Backroom & executive staff

[Mole]

I thought as much, I'd like to visit one day but yeah other places are higher priority atm.

 

Currently visiting npw 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by Mole

[JT24]

5 minutes ago, Mole said:

Isn't one of the main drawbacks of Toronto the city in general that EVERYTHING is expensive? That's what I've been told by Canadian friends, although they might just be ranting and using me as the vehicle for it tbh

 

Edit: I see you already confirmed this in a previous reply.

 

 

 

Small price to pay to live in the best city in the world. 

[Mole]

Just now, JT24 said:

Small price to pay to live in the best city in the world. 

Aye I have heard that too so it's fair enough I suppose.

[The Bonk]

1 minute ago, Mole said:

I thought as much, I'd like to visit one day but yeah other places are higher priority atm.

 

Currently visiting npw 

 

 

 

 

Well, if you're converting pound or USD into CDN, your money will go further than your friends here. We're obviously much cheaper than London and NY to visit.  

[TRon]

26 minutes ago, Ghandis Flip-Flop said:

Forgive me but is Toronto not significantly more affluent than Newcastle though?

 

Also compare and contrast SJP in the game vs Liverpool to Anfield in their game vs Arsenal, do we really want to sacrifice that USP, especially given the relatively low percentage that ticket revenue represents to the clubs financial position?

 

I get what you are saying but that's not really a fair comparison. The atmosphere against Liverpool was amped up 10x because of the Isak tug of war. St James is quite often passive at some games. 

 

But otherwise I agree, when you price out the lower budget locals, you are going to get a different crowd in, and they aren't usually the ones who create the atmosphere. 

[cubaricho]

10 minutes ago, woody said:

I was gonna say, as a former sports reporter this has been the complaint I’ve consistently heard about MLSE. Everything costs much, much more.

Now I want you to be Woody Paige so bad.  

[Ghandis Flip-Flop]

Just now, TRon said:

 

I get what you are saying but that's not really a fair comparison. The atmosphere against Liverpool was amped up 10x because of the Isak tug of war. St James is quite often passive at some games. 

 

But otherwise I agree, when you price out the lower budget locals, you are going to get a different crowd in, and they aren't usually the ones who create the atmosphere. 

It was maybe more up for it due to recent events, but I’d say the atmosphere is always pretty good against Liverpool or other big sides. Anfield was practically dead and it was apparently the game against their main title rivals 🤷🏻‍♂️

[et tu brute]

2 minutes ago, JT24 said:

Small price to pay to live in the best city in the world. 

Toronto is a great city. Canadian people are some of the best you can meet also

[Mole]

2 minutes ago, The Bonk said:

 

Well, if you're converting pound or USD into CDN, your money will go further than your friends here. We're obviously much cheaper than London and NY to visit.  

That's one thing I often forget, I lived in London for years so there isn't actually a lot of places that is actually drastically more expensive if at all

[The Bonk]

1 minute ago, et tu brute said:

Toronto is a great city. Canadian people are some of the best you can meet also

 

Come visit! 

[et tu brute]

Just now, The Bonk said:

 

Come visit! 

I've been a few times

[80]

1 hour ago, The Bonk said:

He wouldn't be here if they haven't relinquished most of their oversight.

 

Con's:

• Things are going to get more expensive. The more we win and remain in the top spots of the league, cost to match day going fans will increase. 
• We'll be playing in more meaningless summer tournaments and one off games that have lucrative sponsorships. 
• There will be supporters that say the soul of club has been decayed and commercialized, which sucks, but is inevitable if we want to reach the top.

 

I'm putting a lot of faith in you here. 

 

Cons: Thanks PSR!

 

Question - do you think he'd favour a small stadium to maximise strain on ticket supply or see the opportunity in even more tourist bums on seats?

 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by 80

[Stifler]

3 hours ago, The Bonk said:

 

I agree, but expect bigger than expected increases and there will be uproar when it comes. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won since 1967 and they are the most expensive ticket in the NHL. Ask your family in Hamilton how many Leafs games they get to a year? I bet it's 1 or 2 at most if they're big fans.
 

Newcastle is a 1 club city and Hopkinson will exploit that if the data backs up what fans are willing to pay BUT, that will mean the product on the field is going to warrant those price increases. 

They don’t generally go to sporting events (although they do have teams that they love). My uncle goes to a baseball game once a year, but his team are a USA team (going to guess he’ll no longer be doing that now).

Half of the ones who follow Ice Hockey actually follow the Montreal Canadians, fuck knows why.

 

I’m absolutely not saying the price increase is right though, I’m just saying that I’ve expected us and football in general to move to a format where fans attend much less often instead of every game, much like the NFL. You could argue that the demand for tickets has already started this off. I guess the difference between us and NHL teams is that we should hopefully be looking at 70k maybe + capacity stadium. With Ice Hockey you get about 20k at most as a capacity. Maybe this will save us from £300 tickets.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by Stifler

[Stifler]

28 minutes ago, The Bonk said:

Well, if you're converting pound or USD into CDN, your money will go further than your friends here. We're obviously much cheaper than London and NY to visit.  

I’m not so sure on that though. We may get more for our money in currency conversations, however your wages are bigger in general money terms. Currently the Ontario minimum wage is $17.20 an hour, going up to $17.60 an hour next month. Things may seem more expensive, but it sort of evens itself out.

[The Bonk]

1 minute ago, 80 said:

I'm putting a lot of faith in you here. 

 

Cons: Thanks PSR!

 

Question - do you think he'd favour a small stadium to maximise strain on ticket supply or see the opportunity in even more tourist bums on seats?

 

 

 

Depends on the data from this:
 

Quote

To better understand Spanish nuances, Hopkinson and Julian Mellini, who worked alongside him there and at MSG, conducted a comprehensive fan-segmentation study: “to learn who our fans truly are — by avidity, location and psychographic profile.” Something similar may follow on Tyneside. “Once you know and understand your target audience, that’s when the opportunities arise,” Cooper says.

 

That will come once he has his people in place and probably aid in the stadium outcome. His strategy team at MLSE was big, so I expect numbers to grow to help support whatever vision he'll eventually have for the club. I've also worked with Roma and Chelsea in a previous position. Chelsea's strategy and data teams were huge (this was under the Russian pre-COVID), so I can see our back office scaling as our commercial business does.

[woody]

49 minutes ago, The Bonk said:

That's resale PER SEAT (Stubhub) and only get's you one season as the resellers own the license for the seat which I'm sure are at an insane price these days.

Not to derail this too much, but Jays tickets at the start of the 2023 season were like this. People priced out of long held season tickets etc. I hope that doesn’t happen here but it’s the trade off that clubs argue they need to make

[woody]

46 minutes ago, cubaricho said:

Now I want you to be Woody Paige so bad.  

I have his drinking problem 

 

I freelanced once for the Dallas Morning News and spent the night pretending I was Skip Bayless 

[TK-421]

EDIT: Soz, wrong thread

 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by TK-421

[JT24]

That didn’t last long. 

[Lazarus]

So er........who are the Knicks? And why is everyone being weird about them?

[TK-421]

Nothing on SSN ticker bar, have they even mentioned our CEO appointment?

 

I mean, CEO's are clearly big news given the Coverage about Levy stepping down right now. 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by TK-421

[Elbel1]

5 hours ago, Abacus said:

Good news. Just disappointed nobody has come up with a terrace chant yet.

Heyyyyyyy 

Davey Hopkinnnnnnn

Son

I wanna knoooowwwww 

How you sealed that deal

[duo]

Why are they saying Eales has just stepped down? He's been gone for months

[54]

Just now, duo said:

Why are they saying Eales has just stepped down? He's been gone for months

He's been on medical leave, but still in post. He's basically been on sick leave, if you took a week of work due to illness, you'd still be in your job role. He has also apparently recently came back to do the handover.

[Mike]

2 hours ago, The Bonk said:

This is a big win for the club, as I stated in the PIF thread, he's a level above Eales in terms of pedigree: 

 

His time at MSG:

 

 

He wouldn't be here if they haven't relinquished most of their oversight. 

 

 

He did the same with MLSE and was a key component in making the organization one of the most valuable in NA.

I'm genuinely excited about his appointment for our club, he's no mug and will be taken seriously by other CEO's in the league with his background and expertise. Here's my take on the future:
 

Pro's:

• He will grow revenue, he's done it everywhere previously and will do it here.
• Is an incredibly astute professional, he won't be a fan engagement guy directly like Staveley, Mehrdad, drinking with boys Eales (which is what we need to get to the next level as a club IMO)
• He'll sort out operations, ticketing, partnerships will grow, especially on a global level through his connections.
• We won't be railroaded by other owners or the league, this guy knows how to influence people, figureheads.

Con's:

• Things are going to get more expensive. The more we win and remain in the top spots of the league, cost to match day going fans will increase. 
• We'll be playing in more meaningless summer tournaments and one off games that have lucrative sponsorships. 
• There will be supporters that say the soul of club has been decayed and commercialized, which sucks, but is inevitable if we want to reach the top.
   

I'd wish him luck, but don't think he needs it. 

 

 

Well if Bonk likes him it's time to hound him out.