[Archived] Boycott

[JBiz]

The club must think it's relevant because they keep plugging how we're unbeaten on the official site.

That's up to them, performances and results count from Saturday.

[Blue blood]

The club must think it's relevant because they keep plugging how we're unbeaten on the official site.

A lofty achievement given the quality of opposition we have faced.

Mind you I don't think it's relevant either way - pre season is about fitness and getting the players to gel together. Even if results were good (as oppose to the pathetic we're unbeaten by league 1 and 2 opposition) it wouldn't massively matter as that's not the purpose of pre season. Likewise if we'd have got battered a few times, that wouldn't be a reason for lambasting the club either.

Joke club with more propaganda that ever before...

[alexanders]

I had not expected any different responses then the ones I got.

I stand by my opinion. It is football and horrible owners come and go. I am not in any way excusing Venkys for their demolition of Rovers.

One of the worst owners in English football came from Norway and destroyed a football Club. Today they own Molde FK in Norway and have had major success at that Club.

I do somewhat understand the boycott, but I feel that at the moment we as supporters are the ones who are hurting our club the most.

To the person asking me about Financial contribution: I live in Norway but I have been at Ewood 4 times and and seen in total 8 Rovers matches. I always buy merchandise. I have even travelled only by myself to England to watch the Rovers.

I might be a very strange guy, but for me Rovers is Rovers. I still support the blue and white halves I fell in love With and one way of doing this is trying to bring positivity instead of making a negative spin to everything. It is Equal to live in a marriage. You only destroy it if you only see the negatives.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

To the person asking me about Financial contribution: I live in Norway but I have been at Ewood 4 times and and seen in total 8 Rovers matches. I always buy merchandise. I have even travelled only by myself to England to watch the Rovers.

I might be a very strange guy, but for me Rovers is Rovers. I still support the blue and white halves I fell in love With and one way of doing this is trying to bring positivity instead of making a negative spin to everything. It is Equal to live in a marriage. You only destroy it if you only see the negatives.

I think that's brilliant. Good on you and I hope you keep going, every foreign fan I've encountered has been a credit to the club in terms of commitment, passion and knowledge.

Know I was one of those who disagreed with you but just want to assert that for me it's just a different way of looking things. I've nothing whatsoever against any fans who continue to view the situation positively and certainly don't subscribe to the "Rovers Fan" derogatory stuff.

[alexanders]

I agree and I am very furious With Venkys, but I am not one who are making it destroy club. It is ( I know my disagree ) still Rovers. It will always be. No matter what.

I thnk we are at a point know where we should be taking back our club. In my opinion the opposite way of "vote With Your feet" .

[DE.]

Sorry, but saying the supporters are the ones hurting the club the most is an outrageous statement.

[tomphil]

Sorry, but saying the supporters are the ones hurting the club the most is an outrageous statement.

It suits an agenda to portray it like that though.

A couple of thousand who've put up with nonsense of the last 4+ years are now saying enough is enough and staying away. That would happen at any club even the barcodes.

To then say it's financially hurting the club whilst wasting tens of thousands in moving tv cameras and millions in paying off managers and coaching staff every 3 months is the stupidest thing ever said.

[alexanders]

Wow. That was really bad English on my behalf.

I stand by my argument. It might not be that the supporters hurt the club the most, but we are playing a huge part in it.

We are a very vulnerable club. Going to gates below 10.000 will hurt us even more.

[LDRover]

A Polish work colleague always tells me that the way we are run (and where we're heading) is exactly the same as his club in Poland Stal Mielec.

Early 70s they were winners of the top division, had Polish internationals in their ranks and played against the top teams in Europe. Foreign (German) owner came in and they dropped like a stone until there was hardly anything left.

Google them, the comparisons with us are startling.

[AllRoverAsia]

I had not expected any different responses then the ones I got.

I stand by my opinion. It is football and horrible owners come and go. I am not in any way excusing Venkys for their demolition of Rovers.

One of the worst owners in English football came from Norway and destroyed a football Club. Today they own Molde FK in Norway and have had major success at that Club.

I do somewhat understand the boycott, but I feel that at the moment we as supporters are the ones who are hurting our club the most.

To the person asking me about Financial contribution: I live in Norway but I have been at Ewood 4 times and and seen in total 8 Rovers matches. I always buy merchandise. I have even travelled only by myself to England to watch the Rovers.

I might be a very strange guy, but for me Rovers is Rovers. I still support the blue and white halves I fell in love With and one way of doing this is trying to bring positivity instead of making a negative spin to everything. It is Equal to live in a marriage. You only destroy it if you only see the negatives.

There is a lot about your post that I like but the highlighted statement is a disgraceful insult to those many supporters who have chosen boycott as their method of protest and to those who have taken the time to explain their reasons on this MB.

My personal opinion is that you owe them an apology.

The ones who are hurting our club the most live in Pune, India...... tell me I'm wrong about that.

[tomphil]

Wow. That was really bad English on my behalf.

I stand by my argument. It might not be that the supporters hurt the club the most, but we are playing a huge part in it.

We are a very vulnerable club. Going to gates below 10.000 will hurt us even more.

Going from 10k ST's to about 8.5k with the price of the tickets at Ewood really isn't going to make a lot of difference.

Not when you compare it to going from ave gates of 20k+ to 13k overnight and not when you consider most of the clubs 400 million income in the last 5 years has been completely wasted. The club was going bust the minute these lot walked through the door.

The damage my friend is already done and only a return to 20k plus overnight could make any difference whatsoever. But then they'd find a way of wasting that straight away anyway. Outside of the team in terms of the club itself and owners and associated parasites and gravy train riders there is just NOTHING to get behind !

[DE.]

Wow. That was really bad English on my behalf.

I stand by my argument. It might not be that the supporters hurt the club the most, but we are playing a huge part in it.

We are a very vulnerable club. Going to gates below 10.000 will hurt us even more.

I just find this attendance argument ridiculous, and any attempt to put blame on the fans unacceptable. The supporters can be part of the solution, but they are in no way part of the problem. That blame lies solely with our owners and should be apportioned nowhere else.

Even if 30,000 attended every week, what would change? Our debt would continue to climb, we'd still have a rubbish squad and a crap manager, and Venky's would continue to slowly destroy the club from a far flung land. You're kidding yourself if you think more people being inside Ewood would make any difference. Big crowds haven't helped Newcastle, and small crowds aren't hindering Bournemouth. The issue is so much deeper than simply attending or not, it's time for people to get past the idea that boycotting will negatively affect the club. It won't. It probably won't help either, as Venky's don't really give a toss either way, but if people are opting out of helping the Raos pay their debts back to the likes of Kean and Anderson I don't see how anybody could blame them.

[tomphil]

Exactly. Would Grant Hanley have said I'm staying at Ewood to play infront of 30k and they can give me a 5k pay rise because of the crowds. ?

No he'd still have gone to Newcastle because they still would get more, still pay more and still show more ambition. Under this ownership there'd still be freebie coming in to replace him. The crowds we got when they and their partners took over and the income streams we had didn't stop them immediately setting about selling players and trying to cut costs.

The time for the fans to prop the club up is when these jerks have gone and the reason most won't do it now is because they are still here grinding the club into the dirt no matter what anyone does or thinks !

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

I think what alexanders is mainly saying (correct me if I'm wrong) is that with parachute payments and TV money gone, for the first time in a long time our ST revenue is now a significant revenue stream again. From what I've managed to gather from a few different articles, Rovers total income will now be about £8m per year. If home matchday revenue is say £1m instead of a possible £2m without any boycotting, that's a notable disadvantage. Plus less attending fans means less sponsorship/food & drink sales and indirectly less merchandise sales.

Personally I agree with that logic. The club depends on the fans to avoid falling further into debt and to keep the wage bill anywhere near competitive.

However I also agree with fans saying it matters barely a jot in comparison with what stupid stunt Venkys are gonna pull next. If as a board you're singularly incapable of hiring a good manager or drive to distraction the ones you once in a blue moon so, extra money from 5,000 fans is like adding a 4 pack to your fridge and then Gazza comes to visit.

[DE.]

I think what alexanders is mainly saying (correct me if I'm wrong) is that with parachute payments and TV money gone, for the first time in a long time our ST revenue is now a significant revenue stream again. From what I've managed to gather from a few different articles, Rovers total income will now be about £8m per year. If home matchday revenue is say £1m instead of a possible £2m without any boycotting, that's a notable disadvantage. Plus less attending fans means less sponsorship/food & drink sales and indirectly less merchandise sales.

Personally I agree with that logic. The club depends on the fans to avoid falling further into debt and to keep the wage bill anywhere near competitive.

For the most part under normal circumstances it's sound logic, but it disregards two key points:

1) We are not under normal circumstances and we have no idea how the club is being operated in terms of cash flow, all we know is that as a whole the club is being managed in a shambolic way and there is no guarantee or reason to believe extra money would be used wisely by those in charge.

2) Our debt is so huge at this juncture that even if Ewood was packed out every week it would barely make a dent and we'd probably still be losing money.

That aside, I still find it unacceptable to assign any blame to the fans. That part of the argument is absolute nonsense to me - only one party to blame, and they reside in Pune, India.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

For the most part under normal circumstances it's sound logic, but it disregards two key points:

1) We are not under normal circumstances and we have no idea how the club is being operated in terms of cash flow, all we know is that as a whole the club is being managed in a shambolic way and there is no guarantee or reason to believe extra money would be used wisely by those in charge.

2) Our debt is so huge at this juncture that even if Ewood was packed out every week it would barely make a dent and we'd probably still be losing money.

That aside, I still find it unacceptable to assign any blame to the fans. That part of the argument is absolute nonsense to me - only one party to blame, and they reside in Pune, India.

The first point is the reason why I view it differently to Alexanders. Rovers do need the money but Venkys would likely waste it if we gave it to them.

Regarding the debt, it only affects our annual profit/loss if we're paying interest on it. Which to my knowledge Venkys are covering separately. Although I stand to be corrected on that, sure there's a number of people on here that know more about that than me.

I don't think Alexanders is blaming the fans for the situation in terms of what has led us here. He's just saying that it's within our power to help the financial situation this season (assuming Venkys don't pull another clanger), and maybe in his opinion as fans we have an obligation to do so therefore it's our fault if we don't.

As I say I don't agree. I think coming up to 6 years of woeful mismanagement has removed any loyalty Venkys could expect. They've ruined us and it's not unreasonable, through anger or despair, for fans to say enough is enough because of it.

The one reason I still don't get though is boycott to force them out. That's a non-argument whilst there's nobody to buy us.

[alexanders]

I think what alexanders is mainly saying (correct me if I'm wrong) is that with parachute payments and TV money gone, for the first time in a long time our ST revenue is now a significant revenue stream again. From what I've managed to gather from a few different articles, Rovers total income will now be about £8m per year. If home matchday revenue is say £1m instead of a possible £2m without any boycotting, that's a notable disadvantage. Plus less attending fans means less sponsorship/food & drink sales and indirectly less merchandise sales.

Personally I agree with that logic. The club depends on the fans to avoid falling further into debt and to keep the wage bill anywhere near competitive.

However I also agree with fans saying it matters barely a jot in comparison with what stupid stunt Venkys are gonna pull next. If as a board you're singularly incapable of hiring a good manager or drive to distraction the ones you once in a blue moon so, extra money from 5,000 fans is like adding a 4 pack to your fridge and then Gazza comes to visit.

You say it so much better than I am able to explain in English.

What you have written is what I mean. Especially considering lower attendances, less sponsorships ( why sponsor somewhere empty of potential buyers ) etc.

I know that it is not the same With my Norwegian Club, but all the negativity surrounding the Club and especially Board / daily manager is starting to spread among People. Negative talk around on business lunches, negative talk in Family gatherings etc. All this creates is People thinking " it's not Worth it ".

Considering Rovers and their FFP the Revenue from sponsorships, attendances merchandise are more important than ever.

For me Rovers is more than just a football Club. It is a part of me.

And Im still buying The New shirt this season for me, my boy and my girl and Ill proudly wear it looking at several other supporters thinking that they dont know what grim times are. They probably made a lot better Choice than me when they chose their Club, but even though it is tough times I dont regret my Choice. I admire the people around me who supports teams such as Sheff Weds, Leeds, Bolton etc.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

[arbitro]

I had not expected any different responses then the ones I got.

I stand by my opinion. It is football and horrible owners come and go. I am not in any way excusing Venkys for their demolition of Rovers.

One of the worst owners in English football came from Norway and destroyed a football Club. Today they own Molde FK in Norway and have had major success at that Club.

I do somewhat understand the boycott, but I feel that at the moment we as supporters are the ones who are hurting our club the most.

To the person asking me about Financial contribution: I live in Norway but I have been at Ewood 4 times and and seen in total 8 Rovers matches. I always buy merchandise. I have even travelled only by myself to England to watch the Rovers.

I might be a very strange guy, but for me Rovers is Rovers. I still support the blue and white halves I fell in love With and one way of doing this is trying to bring positivity instead of making a negative spin to everything. It is Equal to live in a marriage. You only destroy it if you only see the negatives.

I asked you about your contribution. I find it quite insulting that you are advising me to spend money on Rovers when you spend very little yourself. If you want to pontificate then buy a season ticket and donate it to a worthy cause (as one long distance fan did I believe). Then your argument will carry much more weight.

[alexanders]

I asked you about your contribution. I find it quite insulting that you are advising me to spend money on Rovers when you spend very little yourself. If you want to pontificate then buy a season ticket and donate it to a worthy cause (as one long distance fan did I believe). Then your argument will carry much more weight.

Too be fair; Me going to Ewood is Equal to 4 ST's.

One of the Things With Rovers. I just feel more deeply in love With the Club after being at Ewood and Meeting fantastic and welcoming supporters.

I also had the pleasure of Meeting a man called Ian who had been Rovers ST holder for a decade in my hometown in Norway a couple of weeks ago. We agreed it was horrible times, but we had a very good discussion.

[arbitro]

Me going to Ewood is Equal to 4 ST's.

Not to the club it isn't.

[DE.]

Considering Rovers and their FFP the Revenue from sponsorships, attendances merchandise are more important than ever.

It will be once Venky's are gone. As long as they're in charge, imo, it means nothing. We'll continue declining irrespective of anything the fans do.

The one reason I still don't get though is boycott to force them out. That's a non-argument whilst there's nobody to buy us.

I personally don't believe a boycott would force Venky's out, as they seem to be beyond caring. I assume the logic is that with significantly less cash flow coming in from attendances, combined with theoretical negative press, Venky's will decide to sell at a lower/nominal fee as opposed to the ridiculous asking price they currently have for the club.

I don't think the majority of absent fans are "boycotting" though, I think they're just sick of being treated like fools and finding better things to do.

[AJW]

I get the whole boycott thing , i understand the anger and frustration that people feel that would make them surrender their season tickets i am so angry i cannot even bring myself to mention the managers name , referring to him only as OCM (our current manager) i take on board the arguement that by spending money with the club you are in someway supporting Venkys financially and in turn supporting their ownership , but if crowds (as expected) do drop to sub 10k figures , who is going to suffer more ? the multi millionaires of Pune ? Jerome Anderson ? Cheston ?? ... or the pie sellers the programme sellers the stewards the people who pull your pints the ticket office staff or the club shop staff .... personally i have renewed , and i can only defend myself by saying i still love Rovers more than i hate Venkys

[alexanders]

Not to the club it isn't.

Agreed.

[Neal]

I agree and I am very furious With Venkys, but I am not one who are making it destroy club. It is ( I know my disagree ) still Rovers. It will always be. No matter what.

I thnk we are at a point know where we should be taking back our club. In my opinion the opposite way of "vote With Your feet" .

This isn't how it will be viewed by the club and the owners, it will be spun as the fans have forgiven and forgotten, in many ways that would be even more detrimental to the future of our club.

Wow. That was really bad English on my behalf.

I stand by my argument. It might not be that the supporters hurt the club the most, but we are playing a huge part in it.

We are a very vulnerable club. Going to gates below 10.000 will hurt us even more.

This is the great thing about opinions... You say we're playing a "huge" part but at the same time others say the fans have little influence on Venkys. To say we're playing a "huge" part is very much an overstatement, considering the lack of investment in the playing staff, the alienation of the fans from club employees (Cheston) and owners who show no willingness to communicate and show no interest... That is playing a HUGE part and we are vulnerable because of this.

All these issues aside it depends what you want for Blackburn Rovers and for me there are 2 scenarios...

1) Someone performs some sort of miracle and we get promoted, become a saleable asset and then are took over by someone else.

2) We get relegated or go into admin and are sold hopefully resulting in fan representation on the board.

At the moment we are just in the middle of nowhere which is probably the worst place in football, a club needs direction, leadership, investment, good communication, professionalism, it is a product with an end user which is the fans. So if you want the fans to come, show them these things, give them something to be proud of and believe in. When it comes to football it seems it's the only market where those buying the product have some sort of duty of care and in my opinion supporting the cub without all those things in place is not sending the right message, would you buy an iPhone 4 at new iphone prices? Those who have chosen to walk away are basically saying "the product is not good enough" and therefore it is not being bought like in any other form of business. When I say product i don't just mean the playing staff, I mean the club as a whole, the way it's being run is simply not good enough to me and many others.

[alexanders]

At the moment we are just in the middle of nowhere which is probably the worst place in football, a club needs direction, leadership, investment, good communication, professionalism, it is a product with an end user which is the fans. So if you want the fans to come, show them these things, give them something to be proud of and believe in. When it comes to football it seems it's the only market where those buying the product have some sort of duty of care and in my opinion supporting the cub without all those things in place is not sending the right message, would you buy an iPhone 4 at new iphone prices? Those who have chosen to walk away are basically saying "the product is not good enough" and therefore it is not being bought like in any other form of business. When I say product i don't just mean the playing staff, I mean the club as a whole, the way it's being run is simply not good enough to me and many others.

How are you Neal? If i recall correctly you and me both were at the Bridge saying goodbye to Premiership football.

The Thing is though this is so much more than an Iphone 4 or any other form of business. For me this is not a Product. Every match Rovers Plays are as exciting as the next one.