Season Tickets 2018/19

[JHRover]

5 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

It's not a conspiracy theory, that's a truth, they do save local games, etc for weekends. I agree with what you're saying but a drop of 3-400 fans paying 20 quid a head plus in ground spend could have a massive impact on league 1 and 2 clubs, probably looking at creating a £35k hole for some clubs. I  don't have all the figures so the EFL may have increased clubs solidarity payments to reflect this, the worrying thought is that as the weather gets worse and nights draw in it may not only be travelling fans who decide to save themselves the bother of going on.

Looking at the few games last night it had a bit of an effect. Rotherham v Hull only 8,900 on officially whereas I'm sure it would be a couple of thousand more for a 'derby game'. 24,000 on Derby which is a good 3-4000 less than what they usually announce. 11000 on QPR - again even though they're struggling they usually get more than that on at home.

Wouldn't surprise me if we're at less than 10,000 tonight. Reading don't travel in numbers at the best of times so probably 200 of them coming.

[Mattyblue]

Real gate of 8/9k, but it will be given as 11k.

[AAK]

Just watching highlights and sorry but most were wrong about shutting darwen end it now looks terrible without home fans in and the atmosphere is worse, simple as.

Edited August 26, 2018 by AAK

[AAK]

On 22/08/2018 at 16:41, Mattyblue said:

Yep, it was requested by the clubs to maximise Saturday followings.

Why is wigan away midweek then? 

[Mattyblue]

No idea, probably only so many permutations they can add to the fixture list, so some will be actually random.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

7 hours ago, AAK said:

Just watching highlights and sorry but most were wrong about shutting darwen end it now looks terrible without home fans in and the atmosphere is worse, simple as.

Disagree. There were virtually no home fans in there when it was open. At least the JW looks a bit fuller than normal. Having 150 home fans in a corner of the Darwen End doesn’t look any better than just giving the whole lot to the away fans imo.

[blueboy3333]

https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/efl-chief-shaun-harvey-reveals-575493

"We make that scheduling choice to get bigger games at weekends because that provides better atmosphere and increases gate revenue for clubs...it is a deliberate act - but the reason for it is to ensure we get bigger crowds at weekends rather than lower crowds in the midweek." EFL chairman Shaun Harvey Oct '17

 

[pk1875]

On ‎27‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 08:31, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

Disagree. There were virtually no home fans in there when it was open. At least the JW looks a bit fuller than normal. Having 150 home fans in a corner of the Darwen End doesn’t look any better than just giving the whole lot to the away fans imo.

150 now? was dwindling but not that much

[blueboy3333]

Hopefully a few more will be sold on the back of Brereton's signing. 

[AAK]

On 27/08/2018 at 08:31, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

Disagree. There were virtually no home fans in there when it was open. At least the JW looks a bit fuller than normal. Having 150 home fans in a corner of the Darwen End doesn’t look any better than just giving the whole lot to the away fans imo.

150? Where have you come up with that up from? Deary me. There were a good 400-500 or so in there. It just looks poor. I remember that Mark Hughes days when it was never used for home fans and it looked rubbish. Big Sam sorted that out and ensure home fans were in that end as he said it was important for players to have home fans in the Darwen end and it added to the atmosphere and he wanted all away fans in the upper tier. Forgetting the away fans, please don't tell me it's better with no home fans, and there certainly is more than 150.

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by AAK

[Mattyblue]

29 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Hopefully a few more will be sold on the back of Brereton's signing. 

They are still on sale but at non early bird full whack - I.e £400 in the Blackburn End, pushing £500 in the JW.

Surely do a pro rata offer with three games  already played?

Edited August 29, 2018 by Mattyblue

[Mattyblue]

4 minutes ago, AAK said:

150? Where have you come up with that up from? Deary me. There were a good 400 or so in there. It just looks poor. I remember that Mark Hughes days when it was never used for home fans and it looked rubbish. Big Sam sorted that out and ensure home fans were in that end as he said it was important for players to have home fans in the Darwen end and it added to the atmosphere and he wanted all away fans in the upper tier. Forgetting the away fans, please don't tell me it's better with no home fans, and there certainly is more than 150.

 

They’ll get away with it for a while as the next few games will see better away followings, but there’s no doubt it is a pretty demoralising sight when there’s just 300 southerners in there and over 7,000 empty seats...

Edited August 29, 2018 by Mattyblue

[MarkBRFC]

8 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

They are still on sale but at non early bird full whack - I.e £400 in the Blackburn End, pushing £500 in the JW.

Surely do a pro rata offer with three games  already played?

That would be sensible.

I know if you have bought tickets for any of the three home games then they knock that off the total if you now buy a ST.

On a different matter i'm interested to see how many Villa bring in a couple of weeks, will they be restricted to just the lower tier because we cant give the whole end unless its a noon KO on "police advice"?!

[JHRover]

I'd prefer to see the lower Darwen End completely empty with away fans placed upstairs. That's what Bolton, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, QPR and even Derby, Middlesbrough and Leeds do when smaller followings come and they opt to keep away fans away from pitchside. There must be some method in their decision making.

1 minute ago, MarkBRFC said:

That would be sensible.

I know if you have bought tickets for any of the three home games then they knock that off the total if you now buy a ST.

On a different matter i'm interested to see how many Villa bring in a couple of weeks, will they be restricted to just the lower tier because we cant give the whole end unless its a noon KO on "police advice"?!

Last week Rovers were offering season tickets with the Millwall ticket cost deducted for those who had gone to the Millwall game and bought a separate ticket for that.

 

[Mattyblue]

What do you reckon Mark? There was seemingly no issue with giving Man Utd the full end at 4pm in the same season PNE had to kick off at noon...

Edited August 29, 2018 by Mattyblue

[Paul]

10 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

They are still on sale but at non early bird full whack - I.e £400 in the Blackburn End, pushing £500 in the JW.

Surely do a pro rata offer with three games  already played?

I understand your argument but it would be an administrative nightmare for the club and longterm lead to complications and complaints. At what point would a deadline become a deadline? The club did it last year, why not this? Etc. It's important to have clear, set deadlines.

 

 

[Mattyblue]

I hear you Paul, but the club has them on sale until around the first international break every year anyway,  but who will be currently buying a product in which its value is decreasing by the week?

Edited August 29, 2018 by Mattyblue

[Lancaster Rover]

Some sort of flexi ticket might be something to look at in the future, Morecambe did one a few years ago where you could buy one for either 10 or 20 games a season, there was a small saving to fans on the 10 game ticket but I suppose it gave the club guaranteed money. 

If Rovers were to offer some sort of flexi pass, 10, 15 or full season I know I'd definitely take it up. I can't justify a season ticket these days with a young family, work commitments and living 30 miles away but buying x amount of games up front and using them through the season as I wanted would be really attractive.

[Mattyblue]

The hard core buy season tickets in the summer, out of habit and convenience, so they can keep their seat and because they are saving on match day prices.

I don’t think ST holders will have any issue in a pro rata ST being released as long as those purchasers aren’t getting a better discount than what they have - we see that with half STs and the Last 10/6 tickets released last season.

[Paul]

@Mattyblue it's a question to which there probably isn't an answer. I imagine most ST holders wouldn't object to a small number of games but suspect there is a point at which that would change for some. Personally I don't care, within reason, what others pay and I'm not influenced by the squad make up. I've good seats at a competitive price.

I'd very much support @Lancaster Rover in his idea. That would work well for many fans.

[Lancaster Rover]

Rovers have always had quite a strong following from the surrounding areas; Chorley, Bamber Bridge, Ribble Valley, Lancaster and I know in Lancaster the amount of fans attending regularly has fallen dramatically over the last 7 years. You will never get all those fans back as their habits will have changed and money committed elsewhere but a flexible commitment may well tempt a number back and in time that could translate to people returning to buy season tickets, etc.

Ultimately Rovers have lost around 10k fans a game over the last 7 years, whilst promotion last year and the feel good factor that TM has brought back  will have kept hold of some who were wavering and maybe encourage a few to return it will take an awful lot to bring long term absentees back into Ewood on a regular basis. The club needs to be creative in the ways they do this and simply offering early bird discounts isn't enough. People have so many competing priorities these days and attending the match is seen as optional/luxury by the majority of people. I think the club needs to be flexible in it's offer as football/attending the match is no longer something that is ingrained in the wider fanbase.

Maybe a flexi pass or something of that nature could be raised at the next fans forum? 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Lancaster Rover

[JHRover]

One option might be to run buses to Ewood from areas like Leyland, Chorley, Lancaster etc. How about having a season ticket or match ticket entitles you to a subsidised trip to the ground?

I was surprised/impressed when I saw last season that Charlton Athletic run buses from various places around Kent and Sussex to the Valley for home games. Places further away than South Ribble or Lancaster are from Blackburn.

We need to understand, or certainly the people running Rovers need to understand, that Rovers isn't just a Blackburn/Darwen club, it is supported right across the region heavily in various towns in Lancashire. Limiting our target audience to folk in Blackburn is going to cause problems. There should be adverts going up on bus shelters in Hyndburn and South Ribble for season tickets, not just Blackburn.

It's why mentioning the population/demographics of Blackburn itself as a major issue for the club is only part of the story because we've a heck of a lot of support from the region around Blackburn that should be encouraged and tapped into.

Accrington Stanley make efforts to try and persuade the people of 'Hyndburn' to support their local club. Places like Ossy and Harwood are now being lumped into being part of Accy when really those areas are just as much for Rovers to try and exploit as they are Stanley, yet I don't see any promotional stuff for Rovers in the Observer etc.

Edited August 29, 2018 by JHRover

[scotchrover]

15 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

Rovers have always had quite a strong following from the surrounding areas; Chorley, Bamber Bridge, Ribble Valley, Lancaster and I know in Lancaster the amount of fans attending regularly has fallen dramatically over the last 7 years. You will never get all those fans back as their habits will have changed and money committed elsewhere but a flexible commitment may well tempt a number back and in time that could translate to people returning to buy season tickets, etc.

Ultimately Rovers have lost around 10k fans a game over the last 7 years, whilst promotion last year and the feel good factor that TM has brought back  will have kept hold of some who were wavering and maybe encourage a few to return it will take an awful lot to bring long term absentees back into Ewood on a regular basis. The club needs to be creative in the ways they do this and simply offering early bird discounts isn't enough. People have so many competing priorities these days and attending the match is seen as optional/luxury by the majority of people. I think the club needs to be flexible in it's offer as football/attending the match is no longer something that is ingrained in the wider fanbase.

I disagree- if we get promoted back to the top flight, the missing fans will come back straight away. Look at what happen at the end of last season- almost a sell out. Similarly, games against Liverpool and Man Utd. have all big massive crowds. Those games prove to me the fan base is still alive.

Edited August 29, 2018 by scotchrover

[Lancaster Rover]

The crowds weren't that amazing though against United and Liverpool, especially when you consider how many fans they brought. The crowd for United was 23k, take out their fans and it's what, 16k Rovers fans, of which how many are Rovers fans who return regularly and how many are neutrals wanting to see United for 20 quid? Still a good 7 or so thousand  home fans away from where we were 10 years ago.

The Oxford game was a great crowd however there were a number of factors in that; weather was brilliant, late kick-off, guaranteed promotion and a chance of winning the league. The games prior to that had been fairly poorly attended, I remember the Peterborough game where we could pretty much secure promotion bar the shouting had a crap crowd.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Lancaster Rover

[Mattyblue]

The club must realise the demographics of Blackburn have changed enormously over the past 25/30 years - though we’ve always had a good support outside the town boundaries, I would wager the percentage of ST holders that reside outside of BB1 and BB2 are increasing every year.

The club are starting to work on the Asian population, as they must, but they also need to focus on a fan base that is stretching further and further out, as it is only family ties, not civic that keep these fans coming.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Mattyblue