[Archived] Is it time to go back and support your team

[gumboots]

They also won more medals at the olympics last year than the Aussies did ( can't remember if it was golds or just overall)

[Atomicrover]

clutching at straws there!

Ribble Valley known as gods country, Northwest second largest economy after the City, most successful county for football, home of the computer, industrial revolution (Hargreaves, Compton, Lever, Dr Rose, the list goes on and on)

admittedly Yarkshire has cricket

....and God lives there...ha-ha, my point I think!

Edit: ie Geoff Boycott for those who thought I'd gone all religious!

[Amo]

I think Hanlon's razor is worth applying to Venky's ownership of the club. That's not to suggest that they're completely blameless in this sorry charade, but it's obvious they went into this venture with their eyes closed and have been led down the garden path by certain parties with a vested interest. People they trusted over the current incumbent at the club. I don't subscribe to the outlandish theories that this is all part of the "the plan", and that Venky's deliberately relegated Rovers to make it easier to asset strip the club. That has never made a lick of sense for obvious reasons. However, undoubtedly there are certain characters connected with the takeover who have profited from all this, only I don't think Venky's are one of them. I honestly think they wanted to make a success of Rovers, but it was mainly through rank stupidity that they've fowled it up, and not darker motives.

[ratters]

I don't write on here very often but in short - yes it is. I have been a season ticket holder since 1988 and the last 3 years have easily been the worst in memory. No identity, no spirit, lack of effort, no leadership, stupidity, ignorance, etc etc. we know the story. But how long will people use the Venkys as a excuse? 5 years, 10 years if they are here that long? I understand some people are very principled - that is their choice, but i think it is still cutting your nose off to spite your face to never attend again because of Venkys. We either sulk/complain/winge/moan etc about how bad things have been or because things havent gone our way, or we get on with it and make the best. The manager and players are now giving their all. That has been evident in the last couple of weeks and it isn't going to lead us to promotion but it does make us feel like we have a team again that we can cheer. That is the point of supporting a team, not how successful we are. We should put the past behind us, draw a line, and get behind this team. Is it half full or half empty? Unfortunately a lot of our fans are a half empty bunch and enjoy nothing more than a moan so the Venkys episode has probably given the excuse needed. It's easy to go when we are winning and relatively successful, not so easy when we are average in a lower division which is historically about where our natural level is. The green shoots of recovery seem to be there although I admit it is early days. But for god sake we need to give GB a chance and get behind him. He can't influence what has gone on in the past. I have enough excuses not to go, 3 young children, job with long hours, live an hour away, a wife who hates footy and cant possibly understand why I want to go to a game. And In the last few years I have missed more matches than previously. But to give up on the club is not an option - you support them or you don't. For the people not attending I suggest you give it a try, the atmosphere is positive and there is no resemblance to the kean era at all. You can easily pretend that Venkys are not there. What is staying away actually achieving? It is not going to influence Venkys that much is clear. So ask yourself a question - is Venkys the real reason you are not coming. If not and there are other reasons then fine but don't use Venkys as an excuse. If they genuinley are the real reason then I genuinley can't comprehend that stance as I can't live my life being @#/? off about things that have gone. I would ask whether those principles would indeed change should we get promoted again under Venkys and restablish as a premier league outfit (as unlikely as that is)?

[Derbyshire Blue]

Going on for 3 years been glad I live 1300 km away from Blackburn and been spared the agony of making matchday decisions. I really am flabbergasted how Gary Bowyer as managed to turn what felt like slow and horrible death into a feeling of optimism in such a short space of time, and I now want to get back on Ewood as soon as I can.

[Ewood Spark]

I think Hanlon's razor is worth applying to Venky's ownership of the club. That's not to suggest that they're completely blameless in this sorry charade, but it's obvious they went into this venture with their eyes closed and have been led down the garden path by certain parties with a vested interest. People they trusted over the current incumbent at the club. I don't subscribe to the outlandish theories that this is all part of the "the plan", and that Venky's deliberately relegated Rovers to make it easier to asset strip the club. That has never made a lick of sense for obvious reasons. However, undoubtedly there are certain characters connected with the takeover who have profited from all this, only I don't think Venky's are one of them. I honestly think they wanted to make a success of Rovers, but it was mainly through rank stupidity that they've fowled it up, and not darker motives.

Spot on. (Nice reference to Hanlon's Razor by the way). Too many people have blindly followed the conspiracy theorists line of thinking for the last three years. No surprise that the main protagonists have gone quite recently.

[Leonard Venkhater]

I agree with this.

Venky's have made mistakes, of course they have.

Big, costly mistakes.

But, in my mind, they are not the ones who have acted maliciously in this last couple of years.

The Bald Weasel certainly did, as did the Rat-Faced PR man and The Tantric One.

It's almost(!) criminal what they got up to.

But it has been left to the owners to foot the bill and sort out the ginormous mess than was left behind and, quite frankly, we are a much better team and club than what we were a year ago.

Out with the wasters like Orr and Murphy and in with young, hungry players who want to play for the club and the manager.

It's far, far from 'all forgiven', but I don't think Venky's have been the ultimate evil in the last few years.

And, fingers crossed, they might just be going about fixing the whole situation in the right way...

Hmmm. If only it was that simple.."Venky's were naive"..." the real baddies are gone". etc.

Sure, others took advantage, but we can't escape the fact that all this was on Venky's watch. The plan to replace Sam with ..was it fourth in command?..., who just happened to be a client of JA!..OK I better stop.

They have never had the decency to take responsibility or to apologise to the stakeholders. And all that arrogance after the devastation they caused ( allowed to happen)

That said, I am feeling optimism for the first time in ages!

Maybe it's a bit like exchanging pleasantries with the arsonist, who gives me some chewing gum after he has burned my house down.......Hey Ho... maybe he'll build me a new one...

The real truth is that I don't know what to think anymore...

[jim mk2]

It does seem that 2 wins on the bounce and all is well with the world; Bowyer is our saviour; we've a young team that is going places; Venky's aren't quite so bad; it's not all their fault etc etc etc. However defeat against Burnley and the mood will change again. Such is the collective and neurotic nature of messageboards

[Steve Moss]

I think its more than the two wins.

It's a very sensible Gary Bowyer.

It's the torpedoing of the Three Amigos.

It's Shebby being gagged.

It's a Cat 1 academy.

We're debt free (or at least there is no recognizable security).

We have a young and exciting squad.

The total picture has improved greatly.

I, for one, think Berg's case may have had something to do with opening the owner's eye as some have claimed.

[Blackpool_Rover]

I have to agree with the optimists on this one. I was angry that Kean got so long but Venky's learnt their lesson...they were ruthless last season when it came to managers.

The club is heading in the right direction and a top 10 finish would be great. The mood will change after Burnley!? For the idiots who don't understand football maybe.

Burnley have a decent team, on form. If we lose it will be one of the worst days of my life so far but the fact is it has to happen one day and at the moment the clubs are about equal in terms of the squads. I'd say last December was their best ever chance of beating us but this one should be a really good, even game. It will be tough and I'd be more than happy with a draw.

I just don't have the energy for the negativity anymore. Not interested. Rovers trust etc...sick of it all. Let's just get behind Bowyer and the team and get on with supporting the club as there could be an exciting couple of years ahead on the pitch and Venky's ARE and WILL BE a part of it.

[PLJPB]

I'm not having the 'they were just taken advantage of' line.

They chose who to listen to - JA, Kean, Agnew etc., rather than Sam, Williams, Finn and Hunt.

They even ignored the supporters on the Pune trip.

Even now they won't put in place a good experienced chief exec.

[Blackpool_Rover]

How do you know that? Yawn

[Howler]

I've always supported the team, just couldn't go in the latter stages of Kean's reign when it was clear he was untouchable and the club was taking the p!ss out of the fans.

I can't forgive Venky's for what they have done but my attending home or away games won't affect anything in their favour (in fact the ticket prices at Ewood are so reasonable that fans are almost robbing them)...but support can help the team and I don't see the point of cutting off my nose to spite my face. I enjoy watching Rovers play live, meeting up with mates/family etc and why let venkys ruin that?

For now things seem to be heading in the right direction but lets face it, a couple of defeats will change the mood on here dramatically, and we don't know how perilous the finances are - other than we must be making an operating loss and we are relying on Venky's to subsidise us (at best).

[roversR4ever]

It does seem that 2 wins on the bounce and all is well with the world; Bowyer is our saviour; we've a young team that is going places; Venky's aren't quite so bad; it's not all their fault etc etc etc. However defeat against Burnley and the mood will change again. Such is the collective and neurotic nature of messageboards

Jim I can see where you are coming from. Unfortunately Im well into my 40s now, seen football change and sure as hell not all for the good. Cant stand Venkys for what they have done wont forgive them (well it would take them becoming the perfect owners for the next 20 years and returning us to the state we were in when they bought Rovers) for me to even consider it.

Once you have lost trust it take a lot time and huge amount of effort for it to be earned again.

I am though capable of seeing when some things are improving. I genuinely believe Bowyer cares and is invested in Rovers. He is trying to build a team that tries its hardest at all times, its pretty evident he wont put up with players who wont put the required effort in.

There are signs that we might be going in the right direction, I felt that funnily enough in the games prior to the last two. The reason for it, even when the games weren't going our way the effort was visible the battling quality seemed there and the confidence to still try and keep the ball was there - they were trying to play the way the manager wanted.

Even in the first games possession had improved, it seemed individual errors were costing us, some pretty poor ref mistakes (allowing and disallowing goals) not taking chances. I did feel then that things could easily turn around, last year we had a good start but you could see how lucky we had been and were playing pretty poorly and that luck doesn't last. Also Bowyer seemed to spot where improvement in quality was needed and that the squad and team was completely unbalanced and he certainly has tried to address that. It appears he has managed that far better than the previous three managers. On a very limited budget.

On the surface there appears less interference on the football side.

Of course I know there are going to be games we will lose, Burnley sure could be one as aside from the importance of the game to both sets of fans they are the home team in good form. My optimism wont go after one game, I do think looking at the attributes of the team we wont be relegation fodder but beyond that its hard to tell anything more - its a very long hard season in a hugely unpredictable league. We could lose Rhodes Cairney Evans through injury in one week those things happen in football. (Id say QPR are huge favourites to go up this year but they could suddenly lose 4 or 5 key players though injury and then they wouldn't look such certainties)

What I cant accept and never will is seeing players not trying or giving a f**k. (that doesnt always mean they have to be running around throwing in tackles etc - some players roles are to look for the ball try and make things happen - when they don't want the ball thats just the same as a player shirking out of a challenge). Witth Bowyer I don't think we will see a team or players do that - not for long before he gets rid of them and I get the feeling the players know it as well. That's the cause for my renewed optimism.

[Bucksrover]

I do understand how supporters can get locked in negativity - as Rovers fans we have had so many painful disappointments over the last 3 years, and saw our club taken to probably the lowest point in it's history to the extent where we were comedy material for the media. If fans stay negative then if things take another dive it might not hurt as much (similar to placing a bet on your team losing to soften the blow if they do.)

The green shoots of recovery are very new and I understand why people are cautious, but I would really urge everyone who can to get a season ticket while they are still on sale. I really believe if we get behind this manager and team we could do something this year.

[forumquizmaster]

Jim I can see where you are coming from. Unfortunately Im well into my 40s now, seen football change and sure as hell not all for the good. Cant stand Venkys for what they have done wont forgive them (well it would take them becoming the perfect owners for the next 20 years and returning us to the state we were in when they bought Rovers) for me to even consider it.

Once you have lost trust it take a lot time and huge amount of effort for it to be earned again.

I am though capable of seeing when some things are improving. I genuinely believe Bowyer cares and is invested in Rovers. He is trying to build a team that tries its hardest at all times, its pretty evident he wont put up with players who wont put the required effort in.

There are signs that we might be going in the right direction, I felt that funnily enough in the games prior to the last two. The reason for it, even when the games weren't going our way the effort was visible the battling quality seemed there and the confidence to still try and keep the ball was there - they were trying to play the way the manager wanted.

Even in the first games possession had improved, it seemed individual errors were costing us, some pretty poor ref mistakes (allowing and disallowing goals) not taking chances. I did feel then that things could easily turn around, last year we had a good start but you could see how lucky we had been and were playing pretty poorly and that luck doesn't last. Also Bowyer seemed to spot where improvement in quality was needed and that the squad and team was completely unbalanced and he certainly has tried to address that. It appears he has managed that far better than the previous three managers. On a very limited budget.

On the surface there appears less interference on the football side.

Of course I know there are going to be games we will lose, Burnley sure could be one as aside from the importance of the game to both sets of fans they are the home team in good form. My optimism wont go after one game, I do think looking at the attributes of the team we wont be relegation fodder but beyond that its hard to tell anything more - its a very long hard season in a hugely unpredictable league. We could lose Rhodes Cairney Evans through injury in one week those things happen in football. (Id say QPR are huge favourites to go up this year but they could suddenly lose 4 or 5 key players though injury and then they wouldn't look such certainties)

What I cant accept and never will is seeing players not trying or giving a f**k. (that doesnt always mean they have to be running around throwing in tackles etc - some players roles are to look for the ball try and make things happen - when they don't want the ball thats just the same as a player shirking out of a challenge). Witth Bowyer I don't think we will see a team or players do that - not for long before he gets rid of them and I get the feeling the players know it as well. That's the cause for my renewed optimism.

This. Everyone considering whether or not to come back to Ewood should read this post . Wise words R4E.

[Majiball]

Every day I am more and more convinced that Venky's employ a PR company to post on MB's.

As Den (?) 5 games 7 points and all is forgiven?

[forumquizmaster]

Every day I am more and more convinced that Venky's employ a PR company to post on MB's.

As Den (?) 5 games 7 points and all is forgiven?

Its not just about points though is it (especially this early in the season - remember the crap that Kean was spouting this time last year after a lucky start) and I haven't seen many (if any) posters claiming that all is forgiven. But if you (not you personally Maj) can't drag your arse to Ewood on a cheap ticket deal to see a young hungry team trying their best and currently scoring lots of goals, just because of Venkys, then Hell mend you.

[roversR4ever]

Every day I am more and more convinced that Venky's employ a PR company to post on MB's.

As Den (?) 5 games 7 points and all is forgiven?

I haven't forgiven what they have done to our club. Just to make sure if anyone is in doubt. I probably never will. My optimism relates to Bowyer and the team.

It still scares the hell out of me what they could yet do to the club - sack Bowyer after a few poor results, completely mess up the club financially if they haven't already (we don't know if they are genuinely covering our losses or whether now the club is in massive debt to some Indian bank. Still haven't appointed someone credible and genuinely experienced to run the club here in the UK. God you could go on and on with the list.

My optimism relates purely to football matters in terms of the team, coaches and manager. That at the moment it seems to be Bowyer making all the footballing decisions.

[Boner]

Spot on roversR4ever

[den]

Every day I am more and more convinced that Venky's employ a PR company to post on MB's.

As Den (?) 5 games 7 points and all is forgiven?

Someone else posted that Maj. I said that the timing of this post (immediately after two wins) said everything - and in particular that when Agnew told the Raos that after a couple of wins the fans would forget about everything that had happened, he was dead right.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Someone else posted that Maj. I said that the timing of this post (immediately after two wins) said everything - and in particular that when Agnew told the Raos that after a couple of wins the fans would forget about everything that had happened, he was dead right.

As pointed our earlier - we had two wins last season - and attendances went down.

Anyone (that attends) can sense the renewed optimism - a young hungry team seemingly playing for the shirt - with a manager who displays integrity. With a little more luck we could have quite easily gained another 3 points and be sitting in the top 6 - and unlike last season it would have been merited.

I attend because I support the team and Bowyer as manager - as long as the Venky's can keep their meddling to a minimum and continue to support GB I will be happy (for now )

[jim mk2]

It's all down to results on the field in the end. All their bad decisions would have been ignored if we'd stayed in the Premier League though some fans would still be complaining they hadn't delivered Champions League football as they promised.

All it takes is a bad result against Burnley however and the knives will be out again..............

[tomphil]

Someone else posted that Maj. I said that the timing of this post (immediately after two wins) said everything - and in particular that when Agnew told the Raos that after a couple of wins the fans would forget about everything that had happened, he was dead right.

Will we get 18k home fans on for the next game at Ewood ? No it will be the usual 12k whatever happens v Burnley, so NO i don't think he was dead right at all .

[den]

As pointed our earlier - we had two wins last season - and attendances went down.

Anyone (that attends) can sense the renewed optimism - a young hungry team seemingly playing for the shirt - with a manager who displays integrity. With a little more luck we could have quite easily gained another 3 points and be sitting in the top 6 - and unlike last season it would have been merited.

I attend because I support the team and Bowyer as manager - as long as the Venky's can keep their meddling to a minimum and continue to support GB I will be happy (for now )

I would have been more convinced if this thread had been raised after two defeats DMTP. As you say, results on the field have/are changeing attitudes towards the club and owners, you only have to read the posts on here to appreciate that. To my mind we're still being run by people who should be nowhere near Ewood Park. I'm not convinced that the club isn't heading for serious financial problems and I'm not convinced that the whole thing won't go tits up at any time. I'm not criticising anyone for going down to Ewood, but the truth is here to be seen. The club is still in grave danger as long as these owners hang around.This topic title is basically asking fans to put all that to one side because the team has won two games on the trot and looks like they might win a few more before the end of the season. Basically, Agnew was right. People won't like that, but it's true.