[Archived] Charlton away April 28th

[Waggy76]

56 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Wigan have been top of the league all season, and had an unbelievable cup run, yet are still getting 8000 on for Saturday games. Shrewsbury's crowds are still less than 6,000 despite having the season of their lives. Bolton struggled to get above 15,000 last season despite being near the top all season. PNE are struggling to get over 10,000 despite pushing for the playoffs in the league above.

Fact is for the vast majority of clubs League One football will not attract people in their thousands, even if pushing for promotion. Our crowd vs Southend was over 13,000 which was a decent increase on what we had last season and the start of this season. Roll together £25 tickets, Thursday night and live on TV and no club outside the Premier League will get big turnouts. I've watched a few Championship Friday night fixtures this season and its obvious the attendances at those are dire.

Oxford is different gravy as it is the culmination of the season, celebration time, cheap tickets and not on tv. No excuses for those with even a passing interest in the club from the area to turn up for that one.

I don't think any Charlton fan can comment on support. I reckon their following at Ewood was along with Peterborough and Walsall the smallest we've had this season, but at least Posh and Walsall were midweek games.

I hope Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe get into the playoffs and one of them wins it and gets promotion. No time for the likes of Charlton or Portsmouth and Plymouth another lot who are an irrelevance in English football yet because they get healthy gates think they are something.

Everyone sees things differently , I regard Charlton and Pompey as proper Football Clubs ! 

It is the likes of Wigan , Peterboro ,Scunthorpe and Plymouth who I regard as Third Division north or South !

[JHRover]

Just now, Waggy76 said:

Everyone sees things differently , I regard Charlton and Pompey as proper Football Clubs ! 

It is the likes of Wigan , Peterboro ,Scunthorpe and Plymouth who I regard as Third Division north or South !

For personal reasons I'd rather have either Scunny or Shrews in the Championship next season than Pompey or Charlton.

Partly because they are easier away trips to get to/from, but also because I'd see them as less of a 'threat'. If Shrewsbury proceed to finish 3rd I genuinely hope to see them get through the play-offs as they could be 15 points+ above their opponents.

[Paul]

19 hours ago, JHRover said:

Wigan have been top of the league all season, and had an unbelievable cup run, yet are still getting 8000 on for Saturday games. Shrewsbury's crowds are still less than 6,000 despite having the season of their lives. Bolton struggled to get above 15,000 last season despite being near the top all season. PNE are struggling to get over 10,000 despite pushing for the playoffs in the league above.

Fact is for the vast majority of clubs League One football will not attract people in their thousands, even if pushing for promotion. Our crowd vs Southend was over 13,000 which was a decent increase on what we had last season and the start of this season. Roll together £25 tickets, Thursday night and live on TV and no club outside the Premier League will get big turnouts. I've watched a few Championship Friday night fixtures this season and its obvious the attendances at those are dire.

Oxford is different gravy as it is the culmination of the season, celebration time, cheap tickets and not on tv. No excuses for those with even a passing interest in the club from the area to turn up for that one.

I don't think any Charlton fan can comment on support. I reckon their following at Ewood was along with Peterborough and Walsall the smallest we've had this season, but at least Posh and Walsall were midweek games.

I hope Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe get into the playoffs and one of them wins it and gets promotion. No time for the likes of Charlton or Portsmouth and Plymouth another lot who are an irrelevance in English football yet because they get healthy gates think they are something.

I'd also regard Portsmouth and Charlton as proper football clubs but still agree with the bulk of this post. It's becoming increasingly rare for modern fans to support what should be their team. Live in Blackburn, Rovers are your team, live in Portsmouth then it's Pompey etc. but the modern football fan doesn't think this way and wants to sit in a PL stadium being entertained, a long way from supporting your team. Essentially, with a few exceptions, this is why lower league clubs struggle, and will continue to do so, attract decent sized followings. In the next two houses to mine our first neighbour, 20+ years younger than me, from Darwen supports United as does his young son, the second neighbour, same age as me, from Stockport supports County. Different generations, different attitudes. 

We are missing 10,000 fans. I'll be surprised if more than 2,000, possibly 3,000, extra turn up against Oxford. I know plenty of Rovers fans, I'm regularly engaged in conversation about how the club is having a good season etc. Have any of these fans returned? No. Are any aware of the Oxford prices? No. PL football is what people want to watch and the majority won't change their current Saturday habits, if they do, until Rovers return to the PL.

 

Quite how the club can tackle this I don't know. How to promote special prices must be a nightmare. I know the Oxford price because I sit in the ground. The LT, who reads it these days? Local radio, personally I don't listen so I don't know but other than Radio Lancashire I think market penetration is pretty low and then unlikely to reach the target audience. Email campaign? How many on the data base will still have the same address? How many would even bother to read a club email? I get two or three a week but rarely read them - just like all the other mail lists I've had to join over the years I only read the ones I know are likely to contain important and relevant information.

[Mattyblue]

Yet, despite the proliferation of glory hunters, crowds in all 4 divisions (and non league) are substantially higher than they were 25 years ago.

The depth in English football is one of its strengths that just isn’t replicated anywhere else - just a shame so many sad individuals would rather sit on their sofa with a Man Utd shirt on watching Super Sunday than being part of the magic of supporting a local football club.

I feel sorry for them, not the other way round.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Yet, despite the proliferation of glory hunters, crowds in all 4 divisions (and non league) are substantially higher than they were 25 years ago.

The depth in English football is one of its strengths that just isn’t replicated anywhere else - just a shame so many sad individuals would rather sit on their sofa with a Man Utd shirt on watching Super Sunday than being part of the magic of supporting a local football club.

I feel sorry for them, not the other way round.

You missed out the six-pack of Stella when they're sat on the sofa.

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

I'd also regard Portsmouth and Charlton as proper football clubs but still agree with the bulk of this post. It's becoming increasingly rare for modern fans to support what should be their team. Live in Blackburn, Rovers are your team, live in Portsmouth then it's Pompey etc. but the modern football fan doesn't think this way and wants to sit in a PL stadium being entertained, a long way from supporting your team. Essentially, with a few exceptions, this is why lower league clubs struggle, and will continue to do so, attract decent sized followings. In the next two houses to mine our first neighbour, 20+ years younger than me, from Darwen supports United as does his young son, the second neighbour, same age as me, from Stockport supports County. Different generations, different attitudes. 

We are missing 10,000 fans. I'll be surprised if more than 2,000, possibly 3,000, extra turn up against Oxford. I know plenty of Rovers fans, I'm regularly engaged in conversation about how the club is having a good season etc. Have any of these fans returned? No. Are any aware of the Oxford prices? No. PL football is what people want to watch and the majority won't change their current Saturday habits, if they do, until Rovers return to the PL.

 

Quite how the club can tackle this I don't know. How to promote special prices must be a nightmare. I know the Oxford price because I sit in the ground. The LT, who reads it these days? Local radio, personally I don't listen so I don't know but other than Radio Lancashire I think market penetration is pretty low and then unlikely to reach the target audience. Email campaign? How many on the data base will still have the same address? How many would even bother to read a club email? I get two or three a week but rarely read them - just like all the other mail lists I've had to join over the years I only read the ones I know are likely to contain important and relevant information.

I genuinely believe that a large number of people who aren't going any more still fans of Rovers but don't contribute to the club with anything apart from interest. There will be a plethora of reasons why they don't go but the massive challenge the club has is getting them back. I haven't a clue how they will do this but if they do nothing then invariably nothing will happen. Perhaps something really radical and innovative is needed and maybe the club has to offer something like family concessions or buy two get one free.

Whatever it is Rovers need these fans back if we are to progress.

[Stuart]

Interesting debate.

For me, @Paul summed things up in two words: “football fan”.

For some of us that’s a hard concept to accept. It basically strips away any club or town loyalty and allows for locally-based fans to go from watching Rovers to watch Burnley. Sacrilege, obviously and a very PL-era-cum-Sky-TV-marketing notion.

If Rovers have ‘only’ 10,000 tribal “Rovers fans” who will pay any price (within the bounds of affordability or credit) then that’s our baseline regardless of division. You can be Family Club of the Year twice running but that’s your lot.

To attract peripheral (non-attending) Rovers fans then I’d argue that’s a sliding scale based on day/time and price point. Some will sneer but it’s a fact. Loads of people I know follow our results religiously and talk about games and scores/scorers but won’t or can’t put their hand in their pockets to buy a season ticket (let alone justify a walk-on price). This doesn’t mean they aren’t fans but getting them down to fill the ground is difficult.

Football fans are a different story and they are only here for top level football with whomever is offering the best deals. Rovers, Wigan, Burnley, Blackpool. These fans will always desert when the going gets tough and asks them for a little loyalty.

We do have the issue of NAPM, which is - let’s be brutally honest - probably a small number of staunch types. Whilst these folks have my respect, and empathy, I do feel that life is to short to put hatred towards non-visible owners ahead of, say, family ties. Spited face for cut nose, I’m afraid. Venkys don’t feel any pain from anyone’s abstention in any case.

There will always be fans who, sadly, die or move away but you would hope that a family club can keep ahead of this churn.

There is still have the thorny topic of the untapped Blackburn locals of Asian heritage. With integration not what it once was, as town football club can be a beacon for community cohesion. Whilst waiting for PL football to bring back the crowds of “football fans” Rovers could do worse than to try to establish a loyal following for the local area. One of the issues here is that I’d argue that a lot of our Asian heritage potential fans already fall into the “football fan” bracket - although I’m not convinced they are following Burnley. Getting these fans not only inside Rovers shirts but inside Ewood is something we should continue to push. It was nice to see a (very visibly, dress-wise) Muslim family in the family stand near us on Thursday.

Anyway, figuratively and literally:

Rovers fans > Football fans

[Mattyblue]

Good post Stuart and your nod to the type of Rovers follower who keep tabs on our scores, can chat to you about the club etc. but is unlikely to buy a ticket at £25+ is something that some fans can’t get their head round.

I recently had a discussion on here with chaddy who was struggling to see that not all Rovers fans are like us nutters that live and breathe it;

‘well if they are a fan they’ll be there regardless’

Maybe they should be, but they aren’t, so the club needs to constantly engage and innovate to try and fill at least some of those thousands of empty seats.

[Gav]

Maybe it's just me burying my head in the sand but our support doesn't cause me the slightest concern whatsoever?

We've always had the current level of support, going back to when I started going 40yrs+ ago, it's never really changed, but has been exaggerated by our Premiership journey. 

Its intereting that our current away support probably hasn't been matched since 90's and we're at our lowest ebb probably in the clubs history.

If we found ourselves in the Premiership tomorrow we'd be back up to 17/20k home fans, it's always been that way in Blackburn and always will be for me.

 

 

[Mattyblue]

I tink the sheer size of Ewood makes us get unduly worried sometimes.

12,000 people on a 31,000 ground. Can’t look anything but largely empty. 

[darrenrover]

The fact that there will, in all probability, be in excess of 3000 Rovers fans at both Doncaster and Charlton in the same week is a fantastic achievement. If you factor in the cost of attending both, there won't be much change from £200 for most I'd wager.

Great commitment, great fans!

I'm looking forward to both now we can hopefully breath a little easier.

[Gav]

45 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

I tink the sheer size of Ewood makes us get unduly worried sometimes.

12,000 people on a 31,000 ground. Can’t look anything but largely empty. 

We used to fill it with decent away followings.

7000 away fans or not, a full Ewood was a tremendous sight/occassion and one I never thought I'd see regularly in my lifetime.

We've been so lucky to have witnessed 25yrs of success, those Pune bastards can't take away our memories. 

[Mattyblue]

2 hours ago, Gav said:

 

Its intereting that our current away support probably hasn't been matched since 90's and we're at our lowest ebb probably in the clubs history.

 

 

 

Obviously there’s reasons for the fantastic away followings: the new grounds factor, lot of local derbies, team doing well.

But another reason has been the reasonable prices, pretty standard between £20-23, with some as cheap as £16 on the terrace at Bristol Rovers. Anybody wavering will take the plunge at those kind of prices.

Won’t carry on unfortunately if we get up, as The Championship has some of the most expensive prices in the world for away fans, Leeds, Sheff Wed, Ipswich and others are £35-40, even Barnsley’s £30! 

 

 

[AAK]

3 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Good post Stuart and your nod to the type of Rovers follower who keep tabs on our scores, can chat to you about the club etc. but is unlikely to buy a ticket at £25+ is something that some fans can’t get their head round.

I recently had a discussion on here with chaddy who was struggling to see that not all Rovers fans are like us nutters that live and breathe it;

‘well if they are a fan they’ll be there regardless’

Maybe they should be, but they aren’t, so the club needs to constantly engage and innovate to try and fill at least some of those thousands of empty seats.

You're spot on, Matt. I have attended only around 6 home games this season, two becuase we had the £5er for a mate offer, one cause it was Burnley, 2 because i got a free ticket off Neil, and the other because it was a Thursday Easter game against Bradford and me and my mates were having a night out afterwards. So I've only paid the £24 for a ticket once, as i think the Burnley game was only £15. I've been to a few away games also. 

There's just no way i am paying £24-£30 a ticket for a game, (usually £30 as i like to sit in jack walker stand as my mates sit there) for league one football. Yes i could have got a season ticket, but after the last few years i'd had enough of it. I dont think that means i am not a true supporter, i think i have great knowledge about the club and in the past have gone home and away most weeks, spending hundreds if not thousands, when i stopped going more regularly under coyle i found other stuff to do, had a child, got a house etc, and then i didnt really miss it, there's more to do than just football on a Saturday (which shows in which home games I've attended this season, all of them have been midweek). However going a bit more than last season and plenty away games has given me a little bit of that buzz back that had been lost, cheap tickets could mean more people do that. 

Next season i will probably get one, as i like what the club are doing at the moment, i dont mean its a case of "oh we are winning again so i will get one now" as i dont expect us to do much in the championship, but becuase we have a team playing for the shirt, an honest manager, and a chief executive or whatever waggot is whos communicating with the fans and seems sincere in his efforts. 

The club this season should have taken a hit on ticket revenue and enticed fans back for a few games, who then might get the taste for it again and get a season ticket next season. 

[Paul]

Great posts there. Excellent reading

[robbojohnno]

Do any of our London based Rovers know where will be best to go and (hopefully) celebrate our promotion on Saturday night? Staying in a hotel in Charlton but not sure if that's the place to go.

[Mattyblue]

Around London Bridge will have plenty of Blues supping you’d imagine...

[darrenrover]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Around London Bridge will have plenty of Blues supping you’d imagine...

Agreed. Barrow Boy and Butcher and The George Inn are usually favourites.

[blueboy3333]

On ‎21‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:03, Stuart said:

There is still have the thorny topic of the untapped Blackburn locals of Asian heritage. With integration not what it once was, as town football club can be a beacon for community cohesion. Whilst waiting for PL football to bring back the crowds of “football fans” Rovers could do worse than to try to establish a loyal following for the local area. One of the issues here is that I’d argue that a lot of our Asian heritage potential fans already fall into the “football fan” bracket - although I’m not convinced they are following Burnley. Getting these fans not only inside Rovers shirts but inside Ewood is something we should continue to push. It was nice to see a (very visibly, dress-wise) Muslim family in the family stand near us on Thursday.

I know a lot of Asian lads from both Blackburn and Preston. Every single one supports either Man U or Liverpool. They are all football-obsessed but it's all Sky and Prem-based. They wouldn't set foot in Ewood or Deepdale judging by the way they talk. 'Why would I pay to watch league 1 football' etc etc. Then again a lot of non-Asians are like that. The Prem is king, nothing else really matters. Twas ever thus....

[K-Hod]

Must admit, this season, I've seen a lot more Asian families on Ewood. Good to see.

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, blueboy3333 said:

I know a lot of Asian lads from both Blackburn and Preston. Every single one supports either Man U or Liverpool. They are all football-obsessed but it's all Sky and Prem-based. They wouldn't set foot in Ewood or Deepdale judging by the way they talk. 'Why would I pay to watch league 1 football' etc etc. Then again a lot of non-Asians are like that. The Prem is king, nothing else really matters. Twas ever thus....

And that’s the challenge. By and large they don’t have the ‘dad factor’ and are likely to be first generation Rovers fans.

Instilling local pride and enjoyment of the match day experience has to be key - making it part of their identity. Our board should be having regular meetings with Bradford to understand how they have gone about it.

[47er]

1 hour ago, robbojohnno said:

Do any of our London based Rovers know where will be best to go and (hopefully) celebrate our promotion on Saturday night? Staying in a hotel in Charlton but not sure if that's the place to go.

Greenwich?

[darrenrover]

17 minutes ago, MGPensioner said:

Are you sure they weren't boycotters in Nijabs ? 

 

You've shown your true colours there MG.

[K-Hod]

17 minutes ago, MGPensioner said:

Are you sure they weren't boycotters in Nijabs ? 

 

Not sure what a 'Nijab' is? Is it a hybrid between a 'Niqab' and a 'Hijab'?  

I always see families walking away in Rovers shirts and it looks like they've got the bug. I'm happy for anyone to feel the way that I (and we all ) do about this football club!

[Mattyblue]

Was MG's gag not aimed at the boycotters (like himself)  more than anyone else?