Blackburn End: Waggott Out

[smiller14]

I contacted the club regarding this and receiving this reply from a PA on behalf of SW:

Thank you for your email in regard to the closure of the Blackburn End for our Carabao Cup match versus Cardiff City on Wednesday, 27^th September.

 There are a number of factors to consider when creating the operational plan for a matchday and the decisions made are based on these. 

 Initially we review what the anticipated attendance is going to be and then measure this against the financial cost of opening the entire stadium.

For the first round of the Carabao Cup; BRFC V Walsall, we attracted an attendance of just over 6,000 supporters. There were fewer than 2,000 supporters in the Blackburn End for this fixture, which is less than 50% capacity for the lower tier. Due to the make-up of the stadium, once the decision is made to open a stand, the staffing of that area remains the same whether the stand is at capacity or accommodating fewer than 500 supporters. 

 For this week’s fixture, although we expect an attendance similar to that of the Walsall game, with just over 48 hours to go, we have sold just over 2,500 tickets. The Jack Walker Stand has a total capacity of 11,000 seats, which will adequately cater for the demand. We do appreciate that many of our long-standing supporters sit in the Blackburn End and would argue that this stand is affectionately referred to as the home end, but the Jack Walker Stand can be relied upon to accommodate all supporters with ease, provides a better backdrop for the broadcast footage and ultimately it will help us to manage costs at a time when all costs have to be carefully considered. 

 I’m sure you can appreciate and understand why the Club has taken the relevant measures on this occasion. Of course, these decisions will be reviewed on a match-by-match basis should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do.

 Thanking you for your continued support.

Of course, most of the above is easily rebutted. The 'broadcast footage' point is absolutely mind boggling - it will look great on broadcast with no fans behind one net. 

[MarkBRFC]

20 minutes ago, lraC said:

What next. The game is only available on line.

A permanent Riverside closure can't be far off surely. 

[lraC]

7 minutes ago, smiller14 said:

I contacted the club regarding this and receiving this reply from a PA on behalf of SW:

Thank you for your email in regard to the closure of the Blackburn End for our Carabao Cup match versus Cardiff City on Wednesday, 27^th September.

 There are a number of factors to consider when creating the operational plan for a matchday and the decisions made are based on these. 

 Initially we review what the anticipated attendance is going to be and then measure this against the financial cost of opening the entire stadium.

For the first round of the Carabao Cup; BRFC V Walsall, we attracted an attendance of just over 6,000 supporters. There were fewer than 2,000 supporters in the Blackburn End for this fixture, which is less than 50% capacity for the lower tier. Due to the make-up of the stadium, once the decision is made to open a stand, the staffing of that area remains the same whether the stand is at capacity or accommodating fewer than 500 supporters. 

 For this week’s fixture, although we expect an attendance similar to that of the Walsall game, with just over 48 hours to go, we have sold just over 2,500 tickets. The Jack Walker Stand has a total capacity of 11,000 seats, which will adequately cater for the demand. We do appreciate that many of our long-standing supporters sit in the Blackburn End and would argue that this stand is affectionately referred to as the home end, but the Jack Walker Stand can be relied upon to accommodate all supporters with ease, provides a better backdrop for the broadcast footage and ultimately it will help us to manage costs at a time when all costs have to be carefully considered. 

 I’m sure you can appreciate and understand why the Club has taken the relevant measures on this occasion. Of course, these decisions will be reviewed on a match-by-match basis should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do.

 Thanking you for your continued support.

Of course, most of the above is easily rebutted. The 'broadcast footage' point is absolutely mind boggling - it will look great on broadcast with no fans behind one net. 

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps the next think to ask is given that he was expecting 6,000 and also given the quality of the opposition is better, will he accept responsibility for this being a financial own goal, if we end up with 4,000 or less?

Also, how will he feel if this leads to some fans deciding enough is enough and giving up on attending, due to this tipping point.

I think more than one poster on here, has suggested that is the case.

[smiller14]

1 minute ago, lraC said:

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps the next think to ask is given that he was expecting 6,000 and also given the quality of the opposition is better, will he accept responsibility for this being a financial own goal, if we end up with 4,000 or less?

Also, how will he feel if this leads to some fans deciding enough is enough and giving up on attending, due to this tipping point.

I think more than one poster on here, has suggested that is the case.

I've conveyed all of the above in my reply, and asked for how many tickets need to be sold to offset the cost savings we have made in closing the stand:

Thank you for your reply.

I can almost guarantee the attendance will be considerably less than the Walsall game, when in reality it should be higher (being a round further).

I’d be intrigued to know how many tickets we need to sell to offset the costs associated with closing the Blackburn End – surely an attendance of even 1,000 lower (£10,000 lost in ticket sales) would trump the costs of hiring staff in the Blackburn End for this fixture, in addition to any other operational costs. It feels nonsensical commercially, notwithstanding the long-term effect such a decision will have on supporters who feel ignored. I already know of many long-term supporters who are not attending this fixture out of principle, and fear the long-term effects will be dire – it is hardening belief amongst our fanbase that Steve Waggott is out of touch with the supporters and that the supporters are disregarded and not considered. I, for one, am postponing any plans to return to Ewood anytime soon on the basis of this decision.

As for the broadcast element, I cannot fathom how it will present a better backdrop – the optics of an empty home stand behind the net will more than outweigh this, as well as the certain mockery we will receive from fans across the football pyramid.

It just feels like every decision made is aimed at saving a few quid, even if this means alienating loyal fans – which will have a long-term cost both financially and non-financially. Whilst this decision would make sense on a spreadsheet, it will undoubtedly come at a cost, and I sincerely hope the resultant attendance decrease will offset any reduction in operational costs, and therefore not be considered moving forwards.

[JHRover]

20 minutes ago, smiller14 said:

I contacted the club regarding this and receiving this reply from a PA on behalf of SW:

Thank you for your email in regard to the closure of the Blackburn End for our Carabao Cup match versus Cardiff City on Wednesday, 27^th September.

 There are a number of factors to consider when creating the operational plan for a matchday and the decisions made are based on these. 

 Initially we review what the anticipated attendance is going to be and then measure this against the financial cost of opening the entire stadium.

For the first round of the Carabao Cup; BRFC V Walsall, we attracted an attendance of just over 6,000 supporters. There were fewer than 2,000 supporters in the Blackburn End for this fixture, which is less than 50% capacity for the lower tier. Due to the make-up of the stadium, once the decision is made to open a stand, the staffing of that area remains the same whether the stand is at capacity or accommodating fewer than 500 supporters. 

 For this week’s fixture, although we expect an attendance similar to that of the Walsall game, with just over 48 hours to go, we have sold just over 2,500 tickets. The Jack Walker Stand has a total capacity of 11,000 seats, which will adequately cater for the demand. We do appreciate that many of our long-standing supporters sit in the Blackburn End and would argue that this stand is affectionately referred to as the home end, but the Jack Walker Stand can be relied upon to accommodate all supporters with ease, provides a better backdrop for the broadcast footage and ultimately it will help us to manage costs at a time when all costs have to be carefully considered. 

 I’m sure you can appreciate and understand why the Club has taken the relevant measures on this occasion. Of course, these decisions will be reviewed on a match-by-match basis should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do.

 Thanking you for your continued support.

Of course, most of the above is easily rebutted. The 'broadcast footage' point is absolutely mind boggling - it will look great on broadcast with no fans behind one net. 

The 'broadcast footage' reference I think is important. I believe the 'powers that be' down there attach great importance to how the ground looks on TV. I've no doubt this was the motivation behind them moving the TV gantry to the Riverside, moving the family stand downstairs to the JW lower, shutting the upper tiers and increasing Riverside prices to make it less financially desirable to sit in there.

Why, we can only speculate, but it seems someone wants to project an image to those watching on tv.

As you say, that motive kind of falls by the wayside when you are then shutting the BBE.

To finish off with 'should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do' I find insulting. They don't care about progression in the cup and never have done. This sort of decision proves it.

 

 

[smiller14]

8 minutes ago, JHRover said:

The 'broadcast footage' reference I think is important. I believe the 'powers that be' down there attach great importance to how the ground looks on TV. I've no doubt this was the motivation behind them moving the TV gantry to the Riverside, moving the family stand downstairs to the JW lower, shutting the upper tiers and increasing Riverside prices to make it less financially desirable to sit in there.

Why, we can only speculate, but it seems someone wants to project an image to those watching on tv.

As you say, that motive kind of falls by the wayside when you are then shutting the BBE.

To finish off with 'should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do' I find insulting. They don't care about progression in the cup and never have done. This sort of decision proves it.

 

 

It shows the muddled thinking for me. They want to project a better image on TV, yet for a long time insisted on shoving away fans in the top tier of the Darwen End, creating a huge void of empty seats behind one net. Given most of our games (including Cardiff, I believe) are not televised, surely more fans behind the goal would have better optics as the vast majority will only see highlights of this fixture.

If they really wanted us to progress further in the cup, they'd be focused on trying to get supporters in to watch and support the team, rather than ostracising further an already disenfranchised and disrespected fanbase. 

If this was any other 'product' and wasn't a form of such deep attachment to me and so many, I would have binned it off long ago. Only football supporters can have the piss taken out of them so readily - but even us loyal folk have a breaking point. 

I really hoped that horrible 18-months COVID period would result in a change in how supporters are treated, but the status quo was very readily returned to. All the 'football is for fans' nonsense, as we suspected at the time, were empty platitudes. 

[lraC]

21 minutes ago, smiller14 said:

I've conveyed all of the above in my reply, and asked for how many tickets need to be sold to offset the cost savings we have made in closing the stand:

Thank you for your reply.

I can almost guarantee the attendance will be considerably less than the Walsall game, when in reality it should be higher (being a round further).

I’d be intrigued to know how many tickets we need to sell to offset the costs associated with closing the Blackburn End – surely an attendance of even 1,000 lower (£10,000 lost in ticket sales) would trump the costs of hiring staff in the Blackburn End for this fixture, in addition to any other operational costs. It feels nonsensical commercially, notwithstanding the long-term effect such a decision will have on supporters who feel ignored. I already know of many long-term supporters who are not attending this fixture out of principle, and fear the long-term effects will be dire – it is hardening belief amongst our fanbase that Steve Waggott is out of touch with the supporters and that the supporters are disregarded and not considered. I, for one, am postponing any plans to return to Ewood anytime soon on the basis of this decision.

As for the broadcast element, I cannot fathom how it will present a better backdrop – the optics of an empty home stand behind the net will more than outweigh this, as well as the certain mockery we will receive from fans across the football pyramid.

It just feels like every decision made is aimed at saving a few quid, even if this means alienating loyal fans – which will have a long-term cost both financially and non-financially. Whilst this decision would make sense on a spreadsheet, it will undoubtedly come at a cost, and I sincerely hope the resultant attendance decrease will offset any reduction in operational costs, and therefore not be considered moving forwards.

Great response that and thanks again for sharing.

The figures he provides in response, should be interesting. I am sure with a bit of innovation and competitive pricing, we could have got to 10,000 for this. 

[Mattyblue]

It’s all about the broadcast ‘look’ (usually, not with this unfathomable decision).

Ewood actually looks fairly full on TV if the away side brings a few. Both bottom tiers and the Jack Walker (I.e what the camera sees) look pretty populated even with a half full ground as there’s 15,000 empty seats in areas the camera doesn’t point at .

Ewood Potemkin Park.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Mattyblue

[lraC]

One other thing to mention here, especially if we lose.

Why have we not thought of a way to fill the lower tier of the Blackburn End, instead of emptying it.

Surely taking full advantage of being drawn at home, should be explored, as a place in the next round could be worth 10 times more than the saving, he is making here. 

[smiller14]

1 minute ago, lraC said:

One other thing to mention here, especially if we lose.

Why have we not thought of a way to fill the lower tier of the Blackburn End, instead of emptying it.

Surely taking full advantage of being drawn at home, should be explored, as a place in the next round could be worth 10 times more than the saving, he is making here. 

Exactly this. We won 8-0 in the last round - no attempt has been made to encourage supporters to cheer on our record breaking, goal-getting youngsters.

Unless he wants our under-23s to play in front of attendances they are more accustomed to.... 😂

[Mattyblue]

If it was possible I imagine he’d be delighted to use Leyland for games like this. 

[JHRover]

1 hour ago, smiller14 said:

 

If this was any other 'product' and wasn't a form of such deep attachment to me and so many, I would have binned it off long ago. Only football supporters can have the piss taken out of them so readily - but even us loyal folk have a breaking point. 

I really hoped that horrible 18-months COVID period would result in a change in how supporters are treated, but the status quo was very readily returned to. All the 'football is for fans' nonsense, as we suspected at the time, were empty platitudes. 

Muddled thinking is their speciality. 

I completely agree in this part. It is why I am rapidly losing patience with things. I feel that from every angle there is a piss taking culture in football. Rovers are at it all the time but also Sky, EFL, officials do it.

Taking the loyal paying fans for granted all the time.

 

[Penwortham Blue]

3 hours ago, smiller14 said:

I contacted the club regarding this and receiving this reply from a PA on behalf of SW:

Thank you for your email in regard to the closure of the Blackburn End for our Carabao Cup match versus Cardiff City on Wednesday, 27^th September.

 There are a number of factors to consider when creating the operational plan for a matchday and the decisions made are based on these. 

 Initially we review what the anticipated attendance is going to be and then measure this against the financial cost of opening the entire stadium.

For the first round of the Carabao Cup; BRFC V Walsall, we attracted an attendance of just over 6,000 supporters. There were fewer than 2,000 supporters in the Blackburn End for this fixture, which is less than 50% capacity for the lower tier. Due to the make-up of the stadium, once the decision is made to open a stand, the staffing of that area remains the same whether the stand is at capacity or accommodating fewer than 500 supporters. 

 For this week’s fixture, although we expect an attendance similar to that of the Walsall game, with just over 48 hours to go, we have sold just over 2,500 tickets. The Jack Walker Stand has a total capacity of 11,000 seats, which will adequately cater for the demand. We do appreciate that many of our long-standing supporters sit in the Blackburn End and would argue that this stand is affectionately referred to as the home end, but the Jack Walker Stand can be relied upon to accommodate all supporters with ease, provides a better backdrop for the broadcast footage and ultimately it will help us to manage costs at a time when all costs have to be carefully considered. 

 I’m sure you can appreciate and understand why the Club has taken the relevant measures on this occasion. Of course, these decisions will be reviewed on a match-by-match basis should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do.

 Thanking you for your continued support.

Of course, most of the above is easily rebutted. The 'broadcast footage' point is absolutely mind boggling - it will look great on broadcast with no fans behind one net. 

No we don’t appreciate it you fucking idiot Swag ! You are killing our football club and making us a laughing stock. All comparable clubs in the Carabao cup will get low gates, show me one other club that has taken a decision to close the Home End ‘kop’ !!! Get out of our club, you clearly don’t have the interests of this great club and its supporters, those still putting up with your death actions and the very many thousands, that you have finally seen off. I am so fucking angry about this 😡

Edited September 25, 2023 by Penwortham Blue

[Penwortham Blue]

2 hours ago, smiller14 said:

I've conveyed all of the above in my reply, and asked for how many tickets need to be sold to offset the cost savings we have made in closing the stand:

Thank you for your reply.

I can almost guarantee the attendance will be considerably less than the Walsall game, when in reality it should be higher (being a round further).

I’d be intrigued to know how many tickets we need to sell to offset the costs associated with closing the Blackburn End – surely an attendance of even 1,000 lower (£10,000 lost in ticket sales) would trump the costs of hiring staff in the Blackburn End for this fixture, in addition to any other operational costs. It feels nonsensical commercially, notwithstanding the long-term effect such a decision will have on supporters who feel ignored. I already know of many long-term supporters who are not attending this fixture out of principle, and fear the long-term effects will be dire – it is hardening belief amongst our fanbase that Steve Waggott is out of touch with the supporters and that the supporters are disregarded and not considered. I, for one, am postponing any plans to return to Ewood anytime soon on the basis of this decision.

As for the broadcast element, I cannot fathom how it will present a better backdrop – the optics of an empty home stand behind the net will more than outweigh this, as well as the certain mockery we will receive from fans across the football pyramid.

It just feels like every decision made is aimed at saving a few quid, even if this means alienating loyal fans – which will have a long-term cost both financially and non-financially. Whilst this decision would make sense on a spreadsheet, it will undoubtedly come at a cost, and I sincerely hope the resultant attendance decrease will offset any reduction in operational costs, and therefore not be considered moving forwards.

Well done, common sense and put the pressure on the tosser. This mistake is going to haunt and hopefully, finally see him off. It is financial suicide, never seen such a clear example before of penny rich / pound foolish, he is a total idiot.

[Penwortham Blue]

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

The 'broadcast footage' reference I think is important. I believe the 'powers that be' down there attach great importance to how the ground looks on TV. I've no doubt this was the motivation behind them moving the TV gantry to the Riverside, moving the family stand downstairs to the JW lower, shutting the upper tiers and increasing Riverside prices to make it less financially desirable to sit in there.

Why, we can only speculate, but it seems someone wants to project an image to those watching on tv.

As you say, that motive kind of falls by the wayside when you are then shutting the BBE.

To finish off with 'should we progress further in the competition, as we hope to do' I find insulting. They don't care about progression in the cup and never have done. This sort of decision proves it.

 

 

Swag doesn’t give a toss, JDT and the supporters do.

[Tom]

Ridiculous decision but par for the course 

The only consolation is it brought @ABBEY home for a fleeting visit - good to see you virtually mate 

[Dreams of 1995]

Waggott has again showed he doesn't give a flying toss about the fans of the Club. In some respects, as CEO he has difficult decisions to make. But is the cost of opening the BBE so stressful on our bottom line that the closure had to be done? And what is the true cost of not opening the BBE once you consider the implications on the fans: an increased apathy for supporters; the turning away of our hardcore fan base from their usual seats and them finding other ways to pass their time; the brand damage from an empty main home end, behind the goal; and finally another event that has simply not happened in recent memory occurring under "their" watch

I think the last is the most costly, both to the Rovers and to the relationship between the owners and the fans. This is a new low when many of us believed we'd already hit rock bottom. For me, once Coyle was hired and that relegation season had happened, it really was a case of "things can only get better". How wrong you can be

In this case, the cost to Rovers of closing the BBE is quite clearly high. This is not a saving. It will be costly to Rovers, to Waggot and to the Venkys. It will feature in the lists of all the bad things they have allowed to happen and Steve Waggott was the man who put it into action. It is such a hard hit to take when you think back to the positivity of JDT and the early Summer

Lastly, if there was ever any doubt on the true scope of Steve Waggott's job it can now be put to bed. He is not here to protect and improve the Rovers brand nor does he have the capability to consider the connection between the town and the club. On a purely metaphorical level, he is willing to shut down the end we know as the "Blackburn end" because Blackburn or its people never crosses his mind. His time at this club has coincided with improved performance on the pitch, but has also diminished the brands image to that of a penurious, grudging, second-rate football club with a lack of ambition and care for its fans. That is how he will be remembered

Edited September 25, 2023 by Dreams of 1995

[cesus]

What ever anybody does, do not remind Waggott that Arsenal painted a board with fans on during the early 90's at Highbury when it was being developed or we may never see the BBE end open again.

All jokes aside, the guy is an absolute fraud just employed to take the smoke from the owners. As somebody said on here last week, the easiest job in the world is to save money, the good ones MAKE money!!

[simongarnerisgod]

from what iv`e heard we are due our lowest gate since the the mid 1980`s🙄

[JamieUK]

If anyone does wish to give him a bit of stick he usually sits on the BBE side of the closed centre seats - around row 10. You'll be able to walk along the row of padded corporate seats and be a few feet away from the incompetent arse hole 👍

[simongarnerisgod]

6 minutes ago, JamieUK said:

If anyone does wish to give him a bit of stick he usually sits on the BBE side of the closed centre seats - around row 10. You'll be able to walk along the row of padded corporate seats and be a few feet away from the incompetent arse hole 👍

i know he`s very stupid but there is no way he`ll be appearing tommorow night,i doubt if he will be at the game tbh

[den]

I never, ever thought I’d see a rovers first team playing in front of a closed BBE.

Jeez, if it’s not worth opening the BBE it’s not worth playing in the first place.

[tomphil]

He'll only come out with some fabricated set of lies to cover himself for this anyway which will be swallowed up by the usual suspects.

Just imagine if they'd got the training ground passed for building and flogged it as was the plan that was busted. Where would we be now with the owners making up the shortfall ???

Up the creek that's where we'd be, so just remember what we are dealing with here, a snake oil salesman.

[RoversClitheroe]

Honestly Waggot needs to go ASAP.

@glen9mullan I think you said plans were afoot for you and your mates to try and put pressure on India?

[tomphil]

21 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

from what iv`e heard we are due our lowest gate since the the mid 1980`s🙄

It will be now.