[Archived] Rovers Home Support

[Hughesy]

Yeah I think they do that every season now to try and gain an idea of why fans havent renewed.

Still think the club should do more around Kids. We can accomodate it, so all kids should go free, up to the age of say 11. They are the future support after all.

[Rover9]

Yes I think my brother received one of these letters (from JW) and a reply form was included to notify the club of your reasons as to not renewing this season. I know for a fact that my brother won’t reply so I was going to reply for him (with his consent of-course), his reasons are purely based on the fact that over the past couple of years he has become disillusioned with the game in general (players spending more time rolling around on the floor rather than playing football and the obscene wages the players, world-class as well as your average benchwarmer ‘earn’ each week). These points coupled with the monotony of ‘big four’ dominance and poor ‘entertainment value’ have led to him giving up his season ticket to my sister and pretty much turning his back on the game of football itself.

Unfortunately for Rovers there isn’t much within their power they can do to change his mind as its football in general he has issues with and its Rovers who will feel the pinch I’m afraid, as I’m sure there are more out there just like him.

[CrazyIvan]

Yes I think my brother received one of these letters (from JW) and a reply form was included to notify the club of your reasons as to not renewing this season. I know for a fact that my brother won’t reply so I was going to reply for him (with his consent of-course), his reasons are purely based on the fact that over the past couple of years he has become disillusioned with the game in general (players spending more time rolling around on the floor rather than playing football and the obscene wages the players, world-class as well as your average benchwarmer ‘earn’ each week). These points coupled with the monotony of ‘big four’ dominance and poor ‘entertainment value’ have led to him giving up his season ticket to my sister and pretty much turning his back on the game of football itself.

Unfortunately for Rovers there isn’t much within their power they can do to change his mind as its football in general he has issues with and its Rovers who will feel the pinch I’m afraid, as I’m sure there are more out there just like him.

I can't help but agree with your brother. (I am still going to keep my season ticket though )

[Claytons Left Boot]

......... his reasons are purely based on the fact that over the past couple of years he has become disillusioned with the game in general (players spending more time rolling around on the floor rather than playing football and the obscene wages the players, world-class as well as your average benchwarmer ‘earn’ each week).....

We were talking about this in the pub last night. The modern football player does not seem to have any affinity with the town or city of his club. Certainly not at Rovers anyway.

In the 70s we used to go down to the Mecca in Blackburn and John Butcher, the Rovers keeper at that time, used to join us and became part of our group. It wasn't us going over to him, it was the other way round. Would that happen now? My mate was saying that when he went for a job interview Butch even went with him and they went for a couple of pints in the Sir Charles Napier afterwards!

[dannydisco]

Imagine dividing the Blackburn End down the middle and putting away supporters in one half.

See, that feeling of violation, anger, insult and someone invading your territory is what's missing at the moment. Im not seriously suggesting this, but by being closer to away fans it would no doubt enhance the atmosphere, banter and singing.

Home fans in the Darwen End has been done in the past and could no doubt be done again.

[berkshireblue]

I ve just received a letter too from JW asking why i did nt renew

And he has a 2 page essay in reply

Luckily for me its not money as I'm as well off as I have been historically, main reason is the travel on the M6 , I m away a lot midweek with work and the thought of trudging up and down the motorway on the weekend sometimes for 4pm sunday kick offs is too much

2ndly is the fact footballers are turning me off the game, the money, professional cheating and their behaviour off the pitch does nt aspire me to make them roll models to my 4yr old son

Saying that I ve watched rovers since 1975, have paid half a mate 's season ticket which i can use when i get the urge

If i lived in the north west i would have renewed

[Mr Maureen]

I just finished watching Liverpool against Marseilles, now given this thread was on about upping the atmosphere at the club I thought I'd post what I saw here. Marseilles have a fan who starts chants via the tannoy, in the end which normally sings. I thought this was quite a good idea. I wonder if the atmosphere would increase if say Rovers where to implement this sort of system?

It took ages for the drummer to retire.

We need a few wins under our belts and the Blackburn end will rise once again without the help of a

@#/? on a mike.

[ABBEY]

Rovers and Dingles against Foreign TV

Crackdown

To be honest I think it does harm the attendance and im sure that if all pubs didnt show it then we would slowly gain some of theose fans again.

so its ok for pubs to lose custom too is it?

A few of my mates get a few tinnies in and watch on the big screen off the net because they refuse to pay over 30 quid for a ticket.thats the reason i stopped going to a 99% of away matches.I overheard a gooner talking to the programme collector the day and he was moaning about their game at the spurs because of the cost and no concessions.No idea what it was tho. Like it or lump people will always watch in a pub,online or whatever means they can.I watch away games online and i watch baseball,cricket ,the broncos,nfland boxing online.Everyone here goes online too, I dont hear complaints about iplayer,online newspapers,we have tokens for cheap pizzas at pizza hut and theres even free porn sites.Its the world we live in .Made me chuckle about burnley moaning about it ...when are they ever on telly.?

[Biddy]

It's a strange one the TV thing. I'm sure there are people who would only watch football on TV as it's "free" however a couple of seasons ago when I had the ability to watch every single game I actually found myself MORE involved with the Rovers, wanting to go to more games as a result.

Now I get to see hardly any Rovers, I find myself not that bothered, especially when you see the results.

[gumboots]

It took ages for the drummer to retire.

We need a few wins under our belts and the Blackburn end will rise once again without the help of a

@#/? on a mike.

all french clubs do that anyway - not just Marseille. what happens then is that the rest of the crowd sit in total silence and don't even applaud or jump to their feet when anything vaguely exciting happens. You'd never be allowed to take in the equipment required anyway - they carry in huge speakers and that's a megaphone not an ordinary little mike. All the French football fans we've ever brought to ewood think the atmosphere in the ground is far better than any they've experienced in France as in our ground even old grannies like me get involved in what's going on. I may not sing non-stop but I do applaud shout, cheer etc at the appropriate moments and not sit there looking like I'm visiting the queen or something like most of the French crowd do.

[CircoWill]

I think there have been a number of reports suggesting that football in this country is losing attraction to young/teenage males. The average age of season ticket holders in this country gets older every year apparently - and they're single, with no kids. Seems that going to the football isn't a cool (or affordable) thing for the majority of young lads to do these days. This is the group the club really needs to try and tap into (16-25 year olds). How they do that? Good question, it's a tough one.

I work for a publishing house on titles that target 18-34 year old men and all our research suggests that this group today are very different to that of 10 years ago. The younger end of the group tend to be just as interested in staying in with their mates and home entertainment systems as they are going to the pub for a night out or to the football etc... We've also found that responsibility for a bloke is kicking in much earlier today than it used to. There's more pressure to decide on a career earlier, to get on the property ladder etc... They are feeling the weight of the world a lot earlier in life and their habbits and how they spend their free time are different today.

£35 tickets to watch Arsenal don't help either. The old argument of having 20k people on at £30 or 30k at £20 again.

It is worrying for the future but I think it's a bigger problem than just the credit crunch and ticket price. I live in London and struggle to get to all the games but do still buy a season ticket as I want to sit with my mates when I go and I figure the club needs my money and support. I'll have it for life. I appreciate that not everyone is in the position to do that and one of my group didn't renew this year as he didn't think it was worth it - that football had become too predictable. His argument is that there is no excitement in knowing that the very best Rovers could probably hope for this year is finishing between 7th and 10th. The Champions League is where all the top clubs strive to be and the rest of us cannot keep up. How long will it be before they all form a European super league and leave the rest of us to have a fully competitive league again? Don't hold your breath.

[Sparky Marky]

all french clubs do that anyway - not just Marseille. what happens then is that the rest of the crowd sit in total silence and don't even applaud or jump to their feet when anything vaguely exciting happens. You'd never be allowed to take in the equipment required anyway - they carry in huge speakers and that's a megaphone not an ordinary little mike. All the French football fans we've ever brought to ewood think the atmosphere in the ground is far better than any they've experienced in France as in our ground even old grannies like me get involved in what's going on. I may not sing non-stop but I do applaud shout, cheer etc at the appropriate moments and not sit there looking like I'm visiting the queen or something like most of the French crowd do.

It looked to me that the Marseilles fans where in fine voice and the atmosphere looked great....can't imagine that at the rovers except when bumley come to town....

[BRFC4EVA]

A major reason why the crowds this year have been slightly down on last year is cos our prices for walk on fans have gone up by £5 on both categorys. I felt last year they had it just right, £20 for most games, then £30 for the likes of Man U and Liverpool. Our crowds went up for the first time in donkeys-why the need for the change?

[Ewood Spark]

Imagine dividing the Blackburn End down the middle and putting away supporters in one half.

See, that feeling of violation, anger, insult and someone invading your territory is what's missing at the moment. Im not seriously suggesting this, but by being closer to away fans it would no doubt enhance the atmosphere, banter and singing.

Home fans in the Darwen End has been done in the past and could no doubt be done again.

Watch this space! Maybe not quite as ambitious as you're suggesting DD but it will be a start. After discussions with the fans forum the club are considering setting aside a section of the Fraser Eagle Stand (adjacent to the Darwen End) as an unreserved seating area. The idea would be to encourage the 'more vocal' fans to occupy this section. It is thought that unreserved seating could entice fans to get to Ewood earlier (fans would want the 'best' seats) to build up the atmosphere. Nothing has been decided yet but the club seem keen to explore the idea.

[Biddy]

"best seats"? in the Riverside??? Surely a contradiction in terms. I just don't see how that would work. Now if they made the center of the BB End unreserved, that might do the trick and get all the singers together.

[Ewood Spark]

"best seats"? in the Riverside??? Surely a contradiction in terms. I just don't see how that would work. Now if they made the center of the BB End unreserved, that might do the trick and get all the singers together.

Problem with BBurn End is it would affect too many existing season ticket holders. When I said best seats ... I didn't necessarily mean best view ... the point is, in unreserved seating, sought after areas will emerge .... maybe they will be at the back of the stand (Pillar 5 in the old BBurn End?) or they will be as close to the away fans as possible ... who knows? I think the idea is worth a try.

[Hughesy]

Could work, but I doubt anyone would want to be stuck down there in that corner, not an ideal place. Id think lower Jack Walker in the corner would be better though.

The main thing they should do is make it totally free for Kids under a certain age - maybe 12.

They should reduce beer prices so that they are similar/ cheaper to the local pubs (like derby have).

They should also introduce a singing section like other clubs have and it has been hailed a success everywhere else.

[JAL]

The first thing Rovers need to do is... get a bloody good team together then they can focus on the crowd not just expect the public to come and support dross.

[thenodrog]

I've a season ticket but for a number of reasons I am slowly but surely going 'off' spending my spare time at ewood. I currently 'take it' but I'm sure that I am heading toward the 'take it or leave it' stage.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

I've a season ticket but for a number of reasons I am slowly but surely going 'off' spending my spare time at ewood. I currently 'take it' but I'm sure that I am heading toward the 'take it or leave it' stage.

I am sorry to say I agree. For the last four or five seasons it is only a sense of duty to the Rovers that has kept me purchasing a season ticket. There has been little to excite as most teams, including Rovers, have played the same negative 'do not lose' football which is dull to watch. It appears that it is not just me or Rovers fans feeling this way, if you look around at various clubs attendances they are well down.

Sure the other reasons such as prices etc have an effect but the casual supporter or even the neutral fan goes to watch a good game of football and there has been too few of those for many a season. If people are entertained and get excited then possibly the atmosphere will improve and crowds may return to Ewood.

JAL maybe right in saying get a better team but what does he define as a better team. Realtively successful, such as Hughes had or one that plays good entertaining football. Preferably both, but in today's negative football world, I'm afraid it won't happen. Hand on heart if yu were a neutral, which team would you go and pay to watch, Mourinho's Chelsea or Wenger's Arsenal at full flow.

[Iceman]

At Newlands rugby staudium, here in Cape Town we stil have a standing area. The atmosphere is superb over there. I know with all the disasters at stadiums, its not the thing people want. However people who are standing, are more likely to get involved in the singing bit etc. Also i noticed that one of the stands, at Ewood(not sure which one) is too far away from the field of play. If our stands could be close to the action, then the fans wil be more involved i feel. They would also be able to each kick Benni up the backside, because they close to the action.

[CAPT KAYOS]

I am sorry to say I agree. For the last four or five seasons it is only a sense of duty to the Rovers that has kept me purchasing a season ticket. There has been little to excite as most teams, including Rovers, have played the same negative 'do not lose' football which is dull to watch. It appears that it is not just me or Rovers fans feeling this way, if you look around at various clubs attendances they are well down.

Sure the other reasons such as prices etc have an effect but the casual supporter or even the neutral fan goes to watch a good game of football and there has been too few of those for many a season. If people are entertained and get excited then possibly the atmosphere will improve and crowds may return to Ewood.

JAL maybe right in saying get a better team but what does he define as a better team. Realtively successful, such as Hughes had or one that plays good entertaining football. Preferably both, but in today's negative football world, I'm afraid it won't happen. Hand on heart if yu were a neutral, which team would you go and pay to watch, Mourinho's Chelsea or Wenger's Arsenal at full flow.

Totally agree also especially with this bit - 'do not lose' football which is dull to watch' - which however is not just Rovers.

All the reasons highlighted on here are part of the cause and wrapped together find us at the situation we are seeing now.

My other irk is the inconsistency of the officials - especially what I see as some definite bias against Rovers esepcially at Ewood over the last few seasons. 3

I understand they have a difficult job and the complicated interpretation of the rules, along with the making of the 'none contact ' game its becoming, but they don't help themselves and its all becoming more of a none spectator sport every season.

If I didn't have the other sprog on the way I would more than likely have renewed this season but more out of the situation as Theno states above, but my feelings have been wavering for quite a few seasons now.

Interestingly enough , Celtic did not have a full capacity last night - could that be saying something?

[Karembeu]

I believe fan will only be back when we start winning things I guess. I guess is simple as that.

Years after years, we are just getting ourselves in mid-table. I believe that won't make the fans happy.

There is nothing to shout for, nothing to look forward for. Who would spend the money just to support?

Support do came from both side I guess. We must know what we are supporting. We want a winning team, not a team that is happy just to get into mid-table. Not a team who lost 4-0 to arsenal and say that they are different class from us. That is the simple fact. The player must play like they really want to WIN THE LEAGUE and not just 'ok, it is a good enough if we get to euro'

And only if the team really want to win for the fans, then the fans will go all out for the club.

[Sparky Marky]

[Plastic Head]

Maybe what we need to do is create an atmosphere so that attending a match is something occasional fans will want to do.

People look at me like i'm from Mars in the Riverside just coz I l make some noise and let players from both teams as well as the ref (and of couse the linesman being a Riversider) exactly what I think as well as roaring encouragement.

The 3 next to me at the Arsenal game spent their visit playing with their phones before leaving at 4.35. All I care about during the 90 mins is the game and winning it.

Maybe i'm a dinosaur these days as a Blackburn Ender in my teens and a Riversider in the 80's and 90's. But a good old-fashioned chorus of Riverside booing would still be better than people treating a visit to Ewood as if it's a visit to McDonalds.

Some of the first teamers now would have been booed walking their dogs in the 80's (McCarthy, Pedersen and Mokoena spring to mind) but it seems people have lost their passion these days.

I'm sure this is reflected at other clubs as well.