RevidgeBlue

Unbelievable. in the light of the Government's (predictable) cave in on allowing fans back in to live sporting events, most rational people would be admitting they made a huge mistake and coming back to supporters on bended knee asking for forgiveness. Waggott has obviously never heard of the phrase "When you're in a hole stop digging." His response?, double down on the original mistake on 20, hope that people will miraculously change their minds and suddenly won't object to being taken for granted and to being asked to pay more for something they're not actually getting in the first place, and hope that that miracle ace comes out. It's mind blowing, it really is.

The only thing Rovers could do is hold their hands up and acknowledge they'd made a horrendous mistake with the pricing at this particular time and re-issue prices along the lines of the cost of an i-follow pass to be upgraded when fans are finally allowed back inside the ground. On the assumption the Club get a cut of I follow subscriptions for individual games anyway, that move might not alter finances drastically until fans are allowed back in, but it would might restore a degree of good will and ensure that some of the missing fans are signed up and on board and ready to go when the time comes and not disenchanted and potentially lost forever. The only downside would be that that would be unfair on the noble bunch who have already renewed but I'm sure some further rebate could be worked out for them. I spoke to one such lady last night who was in JW and she thought her ticket had gone up about £50. She said she had to think about it given the likely non attendance but then thought about what had happened at Bolton and the fact she was worried about the prospect of non playing staff going unpaid. All power to her.

I can't see any harm in leaving them on sale for anyone who wants to help the Club out bearing in mind you supposedly get a rebate off next season's prices. The problem is that any such numbers will be minimal given that Waggott has destroyed any feeling of goodwill towards the Club with the price increases. Your other point is spot on though, months of inertia was excused by saying that we couldn't put on sale what we couldn't guarantee.......then when we finally emerged from hibernation we went on to do exactly that!

You keep saying this but I suspect it's a complete non issue. If the Clubs concerned sold on the condition there would be no refunds in the case of Covid enforced non attendance there isn't a problem.

So by a combination of not putting memberships on sale early enough and when they were finally put on sale raising prices by up to 25% at a point in time when it was obvious that it would not be possible to attend in person for large parts of the season, Waggott has single handedly managed to decimate the season ticket base from around 8'500 to c1200. Hats off to the bloke, genius, that takes some doing even in the current climate.

Did you put the £660 on? ?

Not wanting to "moan" but I think the fact Evans and Gallagher are out of the reckoning is a huge bonus and I think their pedestrian style would be a huge hindrance to the free flowing line up we saw today. Terrific stuff today. Dolan. Wow, just wow. If he carries on like this we'll have to give him an improved contract to scare potential suitors off. Brereton, did really well without scoring. JRC very good game. First time I've been impressed with him. Johnson ditto, best game he's had for the Club imo. Chapman looked decent when he came on ditto Buckley. Armstrong finally looked to be enjoying himself a bit more and you can't argue with four goals from two games. Let's hope we can keep it up. We appear to have performed really well in the last 3 games and I hope the manager doesn't kill the momentum by mixing it up too much to give everyone a game. Edit: forgot Rothwell, one of his better games. Well done everyone!

Best for a long time. Dolan is exceptional, he looks head and shoulders above the rest of the side to me, the fact he is only 18 is neither here nor there. Brereton also did really well in the build up for the third. Hope we don't take our foot off the gas too much 2nd half.

Absolute insanity dropping Nyambe. We better win.

From memory, this happened last season to a lot of people (myself included) with the finance Company used back then (I thought it was a different one) and the "solution" back then was that you had to go through the rigmarole of being turned down before then applying with Premium Credit who seem to accept anyone with a pulse. Not sure if the Premium Credit fall back is available this season but either way it's hardly ideal and a further deterrent to renewing.

Have to disagree on this one. Evans is an over paid over-rated dud I'd be delighted to see the back of. I can't believe he's lasted at the Club as long as he has. The problem we have is that Johnson falls into exactly the same category and is arguably even worse. It's like trying to pick a Championship level striker between Brereton and Gallagher.

That was obviously the way to go, with the exception that once fans are allowed to go back to games, the £7 surcharge and removal of i-follow shouldn't be optional, it should be automatic. The way he's done it has given him the excuse to get rid of cheaper tickets altogether and blame it on Covid, has given him the excuse to charge up to £169 on a £399 ticket this season for something with no tangible benefit in a two thirds empty stadium (guaranteeing your own seat) and has potentially locked us into a never ending spiral of price increases with future prices potentially set at a level many fans either won't be willing or able to pay. I'm sure he'll want to stick headline prices up again next season to compensate for any "refunds" given against this season's ticket. £450+ to get in anywhere in the ground next season to watch a potentially struggling lower mid table Championship outfit with further standard increases in following seasons? Exceptionally difficult times for everyone, an inferior product temporarily on offer, yet I'm sure most people would still have rallied round a cheaper season ticket, a price freeze or even a minimal increase. So what do we do? Put prices up and not only that, by an unprecedented 25% in the Riverside thereby completely removing the option of a slightly cheaper ticket for those that need it. Still can't believe we've done it tbh, it's completely inexplicable and bizarre.

£660? Blimey this isn't 1992-95, I wouldn't risk £66 on this bunch or any team managed by this manager! We might be going in my acca this weekend that's about your lot! (Good luck if you're trying to get your free ticket this way btw)

Must win game regardless of personnel and formations. Be a very long season indeed if we can't win this type of fixture.

Spot on, same position as I would be in as regards physically going down to the ground now Swag has frightened off my friends.

Spot on. There is a huge irony that Waggott will no doubt have put huge numbers of fans off attending Ewood Park this season when permissible with his appalling attitude towards a likely handful of refunds for last season and the completely unjustified and excessive price hike for this. Then in the next breath he has the begging bowl out in rather public and unedifying fashion asking local MP's to lobby for the ground to be allowed to be opened. Too late mate, there probably isn't going to be a great deal of need to get the ground open the way you've behaved. And whilst I don't agree with any of the regulations surrounding Covid, we are where we are with them Nationally so it would have been far classier and more dignified to do your lobbying in private and convince the powers that be that all requirements are being met behind the scenes. Nevertheless, this fresh plea clearly indicates we are right in the **** and has provided a fresh tug on my heartstrings. I am in a moral conundrum and am completely split between not being prepared to be taken for a complete mug any further by this absolute idiot Waggott and drawing a line firmly in the sand, or supporting the Club and even upgrading my ticket to help out as I would be gutted if we we went under at a point when I hadn't renewed. Apologies for the public soul searching as I realise whether I personally renew is of no interest to anyone else and I used to give gumboots a huge amount of clog for doing the same so I'm being a massive hypocrite in that respect. I suppose the wider theme is that if Swag is grinding my gears to this extent then many others are presumably feeling the same. I think I'll do the same as Arbitro and write to Swag telling him exactly what I think of him at which point I might feel a bit better. Renewing isn't exactly going to make him change his ways though.

Right. The mate of mine who I normally go with in the Riverside has texted back as follows: " Not rushing, might get a half season ticket. Can't see there being a problem getting in. It's a bit much." So that looks like there's at least 3 of us down there unless I have a drastic change of heart

To be fair, at £599 that's a lot better value for money than £399 for the Riverside imo. Edit: once fans are allowed back in that is.

Far too sensible and very similar to what I've been advocating for ages. When nothing was available I'd have signed people up to a membership at a nominal monthly fee. Could have been a token reward or credit given in the Club Shop, Concourses or against a Cup ticket at a later date. Once it became apparent that only I follow was available for a period give upgrade everyone to that for £10 per game. Once fans allowed back in, upgrade them to full amount. The way round SW has actually done it has given him the excuse to phase out cheap tickets completely and blame it on Covid, and offer a potentially meaningless refund in real terms depending on how much prices are increased in following seasons.

Just for the sake of completeness, does anyone know what you get for paying £599 for a Jack Walker Diamond Club ticket?

Me too Tom. Been thinking it through this afternoon and the more I think about it the more worried I am getting, not just for me, but for the future of the Club in general. To me, the promise to make concessions against next year's prices only has any value in real terms if introduced in conjunction with the promise of a blanket price freeze for next season. Otherwise the Club could just hike prices up again next season and the season after that to compensate for any refunds given this season. And where would that leave fans who decide to leave it for this season? If Swag puts another £50 or so on prices next season then unless you bought this season you're looking at a minimum £450 - £500 to get in anywhere in the ground! A huge section of the fan base could be priced out for good. I really do fear Waggott is taking us down a long slippery and ultimately disastrous road.

Me too. Even for me on my own, £5 x 23 - (£115) or £399? Viewed objectively it's a no brainer. For people in a multiple ticket household it's even more difficult.

I don't think an £80 increase on a £319 ticket for the Riverside is acceptable personally. Maybe a blanket 10% increase across the ground might have been tolerable.

All this could have been introduced a couple of months ago giving people time to think through their options. Imo details have been cynically brought out only a few days before the start of the home season to pressurise people into making a rush and snap decision to renew so they can get their i follow pass in time for the first home game and also because they have this vague threat of eventually losing their normal seat hanging over their heads. Other important information has been left unclear (I suspect deliberately) - is the direct debit scheme still available? - Is there a set deadline for passes this year like normal with season tickets or will they be available throughout the season on a pro rata basis until fans are finally allowed into the ground? I also suspect next year's "refund" for matches watched on i follow this season won't be worth a bean. All Swag has to do is to calculate the amount to be refunded and put prices up by a corresponding amount over a couple of seasons to compensate. One further thing also really got my goat on the Club website. Let's face it prices have gone up because we're even more skint than normal due to the Crisis. However on the website instead of being honest and upfront about it the flimsy excuse for the massive price hike is that if they have to move someone out of JW upper then it's not fair that he's paying more than someone else. If that really were the reason and was a genuine possibility, then everyone including the guy in JW Upper should be on the lower price to be on the safe side. You don't punish everyone to protect the feelings of the guy who's moved! And the guy who's moved still isn't getting a seat of the same quality regardless of what everyone else is paying. Waggott really is taking everyone for mugs and seems to be hoping that by rushing it through at the last moment people either won't notice or even if they do that blind loyalty to the Club will hold sway.

What I don't understand is, recent local regulations have superceded those guidelines haven't they? There's no such thing as a social or support bubble locally now is there? I thought you couldn't see anyone from another household either inside or in their gardens due to extra restrictions brought in. All complete bollux imo but nevertheless we are where we are with this ad hoc enforcement of partial local lock downs unfortunately. Does this mean some grounds will be allowed to re-open and other grounds in areas with extra restrictions (like Blackburn) won't?