BRFC - The Nostalgia Thread

[arbitro]

30 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

My grandson is the same. I thought I knew a lot about football and players as his age. However with all the information available on the internet he would leave me trailing in his wake.

As you say Tyrone the internet is to today's generation what Shoot, Goal and Charles Buchan was to us. Newspapers were the nearest thing to real time information we had most of the time. I vividly remember when Rovers played away in midweek waiting up to watch News at Ten to get the result. Invariably it was right at the end of the programme too. Then the meat was out on the bones by Alf Thornton in the following days Evening Telegraph.

I used to buy the Rothmans Year Book every season and built up knowledge by poring over that. 

MOTD and The Big Match were other sources and the occasional live game on TV.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, arbitro said:

As you say Tyrone the internet is to today's generation what Shoot, Goal and Charles Buchan was to us. Newspapers were the nearest thing to real time information we had most of the time. I vividly remember when Rovers played away in midweek waiting up to watch News at Ten to get the result. Invariably it was right at the end of the programme too. Then the meat was out on the bones by Alf Thornton in the following days Evening Telegraph.

I used to buy the Rothmans Year Book every season and built up knowledge by poring over that. 

MOTD and The Big Match were other sources and the occasional live game on TV.

I’ve still got the first 20 ish “ Rothmans “ . The first ( 1970-71 ? ) is in hardback and it’s worth a few quid these days.
Information was hard to come by back then especially if you didn’t live in the Blackburn area. Quite often I remember opening the paper and being surprised to see we’d played the night before ! The score Rovers 1 Workington 5 comes to mind !
My grandson’s grasp of what is out there on the internet is amazing. He never ceases to surprise me. My knowledge came from reading the print off “ The Last Sports “ on my way back to Rochdale on the bus. I could still tell you the first 11 of most 1st and 2nd divisions form the early 1960’s.

Edited June 11 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Upside Down]

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

. I could still tell you the first 11 of most 1st and 2nd divisions form the early 1960’s.

In the nicest way, you are not normal. Haha

Edited June 11 by Upside Down

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, Upside Down said:

In the nicest way, you are not normal. Haha

That’s what Mrs Shoelaces says.

[GHD]

[DeeCee]

3 minutes ago, Jackh said:

Don't even feed the press nowadays😕

[Herbie6590]

@arbitro

[wilsdenrover]

What’s happened here…

[Herbie6590]

Totally Gold remembers the 1994/5 season…

 

 

[arbitro]

14 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

What’s happened here…

It was during a Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United match in 2002. I gave a free kick to SU and Carl Asaba wanted to take it quickly and I was caught out of position. He wellied it and caught me flush on the forehead - much to the amusement of thousands in the stadium and watching on Sky 😂. I was literally seeing stars but recovered to put in a faultless performance 😂.

Carl told me it was an accident but was smiling as he said it. 😉

[Gav]

A popular spot for fans before homes games and a bacon sandwich on the way to coaches/trains for away games

The Cabin on Blackburn Boulevard 1960's.

 

 

[...]

8 hours ago, Gav said:

A popular spot for fans before homes games and a bacon sandwich on the way to coaches/trains for away games

The Cabin on Blackburn Boulevard 1960's.

 

 

Love these old blackburn photos 

Pause at 1:53 in the footage below. There's the cabin

Edited Tuesday at 22:35 by ...

[...]

Surely a time machine has been invited by now....

 

 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Still have my 125th Anniversary Season ticket....when we had people running our Club who gave a damn.

 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

50 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

 

Look at that pitch. Like Blackpool beach.

[Forever Blue]

 

[Mattyblue]

Yet all you hear from a sizeable chunk of the fanbase is ‘small club’, ‘only ever up there because of Jack’, ‘crap crowds in the mid 80s’, ‘be grateful for Venky’s’

[oneandycrawford]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Yet all you hear from a sizeable chunk of the fanbase is ‘small club’, ‘only ever up there because of Jack’, ‘crap crowds in the mid 80s’, ‘be grateful for Venky’s’

Since the abolition of the maximum wage isn't some of that at least partially true?

But the really fucking annoying thing is that after Jack 'pump-primed' the club to get us in the Premier League, the new owners only had to continue the good work of John Williams for a little longer and then the much increased TV money would have more than offset our relatively lower crowds.

We're no different from, in fact still a bigger (at least as big as) club than, Brentford, Palace, Dingles, Southampton, etc. who have managed to become either established in the top flight or at least yo-yo'ing.

Instead we got the Venky's clusterfuck who, ironically, managed to destroy any chance of establishing the model they now want to run, by their actions in the first few seasons.

Any fan who thinks we should be grateful to the Venky's needs their bloody head examining!

[Mattyblue]

It’s partially true for any club outside 7 or 8 post the 1960s. But any Rovers ‘fan’ that meekly accepts this is as good as it can be for BRFC when half the top flight are clubs like Bournemouth and Brentford are no fans at all.

[Upside Down]

7 hours ago, oneandycrawford said:

Since the abolition of the maximum wage isn't some of that at least partially true?

But the really fucking annoying thing is that after Jack 'pump-primed' the club to get us in the Premier League, the new owners only had to continue the good work of John Williams for a little longer and then the much increased TV money would have more than offset our relatively lower crowds.

We're no different from, in fact still a bigger (at least as big as) club than, Brentford, Palace, Dingles, Southampton, etc. who have managed to become either established in the top flight or at least yo-yo'ing.

Instead we got the Venky's clusterfuck who, ironically, managed to destroy any chance of establishing the model they now want to run, by their actions in the first few seasons.

Any fan who thinks we should be grateful to the Venky's needs their bloody head examining!

We're a million times bigger than any of those clubs you mentioned and bigger than a few more that are in the prem at the moment.

When folk constantly claim the contrary I am left wondering whether they really are Rovers fans.

[oneandycrawford]

1 minute ago, Upside Down said:

We're a million times bigger than any of those clubs you mentioned and bigger than a few more that are in the prem at the moment.

When folk constantly claim the contrary I am left wondering whether they really are Rovers fans.

I guess it depends on your definition of bigger. If it is in terms of historic crowds then we are no bigger than the likes of Leicester and Southampton. I've made the point before that those clubs are lucky in the sense that we are surrounded by other clubs whereas they have big areas to draw support from.

If it is terms of historic achievement then we are undoubtedly bigger than many of those clubs. But even then if you look at the last 100 years then we are no bigger than Leicester. They have won the League, FA Cup and League cup, and have several FA cup finals - all since 1960.

And I object very much to your suggestion that for making these points I'm not a real Rovers fan. I was in our lowest ever league crowd and was at Millwall away in 1979 when there were so few of us it felt like we were outnumbered by the police and stewards!

When you compare us to our direct historic competitors - Dingles, Nobbers and Horwich - then we have achieved more than any of them.

I'm not arguing that what Rovers have achieved isn't remarkable - in fact I'm arguing that it is more remarkable because of our relative resources compared to some other clubs.

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

It’s partially true for any club outside 7 or 8 post the 1960s. But any Rovers ‘fan’ that meekly accepts this is as good as it can be for BRFC when half the top flight are clubs like Bournemouth and Brentford are no fans at all.

I'm not accepting it is as good as it can be. It's merely stating this is where we are at the moment.

We all agree that the only way this changes is either a complete change of direction by the Venky's - bloody unlikely going off the last 15 years - or new owners.

I remember the gut punch feeling of Palace in 1990 followed by the ecstasy of Wembley in 1992 (possibly the greatest day of my life) and knowing I'd finally see Rovers play top flight football for the first time in my lifetime. I want that feeling back FFS.

The point I was trying to make is that people who think we should accept where we are is ok are wrong. We are 'bigger' than many of those clubs historically and would be again with the right owners.

But to the outside world, at the moment, the sad fact is we aren't. Palace have finished half way up the top flight and just won the FA Cup. The fact they've historically done fuck all when compared to us probably isn't relevant to prospective new owners unfortunately. You mentioned Bournemouth - it pisses me off to see them where they are - but that is purely down to their owner.

We all want the club to move back to where it belongs but for that to happen we have to understand the current perception of us from outside. If we don't then we won't do the right things to change that. What does just saying we are bigger than Brentford do to change that? 

[Mattyblue]

I’m not saying you think those things, I’m talking generally about a large chunk of the fanbase.

Have a look at half the PL, I’m not besmirching those clubs, my point is there’s no reason our ambitions shouldn’t be to join them - especially as on the pitch we’ve done very well all things considered the past few years, we really haven’t been far away. 

Fifteen years of relatively low crowds (due to the owners) and no ambition (due to the owners) has led far too many fans to think that is just how it is - new custodians could put a rocket under this club and those same fans would soon be jettisoning those previous views about little old Rovers.
 

Edited 15 hours ago by Mattyblue

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Rovers are a complete anomoly as a Football Club.

THE most successful town Club in the UK,the 12th most successful Football Club in England..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_football_clubs_in_England_by_competitive_honours_won

..this all from a town (only Blackburn) with a population of just some 125,000.

A record home crowd of over 62,000 and crowd's seen of 30,40,50k....there are not many Clubs our size,with our resources who can claim that.

We hold our own and better most Club's our size...so much to be proud of.

...then along came Venkys.