Ticketing

Supporters' views on ticket prices for next season were sought at last night's Wolves Fans Parliament meeting at Molineux.

Chief Executive Jez Moxey insisted a decision had to be taken quickly, so 'Early Bird' letters could go out, and said: "We have kept 'Early Bird' prices constant for three seasons and there's a feeling we can't hold them forever. A fourth year frozen would be unprecedented."

Chris Cox urged the club not to raise prices because the aim should be to get more fans inside the ground. "Why not do something revolutionary and get Molineux full?" he asked. Jez replied: "We know what will get Molineux full and it's not ticket prices."

Peter Bagley said he recalled Steve Morgan saying at a previous meeting that ticket prices were too high and he (Steve) would prefer a fuller stadium. But Jez said Bolton and Wigan had reduced prices and their grounds were still not full.

Carolyn Skitt said it would be no shock if prices rose. "Everybody's expecting an increase," she said, to which Roger Fellows added: "We have to accept a modest rise and anyone who doesn't has their head in the sand."

Jez argued that the 'Early Bird' was still a 'special' offer, although it had become commonplace. He said £14.17 was the average adult 'Early Bird' price per game, adding: "I'll defy anyone to say that's not a great deal. We're averaging 23,000, including away fans, and we have 17,850 season ticket holders, so the majority of our fans are getting a fantastic deal."

Tim Spiers was told the club weren't changing their policy on student and young adult tickets, ticketing and membership manager Lynne O'Reardon saying there had been a poor response to the offer of £5 tickets for students for the home game against Colchester in November - a deal advertised in the city university as part of freshers week.

Robert Anslow was told that whatever ticket rises were implemented in 2008-09 would be mirrored in the corporate areas while the subject of administration charges on bookings was aired. Roger Fellows said a lot of people were irritated by it, so couldn't the cost be incorporated in the price and not mentioned? Jez said the club preferred to be transparent.

Phil Kay suggested removing the admin charge for people who renewed their season tickets online but Lynne O'Reardon said it was more logical to drop it for those who ordered match by match online as there was otherwise still a cost to the club from sending out season tickets by recorded delivery.

A suggestion by Lynne for fans buying tickets for successive Saturday-Tuesday home matches to be charged a reduced price was considered by the meeting to be positive.

Action: The club will assess the feedback in drawing up prices.

Kit design

Three alternatives were shown to the meeting in the club's search for a new main kit for next season.

Bob Adams said there should be as much gold as possible in the shirt, with very little black - a point with which Chris Cox agreed. A show of hands revealed that more members wanted gold socks than black or hooped ones.

David Bissell asked if the club had thought about a more retro design and was told by Retail Manager Peter Pridmore that the 50th anniversary of the club's FA Cup final win over Blackburn (2010) was a possible opportunity for such experimentation.

Peter told members that talks with kit supplier Le Coq and main sponsor Chaucer and other interested parties were under-way and said: "One of the main challenges is to make the kit look different. We sell about 30,000 kits and it wouldn't do to expect fans to pay for something that looks exactly the same as the previous one. It also has to be something the players are comfortable and happy in."

Action: The club will consider the members' votes when continuing their deliberations.

Footballing matters

Jez and Wolves' new Head of Marketing and Communications Matt Grayson, who chaired the meeting, asked for suggestions on how to increase home advantage for the team at Molineux.

"I don't know how we went so quickly from third at the start of December to chants of 'You Don't Know What You're Doing'," Jez said. "Our home form is so vital. In the last 11 seasons, an average of 85 points have been required for promotion. Our average points at home (in that time) has been just over 39. The facts say our home form isn't good enough and it's incumbent on all of us to address that by making Molineux a place that is feared by the opposition rather than a place to cause anxiety in our team. I can't believe the speed with which we seem to have forgotten what a young and relatively inexperienced side we have. No doubt I'll be blamed for trying to say it's supporters' fault. It's not that but what can we do to improve it?"

Georgie Savage said she thought some fans were a disgrace in the recent home game against Crystal Palace. "I've never been so cross," she said, referring to the booing of certain players. Roger Fellows said: "We'll never stop the vocal element who have a grudge. There are so many nuances. We need to shut up the idiots who make the silly comments and try to push forward."

Dave Bissell said there was nothing that could be done about those who vented extreme feelings, which were a problem at other clubs as well. And Dan Lavelle was critical of the football that had been played by the side all season - a point echoed by Rob Fuller and Phil Kay.

Matt Grayson said there was a need for collective responsibility on home match-days, especially amid the frustration of trying to break down defensive visiting teams. But Phil Kay said the club hadn't succeeded in ten years in solving the problem of breaking down defence-minded teams. "It's up to the club, the team and the manager to sort it out," he said.

On the subject of transfers, Jez Moxey said the club had been trying to find a quality left-back from the start of last summer. "It hasn't been through a lack of effort or Mick McCarthy not recognising the need that we haven't signed anyone," he said. "We're trying desperately to sign one." Jez also said the reason Michael McIndoe left last summer was that he wanted to go.

Peter Bagley said he was disappointed that last season's side regularly contained five home-grown players while this season's had only one.

Chris Cox said the arrival of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and David Edwards was 'very positive' and Oscar Harris remarked that it was a pity the win over Scunthorpe hadn't taken place at Molineux, where some of the doubters might have been won over.

Bob Adams said it was time for Freddy Eastwood to be given an extended run because he had already shown he could score at this level. Roger Fellows suggested it achieved little for the meeting to talk about the team and tactics because there were so many diverse opinions. But Rob Fuller argued: "We are football fans, so why shouldn't we be discussing football."

Jez Moxey told Jim Heath he couldn't give a time scale for the appointment of Chris Evans's replacement but said interviews were continuing and it would be an outside appointment. And he said of the club's season: "Some of the selections have been forced on Mick by injuries but I think the prospects for the team are really good and I'm quite excited, I really am. Stick with it, it will get much better, I'm sure."

Parliament

Matt Grayson said the last session of the current Parliament would be in May and that next season's group would be a blend between newcomers and re-elected members. Those who currently sit would be invited to re-apply if they were keen to continue. Rob Fuller suggested having a match-day steward on the Parliament in 2008-09 and Wilf Hadley proposed extending that to take in the St John's Ambulance as well.

Any Other Business

Chris Cox said a tribute to Derek Dougan was discussed at a meeting instigated by the London Wolves Supporters Club and a bust was being done of the late Wolves centre-forward. He felt it important for the club to commemorate a man who was special to so many and Matt Grayson said the group had to come up with a formal proposal. Dave Bissell said he didn't feel that way but perhaps that was a 'generational thing'.

Jez Moxey confirmed last night's Express & Star story about 35 season ticket holders in the Billy Wright Stand being relocated in another area in the same block for next season. He said it was necessary so up to 130 potential new corporate customers using Molineux's international suite - situated above the hair salon near where the academy used to be based - could be moved easily from the room to their seats in one block. Jez said considerable money was being spent on the refurbishment of the suite and was unhappy that the Express & Star had not printed the club's side of the story in their article after the newspaper had contacted Matt Grayson for a statement at 11.25am. He said affected fans would be offered vouchers or cash discounts but the whole process was being handled by the ticket office in a sensitive manner. He also explained that there had been two similar relocations involving other Billy Wright Stand season ticket holders in recent years yet there had been no difficulties. He reminded the meeting that relocation was within the club's rights to make sure the stadium operated as efficiently as possible and that this was backed up by the season ticket terms and conditions.

Matt Grayson said changes to the match programme had been implemented for Tuesday's visit of Sheffield Wednesday and there was to be a complete redesign for next season.