General 24/25 Shirt Release Poll

[Northstandboy]

I posted this on X too but wanted your views.


Lot's of differing views on the shirt delay.

Are you that bothered?

 

[SteMerritt]

Doesn't bother me to be fair, it's a minor annoyance at best. More concerning is the sponsorship mess-up, this has the potential to really impact our ability to move in the transfer market.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

Not arsed about the kit, I'm arsed about why we dont have a kit.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Yes, it bothers me. Not because it is of season defining importance in itself, but because

a) I want us to be ready for the new and challenging season and this is a very visible sign that we simply are not
b) the reason the shirts are late seems to be the lack of a front of shirt sponsor and that will affect our ability to sign players
c) it is yet another indication that so far as the commercial management of the club is concerned, it is a shambles.

And those three factors *could* be of season defining importance.

 

[Deleted member 2689]

Not bothered so long as it's sorted. Could be we're in the dark for usual ongoing contract discussion reasons.
If it comes to season start and it's caused the club to miss out on revenue, that would be a fiasco. Nobody is going to pay the club their original sponsorship £ offer once season starts.

 

[Andy Stroud]

If the delay means that we are getting the best shirt sponsorship deal possible then I’m happy to wait.

 

[East Stand Fan]

The biggest issue for me is just the sheer lack of communication from the club. We've given them so many season tickets, memberships and sold tickets for friendlies this week yet all I've gotten from the club of late is an email about my League One season ticket.

I have £250 set aside for my shirt(s) along with the rest of the family and the more days that pass, the less interested I am in kitting everyone out. We've lost the whole of July and the colder weather wont be too far away so chances to wear them and get value are diminishing by the week.

Sponsorship is also critical to being able to support the growing wage bill, our wider exposure and being able to increase our overall spend to compete. The amount of TV coverage, electronic boards and social media space could net us a huge deal for the next two years so we need to pull this off else it could really hamper us.

Between tonight and Friday evening, something needs to be communicated about all this if the shirts aren't made available for sale today.

 

[Yellowarmy]

Not bothered, just looking forward to seeing it. Hoping to but 3 of them for family. Too busy with real life to get my knickers in a twist.

 

[Yellowarmy]

The biggest issue for me is just the sheer lack of communication from the club. We've given them so many season tickets, memberships and sold tickets for friendlies this week yet all I've gotten from the club of late is an email about my League One season ticket.

I have £250 set aside for my shirt(s) along with the rest of the family and the more days that pass, the less interested I am in kitting everyone out. We've lost the whole of July and the colder weather wont be too far away so chances to wear them and get value are diminishing by the week.

Sponsorship is also critical to being able to support the growing wage bill, our wider exposure and being able to increase our overall spend to compete. The amount of TV coverage, electronic boards and social media space could net us a huge deal for the next two years so we need to pull this off else it could really hamper us.

Between tonight and Friday evening, something needs to be communicated about all this if the shirts aren't made available for sale today.

Quick pol, not war and peace

 

[Didcotox]

Kit sales are a huge income source for us as we don’t get revenue from the stadium.
Club is missing a trick by not selling shirts for summer holidays IMO.

 

[unification]

It's going to be Animalates again, isn't it?

EDIT. Just Googling 'Animalates', it would appear it was dissolved in 2021.

OxBlogger wrote about them and how they came to 'sponsor' us back in 2013. The words written back then look rather familiar now.

What or who the hell is Animalates?

When I interview people for a job its not uncommon to receive a CV from someone running their own business. It always seems slightly peculiar that a full-fledged entrepreneurial business owner want…

oxblogger.co.uk

 

[OUFC1978]

Feels to me like we are always a long way behind others in releasing the kit season after season. Always seems to be an excuse. I’d like to get me and the boy one for our holiday in a few weeks and have a pick of Home/Away/Third. Don’t want to be forced to get whichever is in stock and if they aren’t all here by holiday then I’ll probably not bother for me and just get one for the boy.

 

[Common Villager]

'Bothered' probably isn't the word I would use, 'concerned' would be more apt. It's just another indicator that things aren't being ran very well behind the scenes and, as others have alluded to, the lack of income from a sponsorship agreement could have an impact on our transfer dealings, which would be a monumental own-goal.

 

[Emilio]

Not arsed about the kit, I'm arsed about why we dont have a kit.

This, 100% this.

 

[Left Wing Cross]

It's going to be Animalates again, isn't it?

EDIT. Just Googling 'Animalates', it would appear it was dissolved in 2021.

OxBlogger wrote about them and how they came to 'sponsor' us back in 2013. The words written back then look rather familiar now.

What or who the hell is Animalates?

When I interview people for a job its not uncommon to receive a CV from someone running their own business. It always seems slightly peculiar that a full-fledged entrepreneurial business owner want…

oxblogger.co.uk

Hope it's not DOMINO

(They went bust in 2012)

 

[LowerSouth]

Not bothered .
But perplexed why no info from marketing.
They could also have released an image of the shirt and taken pre-orders, to be fulfilled once a sponsor had been found .

 

[holdsteady]

Feels to me like we are always a long way behind others in releasing the kit season after season. Always seems to be an excuse. I’d like to get me and the boy one for our holiday in a few weeks and have a pick of Home/Away/Third. Don’t want to be forced to get whichever is in stock and if they aren’t all here by holiday then I’ll probably not bother for me and just get one for the boy.

I am like that, wanted a home top for my holiday but fly out the day after the Norwich game so doesn't look like that will happen. Its not that bigger deal as I am a 45 year old man and its only a football shirt but I won't bother with one now so that will be a few sales gone which you would think would bother the club. Suppose it all depends on whether the shirt has a lucrative sponsor on the front or not.

 

[maidenheadox]

Not that bothered as I still expect that there will be a shirt and there will be a sponsor. The shirts always seem to have sold out by half way through the season regardless, unless you're XXXXXXXXXXL. Agree communication a bit rubbish but that's about it.

 

[Osei Yaw]

Even if we end up with a good sponsor then that doesn't excuse it for me. Far better in my eyes to secure a good sponsor months ago (even if it was for a little less money) and then have the whole summer to push sales of the kit.

In isolation I would be a bit miffed at how this has played out. But given the rest of the cock ups we've seen, then I'll upgrade from a bit miffed to deeply troubled.

 

[Andy Stroud]

Perhaps we are going to play ‘skins’

 

[Gordon]

I'm not overly fussed about having the new shirt, last one I brought was the 2021/22 puma home shirt (with EB Charging on the front). My son gets a new shirt each season, so for him it is a bigger deal. Ideally my plan was to turn up this evening, and buy him a new shirt, and I'm many others were thinking the same thing.

I think the issue is more the disorganisation from the club, and the lack of communication. From the outside looking in, it appears to be a bit of a shambles. If the ambition is for us to be a top 30 club, we need to present ourselves like a top 30 club, and show signs that we are run like a top 30 club. Don't get me wrong there are some positives to be had, we are in the Championship, we have a young ambitious head coach, the recruitment has been largely positive over the last couple of seasons, but on the business and commercial side of things we seem to be a bit of a mess.

 

[Northstandboy]

Just like the X poll. it is very close!

 

[Sarge]

Just like the X poll. it is very close!

just like the KPC non binding poll is was only open to cast an opinion for a short, limited time ( hopefully THIS poll didn't cost £7000 !)

I would have voted YES ( its important to get this launched early)

but was too late to cast an opinion

 

[Manorlounger]

just like the KPC non binding poll is was only open to cast an opinion for a short, limited time ( hopefully THIS poll didn't cost £7000 !)

I would have voted YES ( its important to get this launched early)

but was too late to cast an opinion

Only just seen the poll!

 

[dickwalton1964]

I can never understand why kits aren't launched soon after the season finishes. In our case the feelgood factor in the aftermath of Wembley was at an all time high and they'd have flown off the shelves. It seems the club had a bit of foresight in terms of planning on the playing front but absolute nothing in terms of a contingency for sponsorship etc and subsequent kit release.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I have no experience of touting for sponsorship deals. But I would have thought that when it became apparent that there were two possibilities (remaining in L1 or promotion to the Championship), you'd put feelers out to sponsors you had previously identified, asking them if they would be interested in sponsoring you in either eventuality and perhaps even giving indicative prices. That could have been done as far back as getting into the playoffs (27th April), or even before. That's at least three months. If all of those sponsors had scoffed at the money you were asking for should you be promoted, then that might be the time for a rethink?

Or is that not how it works?

 

[The Mighty Aldo]

I can never understand why kits aren't launched soon after the season finishes. In our case the feelgood factor in the aftermath of Wembley was at an all time high and they'd have flown off the shelves. It seems the club had a bit of foresight in terms of planning on the playing front but absolute nothing in terms of a contingency for sponsorship etc and subsequent kit release.

Dick



Not every season are we going to get 30,000 going to Wembley and tapping into the feel good factor.

Most seasons we are not in the top 3 so when sponsorship comes around the club should be looking to get the most they can from any given company.They will be looking for the best possible deal. That takes time and we only have about 12 weeks between seasons

You are right this season is different but say they had got a sponsor ready we sell thousands of shirts. However because we are now Championship a new sponsor will pay much much more and fans will still buy shirts. It’s a case of working out what is likely to make most money I assume

 

[Sarge]

I have no experience of touting for sponsorship deals. But I would have thought that when it became apparent that there were two possibilities (remaining in L1 or promotion to the Championship), you'd put feelers out to sponsors you had previously identified, asking them if they would be interested in sponsoring you in either eventuality and perhaps even giving indicative prices. That could have been done as far back as getting into the playoffs (27th April), or even before. That's at least three months. If all of those sponsors had scoffed at the money you were asking for should you be promoted, then that might be the time for a rethink?

Or is that not how it works?

good post ^^

 

[Morris Oxford]

I can never understand why kits aren't launched soon after the season finishes. In our case the feelgood factor in the aftermath of Wembley was at an all time high and they'd have flown off the shelves. It seems the club had a bit of foresight in terms of planning on the playing front but absolute nothing in terms of a contingency for sponsorship etc and subsequent kit release.

It’s as if the club were completely taken by;
surprise that we got to Wembley,
surprised that we got promoted,
surprised at the season ticket demand,
surprised they wouldn’t be able to negotiate Kassam over a temporary stand,
surprised they would have to negotiate a different sponsorship deal for the Championship.

Thank god we’ve got Buckingham and Waldron who on playing side appear to be switched on and proactive.

 

[Pgyellow]

And our CEO was absent for a lot of that vital time.