I think the trend seems to be that we're a novelty to be explored. The vast majority are not going to get their families to take them. Full stop. Many parents have even asked where they're going and who is playing when they drop them off! The goal is to get them to consider us as a form of weekend entertainment when they enter late teens. That does seem to be happening anecdotally (at least to me)...

Not been on here since as I was out most of yesterday and it was a late one back getting kids home. Our Ewood Express kids had the time of their lives and were chanting "We Won!" the entire bus ride back. It was a timely reminder that our pre-occupation as adults with the misery of what was and what might be never gets into a 7 year-old's head. They joined in with the thunder claps even though they got words wrong for most of the chants; they jumped up and down; they panicked whenever PNE got in our half and they generally enjoyed their night out. What I noticed was that our trip was open to Y3-6 but mostly got taken up by the Y3s and 4s (half and half girls and boys). The older lads have already been lost to the 'big clubs'. Obviously some of them just enjoyed the experience and ate their snacks with their friends but some were really into it from start to finish. I know one lad said his family got tickets to the Wolves game. It really is beginning to work...

Thanks for that. It never once occurred to me that the name being mentioned all the time wouldn't be a goal-scorer. Personally, I think goals FAR outweighs any other issue and width is a distant second even though at this point they're all really glaring needs. No-one could possibly accept no more strikers surely?!

It's an interesting (ish) thought experiment to guess what could be the bare minimum we get done that will get people congratulating Waggott/Venkys and saying, "See they have backed us after all!" My guess is one youngish forward prospect with no goals (Kargbo or someone similar) and a last minute loan midfielder (another Clarkson, Morton type). Neither would solve our glaring weaknesses of reliable goals and pace down the wings. Both would have numpties telling us all to stop criticising and 'give the lad time' as if we've got that luxury. It's beyond pathetic that a couple with slight potential would probably keep the masses happy when 5 or 6 guaranteed first-team starters are needed to keep us going IMO (GK, possibly LB for the long-term, CM, LW, RW and #9 striker).

We're on the Ewood Express again for this so there'll be a bit of excited noise up in the top of the BBE. Our lot are a bit of a jinx as we lost to Bristol the first time they came, the Blackpool game got cancelled due to the FA Cup and we drew with Plymouth last season. I don't hold out much hope but at least some little people are buzzing about it...

Talked about the Ewood Express before but I've been patiently working on the kids at school all this time about this exact thing. Where is the connection to Liverpool? We were born in Blackburn (some usually put their hand up and point out their mum went to Burnley). The ground is over there. They are our team whatever you think. There is no genuine love for the big teams. None of them know YNWA or Blue Moon or whatever and couldn't name a single player from back in the day. They genuinely care a lot more about Ronaldo being better than Messi than their chosen 'big club'. I tell them it's like family. Yours aren't the richest, or the prettiest, or the cleverest, but they're yours and you love them anyway. Little by little, Tugay reference by weekend story, they're slowly coming round to liking Rovers. Not enough to go but they know the score on Monday and ask me how it was. They know some players (they all knew Sammie last season). One in particular is actually desperate to go to Ewood but his parents point blank refuse to take him (he asks when school is going back quite often). I tell him to get a season ticket when he is 18 and he beams. Incidentally, a lot of the ones who go on these Ewood Express trips are actually young (Y3) lads or older girls who you wouldn't expect to care at all. Shoots of recovery...

Who would have guessed that almost being relegated coupled with hated owners who won't fund the club properly would affect season tickets?! No apparent realisation that hiking the prices massively after a tiny early-bird would put off people. The phrasing makes it very clear that prices are going to rise heavily next season and see off a few more die-hards. All in all, the usual mediocre employees unwilling to actually try to make Rovers a better club.

Just got back from a very enjoyable city break down there. Lovely city, nice views. In amongst the well-deserved praise for Gueye and Ohashi, might I add a note of exasperation? We defended Gallagher's poor ability for so long by going on about contribution to the team performance. The same seems to be true for Dolan for me. I still can't see any improvement at all from his first game. Constant silly spins and twirls to 'fool' the defenders seem to be his primary objective rather than scoring goals. Surely Ohashi must take his spot in the starting 11 soon? I actually thought Sigurdsson had one of his best (not full) games when he came on. He's been a bit indifferent for a long time but looked intelligent with his play which settled us towards the end.

To be fair, with the loyalty point system, games in the North West, Stoke and the West Midlands may sell before general sale. Plymouth is a guarantee to be free...

For all the penny pinching they do, all the focus on finances, it's incredible that they seemingly don't care about losing so many paying customers.

A word of caution on the, otherwise lovely, kits. I'm an XL in regular clothing but the XXL is still way too clingy (no extra pies recently in case you were wondering). Going to have to go two sizes up on this one. Why does Macron do it?

Honestly, I couldn't care less what the sales figures say. All I want is more than a handful of fans at Ewood. A couple of dozen won't make much of a difference but every little helps. Of course, signing players would help much more.

Upon further checking, the most Rovers thing ever: 120 points were 'manually deleted' when renewing rather than being automatically added. An excellent online system if ever there was one. When I queried this with the ticket office they had the nerve to suggest, "It's a new system. There's bound to be glitches." In other, non-rotten club news, my class of 10 year-olds did well in their arithmetic tests. They demonstrated a key knowledge of the difference between adding and subtracting.

We were discussing the general, rotten incompetence at all levels of Rovers and talk came to loyalty points. When the scheme was introduced, I checked and I had 180-odd points (ST plus several away and cup games). I checked today, post renewing my ST (120 more) and now I have 61. WTF? How sad it is to assume they couldn't run a piss-up in a brewery, log in to confirm and quickly have it confirmed!

As regards the game, I just wish we had more than one player who had even the slightest idea about how to shoot. I also wish we had a bench with at least forward on it to come on and try to change things up top (Telalovic isn't that). But my post is mostly about why I wasn't in my usual seat. In my Blackburn school, the overwhelming majority of football-mad children (seriously obsessed) are Liverpool or Utd fans with the odd City fan. During a recent poll as part of a computing database lesson, I was the only one in the whole class to show a preference for Rovers (10 for Liverpool, 14 for Utd, the rest for "whoever Ronaldo plays for"). They have absolutely no clue about the subtleties of being a supporter beyond saying, "We're better than you!". The 'die-hard' Liverpool kids have honestly never heard of YNWA and the City boy freely admitted he didn't actually care about City at all but Haaland was amazing. I say this because all that matters is the glory-hunting, fashionable aspect of this. Their entire football knowledge comes from online or on Sky beyond break-time kickabouts. Matchday visits are all but unheard of for any of them. Which brings us to the Ewood Express... At no point in my entire childhood was I EVER as excited to watch a game as the 6-11 year old kids I took today (or against Plymouth the other month). Starting their own chants, joining in with the singers below (up to a point as they're good, naiive kids who don't swear), willing Rovers on. They loved it (one lad did ask where the commentary and spider-cam was). Ignore the EDL-supporting, knuckle-dragging cretins on Twitter moaning about Islam. Kids of every background absolutely had the time of their lives today. The desire to support their local team is bubbling under. They want to go again . It won't matter though. Until we have a Premier League team, they will always choose the big city reds and Rovers will be a 2nd club like we might have a patronising fondness for little Accy Stanley. They all ask me about Rovers every Monday like, "Poor old Sir needs comforting; let's show some solidarity." The older generations' apathy (one parent actually asked me at pick-up what stadium we were going to and whether it was a game even though he'd signed up and paid the £8) is NOT present in the kids and this lot would definitely start attending in ten years time IF we had the right 'product' but they will not stop the fanboy/girling for CR7 or Salah in favour of Sam bloody Gallagher. Yasir's work is for nothing without actual success.