[Archived] Rovers V Brighton

[thenodrog]

IMO, if you stop support your club cos its going through a bad time then u arent a proper Rovers fan are u?

You choose your team and stick with them through the good and bad times. simple as.

I couldnt change teams n support another football team. i am a Rovers fan. Have been all my life and always will be.

Noble words Chaddy but supporters soon turn into followers (some who no doubt still class themselves as supporters). As the product devalues ST sales drop as people take the decision to be a casual supporter and cherry pick their matches. These in turn drop to 1st game or two of a season, Boxing Day and Easter fixtures with the odd cup tie against attractive opposition.

Whatever you say Chaddy and no matter how commendable / loyal / stubborn / stupid (delete as appropriate) people do find better things to do with their spare time and hard earned cash than watching a devalued product to infinity or as others might put it 'flogging a dead horse'.

To make any sense financially a 'top' club in the Prem requires 30000 people turning up when they are on a losing streak, out of the cup and on a cold wet day in February. We have prob 8000- 10000 at the moment. That figure will decline as things stand, hence my view that Lancashire County is the only way forward. The slim chance that another Uncle Jack will materialise out of thin air is now being scuppered by FFP.

[47er]

Are you implying that the younger fans only want to support a winning team? Doesn't matter if you are young or old you stick with a club and support that club through good times and bad. If you wander off when things get tough then I would question the depth of your support for the club. As one of the "older generation" I'm pleased to say I know any number of younger fans who have stuck with the club and will continue to stick with the club irrespective of who the owners, manager or players might be at any given time. It is the club that matters.

Many fans have turned their backs on the club Parson----the attendance figures tell us so.

In the 80's till Jack took over, attendances at regular games hardly ever got 10000 fans. If parents turned away then their children wouldn't have gone either. That is what we are facing again and its totally naive of you to think otherwise. We used to have 20000 Rovers fans +, now its almost halved. FACT.

You say its their fault, it isn't, its all down to the Loons from Pune.

[Parsonblue]

What %age do you think will do that? My guess is 50% tops in this Div after a few years of the same and 25-30% should we drop in the 1st. That was approx the old figure and don't forget the demography has changed significantly in and around Blackburn. It is an awful long way back for a club like ours and dare I say impossible without exceptional circumstance like the Walker years.

Many fans have turned their backs on the club Parson----the attendance figures tell us so.

In the 80's till Jack took over, attendances at regular games hardly ever got 10000 fans. If parents turned away then their children wouldn't have gone either. That is what we are facing again and its totally naive of you to think otherwise. We used to have 20000 Rovers fans +, now its almost halved. FACT.

You say its their fault, it isn't, its all down to the Loons from Pune.

I fully expect attendances to drop to somewhere around the 5,000 to 8,000 mark. I don't think I have ever claimed otherwise. My point is that amongst that hardcore support there will be some younger fans. Not all will turn away from the club. Look at Stanley, North End, Fleetwood, Morecambe etc. - all lower league clubs and all have youngsters amongst their fanbase. You don't have to be in the Premier League or follow a successful team to enjoy a game of football and to support a particular club. If that was the case we wouldn't have 92 professional clubs in the Premier/Football League and a majority of Conference clubs with full-time players.

Times are changing and returning to the pre-Jack Walker era and, of course, the Rao family are the only ones to blame for that situation. Ultimately, people make a personal choice if they want to spend their money following their local club or not but there will always be a hardcore of support who will follow the Rovers and their will be younger fans amongst that hardcore.

[Tom]

IMO, if you stop support your club cos its going through a bad time then u arent a proper Rovers fan are u?

You choose your team and stick with them through the good and bad times. simple as.

I couldnt change teams n support another football team. i am a Rovers fan. Have been all my life and always will be.

What if you simply don't get any enjoyment from it anymore?

People have real lives outside of football and if they stop enjoying going why waste time out of some weird sense of obligation?

Surely they'd be better spending time following pursuits they get enjoyment from?

At times I feel like packing it all in, if that labels me not a proper fan you know I can live with that, Rovers is a part of my life but not anything that defines me.

[chaddyrovers]

What if you simply don't get any enjoyment from it anymore?

People have real lives outside of football and if they stop enjoying going why waste time out of some weird sense of obligation?

Surely they'd be better spending time following pursuits they get enjoyment from?

At times I feel like packing it all in, if that labels me not a proper fan you know I can live with that, Rovers is a part of my life but not anything that defines me.

thats a very good point made there Tom..

I understand that view.

I really enjoy watching football and Rovers. i agree Tom that football/Rovers is part of life but not everything.

for instances, i enjoy watching Cricket but really only test cricket and lancashire but not really into one day cricket or 20/20 comp. Dont enjoy them at all.

Also some good points made ParsonBlue and Majiball aswell

[47er]

I fully expect attendances to drop to somewhere around the 5,000 to 8,000 mark. I don't think I have ever claimed otherwise. My point is that amongst that hardcore support there will be some younger fans. Not all will turn away from the club. Look at Stanley, North End, Fleetwood, Morecambe etc. - all lower league clubs and all have youngsters amongst their fanbase. You don't have to be in the Premier League or follow a successful team to enjoy a game of football and to support a particular club. If that was the case we wouldn't have 92 professional clubs in the Premier/Football League and a majority of Conference clubs with full-time players.

Times are changing and returning to the pre-Jack Walker era and, of course, the Rao family are the only ones to blame for that situation. Ultimately, people make a personal choice if they want to spend their money following their local club or not but there will always be a hardcore of support who will follow the Rovers and their will be younger fans amongst that hardcore.

You're setting up a straw man to attack there. Nobody ever said there would be NO younger fans amongst the hard-core fans.

There will be fewer than there ought to have been though. And many more will be supporting Mancs, liverpool etc.

[rovers_rob]

What if you simply don't get any enjoyment from it anymore?

People have real lives outside of football and if they stop enjoying going why waste time out of some weird sense of obligation?

Surely they'd be better spending time following pursuits they get enjoyment from?

At times I feel like packing it all in, if that labels me not a proper fan you know I can live with that, Rovers is a part of my life but not anything that defines me.

If you don't get enjoyment out of it then its simple - don't go but to make out that most people have "real lives" and people go to watch Rovers (or any other club) out of some "weird sense of obligation" suggests that you really need to take a step back.

I find it more weird that you feel like that you have to come on a so called fans message board and mock hard core fans who will follow the club through thick and thin for not having "real lives".

There are still plenty of fans that will follow the club regardless, wear blue and white tinted specs, discuss each game on a game by game basis instead of analysing what has happened over the past 3 years every time we lose or draw a game and you will find that most don't bother coming on here.

Sometimes I really wonder whether it is worth even bothering with this message board anymore.

[T.J.Newton]

I couldnt even contemplate following another club, but I could quite easily turn my back on football altogether if the game carried on the way it is, aside from rovers I barely give any notice to whats going on in football elsewhere anymore.

[Tom]

If you don't get enjoyment out of it then its simple - don't go but to make out that most people have "real lives" and people go to watch Rovers (or any other club) out of some "weird sense of obligation" suggests that you really need to take a step back.

I find it more weird that you feel like that you have to come on a so called fans message board and mock hard core fans who will follow the club through thick and thin for not having "real lives".

There are still plenty of fans that will follow the club regardless, wear blue and white tinted specs, discuss each game on a game by game basis instead of analysing what has happened over the past 3 years every time we lose or draw a game and you will find that most don't bother coming on here.

Sometimes I really wonder whether it is worth even bothering with this message board anymore.

No mockery intended just saying my position on it

For as long as I can remember I've been going to Ewood Park every other Saturday and still do, people support in their own ways I just don't feel I need to justify being a true fan or whatever

[Paul]

No mockery intended just saying my position on it

For as long as I can remember I've been going to Ewood Park every other Saturday and still do, people support in their own ways I just don't feel I need to justify being a true fan or whatever

No from what I know of you Tom you don't, just like every other fan, have to justify it. It's easy to list why one should be a fan/supporter and pretty tedious as well really. It's the people who regard themselves as true fans and look down others who, in my view, have the problem. There are people posting on here, deeply knowledgeable, committed supporters, who found it really tough to stop going, I won't name names, and slowly but surely filtered back. Good for them I say.

Myself I've become more and more distant from football as the years go by, that's the change in the game not me. In respect of the Raos, who I was against from day one and took a lot of stick for being negative from people who now decry there every utterance, I have never had to make a decision as to whether to go or not. As a parent I always said I would put my son's pleasure ahead of mine, something some here are choosing to dig at, their problem not mine. In recent months my lad hasn't wanted to go to night games. I understand why and it makes me very disappointed. Sometimes I've gone alone, on a beautiful spring evening this week I chose to ride my bike as my Tom didn't want to go. Clearly I've turned my back on the club. If Tom wants to stop completely then I have a tough decision to make about my feelings towards the Raos and continuing to go to Ewood

Meanwhile Saturday I'll spend the morning at Bloomfield Road helping Blackpool fans with their inaugural meeting to form a Trust, I'll make a public presentation on Rovers and Rovers Trust, I'll leave at 1.15pm, drive to Preston, pick up my lad, go to Ewood.

So if some want to criticise me that's OK. Go ahead because I couldn't, and you'll have to excuse me, give a @#/? what they think.

[No Nay Never]

You're setting up a straw man to attack there. Nobody ever said there would be NO younger fans amongst the hard-core fans.

There will be fewer than there ought to have been though. And many more will be supporting Mancs, liverpool etc.

The thing is they won't be supporting them, they will be buying a replica shirt and watching them on tv, never knowing what it's like to have a proper affiliation to a club, and that's the sad part. A bloke goes in the club I attend and has never been Old Trafford but always has his United shirt on when they are on TV, I look at him celebrating goals, or being gutted when they have lost and it doesn't mean anything to him it's an act. Being gutted is going Ipswich away on a Tuesday night and losing 3-1 and i'm sure the majority on here have similar stories like that to tell. Feel sorry for any football fan that hasn't truly felt the highs or lows with there club.

[Tom]

Brilliant post Paul and sums up a lot of people's feelings

I've missed a couple of games at Ewood this season purely because I decided on the day that a day spent with my 2 year old was the better option, not on either occasion did I feel like I had to justify that and both times felt happy with the decision.

Everyone is free to make their choices on how they want to support the club and criticism for that is a measure of the person doing the criticising rather than the opposite.

[Al]

No from what I know of you Tom you don't, just like every other fan, have to justify it. It's easy to list why one should be a fan/supporter and pretty tedious as well really. It's the people who regard themselves as true fans and look down others who, in my view, have the problem. There are people posting on here, deeply knowledgeable, committed supporters, who found it really tough to stop going, I won't name names, and slowly but surely filtered back. Good for them I say.

Myself I've become more and more distant from football as the years go by, that's the change in the game not me. In respect of the Raos, who I was against from day one and took a lot of stick for being negative from people who now decry there every utterance, I have never had to make a decision as to whether to go or not. As a parent I always said I would put my son's pleasure ahead of mine, something some here are choosing to dig at, their problem not mine. In recent months my lad hasn't wanted to go to night games. I understand why and it makes me very disappointed. Sometimes I've gone alone, on a beautiful spring evening this week I chose to ride my bike as my Tom didn't want to go. Clearly I've turned my back on the club. If Tom wants to stop completely then I have a tough decision to make about my feelings towards the Raos and continuing to go to Ewood

Meanwhile Saturday I'll spend the morning at Bloomfield Road helping Blackpool fans with their inaugural meeting to form a Trust, I'll make a public presentation on Rovers and Rovers Trust, I'll leave at 1.15pm, drive to Preston, pick up my lad, go to Ewood.

So if some want to criticise me that's OK. Go ahead because I couldn't, and you'll have to excuse me, give a @#/? what they think.

We all know what you do Paul and you have no need to defend yourself. Ignore the newbie trying to make a name for himself. Please keep posting, and attending. We need fans like you.

[rovers_rob]

No from what I know of you Tom you don't, just like every other fan, have to justify it. It's easy to list why one should be a fan/supporter and pretty tedious as well really. It's the people who regard themselves as true fans and look down others who, in my view, have the problem. There are people posting on here, deeply knowledgeable, committed supporters, who found it really tough to stop going, I won't name names, and slowly but surely filtered back. Good for them I say.

Myself I've become more and more distant from football as the years go by, that's the change in the game not me. In respect of the Raos, who I was against from day one and took a lot of stick for being negative from people who now decry there every utterance, I have never had to make a decision as to whether to go or not. As a parent I always said I would put my son's pleasure ahead of mine, something some here are choosing to dig at, their problem not mine. In recent months my lad hasn't wanted to go to night games. I understand why and it makes me very disappointed. Sometimes I've gone alone, on a beautiful spring evening this week I chose to ride my bike as my Tom didn't want to go. Clearly I've turned my back on the club. If Tom wants to stop completely then I have a tough decision to make about my feelings towards the Raos and continuing to go to Ewood

Meanwhile Saturday I'll spend the morning at Bloomfield Road helping Blackpool fans with their inaugural meeting to form a Trust, I'll make a public presentation on Rovers and Rovers Trust, I'll leave at 1.15pm, drive to Preston, pick up my lad, go to Ewood.

So if some want to criticise me that's OK. Go ahead because I couldn't, and you'll have to excuse me, give a @#/? what they think.

If you are referring to what I said then you have completely taken something out of context and used it to have a general rant about something very personal to yourself.

Anyone who thinks they should put Rovers ahead of family etc.. are just plain stupid and If I were you I would take that up with them personally.

As for sticking with the team, no one should be criticized or accused of having a "weird sense of obligation". The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of die hard fans and there is nothing "weird" about that but clearly the point has been completely lost.

[Al]

If you are referring to what I said then you have completely taken something out of context and used it to have a general rant about something very personal to yourself.

Anyone who thinks they should put Rovers ahead of family etc.. are just plain stupid and If I were you I would take that up with them personally.

As for sticking with the team, no one should be criticized or accused of having a "weird sense of obligation". The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of die hard fans and there is nothing "weird" about that but clearly the point has been completely lost.

I'm not sure who Tom and Paul are referring to but I don't believe it is you. Certainly in my case I was thinking of a post from Wilpshire Blue.

[rovers_rob]

I'm not sure who Tom and Paul are referring to but I don't believe it is you. Certainly in my case I was thinking of a post from Wilpshire Blue.

Yeah sorry I should have read back a few pages.

Ignore my last post Paul.

[Tom]

The post aimed at Paul by WB was out of order but my reply to chaddy wasn't meant in any confrontational sense just a different opinion shared that's all

[rovers_rob]

The post aimed at Paul by WB was out of order but my reply to chaddy wasn't meant in any confrontational sense just a different opinion shared that's all

Yep, fair enough.

[Leonard Venkhater]

No from what I know of you Tom you don't, just like every other fan, have to justify it. It's easy to list why one should be a fan/supporter and pretty tedious as well really. It's the people who regard themselves as true fans and look down others who, in my view, have the problem. There are people posting on here, deeply knowledgeable, committed supporters, who found it really tough to stop going, I won't name names, and slowly but surely filtered back. Good for them I say.

Myself I've become more and more distant from football as the years go by, that's the change in the game not me. In respect of the Raos, who I was against from day one and took a lot of stick for being negative from people who now decry there every utterance, I have never had to make a decision as to whether to go or not. As a parent I always said I would put my son's pleasure ahead of mine, something some here are choosing to dig at, their problem not mine. In recent months my lad hasn't wanted to go to night games. I understand why and it makes me very disappointed. Sometimes I've gone alone, on a beautiful spring evening this week I chose to ride my bike as my Tom didn't want to go. Clearly I've turned my back on the club. If Tom wants to stop completely then I have a tough decision to make about my feelings towards the Raos and continuing to go to Ewood

Meanwhile Saturday I'll spend the morning at Bloomfield Road helping Blackpool fans with their inaugural meeting to form a Trust, I'll make a public presentation on Rovers and Rovers Trust, I'll leave at 1.15pm, drive to Preston, pick up my lad, go to Ewood.

So if some want to criticise me that's OK. Go ahead because I couldn't, and you'll have to excuse me, give a @#/? what they think.

Respect, Paul. It is heartbreaking to read posts like yours .It pretty much reflects the situation in my family. I think one of the problems here is that some people are threatened by the fact that other fans are dealing with this tragedy/loss etc in a different way to them. No-one should have to justify their position on this matter, least of all to a faceless message board pseudonym ( like me, even!)

The last two evening matches, suddenly, one of mine hasn't wanted to come. He has been Rovers ever since he could walk/ talk and he was the most persuasive in getting me to drop my previous, powerless (part time) boycott and renew my ST this season.

I do know it is only football, but Rovers has been part of my identity and, in spite of myself, I have been guilty of taking it too seriously over the years.Like you, I am falling more out of love with football with each passing week and I don't even watch Match of the Day. Certainly, I never stay up for the Championship.

But I wonder how I will feel in August. I know it will depend on what happens in the close season. I wonder how I will feel if I am riding my bike through Pleasington or somewhere and I hear the crowd roar that Rovers have scored. So, it turns full circle and I am busy turning into one of the 1960 brigade like all those old men before me.

[Al]

Been there years ago when I genuinely couldn't afford to go to matches. I would hear on the radio that Rovers had scored and it pulled at my heart strings that I was not there. They never appeared on TV in those days and all I got were radio and newspaper reports. Thankfully things are much better now but when it crosses my mind not to buy a season ticket I remember what it was like then and I tell myself not to be silly. I'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

[yoda]

Been there years ago when I genuinely couldn't afford to go to matches. I would hear on the radio that Rovers had scored and it pulled at my heart strings that I was not there. They never appeared on TV in those days and all I got were radio and newspaper reports. Thankfully things are much better now but when it crosses my mind not to buy a season ticket I remember what it was like then and I tell myself not to be silly. I'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

I remember buying the sports pink at 5:00pm on occasions that I could not get to Ewood for whatever reason, always amazed me they could get it out that quick, mind you the LET was a newspaper then.

[Al]

I remember buying the sports pink at 5:00pm on occasions that I could not get to Ewood for whatever reason, always amazed me they could get it out that quick, mind you the LET was a newspaper then.

Yes I used to walk to town from Ewood and by the time I got to Darwen St Bridge the pink was on sale with a full match report on the back page.

[Mike Graham]

I am one of the people who have crawled back. I have had a ST in the Darwen End this year as it is cheap although a poor view.

Even though I have an ST I miss about 40% of games, I have only done 2 away games this season (normally 60%+) and these were Carlisle away (Micky Mouse Cup) and Burnley (on a freebie).

I hate the Poona idiots that run my Club, and I am still angry at how these idiots have destroyed the infrastructure and our fan base. I am also pretty angry at how some our fans have blindly criticised those who dared to demonstrate.

However it is time to move on and recognise where Rovers are. We are mid Championship material at the very best, and will probably face a number of delegations skirmishes for many years. We will have to sell Rhodes and every decent youngster who comes through our ranks, we will have to survive on home gates circa 8,000 boosted by the likes of Leeds etc. We will also struggle to attract any decent corporate income.

We are in a desperate state. I will still buy a ST out of 50 years loyalty watching my team. I do however get little or no enjoyment out of watching the Rovers, probably because since the early 90's I enjoyed riding the Rovers dream. We are now back to the sh!te of the early 80's.

Get used to it fellow supporters, fans and acquaintances.....the future is grim.

I chatted to a fellow 50 year fan on Saturday over a pint. He was a regular poster on here until 18 months or so ago. He dropped his ST of 30 years before the start of last season and intended to pay on a match-by-match basis. His only home game since the start of last season was Wolves. He is typical of many Rovers supporters and can I criticise him...... NO. He has found life outside of Rovers.

People have choices in life, people have different views and take different views. I have decided to stay with the Blues, I may be barmy or bonkers for doing so but it is my choice until, or if, I decide otherwise.

[den]

Wuss

[Mike Graham]

Wuss

Love you too Den :-))