[Archived] Ewood Park

[gazsimm]

I bet if we were top of the league and were winning things the so called fans would come then though

[bigcol]

I bet if we were top of the league and were winning things the so called fans would come then though

Suppose, but when are we ever going to be top of the league again?

[gazsimm]

Suppose, but when are we ever going to be top of the league again?

probably never i am sad to say but look what the gates were when we won the league, and were have all these people gone now

Edited November 2, 2006 by gazsimm

[cn174]

I bet if we were top of the league and were winning things the so called fans would come then though

They didn't really when we won the league in '95. Wasn't our average attendance the year after still something like 27,000? Still not justification enough to build another new stand

[Fife Rover]

I am puzzled. Surely the population of Blackburn cant have fallen that much in the last 50 years. Back then it was not unusual to get attendances anywhere in high 30k's and for selected matches right up to the mid-50k's. I wonder why it has changed so much, considering we now have a Prem team playing lovely football and in Europe as well. There must be another reason; now what could it be? Maybe it's a cost problem? There aren't too many people in Jan's position where they could think that £15 is just a suitable tip for a waiter or a shoe-shine boy!

Edited November 2, 2006 by Fife Rover

[gazsimm]

They didn't really when we won the league in '95. Wasn't our average attendance the year after still something like 27,000? Still not justification enough to build another new stand

i am not saying we need to bulid a new stand 27000 is better average then we getting now

[Mr Maureen]

Where would these extra fans come from. The moon. And if you sit in the riverside Mr Maureen, contemplate singing. That would make the atmosphere better. There's more atmosphere on the moon than in the riverside.

By filling in the corners you create a greater atmosphere thus enticing those floating Rovers fans back to Ewood.Fans want excitement on matchdays.Lets be honest Ewood is probably the dullest ground in the Premiership.

[Fife Rover]

By filling in the corners you create a greater atmosphere thus enticing those floating Rovers fans back to Ewood.Fans want excitement on matchdays.Lets be honest Ewood is probably the dullest ground in the Premiership.

If you think Ewood Park is dull Mr. M. you should come up to Scotland and sample the atmosphere at some of the SPL grounds. My local is East End Park, Dunfermline where I have been a regular attendee since 1980 on and off. There the average gate is around 4k and if the they make any response at all to what is happening on the pitch, it is usually a ripple of light hand clapping, reminiscent of a village green cricket match. I once made the mistake of bellowing out (as I and 1000's more do at Ewood) "COME ON YOU PARS". You should have seen the icy stares I got from all those around me. Talk about lowering the tone, and all that! The other grounds in the SPL are not too bad for atmosphere, but I guess that only Ibrox and Parkhead can equal Ewood.

[b12_simon]

I am puzzled. Surely the population of Blackburn cant have fallen that much in the last 50 years. Back then it was not unusual to get attendances anywhere in high 30k's and for selected matches right up to the mid-50k's. I wonder why it has changed so much, considering we now have a Prem team playing lovely football and in Europe as well. There must be another reason; now what could it be? Maybe it's a cost problem? There aren't too many people in Jan's position where they could think that £15 is just a suitable tip for a waiter or a shoe-shine boy!

50 years ago, the only way to see the game was to show up at the ground. No telly, probably no full radio commentary either. The choice was simple: pay your money or get it second hand from mates or the paper.

Simon

[bigcol]

By filling in the corners you create a greater atmosphere thus enticing those floating Rovers fans back to Ewood.Fans want excitement on matchdays.Lets be honest Ewood is probably the dullest ground in the Premiership.

I agree with you on this point, it is pretty dull.

[b12_simon]

Lets be honest Ewood is probably the dullest ground in the Premiership.

Wash your mouth out!

We sound quieter on telly, because Sky turn the mics down (because of the drummers), but in the middle of the Blackburn End, you can barely hear yourself think at times.

Simon

[Ray-Von]

Wash your mouth out!

We sound quieter on telly, because Sky turn the mics down (because of the drummers), but in the middle of the Blackburn End, you can barely hear yourself think at times.

Simon

Are you being serious?

[b12_simon]

Are you being serious?

At times we make a bloody good noise. It goes a bit quiet if the game's crap, but compare it to a lot of grounds and we do alright.

Simon

[gazsimm]

At times we make a bloody good noise. It goes a bit quiet if the game's crap, but compare it to a lot of grounds and we do alright.

Simon

shame the drummers silence the chants

[Fife Rover]

50 years ago, the only way to see the game was to show up at the ground. No telly, probably no full radio commentary either. The choice was simple: pay your money or get it second hand from mates or the paper.

Simon

Yes, thanks for pointing that out Simon. Having been a Rovers fan for 60 years this month, I do understand that. My point however was, if the population of Blackburn and surrounding area is not much less now than then, were did they find the numbers that used to turn up for every home match? Almost half the entire population of Blackburn on occasions, with only a small percentage of them being away fans. And in addition those that did attend then were about 95% male adults and less than 1% female. The difference being boys under 14. Which must mean that very nearly every adult male in Blackburn used to be a Rovers fan and regular attender at Ewood. This impression was confirmed for me by the fact that in those days whoever you spoke to at work or on a bus,in the street or pub, the conversation was invariably about Rovers and their latest match which you could tell they had obviously been present at.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Fife Rover

[joey_big_nose]

Surely doing something on the stadium has to be the last of our priorities at the moment. We have a very nice modern ground, falling attendances and a quite large fianancial disadvatage to the teams above us in the league.

Ideally we would like to reduce the size of the three main stands and build up the Riverside but I cannot envisage a point in the next 30-40 years where that is likely to happen, even if we do finish in the top four on a regular basis. When we built the stadium we overestimated the fan base, or anticipated a long stay at the top.

[b12_simon]

Yes, thanks for pointing that out Simon. Having been a Rovers fan for 60 years this month, I do understand that. My point however was, if the population of Blackburn and surrounding area is not much less now than then, were did they find the numbers that used to turn up for every home match? Almost half the entire population of Blackburn on occasions, with only a small percentage of them being away fans. And in addition those that did attend then were about 95% male adults and less than 1% female. The difference being boys under 14. Which must mean that very nearly every adult male in Blackburn used to be a Rovers fan and regular attender at Ewood.

OK. No need to take it the wrong way. I reckon the difference now is telly and folks "supporting" other, bigger clubs. When I still lived in the town, there were a lot of [spit] Man U fans around the place. These days it'll be Chelsea and Arsenal, too (at least it is where I live).

Simon

[Ray-Von]

Yes, thanks for pointing that out Simon. Having been a Rovers fan for 60 years this month, I do understand that. My point however was, if the population of Blackburn and surrounding area is not much less now than then, were did they find the numbers that used to turn up for every home match? Almost half the entire population of Blackburn on occasions, with only a small percentage of them being away fans. And in addition those that did attend then were about 95% male adults and less than 1% female. The difference being boys under 14. Which must mean that very nearly every adult male in Blackburn used to be a Rovers fan and regular attender at Ewood.

Quick question Fife - when you lived around East Lancs, did all the locals support Rovers, or did teams from places such as Manchester or Liverpool get a look in? I'm guessing thats one of the main reasons that attendances have slumped so dramatically over the last 40-50 years given people in United/Liverpool shirts is pretty common place these days.

[stuwilky]

By filling in the corners you create a greater atmosphere

I'll repeat the question.

How?

[gazsimm]

I'll repeat the question.

How?

may be we could hire a band in for every corner of the stadium

[Exiled_Rover]

Looks like I'm in the minority here.

The argument "would you rather have another player, or a new stand" will always be there. Fans will always want a new player first. Some time or other, rovers are going to have to replace the riverside.

Might as well start looking again for investment - now.

Really? Why?

[Blue blood]

I can remember a few years back that all the boxes were sold out for the entire season, even for league cup games. If this is still the case maybe the only realistic profit-making revamp of the Riverside would be to kit it out with boxes and improve the existing seats i.e. get them all under shelter and get rid of the supports that block the view.

Increasing the capacity of the riverside would never make any sense - and I'm not too sure about decreasing it. I reckon for big games or if we continue to be successful we could still reach the 30K margin. However if less seats (say knocking off a couple of thousand) would make it cheaper and easier to run or rebuild the riverside then it'd probably be a sacrifice worth making.

[joey_big_nose]

Yes, thanks for pointing that out Simon. Having been a Rovers fan for 60 years this month, I do understand that. My point however was, if the population of Blackburn and surrounding area is not much less now than then, were did they find the numbers that used to turn up for every home match? Almost half the entire population of Blackburn on occasions, with only a small percentage of them being away fans. And in addition those that did attend then were about 95% male adults and less than 1% female. The difference being boys under 14. Which must mean that very nearly every adult male in Blackburn used to be a Rovers fan and regular attender at Ewood. This impression was confirmed for me by the fact that in those days whoever you spoke to at work or on a bus,in the street or pub, the conversation was invariably about Rovers and their latest match which you could tell they had obviously been present at.

There is the question of how involved the asian community is in Rovers as now as a group they make up a large proportion of the population (20%).

The total population of Blackburn with Darwen has declined a little since your heydey Fife, from around 150,000 to 135,000. Stats

Edited November 2, 2006 by joey_big_nose

[Lee]

I can remember a few years back that all the boxes were sold out for the entire season, even for league cup games. If this is still the case maybe the only realistic profit-making revamp of the Riverside would be to kit it out with boxes and improve the existing seats i.e. get them all under shelter and get rid of the supports that block the view.

I've no recollection of this, it certainly isn't the case thesedays.

[bluebruce]

Increasing the capacity of the riverside would never make any sense - and I'm not too sure about decreasing it. I reckon for big games or if we continue to be successful we could still reach the 30K margin. However if less seats (say knocking off a couple of thousand) would make it cheaper and easier to run or rebuild the riverside then it'd probably be a sacrifice worth making.

Knocking a couple thousand off the Riverside would entail demolishing half the stand. And probably wouldn't help with anything. It would look worse than it used to, and would save only negligible amounts on lighting. And mean that a lot of fans who enjoy getting the cheap seats there would probably have to either move into more expensive stands or not be able to afford to do so, and therefore bugger off. And of course there's the loss of money on those rare occasions we do top the 28k mark.