[Archived] Season Tickets 2012/13

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Agreed, but for Toady to dish out some pre-emptive blame for our administration on the fans is rather odd.

Fair enough, I'm probably going over the top. I just don't think people understand the seriousness, risk and potential long-term damage to the club, not just Venkys, not renewing could do. Its a lose-lose situation in a lot of respects, and hardly cause for the "ha! lets see how you deal with that" attitude that many seem to be taking.

[Mattyblue]

The biggest shame for me are not the fans who are actively boycotting, they will come back.

But those that will drift away after this season, never to be seen again. It will take a long, long time to get the support levels back to what we've had (if we ever do).

It's a bloody tragedy whichever way tou look at it.

[EgyptianPete]

It took 4 years for the Walker Trust to find a buyer at a time when we were mostly a top half PL club and had gates of 23-25,000. How long will it take to find a buyer for a (likely) bottom half Championship club with gates of less than 10,000? And how much will Rovers be worth by then, about £10m maybe? So will Venkys wanna make a £13m loss on their investment or will they just strip expenses down to the bare bones and carry on?

But yes if losing about 70% of our support somehow results in us having new owners, I'll apologise to the non-renewers. Providing they apologise to me if the club goes out of existence before then, or thank me and the other renewers for keeping it in existence if it doesn't.

I am undecided if to renew or not and here is my reasoning, and yes I was there back in the day at Halifax (remember the lights going out) along with the die-hard fans back in the third division, I loved it and looked forward to every match win lose or draw, do you know why, Well I will tell you why, back then we had a team, a team that played with spirit, not always skill but what they lacked in skill they had spirit.

Move on to today, it's garbage, no one can tell me it's good to watch, you can name on one hand who cares, a manager who should have been sacked 12 months ago, a team with only one direction ... downwards. So by not renewing I won't cause them to go into administration if it happens that's the owners and their puppet who will do that not the supporters. I am 57 and been going since I was 7, My son is 27, he's been going since he was 4, in 18 months Kean and Venkys have destroyed our club, it's a long time and hard to just turn off, having said all that I am looking forward to Saturday in a perverse kind of way, we win, we still have an outside chance, we lose then I suspect the crowd and hope the whole crowd,let Kean know just what a muppet he is.

[den]

I would assume he feels the need to provide some balance to the many on here lambasting renewers as directly contributing to Venky's deciding not to sell up, an equally remote possibility.

Way over the top as usual.

There are also some fans who "lambast" [your word, not mine] anyone who cares to protest against what's happened to the club, while at the same time being willing to renew whatever's happening at Ewood.

The real truth is that since Kean and the Raos have been here, they have fought against the fans worries on each and every occassion. Our displays and form has always been good - every single game apparently. Only a very insignificant minority don't back Kean as well - 1%, or around 30 fans. The fans haven't had their concerns even as much as acknowledged. If they march, they're not real fans. If they want to take a banner into the ground, they're stopped. If fans wanted to protest in the ground after the game, the club turn the loudspeakers up. And despite the protests, the comments on here, the comments in the LT, the comments from the sponsor, the comments from ex players and politicians Kean, Agnew and even JA have took their turn to put everything back on the fans. Have any one of them ever come out and said "we know the fans are concerned, and we understand their frustrations, but we're working hard to sort things out" - no, never. Have we ever had one single sentence acknowledging that maybe, just maybe the club have got things wrong - I suggest never, not once.

So, the fans have had their voice silenced this past couple of seasons and now many of them see their chance to really have their say - and I think, rightly or wrongly thousands of them will. We're all individuals and will do whatever we want as regards season tickets and that's the way it should be. It's not wrong to renew, and it's not wrong not to renew either.

[Stuart]

The extent of Venkys damage will be a few years in the Championship/League 1 until we can get rid of them.

Thanks. I finally understand your mindset. You are in complete denial.

A few years? Venkys relegation (possibly another) will be a lasting legacy on this club. We will be down for a long, long time. We don't have the fan base to support any kind of squad to challenge for promotion. Without TV money or a Jack Walker with 10 times the wealth it's lower league football for the foreseeable future. Certainly in my lifetime.

You may say look at Blackpool - but they are a properly organised football club with a proper manager - Venkys show no signs of a complete about turn in their strategy. I say look at Coventry. Only 8 years younger than Rovers and fellow founders of the PL. They've just celebrated the longest ever stay in the Championship (11 years) with... relegation to the third tier - and this is a city club!

I'm with Matty - the loss of income from TV money following relegation will shut the club, not the fans who won't renew.

[Majiball]

Thanks. I finally understand your mindset. You are in complete denial.

A few years? Venkys relegation (possibly another) will be a lasting legacy on this club. We will be down for a long, long time. We don't have the fan base to support any kind of squad to challenge for promotion. Without TV money or a Jack Walker with 10 times the wealth it's lower league football for the foreseeable future. Certainly in my lifetime.

You may say look at Blackpool - but they are a properly organised football club with a proper manager - Venkys show no signs of a complete about turn in their strategy. I say look at Coventry. Only 8 years younger than Rovers and fellow founders of the PL. They've just celebrated the longest ever stay in the Championship (11 years) with... relegation to the third tier - and this is a city club!

I'm with Matty - the loss of income from TV money following relegation will shut the club, not the fans who won't renew.

John Williams - 'Relegation would be a disaster for our club, we just wouldn't come back from it. It just doesn't bare thinking about' and that was under the trust and with competent management at the club.

[DE.]

It's not wrong to renew, and it's not wrong not to renew either.

This should pretty much be the bottom line on it. Season Ticket sales will not determine Venky's decision making, they've shown since day one that the fans are nothing more than an irritating irrelevance. Whatever their plan is, if indeed they have one, it will be dictated by factors not involving our dwindling fanbase.

I would only criticise people renewing if there was no doubt that doing so would mean Venky's were more likely to stay. Fact is it's of little significance so it doesn't matter, I am only surprised that somebody would want to put themselves through the torture of watching a Steve Kean team masquerading as Blackburn Rovers get destroyed in the Championship

[gumboots]

Fair enough, I'm probably going over the top. I just don't think people understand the seriousness, risk and potential long-term damage to the club, not just Venkys, not renewing could do. Its a lose-lose situation in a lot of respects, and hardly cause for the "ha! lets see how you deal with that" attitude that many seem to be taking.

Why do you think anyone who has decided not to renew is proud of that decision? I haven't decided, but when I do the decision will cause me pain, whichever way I decide. Renew and i'll feel I'm backing the manager and the owners and I don't want to do that. Don't renew and I'll feel I'm allowing these criminal fools to drive me out of the club and I don't want that either. I haven't had a season ticket anywhere near as long as many who are not renewing. I would go back if I decide not to renew and the owners change. I'll probably go to some games anyway because I won't be able to stay away - it's still rovers after all. I don't blame anyone for renewing and i don't see how I can criticise any who decide not to. Provided you've thought through the situation yourself and haven't just blindly renewed because it's what you always do, then I applaud your decision whatever it may be.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Ok well some good points and maybe I should have a rethink. Den's quoted line above pretty much sum's it up so I'll shut up for a bit (if I can manage that ).

[EwoodDawn]

Aye. Leaving the Albion at five to three and walking straight onto the Blackburn End without any queuing

Maybe we could resurrect the old Blue and Whites club on the car park?

[arbitro]

So you don't think the loss of TV money (90% of our income) would be the reason for any future bankruptcy?

The fans are not to blame now and they wouldn't be to blame if the club went bust in the future.

An additional loss of income from relegation would be that there won't be between 45,000-50,000 (rough estimate) away fans visiting Ewood next season. At least 24,000 of these are paying £35 (adult) for a ticket. Throw in programme sales and refreshments inside the ground and this will be a significant loss of revenue.

Another consequence of this will be that local businesses around Ewoo will suffer massively on match days.

[Mercer]

Reminder flyer just arrived with postman !!!

Gone straight in shredder !!!

[Tom]

Yep I got one through as well

Not even looked at it

[Amo]

Yep I got one through as well

Not even looked at it

No doubt it contains a collage of Hoilett, Robbo, Yakubu, Givet and other such players who won't be here next summer.

[EwoodDawn]

What's the cost of printing and posting these flyers? As much as someone's appearance/goal scoring fee? (mine's gone straight into the bin, too - I don't like this hassling me to make my decision)

[Mattyblue]

What was last year's flyer again? Oh yeah,

'Take your seat amongst heroes'

[roverandout]

a guy at my work, who has been freinds with someone for years, who works at the ticket office, claims rovers season ticket sales are up this year than last year, i explained to him that, that was ######, theres no way people are going to renew and it was probably someone telling his freind this to make people renew/buy season tickets.

[nick123]

Reminder arrived here too.... I will see what the sales pitch is like tomorrow.

After all this year I did take my seat amongst Hero's !!!!! FFS

[roverandout]

the true hero's are the fans

[Tom]

a guy at my work, who has been freinds with someone for years, who works at the ticket office, claims rovers season ticket sales are up this year than last year, i explained to him that, that was ######, theres no way people are going to renew and it was probably someone telling his freind this to make people renew/buy season tickets.

Probably weren't even on sale this time last year so it could be true

[nick123]

the true hero's are the fans

[/

Will it be us the fans who save the day ?

[roverandout]

not tommorow, my aim is too make kean and venkys day as uncomfortable as possible

[nick123]

not tommorow, my aim is too make kean and venkys day as uncomfortable as possible

That's 2 of us then..... Will we recruit many others ?

[Mercer]

a guy at my work, who has been freinds with someone for years, who works at the ticket office, claims rovers season ticket sales are up this year than last year, i explained to him that, that was ######, theres no way people are going to renew and it was probably someone telling his freind this to make people renew/buy season tickets.

If that was the case, I am sure we would have heard by now, not least from the Cheshire Cat telling us how his exciting brand of football was working and the fans could see what we are trying to do !

[roverandout]

yes nick, im sure there will be plenty