[Archived] Rovers Finances

[Exiled in Toronto]

I can't believe you keep banging this drum. What have the likes of John Williams and Tom Finn ever done to upset you??!

I wasn't having a go at them. In fact, I think over the last 12 months they have grasped the nettle of accountability for attendances etc and I have been 100% supportive of all their recent initiatives in that area. They have stopped blaming the fans for not turning up and are doing something about it. It's the 'if the missing 5,000 turned up, everything would be rosy' point I disagree with - though I do take American's point that other income streams could well be influenced by bums on seats - lack thereof.

This isn't Tesco v Asda ffs!!

Unfortunately, since the Premier League became about spectators rather than supporters I think it is. Rovers have to compete for the punters leisure cash and time, and also the businessman's trade development pounds more than ever so in the past.

[Paul]

Re- Tesco v Asda ~ Unfortunately, since the Premier League became about spectators rather than supporters I think it is. Rovers have to compete for the punters leisure cash and time, and also the businessman's trade development pounds more than ever so in the past.

I think you're right. From an attendance view I think we are seeing the last of the tradiotional supporter. I suspect anyone who is now in their mid to late 20s is the last generation of what we might consider a traditional supporter. Sure there will still be some, but the born and raisd club fan is rapidly disappearing. Which is a problem created by TV. The club now have to battle with a product delivered to your armchair against persuading people to swap this for a cold, dank evening at Ewood. We all know the TV product doesn't stand any comparison with real, live football but there's a generation who don't know the difference.

[RovertheHill]

club now have to battle with a product delivered to your armchair against persuading people to swap this for a cold, dank evening at Ewood. We all know the TV product doesn't stand any comparison with real, live football but there's a generation who don't know the difference.

A really good point and the onus is on us "oldies" to ensure that our kids do get to know the difference. With Rovers excellent kids ticketing policy there is no excuse not to.

A good read Philip - thanks.

[stuwilky]

I think you're right. From an attendance view I think we are seeing the last of the tradiotional supporter. I suspect anyone who is now in their mid to late 20s is the last generation of what we might consider a traditional supporter.

My three year old, who has had Rovers drilled into him since birth, has any amount of Rovers merchandise and kits, has watched games at Ewood announced yesterday that his favourite team was Chelsea "cos I can watch them on the telly daddy"

He is now living at my mother in laws.

[Paul Mellelieu]

He'll come round Stu.

I'm not sure about Paul's point. I and many others on the MB can remember crowds of 5 and 6,000 at Ewood. Surely we have far more real supporters in the teens and twenties that than the dark days of the late 70s.

[Paul]

announced yesterday that his favourite team was Chelsea "cos I can watch them on the telly daddy"

He is now living at my mother in laws.

Each of mine had a period of wanting to support Utd I found it takes about a year to break this potentially life-damaging desire.

When the youngest asked, at the dinner table, if he could support Utd the oldest immediately responded "Not if you want to carry on living here!" Youngest burst into tears and feld to his room.

[stuwilky]

Each of mine had a period of wanting to support Utd I found it takes about a year to break this potentially life-damaging desire.

When the youngest asked, at the dinner table, if he could support Utd the oldest immediately responded "Not if you want to carry on living here!" Youngest burst into tears and feld to his room.

Unfortunately my eldest hit him and said "no you cant support Chelsea it will upset daddy, and Chelsea are rubbish, Rovers are the best".

so my brain washing has worked on one of them.

Shame he hit him over the head with a piece of scalextric.

[roversmum]

Oh dear. I hope the scalextric isn't damaged....

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

It is dominated by the new TV deal and the very real prospect that in 2006/7 Rovers will become a £50m+ turnover business. Putting that into a world context, Rovers would rank somewhere round about 25th in the Deloittes rich list of clubs and if we had a run to the FA Cup Final as well as a top 6 finish (and assuming crowds have not dropped below 20,000 in the meantime), Rovers could make it into the 20 highest earning clubs in the world without qualifying for the Champs League. This is mind boggling for us older supporters and would have Bill Fox speechless in amazement.

If Rovers keep wages at current levels, they will become profitable on a sustained basis for virtually the first time in their history and have the odd five millions available for net transfers each year.

Well done Philipl.

Amazing isn't it.To a fan like me who started supporting Rovers in the early 80's when the club quite literally didn't have a pot to p1ss in and was a whisker away from going bankcrupt if rumour was to be believed at the time, the above figures take a while to sink in...... 50m turnover!,25th richest club in the world!!

Its quite correct to say Rovers have never had it so good in their long and proud 132 history, we quite simply owe it to one son of Blackburn who,some 16 years ago now,had the generousity and foresight to invest in his home town club and bring them back from the edge of the abyss.

Thanks Jack,how can he be repaid?.........LETS KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!

[thenodrog]

Thanks Jack,how can he be repaid?.........LETS KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!

Easy SG..... The best way to honour his commitment would be for our dear departed narrow backs to remember how bloody lucky we all are (cos they'll still of course call themselves true Rovers supporters of long standing) do a U-turn and start going to Ewood on a regular basis again.

[bazza]

But you can't discount the crowd decline leading to the decline in sponsorship dollars and in TV appearances (why would Sky want to broadcast a "half-empty" stadium?

If the emphasis has changed to selling the club as a spectacle through TV rather than old fashioned sport, then it's time the club looked at how we appear on TV at Ewood.

Cameras showing the "shed" where I sit and empty seats both here and in the Darwen End should be moved to the Riverside.

Supporters must be made to fill the Jack Walker Stand and Blackburn End first. The remainder, like me, can remain in the "shed".

There should be a curtain to pull down on the top tier of the Darwen End and maybe other parts of the ground that has a realistic-looking painting of supporters filling all the seats like Arsenal did whilst developing part of Highbury.

It might sound daft but this is a serious matter and one that J Williams & Co should be considering.

Maybe this should have been posted in "The old gate debate" thread but ...what the heck!

[Paul Mellelieu]

Bazza,

It sounds daft because it is daft.

[Hannah]

My three year old, who has had Rovers drilled into him since birth, has any amount of Rovers merchandise and kits, has watched games at Ewood announced yesterday that his favourite team was Chelsea "cos I can watch them on the telly daddy"

He is now living at my mother in laws.

My Dad still has not forgiven me for becoming a Blackburn Fan and my brother for becoming a Bolton fan!

He took us to LIverpool loads and I hated it!!!

[daren]

I think you're right. From an attendance view I think we are seeing the last of the tradiotional supporter. I suspect anyone who is now in their mid to late 20s is the last generation of what we might consider a traditional supporter. Sure there will still be some, but the born and raisd club fan is rapidly disappearing. Which is a problem created by TV. The club now have to battle with a product delivered to your armchair against persuading people to swap this for a cold, dank evening at Ewood. We all know the TV product doesn't stand any comparison with real, live football but there's a generation who don't know the difference.

Heh, from someone sitting in Ireland, where the options for decent football are

A ) The premiership on telly

B ) go to England to watch a game (this is tricky/expensive on short notice)

the decline in football attendance boggles the mind.

Onwards. In my experience, there's still a hardcore of football fans, but if all you get to see is the Big 4, and all the commentary is praise of them and pretty derogatory of everyone else it's easy to see how people get pushed into supporting them. Nevermind that the best game in the premiership last season was Spuds v Rovers at White Hart Lane, heartbreaking and all as it was. Once someone settles into supporting a club it gets set in stone, really, or all your mates will give you a right going over for being fickle!

Anyway, fair play to the board and trust for doing a good job running the club. Those figures are pretty heartening, especially in contrast to the bulk of the rest of the premiership. It certainly seems that it wouldn't take a huge response in terms of fanbase (and not necessarily just local, interest in the club generates revenues through merchandising) to push the club on a bit. Hopefully the lower ticket prices will generate a response, after all a sporting event is generally a good day out, and few other things can generate the same emotion. If I ever become a multi-millionaire, you'll have another fan owner! I hope the same can be said for the rest of you

[RevidgeBlue]

Amazing isn't it.To a fan like me who started supporting Rovers in the early 80's when the club quite literally didn't have a pot to p1ss in and was a whisker away from going bankcrupt if rumour was to be believed at the time, the above figures take a while to sink in...... 50m turnover!,25th richest club in the world!!

Exactly SG. Poor old Bill Fox who had to send off 'leccy cheques unsigned to buy a few more days grace and nearly had to flog the Boardroom table c1984 to keep us afloat probably doesn't know whether to laugh or cry up above!

The way forward for us imo is to do a bit more of "an Arsenal" and concentrate even more resources into bringing in the very best youngsters.

This should have a dual effect, we would benefit massively from huge transfer fees if someone did move on and it should lessen what Sir Alan Sugar called the "prune juice effect" i.e. the club's revenue going straight into the player's pockets in wages.

[ykims_com]

II do take American's point that other income streams could well be influenced by bums on seats - lack thereof.

I would be surprised if the decline in attendances has a major impact on sponsorship income. I would expect that the cost of advertising associated to anything to do with the Premier League will sky rocket because of the new TV deal.

The issue with small average attendances at Ewood is that Rovers have to accept that our sponsorship deals are unlikely to be as lucrative as many of the so called bigger clubs… regardless of how well we perform.

[philipl]

I would be surprised if the decline in attendances has a major impact on sponsorship income. I would expect that the cost of advertising associated to anything to do with the Premier League will sky rocket because of the new TV deal.

The issue with small average attendances at Ewood is that Rovers have to accept that our sponsorship deals are unlikely to be as lucrative as many of the so called bigger clubs… regardless of how well we perform.

Sponsorship is also impacted by the number of TV appearances. Rovers cames 6th, scored several goal of the season contenders and probably mounted the best 20 minutes of flowing football by any team last season when we tore into Spuds at White Hart Lane.

The reward was a reduction in TV screenings.

Not only the number of TV appearances is a problem but the flow of TV commentary is now beyond a joke. I simply accept that we are watching Manc TV or Arse TV if we are playing either of those clubs and can here the British commentary.

The TV companies have got to see that they are the major contributors to destroying the spectacle they are paying £2.7 billion to screen.

[trueblue]

The TV companies have got to see that they are the major contributors to destroying the spectacle they are paying £2.7 billion to screen.

But the TV companies contend that in giving the 'big four' clubs so much air time they are catering for the viewing preferences of the majority of the country.

What they don't realise is that if the only teams youngsters see on TV are the big four, then it's no wonder support declines at lesser football clubs... because the big four are all the viewing populace ever sees !!!

[den]

There's no doubting that TV has a beneficial effect on the big clubs and a detrimental effect on clubs like ours.

In th'owden days, the only club any youngster could watch, was their local team.

[JC4LAB]

Its not just our fans that are staying away but also the away followings..Noticably sparse this season were Man City & Newcastle fans that usally fill the entire Darwen end...

[Clog Blue]

Easy SG..... The best way to honour his commitment would be for our dear departed narrow backs to remember how bloody lucky we all are (cos they'll still of course call themselves true Rovers supporters of long standing) do a U-turn and start going to Ewood on a regular basis again.

Does this mean your gonna get to Ewood before half time now Theno, even if you have got amix on!!

[Blackburn Ender]

Thanks Philip for a thorough and lucid translation of Rovers' accounts.

Like others have been saying for a good while now, it's clear Rovers is in good hands both at the club and with the Trust.

I do not really believe our drop in attendances os purely down to Rovers/Ewod/Park/Blackburn. We are one of the earlier manifestations of the TV takeover of English football.

It's ironic that the super-duper new TV deal is helping us remain on the Premiership gravy train, whilst at the same time robbing us of thousands of matchday supporters.

I don't suppose there's an easy way to find out, but I wonder if, worldwide, the number of football fans who list Rovers as their fave team has gone up by thousands (even millions?) through TV exposure.

There's certainly more point to people in the US and Far East contributing to this site because of TV and internet coverage.

Following the Uniteds/Chelseas of the world in exploiting the commercial benefits of this (albeit in a smaller way) worldwide support and income may well be brought back up again.

Given the ££££s involved, it's not unimaginable to see Rovers some time soon effectively giving away seats at Ewood to make it look good on the telly.

I see the recent announcment from John Williams as the start of this process.

Once again, Philip, thanks for a terrific insight into the boardroom & the books.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Easy SG..... The best way to honour his commitment would be for our dear departed narrow backs to remember how bloody lucky we all are (cos they'll still of course call themselves true Rovers supporters of long standing) do a U-turn and start going to Ewood on a regular basis again.

Couldn't agree more theno.

The prospect of a possible 50 million turnover for Rovers next season equates to roughly 5 or 6 years of income for our Claret neighbours down the road....that gap just gets bigger!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

If the emphasis has changed to selling the club as a spectacle through TV rather than old fashioned sport, then it's time the club looked at how we appear on TV at Ewood.

Cameras showing the "shed" where I sit and empty seats both here and in the Darwen End should be moved to the Riverside.

Supporters must be made to fill the Jack Walker Stand and Blackburn End first. The remainder, like me, can remain in the "shed".

There should be a curtain to pull down on the top tier of the Darwen End and maybe other parts of the ground that has a realistic-looking painting of supporters filling all the seats like Arsenal did whilst developing part of Highbury.

It might sound daft but this is a serious matter and one that J Williams & Co should be considering.

Maybe this should have been posted in "The old gate debate" thread but ...what the heck!

Why move the cameras?

Could a portion of this extra tv money also not be used to build a modern stand where the 'shed' is now on the Riverside?....it doesn't half ruddy let the rest of the ground down in all honesty.

What a massive opportunity for the club to progress on and off the pitch

[daren]

Large expenditure, low reward. Let's fill the rest of the stadium first!