The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[AUFC 1910]

A big positive for me was the nearly 600 fans we took to Hamilton last week (half the number of season ticket holders) and that was without a bus AND the £26 entry fee.

I wish I lived in Ayr as I would definitely be up for organising buses.  Might just need to start the Glasgow ASC up and get one from here.

[wullieaufc]

Did see one of the boys from the Bellrock said there wouldn’t be a demand in numbers for a bus, surely a bus or 2 leaving from the Hub would be filled no problem? 

[AUFC 1910]

18 minutes ago, wullieaufc said:

Did see one of the boys from the Bellrock said there wouldn’t be a demand in numbers for a bus, surely a bus or 2 leaving from the Hub would be filled no problem? 

I think that’s the key, is getting them from the hub.  That place could and should be like a second home to a lot of us, and it keeps the cash in house.

Ideally you’d want the club involved to use their marketing power to get the buses sponsored, and would then bring the price down to a decent level to get them filled each week - or cover any loss when they aren’t filled in full.

[Iain]

21 minutes ago, wullieaufc said:

Did see one of the boys from the Bellrock said there wouldn’t be a demand in numbers for a bus, surely a bus or 2 leaving from the Hub would be filled no problem? 

I appreciate that some buses have had issues with behaviour, but at some point you need to treat adults like adults and just exclude those who won't act like grown-ups. Some kind of package that gets you the bus to and from an away game and a voucher for a drink in the Hub when you get back would maybe be attractive?

[Thumper]

1 hour ago, AUFC 1910 said:

I wish I lived in Ayr

Steady.

(as someone who is moving back in three weeks)

[Rodders1910]

I think that some on here sometimes expect the club to take responsibility for things that the clubs themselves wouldn't usually - for example organizing busses and organizing mural paintings. Imo these are things that should be and could be led by the fans. 

The problem is that the ayr support isn't very well organized in my honest opinion. No one organises busses they can't be bothered. No progress gets made on the idea of mural paintings because the idea gets suggested on here and no one follows it up and tries to push for it.

There needs to greater collective organizing within the support to improve the overall match day experience and atmosphere. Something similar to Motherwell's well society or Celtics north curve initiative to galvanize the support into being more involved and improving the atmosphere. I remember the honest men trust used to exist but can't entirely remember what the objectives of that were or why that stopped.

I'd be interested in taking part and getting involved in the setting up of something along those lines, my only problem being that I don't feel connected enough with the others in the support as I usually go to the games with family or 1 or 2 mates, which coincidentally is a symptom of having no real organization within the support.

 I know we currently have 'ultras' but this seems to be mostly wee guys who try to create atmosphere (fair play to them) and don't seem to try to achieve much else apart from that. 

[Thumper]

5 minutes ago, Rodders1910 said:

I think that some on here sometimes expect the club to take responsibility for things that the clubs themselves wouldn't usually - for example organizing busses and organizing mural paintings. Imo these are things that should be and could be led by the fans.

That depends how much power the club liaison officers have.

It's not as if fans can just start painting the barrier fence (or the front of Jewsons round the corner for that matter) or there would certainly be interest from some boys in black and white, but not the Ayr United variety.

Buses are another matter but it's a case of having some comms channel that everyone uses - a facebook group and two Web forums that all hate each other is a bit of a barrier in that regard.

Edited August 8 by Thumper

[AUFC 1910]

4 minutes ago, Rodders1910 said:

I think that some on here sometimes expect the club to take responsibility for things that the clubs themselves wouldn't usually - for example organizing busses and organizing mural paintings. Imo these are things that should be and could be led by the fans. 

The problem is that the ayr support isn't very well organized in my honest opinion. No one organises busses they can't be bothered. No progress gets made on the idea of mural paintings because the idea gets suggested on here and no one follows it up and tries to push for it.

There needs to greater collective organizing within the support to improve the overall match day experience and atmosphere. Something similar to Motherwell's well society or Celtics north curve initiative to galvanize the support into being more involved and improving the atmosphere. I remember the honest men trust used to exist but can't entirely remember what the objectives of that were or why that stopped.

I'd be interested in taking part and getting involved in the setting up of something along those lines, my only problem being that I don't feel connected enough with the others in the support as I usually go to the games with family or 1 or 2 mates, which coincidentally is a symptom of having no real organization within the support.

 I know we currently have 'ultras' but this seems to be mostly wee guys who try to create atmosphere (fair play to them) and don't seem to try to achieve much else apart from that. 

You will probably find many others who feel exactly the same as you, and who are in a similar position as far as who you go to games with

[AUFC 1910]

I’d give the wall a go - only ever done two on a much smaller scale 

Second one was grudged - every stroke!!!

[itzdrk]

6 minutes ago, Rodders1910 said:

I think that some on here sometimes expect the club to take responsibility for things that the clubs themselves wouldn't usually - for example organizing busses and organizing mural paintings. Imo these are things that should be and could be led by the fans. 

The problem is that the ayr support isn't very well organized in my honest opinion. No one organises busses they can't be bothered. No progress gets made on the idea of mural paintings because the idea gets suggested on here and no one follows it up and tries to push for it.

There needs to greater collective organizing within the support to improve the overall match day experience and atmosphere. Something similar to Motherwell's well society or Celtics north curve initiative to galvanize the support into being more involved and improving the atmosphere. I remember the honest men trust used to exist but can't entirely remember what the objectives of that were or why that stopped.

I'd be interested in taking part and getting involved in the setting up of something along those lines, my only problem being that I don't feel connected enough with the others in the support as I usually go to the games with family or 1 or 2 mates, which coincidentally is a symptom of having no real organization within the support.

 I know we currently have 'ultras' but this seems to be mostly wee guys who try to create atmosphere (fair play to them) and don't seem to try to achieve much else apart from that. 

The club would need to play it's part in any mural.  It's their wall and if they didn't like something on it they could simply paint over it.  They would need to ok it's go ahead & more than likely provide a space to store materials in between days.  

Not saying they should be the catalyst but they can't be left out. 

[Superhursty7]

It's true the mid 90s and early 2000s we has some super cup runs including wins against them up the road and cup finals and semi finals against the ugly sisters and some brilliant players who we still remember fondly Horice and Hurst to name two but at them end as killie fans love to remind us we didn't win anything or get promoted to the top league, we need something to bring fans back and it doesn't need to be a promotion or a major cup win although both would be nice even the challenge cup is a start

[Rodders1910]

4 minutes ago, itzdrk said:

The club would need to play it's part in any mural.  It's their wall and if they didn't like something on it they could simply paint over it.  They would need to ok it's go ahead & more than likely provide a space to store materials in between days.  

 

Not saying they should be the catalyst but they can't be left out. 

I understand that. I was more trying to make the point that we can't expect anything to get done if the idea is brought up in an online forum and nothing done to push for it. Having a collective of fans regularly engaging with the club and getting involved in the process is more likely to get results (and allow fans to have a greater connection to the club) than simply expecting the club to pay for someone to come along and paint it.

 

Imagine having murals all down that wall and going to a match knowing that the fans had made a positive contribution to the stadium/club instead of just merely being paying customers. Just one example of the sort of thing that can make fans feel more connected to the club and more powerful in decision making processes.

[Coollestersmoothe]

Just now, Superhursty7 said:

It's true the mid 90s and early 2000s we has some super cup runs including wins against them up the road and cup finals and semi finals against the ugly sisters and some brilliant players who we still remember fondly Horice and Hurst to name two but at them end as killie fans love to remind us we didn't win anything or get promoted to the top league, we need something to bring fans back and it doesn't need to be a promotion or a major cup win although both would be nice even the challenge cup is a start

Just being consistently good or entertaining to watch would be nice. 

[diegomarahenry]

I think the club see the fans as a bit of a nuisance at times, there is very little interaction unless there is a cash transaction.
The SLO’s will be bombarded with stuff, they will take that to a monthly meeting and maybe some will move forward. It’s good that they are trying to facilitate a dialogue with the support but it doesn’t look particularly free flowing. 
The majority of it will be trash, having sat through some of the Q&As, the brain dead suggestions were unreal. They will have to sift through all of those. 
 

The key thing is finding out what help is needed and asking the supporters if there is anyone that would be interested in helping on a volunteer basis. 

[F.T.O.F.1910]

19 minutes ago, diegomarahenry said:

I think the club see the fans as a bit of a nuisance at times, there is very little interaction unless there is a cash transaction.
The SLO’s will be bombarded with stuff, they will take that to a monthly meeting and maybe some will move forward. It’s good that they are trying to facilitate a dialogue with the support but it doesn’t look particularly free flowing. 
The majority of it will be trash, having sat through some of the Q&As, the brain dead suggestions were unreal. They will have to sift through all of those. 
 

The key thing is finding out what help is needed and asking the supporters if there is anyone that would be interested in helping on a volunteer basis. 

The ONLY time I've ever felt AUFC was part of the community to me, was the post play off win against Brechin and the party back down in Ayr. The rest of the time, it's felt like a very cold business.

I feel, the new SLO's are already to ingrained in the woodwork at Sommset and very much 'Yes' People. So I'm not expecting anything fruitful from that venture. However, I'll stand corrected if that proves to be different. 

Help used to be asked for pre season tidy ups and paints and I enjoyed going a long to a few to help out. I don't know if that asking for free help from the fans is D.S's way tho. But you're right, they could easily do a once a month volunteer job sheet request of fans and I'm sure many of us would pitch in.

Edited August 8 by F.T.O.F.1910

[GaryMc93]

I do think the club could utilise the media team in a better way rather than the current match day offering that given the restrictions is geared towards overseas fans. A few teams offer audio commentary and something as simple as a club written match report might get people's attention.

Also I'm assuming the kids don't have a Panda Pals club as they did in the 2000's which got you invited to different events and one of the benefits was the chance to be mascot, which you now have to pay for the privilege.

Sometimes you have to value the customer and give them something for nothing if everything else is going up in price.

[diegomarahenry]

46 minutes ago, F.T.O.F.1910 said:

The ONLY time I've ever felt AUFC was part of the community to me, was the post play off win against Brechin and the party back down in Ayr. The rest of the time, it's felt like a very cold business.

I feel, the new SLO's are already to ingrained in the woodwork at Sommset and very much 'Yes' People. So I'm not expecting anything fruitful from that venture. However, I'll stand corrected if that proves to be different. 

Help used to be asked for pre season tidy ups and paints and I enjoyed going a long to a few to help out. I don't know if that asking for free help from the fans is D.S's way tho. But you're right, they could easily do a once a month volunteer job sheet request of fans and I'm sure many of us would pitch in.

There might be a lot of people who can help but it looks like unless you knock on the front door of the club, they won’t ask. 

[shizzlemanizzle]

A mural all the way along the Somerset Road wall would be amazing and absolutely my first choice but iI fear it would be constantly targeted and ruined by eejits. I’d hate to see someone’s hard work ruined. A simple black and white striped wall would be a massive improvement and easily maintained. 

[Shibuya]

Would the club need planning permission for the mural?

[AyrExile]

13 hours ago, F.T.O.F.1910 said:

Lmao, I know you're right.... it's only an idea an one of 100 you could try implement. The point remains valid tho.... Millions sunk in to a beautiful new stand and other infrastructure projects. Top quality management and coaching appointments (for our level) and still only 1200 seaon tickets sold, tells you everything you need to know. They have to try something. I'd be intrigued to know our comparative S.T. sales to the other teams in the Championship at this point!? I'm sure D.S. and Mathie were expecting a hella lot more to be sold after the efforts put in this past year or so, yet here we are.... 

Let's no be kidded, L.B. done a lot of that stuff because he was stuck up here without fam and nothing else to do. I know it was appreciated by the recipients but it wasn't purely because he was a nice guy.

It is a valid point tho. Reinforced by this from them up the road.... https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/charity-link-up-gives-children-33411852?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1QKCBBhU0y1QhmGX7i0Ln_bH3E-e9VkOjMmeliKEM_fKqFXA385JcrFu4_aem_vdFPZIJAv1LCHpTSlpNE9w#Echobox=1723035990 

We need to do more than send Chalmers to Newton Primary to read a few books. If the club are doing more already but it's under the radar, then they need to be more vocal about it, so the wider community sees these things and gets on board. In my opinion of course.

 

Football is too expensive nowadays across the board and competes with many other things for peoples cash.  Even before the cost of living crisis the prices had crept up and many no longer go every week. Think that is actually a decent number of season tickets sold for us over the piece. It's more about getting those who attend 4, 8 or 10 times a season to up that and come slightly more often. The club also seem to think increasing the overall spend of those turning up will help the bank than actively getting more through the gate.