[Archived] The Old Gate Debate

[The Harwood Yankee]

Was talking to a mate last night who watched the game in the Royal Oak (never remember whether that's Lammack or Pleckgate) and he said the pub was packed.

386745[/snapback]

Good idea. Name & shame the pubs, then fans will have to come to Ewood. It shows that its not a case of not having the cash, they would just rather spend it on booze.

[RevidgeBlue]

what you encouraging people to do al,im sure rovers know every pub that is doing this dirty deed,its their problem and there the one's who should be going round stamping it out.i have no problem about pubs showing the away games,home games is a bit cheeky though.happen rovers should come to a agreement with local landlords,offer them 4 free tickets to not show the home games,and do it for at least a season to see if it works

386808[/snapback]

Problem with that is officially of course the club have to be seen to be completely opposed to all illegal broadcasts.

I have to hold my hands up here and confess to being a bit hypocritical as I actually like watching a lot of the away games on the dodgy channels.

[waggy]

watching the away games is not the same as watching home games,we need it stamping out but the only to do it is to offer incentive's,btw i have not watched any rovers game on a dodgy foriegn channel in the pub,only because i prefer not too

[McClarky]

I believe that they can get away with it because it is delayed (by about 30 seconds). The landlord of a pub in Edinburgh told me that yesterday. I enjoyed the game anyway.

[den]

watching the away games is not the same as watching home games,

386815[/snapback]

Of course it's the same. It affects the away support at Ewood and everywhere. Dodgy TV costs all clubs money, for every game televised, home or away.

[Billinge End Blue]

McClarky

It was on in Prague yesterday too, a reliable source informed me!

Apparently there was a bit of Gooner-baiting done too.

As I've said on here before, there should be a threatened fans boycott of the Blackburn pubs showing our home games on the dodgy satellite. Rather than reporting via the official channels, maybe somebody can have a quiet word with the landlords concerned ( ie tell 'em there pubs will be patronised more on matchdays if they stop or for the away BRFC fixtures they show)? Doubt very much if the free tickets incentive for the bar stewards would work either.

That said, don't think naming and shaming on here now is a particularly good idea ( I don't find it uncomfortably hypocritical to take advantage of watching some Rovers away games on dodgy sat TV)

[waggy]

Of course it's the same. It affects the away support at Ewood and everywhere. Dodgy TV  costs all clubs money, for every game televised, home or away.

386820[/snapback]

i can't think off many teams bringing less to saturday games it's the sky matches that hit the away support,i bet 90% off posters on here have watched rovers on these dodgy channels,would any have gone to the away game if it was not possible?

[Alan75]

what you encouraging people to do al,im sure rovers know every pub that is doing this dirty deed,its their problem and there the one's who should be going round stamping it out.i have no problem about pubs showing the away games,home games is a bit cheeky though.happen rovers should come to a agreement with local landlords,offer them 4 free tickets to not show the home games,and do it for at least a season to see if it works

386808[/snapback]

A number of people have expressed their concerns that pubs screening games are effecting the gates. Im not encouraging people to do anything, but they now now the legal standing and what they can do if they feel that strong about it.

As for the Rovers, how can they condone an illegal activety.

Personally I believe that its up to the tv governing bodies or trading standards to stamp down on what is illegal trading. They are quick enough to jump on oaps who havent paid their council tax or someone who hasnt renewed his tv licence.

[RevidgeBlue]

We already know we can sell it out to Man City fans at premium prices for that fixture!!  At £12 a ticket it'd be like handing them all 20 quid notes!!

Sorry, that was quite cynical.  I'll try and be more positive. 

386800[/snapback]

The flip side to that argument is:

How much do you make out of that City fan per season? 32 quid?

If you attract a floating Rovers fan in for 12 quid , you may lose 20 quid on the City fan initially but if the Rovers floater comes three or four times the following season as a result you're well in pocket.

[thenodrog]

To charge 15 quid as with yesterday for kids for any game with the stadium nearly a third empty is ridiculous. You may only earn a pound if it's a quid a kid but it's one pound more than you earn from an empty seat!

386776[/snapback]

No it isn't Simon. It means giving every kid there yesterday £14 back! We would lose money.

Another thing I would advocate is making a section of the ground cheap 10 quid pay on the turnstile on a first come first served basis.

Left hand side of the darwen end ideally or possibly move the family stand and use the top of the Blackburn End for that purpose?

386799[/snapback]

Thats just a slap in the face for ST holders Simon. Would you purchase a ST next year knowing that you could get in and have a superb view for a tenner?

The bottom line is that Premier League football IS expensive. At the moment it looks too be too expensive for the good inhabitants of our town. Premier League? We either use it or lose it.

Snidey tossers sitting in the pub watching on tele will be the first to criticise the board /players /walkers etc etc should we end up getting relegated, as we inevitably will when gravity takes over. Pushing for Europe and with ever reducing crowds?!? Hard luck to the die hards but Blackburn simply does not deserve a top team. Face the facts Blackburn is a tiny depressed Northern town, surrounded by rivals and half full of immigrants and people on benefits who either don't, won't or can't support the towns team.

We debate this until we are blue in the face, BRISA can meet and discuss over and over again, JW can rack his brains till the end BUT in a business perspective their is only one solution...... but few are mature enough to face the inevitability of that particular situation.

Edited February 26, 2006 by thenodrog

[LDRover]

Bob F had a blinding idea yesterday. Make it £1 a pint in all areas of the ground.

Not only would we have the quietest/least fashionable/most fickle and most unappreciative fans we could also have the most p***ed. And there'd be more of them.

Getting served might be a problem though.

Edited February 26, 2006 by LDRover

[Eddie]

I don't buy into that particular extreme either to be honest with you. I think that 20,000 as a core support is more than good enough given our other rather firm financial settings to maintain a premier league team for a good length of time, certainly longer than a lot of those around us. If people really feel that illegal feeds are denying the club a couple hundred fans or more every weekend then I really think we should give the names of the pubs to the authorities, or even just let them know what is going to happen first and then if they don't stop it give their names.

Even if you enjoy foreign feeds for the away matches it will still be better for the future of the club and this sites chatroom could more than do with a few more people in there on matchday.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

  Face the facts Blackburn is a tiny depressed Northern town, surrounded by rivals and half full of immigrants and people on benefits who either don't, won't or can't support the towns team.

386835[/snapback]

....the sky then darkened over and the town of Blackburn was swallowed by the earth.

FOOKIN 'ELL THENO LETS ENJOY THE GOOD TIMES EH!

[Paul]

The point is the "what more can the club do?" argument doesn't wash anymore.

We aren't doing very much at all different to what we've ever done. ie. offer the odd price promotion.

Circumstances change all the time (as with the current foreign TV fad and in Rovers case demographics) and you have to react accordingly.

386806[/snapback]

There's a lot happening which is not fully appreciated. BRISA will be publishing information on this after next weekend, but I'll just chuck a few points out for consideration, for example:

* the average revenue per seat, per game at Ewood is £13 - get that £13

* there is little or no room for further discounting

* everything the club does must consider the impact on season ticket value

Not trying to pick on your post Rev, it was just the best one to use.

Moving on from this there is the major issue of substitution; promotions must be targetted at additional fans and not simply as a method of selling cheap tickets to those who would attend anyway. The club have to strike a delicate balance between enticing new support and keeping the existing ST base happy.

[Eddie]

When you say per seat per game do you mean per filled seat or total in the stadium?

[bellamy11]

When you say per seat per game do you mean per filled seat or total in the stadium?

386846[/snapback]

Filled

[stuwilky]

I wonder how it would add up if that figure dropped to, say, £11 per seat filled, but there were 4000 more?

[Bing]

I don't buy into that particular extreme either to be honest with you. I think that 20,000 as a core support is more than good enough given our other rather firm financial settings to maintain a premier league team for a good length of time, certainly longer than a lot of those around us.

386839[/snapback]

I agree. With sensible management of the wage bill, the effects of poor attendances can be more or less negated.

For example, not having Flitcroft (circa 20K per week?) on the wage bill for next year is the equivalent of having around 2,500 extra paying adults on the gate for each league game.

[bellamy11]

I wonder how it would add up if that figure dropped to, say,  £11 per seat filled, but there were 4000 more?

386849[/snapback]

20,000 x £13 = £260,000

24,000 x £11 = £264,000

Interestingly, the bigger the attendence goes up, the less successful that becomes.

Edited February 26, 2006 by bellamy11

[Paul]

I agree. With sensible management of the wage bill, the effects of poor attendances can be more or less negated.

For example, not having Flitcroft (circa 20K per week?) on the wage bill for next year is the equivalent of having around 2,500 extra paying adults on the gate for each league game.

386850[/snapback]

The problem with that arguement is it doesn't attract crowds. I would be very surprised if the savings on departing players where not ploughed straight back into the squad.

[Billinge End Blue]

<Bob F had a blinding idea yeaterday. Make it £1 a pint in all areas of the ground.>

This idea definitely has merit and would certainly improve the atmosphere in Ewood's 'active supporting zones' .

That said, all the Riverside really needs is double Bovrils down to 20p.

[philipl]

Au contraire we saw that when we were chasing promotion in 2001 dropping the price to 5 quid saw a gate of 27,000 plus for a midweek game v Sheff Utd and very nearly 30,000 v Portsmouth at Easter.

386782[/snapback]

Come on Rev- and the last five years.

The Blackburn public has comprehensively shown they do not turn out when ticket prices are dropped.

[bb3]

If people really feel that illegal feeds are denying the club a couple hundred fans or more every weekend then I really think we should give the names of the pubs to the authorities, or even just let them know what is going to happen first and then if they don't stop it give their names.

386839[/snapback]

Eddie,that wouldn't go down well in the pubs of Blackburn,seriously...

You'd get bloody lynched.

You can't blame the landlord,if one boozer does it then the one down the road will as well,if only one pub in town had the game on that's were everyone will go,landlords are businessmen at the end of the day.

[Tris]

Eddie,that wouldn't go down well in the pubs of Blackburn,seriously...

You'd get bloody lynched.

You can't blame the landlord,if one boozer does it then the one down the road will as well,if only one pub in town had the game on that's were everyone will go,landlords are businessmen at the end of the day.

386898[/snapback]

Landlords who show live football at 3pm on a Saturday are not businessmen - they are criminals. In the same way that people who flog fake or copied DVDs are criminals. In the same way that people flog fake or stolen watches at service stations are criminals.

They haven't paid the suppliers for the goods they are taking a profit from - and it's illegal.

For all you do-gooders who "only watch away games" on dodgy TV - you're missing the point. For every one of you who doesn't travel away, there are several away fans who would shell out 30 quid to visit Ewood but who are in the equivalent pubs in London / Birmingham / Manchester.

Rovers are far more affected by this than any other Prem club - income from visiting fans is hugely important over the season. Every away fan who trots down to the cockney / brum local for the illegal broadcast - who might otherwise travel to Ewood - is 30 quid lost.

Most other grounds get filled anyway, but here in Blackburn our own fans are in the same pubs for home games!! People complain about Sky, but forget that a Sky game nets the club nearly half a million quid.

Non-Sky illegal broadcasts are costing our club more than people think, and it's down to real fans to blow the whistle on the criminals who are raking in profit which should be going to Rovers.

[FourLaneBlue]

Disappointing - but entirely predictable . So why didn't the Rovers have kids for a quid for yesterday's game . Come see the conquerers of Madrid for a quid ; sounds a bit better than come see Villa for as quid . In fact when are they going to start offering kids for a quid at every game ?

386712[/snapback]

It's a Catch-22 situation...bring them in on offers for the big games but then many will be wanting tickets that cheap for every game! Rovers can't really win to be honest.