Season Tickets 2020-21

[Mattyblue]

A lad from Brighton telling long standing, die hard fans who have existential worries about the future of our beloved club (but have still put their money into the club without a product in the midst of a mega recession, by the way) that they are ‘ridiculous’.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Mattyblue

[Uddersfelt Blue]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

So the tickets go off sale in 10 days anyway? They honestly think they are going to sell any more in light of the National situation?

The club need to rethink the whole situation and offer iFollow as an option to all those purchasing season passes. There is no way I am attending this season but as it stands, if I buy a season ticket I’m not guaranteed to see all home games. 

[RevidgeBlue]

33 minutes ago, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

It’s not as his door. That’s a ridiculous accusation. Could the club have taken a different approach? Definitely. But to suggest that the club folding falls on the date STs went on sale or the decisions that the club has made over the last 6 months given the global circumstances is pathetic.

Course it's at his door.

We can argue until the cows come home about the timing of season tickets/memberships going on sale. To me it was the most obvious thing in the world to keep people engaged and prevent them losing interest and sign them up on a nominal membership initially and as early as possible then upgrade them to a price commensurate with an I follow pass once the Government made their decision on fans and upgrade again to the full ST price if and when fans are finally allowed back in.

What surely can not be disputed though, is that if you have a product on offer which isn't as good as the one you had on sale before, you don't put prices up! 

Edited September 23, 2020 by RevidgeBlue

[roversfan99]

52 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I emailed the club about when shirts will be sent out after pre ordering them. I got a response within 15 minutes from Rovers retail manager who said they hopefully be recieving the shirts from Umbro Monday or Tuesday then they will get on with shirts being sent out as soon as possible for fans

No not at this stage sadly. Had my 1st meeting today and will have final meeting next Wednesday when I will find their final decision. So until I know their final decision I can't commit or not. I have a couple of job interviews already this week so Hopefully I hear back from them soon. 

I don't guilt tripped by the club as I can understand their position financially and the fact they want fans back into grounds tomorrow. I listened to number EFL Chairman today who needs fans back inside grounds asap otherwise they could go under. 

 I'm not fan of watching Rovers on Ifollow either. So I'm unsure whether I watch the links anyway. Its hard watching Rovers playing at Ewood Park when you been season ticket holder for over 20 years and never miss a home league game. 

Fair enough regarding your season ticket, and totally understand and can empathise with the inferior product on offer in terms of watching streams, and of course wish you well getting a job as soon as possible.

Not even necessarly on a moral level but as a economic decision, the idea of a price rise at this time is madness, the slight increase in the income from each individual season pass will be offset not only by the fans this season that will not buy as a result, but also people who may be driven away for good. Waggotts decisions have chipped away at all but the very hardcore, and now even they are being smashed away by his incompetence.

I just cant stomach the constant guilt tripping and the consistent angle that the club and in particular Waggott are coming from. It doesnt feel right when the prices have gone up in spite of the pandemic, and the club has "interested" billionaire owners who "never refuse to pay a cheque" yet they are trying to make working class people feel that it is their responsibility to pay for a service at a higher price that has so much jeopardy around it, at an increased price.

I am lucky that my employment has been unaffected, I do get value from the streams, I can afford the payment and I was willing to take the risk of not actually being able to attend.

Colchesters reaction is brilliant, ours just make things worse. 

3 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

A lad from Brighton telling long standing, die hard fans (who have still put their money into the club without a product in the midst of a mega recession) that they are ‘ridiculous’,

Who is that? 

[Gumbi]

4 hours ago, JHRover said:

Kits aren't on sale are they? Last I heard you could order one but they weren't available for anyone to physically have. So that's one thing - find a kit supplier that actually takes this seriously and get kits out early.

The kits have been delayed due to the sponsor changing. That's not Umbro's fault, and I'm assuming the club have asked Umbro to print the sponsor on them instead of the club doing it as there aren't enough members of staff to do it themselves. Bournemouth who also have their kits made by Umbro are in the same situation as they didn't get a new sponsor till late either and they also only have their kits to pre-order. They do say on their site that they are aiming to send them out to those who have bought them the week commencing 28th September so I'm guessing we'll send them out around the same time too.

Southampton don't have any of their shirts for sale at the moment due to them having to change sponsor.

Pretty much every single team in the World has had to release their kits later than usual as Covid disrupted both manufacturing and shipping.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Gumbi

[1864roverite]

2 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Unbelievable.

in the light of the Government's (predictable) cave in on allowing fans back in to live sporting events, most rational people would be admitting they made a huge mistake and coming back to supporters on bended knee asking for forgiveness.

Waggott has obviously never heard of the phrase "When you're in a hole stop digging."

His response?,  double down on the original mistake on 20, hope that people will miraculously change their minds and suddenly won't object to  being taken for granted and to being asked to pay more for something they're not actually getting in the first place, and hope that that miracle ace comes out.

It's mind blowing, it really is.

The decision about fans is a sensible one Simon! Until the deadheads of the UK use common sense nothing will change.

[roversfan99]

If theres no scope for minimal supporters in an outdoor stadium spread out, there certainly isnt for pubs, restaurants etc.

[1864roverite]

4 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

What more can the club do?

They have now released kits, season tickets, sold cardboard cut outs, sold iFollow passes. How else can they generate cash flow when the country is once again entering a state of restrictions?

All businesses are suffering, not just ours. The above league of losses, if you will, is testament to how we are performing in comparison to other clubs. Cardiff are neither here nor there in terms of expenditure but they are losing a staggering amount of money per match day.

The next step is perhaps introducing a 'membership fee' a la the Bundesliga but I doubt many Rovers fan would stump up £50+ for a membership fee to a club that won't offer what the German clubs do - a vote / share

Genuinely unsure at what kind of strategy you are after from Rovers to generate income in the event of a Covid-19 restricted lockdown.

 

My view is that there needs to a bigger carrot as an incentive. We as a group it longstanding fans will all renew before Friday to support the club however for me Rovers could clearly incentivise for next season with a generous reward for fans who buy this season. Yes we may well get some money back and we might just get 7 away games or more in the current package. It’s about the survival of our club and as Philip pointed out others will be hit much harder than us.

SW has to do a bit more to get fans to part with cash in these desperate times

[RevidgeBlue]

10 minutes ago, 1864roverite said:

The decision about fans is a sensible one Simon! Until the deadheads of the UK use common sense nothing will change.

That's no way to talk about our Prime Minister and Government!

?

I don't agree the decision about fans is a sensible one but from a Rovers point of view given the Government's track record on the virus to date I think it was entirely foreseeable they'd bottle out of their original plan and perform a U turn. 

As a Club we should have been completely on top of it. Instead we were misjudging the mood totally, and issuing a plea to let fans back in asap just as the Government went down the opposite route.

[chaddyrovers]

36 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Fair enough regarding your season ticket, and totally understand and can empathise with the inferior product on offer in terms of watching streams, and of course wish you well getting a job as soon as possible.

Thanks pal. 

I don't want my team on a stream. It isn't for me. Didn't mind the 9 games but it not long term. I rather 

36 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Not even necessarly on a moral level but as a economic decision, the idea of a price rise at this time is madness, the slight increase in the income from each individual season pass will be offset not only by the fans this season that will not buy as a result, but also people who may be driven away for good. Waggotts decisions have chipped away at all but the very hardcore, and now even they are being smashed away by his incompetence.

I don't know if Waggott has certain amount of financial targets to bring into the clubs. I wouldn't be surprise at all if this is the case. 

Yes some people will be driven away. 

Me, my best friend and other people haven't renewed as we can't go to the games and we all arent interested in Ifollow watching. 

37 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I am lucky that my employment has been unaffected, I do get value from the streams, I can afford the payment and I was willing to take the risk of not actually being able to attend.

I could afford to buy one with using my savings but I don't want to spend it in case I'm off longer than after Christmas time. 

[philipl]

21 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

If theres no scope for minimal supporters in an outdoor stadium spread out, there certainly isnt for pubs, restaurants etc.

Staircases, entrances, bars, loos are all problems

[JHRover]

1 hour ago, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

 

They've taken it seriously but it’s obviously a very difficult situation to predict. Putting a product on sale that they can’t guarantee providing is hardly straightforward to navigate.

Its incredibly easy to criticise but I haven’t yet heard of any groundbreaking ideas to fix this.

So out of interest why could we not sell anything from March until September 15th and then all of a sudden we could start selling and are continuing to sell season passes despite having less idea now than at any other stage?

We can't put a product on sale that we can't guarantee- but isn't that exactly what we are doing now? Why couldn't we have released the package we have but 2 months earlier?

I think Waggott is winging it. Basically he panicked because the season started and the rumour was that we could have fans in as early as the Wycombe game. He had to get something sorted ahead of that so got them on sale.

 

[roversfan99]

14 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Thanks pal. 

I don't want my team on a stream. It isn't for me. Didn't mind the 9 games but it not long term. I rather 

I don't know if Waggott has certain amount of financial targets to bring into the clubs. I wouldn't be surprise at all if this is the case. 

Yes some people will be driven away. 

Me, my best friend and other people haven't renewed as we can't go to the games and we all arent interested in Ifollow watching. 

I could afford to buy one with using my savings but I don't want to spend it in case I'm off longer than after Christmas time. 

Last season, it felt like it was simply a case of just getting the fixtures done as a short term fix as you say to get the season done. Agree with that.

Even if he has got financial targets to meet, thats my issue, not even on a moral view, from a business perspective, he keeps getting it wrong.

I know this is oversimplifying it but say that one person refuses to buy out of principle of a price rise from £350 to £400, or even because that rise puts it out of their reach. To make up for that £350 that could have been gained had the prices been kept constant, Waggott would need to sell 7 season tickets at the elevated price just to cover that one missed sale. That doesnt even factor in the fact that either due to getting out of the habit or feeling aggrieved, that in FUTURE seasons that they wont return, thus there are short and long term financial implications to Waggott's incompetence.

At the moment, the club are quite reliant on goodwill from supporters who many like yourself will have suffered financially via furlough and/or redundancy to give up a larger proportion of their income to put towards a club, run by disinterested billionaire owners, and that goodwill will evaporate both by increasing prices and by using a guilt trip focused marketing campaign.

Also, whilst no one could even come close to defending the club regarding the lack of communication, many defended how long it took them to start selling the season tickets on the principle that they "didnt know what they were selling." One of my main counter arguments has been proven, that no matter when they felt that they did have enough clarity to put them on sale, they would never know due to the fragility of the situation what they were selling because there was always a large chance that even if fans were given the go ahead, that was quite likely to be reversed at any moment.

The club did the right thing in terms of splitting the value between links and deferred refunds. Ultimately, had season tickets been put on sale a month or 2 earlier, like at other clubs, at the same price, they would likely have made many more sales. The main argument was that they would have to shell out for refunds, that was never the case and they dont now, simply if anything they have just been paid deposits for NEXT season 12 months early to aid the cash flow and essentially guarantee future season ticket holders, as well as selling an ifollow season ticket and getting £230 from everyone there.

6 minutes ago, philipl said:

Staircases, entrances, bars, loos are all problems

To an extent but they are problems also evident in pubs and restaurants, in a much closer space. Entrances and staircases can be managed via staggered entry times, the toilets can have a one way queueing system, and the bars dont even need to open, or failing that, they could get rid of the alcohol in the stands ban. There would be a risk, like with anything, but it could be managed and it could be reduced.

The government have clearly appreciated the economic disaster that a total closure of pubs and restaurants will close, hence their clumsy attempt at compromise between risk reduction in terms of the virus and trying to help economically to keep these places open. But they dont also appreciate the financial disaster that not allowing supporters in will cause to football, clubs will go bust, massive job losses, not just players, and of course there is the mental health concerns caused by taking away a huge part of peoples lives, and also the community aspect of a football club to its city or town.

At least hunting is still allowed in large groups. Because its not all about self interest.

[chaddyrovers]

24 minutes ago, JHRover said:

So out of interest why could we not sell anything from March until September 15th and then all of a sudden we could start selling and are continuing to sell season passes despite having less idea now than at any other stage?

We can't put a product on sale that we can't guarantee- but isn't that exactly what we are doing now? Why couldn't we have released the package we have but 2 months earlier?

I think Waggott is winging it. Basically he panicked because the season started and the rumour was that we could have fans in as early as the Wycombe game. He had to get something sorted ahead of that so got them on sale.

 

EFL Clubs were having supporters trials last weekend So the club probably thought fans were going to return to the stadiums at that point

[Stuart]

“We have reached a precarious point in the club’s history and, right now, every penny counts, as we try to keep moving forward against a backdrop of uncertainty and challenging circumstances.”

Our precarious situation is chiefly down to the decision making of the last 10 years. The lack of rallying round by fans right now is due to the utter contempt we are being treated with. What sacrifices is he personally making, while asking Riverside fans to pay JW upper prices for their own seat?

The reality is the contribution that fans make doesn’t even touch the sides of what it costs to run the club - even before the current situation.

Our loss of income isn’t a fan problem but a relegation-from-the-PL problem. £180m later here we are. COVID-19 is a red herring at this juncture.

Our future depends on promotion and that relies on the huge wages we pay players and which Venkys are footing the bill for. For some reason. Loss of matchday revenue may hurt Waggott’s pocket though. Dig deep everyone!

[JHRover]

He really is absolutely shameless. Not a peep for months out of him or the club, lies and now another round of emotional blackmail.

If it isn't price increases the it's telling the dwindling support base that its our fault if the club has no money.

P.s. Mowbray can dish out another few needless contract extensions costing tens of thousands of pounds.

[tomphil]

How many STs do we have to shift just to pay him ?  

[AshleyClifford]

Around 500. If 200k salary is correct. I think it's lower than that. 

[JHRover]

8 minutes ago, AshleyClifford said:

Around 500. If 200k salary is correct. I think it's lower than that. 

The highest paid director received over £300,000 last year. It was in the last set of accounts. It is hard to believe Waggott warrants that but I assume it is him given he is meant to be in charge. If it isn't him then who is the highest paid director? The messenger man?

Edited September 23, 2020 by JHRover

[J*B]

27 minutes ago, JHRover said:

The highest paid director received over £300,000 last year. It was in the last set of accounts. It is hard to believe Waggott warrants that but I assume it is him given he is meant to be in charge. If it isn't him then who is the highest paid director? The messenger man?

Yes

[Mattyblue]

4 hours ago, J*B said:

Yes

‘Roll up, roll up...’

[Athlete]

Emotional blackmail just isnt washing with me and anyone who I know none of our group have renewed or have any intention during the current climate price rise or not

[Uddersfelt Blue]

Looks increasingly that we may have to sell one of our better players just to make up for lack of income through the door. 
 

All will depend on where things are in January but given that Travis and Dack are out of action, that leaves only Armstrong as someone who could be sold for a sizeable fee. Unless Dolan continues with his Messi like form in which case it’s mega bucks for him too! 

[tomphil]

12 hours ago, AshleyClifford said:

Around 500. If 200k salary is correct. I think it's lower than that. 

So it's over a thousand season tickets just to pay him and the middleman.

[den]

On 23/09/2020 at 07:14, Mattyblue said:

The clubs that have sold their usual numbers could be in a decent position if they’ve sold them with the proviso that they would be rolled over to next season. You’d imagine plenty will be happy enough for that to be the case.

At least they have them in the tent, Rovers on the other hand will have a hell of a job trying to sell STs from a standing start next summer in the teeth of a recession with fans 18 months out of the ground/habit.

Short sighted doesn’t come into it.

Number one rule for any CEO of rovers - keep your existing fans. Once they’re gone, most won’t come back.