[Archived] This Will Stop Jordans Plan

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

For what purpose 1864 ... to purely make money

ITS WOULD BE DETRACTING FROM THE SPORT and just making a mockery of the Fans who attend the other x38 games - so what is the point of the Season - the money will just be used to line people's pockets who then come up with other totally stupid ideas like this.

Why don't they just play every game in different cities etc. and do away with the league format

If they are going to do it let it be out of season and not contribute towards points ... but then that would be a case of hey there is nothing worth playing for so why do it?

There is no Point whatsoever... and no matter which way you dress it up nobody is going to want to watch Rovers v Boro for example bar the FANS who it matters to!!

Remember if this goes ahead it will not stop there.

One thing is for sure this has now made me seriously consider not renewing my S/T now for next season until it is clear that this will not happen.

And as for being in early JAN ETC ... they have already been clambouring for a Winter Break anyway FFS.

I simply cant understand your anger Capt...what the hell is wrong with Rovers wanting to make money?

This could be the ticket that sees Rovers as a permanent fixture in the top flight for good and seals our dominance of the local 'town club' scene.We still get our 19 home games on the season ticket so whats the worry? these are nothing more than exhibition matches and one hell of a chance for a town club like ours,like Revidge, I would be very proud to see our famous blue'n' white halves showcased in foreign locations.

Not renew your season ticket? THE DRAMA QUEENS WELL AND TRULY HAVE THEIR STILETTOS ON FOLKS!!!!

[stuwilky]

these are nothing more than exhibition matches

If that were the case SG then there wouldnt be any kind of objection I imagine.....

[philipl]

My goodness there is some rubbish being written on here.

Everyone complaining about unfairness, loss of tradition, crazy pot luck of the draw etc- I completely agree with you.

Everyone moaning on financial grounds seem to be short of their marbles on this one.

If it is £5m each, that is about the same as a Season's worth of gate money (before all the other extras) at Ewood.

The cash is being spread equally. For Man U £5m on £200m turnover is 2.5% increase, for Rovers £5m on £40m turnover is a 12.5% increase.

At the moment, the Man U brand is strong enough to support intercontinental tours and be highly lucrative. Rovers doing the same jaunt would be financially risky. This proposal will get Rovers out there doing the market development work at no risk to the club financially.

It will come down to how well the Rovers gear up to sell to the venue/country/region we are going to.

One interesting point is the top 5 are seeded so a seed goes to each venue; what top 5?. Top 5 at the previous season end or top 5 in November when the draw is made? If the latter, there is a decent chance that some members of the Big 4 won't get seeded. Liverpool seem to be spending time outside the top 5 this season for example whilst Chelsea were not in the top 5 until December.

Finally it has upset RFW who wasn't consulted so the idea has something going for it!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

They are exhibition games to an extent Stuwilky, one off games played abroad.

Not renew season tickets? go and watch Chorley? all because the club plays ONE game abroad and earns itself a % million..... I am astonished by the knee jerk reactions from some on here.

[tony gale's mic]

i know i've laboured this point in this thread but noone has yet given an answer to it.

everyone gets an extra £5 million say as a result of this - great.

when premiership clubs then go to sign players, compete for players, partly in transfer fees but i'm mainly thinking about wages, all the clubs in the premiership will have an extra 5 million in the coffers to offer these players. all the premiership clubs will have more money to offer players, wage bills will go up at every club, to compete we will have to do likewise (like they have done whenever a major new TV deal has been agreed), and considering such a high percentage turnover is spent on wages, surely this will mean it wont have very much of an effect at all on our financial situation?

then take merchandising. obviously the big four have much more pulling power for merchandising, but oh well, they may well pull even further away. not my biggest concern. but the likes of everton, newcastle, spurs, villa and probably even west ham, portsmouth etc have more appeal to foreign fans than we do. theyve got bigger stadiums and/or are from bigger cities, many have foreign owners who can spunk money on marketing and i'm pretty sure look a lot more glamorous to foreign fans than little old blackburn rovers.

This could be the ticket that sees Rovers as a permanent fixture in the top flight for good and seals our dominance of the local 'town club' scene.We still get our 19 home games on the season ticket so whats the worry? these are nothing more than exhibition matches and one hell of a chance for a town club like ours,like Revidge, I would be very proud to see our famous blue'n' white halves showcased in foreign locations.

Not renew your season ticket? THE DRAMA QUEENS WELL AND TRULY HAVE THEIR STILETTOS ON FOLKS!!!!

absolute rubbish. an exhibition match is a friendly. these count towards the league, have you not read the papers or do you not know what the words 'exhibition match' mean? we can still see our famous blue n white halves showcased in foreign locations, its called european football. i have precisely no desire to see blackburn play in beijing or new york, hell arrange a friendly there if enough fans want to see it.

if we dont play one of the big teams, there's a fair chance we'll be playing boro/wigan/whoever else is in the league at that point in front of a half full stadium. at least at ewood we're playing in front of our own fans but how many blackburn fans do you think live in these cities? it would be absolutely embarassing.

i know there's opinions but the way i see it, people who support this are simply wrong.

[philipl]

If we brought Wigan v Fulham to Malta it would sell out because it was a Premiership game.

That is the strength of the English Premier League.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

YOU have no desire to see Rovers being showcased abroad BAH HUMBUG!.....what a selfish attitude you have.

Rovers need the exposure and money, the pro's far outweigh the cons with this proposal

Repeat ad finitum ITS ONLY ONE GAME- NOT THE END OF ROVERS.....................

Well, well well..... Wonder why our Chumpionship 'local friends' are protesting..........not going to get a slice of the pie Clarotts?

[Moppy]

I cant believe anyone thinks this a good idea. Its the first step for the English Premier League become just the Premier League or the Euro Premier League. I can imagine that. A Euro Premier league with promotion to it from the English First Division, La Liga etc... working just like the promotion system into the conference. Thats if the big clubs even decide to allow promotion into their league once they have it.

[tony gale's mic]

YOU have no desire to see Rovers being showcased abroad BAH HUMBUG!.....what a selfish attitude you have.

Rovers need the exposure and money, the pro's far outweigh the cons with this proposal

Repeat ad finitum ITS ONLY ONE GAME- NOT THE END OF ROVERS.....................

Well, well well..... Wonder why our Chumpionship 'local friends' are protesting..........not going to get a slice of the pie Clarotts?

if you'd actually bothered to read what i wrote in my post, this would almost certainly not be particularly financially helpful to rovers if we want to compete at the level we're at now, and could well send us further behind the likes of everton, villa etc.

it's not a question of being selfish, i havent even touched on the points that other people have raised about it skewing the league cos theyre so bleeding obvious to even the simplest of people. all these countries have their own leagues, it's much more healthier for world football in general that they start going to these rather than seeing the travelling corporate circus that will be the premier league. good job they'll have a few suckers like you eh...

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

if you'd actually bothered to read what i wrote in my post, this would almost certainly not be particularly financially helpful to rovers if we want to compete at the level we're at now, and could well send us further behind the likes of everton, villa etc.

Hypothetical garbage and you know it.I believe it will happen so get ready to catch the bus to Chorley fc with the rest of the Rovers flagellists!

[Fife Rover]

So to all those in favour of this innovative idea and who can't seem to see any further than it is an opportunity for every club to get a "bonus" £5m, and of course putting aside the unimportance of the fact that it is an extra League match with 3 points at stake, which in turn is unimportant and irrelevant because whatever happens it wont put Rovers in any danger of relegation, I say how selfish and blinkered an attitude is that? Not that I expect to get an answer on that one or at least not a rational one.

So let's move on to the actually important and relevant bit (which we have already discussed at length in this thread and which the majority of posters have shown that they too can see where all this is leading) and ask all those in favour of this proposal do they really believe that this is all there is to it? Do they honestly believe that this is not a "feeler" for some much bigger global football scheme involving the top clubs of all the world. An eventual formation of some kind of super league that will use world wide TV coverage to sell the game to those rich enough to watch it live, or on TV for those not that rich but certainly wealthy enough to pay multiple and hefty TV subscriptions. And with only the "Elite" clubs in each country getting invited to join this "Global Football Inc" setup, the rest of the clubs will just have to go away and die as far as the get rich quick brigade care.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Time for a poll mods?

[tony gale's mic]

Hypothetical garbage and you know it.I believe it will happen so get ready to catch the bus to Chorley fc with the rest of the Rovers flagellists!

it's not hypothetical garbage. if the players are having to travel halfway across the world, and play an extra match in an already cramped season, you don't think they'll want a cut? wage expenditure always increases with turnover, i don't have figures to hand but i'm pretty sure every time a new TV deal gets negotiated spending on wages increases, simply because the players are aware that there's more money available and so demand more.

where do you think this magic £5 million is going to go?

you're extremely naive i have to say.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

it's not hypothetical garbage. if the players are having to travel halfway across the world, and play an extra match in an already cramped season, you don't think they'll want a cut? wage expenditure always increases with turnover, i don't have figures to hand but i'm pretty sure every time a new TV deal gets negotiated spending on wages increases, simply because the players are aware that there's more money available and so demand more.

where do you think this magic £5 million is going to go?

you're extremely naive i have to say.

It is hypothetical, the whole damn idea of the matter is still in its infancy yet! Only time will tell.

Lets agree to disagree on this one.

[Moppy]

The more i read on this the more i dont think it will happen and even the attempt will have damaged football for the english fans. The other FAs arnt going to be happy along with UEFA and FIFA. Going to really help our chance of getting the world cup ehh.

[broadsword]

everyone gets an extra £5 million say as a result of this - great.

when premiership clubs then go to sign players, compete for players, partly in transfer fees but i'm mainly thinking about wages, all the clubs in the premiership will have an extra 5 million in the coffers to offer these players. all the premiership clubs will have more money to offer players, wage bills will go up at every club, to compete we will have to do likewise (like they have done whenever a major new TV deal has been agreed), and considering such a high percentage turnover is spent on wages, surely this will mean it wont have very much of an effect at all on our financial situation?

Agreed - it just raises the bar higher, Rovers are just as disadvantaged as before.

But the argument against this stupid money-grabbing nonsense goes beyond just a narrow-minded Rovers perspective.

Where will it all end?

[JAL]

My goodness there is some rubbish being written on here.

Everyone complaining about unfairness, loss of tradition, crazy pot luck of the draw etc- I completely agree with you.

Everyone moaning on financial grounds seem to be short of their marbles on this one.

If it is £5m each, that is about the same as a Season's worth of gate money (before all the other extras) at Ewood.

The cash is being spread equally. For Man U £5m on £200m turnover is 2.5% increase, for Rovers £5m on £40m turnover is a 12.5% increase.

At the moment, the Man U brand is strong enough to support intercontinental tours and be highly lucrative. Rovers doing the same jaunt would be financially risky. This proposal will get Rovers out there doing the market development work at no risk to the club financially.

It will come down to how well the Rovers gear up to sell to the venue/country/region we are going to.

Totally agree, i mentioned before that if Mark Hughes is going to assemble a team that is made up mainly of foreign nationals then surely one of those countries should host a Rovers fixture.

What about a game in Paraguay especially if Hughes lands Roque international strike partner.

Or Norway for our legion of Rovers fans and MGP.

What about South Africa for the 'axe' and Benni.

Or Georgia for Zurab.

One day there could well be more Rovers fans around the world than there will be in Blackburn.

[tony gale's mic]

christ some of you are talking utter rubbish, that's not how it's going to work though is it? theyre not going to go to non-commercially viable places like asuncion (capital of paraguay), or georgia for gods sakes are they? its going to be melbourne, beijing, dubai, maybe johannesburg, los angeles, new york, tokyo etc.

these places have their own leagues. if there's really a market to see rovers there, why not play a pre season friendly?

[Hasta]

its going to be melbourne, beijing, dubai, maybe johannesburg, los angeles, new york, tokyo etc.

With the extra revenue the game will generate I wonder if Rovers will put free coaches on for the fans like they did for Burnley and Sheff Weds?

[Rover Down Under]

This scheme is the second wacked out item of English news I've heard in the last few days that made me glad I emigrated...but we're not allowed to discuss the other "issue" on these boards...

Now if there were enforcements on this scheme I would be in favour. Namely:

- ALL revenues are split equally (ie. merchandising, ticket sales, bidding etc.)

- 50% of revenues to be spent on reducing domestic ticket prices / improving stadium / disabled access etc.

- Relegation battles are not decided by this game

- Games are not played in countries with dodgy human rights records (ie. the Middle Eastern ones)

- The Yanks agree to call it football and not soccer

These will never happen, the $ will go into already overflowing players pockets and it is just a money printing scheme for the Big 4 who are followed by millions of bandwagon-jumping, pathetically lame dingbats who can't even afford a real replica shirt on the 5 baht they earn a day for working in a sweatshop making real replica shirts for Nike, Adidas etc.

Now is a good time as any to introduce a new saying to the English language:

"It's an Archbishop of Canterbury idea"

[Scott Sellars' Left Boot]

Good lord. I have read this messageboard with interest for years, and disagreed with many a view expressed on a range of topics, without ever feeling the need to log in to vent my spleen. However on this issue I did expect a degree of solidarity, but no it appears that the Premier League party line has been swallowed hook line and sinker by plenty of people.

Just think back...what made you fall in love with football in the first place and Rovers in particular? Money? A guaranteed place in a phoney franchised premiership? The prospect of selling souvenirs in Singapore? Or was it partly the dream of seeing our glorious club fighting on merit against the big city boys on a level playing field in ENGLAND'S top division?

I do not want this post to seem overly nostalgic as times have moved on, however this is a step too far and it angers and upsets me that my club appears to have jumped in bed with the 'bigboys' without even having the balls to come out and explain why to its fans (we really can't call ourselves the 'lifeblood of the club' anymore).

I have held season tickets since the age of seven. I have travelled to the vast majority of away games since the age of thirteen. I have lost a marriage and had to reflect that my inflexible devotion to 'the cause' may have been a factor. I have cried tears of joy and of sorrow. I have had some of the greatest times of my life following my team through Europe.

I do not make these statements to try and appear a better fan than any other person but to illustrate my anger when I hear Scudamore come out with comments such as "imagine the heart warming stories on TV of fans who have not missed a game for years making their way accross the globe to see their team"....NO, NO, NO! THIS IS EXACTLY THE FAN YOU ARE SCREWING WITH THIS FECKLESS HAIR BRAINED GREEDY SCHEME OF YOURS!!!

There is only one thing bigger than Blackburn Rovers in the world of football....and that is the game of football itself. Those of you saying that this is a good idea, and that "we are in the Premier League, so ner" please reflect..

- when we have been out of the top divison would you really have been quite so keen on such an idea?

- If in we go down by one point partially because we unluckily drew a third game with the seeded Man Utd in Beijing (be realistic teams of our stature will occasionally have such relegation battles, think long term not just in this golden Hughes age)

- Do you really, truly, deeply think that if they get away with this it is going to stop at one game a season? Are American owners of teams not going to want the occasional game for 'their team' in their own back yard?

This may be a rambling post and I'm not going as far as saying the end of the game is nigh, but I will say that my synicism is higher than ever. I would prefer to be a poor honest man than a rich criminal, and for the same reasons we all want our club to be in the right hands rather than sold to the any old shifty character, we should not be jumping for joy simply at the prospect of a one game, too good to be true pay day.

These people have toyed with our emotions and devotion for far too long, this my friends may be the good fight we just have to fight!

[brfcshabba]

According to many back pages of the papers Fifa will block the plans

[RibbleValleyRover]

According to many back pages of the papers Fifa will block the plans

I hope this happens.

[Scotty]

Good lord. I have read this messageboard with interest for years, and disagreed with many a view expressed on a range of topics, without ever feeling the need to log in to vent my spleen. However on this issue I did expect a degree of solidarity, but no it appears that the Premier League party line has been swallowed hook line and sinker by plenty of people.

Just think back...what made you fall in love with football in the first place and Rovers in particular? Money? A guaranteed place in a phoney franchised premiership? The prospect of selling souvenirs in Singapore? Or was it partly the dream of seeing our glorious club fighting on merit against the big city boys on a level playing field in ENGLAND'S top division?

I do not want this post to seem overly nostalgic as times have moved on, however this is a step too far and it angers and upsets me that my club appears to have jumped in bed with the 'bigboys' without even having the balls to come out and explain why to its fans (we really can't call ourselves the 'lifeblood of the club' anymore).

I have held season tickets since the age of seven. I have travelled to the vast majority of away games since the age of thirteen. I have lost a marriage and had to reflect that my inflexible devotion to 'the cause' may have been a factor. I have cried tears of joy and of sorrow. I have had some of the greatest times of my life following my team through Europe.

I do not make these statements to try and appear a better fan than any other person but to illustrate my anger when I hear Scudamore come out with comments such as "imagine the heart warming stories on TV of fans who have not missed a game for years making their way accross the globe to see their team"....NO, NO, NO! THIS IS EXACTLY THE FAN YOU ARE SCREWING WITH THIS FECKLESS HAIR BRAINED GREEDY SCHEME OF YOURS!!!

There is only one thing bigger than Blackburn Rovers in the world of football....and that is the game of football itself. Those of you saying that this is a good idea, and that "we are in the Premier League, so ner" please reflect..

- when we have been out of the top divison would you really have been quite so keen on such an idea?

- If in we go down by one point partially because we unluckily drew a third game with the seeded Man Utd in Beijing (be realistic teams of our stature will occasionally have such relegation battles, think long term not just in this golden Hughes age)

- Do you really, truly, deeply think that if they get away with this it is going to stop at one game a season? Are American owners of teams not going to want the occasional game for 'their team' in their own back yard?

This may be a rambling post and I'm not going as far as saying the end of the game is nigh, but I will say that my synicism is higher than ever. I would prefer to be a poor honest man than a rich criminal, and for the same reasons we all want our club to be in the right hands rather than sold to the any old shifty character, we should not be jumping for joy simply at the prospect of a one game, too good to be true pay day.

These people have toyed with our emotions and devotion for far too long, this my friends may be the good fight we just have to fight!

Amen.

[neekoy]

Don't they already have overseas junkets in pre-season?

I would love Rovers to have a 5 game tour of Australia in pre-season rather then a one-off in Melbourne midway through the season against whomever.

Everyone must be aware though that this is not going to show Rovers (or any other club) to the world as the locations will be between China and Dubai. Why risk players health for anything else that isn't going to bring in some major coin.

Just can't believe that Managers who CONSTANTLY complain of fixture congestion (boo hoo we need a break over Xmas) now want to travel across the globe for a weekend when players will be effected from jetlag at least a week after.