Updates on:
Ticketing questions
Manchester City game rescheduled – 29 October
Carabao Cup Third Round v Watford – 26 September
Champion’s League Group Stage ticketing
Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Board
Crowd management at Liverpool at Wembley
Premium access to away tickets
Football Supporters Europe UEFA away ticket pricing campaign
Premier League Structured Dialogue
Return of the Spurs Beat – members’ event – 16 October
Football Supporters’ Federation Premier League network group meeting – 27 September
THST Board Meeting – 10 September
Business Community Liaison Group meeting – 18 September
Ticketing questions
Manchester City game rescheduled – 29 October
Carabao Cup Third Round v Watford – 26 September
Champion’s League Group Stage ticketing
Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Board
Crowd management at Liverpool at Wembley
Premium access to away tickets
Football Supporters Europe UEFA away ticket pricing campaign
Premier League Structured Dialogue
Return of the Spurs Beat – members’ event – 16 October
Football Supporters’ Federation Premier League network group meeting – 27 September
THST Board Meeting – 10 September
Business Community Liaison Group meeting – 18 September
Other:
The new stadium continues to dominate. For clarity, our position as a Trust is that we understand the very real challenges the build presents and we are looking forward to moving into what looks like a magnificent new home. However, we also recognise that many fans have paid substantial sums for a product that has not yet been delivered, and that fans in general want to be given clear and early information. We realise it’s not always possible to be as open as everyone might like, but there needs to be a better balance between managing the project and keeping fans informed.
We have told the Club fans would prefer certainty on a later opening date rather than the current situation where information drips out match by match. And we have asked for a proper conversation about compensating fans who have paid for seats in the new stadium should there be further delays.
Information on specific issues around specific games can be found later in this newsletter.
1. TICKETING QUESTIONS
Our Twitter feed and email inbox are currently flooded with questions about ticketing. We are increasingly unable to keep up with this workload on top of our other work, and our day jobs. We are here to help supporters, but many of the questions we are now receiving are either questions that can only be answered by the Club’s ticket office, or are answered on the Club’s website. It’s also worth checking down our feed to see if your question has already been answered.
The problem we have is that the more we reply to these questions, the more we get, and the less enthusiasm the Club shows for providing the dedicated customer service channels we have been asking for. Leaving aside the question of whether or not we are happy to provide an unpaid customer service function, we are finding the workload increasingly difficult to handle. We help where we can, and we will certainly help any fan who is having problems with ticketing. But unless the volume of questions drops, we are going to have to stop responding to requests for basic information that should be addressed to the Club.
Please could you bear in mind whether your question is best addressed to us or the Club before you ask it. We are aware of fans’ views about the quality of Club communication and of the challenges of finding information on the new website.
2. MANCHESTER CITY GAME RESCHEDULED – 29 OCTOBER
On 3 September, the Club confirmed that the Manchester City match would be moved to the evening of Monday 29 October at Wembley Stadium as a result of NWHL not being open and Wembley hosting NFL matches that weekend. The game had originally been selected in the most valuable Sunday 4pm broadcast slot and would now be shown as the Monday night game instead.
The original TV pick had been announced by the Premier League on 7 August and, while the game had yet to go on sale to members, Season Ticket holders had arranged travel and accommodation for the Sunday.
We approached the Club to ensure those in possession of valid match tickets with non-refundable and non-transferable bookings would be suitably compensated, using the precedent of the Burnley home match two seasons ago. The Club honoured those expenses as a gesture of goodwill after moving the date of that match to allow the players more rest over the Christmas period.
The customer service team at Spurs has helped fans left out of pocket by the date change. We’re also aware of Premium Season Ticket holders being offered complimentary seats in Club Wembley if they can make the new date for the City match. The Club isn’t obliged to offer anything under ticketing T&Cs, so these gestures are most appreciated.
Any Season Ticket holder with a non-refundable or non-transferable travel or accommodation booking made after 7 August and before 3 September should contact supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com initially, and be prepared to share booking documentation and the refund policy of your provider. Members are welcome to copy us in should they require any additional support.
Despite tickets not being on sale to visiting fans at the time of the fixture move, Manchester City is providing free transport to Wembley for its travelling supporters.
Moving the Spurs match to the Monday night broadcast slot left a gap for Sky Sports that weekend. So Manchester United v Everton, a match originally selected for broadcast on the Saturday lunchtime, was moved into the vacant – and valuable - Sunday 4pm slot. Tickets for this match had not gone on sale to Everton fans. However, Manchester United Season Ticket holders were affected in the same way as our own Season Ticket holders, having booked travel and accommodation for the original Saturday lunchtime match. Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) issued a strong statement condemning Sky’s decision to fill the vacant Sunday slot as “naked commercial opportunism at the expense of matchgoing fans”.
THST backed MUST’s statement and supports its call for compensation for fans from the Premier League and Sky Sports. Compensation would not only acknowledge the impact of such decisions on match-going fans but would set a precedent for future late changes. We await a decision from Sky.
3. CARABAO CUP ROUND 3 v WATFORD – 26 SEPTEMBER 2018
On 6 September, the EFL confirmed they had upheld the Club’s request to play the third round of the League Cup against Watford at Stadium MK. The EFL also confirmed they had rejected Watford’s formal request to host the match at Vicarage Road.
While our survey, conducted before the draw, found a fairly even split (43% v 46%) among fans over whether to ‘flip’ the tie or play at a neutral third ‘home’ ground, over 70% said any game should be played within the M25. This was clearly overlooked by THFC’s Board and the EFL.
THST has made its thoughts on THFC using Stadium MK for a ‘home’ fixture clear. We have also fed back to the Club on a number of logistical issues.
Choosing to play a Spurs home game 50 miles north of White Hart Lane at a stadium with a capacity of just 27,500 was always going to present practical difficulties.
As this was a ‘home’ match, the Club didn’t provide any subsidised transport to Milton Keynes.
Watford appealed for a bigger allocation than the 10% under competition rules and were given 4,500 tickets. They were only able to sell 3,000 for the tie, however.
With 50,000 Season Ticket holders at Spurs and under half the number of seats available for them, it wasn’t possible to allow fans to choose their own seats at the stadium. Instead, first ST holders then members were invited to apply in the same manner as for an away game, with ticketing points determining successful applications if oversubscribed. Not being able to select your own seat caused difficulties and prevented like-minded fans from congregating in familiar areas. We received several complaints regarding location of seats.
THFC and Milton Keynes Safety Advisory Group also allowed Season Ticket holders and members of MK Dons to buy seats. It’s regrettable that MK Dons published that ticketing announcement before THFC had mentioned this to their own supporters.
We asked for clarification of the number of tickets made available to fans of MK Dons and where those fans would be located. We were first told by THFC that MK fans identifiable from that club’s database would be located in a fully segregated area in the upper tier, and then later that MK fans identifiable from that club’s database would be in specific blocks but not segregated. We received no reply to repeated questions about how many tickets had been sold to MK fans.
MK also decided to significantly raise parking prices for this game. We asked for an explanation and were told that the higher prices reflected the higher costs of running an event at which more than 20,000 people would attend. The Club has indicated it was unaware parking charges would be raised when it made the decision to use the stadium.
It’s worth remembering that the Club selected Stadium MK for this match because it said it wanted to preserve home advantage. The biggest advantage in this sense would be the home crowd, considering the stadium is unfamiliar to most of our squad. Yet there were three sets of fans in the ground, thousands of whom didn’t support Spurs!
4. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE TICKETING
The Club clarified all three of our Champions League home games would be held at Wembley Stadium in their announcement of 3 September. It also declined to offer a group stage pack for these matches, in spite of the packs proving hugely popular over the previous two seasons and despite 86% of this summer’s Fan Survey respondents wanting the pack again. THST lobbied hard for the packs and we are extremely disappointed the opportunity to give something back to fans wasn’t taken. Instead, Barcelona was put on sale at the top price of Category A.
The Club felt that it wasn’t possible to commit to a pack when the matches may have been played out of two venues. By the time it was known all of the matches would be taking place at Wembley, the draw had been made and opposition and dates were known. These packs were designed to be sold ‘blind’ before the draw.
We can’t help but feel the deal fans got last season, with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the group, was perhaps one that THFC’s Board considered was too good to offer again!
A number of fans contacted us to point out that Premium Season Ticket holders had been offered a package deal. Premium packages at £699 plus VAT offered a saving of roughly £450 on the full premium prices. While we don’t consider £699 plus VAT to be cheap, it’s unacceptable that the wealthiest fans can be offered discounted packages, but those spending less money can’t.
THST lobbied for the two remaining home matches against Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven to be priced lower than the top category A. Both have been priced at category B levels.
We were extremely disappointed to see that ticket prices for our fans travelling to Eindhoven and Barcelona would be £54 and £62 respectively. We are working with other fan groups and Football Supporters Europe to challenge price hikes on away tickets in European competition. We made THFC aware of this and asked for a conversation on pricing before discussions with Barcelona took place. THFC agreed to this, but no such discussions took place before the surprisingly early announcement of prices.
We made our feelings on this clear to THFC. Of course, charging high prices at the home games makes it harder still to push back on away pricing. We also pointed out that fans successful with applications for tickets for these European away games would have £116 plus booking fees taken from their accounts in the same month as West Ham away, the fourth round of the League Cup and both home Champions League matches, totalling well over £250 in tickets alone. With the closing date of 2 October a full 10 weeks before the date of the Barcelona game, we argued there was no reason why money for that game should be taken before the end of October. The Club noted our concerns and is looking at the timing of payment dates.
We also assisted with a number of ticketing issues connected with the Liverpool, Cardiff City, Barcelona and Manchester City matches at Wembley Stadium.
We quickly clarified that guest sale windows were not possible for Barcelona and Cardiff City, owing to tight timescales. We also clarified that Season Ticket holders wishing to move from their ‘regular’ seats at Wembley for Barcelona and Cardiff could do so in phase 2, as usual. There was some confusion around attendance points now being offered for matches at Wembley, and whether these would be backdated for Fulham and Liverpool. The Club confirmed they would be and we advise Season Ticket holders to keep an eye on their ticketing accounts for those points being added. The Club also confirmed the attendance points would only apply to Season Ticket holders.
We liaised with the Club to secure refunds on booking fees for those Season Ticket holders signed up to the automatic cup scheme for the Barcelona match, and we were pleased to see Manchester City priced at Category B for Season Ticket holders as a recognition of the inconsistency between the 1/19th refunds and match day pricing for Category A prices, which had seen many Season Ticket holders left out of pocket for the Liverpool game.
As always, we encourage the Club to be as clear as possible with their communications as we spend untold hours answering fan queries after each announcement! We continue to push for Club-run social media accounts for ticketing and supporter services.
5. METROPOLITAN POLICE INDEPENDENT ADVISORY GROUP (IAG)
Amanda Jacks, Caseworker at the Football Supporters’ Federation, has been instrumental in establishing IAGs at West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire police forces. Now, the Metropolitan Police is setting up an IAG which will include fan representatives to assist with football match planning.
Amanda told us: "The Met Police have long been at the forefront of constructive dialogue with supporters and I'm delighted that they have agreed to form a Football Policing Independent Advisory Group. The IAG will comprise two supporters from recognised supporter organisations from every London club, representatives from both Kick It Out and Level Playing Field and, of course, officers from the Met's Football Unit.
“The IAG will act as a critical friend to the Met and there is an expectation that due to the formality of the meetings there will be more exposure to information about football policing.
“The IAG will meet quarterly although will convene in the event of any urgent matter. I'd encourage all Spurs supporters to feed back their opinions and experiences of football policing, positive and negative, so the IAG will able to make a constructive contribution on your behalf and represent your views."
THST will be represented on the Metropolitan Police IAG.
6. CROWD MANAGEMENT AT LIVERPOOL AT WEMBLEY
Immediately after the Premier League game v Liverpool on 15 September, we received a number of complaints on email and on social media from fans concerned at the presence of Liverpool fans in home areas of Wembley, some even wearing colours. We asked THFC for comment, who in turn asked WNSL to explain their approach on the day. We also asked about the pyrotechnic clearly visible in the away section after Liverpool’s first goal.
We had received no formal answer as this newsletter was completed, but informal conversation indicated that any answer would be broadly similar to the one we received following the Juventus game.
7. PREMIUM ACCESS TO AWAY TICKETS
We’ve been contacted by a number of Premium Season Ticket holders over the past month concerned about their access to away tickets. Historically, THST hasn’t been overly involved in Executive issues as our main campaigning and lobbying work tends to be around areas of less relevance to the Executive members. However, with the expansion of the Premium offering from 3,000 to 8,000 this summer, inevitably we now have THST members as part of that growing group, and we’re happy to help where we can.
During the sales process, we were made aware on numerous occasions of access to away tickets being used as part of the Premium pitch; something we raised with THFC and something we were assured was miscommunication and would be clarified, and stopped. Guaranteeing access to away tickets was never going to be possible, considering the most normally allocated for Premier League away games is 3,000 and there are 8,000 Premium Season Ticket holders. What we do know and have communicated previously is that 14% of the total away pot now goes to Premiums, up from 9% in previous seasons. So that’s 420 tickets to a typical league match going to Premium Season Ticket holders.
Our understanding of the process is that Premium Season Ticket holders are invited to apply for tickets to away games well in advance of the matches. What we are trying to find out is the way in which these tickets are allocated in the event of those games being oversubscribed. This may be by a ballot or, more worryingly, by the amount of money the Premium ticket cost. The members’ handbook is especially woolly on this issue stating “the ability to acquire away tickets on a priority basis is subject to availability and on terms determined by us from time to time”. We have asked for transparency on this matter.
Former General Admission Season Ticket holders who upgraded to Premium ST holders this summer also had their ticketing points reset to zero, despite fans telling us this was not made clear at any stage throughout the sales process. This means that Premium ST holders who previously qualified for away tickets through their GA ST points are now missing out on matches, despite paying thousands more for their Season Tickets. We’ve been told that “Premium members will accrue points through away games and other Club events”, but have been given no further information as to how that system will work, or what those ‘Club events’ might be. Nor what will happen to those points should a Premium ST holder decide not to renew as a Premium but wish to move to a General Admission Season Ticket in the future.
Further complications have been caused by the Premium members operation being overseen by sales staff, not by members of the normal ticketing operation, meaning the lack of a holistic view across all of the ticketing operation at Spurs. We continue to stress that there needs to be one overall point of contact across ALL of ticketing who can answer our questions, and those of the Club’s paying customers.
8. FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS EUROPE UEFA AWAY TICKET PRICING CAMPAIGN
Last season, a number of matches in the Champions League and Europa League hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when visiting fans were charged over 100 euros for a match ticket, often in the worse part of the stadium, too. Breaking the 100 euro mark triggered kickback from fan groups affected across Europe, and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) agreed to take up the case with UEFA.
Spanish Clubs have been among the worse culprits for charging visiting fans significantly more than home fans via a loophole in UEFA regulations. In the UK, fans may be aware of the ridiculous situation whereby Manchester United and Seville both subsidised their travelling fans after both clubs inflated the price of an away ticket to over £80. Manchester United play Valencia this season and a repeat of that would not be welcomed. Spurs will be visiting the Nou Camp in December and our fans will be charged £62 for a ticket. For context, Spurs charged Barcelona fans £54 for the match at Wembley which takes place later this week.
On 18 September, FSE issued a statement to coincide with UCL Match Day 1. That can be read here. THST fully endorses this statement, and we made THFC aware of this as reported above in Item 4.
We have also received worrying reports that UEFA is exploring increasing prices for their showpiece finals significantly, ‘in line with SuperBowl’. It is important that the vast difference between football fans – many of whom would have attended 40+ games in that one season in order to qualify for a ticket – and those attending a one-off event is acknowledged.
The FA is already guilty of increasing FA Cup semi and final tickets ‘in line’ with Wimbledon Finals and NFL showpiece events and this dangerous pattern of benchmarking against non-comparable sporting events is threatening to irrevocably damage our game once and for all. We’ll be keeping a close eye on how this develops.
9. PREMIER LEAGUE STRUCTURED DIALOGUE
Minutes of the meeting between supporter reps from every Premier League club, the Football Supporters’ Federation, Supporters Direct and senior officials from the Premier League held in March 2018 have finally been released. THST was among the fan groups present. A read of the minutes will give supporters an idea of how difficult it can be to find out who is actually responsible for many of the decisions that affect the game.
While we’re pleased the discussions, a result of a Parliamentary working party call for better communication between the game and fans, have finally seen the light of day, we are not happy that it is six months since the meeting took place. If the process of so-called structured dialogue is to have any credibility among the wider fan community, the very least that is required is timely and transparent report backs on meetings held. THST is calling for the establishment of a proper secretariat for these meetings to enable a proper independent minute taking process to take place, and for an agreed deadline soon after meetings within which minutes are issued. Currently, fan reps take the minutes and the Premier League sits on them for months.
We don’t believe that’s within the spirit of what Parliament recommended, not does it properly showcase the progress being made at these meetings, however slowly.
We’re told the next meeting will be properly minuted, with a report issued immediately after it takes place.
10. RETURN OF THE SPURS BEAT: MEMBERS’ EVENT – 16 OCTOBER
Following our enormously successful members' evening last autumn that saw some of the journalists who regularly cover Spurs answer questions from our members-only audience, we are running a follow-up event on Tuesday 16 October at 7pm.
This time, we've got guests from a wider range of outlets to discuss the challenges and joys of covering Spurs. And, just for good measure, they are all lifelong Spurs fans.
11. FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS’ FEDERATION PREMIER LEAGUE NETWORK GROUP MEETING – 27 SEPTEMBER
Martin Cloake and Kat Law represented THST at the FSF Premier League Network Group meeting on the evening of 27 September in Euston.
Agenda items included the new national supporter organisation and the process for elections to the new national council. There was discussion on maintaining the away price cap beyond the initial three years, campaigning on rising FA Cup ticket prices and progress with the Stand Up for Choice campaign to enable fans to stand or sit while watching games.
The idea of a flexible rail ticket enabling fans to buy tickets for games that would still be valid if a game was moved is being looked at by rail companies following strong lobbying from fan reps and the Labour Party. On the subject of moving games, there was a report back from the sub group that had been working on this issue (Kat Law from THST, Tim Rolls from Chelsea ST and Anna Burgess from Spirit of Shankly). TV companies and the football authorities were now more aware of the effects of fixture changes on fans and were aware of lobbying from fan groups, but while deadlines for announcing TV picks were being met more regularly, there was still room for improvement. It was felt that the contacts and relationships established by the working party needed to be more fully used on a case by case basis and efforts to secure compensation for fans affected by fixture changes stepped up.
There was also a brief discussion on attitudes to a potential game 39 or Premier League fixture being played overseas. The general feeling was that we would still be against this, and several reps reported having been contacted by overseas supporters clubs expressing opposition to the idea too.
12. THST BOARD MEETING – 10 SEPTEMBER
The Trust Board met on the evening of 10 September. Treasurer Adam Bailey provided a finance update which confirmed a surplus for the year ending August 2018 of c £1,500. The Board is exploring higher interest rate options for our reserves, along with agreeing a policy on where to invest any additional surplus each year. Members will be kept informed of any decisions, including verbally at our February AGM.
Martin Buhagiar talked through some very healthy analytics for our website, which has seen a 78% increase in unique visits year on year to 288,375, and a 40% increase in page views up to 584,953. This is extremely encouraging in terms of reach and exposure.
Pete Haine and Kevin Fitzgerald updated on various charity and community initiatives, including plans for the 2019 Football to Amsterdam cycle ride for Prostate Cancer UK, continuing our relationship with Studio 306 Collective, and the Antwerp Arms AGM. Secretary Pete also updated on the proposal to adopt new rules at the February AGM.
The decision to play the Carabao Cup at Stadium MK, and the consequences of this decision, were discussed at some length, as were the continued stadium delays and possible fan mitigation. THST is due to meet with the Board of THFC on 9 October and is keen to obtain as many answers and as much reassurance as is possible for fans at that session.
The next board meeting is scheduled for 26 November.
13. BUSINESS COMMUNITY LIAISON GROUP MEETING – 18 SEPTEMBER
Pete Haine attended this meeting on behalf of THST. MACE confirmed that the grass pitch would be laid in October. They would not be drawn on any inference to be taken from that statement, but confirmed that the B&CLG would be informed a month in advance of the test dates (at the time of writing, no information has been received).
THFC want to be sure that when they announce dates for the test events, they will not have to be postponed again. Work continues on some snagging on the roof, which is complete, and on seating and lighting in the bowl. Work on the Tottenham Experience and the Shop nears completion.
THFC is to be involved in a working group with TfL and other parties on the redevelopment of White Hart Lane station.
Pete also raised the issue of the financial loss at the Antwerp Arms and asked whether THFC (who are also shareholders in the AAA) would be able to assist in some way.
He also raised the question of Blue Badge parking under the stadium and in the CPZ, on behalf of a Trust member, and has been in dialogue with THFC over the policy of the allocation of disabled parking spaces. Discussions are ongoing.
OTHER:
Pete is also a heritage ambassador for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, and recently hosted a walk for fellow ambassadors, a Walter Tull historian, Foundation staff and newly appointed THFC museum staff.
He has also spoken about the history of THFC on a recent walk with Haringey Recovery Service. The walk raised awareness of how substance misuse impacts on the user, family, friends, carers and the community at large. It celebrated their successes and achievements and aims to reduce the stigma of people in recovery. The event also acknowledged those that have passed away and whose recovery journeys have come to an end.
If any of you are interested in joining a future SSH walk (in exchange for a small donation to one of our partner charities), email pete.haine@THSTOfficial.com for details.
You will see that the cyclists were proudly wearing the special limited edition cycling jerseys produced as the result of an initiative between THFC and the Trust.
We are now signing up team members for 2019. We are always looking to encourage new riders onto the team.
Around 40 Spurs fans have undertaken one or more of the journeys to date. All have completed the route from the Olympic Velodrome to the Ajax Arena, whatever their experience as cyclists, whatever the training they undertook; all have also had a great time and became fitter as a result.
Registration began around a month ago and we already have 21 riders signed up and in the COYS team; far, far more riders than ever before. This includes 11 of this year’s team.
If you are quick you might still catch the early bird £50 reduction from the registration fee.
For any of Wingate and Finchley’s home matches, adults presenting a proof of membership of THST at the gates will gain entry for half price. That’s just £6. And any juniors under the age of 16 will be allowed in for FREE. For Senior Concessions (over 65) and Students (proof required for both), the charge is a modest £3. More information can be found here.
Throughout October, Wingate and Finchley face Northwood at home on Tuesday 9 October in the Middlesex Charity Cup; Leatherhead at home on Saturday 13 October in the league; and Kingstonian at home in the league on Tuesday 23 October.
THST members are welcome at any and all of those matches, and at Cup ties yet to be scheduled for the coming month.
We’d like to clarify that this is not an exclusive arrangement with Wingate and Finchley, and should we be approached by other local teams with a similar offer, we’d be very happy to explore similar partnerships.
The Antwerp Arms Association was formed in 2013 to save and purchase a small heritage public house in Tottenham that has been serving local people since 1822. The funds were raised through a share offer and a grant from the Social Investment Bank. In March 2015, the AAA took over the Annie and opened it as North London’s first community owned pub. The AAA has 373 shareholders who elect a management committee at the AGM every year.
As those of you who have been in the pub recently will have seen, work has taken place since THFC has been away at Wembley. It now has a community space available for hire, along with new toilets, a larger kitchen, disabled toilets, disabled access and an extended bar area.
With more space, and better kitchen and dining areas, the Annie will be looking to increase trade. The hope is that many shareholders will visit regularly to eat, drink and take part in events.
With THFC playing at Wembley, the pub has lost about a third of its turnover for the last financial year. It was difficult to cut costs significantly, so the pub made a loss (£29k) after two years of profit.
At the AGM the new committee was elected, and a motion was passed for the new committee to take on a tenant to run the commercial side of the business. This will allow the committee to focus on the strategic and community aims, these being to improve the local environment, to increase employment opportunities and to develop community cohesion.
All Zeelo full season tickets and 10-game passes will be valid on all home league games to Wembley and New White Hart Lane. With the delayed move to the new stadium, Zeelo have been very flexible with travel passes. They have simply changed the tickets to include both locations at no extra cost to the fan. In the case where people don't want to travel to Wembley, they have given them refunds for those particular journeys.
MEDIA:
1 September
Evening Standard - Watford believe Tottenham will threaten the ‘integrity’ of League Cup if match is moved to Milton Keynes
18 September
This Is Local London - Spurs fans raise money by cycling from England to Holland
19 September
Talk Sport – Tottenham Hotspur put Carabao Cup tickets on sale to MK Dons fans
21 September
Ham & High - King full of praise for ‘Cycle on You Spurs’ team
26 September
BBC Sport – Spurs’ new stadium ‘will be greatest ever built’ says chief engineer
BBC – You and Yours featuring Pete Haine (from 28:00)
The Club’s iSpurs information portal has been rebranded as Ask Spurs. The portal answers many of the questions we are frequently contacted with. We’d urge fans to read and familiarise themselves with the details available on the portal as we continue to receive a high volume of questions asking for this information.
THST Board
1 October 2018
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
TO BECOME A TRUST MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
- Spurs Show offer for THST members
- Spurs Secret History walks
- THST cycling jerseys and Football to Amsterdam 2019
- Wingate and Finchley upcoming matches
- Antwerp Arms – Annual Members’ Meeting – 17 September
- Zeelo coach travel for the new season
The new stadium continues to dominate. For clarity, our position as a Trust is that we understand the very real challenges the build presents and we are looking forward to moving into what looks like a magnificent new home. However, we also recognise that many fans have paid substantial sums for a product that has not yet been delivered, and that fans in general want to be given clear and early information. We realise it’s not always possible to be as open as everyone might like, but there needs to be a better balance between managing the project and keeping fans informed.
We have told the Club fans would prefer certainty on a later opening date rather than the current situation where information drips out match by match. And we have asked for a proper conversation about compensating fans who have paid for seats in the new stadium should there be further delays.
Information on specific issues around specific games can be found later in this newsletter.
1. TICKETING QUESTIONS
Our Twitter feed and email inbox are currently flooded with questions about ticketing. We are increasingly unable to keep up with this workload on top of our other work, and our day jobs. We are here to help supporters, but many of the questions we are now receiving are either questions that can only be answered by the Club’s ticket office, or are answered on the Club’s website. It’s also worth checking down our feed to see if your question has already been answered.
The problem we have is that the more we reply to these questions, the more we get, and the less enthusiasm the Club shows for providing the dedicated customer service channels we have been asking for. Leaving aside the question of whether or not we are happy to provide an unpaid customer service function, we are finding the workload increasingly difficult to handle. We help where we can, and we will certainly help any fan who is having problems with ticketing. But unless the volume of questions drops, we are going to have to stop responding to requests for basic information that should be addressed to the Club.
Please could you bear in mind whether your question is best addressed to us or the Club before you ask it. We are aware of fans’ views about the quality of Club communication and of the challenges of finding information on the new website.
2. MANCHESTER CITY GAME RESCHEDULED – 29 OCTOBER
On 3 September, the Club confirmed that the Manchester City match would be moved to the evening of Monday 29 October at Wembley Stadium as a result of NWHL not being open and Wembley hosting NFL matches that weekend. The game had originally been selected in the most valuable Sunday 4pm broadcast slot and would now be shown as the Monday night game instead.
The original TV pick had been announced by the Premier League on 7 August and, while the game had yet to go on sale to members, Season Ticket holders had arranged travel and accommodation for the Sunday.
We approached the Club to ensure those in possession of valid match tickets with non-refundable and non-transferable bookings would be suitably compensated, using the precedent of the Burnley home match two seasons ago. The Club honoured those expenses as a gesture of goodwill after moving the date of that match to allow the players more rest over the Christmas period.
The customer service team at Spurs has helped fans left out of pocket by the date change. We’re also aware of Premium Season Ticket holders being offered complimentary seats in Club Wembley if they can make the new date for the City match. The Club isn’t obliged to offer anything under ticketing T&Cs, so these gestures are most appreciated.
Any Season Ticket holder with a non-refundable or non-transferable travel or accommodation booking made after 7 August and before 3 September should contact supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com initially, and be prepared to share booking documentation and the refund policy of your provider. Members are welcome to copy us in should they require any additional support.
Despite tickets not being on sale to visiting fans at the time of the fixture move, Manchester City is providing free transport to Wembley for its travelling supporters.
Moving the Spurs match to the Monday night broadcast slot left a gap for Sky Sports that weekend. So Manchester United v Everton, a match originally selected for broadcast on the Saturday lunchtime, was moved into the vacant – and valuable - Sunday 4pm slot. Tickets for this match had not gone on sale to Everton fans. However, Manchester United Season Ticket holders were affected in the same way as our own Season Ticket holders, having booked travel and accommodation for the original Saturday lunchtime match. Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) issued a strong statement condemning Sky’s decision to fill the vacant Sunday slot as “naked commercial opportunism at the expense of matchgoing fans”.
THST backed MUST’s statement and supports its call for compensation for fans from the Premier League and Sky Sports. Compensation would not only acknowledge the impact of such decisions on match-going fans but would set a precedent for future late changes. We await a decision from Sky.
3. CARABAO CUP ROUND 3 v WATFORD – 26 SEPTEMBER 2018
On 6 September, the EFL confirmed they had upheld the Club’s request to play the third round of the League Cup against Watford at Stadium MK. The EFL also confirmed they had rejected Watford’s formal request to host the match at Vicarage Road.
While our survey, conducted before the draw, found a fairly even split (43% v 46%) among fans over whether to ‘flip’ the tie or play at a neutral third ‘home’ ground, over 70% said any game should be played within the M25. This was clearly overlooked by THFC’s Board and the EFL.
THST has made its thoughts on THFC using Stadium MK for a ‘home’ fixture clear. We have also fed back to the Club on a number of logistical issues.
Choosing to play a Spurs home game 50 miles north of White Hart Lane at a stadium with a capacity of just 27,500 was always going to present practical difficulties.
As this was a ‘home’ match, the Club didn’t provide any subsidised transport to Milton Keynes.
Watford appealed for a bigger allocation than the 10% under competition rules and were given 4,500 tickets. They were only able to sell 3,000 for the tie, however.
With 50,000 Season Ticket holders at Spurs and under half the number of seats available for them, it wasn’t possible to allow fans to choose their own seats at the stadium. Instead, first ST holders then members were invited to apply in the same manner as for an away game, with ticketing points determining successful applications if oversubscribed. Not being able to select your own seat caused difficulties and prevented like-minded fans from congregating in familiar areas. We received several complaints regarding location of seats.
THFC and Milton Keynes Safety Advisory Group also allowed Season Ticket holders and members of MK Dons to buy seats. It’s regrettable that MK Dons published that ticketing announcement before THFC had mentioned this to their own supporters.
We asked for clarification of the number of tickets made available to fans of MK Dons and where those fans would be located. We were first told by THFC that MK fans identifiable from that club’s database would be located in a fully segregated area in the upper tier, and then later that MK fans identifiable from that club’s database would be in specific blocks but not segregated. We received no reply to repeated questions about how many tickets had been sold to MK fans.
MK also decided to significantly raise parking prices for this game. We asked for an explanation and were told that the higher prices reflected the higher costs of running an event at which more than 20,000 people would attend. The Club has indicated it was unaware parking charges would be raised when it made the decision to use the stadium.
It’s worth remembering that the Club selected Stadium MK for this match because it said it wanted to preserve home advantage. The biggest advantage in this sense would be the home crowd, considering the stadium is unfamiliar to most of our squad. Yet there were three sets of fans in the ground, thousands of whom didn’t support Spurs!
4. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE TICKETING
The Club clarified all three of our Champions League home games would be held at Wembley Stadium in their announcement of 3 September. It also declined to offer a group stage pack for these matches, in spite of the packs proving hugely popular over the previous two seasons and despite 86% of this summer’s Fan Survey respondents wanting the pack again. THST lobbied hard for the packs and we are extremely disappointed the opportunity to give something back to fans wasn’t taken. Instead, Barcelona was put on sale at the top price of Category A.
The Club felt that it wasn’t possible to commit to a pack when the matches may have been played out of two venues. By the time it was known all of the matches would be taking place at Wembley, the draw had been made and opposition and dates were known. These packs were designed to be sold ‘blind’ before the draw.
We can’t help but feel the deal fans got last season, with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the group, was perhaps one that THFC’s Board considered was too good to offer again!
A number of fans contacted us to point out that Premium Season Ticket holders had been offered a package deal. Premium packages at £699 plus VAT offered a saving of roughly £450 on the full premium prices. While we don’t consider £699 plus VAT to be cheap, it’s unacceptable that the wealthiest fans can be offered discounted packages, but those spending less money can’t.
THST lobbied for the two remaining home matches against Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven to be priced lower than the top category A. Both have been priced at category B levels.
We were extremely disappointed to see that ticket prices for our fans travelling to Eindhoven and Barcelona would be £54 and £62 respectively. We are working with other fan groups and Football Supporters Europe to challenge price hikes on away tickets in European competition. We made THFC aware of this and asked for a conversation on pricing before discussions with Barcelona took place. THFC agreed to this, but no such discussions took place before the surprisingly early announcement of prices.
We made our feelings on this clear to THFC. Of course, charging high prices at the home games makes it harder still to push back on away pricing. We also pointed out that fans successful with applications for tickets for these European away games would have £116 plus booking fees taken from their accounts in the same month as West Ham away, the fourth round of the League Cup and both home Champions League matches, totalling well over £250 in tickets alone. With the closing date of 2 October a full 10 weeks before the date of the Barcelona game, we argued there was no reason why money for that game should be taken before the end of October. The Club noted our concerns and is looking at the timing of payment dates.
We also assisted with a number of ticketing issues connected with the Liverpool, Cardiff City, Barcelona and Manchester City matches at Wembley Stadium.
We quickly clarified that guest sale windows were not possible for Barcelona and Cardiff City, owing to tight timescales. We also clarified that Season Ticket holders wishing to move from their ‘regular’ seats at Wembley for Barcelona and Cardiff could do so in phase 2, as usual. There was some confusion around attendance points now being offered for matches at Wembley, and whether these would be backdated for Fulham and Liverpool. The Club confirmed they would be and we advise Season Ticket holders to keep an eye on their ticketing accounts for those points being added. The Club also confirmed the attendance points would only apply to Season Ticket holders.
We liaised with the Club to secure refunds on booking fees for those Season Ticket holders signed up to the automatic cup scheme for the Barcelona match, and we were pleased to see Manchester City priced at Category B for Season Ticket holders as a recognition of the inconsistency between the 1/19th refunds and match day pricing for Category A prices, which had seen many Season Ticket holders left out of pocket for the Liverpool game.
As always, we encourage the Club to be as clear as possible with their communications as we spend untold hours answering fan queries after each announcement! We continue to push for Club-run social media accounts for ticketing and supporter services.
5. METROPOLITAN POLICE INDEPENDENT ADVISORY GROUP (IAG)
Amanda Jacks, Caseworker at the Football Supporters’ Federation, has been instrumental in establishing IAGs at West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire police forces. Now, the Metropolitan Police is setting up an IAG which will include fan representatives to assist with football match planning.
Amanda told us: "The Met Police have long been at the forefront of constructive dialogue with supporters and I'm delighted that they have agreed to form a Football Policing Independent Advisory Group. The IAG will comprise two supporters from recognised supporter organisations from every London club, representatives from both Kick It Out and Level Playing Field and, of course, officers from the Met's Football Unit.
“The IAG will act as a critical friend to the Met and there is an expectation that due to the formality of the meetings there will be more exposure to information about football policing.
“The IAG will meet quarterly although will convene in the event of any urgent matter. I'd encourage all Spurs supporters to feed back their opinions and experiences of football policing, positive and negative, so the IAG will able to make a constructive contribution on your behalf and represent your views."
THST will be represented on the Metropolitan Police IAG.
6. CROWD MANAGEMENT AT LIVERPOOL AT WEMBLEY
Immediately after the Premier League game v Liverpool on 15 September, we received a number of complaints on email and on social media from fans concerned at the presence of Liverpool fans in home areas of Wembley, some even wearing colours. We asked THFC for comment, who in turn asked WNSL to explain their approach on the day. We also asked about the pyrotechnic clearly visible in the away section after Liverpool’s first goal.
We had received no formal answer as this newsletter was completed, but informal conversation indicated that any answer would be broadly similar to the one we received following the Juventus game.
7. PREMIUM ACCESS TO AWAY TICKETS
We’ve been contacted by a number of Premium Season Ticket holders over the past month concerned about their access to away tickets. Historically, THST hasn’t been overly involved in Executive issues as our main campaigning and lobbying work tends to be around areas of less relevance to the Executive members. However, with the expansion of the Premium offering from 3,000 to 8,000 this summer, inevitably we now have THST members as part of that growing group, and we’re happy to help where we can.
During the sales process, we were made aware on numerous occasions of access to away tickets being used as part of the Premium pitch; something we raised with THFC and something we were assured was miscommunication and would be clarified, and stopped. Guaranteeing access to away tickets was never going to be possible, considering the most normally allocated for Premier League away games is 3,000 and there are 8,000 Premium Season Ticket holders. What we do know and have communicated previously is that 14% of the total away pot now goes to Premiums, up from 9% in previous seasons. So that’s 420 tickets to a typical league match going to Premium Season Ticket holders.
Our understanding of the process is that Premium Season Ticket holders are invited to apply for tickets to away games well in advance of the matches. What we are trying to find out is the way in which these tickets are allocated in the event of those games being oversubscribed. This may be by a ballot or, more worryingly, by the amount of money the Premium ticket cost. The members’ handbook is especially woolly on this issue stating “the ability to acquire away tickets on a priority basis is subject to availability and on terms determined by us from time to time”. We have asked for transparency on this matter.
Former General Admission Season Ticket holders who upgraded to Premium ST holders this summer also had their ticketing points reset to zero, despite fans telling us this was not made clear at any stage throughout the sales process. This means that Premium ST holders who previously qualified for away tickets through their GA ST points are now missing out on matches, despite paying thousands more for their Season Tickets. We’ve been told that “Premium members will accrue points through away games and other Club events”, but have been given no further information as to how that system will work, or what those ‘Club events’ might be. Nor what will happen to those points should a Premium ST holder decide not to renew as a Premium but wish to move to a General Admission Season Ticket in the future.
Further complications have been caused by the Premium members operation being overseen by sales staff, not by members of the normal ticketing operation, meaning the lack of a holistic view across all of the ticketing operation at Spurs. We continue to stress that there needs to be one overall point of contact across ALL of ticketing who can answer our questions, and those of the Club’s paying customers.
8. FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS EUROPE UEFA AWAY TICKET PRICING CAMPAIGN
Last season, a number of matches in the Champions League and Europa League hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when visiting fans were charged over 100 euros for a match ticket, often in the worse part of the stadium, too. Breaking the 100 euro mark triggered kickback from fan groups affected across Europe, and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) agreed to take up the case with UEFA.
Spanish Clubs have been among the worse culprits for charging visiting fans significantly more than home fans via a loophole in UEFA regulations. In the UK, fans may be aware of the ridiculous situation whereby Manchester United and Seville both subsidised their travelling fans after both clubs inflated the price of an away ticket to over £80. Manchester United play Valencia this season and a repeat of that would not be welcomed. Spurs will be visiting the Nou Camp in December and our fans will be charged £62 for a ticket. For context, Spurs charged Barcelona fans £54 for the match at Wembley which takes place later this week.
On 18 September, FSE issued a statement to coincide with UCL Match Day 1. That can be read here. THST fully endorses this statement, and we made THFC aware of this as reported above in Item 4.
We have also received worrying reports that UEFA is exploring increasing prices for their showpiece finals significantly, ‘in line with SuperBowl’. It is important that the vast difference between football fans – many of whom would have attended 40+ games in that one season in order to qualify for a ticket – and those attending a one-off event is acknowledged.
The FA is already guilty of increasing FA Cup semi and final tickets ‘in line’ with Wimbledon Finals and NFL showpiece events and this dangerous pattern of benchmarking against non-comparable sporting events is threatening to irrevocably damage our game once and for all. We’ll be keeping a close eye on how this develops.
9. PREMIER LEAGUE STRUCTURED DIALOGUE
Minutes of the meeting between supporter reps from every Premier League club, the Football Supporters’ Federation, Supporters Direct and senior officials from the Premier League held in March 2018 have finally been released. THST was among the fan groups present. A read of the minutes will give supporters an idea of how difficult it can be to find out who is actually responsible for many of the decisions that affect the game.
While we’re pleased the discussions, a result of a Parliamentary working party call for better communication between the game and fans, have finally seen the light of day, we are not happy that it is six months since the meeting took place. If the process of so-called structured dialogue is to have any credibility among the wider fan community, the very least that is required is timely and transparent report backs on meetings held. THST is calling for the establishment of a proper secretariat for these meetings to enable a proper independent minute taking process to take place, and for an agreed deadline soon after meetings within which minutes are issued. Currently, fan reps take the minutes and the Premier League sits on them for months.
We don’t believe that’s within the spirit of what Parliament recommended, not does it properly showcase the progress being made at these meetings, however slowly.
We’re told the next meeting will be properly minuted, with a report issued immediately after it takes place.
10. RETURN OF THE SPURS BEAT: MEMBERS’ EVENT – 16 OCTOBER
Following our enormously successful members' evening last autumn that saw some of the journalists who regularly cover Spurs answer questions from our members-only audience, we are running a follow-up event on Tuesday 16 October at 7pm.
This time, we've got guests from a wider range of outlets to discuss the challenges and joys of covering Spurs. And, just for good measure, they are all lifelong Spurs fans.
- Gerry Cox is a writer and broadcaster, and currently Managing Director of leading sports agency Hayters Teamwork. A former chair of the Football Writers' Association, Gerry has covered Spurs for over 30 years. He reports regularly on football for a wide variety of outlets.
- Michael Bridge is a reporter and broadcaster at Sky Sports News. He's presented a variety of programmes from Sky's studios, and reported live on screen from matches around the country. He was also the writer of THFC's official club annuals for over a decade.
- Chris Cowlin is an author, actor and Spurs season ticket holder. He has written 147 books, including a number on Spurs, and he produces a regular YouTube Channel on progress with the new Spurs stadium.
- Dan Kilpatrick is a reporter for the London Evening Standard. He was previously Spurs correspondent for ESPN and co-presenter of the Spurs podcast The Tottenham Way.
11. FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS’ FEDERATION PREMIER LEAGUE NETWORK GROUP MEETING – 27 SEPTEMBER
Martin Cloake and Kat Law represented THST at the FSF Premier League Network Group meeting on the evening of 27 September in Euston.
Agenda items included the new national supporter organisation and the process for elections to the new national council. There was discussion on maintaining the away price cap beyond the initial three years, campaigning on rising FA Cup ticket prices and progress with the Stand Up for Choice campaign to enable fans to stand or sit while watching games.
The idea of a flexible rail ticket enabling fans to buy tickets for games that would still be valid if a game was moved is being looked at by rail companies following strong lobbying from fan reps and the Labour Party. On the subject of moving games, there was a report back from the sub group that had been working on this issue (Kat Law from THST, Tim Rolls from Chelsea ST and Anna Burgess from Spirit of Shankly). TV companies and the football authorities were now more aware of the effects of fixture changes on fans and were aware of lobbying from fan groups, but while deadlines for announcing TV picks were being met more regularly, there was still room for improvement. It was felt that the contacts and relationships established by the working party needed to be more fully used on a case by case basis and efforts to secure compensation for fans affected by fixture changes stepped up.
There was also a brief discussion on attitudes to a potential game 39 or Premier League fixture being played overseas. The general feeling was that we would still be against this, and several reps reported having been contacted by overseas supporters clubs expressing opposition to the idea too.
12. THST BOARD MEETING – 10 SEPTEMBER
The Trust Board met on the evening of 10 September. Treasurer Adam Bailey provided a finance update which confirmed a surplus for the year ending August 2018 of c £1,500. The Board is exploring higher interest rate options for our reserves, along with agreeing a policy on where to invest any additional surplus each year. Members will be kept informed of any decisions, including verbally at our February AGM.
Martin Buhagiar talked through some very healthy analytics for our website, which has seen a 78% increase in unique visits year on year to 288,375, and a 40% increase in page views up to 584,953. This is extremely encouraging in terms of reach and exposure.
Pete Haine and Kevin Fitzgerald updated on various charity and community initiatives, including plans for the 2019 Football to Amsterdam cycle ride for Prostate Cancer UK, continuing our relationship with Studio 306 Collective, and the Antwerp Arms AGM. Secretary Pete also updated on the proposal to adopt new rules at the February AGM.
The decision to play the Carabao Cup at Stadium MK, and the consequences of this decision, were discussed at some length, as were the continued stadium delays and possible fan mitigation. THST is due to meet with the Board of THFC on 9 October and is keen to obtain as many answers and as much reassurance as is possible for fans at that session.
The next board meeting is scheduled for 26 November.
13. BUSINESS COMMUNITY LIAISON GROUP MEETING – 18 SEPTEMBER
Pete Haine attended this meeting on behalf of THST. MACE confirmed that the grass pitch would be laid in October. They would not be drawn on any inference to be taken from that statement, but confirmed that the B&CLG would be informed a month in advance of the test dates (at the time of writing, no information has been received).
THFC want to be sure that when they announce dates for the test events, they will not have to be postponed again. Work continues on some snagging on the roof, which is complete, and on seating and lighting in the bowl. Work on the Tottenham Experience and the Shop nears completion.
THFC is to be involved in a working group with TfL and other parties on the redevelopment of White Hart Lane station.
Pete also raised the issue of the financial loss at the Antwerp Arms and asked whether THFC (who are also shareholders in the AAA) would be able to assist in some way.
He also raised the question of Blue Badge parking under the stadium and in the CPZ, on behalf of a Trust member, and has been in dialogue with THFC over the policy of the allocation of disabled parking spaces. Discussions are ongoing.
OTHER:
- Spurs Show offer for THST members – until 7 October
- Spurs Secret History Walks
Pete is also a heritage ambassador for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, and recently hosted a walk for fellow ambassadors, a Walter Tull historian, Foundation staff and newly appointed THFC museum staff.
He has also spoken about the history of THFC on a recent walk with Haringey Recovery Service. The walk raised awareness of how substance misuse impacts on the user, family, friends, carers and the community at large. It celebrated their successes and achievements and aims to reduce the stigma of people in recovery. The event also acknowledged those that have passed away and whose recovery journeys have come to an end.
If any of you are interested in joining a future SSH walk (in exchange for a small donation to one of our partner charities), email pete.haine@THSTOfficial.com for details.
- THST cycling jerseys and Football to Amsterdam 2019
You will see that the cyclists were proudly wearing the special limited edition cycling jerseys produced as the result of an initiative between THFC and the Trust.
We are now signing up team members for 2019. We are always looking to encourage new riders onto the team.
Around 40 Spurs fans have undertaken one or more of the journeys to date. All have completed the route from the Olympic Velodrome to the Ajax Arena, whatever their experience as cyclists, whatever the training they undertook; all have also had a great time and became fitter as a result.
Registration began around a month ago and we already have 21 riders signed up and in the COYS team; far, far more riders than ever before. This includes 11 of this year’s team.
If you are quick you might still catch the early bird £50 reduction from the registration fee.
- Wingate and Finchley upcoming matches
For any of Wingate and Finchley’s home matches, adults presenting a proof of membership of THST at the gates will gain entry for half price. That’s just £6. And any juniors under the age of 16 will be allowed in for FREE. For Senior Concessions (over 65) and Students (proof required for both), the charge is a modest £3. More information can be found here.
Throughout October, Wingate and Finchley face Northwood at home on Tuesday 9 October in the Middlesex Charity Cup; Leatherhead at home on Saturday 13 October in the league; and Kingstonian at home in the league on Tuesday 23 October.
THST members are welcome at any and all of those matches, and at Cup ties yet to be scheduled for the coming month.
We’d like to clarify that this is not an exclusive arrangement with Wingate and Finchley, and should we be approached by other local teams with a similar offer, we’d be very happy to explore similar partnerships.
- Antwerp Arms – Annual Members’ Meeting – 17 September
The Antwerp Arms Association was formed in 2013 to save and purchase a small heritage public house in Tottenham that has been serving local people since 1822. The funds were raised through a share offer and a grant from the Social Investment Bank. In March 2015, the AAA took over the Annie and opened it as North London’s first community owned pub. The AAA has 373 shareholders who elect a management committee at the AGM every year.
As those of you who have been in the pub recently will have seen, work has taken place since THFC has been away at Wembley. It now has a community space available for hire, along with new toilets, a larger kitchen, disabled toilets, disabled access and an extended bar area.
With more space, and better kitchen and dining areas, the Annie will be looking to increase trade. The hope is that many shareholders will visit regularly to eat, drink and take part in events.
With THFC playing at Wembley, the pub has lost about a third of its turnover for the last financial year. It was difficult to cut costs significantly, so the pub made a loss (£29k) after two years of profit.
At the AGM the new committee was elected, and a motion was passed for the new committee to take on a tenant to run the commercial side of the business. This will allow the committee to focus on the strategic and community aims, these being to improve the local environment, to increase employment opportunities and to develop community cohesion.
- Zeelo coach travel
All Zeelo full season tickets and 10-game passes will be valid on all home league games to Wembley and New White Hart Lane. With the delayed move to the new stadium, Zeelo have been very flexible with travel passes. They have simply changed the tickets to include both locations at no extra cost to the fan. In the case where people don't want to travel to Wembley, they have given them refunds for those particular journeys.
MEDIA:
1 September
Evening Standard - Watford believe Tottenham will threaten the ‘integrity’ of League Cup if match is moved to Milton Keynes
18 September
This Is Local London - Spurs fans raise money by cycling from England to Holland
19 September
Talk Sport – Tottenham Hotspur put Carabao Cup tickets on sale to MK Dons fans
21 September
Ham & High - King full of praise for ‘Cycle on You Spurs’ team
26 September
BBC Sport – Spurs’ new stadium ‘will be greatest ever built’ says chief engineer
BBC – You and Yours featuring Pete Haine (from 28:00)
The Club’s iSpurs information portal has been rebranded as Ask Spurs. The portal answers many of the questions we are frequently contacted with. We’d urge fans to read and familiarise themselves with the details available on the portal as we continue to receive a high volume of questions asking for this information.
THST Board
1 October 2018
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
TO BECOME A TRUST MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
RSS Feed
