[Archived] Today I Fell Out Of Love With Football

[chocky]

Don't be too down..yes that was an aweful performance but remember last week..It can only get better for us..It can all go wrong for Chelsea..Where will they be when Abrahmovic gets fed up with his little toy and sells up leaving them in enormous debt....

[ultrablue]

Tripe.

If you think yesterday was bad, you should have been at Ewood in the relegation 1965-66 season when we were rolled over 5-0 by a Denis Law-inspired Manchester United, Rovers were in an apparent spiral of decline and went on to spend the next 26 season in the lower divisions.

Didn't stop me going every week and one bad day at Chelsea should be seen in the same way.

Supporting a football team is for life, through thick and thin.

But you always had hope at that time. Football has changed so much in recent years that I think what has really got Bubble down is that we have hit the ceiling. This really is as good as it gets for a Rovers fan - having the "honour" to play at Chelsea and then a mid table finish. Problem is we have been going to Stamford Bridge for years now. There is no novelty any more, like there is for Burnley, Hull etc. So all it serves to show us is that we are now miles behind them, without becoming a worse team ourselves.

Robert Kraft has it right when he says no one should touch the premiership til there is a wage cap. Increasingly fans are thinking the same thing.

[nick123]

We need a NFL draft system asap...

Will never happen, but the bubble will burst and you have to ask will it be the likes of Rovers to fill the gap.

[ABBEY]

We need a NFL draft system asap...

Will never happen, but the bubble will burst and you have to ask will it be the likes of Rovers to fill the gap.

how in gods name would you do it? where would the players come from? who would get the first pick? non league? prem league?

[jim mk2]

But you always had hope at that time. Football has changed so much in recent years that I think what has really got Bubble down is that we have hit the ceiling. This really is as good as it gets for a Rovers fan - having the "honour" to play at Chelsea and then a mid table finish. Problem is we have been going to Stamford Bridge for years now. There is no novelty any more, like there is for Burnley, Hull etc. So all it serves to show us is that we are now miles behind them, without becoming a worse team ourselves.

Robert Kraft has it right when he says no one should touch the premiership til there is a wage cap. Increasingly fans are thinking the same thing.

I don't think you understand..

In 1965-66 the maximum salary had been abolished a few years earlier, the so-called big clubs were starting to stretch their financial muscles and the Lancashire town clubs were starting their long, slow decline from which it took them years to recover.

The present is completely different. Rovers cannot compete financially with the top 5 or 6 but we are an established top-flight club with a good stable management and there are many so-called bigger clubs in bigger cities who would love to be in our current position.

Certainly, there are glass ceilings in the Prem but Rovers are doing well. Unfortunately we have to accept that results like yesterday's have and always will happen.

Robert Kraft is absolutely correct.

[ultrablue]

Provided we remain stable there will be several worse off teams than us in the current climate. Believe me, the novelty has already worn off for Hull. It last about 4 months. As for Burnley only time will tell but there is not a cat in hell's chance they can safely expect to stave off relegation with that squad. Hull racked up a massive amount of points by Christmas time, JUST enough to keep them up ultimately. Burnley have done well but I think they all know that the Premier League is unpredictable when you beat the likes of Man Utd and Everton and then lose to Wigan at home.

I'm not overly worried. We are in a safe position and all this boils down to the already obvious fact that Chelsea (along with the other big four) are far far superior to anyone else. We're stable IMO.

You missed the point - We are safe, of course there are a lot of teams worse than us. But what does this mean? We have to kick around mid table for the forseeable future while the next stepping stone up drifts further and further away? That's what turns fans off 200 quid trips to Chelsea.

[chocky]

It's simple really, If those of you want virtually guaranteed trophies and finishing in the top four every season go and support Manchester United, Liverpool Chelsea or Arsenal...Fick me I can't believe the moaning on here...We've seen poor performaces before and yes that performance was pretty pathetic...But get a grip and support the club you pertain to love...Supporting a team is life long and uncompramising..Imagine then what it has been like for those fans who have never won a trophy of any kind and have always been in the lower leagues...At least we can all look back at not a bad history for a small town club...

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

What says it all for me is our most promising/effective striker is a guy on loan from Chelsea who will probably never become a first team regular with them. They can afford to loan out a guy who basically walks into our team.

I'm starting to fall out with the game as well. I watched the avalanche in a pub with sky sports news on, 100 yds down the road was a pub with game on live , I just couldn't be bothered watching.It was the most obvious scoreline of the weekend.

I meant to add- I didn't expect a win, I was hoping for a performance. We got neither apparently.

[bubblerrovers]

Ok maybe starting a thread when blind drunk is as good an idea texting X Girlfriends. I'm not a spineless fan at all and saying things like i should support utd is just childish, Rovers need as many fans as possible after seeing 12 show up too support rovers yesterday. My point simply was we where so so behind chelsea it was very upsetting, i will support rovers forever simple, premiership or conference i don't care. I've supported rovers well over 15 years and in my memory i've never seen us so outplayed. We can all hang on the hope that there are worse teams than us, but last year it may of been 8, this year it's 5 next year maybe 3. Someone said JW has nothing to do with finding us new owners?? Well maybe he should get involved then cause he has more passion and has rovers at heart and would sell the club to potential new owners

[Kennys Magic Hat]

But you always had hope at that time. Football has changed so much in recent years that I think what has really got Bubble down is that we have hit the ceiling. This really is as good as it gets for a Rovers fan - having the "honour" to play at Chelsea and then a mid table finish. Problem is we have been going to Stamford Bridge for years now. There is no novelty any more, like there is for Burnley, Hull etc. So all it serves to show us is that we are now miles behind them, without becoming a worse team ourselves.

Robert Kraft has it right when he says no one should touch the premiership til there is a wage cap. Increasingly fans are thinking the same thing.

I'll take a mid table Premiership finish every season! If that's the ceiling then its a damn sight better than most other clubs in the country. We are competing in the best league in the world and that is amazing for a club the size of ours with the money we have spent. And we HAVE become a worst team ourselves, Paul Ince made sure of that. Big Sam has got us on the road to recovery but it won't happen overnight.

I believe at home we will have evey chance of getting a result against the big sides. We outplayed Man City and were unlucky not to get something and we will do the same against the others. It is still possible to get results - Wigan proved that against Chelsea and we are no worse a team than them.

[BPF]

Don't be too down..yes that was an aweful performance but remember last week..It can only get better for us..It can all go wrong for Chelsea..Where will they be when Abrahmovic gets fed up with his little toy and sells up leaving them in enormous debt....

That's not strictly true. He has left them a substantial trust fund if anything ever happens with / to him.

This knee jerk reaction the the Chelsea game is understandable. We show no real desire to go out and attack the big boys like we did under Hughes / Souness but we do now have a weaker side. (Andrews is never going to be able to match Chelsea, never, ever, ever.) For all of you that starting supporting Rovers in the glory days, I understand why you are the most upset. Football is a very different game now and as more and more money comes into it, the harder it will be for a team like us to stay in the Premiership. We are very unlikely to gain a buyer in the same way that Preston or another small town club are. Also, do you want us to be owned by some dodgy oil baron and been spiralled into inevitable implosion?

[Al]

I take the point about being better off than 90% of football supporters and having supported Rovers for 60 years I am going nowhere. BUT.

Isn't there something basically wrong with a sport where there is no chance of improving your team without becoming the plaything of some mega rich foreigner whose only interest is the kudos he gets from owning a successful Premier League club much as we, the ordinary working man, gets out of owning a bigger and better car than the neighbours?

I don't know the answer but the current situation means that 90% of football supporters will never see their team in Europe and become the butt of the glory hunting bandwagon jumpers who get some sort of satisfaction out of feeling superior because they 'support' a team that they have no connection with whatsoever.

The whole thing makes me very angry.

Anyway, rant over. I've got it all off my chest and I feel a lot better.

Roll on Tuesday. It's a whole new game.

[chocky]

That's not strictly true. He has left them a substantial trust fund if anything ever happens with / to him.

This knee jerk reaction the the Chelsea game is understandable. We show no real desire to go out and attack the big boys like we did under Hughes / Souness but we do now have a weaker side. (Andrews is never going to be able to match Chelsea, never, ever, ever.) For all of you that starting supporting Rovers in the glory days, I understand why you are the most upset. Football is a very different game now and as more and more money comes into it, the harder it will be for a team like us to stay in the Premiership. We are very unlikely to gain a buyer in the same way that Preston or another small town club are. Also, do you want us to be owned by some dodgy oil baron and been spiralled into inevitable implosion?

Better we are relegated and able to sustain the club than end up owned by some oligarch...we can play great football in the Championship and keep our soul...One of these clubs with all their debt will come to grief...don't believe all you read that Abrahmovic has left Chelsea Billions...Look at Rovers after Jacks death..Haldly in the same money league but the principal is the same...

[Parsonblue]

I suppose age comes into this. As one who remembers the fall from the top of the old First Division to the bottom of the Third Division, things at present don't seem too bad. I thoroughly enjoyed the football at Chelsea yesterday - remember when you pay to watch a football match you are watching two teams not just one. I thought Chelsea were superb yesterday, just like Arsenal a few weeks ago. I honestly don't believe the money I spent on those two games was wasted as I saw two world class teams performing at their best. I would much prefer to watch that than some of the Third and Second Division games that I've seen at Ewood in front of gates of four or five thousand.

I am more than happy to finish fourth from bottom and continue watching Premier League football at Ewood Park. I have seen my team win the Premier League and am realistic enough to realise that unless some billionaire comes along and throws endless amounts of money at the club, the future for the Rovers is all about Premier League survival. However, as I remember far darker times at Ewood Park, that prospect doesn't unduly disappoint me. The time to worry will be IF we get relegated.

[roversmum]

I agree with Al. Kind of numb this morning.

However, met a guy from Italy attending his first Rovers match, swopped scarves with him. Passionate Rovers supporter and itching to get to Ewood hopefully next year. Shame he had to witness that debacle.

Several disabled supporters made the trip. As someone else was in my seat and also Miss Roversmum's seat we sat in vacant seats just in front of the disabled supporters, which unfortunately happened to be next to the most vocal of the Chelsea supporters. We also had the joy of sitting behind five Chelsea Supporters in our own area one of whom was such a big bloke I couldn't even see past him when he was sitting down which wasn't often. What with that and the continual standing of the Chelsea Supporters I had to watch most of the match on the big screen. Shame on Chelsea for charging such prices for rubbish seats. Apart from the 'singing' contingent of the Chelsea supporters most of the ground was silent until late in the second half of the match when they woke up and started cheering.

To be honest, didn't expect much from the match, hoped we could hold out for one or two nil, and I'm hoping that five is not the new four which has seemed to be a popular score against us in recent years.

It would be nice to think we might have a chance against such teams. Fed up with us rolling over like pussycats but without the claws.

[adopted scouser]

It would be nice to think we might have a chance against such teams. Fed up with us rolling over like pussycats but without the claws.

I agree, it wasn't so much that we got beaten, that was always going to happen. What's frustrating is the way we seemed to capitulate, no real fight displayed.

This thread is just another example of how some posters on here veer from euphoria to suicide week to week. Last week we were masters of creation, stuffed the cavemen in our own front room, this week 'I fell out of love with football', far canal.

Just wear the dress and get it over with.

[roversmum]

Yes, as you say, AS, it's all a bit drama queenish.

I've never actually played football, although I watch plenty of it. However, I'd like to think that if I had, I would hope to have learned a bit from certain things that seem to happen somewhat repetitively, and I think that's all most people are hoping for - for example Chelsea soon worked out how to nulify our play yesterday. I think most of the head banging is sheer frustration in that it's getting to the stage where it's impossible to compete at all with the big money spenders, when all we want is a decent game of football where we might have a chance of winning.

[jim mk2]

I am more than happy to finish fourth from bottom and continue watching Premier League football at Ewood Park.

As it's a Sunday....... amen to that and be thankful.

[Mr. E]

I am more than happy to finish fourth from bottom and continue watching Premier League football at Ewood Park.

And that is the reason why football will continue to be ruled by the American conglomerates and Arab and Russian oil magnates.

Not that we shouldn't be thankful for being in the league, and not that we shouldn't look at things realistically, but because we, and so many other supporters of "smaller" clubs simply accept our position and do not dream of challenging for anything else. Nothing is ever going to change when we "accept our place". They want us "to be realistic", they want us to stay down, they want to stuff their pockets and they want us to have no complaints about that. And that's exactly what they're getting.

[ultrablue]

And that is the reason why football will continue to be ruled by the American conglomerates and Arab and Russian oil magnates.

Not that we shouldn't be thankful for being in the league, and not that we shouldn't look at things realistically, but because we, and so many other supporters of "smaller" clubs simply accept our position and do not dream of challenging for anything else. Nothing is ever going to change when we "accept our place". They want us "to be realistic", they want us to stay down, they want to stuff their pockets and they want us to have no complaints about that. And that's exactly what they're getting.

Welll said - the gap keeps on getting bigger, not just between us and the group at the top, but the other 80 odd professional teams and those selected by the megarich. Those on this board who are accepting it may think they have history on their side, harking back to worse times for Rovers, thinking its taking the long-range view. But this isn't about just our team and how you support them through thick or thin. Of couurse we do that. This is different, this is about an increasingly uneven playing field. That IS something to complain about, irrespective of whether rovers are in league 2 or 15th in the premiership.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I am more than happy to finish fourth from bottom and continue watching Premier League football at Ewood Park. I have seen my team win the Premier League and am realistic enough to realise that unless some billionaire comes along and throws endless amounts of money at the club, the future for the Rovers is all about Premier League survival. However, as I remember far darker times at Ewood Park, that prospect doesn't unduly disappoint me. The time to worry will be IF we get relegated.

Agree 100% with that....be VERY thankful for what we have at present.

[wilyrover]

It's only a matter of time before it all goes pear-shaped at Chelski. Probably when Abramovitch upsets Putin. When he gets his poison umbrella in his leg, the club will be liquidated the same as its owner.

[tashor]

Tripe.

If you think yesterday was bad, you should have been at Ewood in the relegation 1965-66 season when we were rolled over 5-0 by a Denis Law-inspired Manchester United, Rovers were in an apparent spiral of decline and went on to spend the next 26 season in the lower divisions.

Didn't stop me going every week and one bad day at Chelsea should be seen in the same way.

Supporting a football team is for life, through thick and thin.

I agree with Doris FFS

Ok maybe starting a thread when blind drunk is as good an idea texting X Girlfriends. I'm not a spineless fan at all and saying things like i should support utd is just childish, Rovers need as many fans as possible after seeing 12 show up too support rovers yesterday. My point simply was we where so so behind chelsea it was very upsetting, i will support rovers forever simple, premiership or conference i don't care. I've supported rovers well over 15 years and in my memory i've never seen us so outplayed. We can all hang on the hope that there are worse teams than us, but last year it may of been 8, this year it's 5 next year maybe 3. Someone said JW has nothing to do with finding us new owners?? Well maybe he should get involved then cause he has more passion and has rovers at heart and would sell the club to potential new owners

Well said...........

Yes, we do need fans like you mate.........

I too hope that there are new owners somewhere over the rainbow..........but I am not holding my breath.........

Better to live and die a Rover that be a non-entity amongst millions as the scumbler fans do.......

[Eddie]

Things have been worse, but things have been better. You have to respect people's opinion when it comes to this and understand the frustration. Telling people that there support isn't needed is just plain stupid. We are essentially forfeiting 8 games a year with Allardyce's policy and strategy. Yet again we have seen today that it IS possible to pick up points against one of the big boys and that it is worth sticking at it.

This isn't the be-all-and-end-all of our season, but his tactics are a bit confusing. More to the point, our failings against the big four reveal the fact that we are a team with a plan-a, but nothing more.

Supporting a team in the modern era means that you have to accept that you are either a big club or a small one, there is really no middle ground anymore. We may have a season where we finish 6th, but we'll still be miles behind the "big four". I hope that somehow that system can be changed, but it shouldn't stop you from supporting the club.

[cletus]

Twoz only 2 weeks ago Ewood park was at its most vibrant in years!

We sang going to the ground, sang queueing up for a beer, sang whilst having a wee, sang as we smashed the dingles, sang all the way back to the pub & sang the night away.

Yeah, Chelsea hammered us. Get over it.

I could`ve told you it`d be a mauling.

Am i bothered? Not really.

We`ll get other maulings this season, but we`ll also beat some teams we`re not expected to beat.

It`s part of being a Rover. You should`ve been there in the 3rd division pal