Not brilliantly worded admittedly but I still think it was total nonsense and yes, complete bollocks in fact. I don’t find what’s happened respectful but then I may appear “entitled”. I find it the complete opposite of respectful. Is it enough to drive an owner away?? I’d like to think they have thicker skin that that and really doesn’t need to be misrepresented in that way.
3rd August
- Thread starter Wannabe2
- Start date
Yes, I don't think you are the only one this happens to 
It's a good question and I suspect everyone will have a different view about those years but by common consensus, whilst the start of his ownership contained some positives and some good 'spin', by the end the club was at its lowest ever ebb (and yes I am including the protest year as that brought the fans together and there was a common purpose that you knew would stand the club well in the future). It was a bleak period in our history - to contrast with the current era, I remember a midweek game against Fife that we lost in OT where the attendance was somewhere in the 600s.
Prior to his ownership, the club had been kept competitive by excellent recruitment from (notably) Gerard Adams and Neil Francis and before this era there was a sense of us punching above our weight and whilst we didn't win much, we regularly humbled other teams and there was always a sense of a united club, waiting for the new arena and beating a few teams up whilst we did so. It was a decent time to be a Devils fan and 'G' and 'Franny' typified this, they understood the club and the fans.
Then came the new owner. Others can fill you in on exact details but the one thing that happened is that the fanbase was divided by a series of decisions that seemed, at best, not in line with the club's ethos. Adams and Francis were replaced by the late Brent Pope who had many qualities but coaching hockey teams and general man management were not two of them and the communication around the club collapsed. Worst of all the DNA of the club, winning and putting players first to give them the opportunity to do their best, were eroded. The club became a laughing stock and we had huge turnover of players, the majority of whom should have been nowhere near a Devils shirt. Much of the blame went to Pope, again, others closer to the club at the time will say if that is fair but the owner appointed him so..... to blame one man is disingenuous.
I don't know the reason for this and wouldn't heap all blame on the owner (I haven't got the evidence to do so) but what his reign did lead to was apathy and a lack of communication. I remember thinking at that game against Fife that the club was dying on its feet. You would struggle to find a Devils fan who has a positive view of these years. Some of the decisions were plain bizarre, I remember Thomas Kurka, a decent but not exceptional player, being offered 'the biggest contract in the Devils' history', whilst at the same time there were players apparently using sticks that were clearly not up to the job. It seemed a very strange way of running a sports club.
Finally (and I know others have vehemently disagreed in the last few days) the thing which springs to mind is the interaction with the supporter base. Whenever I have asked anyone within the current Devils management and ownership anything in the last decade, i have always got, not just a response but a well thought out answer. I might not always like the answer but I have always respected the answer as there was clearly both insight and sporting intelligence behind the answer. If anyone wants to buy me a pint I can contrast this with some of the points made under previous ownerships
Not sure if that answers your questions at all @Gisland and I am dancing around some issues but for me the summary is that we went from the lowest point in our history to the highest when our current owners took over.
It's a good question and I suspect everyone will have a different view about those years but by common consensus, whilst the start of his ownership contained some positives and some good 'spin', by the end the club was at its lowest ever ebb (and yes I am including the protest year as that brought the fans together and there was a common purpose that you knew would stand the club well in the future). It was a bleak period in our history - to contrast with the current era, I remember a midweek game against Fife that we lost in OT where the attendance was somewhere in the 600s.
Prior to his ownership, the club had been kept competitive by excellent recruitment from (notably) Gerard Adams and Neil Francis and before this era there was a sense of us punching above our weight and whilst we didn't win much, we regularly humbled other teams and there was always a sense of a united club, waiting for the new arena and beating a few teams up whilst we did so. It was a decent time to be a Devils fan and 'G' and 'Franny' typified this, they understood the club and the fans.
Then came the new owner. Others can fill you in on exact details but the one thing that happened is that the fanbase was divided by a series of decisions that seemed, at best, not in line with the club's ethos. Adams and Francis were replaced by the late Brent Pope who had many qualities but coaching hockey teams and general man management were not two of them and the communication around the club collapsed. Worst of all the DNA of the club, winning and putting players first to give them the opportunity to do their best, were eroded. The club became a laughing stock and we had huge turnover of players, the majority of whom should have been nowhere near a Devils shirt. Much of the blame went to Pope, again, others closer to the club at the time will say if that is fair but the owner appointed him so..... to blame one man is disingenuous.
I don't know the reason for this and wouldn't heap all blame on the owner (I haven't got the evidence to do so) but what his reign did lead to was apathy and a lack of communication. I remember thinking at that game against Fife that the club was dying on its feet. You would struggle to find a Devils fan who has a positive view of these years. Some of the decisions were plain bizarre, I remember Thomas Kurka, a decent but not exceptional player, being offered 'the biggest contract in the Devils' history', whilst at the same time there were players apparently using sticks that were clearly not up to the job. It seemed a very strange way of running a sports club.
Finally (and I know others have vehemently disagreed in the last few days) the thing which springs to mind is the interaction with the supporter base. Whenever I have asked anyone within the current Devils management and ownership anything in the last decade, i have always got, not just a response but a well thought out answer. I might not always like the answer but I have always respected the answer as there was clearly both insight and sporting intelligence behind the answer. If anyone wants to buy me a pint I can contrast this with some of the points made under previous ownerships
Not sure if that answers your questions at all @Gisland and I am dancing around some issues but for me the summary is that we went from the lowest point in our history to the highest when our current owners took over.
Perfect... That was a fantastic reply, thank you...Fills in a few missing details but also brings back some memories. Cheers..
The new logo is dreadful. Not necessarily because it looks like it's been drawn by a 5 year old either.
I may be getting old but logo's represent a club and personal sentiment related to that club.
Don't lynch me but I'm a Nottingham Forest football fan. When I lived in Nottingham I went to watch them every week. To this day, every time I see the Forest logo, it reminds me of walking to the ground as a young excited fan with my dad along the embankment. The smell of greasy onions and hotdogs. The unity of fans crossing Trent Bridge before we bought a program and headed into the ground to watch my childhood hero's.
As a Cardiff Devils fan, the sentiment with our old logo ignites very similar feelings. I see that old logo and it reminds me of a great time. Walking into the WNIR for the first time to watch the Devils play the London Racers. It was the first lockout, Rob Davison had a scrap with Dennis Maxwell. Being instantly hooked after that moment and being a season ticket holder for a number of years. Winning the challenge cup final against the blaze coming back from a drubbing in the first leg on a Thursday night and being picked up by the guys sat behind me and almost thrown to the rafters. Making some lifelong friends and even meeting my wife. Going on away trips with Bob's tours. My wife accidentally leaving our then babies changing bag, complete with purse and keys etc in the car park at the bbt only for Vother to pick it up the following morning, take it all the way to Edinburgh and back before handing in to the rink staff for us. Amazing times at playoff weekends. All signified by that old logo. Upon seeing it on another person I felt an instant sense of trust and it reminds me of wonderful occasions.
The logo has no sentiment to me or any other fans who've been watching the Devils for more than a year or two. Of course those memories will hopefully always be there but to have the ignition to those memories taken away without any thought or care seems exceptionally harsh. Every time I see it on new shirts or merchandise it will just annoy me.
I may be getting old but logo's represent a club and personal sentiment related to that club.
Don't lynch me but I'm a Nottingham Forest football fan. When I lived in Nottingham I went to watch them every week. To this day, every time I see the Forest logo, it reminds me of walking to the ground as a young excited fan with my dad along the embankment. The smell of greasy onions and hotdogs. The unity of fans crossing Trent Bridge before we bought a program and headed into the ground to watch my childhood hero's.
As a Cardiff Devils fan, the sentiment with our old logo ignites very similar feelings. I see that old logo and it reminds me of a great time. Walking into the WNIR for the first time to watch the Devils play the London Racers. It was the first lockout, Rob Davison had a scrap with Dennis Maxwell. Being instantly hooked after that moment and being a season ticket holder for a number of years. Winning the challenge cup final against the blaze coming back from a drubbing in the first leg on a Thursday night and being picked up by the guys sat behind me and almost thrown to the rafters. Making some lifelong friends and even meeting my wife. Going on away trips with Bob's tours. My wife accidentally leaving our then babies changing bag, complete with purse and keys etc in the car park at the bbt only for Vother to pick it up the following morning, take it all the way to Edinburgh and back before handing in to the rink staff for us. Amazing times at playoff weekends. All signified by that old logo. Upon seeing it on another person I felt an instant sense of trust and it reminds me of wonderful occasions.
The logo has no sentiment to me or any other fans who've been watching the Devils for more than a year or two. Of course those memories will hopefully always be there but to have the ignition to those memories taken away without any thought or care seems exceptionally harsh. Every time I see it on new shirts or merchandise it will just annoy me.
Wonderful memories, I also have very similar memories but now I'm hoping this new team and coach will give me some more great memories, the fact that the logo is not popular with some fans will not stop me enjoying similar moments this coming season and many seasons to follow. Old memories cannot be taken away either, they're memories and just that memories, wonderful times that will last a lifetime.
Blimey! Looks like my long weekend in Dublin came at just the right time!
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
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Blimey! Looks like my long weekend in Dublin came at just the right time!
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
So out and about in the city centre this afternoon and without even looking, have spotted 2 x old Devils logos, 1 x by John Lewis in St David’s & 1 x in Boom Battle bar while having a beer.
The logo is recognisable, I just don’t see the new logo having this effect.
Also….I guess the old logo in these places are just gonna stay as is, which surely cause confusion?!
The logo is recognisable, I just don’t see the new logo having this effect.
Also….I guess the old logo in these places are just gonna stay as is, which surely cause confusion?!
Attachments
Blimey! Looks like my long weekend in Dublin came at just the right time!
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
Catching up on this thread has been mind blowing. Although if the same people hadn’t posted several times a day that they STILL aren’t buying any of the new merchandise then it might have been half the number of pages.
Amongst the honest opinions there have been some utterly bizarre comments. I think my favourites are those who because we changed the logo will now be getting Cardiff City season tickets and merchandise.
That would be the same Cardiff City who had fans trying to start protests against the owners last season. The same Cardiff City who had fans trying to create a boycott against season ticket sales THIS SUMMER. And the same Cardiff City who have changed their logo 5 times in the last 20 years.
But the majority of Cardiff City fans don’t care about that at all. They’ll go to games if they’re winning games and if they’re going to games they’ll buy more merchandise.
And for the vast majority of Cardiff Devils fans it’ll be exactly the same. They might not love the new logo but it won’t have any impact on how they enjoy the season. That will be based purely on what happens on the ice.
But whilst on the subject of the logo, the more I see it the more it softens on me. It’s almost starting to grow on me.
I think you will find that there have been many different posters on this thread that has contributed to a majority thumbs down on the rebranding, not just in here but across other social media platforms.
I have been one that has refered to buying Cardiff City merchandise, and why can't I? Do I have to clear it with you first? I have been supporting and watching Cardiff City since the late 70's so I won't justify myself and my purchasing patterns to yourself or indeed anyone for that matter.
I will be attending Devils games this season but no longer on a ST, so I will be looking forward to the hockey like most people have already stated here, however I won't be buying Devils merchandise because I don't like the logo. I probably would have if the the logo not been changed but they we are.
Buy a ticket, watch/enjoy the game, leave, and that's it.
As for watching Cardiff City games and buying their merchandise, that is something that I do every year, I bought this season's Cardiff City shirt because I like it, i won't be buying this season's Devils shirt because i don't.
I think the poll speaks for itself.
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i really like the look of the team and look forward to how the couch uses them, the logo issue has put a damnper on everything, for those that say it's just people don't like change. your missing the point. its not the change it's the piss-poor effort gone into the finished new product. for me . the logo identity has been lost. this new logo could belong to anybody. about anything.
Well, 6 days in and it hasn’t grown on me yet! I’ve tried to like it, but in all honesty it’s just naff ! Shame, but hey ho!
Time will tell at the end of the season. I guess if the club is down a significant amount on merch sales then that might determine something. I envisage an initial bit of excitement to buy (especially from newer fans) but would be surprised if end of this season it sells as well as the old stuff.
Hot tip for any wannabe marketeers -
Do your market research diligently before launching a product/implementing a rebrand!
Time will tell at the end of the season. I guess if the club is down a significant amount on merch sales then that might determine something. I envisage an initial bit of excitement to buy (especially from newer fans) but would be surprised if end of this season it sells as well as the old stuff.
Hot tip for any wannabe marketeers -
Do your market research diligently before launching a product/implementing a rebrand!
Have we always been able to purchase shirts this early in the season? Genuine question as I normally wait until Xmas before buying the kids ones just in case anyone gets gassed and we have that unlucky player on the back. Clearly I wont be buying one this year, a decision my kids made, not me, on seeing the logo.