We can now keep this club alive

[Pete T]

Whilst travelling home from work tonight, I was enjoying that Friday Feeling and thought to myself, "Hang on a minute...."

Assuming the financials are in place - bear with me here - what has changed since the end of a very poor season on the ice and lack lustre atmosphere off the ice?

Well, we have a new player / coach with heaps of NHL experience. I will go with that - perhaps a change in style and ethos on the ice? Yes please.

Assuming the Brits remain in place, we have retained the nucleus of last years team that I am happy with. Thank you.

We are more than likely going to have an injection of new blood to the league. That's what I wanted.

The match night entertainment is bound to change as people behind the scenes have moved on. Let's give it a chance.

I'll get another years use out of my number n-n-n-n-nineteen shirt. Tight git.

So what if we are not world beaters - we could potentially deliver the entertainment that has been sorely lacking recently.

So things can't be all bad, can they? Not sure about the announcing though.....

Am I delusional or does some of it make sense?

[jayboy (SSHOF)]

It makes perfect sense to me!

[Steeler92]

I came up with the "BRING BACK THE BROUGHTON LANE 4" now things have to move on.I have paid for my season ticket and so I hope to be there for the season.I am a SUPPORTER of the "SHEFFIELD STEELERS" TEAM and as the word says I will SUPPORT them good OR bad.

[WakefieldSteeler]

I'll be there for the first game against Dundee and i hope loads more are too.

What better way to promote the club than give the potential for a "6000+ crowd see Steelers win opener" type headline.

The website needs getting back online asap and any marketing stratagies planed or otherwise need kicking into gear also to make as much of a POSITIVE mood prior to opening night as possible.

The people of Sheffield need to know the club is still alive and raring to go, not be given the impression that all is doom and gloom. That won't help anyone.

[TheDeg]

Our family love ice hockey ..... end of. We will be there on the 4th to support who ever is on the ice for the Sheffield STEELERS. We have had good times with David Simms (LEGEND), Mike O'C, Matty, Randy Dagenais, to name a few. Great people, good times but at the end of the day we love whoever is scoring goals, defending goals, saving goals and doing everything they can on the ice. We are looking forward to the 4th SEPT and will be there. (Don't want to put the cat among the pigeons but if we're talking bums on seats, would rather have seen McMorrow on the Sheffield side than Dundee.......however)

[Glynn M]

This topic is pretty much what I was meaning in my "Do you support the Sheffield Steelers" thread. We can huff and puff and make a fuss about the ownership and how the club is run, but in the end the only way of moving forward is to keep supporting the team.

Staying away probably wouldn't hurt the owners as much as the fans who've loved the club for a lot longer in most cases, if we all want a Steelers to remain in existance then we need to keep supporting.

One other thing that people who are talking/thinking of staying away should consider, the players we've all supported through thick and thin in recent seasons (plus a few new faces) are the main people who will suffer if we stay away, not the owners, it is after all things such as players wages and equipment that a good chunk of our ticket money will be going towards.

[WiseOwl]

Whilst travelling home from work tonight, I was enjoying that Friday Feeling and thought to myself, "Hang on a minute...."

Assuming the financials are in place - bear with me here - what has changed since the end of a very poor season on the ice and lack lustre atmosphere off the ice?

Well, we have a new player / coach with heaps of NHL experience. I will go with that - perhaps a change in style and ethos on the ice? Yes please.

Assuming the Brits remain in place, we have retained the nucleus of last years team that I am happy with. Thank you.

We are more than likely going to have an injection of new blood to the league. That's what I wanted.

The match night entertainment is bound to change as people behind the scenes have moved on. Let's give it a chance.

I'll get another years use out of my number n-n-n-n-nineteen shirt. Tight git.

So what if we are not world beaters - we could potentially deliver the entertainment that has been sorely lacking recently.

So things can't be all bad, can they? Not sure about the announcing though.....

Am I delusional or does some of it make sense?

Not at all, as long as we have a team to cheer on and know they are giving their best thats pretty much what we all want. last year a lot were disillusioned with Matsos and wanted hime to go - so we have a new coach albeit in different circumstances. Some players have stayed and some moved on. No different to any other year. We have an new coach who should be one decent player also. He seems to be certain we will be entertaining (isn't that what we all wanted??) Reading Bob's comments the other day he knows the last 2 spots need to be top end players... I for one am glad I have a season ticket and am beginning to look forward to the season start after months of gloom!!

Bring it on!!

[scuff]

Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your groceries from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your clothes from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your Newspapers from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your Computer from?

So why does it matter to you who owns the Steelers?

Actually Stewart, this time, to me....it does. Sadly.

I'm buggered if I'm gonna line Bobs pockets if I'm ever in the vicinity of a weekend during the winter. I'll make the effort to support the team at away games and in Belfast, but nah...this time, after being through all the crap we've been through in the past, I'm not buying a ticket to pay for other peoples financial mishaps. As for the people who now fill the shoes of the 'disappeared'....well, I'd say the word 'karma' may be one you'll be pondering on, in the future.

To all the folks I used to see in the HoS and who would pass the time over the years wandering round the concourse, well hopefully, I'll see yer again, same old faces, in same old warmly familiar places. Slán go fóill....Sláinte mhaith

When this owner has relinquished ALL ties with this sporting club. Remember...


Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha.

[Keith Sheppard]

While I can understand and respect peoples right to choose under which conditions they attend games,I do fear a boycott could be detrimental to the long term sustainability of the club. Is that worth the protest against the owner regardless of the individuals opinion of him/her? David Simms will be at the first game, so will I.

[Doom]

While I can understand and respect peoples right to choose under which conditions they attend games,I do fear a boycott could be detrimental to the long term sustainability of the club. Is that worth the protest against the owner regardless of the individuals opinion of him/her? David Simms will be at the first game, so will I.

This is the point I keep trying to make.

I don't have any control who our owner is or how they run the business, there are only 2 things I can do to influence anything:

1. Attend games and give them my money.

2. Not attend games and deprive myself of something I love to do on a Saturday night.

If enough people and sponsors choose option 2, we don't have an ice hockey club anymore, if enough people and sponsors choose option 1, we have a strong ice hockey club moving forward into the future.

I'm sure Bob Westerdale has his own motives and concerns to be reporting the way he has recently, but at the end of the day his reporting is going to encourage more supporters/sponsors to choose option 2......and that worries me, hence why my criticism of him.

I think on this issue Stewart and myself are of a similar mind......We don't care who the owners are and what they do with the money, what matters to us is that they provide a full season of entertaining hockey to the supporters.

[Stewart]

I think on this issue Stewart and myself are of a similar mind......We don't care who the owners are and what they do with the money, what matters to us is that they provide a full season of entertaining hockey to the supporters.

Exactly! In an ideal world I'd have preferred a new owner and a new management team, so that the club could have made a clean start. But it's not an ideal world so I have to accept that Bob Phillips, sorry Maraini Phillips , owns the Sheffield Steelers. That being the case if she puts out an entertaining team next season then I will go and watch. If she doesn't then I won't!

As for what she does with the money, as long as she provides me with the entertainment I pay for then it really isn't anything to do with me.

Edited to add that of course even if we had a new owner there are still no guarantee's that he/they would run the club profitably/sensibly/legally/properly (delete as appropriate) Five years ago Bob Phillips was regarded as our saviour by buying the club from Norton Lea. Darren Brown is regarded as the anti-christ yet he was a hero when he bought the club from George Dodds. So unless you have the money to buy and run the club yourself all you can do is watch the Hockey and not worry about who owns it.

[jayboy (SSHOF)]

I am actually looking forward to seeing a new style of coaching, so it is actually helping to start to get a touch exited about a new chapter as regards what type of hockey we would be watching. If only we didn't have the side show! To worry about when a sit down in the arena on the 4th...

[Steel Bolt]

Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your groceries from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your clothes from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your Newspapers from?
Does it matter to you who runs the shop you get your Computer from?

So why does it matter to you who owns the Steelers?

Actually Stewart, this time, to me....it does. Sadly.

I'm buggered if I'm gonna line Bobs pockets if I'm ever in the vicinity of a weekend during the winter. I'll make the effort to support the team at away games and in Belfast, but nah...this time, after being through all the crap we've been through in the past, I'm not buying a ticket to pay for other peoples financial mishaps. As for the people who now fill the shoes of the 'disappeared'....well, I'd say the word 'karma' may be one you'll be pondering on, in the future.

To all the folks I used to see in the HoS and who would pass the time over the years wandering round the concourse, well hopefully, I'll see yer again, same old faces, in same old warmly familiar places. Slán go fóill....Sláinte mhaith

When this owner has relinquished ALL ties with this sporting club. Remember...


Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha.

I did the same thing at Oakwell Scuff, unfortunatley I got out the habit when someone else took over and I've not been back since (Doyle's era). If I hadnt paid for my season ticket there's a good chance I'd be doing the same here, and eventually get out of the habit again.

[Doom]

I did the same thing at Oakwell Scuff, unfortunatley I got out the habit when someone else took over and I've not been back since (Doyle's era). If I hadnt paid for my season ticket there's a good chance I'd be doing the same here, and eventually get out of the habit again.

Let's hope you do enjoy the product on the ice this season, then maybe you'll be glad you've kept the habit.

[Stewart]

I did the same thing at Oakwell Scuff, unfortunatley I got out the habit when someone else took over and I've not been back since (Doyle's era). If I hadnt paid for my season ticket there's a good chance I'd be doing the same here, and eventually get out of the habit again.

You know that thought is bothering me! For the past few years I picked a few games to see if the standard had improved and when it hadn't I didn't go any more. I'm just a bit worried that I may find that even if I enjoy the standard of Hockey when I try it next year that I may struggle to get back into the habit of going regularly!