[Archived] Supporting Half A Club

[Stuart]

I think this needs addressing...

Home fans now have a hugely inferior experience to away fans when it comes to Rovers.

The anti-Venkys protests failed to generate enough support to have any effect, that much is clear. The ship has probably sailed now anyway.

However, this has now turned into an unspoken divide in the fanbase.

The disillusioned Venkys Out chanters have decided "NAPM" only applies to Venkys/Rovers and are boycotting home matches but they are comfortable putting money in the coffers of away teams and helping them financially as some kind of two-fingered salute to our owners. Fair enough, one might say.

The trouble is that these fans are the vocal leaders which means that away games are now bouncing (by all accounts) but in this is at the expense of home games, which are completely devoid of any atmosphere (except for the anger directed at awful referees).

This is clearly having a big effect on the players as they rise to the occasion away, like at Rochdale, but go into their shells at home. This bipolar team is in turn delivering home defeats and away wins.

Now I know this will be controversial and may lose me a few friends but my question is, what is the point of NAPM fans who only attend away games bothering at all? It's so half-hearted and contradictory, selfish even, and effectively cutting off their noses to spite their faces. Why support half a team? But even if that isn't the intention, looking at it through a half full glass, accumulating enough away points could potentially make Rovers successful enough to reach the play-offs. They might even get us promoted, if we can nick enough points at home: the complete opposite of a normal team's objectives. So if Rovers get promoted then that means Venkys will get the prize money and extra cash in the Championship - so doesn't that undermine NAPM as a point of principle?

Conversely, by not supporting Rovers at home it's more likely that Rovers will languish in League One for a good while, at best, making us more likely to go pop, and therefore they have no away team to follow.

One thing I do know is that the football and atmosphere at Ewood is crap, and those of us who can't get to away games very easily are supporting a different team to the one that away only fans watch.

Maybe the home fans need to step up and generate an atmosphere without the NAPM fans? Perhaps, but this is very difficult with the way Ewood is now stretched so thinly across three-and-a-half stands, whereas away games are sold out and therefore compact. Time to close the DE and partition the Riverside?

Or time for the NAPM fans to decide if they want to support 'both' Rovers teams and get back to Ewood? Because I'm struggling to understand their stance, given the consequences. Do they really think that by threatening to cut the baby in half the Raos will instead hand it over to proper owners who can look after it? Desai and co are certainly not reknowned for their wisdom.

[den]

Don't forget that around 15000 fans "have" boycotted home and away games Stuart. That's the biggest "protest" open to anyone. Don't worry about what's happening with the remaining fans now, they're incidental to the future.

[tomphil]

Good points and I tend to agree but aren't a lot of the remaining attenders the ones who find it so vocally easy to slate/boo protesters and refs and their own players yet can't raise themselves to wholeheartedly 'get behind the lads ffs' . 

There's still 9 or 10 thousand people there allegedly, they all have voices. It's an age old Ewood problem when things aren't going well sadly.

Couldn't attend today so don't know what it was like in the stands although I can imagine but when teams come to do a job on you it tends to subdue the crowd and quickly lead to anger and frustration. It's what the away team sets out to do and some crowds rise above it some don't, we're in the latter but getting your players on earlier that get the crowd up attacking the most populated end certainly would help liven things up a bit.

[Stuart]

12 minutes ago, den said:

Don't forget that around 15000 fans "have" boycotted home and away games Stuart. That's the biggest "protest" open to anyone. Don't worry about what's happening with the remaining fans now, they're incidental to the future.

Doesn't change the fact that CURRENT away atmospheres are the polar opposite of home ones.

[den]

Hasn't  that always been the way though?

I share your frustration at the plight of the club though.

[Stuart]

20 minutes ago, den said:

Hasn't  that always been the way though?

I share your frustration at the plight of the club though.

Not as bad as this. There used to be singing at least.

Songs now seem to be reserved for away games only. I think we had about 20 seconds of TMB&WA in between booing the inept ref today.

[rigger]

Or it might just be that the away experience is better than the home one. and I for one pay my money for my enjoyment. many more performances like today, and it will be away games only for me. 

[Stuart]

31 minutes ago, rigger said:

Or it might just be that the away experience is better than the home one. and I for one pay my money for my enjoyment. many more performances like today, and it will be away games only for me. 

That makes it worse rigger.

Why not bring that enthusiasm to Ewood and help spur the team on.

[J*B]

It's not about encouraging Venky's to sell. That ship has sailed because not enough people applied enough pressure. The point of away games only is being able to support your club without funding Venky's. I couldn't care less if my money is helping other clubs, that's on Venky's head, not mine. 

[rigger]

52 minutes ago, Stuart said:

That makes it worse rigger.

Why not bring that enthusiasm to Ewood and help spur the team on.

I am at Ewood whenever I can. I am always full of hope, then comes the game and the hope is just lost. It is just not enjoyable going to Ewood anymore. I still think that a standing area might  bring a bit of atmosphere back .Anyway at least I have got Shrewsbury to look forwards to

[Stuart]

Just now, rigger said:

I am at Ewood whenever I can. I am always full of hope, then comes the game and the hope is just lost. It is just not enjoyable going to Ewood anymore. I still think that a standing area might  bring a bit of atmosphere back .Anyway at least I have got Shrewsbury to look forwards to

I can't disagree with this. Not sure how that is going to change though.

[Boaty]

3 hours ago, Stuart said:

Doesn't change the fact that CURRENT away atmospheres are the polar opposite of home ones.

Nowhere near 15000 fans have boycotted. IMO more like 150 have boycotted and the rest, myself included can't be bothered spending 22 quid watching a shocking standard of football. The last season in the prem there was a 3 games for 20 pounds deal. I'm now expected to pay more than that to watch 1 game. Don't think so.

[Boaty]

48 minutes ago, J*B said:

It's not about encouraging Venky's to sell. That ship has sailed because not enough people applied enough pressure. The point of away games only is being able to support your club without funding Venky's. I couldn't care less if my money is helping other clubs, that's on Venky's head, not mine. 

And exactly how many away games have you attended? 

[Paul]

4 hours ago, tomphil said:

Couldn't attend today so don't know what it was like in the stands although I can imagine but when teams come to do a job on you it tends to subdue the crowd and quickly lead to anger and frustration. It's what the away team sets out to do and some crowds rise above it some don't, we're in the latter but getting your players on earlier that get the crowd up attacking the most populated end certainly would help liven things up a bit.

On my left were two people I've never seen before, on my right two seats away were three people I've never seen before. I presume they had all borrowed STs. 

All five spent the entire 90 minutes running down and criticising the players and manager. I know we were poor but there was no point in those five attending. 

[tomphil]

12 minutes ago, Paul said:

On my left were two people I've never seen before, on my right two seats away were three people I've never seen before. I presume they had all borrowed STs. 

All five spent the entire 90 minutes running down and criticising the players and manager. I know we were poor but there was no point in those five attending. 

No that doesn't help anything but Ewood has that veiled anger always bubbling under the surface these days so i'm not surprised although it never ceases to amaze me just why some bother turning up when they've no intention of supporting the players unless they are winning.

[mhead]

The veiled anger; the cynicism towards the team is 100% caused by the vandalism of the Club by the ineptitude of the Owners.

We are a frustrated fan-base that wants change. Away fans go for the 'craic' and to show their love for a Club that has been whisked from under their feet.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

It really is a dire matchday experience at Ewood these days,more atmosphere on the Moon.As I looked around the JW Stand the stadium itself is starting to look worse for wear too.

Just made me very sad yesterday seeing the swathes of empty Blue seats...the place was once bouncing.It's what we have become and we all damn well know who is to blame!

[McClarky]

Perhaps some people just don't want to go to Ewood anymore because there is no atmosphere and would rather go away because it's more fun.  Remember that this is a product which has benn incredibly badly sold in recent years.  Why should people pay good money to come along if it's a poor experience. Maybe the people who go along should think about how to make it better to entice people in rather than blaming the stay aways for choosing not to come.

[gumboots]

I go neither home nor away. I used to attend every home game and probably half the away matches. It's not really about NAPM. It's to do with so many factors that I've lost count. Would my returning to Ewood help improve the atmosphere? I very much doubt it as I'd still be angry at not being able to sit where I want, at poor refereeing decisions, at poor quality football, at the lack of atmosphere, at poor home results etc. 

[Stuart]

9 hours ago, mhead said:

The veiled anger; the cynicism towards the team is 100% caused by the vandalism of the Club by the ineptitude of the Owners.

We are a frustrated fan-base that wants change. Away fans go for the 'craic' and to show their love for a Club that has been whisked from under their feet.

So it's not about supporting the team but not Venkys? It's about the craic? Really struggling with that one, John.

I understand the protest angle but is this really an effective protest? Nobody even knows it's a protest. If it's not a protest and it's really just to have a laugh and a good time then I think it's detrimental to our home form - and goes back to the point that you are only showing your love for half the club and supporting our rivals (financially).

Feels like one of these 'bigger picture' ideologies but I'm starting to come around to the idea that the bigger picture is for fans to try to catch the eye of a potential buyer. The only people who could give Venkys a number they would sell at are middle eastern or Chinese and for them it's about prestige and not history. If we can do this with selling out for every away game great but any potential buyer is going to rock up at Ewood and say "no thanks that was @#/?".

[Stuart]

6 minutes ago, McClarky said:

Perhaps some people just don't want to go to Ewood anymore because there is no atmosphere and would rather go away because it's more fun.  Remember that this is a product which has benn incredibly badly sold in recent years.  Why should people pay good money to come along if it's a poor experience. Maybe the people who go along should think about how to make it better to entice people in rather than blaming the stay aways for choosing not to come.

This is self-fulfilling and highlights my point.

My point is that the fans who have stopped going to Ewood are those with the loudest voices and they are the ones who generate the noise which others join in with. Maybe be need another group to step forward. Best guess would be to combine the voices of the BBE NO1 and DE but they seem to be playing out their own differences.

It's not really about blaming stayaways, it's as much about homers not doing their bit.

But there is definitely an unhelpful divide in the fanbase. Certainly not the unity that some feel we have. There is unity within the away support certainly and a lack of protesting voices at Ewood leaving behind stoic silence, masquerading as unity, within the home support.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Stuart,attending Ewood now is a very sad indictment of what this club has become,attending away for many is a kind of escapism.

[Stuart]

Just now, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Stuart,attending Ewood now is a very sad indictment of what this club has become,attending away for many is a kind of escapism.

Again, self-fulfilling. The lack of atmosphere (in contrast to away games) is due to the lack of those away fans at home games. That's not to say I don't blame Venkys 100% for this situation - I do.

But surely traveling to @#/? third (or fourth) division (standard) grounds is more of an indictment of what Rovers have become. That doesn't seem to put people off.

[rigger]

15 minutes ago, Stuart said:

The lack of atmosphere (in contrast to away games) is due to the lack of those away fans at home games

I think that you will find that a great majority of the away fans as you call them also do attend home games, but whereas at away games everyone is together and there is no embarrassment about singing, at home if you try to create an atmosphere very few of the scattered support join in. This is not due to any form of clever demonstration one way or another, it is just human nature.

[Stuart]

Just now, rigger said:

I think that you will find that a great majority of the away fans as you call them also do attend home games, but whereas at away games everyone is together and there is no embarrassment about singing, at home if you try to create an atmosphere very few of the scattered support join in. This is not due to any form of clever demonstration one way or another, it is just human nature.

Ok. This is progress.

I honestly don't agree but let's say that those vocal fans (the starters not the joiners) are at Ewood but simply CBA.

How do we change this? How do we create an environment which enables the away atmosphere to become the old fashioned home end atmosphere? Do we seriously need to consider the club closing certain parts of the ground to make it more compact? Does the DEers need to voluntarily move to the BBE? Could the club facilitate this by making part of the BBE unreserved seating or a designated singing area?

Is it just that Ewood represents monotony and the away grounds are a novelty?

Something has to change.