[Archived] Back The Badge

[riverside returns]

HaHaHa, very funny. What would be much better if the club were to assist and make it a part of a take the club back promotion.

[Gally]

Because those running the club are currently loathed by the majority of stay away fans, I would've thought that was obvious.

As it goes I've no real opinion on BRAG. I just can't believe how desperate some people are to pick a fight over such an uncontroversial issue.

[riverside returns]

No fight, just agreeing a point with thoughts on the issue. Surely, as a show of good will from the club, a take back ewood initiative would be likely to raise more interest.

[grizfoot]

This all seems rather bizarre to me. So you're asking people who are "boycotting" games to attend for just this one game to show Venky's what they are missing? The same Venky's that hardly ever attend games at Ewood you mean. I can just see them now back in Pune running a keen eye over the attendance data in the form of a bar chat and ruefully mulling over the spike in attendance for the game against Ipswich looking rather perplexed. You've got to remember football fans are incredibly fickle and even if we had agreeable owners I doubt attendances would be all that much higher. Although it is hard to distinguish the supporters who are staying away in protest from those supporters staying away for other reasons.

[A cup of beans]

Some great replies so far. But to sum up, Look no further than Grizfoot and Parsons posts.

They cover the lot and say all that needs to be said.

[Mike E]

Just as we get a bit of positivity on the back of a good win, the mood is soured by BRAG coming up with a positive message that appears patronising. I'll be going to the Bristol game. Can only afford the one match anyway for now, but thankfully BRAG just gave me a good reason not to go to the Ipswich game

What I don't understand about this new message (positive as it is) is the motive. Where has it come from? As Parson said, if it's to get people to 'back the badge' it's more patronising than anything else. Especially given the groups threat to step up their campaign against Venkys if they appointed our current manager. Back the club or not? Make your mind up lads.

[Baz]

http://storyofapoorboy.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/finding-the-liverpool-way/

Thought this was a very interesting blog by a Liverpool fan. Many of the issues strike very close to home.

[blueboy3333]

I would hope as chairman of the fans forum you would certainly look to get the fans forum to back this initiative to not only unite supporters and put all opinion and differences to one side , but also see the positive that by having all supporters attend against Ipwich it delivers a positive message that supporters are not staying away because we are no longer a premiership team .

We have had a good response from the press release sent to groups / town figure heads and websites . This is not about the AG and will end with a united statement on February the 8th . Each day a different person will issue a statement , from a different entity. Last time a united statement was issued only 1 group failed to sign it.

This is about all supporters remembering even if its just for one day , why they joined the rovers family . This is the supporters day remembering centuries of support .

I would hope all groups , individuaks and websites will back this , and make it about the club and not personalities . United push means exactly that ,everyone equal and everyone pushing in the same direction.

Venky's turn up, see an empty ground, and suddenly BRAG start a PR exercise asking us to fill it? Dear oh dear. I'm going this weekend to back the new manager and the players on the pitch. 'Back the Badge' is the kind of PR stunt i'd expect from, well, the new PR company. As for the highlighted part, may i remind you to BRAG's little tantrum when Appleton was appointed. Utter hypocrisy.

[glen9mullan]

Thought i'd explain this in a few more details.

This is something which we have been looking at for a number of weeks, and indeed made some contact with some of the larger supporter groups a couple of weeks back and discussed this idea with them.

Their reaction was very positive and particularly the people who front those particular groups, who agreed that although trying to get people to put personal opinions to one side would be difficult this is something which is achievable, and people should not be blinded by personalites when it comes to the club they support. As no one person is bigger or more important than Blackburn Rovers.

I have been following Rovers for over 30 years and witnessed the crowds of less than 10,000 more times than I care to remember. Some supporters on here have been alive longer than me, and seen them at their lowest.

I remember on the playground at Roman Road C.P when a was a young boy, what it was to know that my Uncle had got me a ticket for the weekends game, A real treat, something to look forward to, Something to discuss with my friends at school as going to Rovers back then was really special. It would give me goosebumps and sleepless nights waiting for the big day to come. Money was tight in our household as it was in many houses where I was brought up, however just walking down Nuttall street would make every hair on my body stand up.

When Jack Walker came along dreams were not only born , but I lived them. As a child watching second division football, I had never even heard of Manchester United or Arsenal. Everyone I knew was a rovers fan and proud to be so.

We then as supporters had 20 great years, were our club was rebuilt to a standard that even your wildest dreams could never have imagined.

Sadly when Jack died , the club had to lower their sights a little, however our club was well run. Some supporters drifted away after the decline as the club failed to keep its top flight status under Jack. However many of us stayed and witnessed promotion back to the big time.

When Venkys came in, no-one could possibly have imagined 2 years later we would not only be back where we started under Jack, but the crowds would also be back to the level they was at the old Ewood.

Over the last 12 months especially I have seen many reasons people have given for staying away.

1. Many said when Kean went they would return, but in reality only a few did.

2. Many have said they will Boycott until Venkys go, but I have seen many of the ardent boycotters at games this season, as they have picked and choosed which ones to attend.

In many meetings I have attended with the club, one of the main reasons they give for supporters not attending is the loss of Premiership football. Clubs on the outskirts such as wigan , have attendances which have gone up by a couple of thousand since that ill fated day when relegation became a reality.

If Venkys were to sell tomorrow would we suddenly have 20,000 plus on again? Many believed this to be the case when Kean left but in reality it never happened.

The Rovers trust are trying to put a takeover package together, but how many have pledged? How many have become members? 400-500?

If the club was to go on the Market tomorrow with an average of around 10,000 home supporters maximum in reality who would buy us? Who would see the potential? Where would be the bar to show supporters would return?

Empty seats around Ewood could be explained in many ways, different reasons, different excuses.

This season the average crowd is 14000, if for just one match that crowd could eclipse 20,000 it would show that 6000 fans are staying away because of what Venkys have done to the club in the two years they have been owners. It would prove beyond reasonable doubt that the supporters would return if the club had owners who not only respected the clubs history, but ran the club professonally.

This campaign is NOT an Action Group campaign, the idea behind it, is each supporter group/website and town figure head has a say leading upto and after the match. Different voices, different opinions, but united in wanting a well run club.

12 Months ago every website, supporter group bar the fans forum signed a united supporter statement and issued it. Every group had imput into it, despite so many differing opinions.

This is not about individuals, or if you like someone, or dislike someone, This is about Blackburn Rovers, about the NOW and THE FUTURE.

I have never boycotted, so perhaps some may think, "Its easy for you to ask others to attend who have chosen to boycott"? However what is a boycott? What are the reasons behind everyone boycotting? Will Venkys departure see everyone come back? Where is the evidence they will come back? If they never come back , how does that make the club an attractive proposition to a buyer?

If we take ourselves out of the melting pot and look at this from the outside, all they see is a club which has lots of history, but a town population of just over 100000. Can it make them money? Are there better alternative clubs out there?

When we thought of a name for this campaign, whatever the name was, we knew some would find a reason to pick holes in it, or discredit it. We could even have wrote a list of the people who would do this as its what they do best, they point the finger of blame. They claim its some ego trip or some PR Stunt or its causing more divide.

This is about everyone, and what you can do for your club, rather than what your club can do for you.

Many supporters, despite the heartbreak have continued to go home and away and will always do so whatever the future holds. However if for one match, just one match everyone can make an effort to fill those seats, which Jack Walker sweated his working life to make possible for all of us as a united supporter base, I really do think it will be a remarkable stand of unity by the supporters of Blackburn Rovers.

We have had a few questions ,

1.Why Ipswich? Ipswich will not bring a lot of supporters and we wanted to pick a game which was less fashionable and would not have the attendance swelled by the travelling support. It would of been easy to pick Leeds or Blackpool as both will bring a stong away following. However its not about their club. Its about ours and our clubs future.

2. Why not Bristol? Bristol will probably see a crowd of around 11-12k, We have been taking pictures of the crowds for the last few home games, so they can be compared after the Ipswich fixture. As these games were back to back also, it would also if it works show 2 games to compare were the opposition are both in the lower reaches of the division.

,

I see this as a positive move to show Rovers supporters in a better light, a large crowd, a good atmosphere and hopefully three massive points

Every supporter group has been invited to take part, as has every single website and town figure head. We already have some statements from sites and figureheads. If all goes to plan, everyday someone else will be taking the lead as this is being backed by the Lancashire Telegraph and the Action Group wont be mentioned again in this process.

If every individual could just bring one person to the football with them against ipswich , be that an old or new supporter then the place would be bouncing.

It would also be nice to read a different supporter group or website being covered via the local press each day, in a common goal of unity and a well run club.

[Stuart]

People are funny.

Those saying "don't tell me how to support my club" are a.) people who clearly have a problem with the Action Group (the same reaction wouldn't be made if, say, chaddy had made the post) and b.) aren't the target audience.

Given the low attendance there clearly are people who need reminding of the kind of things the club is fundamentally about:

It's the shirt colours

It's the club name

It's the town

It's Ewood Park

It's the badge

It's washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers (sorry got carried away there).

But you take my point Blackburn Rovers is not Venkys, but people pick this as the main reason to decide whether or not to go to watch their home town club. Of course people are bitter. Even those who have carried on going are p¡ssed off but maybe some still need reminding about why they started supporting the first place. Maybe having tasted the better life they are too old to start all over again but get the next generation of fans back interested.

Maybe much like the town a lot of people have given up on the team. Blue and white flight?

It would be good for everyone if we could get a 25k attendance at one game this season. Whether to remind the club (and press) just how many supporters they've lost.

But they could make it free and it still wouldn't sell out. I can see it now "long suffering season ticket holders boycott Ewood due to them not getting anything for free".

[martonrover]

People are funny.

Those saying "don't tell me how to support my club" are a.) people who clearly have a problem with the Action Group (the same reaction wouldn't be made if, say, chaddy had made the post) and b.) aren't the target audience.

Given the low attendance there clearly are people who need reminding of the kind of things the club is fundamentally about:

It's the shirt colours

It's the club name

It's the town

It's Ewood Park

It's the badge

It's washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers (sorry got carried away there).

But you take my point Blackburn Rovers is not Venkys, but people pick this as the main reason to decide whether or not to go to watch their home town club. Of course people are bitter. Even those who have carried on going are p¡ssed off but maybe some still need reminding about why they started supporting the first place. Maybe having tasted the better life they are too old to start all over again but get the next generation of fans back interested.

Maybe much like the town a lot of people have given up on the team. Blue and white flight?

It would be good for everyone if we could get a 25k attendance at one game this season. Whether to remind the club (and press) just how many supporters they've lost.

But they could make it free and it still wouldn't sell out. I can see it now "long suffering season ticket holders boycott Ewood due to them not getting anything for free".

Nope, I haven't got an issue with BRAG and I'm not going to continuously vent my spleen on here or twitter about this.

I just think it's a naff idea and totally unnecessary.

Certainly wouldn't make me boycott the game.

[Parsonblue]

For the first umpteen years I supported the club we played in a shirt without a badge on even for players to kiss and grab hold of before accepting the first offer for a slightly increased wage elsewhere.

I don't blooming well need reminding or cajoling or organising by some bunch of neds why or how i support my hometown team or to decide whether to go to a game or not, I go when I want to, don't go when, I don't want to.

So no-one can take any credit for the fact that I won't be at Saturday's game - away for the weekend -but I'll be there the week after

The arrogance and hubris and pontificating of BRAG is rapidly becoming as hard to stomach as Shebby's blether or Venkys idiocy. Beggar off the lot of you!!

I think your last sentence speaks for so many of us meadows. Perhaps they might explain how having a plane flying over Ewood when the players are trying to win points to stay up is backing the badge? One assumes that they have got over their little tantrum about Michael Appleton being appointed as they clearly weren't backing the badge that day! Personally, I'm sick and tired of all these groups plugging their own agenda's and all trying to say they are the voice of the supporters. None of these clowns speak for me nor, I suspect, for you or thousands of others.

[Daniel Louis Grabko (Dan)]

...In many meetings I have attended with the club, one of the main reasons they give for supporters not attending is the loss of Premiership football. Clubs on the outskirts such as wigan , have attendances which have gone up by a couple of thousand since that ill fated day when relegation became a reality...

...As a child watching second division football, I had never even heard of Manchester United or Arsenal...

Wigan average attendance 2011/12 - 18,633

Wigan average attendance 2012/13 - 18,706

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/attendance/_/league/eng.1/year/2011/barclays-premier-league?cc=5739

Must be those 6-10 thousand turncoats conspiring to attend Wigan instead in alternating ranks of 73 so as not to inflate the numbers too much or they might be found out...

I grew up in a country where football was considered a second class sport behind baseball, gridiron, basketball, and ice hockey. I had heard plenty about Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal as a boy, so I find it exceedingly ludicrous that you, growing up in the heart of the birthplace of football, in the part of the country where the professional game was born and is steeped in the most glory and history, hadn't heard of those clubs, of the Munich Air Disaster, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Kenny Dalglish, Tony Adams, etc.

Glen - you need to take a step back and stop exaggerating, dramatising, romanticising, taking poetic license, or making things up (whatever you want to call it) before you start to actually believe some of the things you say - it is obviously doing more harm than good. It would have been more than sufficient to simply explain the motivation behind it and apologise to those who feel they are being told how to be a 'good' supporter.

Appleton has actually been talking sense since he came in, highlighting the squad's imbalance publicly, and by all accounts we played very well against Derby and deserved our win. I for one hope that form can be carried into the league, and he should definitely be given a fair chance to show us his ability to influence the team to do what needs to be done on the pitch.

By all means, I personally support any initiative to get fans back in the ground, wherever it comes from - but having read the 'invitation' to some of the other supporters groups, and judging by the responses here, it seems that it has been gone about in a challenging and bullish manner (lining up an entire media campaign and issuing a press release before getting confirmation from any group, for example), and these wistful tales from your youth and repeated reminders of your personal sacrifice don't help one bit.

In my humble opinion, supporters groups should not be in existence to tell other supporters what to do. They should be there to promote the support and well being of the club. It can be a subtle distinction, but it is an important one.

[scotty_beam_me_up]

I find it hard to stomach to be honest. I'm being told to "back the badge" from people who threw their toys out of the pram when Appleton was placed in charge.

[SAS]

I'm not having any of this crap. They appointed Appleton and because of that I have cut all ties to the club and become an Accrington fan.

[Rover_Shaun]

The only think for it is for everyone to heed Brags rallying call and not go

[Rover-the-Top]

As someone who has continued to "back the badge" for the last couple of years, I find this appeal very patronising...

[T.J.Newton]

Wigan average attendance 2011/12 - 18,633

Wigan average attendance 2012/13 - 18,706

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/attendance/_/league/eng.1/year/2011/barclays-premier-league?cc=5739

Must be those 6-10 thousand turncoats conspiring to attend Wigan instead in alternating ranks of 73 so as not to inflate the numbers too much or they might be found out...

I grew up in a country where football was considered a second class sport behind baseball, gridiron, basketball, and ice hockey. I had heard plenty about Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal as a boy, so I find it exceedingly ludicrous that you, growing up in the heart of the birthplace of football, in the part of the country where the professional game was born and is steeped in the most glory and history, hadn't heard of those clubs, of the Munich Air Disaster, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Kenny Dalglish, Tony Adams, etc.

Glen - you need to take a step back and stop exaggerating, dramatising, romanticising, taking poetic license, or making things up (whatever you want to call it) before you start to actually believe some of the things you say - it is obviously doing more harm than good. It would have been more than sufficient to simply explain the motivation behind it and apologise to those who feel they are being told how to be a 'good' supporter.

Appleton has actually been talking sense since he came in, highlighting the squad's imbalance publicly, and by all accounts we played very well against Derby and deserved our win. I for one hope that form can be carried into the league, and he should definitely be given a fair chance to show us his ability to influence the team to do what needs to be done on the pitch.

By all means, I personally support any initiative to get fans back in the ground, wherever it comes from - but having read the 'invitation' to some of the other supporters groups, and judging by the responses here, it seems that it has been gone about in a challenging and bullish manner (lining up an entire media campaign and issuing a press release before getting confirmation from any group, for example), and these wistful tales from your youth and repeated reminders of your personal sacrifice don't help one bit.

In my humble opinion, supporters groups should not be in existence to tell other supporters what to do. They should be there to promote the support and well being of the club. It can be a subtle distinction, but it is an important one.

And this is coming from one of the Key people behind the trust, earlier GM/action group said all the big groups where fully behind the 'initiative',yet in the last few hours alone they have had (constructive)criticism from key members of the 2 other big groups(FF& the trust).

As Mr.Grabko has said GM and his cronies just MASSIVELY exaggerates and over dramatises everything to Absurd levels,

So ironic that brag/gm are so desperate and on the ropes that they just use all the same manipulative PR stunts and jargon that Steve Kean used to desperately hold on to his position, they like Kean have way overstayed there welcome, but the power & notoriety they have received has just gone to there heads, they are no longer just fans they are just little egotists and there so deluded they don't even realise it(they seem to think they are martyrs of some kind)

[scotty_beam_me_up]

And this is coming from one of the Key people behind the trust, earlier GM/action group said all the big groups where fully behind the 'initiative',yet in the last few hours alone they have had criticism from key members of the 2 other big groups(FF& the trust).

As Mr.Grabko has said GM and his cronies just MASSIVELY exaggerates and over dramatises everything to Absurd levels,

So ironic that brag/gm are so desperate and on the ropes that they just use all the same manipulative PR stunts and jargon that Steve Kean used to desperately hold on to there positions, they like Kean have way overstayed there welcome, but the power & notoriety they have received has just gone to there heads, they are no longer just fans they are self serving egotists(and there so deluded they don't even realise it)

As an "Action Group" they haven't realised yet that sometimes the best action is sometimes do nothing at all.

[T.J.Newton]

As an "Action Group" they haven't realised yet that sometimes the best action is sometimes do nothing at all.

exactly, which is what i thought they had realised with there recent silence, sadly not.

[Tom]

As someone who has continued to "back the badge" for the last couple of years, I find this appeal very patronising...

Bloody Rovers Fan!

I think if at weekend we play the same as the last 2 games there will be a natural increase for the Ipswich game anyway

[Rover-the-Top]

Bloody Rovers Fan!

Indeed - once upon a time, it was considered normal to support your team through thick and thin. But now you get an insult thrown at you for saying you've not walked away just because times have been tough, and we have fans who believe it's an event to turn up and support the team for just one game...

[Ste B]

And this is coming from one of the Key people behind the trust, earlier GM/action group said all the big groups where fully behind the 'initiative',yet in the last few hours alone they have had (constructive)criticism from key members of the 2 other big groups(FF& the trust).

I've not seen one other group back this idea yet. Then again we've not seen any other group refuse to back it. BRFCS has been asked to give backing, and we are currently deciding on how we would do that. The FF has put it to the membership to ask for backing.

[darrenrover]

Indeed - once upon a time, it was considered normal to support your team through thick and thin. But now we have Rovers fans who believe it's an event to turn up and support the team for just one game...

+1

Possibly more than one game though if we miraculously manage to get a result at The Emirates!

[Kamy100]

My reading of the situation is that there is a lot of Anti-Brag sentiment out there within the fanbase, so this kinda thing coming direct from BRAG was always going to divide opinion.

It would have been much better if the press release mentioned which groups exactly were supporting this iniative and a joint statement endorsed by these groups being issued by someone like Sir Bill Taylor who has been working to bring everyone together, that would’ve received a much better response in my opinion.

At the moment it reads like a BRAG project which is asking other groups to join in and from what I have seen on social media through petty squabbles between individuals representing the various groups and BRAG I just can’t see it being straightforward for them endorsing this and that then leads to more politics etc which frankly is boring and embarrassing