[Archived] The Old Gate Debate

[Harrier7]

When did you start going on then, just out of curiosity.

1954, actually.

[Ozz]

That makes sense.

[Mike Graham]

many 100's of empty seats at the Arsenal v Pompey game as seen on MoTD !!

I expected a sell out.

[Mike Graham]

many 100's of empty seats at the Arsenal v Pompey game as seen on MoTD !!

I expected a sell out.

and the masses of empty seats at Villa v Notlob makes Ewood look full in comparison; how many Notlob fans, about 100?

[USABlue]

Wigan had only 13,000 on today v Sheff Utd.....2,000 from the blades!!!

Were the commentators openly dissing Wigan for lack of support like they do us. In the article Colin psted the fella makes similar points to some of my views I had aired when it comes to the young uns. The fact they do not want to be associated with average (for want of a better word) teams. They can't handle the mickey take from their peers so they opt for the teams that win. A cause of ours not helped by the constant stream of negativity we get in the media, commentators etc. I'm glad he saw to make that point it is a big one IMHO

[joey_big_nose]

Good article Colin BUT recent trial suggest that he got this bit wrong didn't he?

"Blackburn should reduce ticket prices by 50% - the club would still make as much money as they do now but the place would be full, they'd sell more merch, more food, more drink and the players would respond to a better atmosphere. How hard is it to realise that? It's basic business sense. We've got a crap product; we need to make it more appealing."

Sadly wrong that really. If things were only that simple.

[blue phil]

You have to remember , Joey , that The Drog is basing his opinion on the evidence of one off games against "unattractive" opposition .

[cletus]

During a dream whilst napping during the match last night, I had this vision...

JW makes the Riverside a flat rate of £10 a match for the whole of next season. All existing ST holders are offered their usual seat at £10x 19 matches, plus a cup game for a sweetener.

Anyone who wants out, gets a seat anywhere else for the same price.

Riverside fills up every week, ST holders happy, ace PR for "go-ahead-Rovers", Premiership matches not "de-valued" as the club maintains it reflects the crappy facilties offered in the Riverside, ground looks good on telly, etc.

Then the refs whistle for offside on Benni woke me up.

Excellent idea!

[Neil Weaver]

In the light of Benni's antics and the marvellous Messrs Poll and Gray, could have posted this in a few threads but plumped on here. Got this email this morning.........

RidtheGame.com needs your help. Some of you have already kindly signed our Petition but as we need 1,000,000 signatures, we have a long way to go to reach our goal. This is where you come in.

RidtheGame.com is not a witch-hunt against any individual, player or team. It simply invites you to join us in condemning Football Players who cheat along with their respective Managers and others in the Sport that protect them. There is genuine respect and appreciation of the skills on display by the said same superstars of the FA Premiership, however, for the sake of the game we love and watch we must condemn those individuals. Whether it's 'high fiving' it in public as Sir Alex Ferguson did with Christiano Ronaldo in December 2006 in Manchester United's league encounter against Middlesbrough or Jose Mourninho turning a 'blind eye' to the antics of Didier Drogba or Arjen Robben, we are determined to fight back and rid our game of cheats for good.

A lot of good work is already underway, with Torquay United's Chairman Chris Roberts, Manchester City's Stuart Pearce and Sunderland's Roy Keane all taking a stand against cheating. Their efforts are to be commended, but they need support and we're asking the fans to act on a united front. With this in mind, RidtheGame.com's sole purpose is to raise awareness of the problem in a collective way, seeking 1,000,000 online signatures of Football Fans and to present these to the powers that be to seek changes to the directives referees are given by English football's governing bodies. The call is quite simple - hammer the cheats in real time and make better use of video technology to do it retrospectively, let's drive out cheating.

Yes we know what we demand will result in innocent players being booked, even sent off for a 2nd yellow card, however is the current approach working? NO. It's failing the honest players, it's failing the fans, it's failing the sponsors and it's failing the broadcasters. IT'S FAILING MISERABLY. Here at RidtheGame we're hearing from fans who have not renewed season tickets because of the cheating. We're also hearing of supporters who no longer watch games on TV because of the cheating.

Let nobody try to fool you by saying the tough measures we demand will not work. There has been a precedent set in the non-league game - AND IT WORKED! In the 1990's the Northern League committee decided they wanted swearing eradicated from it's games. They mandated referees to send off any player or club official heard uttering abusive language, without exception. Those referees who failed to act were themselves reported and severely disciplined. The end result, a higher number of red cards initially but foul and abusive language disappeared from the pitch almost overnight. "I can tell you it was a pleasure to referee their games" commented Rob Bryson, Founder of RidtheGame.com. Seemingly draconian measures can and do work! There is but one aim..... for the fans voice to be heard... WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

As part of our initial launch, Founder Rob Bryson announced on Jeff Winter (recently retired Premier League ref)'s TFM Radio Show on Saturday that we had gone live. Jeff agreed to support our cause 100% and we expect to enlist the help of other prominent figures in the sport in the coming weeks and months. Signing the Petition will only take a minute of your time. With 1,000,000 votes, we can make a difference!

You can access the RidtheGame.com Petition here.

[only2garners]

Just been down to Ewood to get Arsenal tickets and a couple of extras for Liverpool. In the five minutes I was there no less than three people were turned away from the next window as they wanted to buy tickets for Boxing Day but had no previous history of purchase. Clearly a couple could have been Liverpool fans but one was clearly not - an elderly lady with a Blackburn accent whose grandson worked at Ewood. Now I know why it's done but I just wonder whether we can really afford to be doing this now. It's not as if there won't be tickets being bought for Liverpool fans in Rovers' areas. Maybe we the club should be reserving a small part of the ground to put these sales in which can be closely monitored and and Liverpool supporters removed immediately?

[gazsimm]

Just been down to Ewood to get Arsenal tickets and a couple of extras for Liverpool. In the five minutes I was there no less than three people were turned away from the next window as they wanted to buy tickets for Boxing Day but had no previous history of purchase. Clearly a couple could have been Liverpool fans but one was clearly not - an elderly lady with a Blackburn accent whose grandson worked at Ewood. Now I know why it's done but I just wonder whether we can really afford to be doing this now. It's not as if there won't be tickets being bought for Liverpool fans in Rovers' areas. Maybe we the club should be reserving a small part of the ground to put these sales in which can be closely monitored and and Liverpool supporters removed immediately?

Do they still ask them silly questions at the ticket office to prove that you are Blackburn fan?

like who's plays in goal for Rovers?

that happend to one of my mates once and he just couldn't stop laughing at the silly woman

[OJRovers]

Picking up on something which has been mentioned earlier:

If season ticket holders are objecting to cheaper ticket offers - then a few sweetners wouldn't go amiss - Eg 1 free pint / pie / coke in games which offers are made.

Another idea which I talked about (and its been touched on above) is that there could be a first-come-first-serve policy for certain areas in the ground which could be snapped up in turn. eg

£3 for all upper tier in Darwen End (if no away fans there)

£5 for 2000 outer tickets in the JW lower/upper

£5 for 2000 outer tickets in the Walkersteel

In all this would add around 7000 to the gate which otherwise would not go.

Once these tickets go thats it - normal prices. But this should be done for all games to encourage people to come back. If they are too slow then they may-MAY just buy full price seats.

[Lee]

Just been down to Ewood to get Arsenal tickets and a couple of extras for Liverpool. In the five minutes I was there no less than three people were turned away from the next window as they wanted to buy tickets for Boxing Day but had no previous history of purchase. Clearly a couple could have been Liverpool fans but one was clearly not - an elderly lady with a Blackburn accent whose grandson worked at Ewood. Now I know why it's done but I just wonder whether we can really afford to be doing this now. It's not as if there won't be tickets being bought for Liverpool fans in Rovers' areas. Maybe we the club should be reserving a small part of the ground to put these sales in which can be closely monitored and and Liverpool supporters removed immediately?

They'll have been asked to submit their request in writing, we aren't refusing anyone a ticket unless they are Liverpool supporters.

[FourLaneBlue]

Picking up on something which has been mentioned earlier:

If season ticket holders are objecting to cheaper ticket offers - then a few sweetners wouldn't go amiss - Eg 1 free pint / pie / coke in games which offers are made.

Another idea which I talked about (and its been touched on above) is that there could be a first-come-first-serve policy for certain areas in the ground which could be snapped up in turn. eg

£3 for all upper tier in Darwen End (if no away fans there)

£5 for 2000 outer tickets in the JW lower/upper

£5 for 2000 outer tickets in the Walkersteel

In all this would add around 7000 to the gate which otherwise would not go.

Once these tickets go thats it - normal prices. But this should be done for all games to encourage people to come back. If they are too slow then they may-MAY just buy full price seats.

The question is do we really want people at Ewood who are only willing to pay £3? What would be the point of buying a season ticket when they are that low? Even saving the hassle of booking individual games wouldn't be worth it.

I'm all for cheaper tickets but if they aren't careful then the club will completely devalue the perceived cost of seeing football at Ewood. The product will be seen as next to worthless if they go too far.

Why should so many people who refuse to pay higher prices get in cheaply while the hardcore fans are shafted?

Unless the club radically brings down prices across the board will it be acceptable and, by doing that, we must also realise they are gambling with the future of the club. Rovers cannot afford to get this wrong and just put the prices back up.

[only2garners]

They'll have been asked to submit their request in writing, we aren't refusing anyone a ticket unless they are Liverpool supporters.

Lee - the lady I mentioned definitely wasn't asked to write in. She was advised if there was anyone she knew who had a purchasing record who she could ask - this was when she mentioned her grandson working at Ewood, but he was now away until after Christmas.

[BRFC4EVA]

Lee - the lady I mentioned definitely wasn't asked to write in. She was advised if there was anyone she knew who had a purchasing record who she could ask - this was when she mentioned her grandson working at Ewood, but he was now away until after Christmas.

Im sorry, but i have no sympathy whatsoever. It is repeatedly stated that for Liverpool and Man u ONLY you need a prior purchase on the database. Everybody knows this, why do people moan ever time one of these 2 games come along. The club are doing the right thing, unless you wanna loada bloody red fans sitting next to you in the bbe Why is she on the database previously you only have to go to 1 game to get tickets? Why should people get tickets for l'pool if they cant be arse with any other game. Club spot on imo.

[sleepyjack]

Im sorry, but i have no sympathy whatsoever. It is repeatedly stated that for Liverpool and Man u ONLY you need a prior purchase on the database. Everybody knows this, why do people moan ever time one of these 2 games come along. The club are doing the right thing, unless you wanna loada bloody red fans sitting next to you in the bbe Why is she on the database previously you only have to go to 1 game to get tickets? Why should people get tickets for l'pool if they cant be arse with any other game. Club spot on imo.

What was your first Rovers game? At home to Shrewsbury or something? Purposely pick an unnattractive tie to make sure people knew you were the most dedicated of all fans?

If you were developing an interest in football today and wanted to go to a match at Ewood, would you choose Charlton or Liverpool to sample the delights of the Premiership standard game? But wait, you aren't on the database, you're not in the club, you can't come to that game. Why don't we start you off with something lighter, let's say Newcastle. So we'll have your £25 for that, and now you can have a Liverpool ticket. That'll be another £36.

Obviously in the wake of the City game way back when, it was necessary for the club to react in a way that would clamp down on away supporters infiltrating home areas. But posters here have told of numerous times when genuine attempts to get tickets to big games have been turned down. Or fans not being able to buy more tickets than they usually get. We can't seem to tempt back those fans who have walked away from Ewood, and we're making it harder to get new ones to come to games.

[Jan]

What was your first Rovers game? At home to Shrewsbury or something? Purposely pick an unnattractive tie to make sure people knew you were the most dedicated of all fans?

If you were developing an interest in football today and wanted to go to a match at Ewood, would you choose Charlton or Liverpool to sample the delights of the Premiership standard game? But wait, you aren't on the database, you're not in the club, you can't come to that game. Why don't we start you off with something lighter, let's say Newcastle. So we'll have your £25 for that, and now you can have a Liverpool ticket. That'll be another £36.

Obviously in the wake of the City game way back when, it was necessary for the club to react in a way that would clamp down on away supporters infiltrating home areas. But posters here have told of numerous times when genuine attempts to get tickets to big games have been turned down. Or fans not being able to buy more tickets than they usually get. We can't seem to tempt back those fans who have walked away from Ewood, and we're making it harder to get new ones to come to games.

We're only making it difficult to get to games where the away end sells out. This shows common sense. And anyone who really believes that just because smoeone has a Blackburn accent they won't be a Liverpool supporter is naive at best.

[gazsimm]

i know some people in the past who support a lower team, and fancied a day out to watch some prem action at Rovers being turned away because they had no previous history with the club. And they wonder why we have such bad crowds

[Jordan]

How about Blackburn doing something like Fulham and having a neutral area which can be used for fans who don't particulary support the teams who are playing but fancy watching a live game.

I also had an idea about away support.

Say for the Chelsea away game we are given 2000 tickets which cost the club £50. We would be looking at selling about 1000 of these tickets and Rovers would lose £50.000 in not used tickets. Say they put on free coaches from Ewood, I imagine that we would sell another 500 of these tickets. The coaches to London usually cost about £20ish. Now the club would lose this but would only lose £25.000 from tickets. Therefore having a better away following and not losing as much money.

[ihateburnley]

Im sorry, but i have no sympathy whatsoever. It is repeatedly stated that for Liverpool and Man u ONLY you need a prior purchase on the database. Everybody knows this, why do people moan ever time one of these 2 games come along. The club are doing the right thing, unless you wanna loada bloody red fans sitting next to you in the bbe Why is she on the database previously you only have to go to 1 game to get tickets? Why should people get tickets for l'pool if they cant be arse with any other game. Club spot on imo.

BRFCS4EVA - I know you are one of the 'The Club Do Everything Right' brigade on all issues, but surely we should be being less picky nowadays. We will not sell out against Liverpool because the prices charged are nothing short of robbery - so why are we turning people away that ARE willing to pay that??? Yes the little old lady may well be a scouser at heart. So bloody what?!? It's not as though she is taking the seat that would otherwise be filled by a Rovers fan. Until we can fill the stadium on our own, it is ludicrous to bring in these restrictions. Like somebody else said if you wanted to buy a present for your grandson who lived in the Blackburn area but hadn't really thought of watching Rovers before, the two games you would think of as ideal to whet the appetite would be Manchester United at home or Liverpool at home.

We are shooting ourselves in the foot BIG time with this, and by the way £36 in the Blackburn End is an absolute disgrace for ANY game. I'd be most surprised if we get 15,000 home fans on for this game. Then again everybody is loaded at Christmas aren't they and with only three games in seven days it could be a sell-out

[Jan]

People will be spending their Christmas bonuses!!!

[gazsimm]

People will be spending their Christmas bonuses!!!

thats if they can get in Ewood first

[krislu]

People will be spending their Christmas bonuses!!!

Jan, you are wrong if you think everyone have an element of performance based payment in their working-contract.

[thenodrog]

How about Blackburn doing something like Fulham and having a neutral area which can be used for fans who don't particulary support the teams who are playing but fancy watching a live game.

We already do! It's called the press box and it's never full.