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Post by suedehead on Jul 12, 2023 8:39:21 GMT
Agree with every word. It’s no dig at the club to say it would need to be outsourced. It would need proper talent working on it, those people won’t be at the club because they’ve not been necessary. It’s the obvious example, and I’m not that keen on their tone, but Mundial has done very well to establish itself as a print in depth football mag. It doesn’t carry news, it’s in depth stories. That’s what we need. The news is all there online and, for those who aren’t online, in the Express. Continuing the programme as a news outlet in this day and age is just bonkers. Sometimes The Athletic can be a bit too chin stroking and it’s not really necessary for a 8000 word long read on how goal kicks have evolved in the Premier League era, but some of their stuff is superb. Again, not news. Tell the story of deadline day at County. Run us through how a medical works. What do the scouts do. The kit design process. 24 hours on the road to Gillingham away with Landon. There’s so much stuff we could do that’d be interesting and unique. Give a tease of it on the website, but if you want the full article then hand over your £10 for something quality. Getting carried away, and thinking long term, have an official County podcast. Someone who knows the history and stats and stories interviewing ex-players. Not some snoozetastic ‘what was it like scoring a goal at the Cheadle End’ but a different angle on things. County TV. The Overlap style interviews. Someone credible and recognisable who could host going for a walk with Sam Walker, going fishing with Jim Gannon. Not a scripted interview, but a meaningful conversation. Someone like Matty Mainwaring hosting would be great. He’s got a good personality, looks the part, has done telly work, a credible ex-player, knows the club. I saw the other day we’ve got one of the lowest Twitter followings in the football league. There’s only about 4 clubs in L2 with smaller followings, that’s piss poor for our ambitions. There’s huge opportunities with all this. The Twitter is great and posting updates but for content, it’s non-existent. The Twitter one is totally valid - especially as we have a full-time media executive on the payroll - but I feel like I need to temper the misty-eyed-ness about print with a few words of caution? Mundial has literally the entire world of football to gather content from, but even so it only comes out four times a year. We’d need to scrape three times as much content from a single fourth-division English team, or - at a pinch - that much content from County plus however many teams we have some kind of positive connection with. So for instance their parent company’s website features “the fanatical world of football badges”, “the artist behind the banners at Anfield”, and “when Coventry had the most beautiful programmes ever”, and that’s great. They can reheat those ideas in a year or two as “the world’s most Man United homes”, “the musician who writes the songs for Portsmouth”, and “the famous journalist who started out writing a fanzine”, without being too obviously repetitive. In full recognition of me being a prime naysayer though, what would our editor do the year after covering County’s memorabilia cabinet, what the physios do, and the day spent fishing with JG? A exposé on the photos in the corridor outside the offices in the Cheadle End? How this year’s hospitality menu was chosen? Our day picking curtains with Joppe Meulensteen? I honestly think Morecambe are trying to dress up a cost-cutting exercise as some kind of new hipster media direction, and we should be very wary. All valid comments. And as I've said, maybe when you poke the idea a bit it falls apart and it's a non-starter or there's no appetite for it. And as I've also said before, that's absolutely fine. We've got an idea, let's try and validate it's a good one and there's value behind it. If there's not, no harm done and there's been a bit of consultation and some research carried out which is always good. I do think there's more than enough content to fill a season though. There would still be elements of a traditional programme you'd carry forward; match reports, a manager interview (but something a bit more in depth than 'Welcome to the opposition, knowing their manager it's sure to be a tough game today, we've been good but we need to be better, the fans make all the difference', upcoming travel to away games, other bits and pieces from around the club. Then there can be regular stuff which would fit in a traditional programme, is moving the dial slightly but isn't quite the Mundial/The Athletic stuff - some idiot who has a load of shirts talking about a different one each month, throwbacks to past meetings with the opposition, non-County stories of interest from League Two etc. Then there's the good stuff Henry Pratt and I are talking about. I could list 20 different ideas for articles, but it's all pointless without understanding what we'd be trying to achieve. What's the goal behind shifting to a monthly? Is it to retain fans? Attract new ones? Increase our reach beyond match going fans? Increase commercial revenue? Engage under 18s? All of those would lead to very different articles.
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Post by Fallowfield Hatter on Jul 12, 2023 8:42:44 GMT
Agree with every word. It’s no dig at the club to say it would need to be outsourced. It would need proper talent working on it, those people won’t be at the club because they’ve not been necessary. It’s the obvious example, and I’m not that keen on their tone, but Mundial has done very well to establish itself as a print in depth football mag. It doesn’t carry news, it’s in depth stories. That’s what we need. The news is all there online and, for those who aren’t online, in the Express. Continuing the programme as a news outlet in this day and age is just bonkers. Sometimes The Athletic can be a bit too chin stroking and it’s not really necessary for a 8000 word long read on how goal kicks have evolved in the Premier League era, but some of their stuff is superb. Again, not news. Tell the story of deadline day at County. Run us through how a medical works. What do the scouts do. The kit design process. 24 hours on the road to Gillingham away with Landon. There’s so much stuff we could do that’d be interesting and unique. Give a tease of it on the website, but if you want the full article then hand over your £10 for something quality. Getting carried away, and thinking long term, have an official County podcast. Someone who knows the history and stats and stories interviewing ex-players. Not some snoozetastic ‘what was it like scoring a goal at the Cheadle End’ but a different angle on things. County TV. The Overlap style interviews. Someone credible and recognisable who could host going for a walk with Sam Walker, going fishing with Jim Gannon. Not a scripted interview, but a meaningful conversation. Someone like Matty Mainwaring hosting would be great. He’s got a good personality, looks the part, has done telly work, a credible ex-player, knows the club. I saw the other day we’ve got one of the lowest Twitter followings in the football league. There’s only about 4 clubs in L2 with smaller followings, that’s piss poor for our ambitions. There’s huge opportunities with all this. The Twitter is great and posting updates but for content, it’s non-existent. Agree with all of that, im sure Russ and the bearded sidekick will have something to say about the podcast idea though 👀 I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme.
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Post by suedehead on Jul 12, 2023 8:45:13 GMT
Agree with all of that, im sure Russ and the bearded sidekick will have something to say about the podcast idea though 👀 I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme. But not as good.
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Post by advent on Jul 12, 2023 8:46:12 GMT
Agree with all of that, im sure Russ and the bearded sidekick will have something to say about the podcast idea though 👀 I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme. Ridgway just disappeared, did his weekly show with dicko and mainwaring which was pretty good and just vanished with no explanation
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Post by Nik on Jul 12, 2023 8:53:33 GMT
Some of these retro kits look absolutely horrendous to be honest. When you look at Italian kits which are usually slick and simple and compare them to ones in this country, there has to be something in it. Simple, you say?
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Post by albybeliever on Jul 12, 2023 8:56:33 GMT
Some of these retro kits look absolutely horrendous to be honest. When you look at Italian kits which are usually slick and simple and compare them to ones in this country, there has to be something in it. Simple, you say? "We're looking to recreate the timeless aesthetic of a four-year old that's really shit at drawing zebras."
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Post by timberwolf on Jul 12, 2023 9:05:15 GMT
All valid comments. And as I've said, maybe when you poke the idea a bit it falls apart and it's a non-starter or there's no appetite for it. And as I've also said before, that's absolutely fine. We've got an idea, let's try and validate it's a good one and there's value behind it. If there's not, no harm done and there's been a bit of consultation and some research carried out which is always good. I do think there's more than enough content to fill a season though. There would still be elements of a traditional programme you'd carry forward; match reports, a manager interview (but something a bit more in depth than 'Welcome to the opposition, knowing their manager it's sure to be a tough game today, we've been good but we need to be better, the fans make all the difference', upcoming travel to away games, other bits and pieces from around the club. Then there can be regular stuff which would fit in a traditional programme, is moving the dial slightly but isn't quite the Mundial/The Athletic stuff - some idiot who has a load of shirts talking about a different one each month, throwbacks to past meetings with the opposition, non-County stories of interest from League Two etc. Then there's the good stuff Henry Pratt and I are talking about. I could list 20 different ideas for articles, but it's all pointless without understanding what we'd be trying to achieve. What's the goal behind shifting to a monthly? Is it to retain fans? Attract new ones? Increase our reach beyond match going fans? Increase commercial revenue? Engage under 18s? All of those would lead to very different articles. Really you never know if anything new will take off no matter what it is. Firms do market research and that does not make a new product being what the general public really want. If you put the words Stockport County on anything many will buy it for that reason only as we have seen over the years on expensive rubbish sold in all club shops because the clubs name is on it. If you do not try anything you,ll never know and at the outset of selling replica shirts who really expected them to take off for anyone but the under 20,s like they have done. Even old gits like me wears one every game of the season but well covered with other layers in winter.
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Post by suedehead on Jul 12, 2023 9:08:01 GMT
I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme. Ridgway just disappeared, did his weekly show with dicko and mainwaring which was pretty good and just vanished with no explanation
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Post by Ngard on Jul 12, 2023 9:22:22 GMT
I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme. But not as good. That's because he was as fun as a hole in your face. Could barely even talk about County.
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Post by mat1scfc on Jul 12, 2023 9:23:12 GMT
I’m all for it. There’s such a massive market for an official club podcast that I don’t understand why there’s been no movement. I heard that Ridgway used to have a massive problem with us when he was doing the Friday night preview podcasts. Never bothered us really, we’re the Tea Party (but not as good) and he was the official programme. Ridgway just disappeared, did his weekly show with dicko and mainwaring which was pretty good and just vanished with no explanation ridgeway moved on to bigger things getting involved with misfits boxing
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Post by albybeliever on Jul 12, 2023 9:43:35 GMT
Agree totally. I'd also emphasise your point about the "right people". Writing is a skill, and it's one that isn't really considered as a specialism, certainly by traditional programme creators. Programmes have always been awful, and it's largely because it's been seen as a box-ticking exercise. Managers notes, supporters club column, away team "pen pictures" - all absolute crud. And usually boring crud because instead of getting someone who can write, you get Geoff who does everything from helping out in the ticket office to answering the phones. He can write up the managers notes can't he? How difficult is it - everyone can write, can't they? Go monthly and hand it over to a production team (possibly external agency) that can produce a mag that you can charge £7.50-£10 for. Long articles, written by skilled writers, of the type Suedehead mentioned. Look in depth at significant figures from the history of the club. A 2000 word piece on our kits. Tell the full story of significant wins in our history. Even make the Dark Days Podcasts into a series of articles. And yes, if you want to go a bit fanziney, have some humorous stuff in there. But written by people with a sense of humour and the ability to express it in writing. We went down the fanziney-humour route in the programme when TTP was out, and the results were... not great. Traditional programmes were fairly pointless in pre-internet days. Five minutes to read, then never opened again, only of interest to collectors. In the modern world, I can't think of much that's more pointless. Agree with every word. It’s no dig at the club to say it would need to be outsourced. It would need proper talent working on it, those people won’t be at the club because they’ve not been necessary. It’s the obvious example, and I’m not that keen on their tone, but Mundial has done very well to establish itself as a print in depth football mag. It doesn’t carry news, it’s in depth stories. That’s what we need. The news is all there online and, for those who aren’t online, in the Express. Continuing the programme as a news outlet in this day and age is just bonkers. Sometimes The Athletic can be a bit too chin stroking and it’s not really necessary for a 8000 word long read on how goal kicks have evolved in the Premier League era, but some of their stuff is superb. Again, not news. Tell the story of deadline day at County. Run us through how a medical works. What do the scouts do. The kit design process. 24 hours on the road to Gillingham away with Landon. There’s so much stuff we could do that’d be interesting and unique. Give a tease of it on the website, but if you want the full article then hand over your £10 for something quality. Getting carried away, and thinking long term, have an official County podcast. Someone who knows the history and stats and stories interviewing ex-players. Not some snoozetastic ‘what was it like scoring a goal at the Cheadle End’ but a different angle on things. County TV. The Overlap style interviews. Someone credible and recognisable who could host going for a walk with Sam Walker, going fishing with Jim Gannon. Not a scripted interview, but a meaningful conversation. Someone like Matty Mainwaring hosting would be great. He’s got a good personality, looks the part, has done telly work, a credible ex-player, knows the club. I saw the other day we’ve got one of the lowest Twitter followings in the football league. There’s only about 4 clubs in L2 with smaller followings, that’s piss poor for our ambitions. There’s huge opportunities with all this. The Twitter is great and posting updates but for content, it’s non-existent. "Arm-wrestling with Chas and Dave. Fishing with Jim Gannon. A Walk with Sam Walker. Monkey Tennis?"
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Post by hedleyverity on Jul 12, 2023 9:57:21 GMT
Ridgway just disappeared, did his weekly show with dicko and mainwaring which was pretty good and just vanished with no explanation ridgeway moved on to bigger things getting involved with misfits boxing The strange thing about those podcasts was that I don’t think either Dicko or Matty Mainwairing went to matches very often if ever
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Post by Nik on Jul 12, 2023 10:07:14 GMT
Ridgway just disappeared, did his weekly show with dicko and mainwaring which was pretty good and just vanished with no explanation I enjoyed when you'd reply to his latest ad-post with " You can take part in other threads too"
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Post by herbiedumplings on Jul 12, 2023 10:12:01 GMT
Simple, you say? "We're looking to recreate the timeless aesthetic of a four-year old that's really shit at drawing zebras." Or is it “Harking back to a high point in the club’s history, by invoking reminiscences of the ‘charcoal’ filter in Windows 98 Photo Editor”?
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Post by suedehead on Jul 12, 2023 10:25:14 GMT
I enjoyed when you'd reply to his latest ad-post with " You can take part in other threads too" 🤣 He PMd me about that.
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