The Posh Supporters' Trust ran a supporters coach from St Ives to London Rd calling at Chatteris and March for the last Bury and Notts County home games in March. For the Notts County game the bus started at Huntingdon Bus Station so that Posh fans could join there if they wished. The logistics worked well with the bus arriving close to its planned arrival times despite heavy traffic, especially entering and leaving Peterborough.
Despite plenty of advertising and comment the take up of the offer has, so far, been low. However The Posh Supporters' Trust is very happy to organise, promote and, to a degree, subsidise the service. So if there is demand for next season we will put it on again.
This requires approximately 40 people to show interest in regularly using the service. If anyone wants to use the coach they need to register their interest by e-mailing the Trust at: theposhtrust@yahoo.co.uk or call Barry Bennett on 07710 283676.
If any other Posh fans from outside Peterborough believe that there would be similar demand for Trust Bus from another area then please let us know in the same way.
The Posh Supporters' Trust launched the New Posh Fans Initiative at the recent Stockport game. Just under 1,000 new fans took up our offer of free tickets and attended the match as guests of the Trust.
It's a campaign by the Posh Supporters' Trust, backed and assisted by the football club to find new long term Posh fans in Peterborough by introducing families and individuals to Peterborough United Football Club through special ticket offers. It is also an attempt to develop and improve the relationship between the football club and the wider community which is a core aim of the Trust.
How does it work?
The Posh Supporters' Trust chooses an area of the city, which for ease of organisation, is a council ward. In this first case it was the “Orton with Hampton” ward. With the vital help of many supporters as well as that of both Forever Posh and PISA, virtually every house and flat was leafleted. We also had the valuable sponsorship of our leaflets from Charters Bar and East Restaurant, Oakham Ales and Printing Matters. The Trust is very appreciative of this support. The football club agreed to supply us with just under 1,000 tickets to satisfy the expected demand. We invited applications for up to six tickets per household, on a first come first served basis, and with a responsible adult as the head of the group. The tickets can only be applied for by a resident of that ward, and are only sent to an address in that council ward. We know that many families took up the offer which is particularly pleasing, and that one third of those attending were under 16 years of age. These are the Posh fans of the future.
Why is the Trust doing it?
Considering the growth of the population in recent years crowds at London Rd have not grown. In fact until recently they were falling, especially relative to other clubs. Many of the newcomers to Peterborough have never supported Posh and may not have taken an interest in football. Now, with a successful and entertaining team we believe the support can really grow, and an even better atmosphere created. With the ultimate prospect of a new stadium we want to generate larger crowds which will demonstrate the potential for that new stadium, and which we will want to see as near capacity as possible, as often as possible.
How will we know that it has worked?
The first stage was incredibly successful in that there was an overwhelming response to our first leaflet campaign. In fact we were oversubscribed within four days of leafleting. However, we will only really know if it has been successful when a significant number of the attendees of these matches return to Posh as regular fans, and eventually as season ticket holders. Hopefully, having had a taste of the football at POSH and seeing the potential this will happen.
Without the help of the following volunteers, especially in the delivery of the leaflets, the scheme could not have happened: Paul, Roma and Bella Mitchell, Matt Squires, Adi Mowles, Chris Wayte, Walter Moore, Paul Froggitt, Patrick Everett, Keith Jennings, Paul Little, Paul Myland, Malcolm Hopkins, Luke Weston, Nigel Price, Jessica Weaver, Kerry Weaver, Geoff Callen, Nathan Foster, Lee Jackson, Andrew Goode, James Langley, Michelle Rostron and family, and especially John Henson who directed and controlled the operation. And a very special thanks to Kathryn for help with the administration. Thank you all.
Peter Lloyd Chairman, The Posh Supporters' Trust
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