Club Talk
Clyde chairman John Taylor spoke to the official website today to give a general update on what’s been happening recently around the club.
Following the launch of The Bully Wee’s new away kit for 2020-21, John was pleased to have several kit sponsors on board ahead of the campaign:-
“The hard work behind the scenes in recent months has culminated in the target for playing kit sponsorship being achieved. That’s a total of ten companies and organisations displaying their respective brands on our home and alternate kits, including two new sponsors for our home and alternate shorts that will be confirmed following tomorrow’s raffle draw.”
With a fixture list now in place for an October start date, John was keen to stress the importance of further backing to the club’s various revenue generating streams, including digital Season Cards:-
“With the SPFL League 1 fixtures now published and the Betfred Cup draw due tomorrow, we now expect – and frankly need – an upsurge in sales of our Season Cards. These cards offer unique flexibility in what looks like being a unique season but we are still well short of our target numbers.
“I’d remind our usual season ticket holders that should any games be played in front of restricted attendances then they will be guaranteed entry to any such games. In addition, they will also be able to access any live streamed home games played behind closed doors, using their card balance.
“Similarly, there is still some way to go to achieve the 1877 Rewards targets so we would urge those who have not yet signed up for any of the Platinum, Gold and Silver initiatives to look again at these offerings.
“These and other revenue streams continue to be intrinsically linked to our playing budget and what we can safely commit to Danny in the crucial weeks ahead, as he continues to work hard to build as strong a squad as possible for the start of the campaign.”
On the topic of match streaming, John confirmed that preparatory work had already taken place in the event of it being required, including installing a new system at Broadwood:-
“We have committed to the installation of a new fixed camera filming system at Broadwood, due to take place before the season starts in October. The company, Pixellot, already work with several big clubs across Europe and a number of our fellow SPFL clubs have similarly decided to install the system at their grounds.
“Primarily, it will greatly assist with first team analysis and match preparation, but it can also be utilised in providing a live streaming service to supporters. Work is already underway to create that service, if required.”
John also confirmed that further updates would be issued to supporters and owners in the near future:-
“An updated structure was approved at the last Board meeting, designed to add the necessary skills and experience in certain areas, to address the cultural and operational challenges we face as a club. This will be finalised and published in due course.
“Our first quarterly reporting update will also be sent out to all club owners in the coming days.”
With competitive action now two months away, John continued on the preparations that are well underway in respect of the first team:-
“As things stand, we have retained eleven of last season’s senior squad, along with two of our promising younger players, and we added Jamie Bain on Friday. Danny and Graham have been working hard behind the scenes on their preferred target list to fill the gaps in the squad. In addition, Graham is very close to announcing our new Head of Recruitment, following a comprehensive recruitment process.
“The publication of the fixture list for 2020-21 has also been the catalyst for the commercial team to mobilise their efforts in the areas of match and match ball sponsorship, while the selling of hospitality and match mascot packages will be conditional on the COVID-19 guidelines in place at the time of the respective matches.”
To conclude John, a member of the SFA/SPFL Joint Response Group’s Club and Stadium Operations sub-group, gave an update on the efforts to facilitate football’s return for Clyde and across the lower leagues:-
“In conjunction with NLL, we have been working on the ‘return to play’ protocols and, Government guidelines permitting, we hope to get the players back in for training later this month. A significant investment has been required to create the bio secure environment critical to achieving Government compliance.
“As has been well publicised recently, this is a very challenging and uncertain time for clubs, especially those below the Premiership with limited funds. We need to exercise caution in achieving the fine balance between return to play and the fragile financial status of clubs at our level. The guidance of the various JRG groups has been invaluable in this process.”