GAME THREAD: Belfast Giants v Sheffield Steelers, Friday, 24th March 7:00pm

[Jayboy]

What needs to change at the Sheffield Steelers…..

My take, mentioned on the Belfast thread.

I think we need to split the GM and coach roles into two separate people. Bring in a GM that can advise about all things hockey and recruit a coach that has great contacts and can coach a proper Steelers style of play.

Easier said than done of course.

I agree, I was advocating the same thing before we signed Aaron, around the time we had Tom Barrasso, I thought at the time he was more suited to be a GM and bring in a coach to work alongside him..

[Jayboy]

Why on earth did they keep Greenfield in the net, surely after the 4th went in they should have rested him... how can that scoreline help his confidence? i mean an 8-2 game isn't a reflection on him is it?

[Brian]

Nottingham have a GM, don't they ?
Greenfield should certainly have been brought off , in a reverse situation Beskowany or Bownes would be legging it to the bench after the first period !
I'm starting to see why Mc Nally was cut by Cardiff.. not sure he brings anything to the table except needless penalties costing us goals . He is not even a great fighter, other teams laugh at his antics.
Where do we go from here? Well Steelers are first and foremost a business so not much will change as long as the crowds keep up as they may well do as many go for the night out , the atmosphere ( !) Dance Cam, Chuck a puck, booing the away fans on the Tron , 50 / 50 riches and buying shirts every few weeks that celebrate anything that is capable of celebrating.
While the hockey and results remain somewhere down this list we will be where we are.

[Doom]

Where do we go from here? Well Steelers are first and foremost a business so not much will change as long as the crowds keep up as they may well do as many go for the night out , the atmosphere ( !) Dance Cam, Chuck a puck, booing the away fans on the Tron , 50 / 50 riches and buying shirts every few weeks that celebrate anything that is capable of celebrating.
While the hockey and results remain somewhere down this list we will be where we are.

I would suggest that the performances and results in 2023 have already cost Mr Smith a lot of money.

The reason the Steelers are getting such big crowds is because there are a lot of group deals done. The seats in the upper tier behind the goal would normally be amongst the last to sell, but these days they're often full when there are still tickets available in more attractive seats (centre line).

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully in favour of it because for me a full arena makes it a better night. I'm more than happy to spend my £21 to get the seat I choose, even if others behind the goal are getting theirs for half that.

The problem Mr Smith has is if he's having to increase the number of cheaper tickets to keep the crowds up because the number of full paying customers has reduced and I believe that is happening.

Take the recent Belfast home game as an example. I don't think they released as many cheaper tickets for that game, probably expecting a lot more full paying customers. The game was on a Saturday night against our potential title rivals.....the crowd was just over 6,000.

I would have normally expected well over 7,000 for a game of that magnitude. I think many supporters had had enough by then because it followed the dreadful Coventry and Fife home games.

If you start replacing 1,000 full paying customers with those paying half price, it's a lot of money lost to the club.

These awful home performances will be costing Tony, don't be fooled by all those full blocks behind the goal.

Regards

Doom

[Brian]

Yes ,Doom, I agree that there are probably lots cut price and freebies, judging by all the club names read out but even at 6,000 we have the biggest crowd in the league.

[Jayboy]

Aaron Fox: https://twitter.com/officialEIHL/status ... 30144?s=20

[BontSteeler]

Where do we go from here? Well Steelers are first and foremost a business so not much will change as long as the crowds keep up as they may well do as many go for the night out , the atmosphere ( !) Dance Cam, Chuck a puck, booing the away fans on the Tron , 50 / 50 riches and buying shirts every few weeks that celebrate anything that is capable of celebrating.
While the hockey and results remain somewhere down this list we will be where we are.

I would suggest that the performances and results in 2023 have already cost Mr Smith a lot of money.

The reason the Steelers are getting such big crowds is because there are a lot of group deals done. The seats in the upper tier behind the goal would normally be amongst the last to sell, but these days they're often full when there are still tickets available in more attractive seats (centre line).

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully in favour of it because for me a full arena makes it a better night. I'm more than happy to spend my £21 to get the seat I choose, even if others behind the goal are getting theirs for half that.

The problem Mr Smith has is if he's having to increase the number of cheaper tickets to keep the crowds up because the number of full paying customers has reduced and I believe that is happening.

Take the recent Belfast home game as an example. I don't think they released as many cheaper tickets for that game, probably expecting a lot more full paying customers. The game was on a Saturday night against our potential title rivals.....the crowd was just over 6,000.

I would have normally expected well over 7,000 for a game of that magnitude. I think many supporters had had enough by then because it followed the dreadful Coventry and Fife home games.

If you start replacing 1,000 full paying customers with those paying half price, it's a lot of money lost to the club.

These awful home performances will be costing Tony, don't be fooled by all those full blocks behind the goal.

Regards

Doom

I can tell you now, some of those behind the nets up near the White House are freebies.

[smbmetal]

Where do we go from here? Well Steelers are first and foremost a business so not much will change as long as the crowds keep up as they may well do as many go for the night out , the atmosphere ( !) Dance Cam, Chuck a puck, booing the away fans on the Tron , 50 / 50 riches and buying shirts every few weeks that celebrate anything that is capable of celebrating.
While the hockey and results remain somewhere down this list we will be where we are.

I would suggest that the performances and results in 2023 have already cost Mr Smith a lot of money.

The reason the Steelers are getting such big crowds is because there are a lot of group deals done. The seats in the upper tier behind the goal would normally be amongst the last to sell, but these days they're often full when there are still tickets available in more attractive seats (centre line).

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully in favour of it because for me a full arena makes it a better night. I'm more than happy to spend my £21 to get the seat I choose, even if others behind the goal are getting theirs for half that.

The problem Mr Smith has is if he's having to increase the number of cheaper tickets to keep the crowds up because the number of full paying customers has reduced and I believe that is happening.

Take the recent Belfast home game as an example. I don't think they released as many cheaper tickets for that game, probably expecting a lot more full paying customers. The game was on a Saturday night against our potential title rivals.....the crowd was just over 6,000.

I would have normally expected well over 7,000 for a game of that magnitude. I think many supporters had had enough by then because it followed the dreadful Coventry and Fife home games.

If you start replacing 1,000 full paying customers with those paying half price, it's a lot of money lost to the club.

These awful home performances will be costing Tony, don't be fooled by all those full blocks behind the goal.

Regards

Doom

I must admit Doom I was fooled by the reduced tickets. I honestly thought that apart from maybe a few dozen, those days were gone. I guess it does make lots of sense if the hockey is a good watch, and perhaps the off ice entertainment certainly makes a few return at full price.

It wasn’t until we played the recent home Belfast game that with only 6,000 in I realised that might indeed be the case. I was shocked at what was the biggest game of the season at the time the attendance was at least 1,500 down on what I expected. Although the game was hardly promoted compared to other games through Steelers social media channels……perhaps they knew what the result would be.

So I need to join a group to get a cheaper ticket then? Cause it’s not worth £21 of my money that is for sure

[ekt]

That was 15 quid well spent.

Belfast are way better than the Steelers.
They seem to have an entire team of power forwards, I can't think of one of our forwards I would describe as a power forward.
Their entire team looks bigger and more threatening.
I don't think Beskorowany is a great keeper, he doesn't need to be with the team in front of him.

Fox style hockey is not Steelers hockey and its not how we are going to get back to winning titles.
If I was Tony Smith I'd be on the phone to Adam Keefe and offer him whatever it takes.

Also as much as I am sick of seeing them, I think our best chance at progressing to the playoffs is by finishing so we get Nottingham.

[paul johnston]

The Giants under Keefe this year are essentially the type of team that the Steelers used to be, need to be, and certainly how I'd like them to be.
Fox should look at their D, big nasty physical d men as they can also skate, pass, join the rush (look at the Flames too) He has a blind spot aversion to that.