[Archived] Season Ticket Sales?

[Manchester Blue]

The argument about the cups is a funny one because Souness has said nothing different than Allardyce, if anything we have taken the cups far more seriously than they do. What happens there is people don't go to the cup games. Now forgive me if I'm wrong but aren't cup matches excluded from you season ticket and as such what effect should they have.

Every time we have this debate people come back with the 'great support for a town our size' argument. It is one that cannot and has not been disputed by myself or anyone else. What I want to know is why our crowds go down when every other clubs are going up.

Size of town can't be it because they were there before, quality of product, well Spurs, Everton and a few others Bolton included have been pretty poor but haven't suffered.

Another one I love is the matches being moved mean people can't travel. Hang on I thought all our fans were from Blackburn & Darwen so why should that matter. I'm a season ticket holder and have never lived in Blackburn.

Anyway i'm sure we can keep going over it and over it but at the end of the day the facts are that we finshed 6th and our crowds went down by 2000, before Duff left. How can you possibly argue that success and good football will bring them back, on what grounds can you base that.

[den]

Now forgive me if I'm wrong but aren't cup matches excluded from you season ticket and as such what effect should they have.

Because if people don't like the negative approach to everything, including cup games, they wont exactly bust a gut to get down to Ewood, will they?

[Manchester Blue]

Now forgive me if I'm wrong but aren't cup matches excluded from you season ticket and as such what effect should they have.

Because if people don't like the negative approach to everything, including cup games, they wont exactly bust a gut to get down to Ewood, will they?

Doesn't stop Boloton fans though does it they just skip the cup games, including the semi-final incidentally.

[FourLaneBlue]

Every time we have this debate people come back with the 'great support for a town our size' argument. It is one that cannot and has not been disputed by myself or anyone else. What I want to know is why our crowds go down when every other clubs are going up.

If any of us really knew exactly that we wouldn't be on here; we'd be chief executive of Rovers. If John Williams knew that then we probably wouldn't be having this sort of debate as he'd hopefully have sorted it.

[Kiwiwannabe]

My point is this -

John Williams, the board, the Jersey trustees - whoever, are responsible for the running of BRFC.These problems have been pointed out to them through various avenues. Individuals and the fans forum members have all told them of the problem. It is their job to address the problems and to sell BRFC as a desirable item [in want of better words].

In view of what they have been told, what has anyone at the club done to address these problems. Does anyone recall any messages of real ambition being shouted from the rooftops? What has been done to really turn a very poor rovers side into one of real quality or indeed has anyone heard that rovers will be gunning for all cup competitions next season, with a full strength squad?

Spot on Den!! And a great post!!

How on Earth do the club expect people to get excited when every season all we hear from Souness is 'survival is our main aim'?

The problem is that what Souness is saying is true, but we need to find a balance between being honest and promoting some excitement about the club. People are beginning to realise that we will not be challenging for the championship again (well, not in the near future). The best we can hope for every season is a top half finish (top 6 would be an amazing achievemnt) and maybe a decent cup run. We don't seem to be taking any cup competitions seriously (including UEFA last season). Its all very well Souness saying we will concentrate on the league, but look where that got us last season!!

I wish I knew the answer, or at least how we could find a happy medium. The club is aware of the impact of what Souness says and how the fans react to it, but it doesnt appear they want to control what he says too much - which I guess is fair enough.

[1864roverite]

has anyone thought that the message sent out may just hide the ultimate ambition for our "little" club ?

I mean BRFC has upset the applecart on three occasion in the past 12 years or so.

1. finishing second and running the mighty invincible scum unit from mould t all the way to the finishing line.

2. actually having the god damned nerve to go one better and "buy" the Premiership trophy.

and 3 getting to cardiff and upsetting the southern nonces from spuds by dicking them in the Worthy Cup Final !

I reckon there are outside forces at work and that BRFC is under strict orders to send out negative messages as anything else will mean that every darn ref will almost certainly award the opposition a penalty, award off side goals as being good and send off a Rovers player every match !!

anyhow thats my thoughts on the subject

[blue phil]

Bring the passion back to the team to bring the fans back to Ewood!

Which brings us back to the motivational skills of Souness . There can be no denying that many fans have the feeling that we are at the crossroads with this man and this season it's a case of wait and see . Maybe he'll surprise us but many wouldn't bet on it - nor fork out 100's of pounds on the off chance. Contrast this with Allardyce who is on the up and gets the most out of his players . I've spoken to more than one person who would like to see him replace the discredited Ericson as England boss.

No point going over the other factors of the small population and lack of money - they can't be helped nor , to my belief , can any more attendants be squeezed out of the town . What we rely on now is bloody good management both in the transfer market and on the field of play by improved tactics and strategy .

I'm going to join Neil now for a good cry......

[Ossydave]

WOH!,WOH!!WOH!!!.....I'm sorry Ossydave but to call Blackburn a non footballing town is ludicrous in the least!

We are, despite our falling support, STILL one of the best supported 'town teams' in the UK and our club has a tradition many so called bigger city clubs would die for.....BACK OFF FELLA!!

I've read your post on 3 seperate occasions and it's changed each time.

I'm not questioning whether or not we're a well supported town team. My point was that you could go into Blackburn town centre on a match day and it's no different to any other. Wander into Newcastle for example and make no mistake, you know about it straightaway that theres a game on that day. Theres a buzz there. I still enjoy going to Ewood, the sad thing is it's not really because of the quality of football on show. I enjoy meeting up with the lads for a few beers, having a sing song and a natter. Ewoods become more of a tourist attraction than a football ground now, it's to Blackburn what the tower is to Blackpool. Theres no passion about the place and to be honest I'd go as far as to say it's actually boring at times. I'll always go to Ewood, it's an addiction to me, I have to get my fix, even if it's more like a flat pint of Heineken than a bottle of cristal. A lot of its almost like a sense of duty though and the associated factors, a LOT of people probably go to Ewood to be entertained, if they feel that's lacking they simply don't go.

On another note I think it's a bit daft comparing population of towns to attendance figures. Do ALL rovers fans come from Blackburn? Do they ###### and its the same at every club.

And I agree with Manchester Blue, this isn't happening at every club, even those enjoying a LOT less success than us, it's an extremely worrying trend.

Will anyone dare to put their money were the old mouth is and bet me that our season ticket sales drop below 10k next year (assuming we don't finish top 4)?

Before I forget SG yes I remember those away followings too. I also remember the likes Of Grimsby taking 8,000 to Anfield. Oldham was always a good day out though with a big following

[1864roverite]

yep BFS gets the most out of his signings does he ?

Then why has YD not resigned this season ?

Why have they released 9 players who have been brought as "freebies" ?

Why have ticket sales plummeted like Rovers ?

Granted he got a lot more out of young davies and gets a required amount of effort from some of his players but please dont insinuate that BFS is a godlike figure in the world of Lancashire football.

He works within the remit that he has and that means having to look no further than the basement for signings.

Oh nearly forgot the money making machine that is JJ och, well we all know why he signed a new deal dont we ? Its because noone else would go near him due to his wage demands. if you speak to winkers fans they will probably tell you that he has signed and at the same time taken 80 percent of their entire annual budget in wages.

[1864roverite]

I will take that bet OD

two pints of lager and a packet of crisps ?

[Ossydave]

I will take that bet OD

two pints of lager and a packet of crisps ?

Not if it's Heineken no.

[blue phil]

yep BFS gets the most out of his signings does he ?

Then why has YD not resigned this season ?

BFS ? YD ? . If this post is aimed at me , you'll have to elaberate a bit 1864.....

[Manchester Blue]

Incidentally whilst we're on about Mike Bassett, sorry I mean Big Fat Sam. Who has played almost a full team of reserves in the cup games. Who as similarly said comments like 'priority is to stay up'. Who's summer signings consist of Bridges (no goals in 3 years), Ferdinand playing his last season for 5th year running and some Tunisian nobody.

Whilst he does a good job of getting the best out of 'certain' players he has as many flaws as our own manager if not more. They are team full of old freebies. Yet he is praised as being a legend yet our own manager brings in a few freebies and get's slated, that's loyalty for you.

We'll see how good they do this year with another revamped team, less Sky money than us again as I predicted and dissatisfaction from the fans if things don't start well.

[blue phil]

Ah , Big Fat Sam - I'm getting there

[FourLaneBlue]

On another note I think it's a bit daft comparing population of towns to attendance figures. Do ALL rovers fans come from Blackburn? Do they ###### and its the same at every club.

You can think it's daft all you like but it really isn't. as that's where the core support is, Of course not all Rovers fans come from Blackburn, nobody said the do, just like any other club. Most do though. Just like any other club, including Manchester United; a majority of the fans at Old Trafford comes from the Manchester area. The areas around Blackburn are the heartlands where most of the support comes from. They're bound to be, if Rovers is the nearest club they are likely to support them. So the size of the local population has nothing to do with it? Where do you want Rovers to get most of their support from? Cornwall? Essex? We're stuck with the area whether we like it or not. I'm not suggesting there isn't plenty of Rovers fans who aren't from Blackburn (and on this site we see that Rovers have fans from all over the globe) but it is where the basis has to come from. Same as always. Not a local team for local people exactly...but it does need the local people. Maybe Man U could get big crowds without Mancs...we couldn't get them without Blackburners or those from Ossy or Accy. Actually we can't get big crowds with them so Lord only knows what we'd do without them.

Simply...if the local population isn't that great then we can't expect massive crowds. Worse than that...if they don't renew there isn't that many others to take their place.

[bob fleming]

roversmum Bring the passion back to the team to bring the fans back to Ewood!

I believe to a point you've hit the nail on the head there.

Bearing in mind the way that Souness played, I cant for the life of me understand the lack of passion shown by his players. I fear that to many of the squad are mercenaries, their only concern being how much money they pick up at the end of each week. OK thats what everyones aim is to pick up as much pay as possible, however in the real world that we work in, if we didn't perform, our employers would quickly show us the door.

Maybe Souness has recognized the fact that a large per centage of his players are fat cats with heavy pay packets and they aren't hungry for success and these factors have been instrumental in why he signed the likes of Dickov and Mateo, players who may not be world class but play with commitment and passion.

In my opinion, Steads rise to fame at Ewood has been down to his hunger to succeed. He has become a fans favorite not just because of his goals but also his willingness to chase for the ball.

I've just spent 20 minutes writng a post which pretty much says what roversmum and Alan75 are saying here. Which is a bit annoying but when they've already said what I wanted all I can do is agree with them. I'll just leave this bit in....

Paul started a thread last season - something along the lines of Rovers needing a hero. This said it all for me. Before Stead arrived there wasn't really one player in that team who you could say you could choose to be your hero.

Hopefully these new signings will show all the things that have been missing and give us something to believe in then we may start to get an increase in gates again. Our supporters have seen a hell of a lot over they years - they know when something isn't right. You can't kid people who have seen the players we've seen over the years. They know when someone is giving their all and when someone isn't.

(P.S. We'll finish above Bolton this season - we nearly always do.)

[jim mk2]

[in my opinion, Steads rise to fame at Ewood has been down to his hunger to succeed. He has become a fans favorite not just because of his goals but also his willingness to chase for the ball.

He's also a 21-year-old sprog. If we had a whole team of young players there would be no need to worry over hunger and desire.

Matteo is a reasonable signing (injury provided) but I am concerned that Souness has recruited yet another player in his thirties.

Jack Walker's advice to Dalglish when he went on his spending spree was to try to buy "young and British" but by and large Souness seems to rely on experience.

Assuming Rovers line against West Brom something like this,

Friedel (age 33)

Neill (26)

Short (36)/Amoruso (33)

Matteo (30)

Gray (30 next month)

Thompson (26)/Emerton (25)

Ferguson (26)

Flitcroft (31)/Tugay (34 next month)

De Pedro (29?)

Stead (21)

Cole (32)/Dickov (31)

...... I would say it's a good job Thompson and Ferguson are available for selection again otherwise the line-up would look distinctly aged.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

We could do better on the support side at the moment in my opinion but that doesn't equate to Blackburn as not being a football town does it OD!

Non footballing towns dont take 30K supporters 200+ miles to watch them play in the mighty full members cup or have record gates of 62k do they...sorry mate, no offence but I thought your comment was as far from reality as possible.

Edited July 7, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[Ossydave]

We could do better on the support side in my opinion but that doesn't equate to Blackburn as not being a football town does it OD!

To be honest mate theres F all else to do in Blackburn/Ossy/Accy anyway but no I don't believe Blackburn is a passionate football town. Sorry if that upsets your applecart.

[1864roverite]

YD = youri DORKitoff

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I understand your point fully OD ..compared to say the Geordies or even fans of Everton our supporter 'passion' comes a very bad second...is it me or do people from Blackburn seem more laid back in their attitudes?

[Ossydave]

On another note I think it's a bit daft comparing population of towns to attendance figures.  Do ALL rovers fans come from Blackburn?  Do they ###### and its the same at every club.

You can think it's daft all you like but it really isn't. as that's where the core support is, Of course not all Rovers fans come from Blackburn, nobody said the do, just like any other club. Most do though. Just like any other club, including Manchester United; a majority of the fans at Old Trafford comes from the Manchester area. The areas around Blackburn are the heartlands where most of the support comes from. They're bound to be, if Rovers is the nearest club they are likely to support them. So the size of the local population has nothing to do with it? Where do you want Rovers to get most of their support from? Cornwall? Essex? We're stuck with the area whether we like it or not. I'm not suggesting there isn't plenty of Rovers fans who aren't from Blackburn (and on this site we see that Rovers have fans from all over the globe) but it is where the basis has to come from. Same as always. Not a local team for local people exactly...but it does need the local people. Maybe Man U could get big crowds without Mancs...we couldn't get them without Blackburners or those from Ossy or Accy. Actually we can't get big crowds with them so Lord only knows what we'd do without them.

Simply...if the local population isn't that great then we can't expect massive crowds. Worse than that...if they don't renew there isn't that many others to take their place.

Come on then how many 'small town teams' reside in the premiership? Not an awful lot I'm sure you'll agree.

The fact is our attendances increased by a MASSIVE percentage when we got to the premiership. Thats simply a natural reaction. ANY town team in the whole of the UK would see huge increases in attendances.

If Burnley got in the premiership would their attendances rise? YES.

If Accy Stanley did? YES.

If Rochdale did? YES.

If Barnsley did? YES.

If Ipswich did? YES.

I can see a pattern emerging here.

Fact is, there's not enough small town teams in the premiership to make an accurate analysis of how well supported we are. My point still stands, Blackburn is not a footballing town IMHO. Incidently I wouldn't say Middlesbrough is either.

Face it, the novelty of top flight football is fading away, fast.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

''My point still stands, Blackburn is not a footballing town IMHO. Incidently I wouldn't say Middlesbrough is either.''

Dave, I respect your opinion but I'm REALLY trying to understand that comment.What constitutes a footballing town then?..........

Edited July 7, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[Ossydave]

''My point still stands, Blackburn is not a footballing town IMHO. Incidently I wouldn't say Middlesbrough is either.''

I'm REALLY trying to understand that comment Dave.What constitutes a footballing town then in your opinion?..........

Somewhere that lives/eats/breathes football, know it's not a town but Newcastle always springs to mind as an instant example.

Middlesbrough are still effectively benefiting partially from signing that irritating Brazilian the first time and other big (ish) signings.

Edited July 7, 2004 by Ossydave

[Paul]

Our supporters have seen a hell of a lot over they years - they know when something isn't right. You can't kid people who have seen the players we've seen over the years. They know when someone is giving their all and when someone isn't.

.......and that's all we are asking for. When you've seen (to pick just a few at random) Speedie, Garner, Shearer, Hendry, Gennoe, Reid, Barker, Moran, Atkins, Fazakerly, Wright, Brotherston and I don't know how many others dieing for the cause, you know, you really know when a player is committed.