Over the summer one of the main things the club was criticised for was the state of how the club was being run off the pitch, be that ticketing, merchandise or the general state of the area around the Stadium. It’s only fair then, that we now address and praise the club for the improvements that have been made in recent weeks seemingly due to the addition of David Bruce (although he’s never been formally announced, but we assume he’s here).
ADVERTISING/SOCIAL MEDIA
Sunderland’s social media used to feel quite neglected, especially the Youtube channel, with infrequent uploads at best and short 90-second highlight videos being the only match coverage provided. Over the last couple of seasons, and especially in the last few months this has improved drastically with the full 90 minutes of every league game now being uploaded and an extended highlights video in addition to the regular highlights now being uploaded. Plus match reactions, previews etc being uploaded. In addition the club seems a lot more proactive in advertising tickets for home games this season, and this has had a great effect seemingly with over 40,000 in attendance for every one of our games so far this season. A new WhatsApp channel has been set up, giving fans a new way to engage with the club and the club have started live streaming U21s and Women’s games on the Youtube channel as well. In general the club’s social media just looks more polished and organised, something that will be key moving into the future and especially if we end up back in the Premier League. One minor gripe is that the club’s TikTok is infrequently used, but that’s an easy fix.
MERCHANDISE
The club have addressed one of the biggest complaints amongst our fans over the summer with that being how difficult it was to buy the kits online, they are all now in stock on the online store and they’ve even released a third kit that is also available. Kids’ shirts also have sponsorships now (different from our gambling one) and there generally seems to be a much wider range of things like training tops and jackets. The online store looks a lot more polished and easier on the eye as well. The matchday programme has been made bigger and new pages added, a welcome break from the increasingly digital world we live in.
TICKETING
Our ticketing operation was an unholy mess at the start of this season and continues to have a few lingering issues, but overall it’s a lot better. Firstly tickets seem to be being sent far in advance of games which was a big complaint that people weren’t receiving their tickets fast enough (although if you have had issues with this feel free to comment). Another thing is that tickets seem to be being sold further in advance than they have previously been, definitely contributing to higher attendances. There has been the odd issue with some digital tickets not being recognised by the new scanners but generally it’s been pretty smooth. Away tickets have gone through some changes as well, with Black Cat Points now being taken off if they are older than three seasons, which is pretty fair in my opinion.
THE SOL AND AREAS AROUND IT
The Stadium of Light and the area around it, unfortunately, still don’t look as nice as they perhaps could. Some rather simple things, like a repaint and a few new seats (they are going pink again) would go a long way. One big improvement has been Quinn’s Bar getting a refurbishment/ redesign and it’s nice to see that they are now offering beambacks for some away games, hopefully this becomes more common for more of our televised away fixtures for supporters unable to go.
WOMEN’S TEAM
Coverage of the women’s team has been pretty lacklustre in years gone by, but it’s good to see the club’s social media and website finally paying it some attention. Easy things like the club’s main Twitter (X) and Youtube accounts reposting and publishing the results of women’s games and advertising tickets is going a long way in getting more people interested in SAFC Women. This also applies to the U21 team, with coverage for them improving massively in recent months.
MOVING FORWARD
No doubt things can still be improved, they always can be, but what changes/tweaks would you like to see moving forward off the pitch?
