Attendances

[gumboots]

2 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

What potential problems Gumboots?

Why not open up the BBE upper as a singing section,3,000 fans with flags,banners etc...not getting in the view of anyone else within the Stadium.

Just needs a bit of imagination and planning with supporters and the club working together to improve an awful match day atmosphere.

Not holding my breath though. 

3000 fans? How many come to Ewood at the moment? Would a singing section really pull that many? Again I'm not knocking the idea, just asking. 

[old darwen blue]

Singing section in the BBE upper? That’s a belter, THE SINGING SHOULD COME FROM ALL OF THE LOWER TIER, NOT JUST A FEW,

[Stuart]

Just now, old darwen blue said:

Singing section in the BBE upper? That’s a belter, THE SINGING SHOULD COME FROM ALL OF THE LOWER TIER, NOT JUST A FEW,

They need to starting singing songs that everyone can join in with then.

99% of songs are full of swearing and about a team 10 miles down the road, making it, at best, niche and, at worst, out of touch with the majority of Ewood fans.

That’s probably why many fans only go away because while they are in the minority at Ewood they are a much larger proportion of the away following.

The songs under Hughes’ time, and even Allardyce, seemed much more easy for the majority in the ground to get behind. I think we only have the “Dack in attack” song that gets any real traction.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Stuart

[Paul]

28 minutes ago, old darwen blue said:

Uh, venkys selling up would. 

Utter rubbish, you don’t know what you are talking about. It worked just fine for such low numbers. 

You may feel this is true if you were in that area. My view is it was generally very hard to hear and did nothing to get the rest of the crowd going. 

How many were in there actually singing? I'd say 2-300 possibly 400 at best. You have to be outside looking in to judge this not in the middle of it.

[rigger]

Just now, Stuart said:

They need to starting singing songs that everyone can join in with then.

99% of songs are full of swearing and about a team 10 miles down the road, making it, at best, niche and, at worst, out of touch with the majority of Ewood fans.

That’s probably why many fans only go away because while they are in the minority at Ewood they are a much larger proportion of the away following.

The songs under Hughes’ time, and even Allardyce, seemed much more easy for the majority in the ground to get behind. I think we only have the “Dack in attack” song that gets any real traction.

Woke up this morning.

Tony Mowbray had a dream.

Walking down the Bolton Road.

We’ve a starman .

 

[JHRover]

Like it or not the club has some responsibility towards trying to improve atmospheres and attendance at Ewood Park. This goes way beyond running some reduced price ticket offers throughout a season. It requires imagination, ambition, determination to try different things. Unfortunately I've seen no evidence of any such thing in the time we've been out of the Premier League aside from a few gimmicks led by Alan Myers such as the Fanzone and singer pre-match.

Of course fundamentally an atmosphere at a ground stems from the fans inside it but as shown recently at Middlesbrough, Derby, Reading and Bristol City there are numerous initiatives clubs can come up with if determined enough to do it in an attempt to improve atmospheres at their grounds. Sometimes the club has to make more of an effort. Look at clubs like Norwich, Villa, Wolves and even Ipswich at this level all promoting the 'kop' concept with flags, banners and scarves dished out. Small things make big steps long term.

The truth is that unless we magic 10,000 fans from thin air then the atmosphere at Ewood will always struggle to live up to much with so much empty space. Same goes for PNE, Bolton, Wigan, Middlesbrough, Hull who have all got similar numbers of empty seats and similar sized grounds. But I absolutely do not accept the club has made every effort possible to improve things. Infact quite the opposite. Shutting down 2 home stands in 4 years with no consultation or serious efforts to relocate groups elsewhere is frankly shocking and a complete own goal. The pitiful situation in closing the DE and doing nothing to replicate it elsewhere has resulted in a tiny number of people down by the corner flag still miles away from the away fans now shunted upstairs. 

I'm afraid if the club has the view that 10-12,000 is 'our level' and that's that then they might as well give up. There are a lot of people in this part of the world and the club has to make things more appealing to as many of those as possible.

Of course structurally there are issues at Ewood too. 6000 seats are cut off upstairs a long way away from the action. 5000 seats are in the old Riverside which is an outdated structure a long way from the pitch and other stands. It isn't like being at WBA or Forest where the ground is tight and everyone packed close together. 

That's before we get onto the pre and post match routine. Drab music played at low volume, little to no imagination on trying to whip the fans up for games, no build up, nothing at half time. It really is poor and lacking in imagination. To most people such things are unimportant but small things like turning up the volume and playing some more appropriate music than the dreary version of Wild Rover might encourage people to start some songs going before kick off. 

[Proudtobeblue&white]

7 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Like it or not the club has some responsibility towards trying to improve atmospheres and attendance at Ewood Park. This goes way beyond running some reduced price ticket offers throughout a season. It requires imagination, ambition, determination to try different things. Unfortunately I've seen no evidence of any such thing in the time we've been out of the Premier League aside from a few gimmicks led by Alan Myers such as the Fanzone and singer pre-match.

Of course fundamentally an atmosphere at a ground stems from the fans inside it but as shown recently at Middlesbrough, Derby, Reading and Bristol City there are numerous initiatives clubs can come up with if determined enough to do it in an attempt to improve atmospheres at their grounds. Sometimes the club has to make more of an effort. Look at clubs like Norwich, Villa, Wolves and even Ipswich at this level all promoting the 'kop' concept with flags, banners and scarves dished out. Small things make big steps long term.

The truth is that unless we magic 10,000 fans from thin air then the atmosphere at Ewood will always struggle to live up to much with so much empty space. Same goes for PNE, Bolton, Wigan, Middlesbrough, Hull who have all got similar numbers of empty seats and similar sized grounds. But I absolutely do not accept the club has made every effort possible to improve things. Infact quite the opposite. Shutting down 2 home stands in 4 years with no consultation or serious efforts to relocate groups elsewhere is frankly shocking and a complete own goal. The pitiful situation in closing the DE and doing nothing to replicate it elsewhere has resulted in a tiny number of people down by the corner flag still miles away from the away fans now shunted upstairs. 

I'm afraid if the club has the view that 10-12,000 is 'our level' and that's that then they might as well give up. There are a lot of people in this part of the world and the club has to make things more appealing to as many of those as possible.

Of course structurally there are issues at Ewood too. 6000 seats are cut off upstairs a long way away from the action. 5000 seats are in the old Riverside which is an outdated structure a long way from the pitch and other stands. It isn't like being at WBA or Forest where the ground is tight and everyone packed close together. 

That's before we get onto the pre and post match routine. Drab music played at low volume, little to no imagination on trying to whip the fans up for games, no build up, nothing at half time. It really is poor and lacking in imagination. To most people such things are unimportant but small things like turning up the volume and playing some more appropriate music than the dreary version of Wild Rover might encourage people to start some songs going before kick off. 

Surely you sum up the reign of the Loons, they have ripped the heart out of our club.

[toooldforthis]

Turn the volume up???  You havin a laff??  Many of us stay on the concourse until KO cos the PA volume is too bloody loud!!!!

[JHRover]

Just now, toooldforthis said:

Turn the volume up???  You havin a laff??  Many of us stay on the concourse until KO cos the PA volume is too bloody loud!!!!

Its quieter than any other ground I've been to. I can barely hear the announcements at times in the lower tier of the Jack Walker.

[JHRover]

Just now, Proudtobeblue&white said:

Surely you sum up the reign of the Loons, they have ripped the heart out of our club.

Yep. Comes back to taking an interest in making the club better. Not the same as writing off losses when due and leaving things as they are.

[Proudtobeblue&white]

I post on here, will continue to do so, and love Blackburn Rovers. I have no love whatsoever for those that "own" the club. I thought long and hard about going to the Swansea game, but the cricket season was with us, and me and my son watched that rather than a dead rubber at a knock down price. I've posted ideas for price structure and ideas to improve the atmosphere, as have you and many others. 

I just feel the Loon era has killed the club back to the pre-Jack era, yet without the love. Going away in the 70's 80''s is akin to now, but then we had a small ground that rocked. Now we have a morgue. They have let us rot, irrespective of their investment, which they do to save face. Nothing more, nothing less. Sadly I am one losing the reason to return. I hope TM gets the green light for a promotion push. Time will tell.

[Oldgregg86]

1 hour ago, rigger said:

Woke up this morning.

Tony Mowbray had a dream.

Walking down the Bolton Road.

We’ve a starman .

 

Danny graham

He scores when he wants

We'll keep the blue flag, flying high

Edited May 14, 2019 by Oldgregg86

[Butty]

2 hours ago, Stuart said:

They need to starting singing songs that everyone can join in with then.

99% of songs are full of swearing and about a team 10 miles down the road, making it, at best, niche and, at worst, out of touch with the majority of Ewood fans.

That’s probably why many fans only go away because while they are in the minority at Ewood they are a much larger proportion of the away following.

The songs under Hughes’ time, and even Allardyce, seemed much more easy for the majority in the ground to get behind. I think we only have the “Dack in attack” song that gets any real traction.

All we did mainly under Hughes and Allardyce is sing every single players name too the tune of the “Benni McCarthy” chant! The Salgado song was probably the best too come out of those era’s, and obviously the “Turkish delight” song for the main man. Both those songs still get sung away from home at times so maybe you do have a point..

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 hours ago, old darwen blue said:

Uh, venkys selling up would. 

Utter rubbish, you don’t know what you are talking about. It worked just fine for such low numbers. 

Maybe in the short term it would, but if new owners came in and we were still id table or lower, I bet you that attendances would be the same as now in a seasons time. 

[cesus]

I often toy with the idea of the club literally going for broke with pricing to answer any doubts about attendances. For the ease of maths 10k @ £200 is the exact same amount as 20k @ £100. The club could be transparent and say we are doing this to tempt back fans, encourage new fans and reward existing fans. If it doesn’t work and the club is worse off the pricing strategy will revert to original pricing the following season. 

A problem does obviously arise when a tiered season on season price rise comes in, but the hope obviously has to be the experience has made fans want to come back season after season and pay a little more.

More footfall will surely bring in higher revenue, as the vast majority of matchday items for sale have huge mark ups and also more footfall encourages bigger advertisement revenue in the ground etc.

[BobdaBuilder]

The atmosphere or lack thereof is a major problem, I think it costs on the pitch as well as off it.

Watched a YouTube video by a arsenal fan , going to the a game on the ‘Yellow  Wall’ , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ6VSmv9C3g  The singing their which is mega organised and led by people with megaphones. Personally I don’t think that level of orchestration  will go down to well with your average Lancastrian, we’d  be better served with a few leather lunged individuals starting chants.  

If I was the club, I’d really give some serious consideration to a singing section in the Blackburn End, front and central.  Get the mood right in the Blackburn End and if a song starts it will catch, you can see that even now. My plan would be.

By application 100 season tickets on Direct Debit at half price, if you’re not singing you lose your half-price ticket.    

Arrange a couple of nights a month  for members of the singing section in Blues bar, half price drinks , free chips or whatever, to work on their singing and come up with new songs.

Make the bar areas in the concourse bigger and quicker.

Give season ticket holders a £2 voucher to spend in the ground if they get to the game 45mins before kick off.

Come up with an ‘entertainment’ program leading up to kick off designed to get an atmosphere, my preference would be some 90’s indie to sing along to, but suspect that members of a singing section would have better suggestions.

 

[47er]

We need a song that's special to us and can be sung by everyone. "Blue Moon" "Forever Blowing Bubbles" "You'll Never Walk Alone" etc.

Can't think of one, mind! 

[old darwen blue]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

We need a song that's special to us and can be sung by everyone. "Blue Moon" "Forever Blowing Bubbles" "You'll Never Walk Alone" etc.

Can't think of one, mind! 

 

[Stuart]

6 hours ago, 47er said:

We need a song that's special to us and can be sung by everyone. "Blue Moon" "Forever Blowing Bubbles" "You'll Never Walk Alone" etc.

Can't think of one, mind! 

A Day In The Life

”I read the news today oh boy

About a local man who made the grade

Thought big in 1991

While everybody laughed

King Kenny made us proud”

 

“I read the news today oh boy

The Premier League In Blackburn Lancashire

And Shearer scored so many goals

We got to count them all

Now we know how many goals it takes to win the Premier League

I’d love to tuuuuuuurn baaaaaaack tiiiiiime...

Ohhhhhhhhhhh

Rovers Rovers Rovers...”

[MarkBRFC]

9 hours ago, 47er said:

We need a song that's special to us and can be sung by everyone. "Blue Moon" "Forever Blowing Bubbles" "You'll Never Walk Alone" etc.

Can't think of one, mind! 

I prefer it when we just copy whatever song Man Utd fans are singing at the time.

[Oldgregg86]

9 hours ago, 47er said:

We need a song that's special to us and can be sung by everyone. "Blue Moon" "Forever Blowing Bubbles" "You'll Never Walk Alone" etc.

Can't think of one, mind! 

How about heal the world by Michael Jackson. Fits perfectly with Tony's contract policy

[47er]

I should have known better!

Nice thought Stuart, the song does have a Blackburn link after all.

But many of the songs fans have adapted for their club have no obvious affinity to the club at all. "You'll never walk alone" has because it was a big hit for a Liverpool group, and  "Blue Moon" because City play in blue. Furthermore the words haven't been changed at all in most cases, the fans just adopt them--Hi Ho Silver Lining, I'm forever Blowing Bubbles eg. So what's special to us? No Nay Never I suppose. 

 

[Oldgregg86]

Just now, 47er said:

I should have known better!

Nice thought Stuart, the song does have a Blackburn link after all.

But many of the songs fans have adapted for their club have no obvious affinity to the club at all. "You'll never walk alone" has because it was a big hit for a Liverpool group, and  "Blue Moon" because City play in blue. Furthermore the words haven't been changed at all in most cases, the fans just adopt them--Hi Ho Silver Lining, I'm forever Blowing Bubbles eg. So what's special to us? No Nay Never I suppose. 

 

It's a generational thing probably but I always associate the boys are back in town by thin Lizzy with rovers as that is what the players used to come out to when I was a kid. Everytime I hear it is automatically think of rovers walking on to the pitch. 

I appreciate I'm in the minority

[Mattyblue]

Went on Charlton’s website to see how many tickets they got for Wembley (the life I lead ay!)

I noticed they do a Valley Express to every home game. They do 8 routes (just two are pasted below).

They generally get similar gates to us, yet realise that their particular neck of the woods has changed demographically, with much of their fanbase now outside of south east London and in Kent and Sussex - with coaches having pick ups throughout.

Rovers need to wake up to where more and more of our fanbase reside - and it isn’t within the borders of Blackburn.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Mattyblue

[philipl]

5 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Went on Charlton’s website to see how many tickets they got for Wembley (the life I lead ay!)

I noticed they do a Valley Express to every home game. They do 8 routes (just two are pasted below).

They generally get similar gates to us, yet realise that their particular neck of the woods has changed demographically, with much of their fanbase now outside of south east London and in Kent and Sussex - with coaches having pick ups throughout.

Rovers need to wake up to where more and more of our fanbase reside - and it isn’t within the borders of Blackburn.

Nothing new- Charlton were doing this in the 1980s when I lived in Chislehurst which was border between Palace and Charlton support. 

Charlton always emphasised being a Kentish team traditionally being slightly further away from central London than Millwall and West Ham. 

Other than Gillingham which is very much the club of the Medway towns they have traditionally drawn support from Kent and East Sussex.

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by philipl