Saturday 29 March 2014

The fans can wait - Katrien's risky comms strategy

Katrien Meire has used the club's web site to tell fans she's too busy with two matches a week to communicate any further with supporters until the season is over. This has been communicated already so I am guessing the club aren't entirely comfortable with this so believe telling us again in (presumably) her own words will somehow reassure us.

Too busy to meet disgruntled supporters? Too busy to make a more informative statement on the plans and commitments of the new owner and his nominated lead executive? Matchdays take a lot of organising but there is a big support team and it's a well-rehearsed routine. I'm sure she attends a planning session for each game and she attends the games herself but too busy to talk to the supporters is a cop-out. It's almost as if she's playing and needs a couple of days to recover.

Personally, I can wait (it doest look like they are going to change tack or even acknowledge previous comments might have been ambiguous at best) but I think it's a risky strategy and it doesn't help relations with those supporters who have yet to be convinced by the new owner's plans. They are obviously banking on survival in the Championship when some of the heat may have gone out of the debate and they can strike whilst the relief-factor is still strong. However, if we were to be relegated, the decision to use a lame excuse to avoid some uncomfortable questioning could back-fire.

In the meantime, with two games a week, I am too busy to consider renewing my season tickets. The 9th April can come and go as far I am concerned. If we get relegated they won't risk increasing prices and if we stay up I really want to be convinced that my club is being run with genuine ambition for promotion, not merely to break-even or possibly to provide better players for Standard Liege free-of-charge.

5 comments:

  1. Quite clearly a delaying tactic but for me at least, it increases my concerns regarding the future of OUR club, if we have nothing to be concerned about, why not just lay your plans out for everyone to see..

    They obviously feel that their decision to sack CP and appoint JR have been vindicated and that this has appeased the fans, as we know, there will be more twists and turns between now and the end of the season, so as you say, KM"s statement seems risky indeed.

    PH

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  2. Is this not just a response to the growing amount of different supporter factions who seem to think that they are all entitled to a personal audience with RD, RM and KM?

    I would be saying the same if requests keep coming from different groups, with different agendas who seem to think that they are entitled an audience!

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  3. I agree with KM. Meeting with various factions of supporters does not change what our current priority is - why would you want to allocate time to say the same thing to different groups just so that they can vent spleens fuelled by predictable rumours and chinese whispers which as far as I am concerned have been addressed pretty much by RD. I suggest they create an FAQ on the site and we can all read that and let them get on with protecting and enhancing their investment by developing the club rather than going over the same old ground.

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  4. I love reading your blog but could you please try and a avoid what is becoming a yearly tradition of threatening not to buy your season tickets again?

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  5. Anon - fair point but it's the only leverage us plebs have and throwing it around a bit makes me feel like it might matter to someone.

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Go on, you know you want to....