Attendances: A cause for concern

[Mattyblue]

I’m not justifying it, but that is the rationale of Swag, like it or not (and obviously I don’t like it!).

End of the day we are on the cusp of something here and if we had a Chief Exec that had any interest in the long term health of the club over short term revenue, he’d be doing everything possible to get as many ROVERS fans as possible into Ewood Park, not trying to fleece 2000 away supporters whilst pricing out your own.

This season could be absolutely transformative, and ticket pricing could make a big difference as Ewood is a transformed place and you can see it in the team when crowds hit 16,17k plus…

Edited December 11, 2021 by Mattyblue

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Agree with everything you say there but the galling thing is he looks like he has no intention of changing his thought process here.

He's so limited its unreal.

[Mattyblue]

You know I don’t think he actually is when it comes to tickets. He’s here for a limited time and he knows it, he’ll presumably be on for targets, bonuses etc for hitting certain revenues. That’s the problem when you have a revolving door of Chief Execs, they obviously will have little incentive to look to the long term growth of a fanbase…

[Gav]

We now have 14 going against Brum, it was 3 earlier in the week.

I don't care about the pricing, its the product on the pitch and feel good factor created by the players, manager and winning games thats bringing us to Ewood on Saturday.

[Mattyblue]

22 minutes ago, Gav said:

We now have 14 going against Brum, it was 3 earlier in the week.

I don't care about the pricing, its the product on the pitch and feel good factor created by the players, manager and winning games thats bringing us to Ewood on Saturday.

Of course a winning team trumps everything, but it is Cat B. 😁

Good thing is, looking at the fixtures, post Huddersfield it looks like just Blackpool will be Cat A anyway till the end of the season… 

[Upside Down]

A penny more than £20 for any second division game is outrageous.

Charging any more than that shows nothing other than a total disregard and lack of respect for the fans.

[roversfan99]

I wonder what the chances are of Plan C not allowing fans into stadiums? It would be stupid not to but you never know with Boris.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

14 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I wonder what the chances are of Plan C not allowing fans into stadiums? It would be stupid not to but you never know with Boris.

I can’t see things being allowed to carry on as normal in the short to medium term.

[Ricky]

3 hours ago, Gav said:

We now have 14 going against Brum, it was 3 earlier in the week.

I don't care about the pricing, its the product on the pitch and feel good factor created by the players, manager and winning games thats bringing us to Ewood on Saturday.

It was going to be my first game at Ewood for a while but it’s the Wife’s birthday and funnily enough she didn’t fancy it lol.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

11 hours ago, Upside Down said:

A penny more than £20 for any second division game is outrageous.

Charging any more than that shows nothing other than a total disregard and lack of respect for the fans.

Then be angry at the entire football league. You can’t simply blame Rovers for charging over £20 when it’s the norm at virtually every club in the EFL never mind the championship.

I find it sad that some fans still choose to boycott. It’s their right to do so but imo, support shouldn’t be conditional on who the manager is or the owners are. 

[Mattyblue]

We need to stop with all this ‘boycott’ talk, as I said on the match thread, there really isn’t that many that are actively ‘boycotting’. We are making a big issue and creating rows over something that is neither here nor there.

In reality, we’ve never recovered from the Kean debacle, we lost around 8,000 ST holders over his reign and most have never come back. Some of that 8,000, especially at first, were making a conscious decision to withdraw, but over time most have just drifted away and now have a plethora of other things to do with their time, and have switched off from Rovers, and that is a big issue for a town club like ours with a limited fanbase to start with.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Mattyblue

[chaddyrovers]

10 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I wonder what the chances are of Plan C not allowing fans into stadiums? It would be stupid not to but you never know with Boris.

I can't see supporters not being allow in stadium given that you are outside watching the game. 

If more restrictions was to come in it would affect pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc

not sure Plan C is needed anyway

[martonrover]

12 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I can't see supporters not being allow in stadium given that you are outside watching the game. 

If more restrictions was to come in it would affect pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc

not sure Plan C is needed anyway

Not debating the rights and wrongs, but although you are outside watching the game, you are still coming in to close contact with other people, especially when using facilities inside the stadium, (Riverside excepted).

The Liverpool v Atletico Madrid Champions League game in March 2020 was linked to a number of cases.

Maybe they will limit numbers rather than imposing a total ban?

[chaddyrovers]

5 minutes ago, martonrover said:

Not debating the rights and wrongs, but although you are outside watching the game, you are still coming in to close contact with other people, especially when using facilities inside the stadium, (Riverside excepted).

The Liverpool v Atletico Madrid Champions League game in March 2020 was linked to a number of cases.

Maybe they will limit numbers rather than imposing a total ban?

I sat in BBE and arrive at the stadium very early. I don't used any facilities most of time apart from the toilet and thats it. I am always wearing my snood whilst at Ewood Park cos of the cold weather. 

We have to live the virus and given the research and data coming out of South Africa Yesterday we shouldn't need plan C and hopefully we can end Plan B rules shortly after Christmas/New Year

[Wheelton Blue]

14 hours ago, Gav said:

We now have 14 going against Brum, it was 3 earlier in the week.

I don't care about the pricing, its the product on the pitch and feel good factor created by the players, manager and winning games thats bringing us to Ewood on Saturday.

How wonderful it must be to have such a care free attitude towards pricing. Good for you.

I suspect, though, that for the majority of our potential fan base in the local area - an area which is financially deprived if we need reminding - the cost of tickets is the primary factor when deciding to attend.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Wheelton Blue

[tomphil]

We need fans in when it's average and not so good anyone can turn up when things are on the up, hence the pricing IS an issue.

A gang who only turn up for the odd big game or promotion charge might be ok with 30 quid as they haven't been buying tickets every week for a decade.  Finish 9th this season then ask them to pay 400 for an ST next season or thirty pounds for the first home game against Huddersfield and it isn't happening. 

Long term gains are needed not short term sticking plaster fixes.

[roversfan99]

6 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I can't see supporters not being allow in stadium given that you are outside watching the game. 

If more restrictions was to come in it would affect pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc

not sure Plan C is needed anyway

 

6 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I sat in BBE and arrive at the stadium very early. I don't used any facilities most of time apart from the toilet and thats it. I am always wearing my snood whilst at Ewood Park cos of the cold weather. 

We have to live the virus and given the research and data coming out of South Africa Yesterday we shouldn't need plan C and hopefully we can end Plan B rules shortly after Christmas/New Year

Its not what I want or indeed what I think should happen. I would agree with you that we have to live with the virus and would like to think that if restrictions went up that much, that they would be met with mass protests.

Your points are very typically self focused, I get there early, I wear a snood, I don't use the facilities, you are just one person. There is no doubt that a football match even in the outdoors is a big spreading event, thousands of people in close proximity including in the concourses, indeed that will be the rationale, especially with restrictions seemingly going up.

Taking a bit of the edge off the excellent start to the season, thinking that Boris and his cronies could stop us from watching in person. A man you regularly defend has taken the piss out of us all again having his Christmas do last season with the rest of us in lockdown.

 

[roversfan99]

7 hours ago, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

Then be angry at the entire football league. You can’t simply blame Rovers for charging over £20 when it’s the norm at virtually every club in the EFL never mind the championship.

I find it sad that some fans still choose to boycott. It’s their right to do so but imo, support shouldn’t be conditional on who the manager is or the owners are. 

We don't live in a perfect world. I have no clue why, but people seem to see supporting a football club as something that should universally be an inflexible obligation in terms of attending games.

As it is, price does matter, success on the pitch does matter, the manager, the owners, many reasons all do matter, and not everyone supports any club to the exact same degree.

The club should now be grabbing the bull by the horns and showing some longer term thinking and initiative and trying to get numbers up at a time of some on field success, Waggott hasn't hence the horrendous pricing for the next home game. On the back of a full house for promotion, season ticket prices went up, again we couldn't get people back into the habit because Waggott is an idiot.

Also, it doesn't justify the clubs extortionate pricing strategy because others do it.

[roversfan99]

QPR is off tomorrow due to Covid, with Spurs off today and United also reporting numerous cases.

[martonrover]

7 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I sat in BBE and arrive at the stadium very early. I don't used any facilities most of time apart from the toilet and thats it. I am always wearing my snood whilst at Ewood Park cos of the cold weather. 

We have to live the virus and given the research and data coming out of South Africa Yesterday we shouldn't need plan C and hopefully we can end Plan B rules shortly after Christmas/New Year

As I said, I’m not debating the rights and wrongs, just speculating on what decisions might be made.

Not everyone arrives early and it’s still a situation where a lot of people will be gathering in close proximity.

I’m sure they will be looking at it, (mass attendance sports venues).

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Johnson’s giving us another pep talk at 8-00 tonight. I can see changes regarding football being on the agenda.

[Mattyblue]

It’s not particularly sitting in your seat outside, but more the concourses, for PNE the Blackburn End’s was absolutely packed pre match and at half time - and even throughout the game there were a load of folk down there…

Edited December 12, 2021 by Mattyblue

[Gav]

7 hours ago, Wheelton Blue said:

How wonderful it must be to have such a care free attitude towards pricing. Good for you.

I suspect, though, that for the majority of our potential fan base in the local area - an area which is financially deprived if we need reminding - the cost of tickets is the primary factor when deciding to attend.

You're quite right, I shouldn't be on a Rovers messageboard talking about attending Saturdays game, how insensitive of me.

As you're a poster with the local community at heart, you must be on the fans forum? or the board of the Rovers Trust maybe? Lobbying Waggott at every turn on ticket prices?

Lets hear your story, I'm always ready to be inspired and be a better fan, over to you. 

[Wheelton Blue]

3 minutes ago, Gav said:

You're quite right, I shouldn't be on a Rovers messageboard talking about attending Saturdays game, how insensitive of me.

As you're a poster with the local community at heart, you must be on the fans forum? or the board of the Rovers Trust maybe? Lobbying Waggott at every turn on ticket prices?

Lets hear your story, I'm always ready to be inspired and be a better fan, over to you. 

I'm just a season ticket holder who wants the club to do much better in terms of attracting more support. There's no need to be so defensive.

Come on Gav, you're better than this.

[Gav]

4 minutes ago, Wheelton Blue said:

I'm just a season ticket holder who wants the club to do much better in terms of attracting more support. There's no need to be so defensive.

Come on Gav, you're better than this.

You’re doing nothing then…..very admirable, I’m sure the local community who struggle to make games are over the moon.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Gav