Dee fans unhappy with club – survey

An overwhelming majority of respondents to a new survey of Dundee fans are unhappy with the way the club is being run, with a large number indicating they will not buy a season ticket for the new campaign.

The poll – conducted by the group of supporters who wrote an open letter in March calling for change at Dens Park – asked fans a number of questions relating to the running of the club.

A total of 500 responses were collected in a 48-hour period over the weekend.

Courier Sport has been told 339 respondents (67.8%) were season ticket holders in the campaign just finished while, of the remainder, 14% said they have owned a season ticket in the past five years, but no longer do so. Just under a third (147) said they intend to buy a season ticket after the club’s relegation to the Championship.

A similar number (152) remain undecided, but 40% of respondents (200) said they have already decided not to shell out for the coming campaign.

Of those surveyed, a clear majority of 414 (82.8%) said they were either unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the running of the club, while only 22 (4.4%) said they were satisfied or very satisfied.

Courier Sport understands price/value for money, standard and frequency of managerial appointments, quality of football and concerns over the running of the club were the most frequently cited factors influencing respondents’ season ticket decisions.

Further, a source of anger to many who provided additional comments – which will be sent to the club today, along with full results of the survey – was the decision to promote a price freeze on season tickets for the coming campaign despite the Championship season featuring one less home game than the Premiership.

A discounted “early bird” period which ends before many people receive their wages for the month of May also led to fans accusing the board of being out of touch.

Speaking on behalf of the group behind the survey, Ross Day, a founder of fundraising Dark Blues fan group the 1893 Foundation, said: “The results of this survey show there remains a real level of discontent amongst supporters.

“It goes deeper than results. There is genuine concern there about the way things are running.

“One of the big things we have seen in this survey is in relation to season tickets for next season going on sale with an ‘early bird’ offer that gave people two weeks’ notice and, for many people, no chance to get to pay day before the offer ends.

“That’s something fans would say is fairly typical of the way the club is being run – fans feel like they are an afterthought.

“All we are doing as a group is trying to work with the club and support them.

“Nobody here is antianybody involved with the club. We just want what’s best for the club.

“Unfortunately, I think there’s a perception at the top of the club at the moment that criticism is a bad thing and they don’t seem to be open to it when, in fact, it’s an opportunity for improvement.

“The owners have kept a very tight circle around them since coming into the club, with only a few trusted people inside it.

“That’s fine if things are working brilliantly and there are no concerns but, we are increasingly seeing that fans do have genuine worries about how things are running.”

The survey also polled fans on Dundee’s proposed move to a new stadium and the club’s response to March’s original open letter.

A majority (57.6%) backed the proposed move to Camperdown but almost as many (56.3%) don’t believe it will ever happen.

And 26 people (5.2%) were either satisfied or very satisfied with the club’s response to the original letter, while 349 (69.6%) were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied.

Dundee FC did not wish to comment.