[Archived] Did the weekend 'protest' work?

[bellamy11]

If based on all adults then its roughly 8000 x £15 (Price on Saturday) = 120K plus any other sales for Pies, Beers etc,

It's been said countless times before, but worth repeating that John Williams has stated that even when we were in the Premier League and all extras (e.g. food) were taken into account, we only got £13 revenue per person.

[RibbleValleyRover]

'Protest' on this scale suggests something that is organised, that is clearly not the case right now at Rovers it all comes down to each individual and how they feel. Fans have decided to stay away for numerous reasons such as the incompetence of board in the way the club has been run and don't forget Christmas has just gone, money is tight for a lot of people this time of year.

Personally I am happy knowing that not a single penny of mine is going into a club that is being run into the ground by bad management and doesn't give a fig about the fan base.

[McClarky]

Compared to other games this season and considering we usually get poor gates in the cup this was only 2 to 3,000 short of what you would expect isn't it? I don't think this kind of "boycott" shows anything other than a sense of general malaise which is hanging over the club and not turning up isn't going to get any publicity. Rightfully so as many of the not turn uppers would have done so purely because they couldn't be bothered, myself included. A proper boycott would have to involve some kind of mass picket or protest to draw attention to the fact that it wasn't just because it was an unappealing cup tie. For example, how many did Darwen's average gate go up by as a result of this boycott?

[Blackburn Ravers]

Andrew Cryer ‏@CryerRovers

Just been told Rovers crowd on Saturday was lowest ever in the FA Cup against a league opponent. Two lower were v Willington? and Stafford.

[forumquizmaster]

Andrew Cryer ‏@CryerRovers

Just been told Rovers crowd on Saturday was lowest ever in the FA Cup against a league opponent. Two lower were v Willington? and Stafford.

Remember being at that Willington game, smashed them 5 or 6 after a goalless draw in the first tie at their place.

[rigger]

Remember being at that Willington game, smashed them 5 or 6 after a goalless draw in the first tie at their place.

I went to both Willington games, I got detention for nicking off school, for the replay. I didn't go on Saturday. How times have changed.

[Tom]

If based on all adults then its roughly 8000 x £15 (Price on Saturday) = 120K plus any other sales for Pies, Beers etc,

Divided by two (FA cup gates are shared aren't they)

[DE.]

Considering our home gates this season have been around 8/9k (we all know Aggers mystical 12k+ figures are BS) a drop of 3k or so for an FA cup tie against unremarkable opposition right after Christmas/New Year isn't exactly a surprise, is it? I'd say a max of 100/200 people were "boycotting", the rest staying away for reasons already outlined in this thread.

[philipl]

Andrew Cryer ‏@CryerRovers

Just been told Rovers crowd on Saturday was lowest ever in the FA Cup against a league opponent. Two lower were v Willington? and Stafford.

That is your answer: Yes it was effective.

[roverandout]

i normally go to cup games in the past, not anymore, not until this scum has gone

[Stuart]

That is your answer: Yes it was effective.

It was the lowest. As reported by the local Rovers-reporting journalist. (No disrespect Andy).

So what?

With the losses we are already making, I doubt this has really hurt Venkys financially - relatively speaking I doubt it. Like pinching the bank manager's pen after emptying the vault.

There has been no external publicity.

We won the match.

Does anyone who didn't go feel like thru achieved something? Do they feel like they 'stuck it up Venkys'?

I guess the exact same could be said about last season's protest marches. Did they bring any additional pressure on Kean - enabling Singh (or other) to use it as a lever? Possibly.

Do Venkys care about the peasants fans though - whatever they do? I'm thinking not.

Go to games, don't go to games. They're not interested.

[Wayne Wild]

Can someone define in Economic terms the effect of this protest? A Gate of 5000 and a Gate of 13000 means how many pounds actually? Can someone who knows put the amounts into context? How much does it dent the Venky's ?

I don't think there was any 'protest' but there was a huge amount of disgruntled supporters who basically couldn't be bothered. The 3rd round FA Cup day was always a magic day to be a supporter but even the clubs themselves now field weakened teams as the main focus are league status and position = huge TV revenue. However in answer to the question the reported gate also includes corporate seats in boxes/lounges that may have been included in their seasonal contracts.

At £15 per ticket average (some will be juniors and some will be £20 walk on price) the value to the club is.....£15 less vat = £12 less 10% to the FA = £10.80 less 50% share to the away team = £5.40 x 5000 = £27,000 income + bar/food sales. Plus £67,500 in prize money for winning the match. The negative posts will be that this wouldn't cover the most expensive players wage for 1 week. The positive posts would say that this income is extra over and above the league general income and we are through to the next round which generates income from the Derby game away and who knows how many more rounds if we can win. The players and staff wages have to be paid anyway. Whether the income covers all extra match day costs, police, heating and lighting etc only the club can answer.

The big positive was that we got another win so long may the run continue. I for one enjoyed the afternoon and Ive not been able to say that many times over the past 25 months.

[roverandout]

if they aint interested then why should i be interested in parting with my hard earned money?

[Stuart]

if they aint interested then why should i be interested in parting with my hard earned money?

Cos it's your club, not theirs...

[Claytons Left Boot]

I took no notice of the lets attend Darwen bloody FC thread

By typing that it appears you did! What's up with you Darwen North people. Touched a nerve or what?

[Claytons Left Boot]

If there wasn't an unofficial 'protest' (in inverted commas - in the title too, actually to emphasis it's non-official nature) then what was it? Where did those other 5000 people disappear to and why? I'm not having it that it's only down to it being January and being skint - not when you compare to some of the other games on - including League One matches.

Stu - as you probably know there was no official protest and no unofficial protest. Folk just voted with their feet due to the ongoing farce down at the circus.

I have outlined why I wanted to give the cup game a miss, I'm not going to go through it again. I thought it would have been a nice gesture for some of our fans to attend the Darwen match because they could certainly do with the extra revenue. Just a quick thread I started on here to drum up a bit of interest, to get a football fix on the day, in the same way that some of our fans were prepared to travel to Chorley for similar reasons.

This 'protest' thing is a real dilemna. Venky's have tipped me over the edge but at the same time I obviously want the lads to do well and I also want to be at Ewood for each home game. Even more so now that the team seem to be entering a good bit of form and certainly any organised protests now could have a detrimental effect on team performance.

I think most people recognise this and those that want to vote with their feet for certain games will do so on an individual basis. I will continue to attend as I have a season ticket. Venky's had my money up front so I may as well. The real test for both me and others will come next summer when the season ticket renewal packs land on our door mats.

[Amo]

[Stuart]

I think that's a fair comment CLB. It's possible all but 5,000 people are unlikely/unwilling to give Venkys any more of their money.

But the sad thing is that they seem prepared to allow the club they love die just so Venkys can't have it.

This is why I had a hard time seeing those people watching the big screen lunchtime Sky match outside the Blackburn End last season whilst a couple of hundred hardy souls - not hooligans or chavs, just ordinary Blackburn folk - marched from the Town Hall. It broke my heart that people would just accept what was happening to the club they loved and would rather drink beer watching two London teams than make a stand.

I wonder how many of those watching the Arsenal-Chelsea 0-0 draw in the sunshine were among the 5504 on Saturday?

Because, for all the "I'll be back when Venkys are gone" talk from people, when Venkys do actually slope off I fear these will be the only people prepared to attend in the division we end up in.

[Stuart]

How much do you get for winning a 3rd round tie? It was £27000 for winning in the 2nd round

It obviously must be more

If it's £40k what bloody harm has anybody staying way done?

That's equivalent to having 4000 more season ticket holders on the cheap areas.

So we're as well off winning with 5500 on as losing with 9500 on!

It's a moot point as the financial benefits aren't that great in comparison to the money we are losing but still that's some warped logic.

With 9500 on we'd have had extra gate receipts AND the prize money...

[ABBEY]

It's a moot point as the financial benefits aren't that great in comparison to the money we are losing but still that's some warped logic.

With 9500 on we'd have had extra gate receipts AND the prize money...

And who benefits from extra money ? Bling n bong and their owd hag

[47er]

I think that's a fair comment CLB. It's possible all but 5,000 people are unlikely/unwilling to give Venkys any more of their money.

But the sad thing is that they seem prepared to allow the club they love die just so Venkys can't have it.

This is why I had a hard time seeing those people watching the big screen lunchtime Sky match outside the Blackburn End last season whilst a couple of hundred hardy souls - not hooligans or chavs, just ordinary Blackburn folk - marched from the Town Hall. It broke my heart that people would just accept what was happening to the club they loved and would rather drink beer watching two London teams than make a stand.

I wonder how many of those watching the Arsenal-Chelsea 0-0 draw in the sunshine were among the 5504 on Saturday?

Because, for all the "I'll be back when Venkys are gone" talk from people, when Venkys do actually slope off I fear these will be the only people prepared to attend in the division we end up in.

Whatever Venkys leave us with, we'll have to start with and build up. That's all there is to it really. No point in you going on about it, fans have voted with their feet as they always have and will. Your criticisms should start and end with Venkys who are solely to blame.

Fans have put up with more in the last 2 years than I can remember in a life-time.

[Rover_Shaun]

Does anyone who didn't go feel like thru achieved something?

Yes. I had a beef string, from my lunchtime sandwich, stuck in my molar and at 3.56pm I finally got it out.

I took no notice of the lets attend Darwen bloody FC thread

By typing that it appears you did! What's up with you Darwen North people. Touched a nerve or what?

It also appears Darwen North people can't quote

[den]

I don't think people have an aim El Tombro.

They just wont have anything to do with the crap that's going on.

[Howler]

I boycotted when kean was still here as I couldn't stand the sight of him, the refusal to sack him and he was just too obvious a reminder of the destruction of the club.

I've now come to the decision that I'm not going to let venkys stop my enjoyment of my favourite sport. I can't go and support another team so I go to a few games, mainly aways, when I can. For home games £15/20 a ticket is still good value for this level and won't make a difference to venkys. If anything higher attendances help local employees and businesses.

Can totally understand why people want to go to every game, boycott, have just lost interest, whatever. Each to their own. Long term I really worry that our fan base will never recover to 18-20k home gates as it is much harder to entice people back than to lose them in the first place.

[old darwen blue]

We had a larger gate than Barnsley v Burnley