Read my first post and this is REALLY really simple. There WAS a drop off in attendance between 96 and Venkys landing from 26k to an average of 22/23k with a couple of 25k’s. It certainly wasn’t improving. Fact. The drop off accelerated once Venkys got in with the critical point being relegation, where we lost 7k supporters overnight. Then a mixture of terrible leadership and not winning dwindles that 15k down to the 10-12k we have now of hard core fans. Which is historically where we were until Jack Walkers intervention.

Zzzz look at the numbers. There is drop off if you draw a line from 1996 until Venkys turned up. Venkys seasons in the PL were actually similar to the messiah, Hughes average attendances! Going down creates the most noticeable drop. Which is exactly my point.

Jesus man, what agenda!? The point I made was based on attendances that in fact started to tale off from 1996, steadily (barring a couple of years) until Venkys came in which accelerated the drop off, such is how utterly shit they are at owning a football club!!! The attendance drop off before Venkys isn’t a criticism. It was a symptom of our population, socio economic situation which was leading us back to our previously steady 8-10k gates. Do I think we’d have retained another 10-12k supporters by staying in the PL? Yes, lots of people are enamoured by elite level sport. Are Venkys culpable for that subsequent drop? Yes. So, it leaves us with 10-12k of die hard fans attending games now, much like the 8-10k’s we had in the 70’s.

Nah, just saying it as it is. I liked the Hughes era too. Vs what we’ve had since it feels better than it was. Vs us at peak…it was just, ok. As for “superb” Mark Hughes managed us 04-08. During that time, our average crowds started at 24k, DIPPED to 22k then 21k before a little resurgence to 23k at the point where Hughes left. Awkward. SO, going back to my point….the drop off in attendances started from 96, having won the league in 95..if you pull the timeline out it’s a fairly consistent, shallow drop until we fall out of the PL when it drops off a cliff, For the reasons I stated. 👍🏼

Kinel, this is getting tiring….I’m not saying I wasn’t entertained during sporadic parts those years. I even pointed out the Early Souness and Hughes teams. The context of my initial post was around fan attraction and falling attendances. There’s a difference .

I’m talking from a fan attraction pov. Maybe the term should be…we haven’t been sexy enough for 25+ years!

Just opinions, my point was that attendances were on a downward trajectory from peak (1995), albeit small drop offs, crowds were lessening. In respect of being good I meant a top team. We’d had flashes of good teams (Early Souness and Hughes era) but most of the rest was average. From a fab attraction and entertainment pov we’ve been weak for 25+ years imo. Especially when considering the success of Northern teams during that period.

I think you’re mistaken. If you look across the board, fan attendance for any club is dependant on several factors. Including, primarily - population size, economic profile, fan/club culture and success. The standard ‘8000’s’ in the 70’s & 80’s were artificially modified by Jack Walker in the 90’s through winning, creating aspiration and improved culture (I’m 41, it was without doubt the greatest time to be alive). 25-28k supporters at Ewood was Uncle Jack wringing every bit of feel good factor out of a working class town. Incidentally, the last time we had 25k+ at Ewood was final day of League 1 season we won promotion because that is our potential when things are going well. It is true that Venkys have decimated that feel good factor but in truth the decline on attendances started long before they turned because it was unsustainable unless Jack kept pumping millions in and we kept winning! Money and success is the magic sauce. So it doesn’t surprise me that we’re down to 10-12k fans. Imo that is our base level based on the above. The job of Waggott and co is to inspire the area to want to watch us play. I think the clubs focus on the Youth lads and high profile work in engaging ethnic minorities is them trying to create a buzz and open up new markets because they have no money. The problem (aside from the money) is that leaders must inspire, they must be great orators and be trusted. Waggott is none of those things… For me, the 10-12k is our base level including population growth since 70’s & 80’s. The biggest problem is that the leadership is poor and we haven’t been any good for 25+ years.

What an absolute clusterfuck.

🤣🤣🤣

What loss would he claim? He’s still being paid….there isn’t a civil court in the land that would order payment of damages with no tangible loss!? What type of consultant are you out of interest?

Wow, if that’s the case….people need to be held to account. Unthinkable that a team sat there including a DOF with likely £500k in wages between em couldn’t fathom this out 😳

There’s something wrong there…an issue with him…?

He’d do fuck all, is the answer!! 🤣 But, he would be sure to tell us he’d “been around the block” whilst insinuate that he was some big shot with pals in “all the right places” and that everyone should just “man up”…. Sound about right?

Ahh, sorry. I thought he’d failed the medical. All aside though, do we really want Maja? Seems he can’t find a home anywhere…

I think it’s fair to say that historically we’ve been lacking in direction and strategy. But I do genuinely believe that GB has a plan and he will need time to execute it. We all want success right now and I think the recent forays into the Playoff positions have raised expectations but it’s clear to anyone that we are not a top 6 team / squad. We simply do not have the finances, so will need to overachieve to get there. I don’t think we struggle to identify players, the problem is that we simply cannot afford them under FFP regulation. If another owner came in, they would be under the same restrictions. Of course, we must get better at generating revenue from player sales but with diminishing gates and being placed in a low economic area, we just don’t generate the funds we need to.

He failed his medical, didn’t he?

I agree, it felt a little unnecessary. Afterwards, my friend (A Sheff United fan) asked if I knew Waggott, such was his openness and relaxed conversation. But for the record, I do think Lenihan was dreaming that he could get a move to the PL and I can’t think of a single defender in the PL who isn’t better than him. Hyam is MILES better than DL and I don’t think he’s good enough..

I accept that he could’ve lied to me but it was an impassioned plea from him in spite of me not pushing him… He spoke very openly about how crap Nyambe’s advisors were, about a conversation he’d had with Lenihan, who apparently thought he’d get a premier league move which Waggott laughed off. He was ADAMANT that Rothwell would be sold if he didn’t sign and indicated there was interest in him. I also know for a fact (basically the horses mouth) that the Rothwell to Bournemouth deal was done last Jan and replacements lined up (Dembele & Jed Wallace) - that deal was torched by Venkys. As I say, I’m not sticking up for Waggott but his bosses can’t put him in the firing line for decisions he isn’t empowered to make. Which is probably why they haven’t sacked him! Completely agree that anyone with any self respect would’ve resigned, but I guess £300k a year ain’t too bad for what’s practically an administrator role!? 🤷🏽‍♂️

I’m not sticking up for Waggott, I don’t think a good CEO. You only have to look across the board at us commercially etc and you can see his limitations. But he can’t be sacked for the reasons mentioned here because he wanted to sell Lenihan, Nyambe, Rothwell and Brereton before their contracts ran out. He told me so in a chat I had with him at Ewood. Something or someone must’ve blocked him because he was adamant they’d be sold if the wouldn’t sign.

Name one top manager who changes his style of play to suit the players….Ferguson? Mourinho? Guardiola? Klopp? Arteta? Conte? Ten Haag!!?? Not a chance!!! Every top manager has a way of doing it and you either fit in or fuck off. JDT is a winner. He was as a player and he has been as a manager. My guess is that if the club don’t pull their finger out and back him, he’ll walk away.

What who tells me? I’ve been a season ticket holder for years and a member of this board for a while now too and im as sure as I can be that most on here would’ve gladly waived Ben off on loan at the start of the 21/22 season. We’d probably have been right too, he’d been hopeless most of the time until then. They’d offered him a new contract BEFORE Christmas! Had they offered him it before that season started, I’m sure he’d have been delighted to sign and most of the fanbase left wondering why? It’s simple supply and demand. On a they know they can get more, you’re knackered. Planning 2yrs in front is the only way to mitigate risk, but even that wouldn’t have worked with Ben, such was his rise.

Well, it was those ‘dimwits’ who saw something in him in the first place when most of the ‘experts’ on here wouldn’t have paid him in washers. What really is annoying is why they haven’t just grappled him to the floor, wedged a pen in his had and physically forced him to sign the contract. They’re so shit!!

The key here is that I can admit that they’re very shit at lots of stuff…I’ll await you opening up on some positivity about what’s happening at the club and then we’ll talk about who is biased and who is not…👍🏼

The club in many ways are a shit show, but i genuinely think sometimes that if they came out and announced they’d learned to walk on water, you guys would say it was only because they couldn’t swim. 🤦🏽‍♂️