Season Restart

[Mattyblue]

9 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Sorry, which part of "Problem is too many fans just think, ‘well, I’ll watch the stream, don’t see the problem?’" did I misread?

Change ‘problem’ to ‘worry’ or ‘issue’ if you want?

But yes, the problem/issue/worry is very few people will contact the club as they don’t see/aren’t particularly bothered about the bigger picture. So, coupled with ‘great job Rovers!’ on social media they will carry on down a path I think will cause great harm to the club, I just know how our ST base behaves.

And that’s just the way it is, most fans aren’t like me, I knock about with a few that are as fanatic as me, but the majority of Rovers fans I know have more of a transactional relationship with the club. They will be either happy with the package, so will crack on, or they think the club are taking the piss and won’t renew. Neither group will give it much further thought than that.

But it’s us that remain that will have to pick up the pieces/see us decline ever further, so if the likes of me, Arbito can write to the club, then we will, even if we know it will fall on deaf ears...

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Tom]

Got an email to say they wanted to clarify the position based on queries, no new info though and the FAQ has a question around people without internet but it doesn’t really answer it  

 

We understand that this solution will not be ideal for all supporters’ circumstances and appreciate your patience at this time. This has been an unprecedented and difficult challenge to balance the survival of the club and ensuring our supporters receive the best value and experience possible in the circumstances.

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, OnePhilT said:

Your post doesn't belong to me, so I'm not sure why you're asking me if I want to change words of it, Matty!

It's great that people make the most of the situation, but I don't really see what's gone on as a problem - although I had an incline that some fans would be quick to react to the statement asking fans to not ask for cash refunds. That doesn't mean they can't, though, and so I suspect refunds will be given to a small percentage of those who bother to ask for it. I think the idea was to minimise cash refunds, and offer "in kind", instead (such as the streaming service, or a possible discount on next season's tickets).

The Venky era has been littered with fans pointing out other fans as causes or helpers of problems, and while you might not have intended it, your post is another example of that. I don't get what your point is... that the problem is that fans who aren't bothered about refunds are the reason as to why the club will spiral in numbers next season and stop fans from getting refunds for their current ST?

Have they offered discounts on next years season tickets?

[Mattyblue]

I’ve never blamed a fan for anything since this lot darkened our door, every issue we have had in this lost decade is the Rao’s fault and their fault alone.

My point is very simple Phil. 

If there’s no discount for existing ST holders next season, sales will collapse. You seem to think they will offer one and I pray you’re right.

But I see no issue in fans lobbying the club, be it groups like the FF or individuals to try and focus minds of its importance.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Mattyblue

[chaddyrovers]

Rovers vs Leeds or Cardiff vs Rovers not picked by Sky Sports to show live 

[rigger]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

I’ve never blamed a fan for anything since this lot darkened our door, every issue we have had in this lost decade is the Rao’s fault and their fault alone.

My point is very simple Phil. 

If there’s no discount for existing ST holders next season, sales will collapse.

I hope as many fans as possible, be it groups like the FF or individual fans will try and lobby the club to ensure they offer just that.

I have replied to the clubs E-Mail, and registered my disappointment with the content of the statement.

[Crimpshrine]

2 hours ago, arbitro said:

I have emailed Lynsey Talbot outlining my concerns and worries of the long term damage the statement yesterday could do. I have had a reply to tell me if has been forwarded to the Commercial Department. I also sent links to three other Championship clubs websites who ARE offering refunds.

I would urge anybody who is aggrieved by this to email the club. They have to understand the depth of feeling.

Usual slopey shoulders. Lynsey Talbot is the General Manager of Rovers, Steve Waggot is CEO.

There is no way the statement released yesterday came from someone in the commercial department without being authorised by those two.

Compare Rovers' statement with the Port Vale statement posted on this thread. Which club has their fans' interests at heart and which doesn't ?

Edited June 12, 2020 by Crimpshrine

[roversfan99]

18 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

I don't know. It was just something I heard.

As above, I've no idea if they will or they won't, but like you, let's hope they do. I guess they have to wait until we know our situation given that we're still in with a chance of the play-offs, and when next season will begin (unless I've missed some news on that front).

I've got no problem with lobbying, either. Each to their own. I personally wouldn't have been too fussed by the statement, had I been an ST holder (and, in fact, would have enjoyed being able to watch our five away games on top of our four home games), but I hope everybody gets the outcome that they're looking for and can enjoy the remainder of summer.

If it is an option then its poor communication by the club as it certainly isnt clear, if its not as I suspect then it is very poor relations with supporters.

[JHRover]

https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2020/june/letter-from-the-chairman-120620/#NFFC

Now that's a professional, honest and reasonable statement from a rival club.

Admission that cash refunds are not desirable but nevertheless offering the option to those who want. 

Alternative options to reduce the immediate impact on the club.

[Riverside under the drip]

Whilst I have many issues with the way the club is run, I can't for the life of me see much wrong in their approach to this and next season (so far).

They haven't gone into detail on ST prices next year because we don't know what league we'll be in. Promotion (highly unlikely) would render a few unhappy fans on a message board irrelevant. We seem to be arguing not about what they've done, but what they haven't announced yet. If they release the prices and they're whopping, then people are right to complain.

Free access to away games as well as home is a good deal to me and I fully understand their reluctance to give back the little money they have. Waggott is presumably under orders to spend as little as possible and is doing just that. The blame for this, as with everything else, lies in the incompetent buffoons who continue to stave off administration/demise whilst we wither on the vine.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Riverside under the drip

[arbitro]

8 minutes ago, JHRover said:

https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2020/june/letter-from-the-chairman-120620/#NFFC

Now that's a professional, honest and reasonable statement from a rival club.

Admission that cash refunds are not desirable but nevertheless offering the option to those who want. 

Alternative options to reduce the immediate impact on the club.

What a refreshing article of honesty and written with some feeling. That somebody has actually put a name to it is also refreshing. I wonder who actually penned our communication. It is cold and unfeeling. 

[Mattyblue]

4 minutes ago, Riverside under the drip said:

 

Free access to away games as well as home is a good deal to me 

Good deal for you, it’s a good deal for me, but what about those that don’t want/can’t watch a stream?

 

[MarkBRFC]

17 minutes ago, Riverside under the drip said:

 

They haven't gone into detail on ST prices next year because we don't know what league we'll be in.

Free access to away games as well as home is a good deal to me and I fully understand their reluctance to give back the little money they have. 

1 - To be fair, last season we were the first club in the league to know what league we would be in this season, and were still the last to get ST's on sale, so that doesn't mean anything.

2 - Great, I'm glad it's a good deal for you, it is to me as I'll watch some of them too. There will be plenty who can't take advantage of it though, seems like because it's a good deal for you personally then it's fine, it isn't.

Also "give back what little money they have" do me a favour, as others have mentioned, Smallwood & Mulgrew have been paid thousands a week to do nothing, Gladwin got another 6 month deal to do nothing, all the directors salaries have doubled, and venkys have put another £4m into the club a week or so back.

The club can afford to offer refunds, no matter how they try and spin it.

Edited June 12, 2020 by MarkBRFC

[rigger]

5 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Good deal for you, it’s a good deal for me, but what about those that don’t want/can’t watch a stream?

 

They either find a way to watch, or they don’t. People are dying. Priorities 

[Mattyblue]

6 minutes ago, rigger said:

They either find a way to watch, or they don’t. People are dying. Priorities 

I’ll tell the 80 year old couple I know that have been shielding and don’t have the internet to do just that.

Cheers!

Edited June 12, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Riverside under the drip]

17 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Good deal for you, it’s a good deal for me, but what about those that don’t want/can’t watch a stream?

 

Quite frankly, there's a global pandemic occurring and if people fold their arms and demand to watch the game 'for real', tough. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I can't see another way other than showing it on a screen. If it is not done by passwords then anyone could watch it regardless of ticket history and we'd complain about that as season ticket holders.

There will always be those who aren't provided for. People living too far from Ewood can't sit in the Blackburn End. We don't demand the club charters flights.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Riverside under the drip

[rigger]

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

I’ll tell the 80 year old couple I know that have been shielding and don’t have the internet to do just that.

Cheers!

Carry on, I bet they show more common sense.

[Mattyblue]

8 minutes ago, Riverside under the drip said:

Quite frankly, there's a global pandemic occurring and if people fold their arms and demand to watch the game 'for real', tough. Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't see another way other than showing it on a screen. If it is not done by passwords then anyone could watch it regardless of ticket history and we'd complain about that as season ticket holders.

There will always be those who aren't provided for. People living too far from Ewood can't sit in the Blackburn End. We don't demand the club charters flights.

Of course they can’t watch it for real, but it’s fair enough that if you can’t watch a stream you should expect either a refund or a discount next season.

People that live far away haven’t paid for a season ticket, so a bit of a daft comparison.

End of the day, it doesn’t matter if you think people are unreasonable for expecting a rebate - though most other football clubs and gyms and cinemas etc etc are providing them, it’s about if those with no means to stream or no interest to think it’s unfair - and many will and you won’t see them next season.

You may think ‘well feck them! They should just forgo the cash and help the club anyway’, but a moral high ground by people like me and you won’t stop the sight of even more empty seats next season...

Edited June 12, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Mattyblue]

Just now, rigger said:

Carry on, I bet they show more common sense.

Well one of them has just recovered from cancer, so yes he will show common sense.

[Stuart]

A different take on the no refund policy and instead offering games on iFollow.

If the club offered STs next season on the following basis...

1) iFollow home and away games “for free” while games are BCD

2) A return to the ground at some point over the season (at which point iFollow would cease)

....would people pay £350+ for a 2021/22 ST?

[JHRover]

35 minutes ago, Riverside under the drip said:

Quite frankly, there's a global pandemic occurring and if people fold their arms and demand to watch the game 'for real', tough. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I can't see another way other than showing it on a screen. If it is not done by passwords then anyone could watch it regardless of ticket history and we'd complain about that as season ticket holders.

There will always be those who aren't provided for. People living too far from Ewood can't sit in the Blackburn End. We don't demand the club charters flights.

Yes, but those people haven't already paid for something they now aren't getting.

If you live too far away then you don't buy a season ticket. Simple. 

If you don't have a laptop or internet you don't pay for IFollow. Simple.

What the club are trying to do is transfer something that was paid and signed up for last year into something completely different with no alternative for those who cannot or will not adopt it. 

Proof will be in the pudding. If Rovers are doing it right then how come so many are offering refund options?

[Paul]

37 minutes ago, Stuart said:

A different take on the no refund policy and instead offering games on iFollow.

If the club offered STs next season on the following basis...

1) iFollow home and away games “for free” while games are BCD

2) A return to the ground at some point over the season (at which point iFollow would cease)

....would people pay £350+ for a 2021/22 ST?

I like this question! Do you actually mean 2020/21?

I think we both know the answer to this one Stuart! Not a chance, absolutely no chance. It's another reason why involving and considering the paying fan - not only the Sky subscribers - is so important. If the club want my money they have to offer something of reasonable quality. iFollow is laughable.

The next time I buy our two STs will be when I can sit in the ground. If I could Chromecast or similar on to the TV I'd consider it but not at £350 perhaps £100-150. I pay £96pa for Netflix and receive a good product. There are standards out there to compare with and with iFollow we are offered very little by comparison with other platforms. That's the problem the EFL has to overcome.

I'm surprised the thought of Chromecast hasn't been raised before. There is no way I'm going to sit at the dinner table hunched over a laptop for 90 minutes.

At present I doubt if I'll buy a full ST much before July 2021. Provided adequate measures are in place I'd expect to buy one for the home matches from March 1st 2021 onwards.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Paul

[Athlete]

37 minutes ago, Stuart said:

A different take on the no refund policy and instead offering games on iFollow.

If the club offered STs next season on the following basis...

1) iFollow home and away games “for free” while games are BCD

2) A return to the ground at some point over the season (at which point iFollow would cease)

....would people pay £350+ for a 2021/22 ST?

No simple answer the 2021/22 would have to be discounted

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, Stuart said:

would people pay £350+ for a 2021/22 ST?

No. Rovers will to adapt their price structure now. I understand Rovers's concerns over FFP but we need as many fans back as possible. 

Even if we return at start December time for an example, the club should be doing the season ticket for around 10 pounds per game. Football wont be everyone 1st priority so best to incentivise the best we can to get everyone back and even new fans. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by chaddyrovers

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

Do you actually mean 2020/21?

Yes, I did. Apologies.

By the way, is there no way you could connect a HDMI cable to your laptop and use your TV as a second screen?