Off The Post Blog: Chansiri regime is listening to fans at Hillsborough
Throughout what we have seen of the 15/16 season at Hillsborough so far aside from the events that unfold on the pitch, there has been almost a constant lingering eye on the attendance figures. As things stand, the average attendance is slightly down on last season and immediately people will point at ticket prices as the root cause but I think it goes much deeper than that.
Since our relegation from the Premier League back in 2000 it’s been a period of testing times for Wednesday fans, some highs of promotion from the third tier but mainly it’s been about mediocrity at best. A generation of supporters has yet to sample what it’s like to see the Owls dining at the top table of English football, while others yearn for the heady days of Chris Waddle, John Sheridan and David Hirst.
Also off the field, turmoil in the board room and financial troubles had beset the club leaving a legacy of despondency in some hardened supporters who in some cases refused to return due to the way the club was run and how in their opinion the fans were mistreated. But we’ve come a long way since those days and arguably now more than ever, people should be forgetting the past and getting onboard with the new, brighter future.
Now, supporters are encouraged to have a voice. We have a Supporters Steering Group allowing people from the whole cross section of Wednesday fans to give their opinion, be it season ticket holders, students, disabled supporters, the people who can only go once a season and the aforementioned who decided upon a self imposed exile. But the most important part of this process is that the club is listening and ideas put forward in these meetings by the supporters so far are being implemented; for example the recent multi year season ticket offers have come from these consultation sessions with the fans. Wednesday are ahead of the game with this, the government announced last month that clubs should consult with their fans more; it’s been happening at Hillsborough since late last year and it will happen with more regularity than the minimum requirement of twice a year too as there are plans for quarterly meetings with the supporters.
Our chairman Dejphon Chansiri has taken a very active role in this process by attending all the meetings so far, he WANTS people to come and give their opinions positive and most notably, negative voices too. In his words, “Every fan is important.” He wants every fan of the Owls to come back and get on board.
The team is being built for an assault on promotion to the Premier League, 2017 was the original target set by our ambitious owner but as things stand it’s far from out of the question this season. We have brought in players with undoubted talent, beaten off other clubs to capture players like Aiden McGeady, Gary Hooper and Fernando Forestieri. It’s not difficult to assume that Chansiri is accelerating the promotion push and he is giving the supporters a team they can be proud of.
Season ticket sales for 16/17 have been ongoing for a month; the deadline for the cheapest ‘early bird’ prices has been extended by a week due to what the club calls and unprecedented demand. While I accept it’s not as simple as just going out and spending money on football as it can be a very expensive way of spending your Saturday afternoon. But, now our club is looking at what is important to us, there are matchday offers as low as £20 and even £5 for the new generation of supporters.
The Premier League dream is no longer a flight of fancy, a 14 game unbeaten run on home soil is testament to that. If you can then I suggest you jump on board because this uphill climb is no longer a slog, it’s a pleasure.
Terry Hibberd has been a Sheffield Wednesday season ticket holder for the last 20 years and his all time favourite Wednesday player is Chris Waddle. Terry is the editor of OwlsOnline.