tell you what, let's get cynical here. Saving the environment by not changing shirts? Tokenism. They've probably sold so many over-priced shirts for their season in the Premier League they know that many fans won't buy a new shirt in the next season or two. Kids grow out of shirts so will want new ones in a couple of years anyway. So they play the "environmentally friendly" card to get all the publicity. Let's be honest, if there was a significant financial impact, they wouldn't be doing it.
And people put their old clothes in clothing banks or charity shops these days, they don't get thrown in the bin, and retro football shirts are huge, so people will save or sell them so there isn't a massive environmental impact anyway. And I'm 100% certain that Umbro won't be laying off any staff because Brentford aren't having a new kit design next season.
 
Macseasider said:
Was it not for Year 2 only? My point is why not give them to a varied age range of those that wanted them.
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Because by offering to one age group, they will know the sizes and quantities. And it may encourage other sales - siblings may want, and while buying two shirts is expensive, if one is free the other may be more affordable, it's effectively half price.
 
TTractor said:
Because by offering to one age group, they will know the sizes and quantities. And it may encourage other sales - siblings may want, and while buying two shirts is expensive, if one is free the other may be more affordable, it's effectively half price.
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Well it's all opinions innit and they are doing it so mine counts for nowt. Hope it's a huge success.
 
It's a good initiative.

Will it work for every shirt delivered...of course not, but it will for some.

Some may be slow burners and having a shirt when young may only pay off in a few years.

The more tangerine you see about in Blackpool the more pride and normalisation there is.

It’s now cooler to be a pool fan than ever before, the more seen around the more will follow.

👍
 
If it’s £15k that the club is stumping up for it then let’s think about it in context. That’s 2 and a half weeks wages for Gary Madine.

Can we afford it? Yes

Will it get more young kids on board with the club? Yes, even if the majority don’t, they’ll make the money back in the future from the few that it’ll make life long fans out of.

It’s an investment for the future and a showing of great spirit by the club and all of those involved with making this happen.
 
Cuthbert said:
Well Wizard you are probably in a very small minority. What Blackpool have done has been extensively welcomed by other clubs in the football world. You assume that for many parents getting to the ground is easy and cost free. It’s easier if you have a car and that prejudices your outlook in ease. Poverty is a real problem in the town, your views are largely irrelevant but I did feel the need to let you know how wrong you are.
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Sounds like you are agreeing with me ,in respect a family with no car and limited finances are likely not to go to matches
 
The club don't expect everyone of those kids to end up being lifelong fans, however, if half of those kids nag their parents to go to a game or two, and hope that those games are exciting enough for them to continue nagging their folks to go. All of a sudden you have 300 kids wanting to go, adding on the adults that take them, and you may see another 6/700 on the crowds. Then they bring a friend, or a sibling, and hope that they also get hooked. Kids always want a chocolate bar/bottle of coke/hot dog and suddenly the club starts making money.

They only need to go to a handful of games, and a small number before the cost of the shirts is wiped.

I understand its not always as simple as that. but its the general idea, and only takes a third of those free shirts to get the bug, and the club is a win win situation.

This also isn't all about getting those kids to all go, the community side of the club is showing real intent since Sadler took over, and if the club can afford to give these shirts away, I really cant see an issue with it.
 
It seems what I have written isn't popular. Surely though if the shirts had a bigger age scope and had to be collected from the shop ,this would target the parents that are interested in taking their kids to matches ,plus other things may be bought by the collecting idea and the club would be targeting a greater age group. My son had little interest in watching Blackpool till he was 9 ,now he is a season ticket holder and gone to all the Wembley finals since Orient.
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
It seems what I have written isn't popular. Surely though if the shirts had a bigger age scope and had to be collected from the shop ,this would target the parents that are interested in taking their kids to matches ,plus other things may be bought by the collecting idea and the club would be targeting a greater age group. My son had little interest in watching Blackpool till he was 9 ,now he is a season ticket holder and gone to all the Wembley finals since Orient.
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All the Wembley finals?
 
DiggersBFC said:
Clearly several posters on here who have no idea regarding Demand Generation Marketing. You have to shake you head sometimes reading this board - some posters are negative towards the club just to be seen to have an opinion. Sad really.
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Correct and if you read Robbies post the TRUST has put in 15k to largely fund it and some are having a moan about the club!
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
It seems what I have written isn't popular. Surely though if the shirts had a bigger age scope and had to be collected from the shop ,this would target the parents that are interested in taking their kids to matches ,plus other things may be bought by the collecting idea and the club would be targeting a greater age group. My son had little interest in watching Blackpool till he was 9 ,now he is a season ticket holder and gone to all the Wembley finals since Orient.
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Just go with the flow, this has been well considered and I am sure schools and others will engage. No harm thinking outside the box, just need to choose the subject more carefully. This initiative is wonderful and made me feel very proud to be a Blackpool fan
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
It seems what I have written isn't popular. Surely though if the shirts had a bigger age scope and had to be collected from the shop ,this would target the parents that are interested in taking their kids to matches ,plus other things may be bought by the collecting idea and the club would be targeting a greater age group. My son had little interest in watching Blackpool till he was 9 ,now he is a season ticket holder and gone to all the Wembley finals since Orient.
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But if, as is apparently the case, the shirts will be given only to kids who want one, there isn't a problem.

I don't agree with the tokenism comment though, or that Brentford flying to Cyprus means that it's ok to be wasteful. I believe there needs to be a sea change in how we consume. And companies and organisations need to adopt strong policies that seek to avoid unnecessary consumption and waste. The shirts are no doubt manufactured in the far east and shipped across the world. It's a drop in the ocean but it doesn't mean it's ok to have a scattergun approach to resources, this needs to change in all walks of life.

Sorry, I just hate the way we have become accustomed to mass consumption, and waste on a humongous scale. This initiative is not really the best example! Especially if only kids who want one get one.
 
LeedsSeasider said:
If it’s £15k that the club is stumping up for it then let’s think about it in context. That’s 2 and a half weeks wages for Gary Madine.

Can we afford it? Yes

Will it get more young kids on board with the club? Yes, even if the majority don’t, they’ll make the money back in the future from the few that it’ll make life long fans out of.

It’s an investment for the future and a showing of great spirit by the club and all of those involved with making this happen.
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It wasn’t the club that paid for the shirts. So, no impact on the clubs running costs or Simon S, although I think he did put something in the kitty.
 
voyeur said:
But if, as is apparently the case, the shirts will be given only to kids who want one, there isn't a problem.

I don't agree with the tokenism comment though, or that Brentford flying to Cyprus means that it's ok to be wasteful. I believe there needs to be a sea change in how we consume. And companies and organisations need to adopt strong policies that seek to avoid unnecessary consumption and waste. The shirts are no doubt manufactured in the far east and shipped across the world. It's a drop in the ocean but it doesn't mean it's ok to have a scattergun approach to resources, this needs to change in all walks of life.

Sorry, I just hate the way we have become accustomed to mass consumption, and waste on a humongous scale. This initiative is not really the best example! Especially if only kids who want one get one.
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Who wastes shirts? I've still got mine from 1974. Bit of a squeeze admittedly.
 
So the club are handing out free clothes to underprivileged kids and you're complaining????? I don't get it.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that in my eyes.
 
voyeur said:
But if, as is apparently the case, the shirts will be given only to kids who want one, there isn't a problem.

I don't agree with the tokenism comment though, or that Brentford flying to Cyprus means that it's ok to be wasteful. I believe there needs to be a sea change in how we consume. And companies and organisations need to adopt strong policies that seek to avoid unnecessary consumption and waste. The shirts are no doubt manufactured in the far east and shipped across the world. It's a drop in the ocean but it doesn't mean it's ok to have a scattergun approach to resources, this needs to change in all walks of life.

Sorry, I just hate the way we have become accustomed to mass consumption, and waste on a humongous scale. This initiative is not really the best example! Especially if only kids who want one get one.
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ALL clothes are manufactured in the far east. You need to look at the bigger picture. If the club bought a load of random t-shirts from Primark and dished them out to kids that need new clothes, would you complain about it?

Maybe they should go to Tesco and buy bin bags for the kids to wear. Oh yeah... Plastic waste. OK... screw the kids. Let them wear crappy clothes.
 
BFC1980 said:
ALL clothes are manufactured in the far east. You need to look at the bigger picture. If the club bought a load of random t-shirts from Primark and dished them out to kids that need new clothes, would you complain about it?
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I know. I'm talking about reducing, reusing and recycling. Reduced consumption. There's a difference between giving out essential and non essential stuff.
 
WIZARD OF TANGERINE said:
I have just watched Good Morning Britain and they have just done a story on Brentford and them keeping the same shirts to save the enviroment . What do Blackpool do ,they give out free shirts to every School kid around the ages of 6 or 7. The idea is to boost support for the future . It seems that this has not been thought through properly. Some people can't afford to take their kids to matches , some kids already support other teams , some parents support other teams and still won't take their kids to matches.
Why did they not make it a free shirt to everyone willing to go to the shop and collect one. Straight away you have targeted the parents that may be willing to take their kids to matches and why not have made it 5 to 10 year olds. I have a grand daughter who I am desperate to take to matches ,but she shows little interest and I am not willing to gamble on spending money on something that does not mean anything to her. The sad thing is that her step sister will get one and it will end up in a bin as there is no interest from that side of the family.
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it seems you are completely missing the point!
 
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