What have the Americans ever done for us?

[Cobra]

I was watching one of my favourite comedies today Life of Brian and I thought this might make for an interesting thread.

I think it's 7 years now since they got involved. What do think they've done for the club, good and bad?

[Billy Campbell's Ghost]

Good - financial stability, kept is in business, got on with stuff quietly (maybe too quiet)

Bad - poor manager and player recruitment after Hartley, really poor fan comms and engagement despite having a Comms Manager(?), although I may be reading that role wrong, poor comms on stadium plans...long periods of silence despite Covid , etc, little snippets of progress would help. Some poor pricing at times.

so more bad than good but we are still here, in the top league so what do I know?

oh... and season ticket sales promo should be on official front page all summer in huge letters!

Edited 2 July 2021 by Billy Campbell's Ghost

[Cobra]

10 minutes ago, Billy Campbell's Ghost said:

Good - financial stability, kept is in business, got on with stuff quietly (maybe too quiet)

Bad - poor manager and player recruitment after Hartley, really poor fan comms and engagement despite having a Comms Manager(?), although I may be reading that role wrong, poor comms on stadium plans...long periods of silence despite Covid , etc, little snippets of progress would help. Some poor pricing at times.

so more bad than good but we are still here, in the top league so what do I know?

oh... and season ticket sales promo should be on official front page all summer in huge letters!

Great to read your take BCG on this.

I like that they pay the bills and I particularly like the way they support people in difficulty. Gowser looked finished when we picked him up. Caulker tried to kill himself shortly before he became a Dee. The manager had his own nightmare legal issue, and before that we extended his contract following a horror injury. 

The American system is notorious for choosing punishment over rehabilitation so it's nice we're seeing a different attitude at Dens from our transatlantic cousins.

[Harold Finch]

1 hour ago, Cobra said:

Great to read your take BCG on this.

I like that they pay the bills and I particularly like the way they support people in difficulty. Gowser looked finished when we picked him up. Caulker tried to kill himself shortly before he became a Dee. The manager had his own nightmare legal issue, and before that we extended his contract following a horror injury. 

The American system is notorious for choosing punishment over rehabilitation so it's nice we're seeing a different attitude at Dens from our transatlantic cousins.

Good

It's almost as if they have tried to instill family values at the club when looking after employees, there are a lot of employers could learn a thing or two from our American owners about empathy and how to care for your staff.

Bad

Coming from a country that is the master of self promotion and razzamatazz it puzzles me how our American owners get our PR so badly wrong. From the crappy photo for the new strip release (Ashcroft looked like he was on a building site) to our low key signing announcements, and everything inbetween.

Frustrating as F*ck

There are so many positives going on around the club with Alison and her fundraising for the youth teams (will she ever run out of fundraising ideas?), DFC In The Community, Club 1893 and various other bits, but it's like the club distance themselves from it.

C'mon DFC, let's shout about all the good things we are doing for our club and our city and remind people why we are proud Dees.

[Cobra]

Another great contribution from a very reasonable poster. This thread might be worth reading by those at the club.

[Billy Campbell's Ghost]

11 hours ago, Harold Finch said:

Good

It's almost as if they have tried to instill family values at the club when looking after employees, there are a lot of employers could learn a thing or two from our American owners about empathy and how to care for your staff.

Bad

Coming from a country that is the master of self promotion and razzamatazz it puzzles me how our American owners get our PR so badly wrong. From the crappy photo for the new strip release (Ashcroft looked like he was on a building site) to our low key signing announcements, and everything inbetween.

Frustrating as F*ck

There are so many positives going on around the club with Alison and her fundraising for the youth teams (will she ever run out of fundraising ideas?), DFC In The Community, Club 1893 and various other bits, but it's like the club distance themselves from it.

C'mon DFC, let's shout about all the good things we are doing for our club and our city and remind people why we are proud Dees.

Agree with this, our external comms and PR/promotional stuff needs to be relentless. We are in part retail with a fixed customer base, some are regular some are lapsed so maybe need different approaches for either.  A small example is we receive an email when a strip is released but that only appeals to x% of fans. An eve of game email for every game may just stimulate an extra few hundred to go to the match, worth more on an ongoing basis.

Just a quick example but surely there is a marketeer in Dens with novel ideas.

I do acknowledge DFC in Community, FB and Twitter presence, season ticket ads in paper and online Courier, pre season training films and other stuff.

[ThelegendthatisBeto]

Monty python incoming 

[Alternative]

They have brought stability and hope to a club who were forever on the brink of collapse. The whole Covid thing has slowed progress but that  was unavoidable.

Sure there are things that could be done better, communication and recruitment spring to mind but I do feel we are getting better, we now have a future to look forward to, onward and upward.

Edited 3 July 2021 by Alternative
spelling

[troodee1893]

There is a part of me that seriously wonders if we would still be in existence without them and their generous financial input over the 7 years. I agree with most other posters that their PR could be better and I am still at a loss as to what we gained from the votegate fiasco but on the whole I am happy with their running of the club and I also agree that their staff management is good, showing loyalty where it is due. Their support and standing by our manager might just turn out to be a masterstroke after the rollercoaster of last season. Indeed in line with the OP film idea JMcP could well turn out to be our messiah, helping us all to always look in the bright side of life. (I'm obviously also a great fan of the film Cobra!)

[Reverend Lovejoy]

5 hours ago, troodee1893 said:

There is a part of me that seriously wonders if we would still be in existence without them and their generous financial input over the 7 years. I agree with most other posters that their PR could be better and I am still at a loss as to what we gained from the votegate fiasco but on the whole I am happy with their running of the club and I also agree that their staff management is good, showing loyalty where it is due. Their support and standing by our manager might just turn out to be a masterstroke after the rollercoaster of last season. Indeed in line with the OP film idea JMcP could well turn out to be our messiah, helping us all to always look in the bright side of life. (I'm obviously also a great fan of the film Cobra!)

Hopefully McPake makes Tam across the road look like a Biggus Dickus.

[Dondeh]

Kept DFC in existence.

Simple or as complicated as that.

Edited 3 July 2021 by Dondeh