When this blog started in the 1990s, there weren’t many others attempting to take a serious look at the economic, business and cultural context of football.
That has all changed, ‘the two unfortunates’ being one example. They take an in depth look at Newcastle United, its relationship with the community and how supporters have been let down by the present regime.
When this blog started in the 1990s, there weren’t many others attempting to take a serious look at the economic, business and cultural context of football.
That has all changed, ‘the two unfortunates’ being one example. They take an in depth look at Newcastle United, its relationship with the community and how supporters have been let down by the present regime.
Football fans are more than just customers. In his recent excellent book Money and Football, Stefan Szymanski comments, ‘It is hard to think of any other financial activity that achieves [such a] level of emotional, social and political commitment.’
However, that doesn’t mean that nothing can be learnt from customer relations. At the end of last week I flew with Ryanair, something I have not done for a long time because of the contempt with which they treated their customers. To judge from that flight, they really have upped their game and that makes me willing to use them again.
Football fans don’t switch clubs as readily as they might supermarkets or airlines, but that doesn’t mean they should be treated with contempt or their loyalty abused.