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SUPPORTER LIAISON UPDATE


Matt Parsons

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13 hours ago, AshtonPark said:

I don’t know why people are surprised, I’ve said it before it obvious there is now a clear indication that club officials are not to post on here anymore.

Secondly, this isn’t the guys primary job and I doubt he even wanted it. He isn’t a full time SLO, Matt was the clubs first full time SLO and his role obviously morphed into something else. 

It makes sense for a SLO to be on here. It's a good sample of supporters of various ages and with various issues. I remember it working pretty well with Mark Kelly and Matt Parsons in the past. 

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34 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

It makes sense for a SLO to be on here. It's a good sample of supporters of various ages and with various issues. I remember it working pretty well with Mark Kelly and Matt Parsons in the past. 

A mate has asked the new SLO on Twitter if they will be joining the forum, pointing out a lot of what you said in that post. Agree with your post btw.

Like me, they will not be holding their breath- either for a response or indeed more importantly for positive action e.g. the new SLO joining this place.

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Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

A mate has asked the new SLO on Twitter if he will be joining out the forum, pointing out a lot of what you said in that post.

Like me, they will not be holding their breath.

I can only assume that they think they'll be hounded on here or face tricky questions. I don't think that's the case really, and it's actually possible to moderate questions and interactions on here unlike Twitter.

If you remember the West Ham TV game a few years back, when the 'Ultras' flag was unceremoniously removed, the radio silence from the club didn't help matters. If we'd had an SLO engaging on the issue and discussing it - it probably wouldn't have escalated as it did. 

I'm not really sure why Mark Kelly stopped posting - I remember that also was very useful.

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1 hour ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I'm not really sure why Mark Kelly stopped posting - I remember that also was very useful.

Mark Kelly was very good at liaising with people on here, and to be fair to him he still is very approachable and will speak to supporters now

Having an SLO isn't a choice, it is a UEFA requirement so assume by the club putting this role onto this new guy in the clubs eyes ticks the required box. I couldn't tell you anything about this new guy, who he is what he looks like, where he can be found on a matchday. To be fair to Matt Parsons he put a lot of work in when he started getting to know supporters and various groups of people, this new guy may not even exist to my knowledge !

I note @Dollymarie said he attended the SC&T I would like to think that they would be putting pressure on him to do the required role of liaising with supporters on fans forums etc

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13 hours ago, bristolcitysweden said:

In this case club officials should be banned from this forum. Why should we feed them with information when they clearly are a bunch of total tits

We know they view this site, it is funny how often something is written on here and within a short space of time appears on the OS.

As for banning people unless they use a bristolsport email address there is no way of knowing who is who

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3 hours ago, Pieman said:

Agree with this, but trying to view this from the club/SLO perspective, why would they even consider engaging on this or any other social media site when the majority of commentators are anonymous keyboard warriors who love to argue and knock anything and everything the club does? In my experience dealing with MP, an email/phone call or face to face chat was all that was needed. Any social media questions would be ambushed by the aforementioned anonymous buffoons which no one, especially a business would want to get dragged into. IMO the FAN or a similar alternative would be the best way forward not the so-called fan meetings/lock-ins which only represent a small minority and are far from transparent.

...really? The 'majority'? Many, if not the overwhelming majority, of the regular posters on here are home and away City fans of many years standing...and whilst they'll hold the club to account and have opinions they want Bristol City to succeed. I fear, however, that when you stereotype contributors to forums such as this as 'anonymous buffoons' you are closer to the thinking of the club hierarchy that you think - or maybe you have a detailed knowledge of how they consider the fan base?

By complete contrast when Matt Parsons started this thread he wrote that 'Ryan has worked closely with me and the BCFC management team and understands that our Supporters should be at the heart of everything we do operationally. There will be some advancements in supporter liaison services next season, specifically for City fans, particularly on match day and social media.'

A question about the fans features in every post match interview with LJ, who invariably talks positively about the contribution supporters make.

It seems remarkable to me, then, that the SLO twitter feed appears inactive and that when inviting supporters to come and meet him the SLO posts a picture of a banner and not himself! Extraordinary.

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12 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

...really? The 'majority'? Many, if not the overwhelming majority, of the regular posters on here are home and away City fans of many years standing...and whilst they'll hold the club to account and have opinions they want Bristol City to succeed. I fear, however, that when you stereotype contributors to forums such as this as 'anonymous buffoons' you are closer to the thinking of the club hierarchy that you think - or maybe you have a detailed knowledge of how they consider the fan base?

By complete contrast when Matt Parsons started this thread he wrote that 'Ryan has worked closely with me and the BCFC management team and understands that our Supporters should be at the heart of everything we do operationally. There will be some advancements in supporter liaison services next season, specifically for City fans, particularly on match day and social media.'

A question about the fans features in every post match interview with LJ, who invariably talks positively about the contribution supporters make.

It seems remarkable to me, then, that the SLO twitter feed appears inactive and that when inviting supporters to come and meet him the SLO posts a picture of a banner and not himself! Extraordinary.

I think you have the wrong end of the stick. 

Seems to me that the poster was referring to those who respond to SLO threads not posters in general. I tend to agree with much that he said. There are a number who will see anything a club official says as an opportunity to slag em off. 

 

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24 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

I think you have the wrong end of the stick. 

Seems to me that the poster was referring to those who respond to SLO threads not posters in general. I tend to agree with much that he said. There are a number who will see anything a club official says as an opportunity to slag em off. 

 

Can't agree.

Non liaising Supporter er Liaison Officers are worthy of criticism as they are not carrying out their basic remit- and they will get it!

Club officials words and actions should be judged on their merit, not who is delivering them.

I think this forum can be quite challenging question wise to the club officials- and as long as it is constructive, it should be welcomed, not shirked.

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1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

This was one of his earlier Tweets.

Minor in the scheme, before first home game in his position ie the Crystal Palace friendly, but not the best start.

Same picture in fact it'd seem, for the following first "real" home game.

 

Maybe he's really,really ugly and doesn't want his pic up to put people off?

 

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4 hours ago, Pieman said:

Agree with this, but trying to view this from the club/SLO perspective, why would they even consider engaging on this or any other social media site when the majority of commentators are anonymous keyboard warriors who love to argue and knock anything and everything the club does?

That's not really fair. On here especially, most of the interactions with club staff are fair and done in the correct way. People hold the club to account, and will criticise where necessary, but that's because it's something close to people's hearts. It's not like a normal business.

4 hours ago, Pieman said:

In my experience dealing with MP, an email/phone call or face to face chat was all that was needed. Any social media questions would be ambushed by the aforementioned anonymous buffoons which no one, especially a business would want to get dragged into. IMO the FAN or a similar alternative would be the best way forward not the so-called fan meetings/lock-ins which only represent a small minority and are far from transparent.

If you are able to, maybe have a look at the old Mark Kelly sub-forum. Questions were pre-vetted and answered properly. That worked very well. Difficult to mediate over Twitter, but as with any customer service position - you're going to get difficult questions and customers. It comes with the territory - it's not about people being 'keyboard warriors'.

Yes, face to face is always better - but that's simply not practical. It's 2019, embracing online modes of comms in this position is really important.

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9 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

That's not really fair. On here especially, most of the interactions with club staff are fair and done in the correct way. People hold the club to account, and will criticise where necessary, but that's because it's something close to people's hearts. It's not like a normal business.

If you are able to, maybe have a look at the old Mark Kelly sub-forum. Questions were pre-vetted and answered properly. That worked very well. Difficult to mediate over Twitter, but as with any customer service position - you're going to get difficult questions and customers. It comes with the territory - it's not about people being 'keyboard warriors'.

Yes, face to face is always better - but that's simply not practical. It's 2019, embracing online modes of comms in this position is really important.

From my post, I was trying to add some perspective to why there seems to be a lot of frustration with the lack of club/SLO interaction on this site, and why they maybe hesitant. A forum like this, however well moderated, is similar to twitter and Facebook whereby the quest to be heard/liked or just get your point of view across is like kids in a playground shouting to be heard (I don’t insinuate people on here are childish). In a sea of thousands of comments it’s usually the most controversial or aggressive (or funny) that get recognition. IMO that is one of the main faults with social media in general, but that’s probably best left for a different thread. For a club to expose itself to this in a culture where every post/tweet/comment is over analysed by those who may be wanting to criticise for their own social kudos (or financial gain in the media) will be risky and should be done with caution. But I do sometimes talk a complete load of cr*p.

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1 hour ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Can't agree.

Non liaising Supporter er Liaison Officers are worthy of criticism as they are not carrying out their basic remit- and they will get it!

Club officials words and actions should be judged on their merit, not who is delivering them.

I think this forum can be quite challenging question wise to the club officials- and as long as it is constructive, it should be welcomed, not shirked.

Again, wrong end of the stick.

I actually agree with what you are saying.

The bit in bold is where it all falls down when club officials come on here. 

Pieman is correct imo.

 

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Who is saying it would only be criticism the SLO would get, occasionally there is praise to be shared too. And any ‘difficult’ questions can easily be dealt with, there is a range of staff he can liase with.

If I have a problem with any other business I email or use Twitter, as generally there is no forum as such. And I do expect a response. For some products there are forums and the answer is oftenfound there, the person responsible has responded once and then there isn’t twenty or more duplicate questions or answers. This has worked well here is the past as stated.

If the club are going to treat us like customers they really need to up their customer service, to include all forms of social media. Yes I know the role was thrust on to him, but why make such a poor job of it. It’s not exactly difficult is it if it is done correctly and with heart. But if his heart isn’t in it we are fighting a lost cause, such a shame.

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2 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

This was one of his earlier Tweets.

Minor in the scheme, before first home game in his position ie the Crystal Palace friendly, but not the best start.

Same picture in fact it'd seem, for the following first "real" home game.

 

That's utterly embarrassing. A SLO should be known to the supporters, speak to them, engage whenever possible (OTIB has to be one of the best platforms for that) and here the guy is posting a picture of a flag. Someone posted a picture of the Derby SLO's, all smiling, in a stand out blue jacket, looking very approachable. Why has the club and this guy, deemed it acceptable for a bloody picture of a flag/pillar to be used as a friendly invite for people to come and see him? 

Absolutely incredible. 

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12 minutes ago, Akira said:

That's utterly embarrassing. A SLO should be known to the supporters, speak to them, engage whenever possible (OTIB has to be one of the best platforms for that) and here the guy is posting a picture of a flag. Someone posted a picture of the Derby SLO's, all smiling, in a stand out blue jacket, looking very approachable. Why has the club and this guy, deemed it acceptable for a bloody picture of a flag/pillar to be used as a friendly invite for people to come and see him? 

Absolutely incredible. 

I was wondering whether that might have been him sat there with the bag so held fire a bit.

Poor in any case and if not him, well it's simply amateur hour!

Very very odd too. Used the same picture for both.

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1 hour ago, bcfc01 said:

I think you have the wrong end of the stick. 

Seems to me that the poster was referring to those who respond to SLO threads not posters in general. I tend to agree with much that he said. There are a number who will see anything a club official says as an opportunity to slag em off. 

 

I really don't think I have got the wrong end of the stick. The poster was unfairly caricaturing contributors to this forum. You don't have to look far on this thread to find people who devote a considerable amount of time and thought to the welfare of the club.

As for the SLO, I've had public facing jobs in the past - as it happens considerably more public facing than being the supporters liaison office of a football club. The SLO  job involves liaising with the public. Get things right and you'll get credit and bouquets...and the respect that Dave L had. Get things wrong and people will hold you to account. Nothing wrong with that - that's the job. What sort of liaison is it if the person being paid to do the job avoids engagement and apparently seeks to remain anonymous?

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22 minutes ago, Pieman said:

From my post, I was trying to add some perspective to why there seems to be a lot of frustration with the lack of club/SLO interaction on this site, and why they maybe hesitant. A forum like this, however well moderated, is similar to twitter and Facebook whereby the quest to be heard/liked or just get your point of view across is like kids in a playground shouting to be heard (I don’t insinuate people on here are childish). In a sea of thousands of comments it’s usually the most controversial or aggressive (or funny) that get recognition. IMO that is one of the main faults with social media in general, but that’s probably best left for a different thread. For a club to expose itself to this in a culture where every post/tweet/comment is over analysed by those who may be wanting to criticise for their own social kudos (or financial gain in the media) will be risky and should be done with caution. But I do sometimes talk a complete load of cr*p.

...or indeed like kids dishing out turd emojis - which I'd insinuate was being childish! But hey ho...

This forum is home to a great deal of well informed comment...which the club would do well to engage with...and in the past has. 

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6 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

I really don't think I have got the wrong end of the stick. The poster was unfairly caricaturing posters on this forum. You don't have to look far on this thread to find people who devote a considerable amount of time and thought to the welfare of the club.

As for the SLO, I've had public facing jobs in the past - as it happens considerably more public facing than being the supports liaison office of a football club. The SLO  job involves liaising with the public. Get things right and you'll get credit and bouquets...and the respect that Dave L had. Get things wrong and people will hold you to account. Nothing wrong with that - that's the job. What sort of liaison is it if the person being paid to do the job avoids engagement and apparently seeks to remain anonymous?

I can only repeat what I said in my previous reply to you and maintain you have the wrong end of the stick with regards to Piemans post.

As with Mr. P. I agree with a lot of what you say if not all of it.

 

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14 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

I can only repeat what I said in my previous reply to you and maintain you have the wrong end of the stick with regards to Piemans post.

As with Mr. P. I agree with a lot of what you say if not all of it.

 

well I can't see what I've missed - 'occasional poster joins a discussion and takes a cheap shot' - is how I saw it. 

Each to his own. If the club is serious about liaising with fans it needs to employ someone with the conviction and confidence to argue a case, not some shrinking violet. Then again it is just possible that it's not serious.

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1 hour ago, Pieman said:

From my post, I was trying to add some perspective to why there seems to be a lot of frustration with the lack of club/SLO interaction on this site, and why they maybe hesitant. A forum like this, however well moderated, is similar to twitter and Facebook whereby the quest to be heard/liked or just get your point of view across is like kids in a playground shouting to be heard (I don’t insinuate people on here are childish). In a sea of thousands of comments it’s usually the most controversial or aggressive (or funny) that get recognition. IMO that is one of the main faults with social media in general, but that’s probably best left for a different thread. For a club to expose itself to this in a culture where every post/tweet/comment is over analysed by those who may be wanting to criticise for their own social kudos (or financial gain in the media) will be risky and should be done with caution. But I do sometimes talk a complete load of cr*p.

The bottom line @Pieman

It is a UEFA requirement that the SLO must liaise with supporters on fans websites - like it or not they need to be doing their job

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49 minutes ago, Red Exile said:

...or indeed like kids dishing out turd emojis - which I'd insinuate was being childish! But hey ho...

This forum is home to a great deal of well informed comment...which the club would do well to engage with...and in the past has. 

There isn’t a great selection of emojis on this site and I thought the aubergine would be viewed as a personal insult rather than a dislike of the post. Perhaps a word with the mods if you think they’re inappropriate.

my ‘buffoon ‘ comment refers to people jumping on social media posts which I had posted (Not on this site) and at no point have I suggested this forum does not produce valuable discussion. As sometimes people grab the wrong stick rather than the wrong end this underlines my point of the pitfalls of social media which the club are probably trying to defend against.

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18 minutes ago, Pieman said:

There isn’t a great selection of emojis on this site and I thought the aubergine would be viewed as a personal insult rather than a dislike of the post. Perhaps a word with the mods if you think they’re inappropriate.

my ‘buffoon ‘ comment refers to people jumping on social media posts which I had posted (Not on this site) and at no point have I suggested this forum does not produce valuable discussion. As sometimes people grab the wrong stick rather than the wrong end this underlines my point of the pitfalls of social media which the club are probably trying to defend against.

Fair enough...no offence taken, I thought it quite funny!...although I'd suggest that its better to disagree with, rather than dislike a post - and if you disagree to explain why. Which in fairness you've done. 

Where I disagree with your point, as opposed to the way I might have interpreted your characterisation of posters, is that I think that even if it were true that a club spokesperson got more criticism than constructive comment it would still be worth while engaging with that comment, either challenging and rebuffing it, or learning from it. In my experience of 'customer service' people are far more ready to complain that compliment and you have to accept that and deal with it.

In truth I reckon @Mr Popodopolous got it right in post #126. I think the club like the noise and colour that supporters generate but don't want a great deal of supporter engagement in anything else. Which to me seems a missed opportunity. 

Thinking today of the Bury debacle it should be clear that club owners are merely custodians of the identities of football clubs. We, the supporters, are the club itself.

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On 26/07/2019 at 06:21, RedM said:

In answer to some of the above, okay I was half joking but on the face of it,unlike Matt Parsons, he didn’t apply for this job. He has another full time role, just like Adam Baker and Rachel Lemar did, so realistically how much time can he give to this role, a role thrust upon him, which he most likely doesn’t want or has no interest in either.

But hey, the club has a SLO. Tick.

She/he is a total joke

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