Speculation Respect from the club for our heroes.

[m1st]

As a 70-odd year old Rovers fan, one of whose biggest regrets is that he didn't inherit his Dad's blue and white eyes, am I also the only one to regret the club's apparent inability to commemorate the passing of the heroes of my teenage years?

In recent months, we've had the deaths announced of many of my [and many others on here, I know] childhood heroes.

Would it really have broken the bank at Ewood to have had the team wearing black armbands commemorating - e.g. Barry Hole and Kit Napier?

Perhaps those commemorations took place at midweek home games which the logistics of a midweek return trip from Heywood to Ewood by public transport prevent me from attending.

Even so, I can't recall reading anything in the matchday programmes. What do others think?

[MickBet]

Fully agree, extremely poor and it's not for the first time either. Bitterly disappointed with the club. 

[SBlue]

Completely agree that something should be done without exception.

Even a few words in the programme or a condolence message on the big screen during the game would be a nice gesture.

 

But to play devil’s advocate, and with all due respect - a lot of the people in the commercial/match day department won’t have any recollection at all of these players from forty years ago, but more importantly, they won’t have heard anything of their passing. There has been no mention in the LET either.

For me, it is the first time I’ve read these names and I was only aware of their passing via Twitter after the game.

We have had hundreds if not thousands of players play in the blue and white and I’m sure we would like to pay tribute to them all, in time.

But if one wants to honour these previous generations then I think it best to make sure that the club is at least gently reminded or informed of these events. 

It will surely lead to the right outcome in the end.

I cannot even bring myself to believe that the club were aware and wouldn’t even pass comment or bother to display a message.

 

RIP to both.

 

You both seem fond of them - what were they like? What was it that made them your heroes?

Edited April 7, 2019 by S8 & Blue

[m1st]

How long have you got?!!

There's already a thread to Barrie Hole.

Fwiw, while Kit Napier perhaps wasn't as outstanding, he played his part in Ken Furphy's attempt at the renaissance of the club - T.G.C.O.O. - This Great Club Of Ours - after we'd sunk into Division Three

[Mattyblue]

All clubs should (and I think do) have a historian. 

If we somehow don’t, there are plenty of folk like parson and our former fellow forumite jimwilkz that I imagine would be happy to help out with such matters.

[Stuart]

I think the club tend to have an annual remembrance at the end of the year which includes all of these players and many fans.

[JHRover]

Sadly I don't think there's anyone at the club who knows these things or has any interest in them. The only way anything like this would happen is if the Community Trust ran it (as they do with virtually everything these days) or if the Football League instructed them to do it e.g. Kick it Out day.

Expecting someone at the Club to take the initiative in commemorating our former players is too much to ask, evidently.

[Exiled in Toronto]

2 hours ago, m1st said:

How long have you got?!!

There's already a thread to Barrie Hole.

Fwiw, while Kit Napier perhaps wasn't as outstanding, he played his part in Ken Furphy's attempt at the renaissance of the club - T.G.C.O.O. - This Great Club Of Ours - after we'd sunk into Division Three

I thought Napier made Tony Field a more effective player. Also remember him scoring a last minute 3-2 winner at Oldham when he latched onto a backpass, rounded the keeper and sent us all delirious.

[tonygreenbank]

Just seen on TV that Brighton and Bournemouth gave a minutes applause for Kit Napier!

[Paul]

On 07/04/2019 at 21:43, Stuart said:

I think the club tend to have an annual remembrance at the end of the year which includes all of these players and many fans.

Yes, you're right and it seems to me to be entirely appropriate.

There are far too many one minute silences these days. Largely these lose impact because they are so frequent. I think, not sure, there was one for Emiliano Sala. There certainly were at PL games. I realise it's tragic but he hadn't even played in the UK. If a Nantes player dies in a car crash tomorrow nothing will be done for him.

[Stuart]

Just now, Paul said:

Yes, you're right and it seems to me to be entirely appropriate.

There are far too many one minute silences these days. Largely these lose impact because they are so frequent. I think, not sure, there was one for Emiliano Sala. There certainly were at PL games. I realise it's tragic but he hadn't even played in the UK. If a Nantes player dies in a car crash tomorrow nothing will be done for him.

There were two for Sala (missing and found).

I agree, these match tribute can lose they impact they are trying to have if they are too frequent.

[Exiled in Toronto]

2 hours ago, tonygreenbank said:

Just seen on TV that Brighton and Bournemouth gave a minutes applause for Kit Napier!

I was a big fan of K-I, K-I-T, K-I-T-O, KITO!! but he was with us barely a season 45 years ago. If he got a minute there’d by 10 of them a game

[bazza]

2 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

I was a big fan of K-I, K-I-T, K-I-T-O, KITO!! but he was with us barely a season 45 years ago. If he got a minute there’d by 10 of them a game

Kit Napier 1972/74  53 appearances/ 6 goals.  It's quite amazing how few games were played by players of yesteryear that we old-timers hold dear in our hearts.

[Exiled in Toronto]

25 minutes ago, bazza said:

Kit Napier 1972/74  53 appearances/ 6 goals.  It's quite amazing how few games were played by players of yesteryear that we old-timers hold dear in our hearts.

I think players from that specific period hold a special place as they were part of the turning around a ten-year continuous decline: Sir Roger, McNamee, Tony Field, Kito, Johnny Price, Terry Garbett, “Tex” Eccles et al, made us believe again.