Andy Munro tries to spend money at St Andrews.
Before the match against Stoke City, I went to the blues club ‘shop’, in search of birthday presents for my son, grandson and best mate and judging by my experience, I reckon Lee Bowyer needs to take over the shop as well as the team.
Firstly, the selection of stuff for younger kids was pretty unimaginative. On a visit a few months ago, I pitched the idea of a ‘Bluesaurus’ character, a dinosaur monster in a Blues shirt, and never even got the courtesy of a proper reply. The club need to realise that they have to start nurturing new fans from an early age but the range of clothes in that age bracket was pathetic.
I then looked at the DVD and book range for my best mate. One of the ancient DVDs was of a Leyland DAF final; not even the Carling Cup or our European adventures were to be seen. The book selection consisted of one book which I bought almost out of desperation.
Finally, I decided to look at the new shirts, with my son’s birthday starting to loom. Next to me was Baz of Zulu fame with what looked like his grandson. We both agreed that paying around fifty quid for a shirt with a plastic iron-on badge was a disgrace. Surely it’s not impossible for a famous brand like Nike to use a proper cloth badge, I’d even pay a couple of quid extra for the privilege.
The club shop should be taking advantage of the Bowyer feelgood factor but are lamentable in their offering and, in my opinion, need to sort it out pronto.
