[Archived] Please can the Fans Forum take action? - Personal plea from Sentient

[Stuart]

If you understood the workings of the fans forum and why there is one. You would understand that there is no reason whatsoever for a poll. Lets be honest what can the forums do about the owners or the manager? NOTHING.

There has been protests for awhile now on the owners and the manager - but still nothing has been chnaged. So what difference would a few people talking to club officials make.

My understanding of the forum, is it is not about such concerns about owners or manager. But how the club treats the fans. How to make attending matches ok for fans etc, catering, toilets etc etc.

This issue about the fans forum would never have raised its head, if it was not for the Pune trip. If the pune trip had not have either been invited - accepted or refused - we would not even be dicussing this issue.

Surely that's a current topic of interest then?

[sentient]

My understanding of the forum, is it is not about such concerns about owners or manager. But how the club treats the fans. How to make attending matches ok for fans etc, catering, toilets etc etc.

This issue about the fans forum would never have raised its head, if it was not for the Pune trip. If the pune trip had not have either been invited - accepted or refused - we would not even be dicussing this issue.

Trite nonsense! You contradicted yourself in just 30seconds. FF is about the bogs except when it is used to support venkys pr efforts. ffs what is your price? You get nothing for sycophancy, just ridicule.

[Ste B]

STILL no poll Ste! WERE you bought out in India? You certainly aren't giving me a positive impression.

There wont be. The decision has to be taken by each individual fans forum member. PAFELL has pretty much described the remit of the forum. IMHO should we all resign, it would make no difference whatsoever.

[sentient]

There is no poll I imagine because it's a non issue the fans forum will not be resigning. By your logic anyone attending games is supporting the owners and manager

You come accross as a very bitter individual it must be said I see you've been sniping at people in the Wigan thread as well

Another pathetic attempt at mood management Tom. Why no poll?

There wont be. The decision has to be taken by each individual fans forum member. PAFELL has pretty much described the remit of the forum. IMHO should we all resign, it would make no difference whatsoever.

If resigning makes no difference, then you are saying that the FF is an irrelevance? What is the point in it continuing?

Ask the FANS if they think the FF should resign. What are you scared of?

[J*B]

Theres nothing I'd love more than for one of the FF to resign, and somebody from here get the job.

They'd make loads of threads talking about how they will change things and fight for the club, then come the day of the meeting, they'd hopelessly resign once they realise that the FF generally talk about trivial things such as the paint in the mens toilets, and the heat of the perfect pie.

[Tom]

Another pathetic attempt at mood management Tom. Why no poll?

At least it's in keeping with another pathetic attempt at causing friction by sentient

No issue = no poll

I'm bored of you now so I'm done here

[cn174]

Was there not an open invite to the last FF pre-meet where they set the agenda and not a single other person turned up. You could've gone to that sentient?

[sentient]

Theres nothing I'd love more than for one of the FF to resign, and somebody from here get the job.

They'd make loads of threads talking about how they will change things and fight for the club, then come the day of the meeting, they'd hopelessly resign once they realise that the FF generally talk about trivial things such as the paint in the mens toilets, and the heat of the perfect pie.

As you say ... the FF is an irrelevance! Its only useful for PR purposes, as we witnessed with the Pune junket. I would like to see the FF turn that sorry event on its head and strike back. I'm not calling for the replacement of existing FF members - a sausage is a sausage after all - but for en masse resignation with a carefully worded press statement. For those that don't get the idea, imagine a press article along the lines of ...

"Last month they were paraded through the streets of Pune. A symbol of venkys trans-continental vision and India's modernity. But yesterday they well and truely peed all over that party and resigned in disgust at the continued distruction of their beloved Blackburn Rovers. Spokesperson TomTom-the-piper's-son said he had finally seen the light after realising that the pain he had been suffering in his rectum was not caused by his hobby of fence-sitting but was actually a severe case of Goan-piles transmitted from his erstwhile-guru Bilaji Roa."

OK I have taken poetic license but you get the drift, hopefully.

[donnermeat]

What!? So I'm not allowed to question the FF9 freebie-junket without accusations of being a conspiracy nut?

What's your price dogmeat? Pretty cheap I expect.

Relax man, just trying to lighten the mood.

So much negative stuff going on at the minute I thought it might just make a change, that's all.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The Fans Forum is totally discredited now.

[Glenn]

As you say ... the FF is an irrelevance! Its only useful for PR purposes, as we witnessed with the Pune junket.

7 Words.

Lower season ticket prices and unreserved seating*

Two things we pushed hard for and the club listened. Do you consider they are both an irrelevance?

I was partly guilty for perpetuating that the FF is all about pie temperatures and leaky roofs (though fans have genuinely asked them to be raised) as a lot of what we discuss IS tedious and we do so quite a turnover of people who couple for a couple off meetings, see how tedious it can be, then never come again, but the truth is, we do fight for some important stuff too. The truth is, for many years, the only problems wrong with the club WERE tiny tedious ones.

I have said all along, my personal reason for being on the FF is to benefit both club and fans. I've said several times if you could convince me that resigning would bring a tangible benefit to either, I'd do it in a heart beat. Sadly I think all it would achieve is a hearty "well done" from have a handful of people, a resounding "meh" from everyone else (fans, club, owners etc) and (I hope, assuming I personally am not an irrelevance) that the club would be slightly less well informed and the fans slightly less well represented.

As for Pune, personally I never doubted we were going to be used for PR purposes to some extent (frankly I've have been dismayed at the missed opportunity by the club if we hadn't) but that was the price to pay for achieving our aim of getting our views (and the views of as many fans as possible) over too the owners, in our own words, with no filtering, no editing, no sat in a file to be read later, no unintentional "lost in translation" issues. We achieved that. Now, I'll happily admit that I came away with genuine optimism and hope for the future, a hope which with every passing day of no visible improvement (until Saturday, I at least acknowledged the football was slowly improving, even if the results weren't) diminishes a little. But I'm still sure as hell glad I tried. What have you tried to do to make the situation better ?

(* unreserved seating in the belief it'll maximize last minute "walk on" fans and help improve the overall atmosphere - But that's a bit long winded)

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[RovertheHill]

It does if you are (supposed) fans representatives and you do NOTHING and don't even make a statement of concern. To me that says "FF supports venkys and kean - we are happy with 7 points from 12 games, 5 clean sheets in nearly 40 games (wow!), and general pathetic ridiculous sham crass inane amateur woeful pathetic performance."

Also think that you got your logic wrong above. But I won't hold that against you - just your sentiments.

Lol, logic wasn't wrong but the wording was poor, I'll give you that. You seem to think that people not protesting or "resigning en masse" equates to supporting venky's and kean. What an absolute load of utter nonsense. Are you 12? "Unless you say you hate the kid down the street right now I'll know you're his best mate" Grow up.

[thenodrog]

7 Words.

Lower season ticket prices and unreserved seating*

Two things we pushed hard for and the club listened. Do you consider they are both an irrelevance?

I was partly guilty for perpetuating that the FF is all about pie temperatures and leaky roofs (though fans have genuinely asked them to be raised) as a lot of what we discuss IS tedious and we do so quite a turnover of people who couple for a couple off meetings, see how tedious it can be, then never come again, but the truth is, we do fight for some important stuff too. The truth is, for many years, the only problems wrong with the club WERE tiny tedious ones.

I have said all along, my personal reason for being on the FF is to benefit both club and fans. I've said several times if you could convince me that resigning would bring a tangible benefit to either, I'd do it in a heart beat. Sadly I think all it would achieve is a hearty "well done" from have a handful of people, a resounding "meh" from everyone else (fans, club, owners etc) and (I hope, assuming I personally am not an irrelevance) that the club would be slightly less well informed and the fans slightly less well represented.

As for Pune, personally I never doubted we were going to be used for PR purposes to some extent (frankly I've have been dismayed at the missed opportunity by the club if we hadn't) but that was the price to pay for achieving our aim of getting our views (and the views of as many fans as possible) over too the owners, in our own words, with no filtering, no editing, no sat in a file to be read later, no unintentional "lost in translation" issues. We achieved that. Now, I'll happily admit that I came away with genuine optimism and hope for the future, a hope which with every passing day of no visible improvement (until Saturday, I at least acknowledged the football was slowly improving, even if the results weren't) diminishes a little. But I'm still sure as hell glad I tried. What have you tried to do to make the situation better ?

(* unreserved seating in the belief it'll maximize last minute "walk on" fans and help improve the overall atmosphere - But that's a bit long winded)

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What did Mrs Desai have to say Glenn?

FF's fine and OK for fit for purpose and I have no issues with what it did until the Pune junket. BUT Fact is that it still stands that any meeting should have been here and that going over there leads to suggestions that you have exceeded your brief and that your opinion has been 'bought'.

Lets be honest there was no set agenda as there should have been, instead you were 'granted' a meet at the 11th hour, and also and I may be wrong and this is not a slight on anyone but I don't think the 9 are equipped with the necessary professional skills for the purpose intended. btw I can say that safely cos I don't possess the necessary professional qualifications either.

[den]

7 Words.

Lower season ticket prices and unreserved seating*

Glenn, I'm not trying to belittle the FF in way whatsoever, - but wasn't the unreserved seating suggestion, originally the idea of BRISA?

[Steve Moss]

According to Kamy, the Roa brothers were shocked at the fan anger. https://twitter.com/#!/Northern_Rover

I supported the Pune 9 (or 12+ if your count Roversmum, her husband and the mysterious person know as Birdy) going to Pune and speaking with the owners. I also thought they clued the owners into the fan discontent. Was I mistaken or is someone making up stories about the Roa brothers shock?

[Puffsan]

personally i think they will sack kean and say "oh we didnt know, sorry" just to get the crowd behind them again. hope people don't get fooled. They are sneaky indians

[Glenn]

Glenn, I'm not trying to belittle the FF in way whatsoever, - but wasn't the unreserved seating suggestion, originally the idea of BRISA?

I like to think it was the result of a poker evening, a bottle of Jack Daniels and very little sleep (though my memory is hazy, I was 100% convinced the idea for BRISA itself was born that night, but others disagree). But yes, it was something we pushed hard with BRISA and when BRISA fizzled away, we carried on pushing it through the FF.

So, yes, I certainly can't claim the FF originally came up with the idea, in fact, I imagine lots of people around that time had the idea (it's not exactly rocket science), but the FF certainly fought long and hard for it.

[Tom]

According to Kamy, the Roa brothers were shocked at the fan anger. https://twitter.com/#!/Northern_Rover

I supported the Pune 9 (or 12+ if your count Roversmum, her husband and the mysterious person know as Birdy) going to Pune and speaking with the owners. I also thought they clued the owners into the fan discontent. Was I mistaken or is someone making up stories about the Roa brothers shock?

Sorry said I was done here but we did tell them the full extent if the fans concerns and as Ste said we also warned them that continual support of the manager will turn the fans on the owners.

Maybe seeing it first hand made it hit home.

[den]

I like to think it was the result of a poker evening, a bottle of Jack Daniels and very little sleep (though my memory is hazy, I was 100% convinced the idea for BRISA itself was born that night, but others disagree). But yes, it was something we pushed hard with BRISA and when BRISA fizzled away, we carried on pushing it through the FF.

So, yes, I certainly can't claim the FF originally came up with the idea, in fact, I imagine lots of people around that time had the idea (it's not exactly rocket science), but the FF certainly fought long and hard for it.

Yeah, I thought it was a BRISA suggestion. Well done to the FF for pushing on with it and seeing it through.

[Glenn]

Yeah, I thought it was a BRISA suggestion. Well done to the FF for pushing on with it and seeing it through.

To be fair, the credit really goes to the club for taking a chance and doing it.

[Steve Moss]

Sorry said I was done here but we did tell them the full extent if the fans concerns and as Ste said we also warned them that continual support of the manager will turn the fans on the owners.

Maybe seeing it first hand made it hit home.

Good job. For that reason alone the trip was more than justified.

So if Venkys are shocked it means: 1) they aren't really, but are trying to get the fans back onside (which is a good thing, IMO); or, they are but didn't believe you (which is also a good thing as they may think the FF are straight shooters in the future); or, they are but didn't hear you either because they were deep in their cups, hard of hearing, or the Pune9 were speaking indirectly (which I hate as I can't tell what you folks mean when you say things like "it's a bit of a bother"- which can cover anything from a weed in a garden to an invasion of Nazis).

[thenodrog]

My business partner enjoyed a bit of corporate at the DW on Sat and managed 10mins one on one with Balaji Rao at HT and just before they left just after HT. Basically despite Balaji being surrounded by a large entourage of bodyguards my colleague found himself able to adopt an equal if not front foot stance. He discussed and got his point across about Kean's ineptitude, the calamity relegation would bring to the club and promoted the Qatari interest. He missed the chance to discuss Dick Dastardly's role but thought that could at best be based on conjecture and a little too close to the bone.

Oh! And he didn't need his passport either!

[Gav]

My business partner enjoyed a bit of corporate at the DW on Sat and managed 10mins one on one with Balaji Rao at HT and just before they left just after HT. Basically despite Balaji being surrounded by a large entourage of bodyguards my colleague found himself able to adopt an equal if not front foot stance. He discussed and got his point across about Kean's ineptitude, the calamity relegation would bring to the club and promoted the Qatari interest. He missed the chance to discuss Dick Dastardly's role but thought that could at best be based on conjecture and a little too close to the bone.

Oh! And he didn't need his passport either!

Getting the message across is what its all about, good effort

[sentient]

Any chance that the FF resigning and making press statement seems more of a goer this evening? Or at least have a poll to gauge opinion?

[Tris]

Any chance that the FF resigning and making press statement seems more of a goer this evening? Or at least have a poll to gauge opinion?

You seem intent on the FF resigning / disbanding / shooting itself dead - that's your shout.

Two things though. Today, Rovers main commercial partner (and a local one at that) has gone to unprecedented lengths to express in public what most of us are thinking. In the commercial world of Premier League football, Wayne Wild's drastic action carries far more weight than anything a volunteer Fans Forum could ever do. In fact had any two statements happened on the same day, I doubt that the FF would have got a single column inch for it against such an important commercial partner. Money talks.

Secondly, the Fans Forum has existed for 13 years and although sometimes ridiculed, has done important and valued work during that time. That's 13 years of grind which is not going to be binned off in a fit of pique at the current ownership, by taking a publicity stunt action which would be forgotten this time next week. There is far more value in hanging in there, and trying to deliver our messages whenever we can and to whoever BRFC and these and future owners put in front of us.

Like the blue and white shirts and the club itself, the Fans Forum should be here to stay for as long as there's a team playing on Ewood Park. The owners have done enough damage without killing this off as well.