Fans Forum/Roverstore/Commercial Chat

[JHRover]

Suspect what we are seeing is simply the stooges at Ewood, probably just Suhail and his little gang, feeling some pressure about falling short of their financial targets from India.

So probably a storm in a teacup, because all that usually happens is that India has to send some more cash over to make up the shortfall and on it goes.

Now if India is unwilling or unable to do that then things could get really interesting.

But ultimately it's probably just Suhail and Sufi panicking that, amazingly, after what's gone on here over the last few years, that people aren't buying it any more and are walking away/cutting their financial support.

Who could have seen that coming?

This lot are so clueless they probably don't draw any sort of link between their appalling conduct and decline in income/support.

[alex l]

21 hours ago, Tomphil2 said:

The one's who don't go don't wanna know unless we are winning every week and then they suddenly forget the Venky hate.

The one's who do go don't want to know real boycotts even though most of them hate the owners and those running it and can see the damage done.

Catch 22, bizarre club and fans you lot.

That's from a Bolton fan looking in from the outside.

Of course attendance is higher when the team is winning - you're more inclined to go if you're more likely to have a good time, rather than a waste of time. The other factor is cost - I can only speak for myself but with everything costing more these days, I've far less disposable income for leisure and many are likely in a similar position. 

Combine the above and it's not tempting to use your money on the 'product' at ewood. In 22 years (since I've been driving, I live 35 miles away )this is the longest I've gone into a season without seeing the team. 

[Mattyblue]

We’ve spent three out of four years knocking on the doors of the PL, ST sales haven’t budged.

Indeed average crowds have hardly moved in a decade - whereas the entire game from the top flight to well into non league has boomed, so why not here then? As on the pitch it has been not bad at times.

These owners are the anchor around the good ship Blackburn Rovers.

[Herbie6590]

1 hour ago, alex l said:

Of course attendance is higher when the team is winning - you're more inclined to go if you're more likely to have a good time, rather than a waste of time. The other factor is cost - I can only speak for myself but with everything costing more these days, I've far less disposable income for leisure and many are likely in a similar position. 

Combine the above and it's not tempting to use your money on the 'product' at ewood. In 22 years (since I've been driving, I live 35 miles away )this is the longest I've gone into a season without seeing the team. 

This is the crux for me. Finite disposable to spend & priority calls to be made. I weigh up which matches to go to based on my personal xE score…Expected Entertainment..!

If it’s a new ground, an exciting away day, involves meeting up with friends/family…the xE rises. Rovers playing well contributes to the xE but is no longer the key contributor.

I’ve found I’d rather go to fewer games (invariably away) but wrap something into the day beyond just the football. 

Once that habit is broken & you start justifying the spending then it’s easier just to watch on TV. That explains the missing 13,000.

The 8,000 are like I was in the 80’s…I’d sell my granny to go to Ewood. 

My tipping point was Owen Coyle….the closest I got to buying a season ticket again was after meeting JDT at Brockhall…!

[Mattyblue]

Plenty of the 8,000 have gone way past the sell the granny stage. Some midweeks you are well below that and generally many ST Holders have no qualms in missing plenty, you see that all around you.

Take me, I’ll have missed five by mid December and Ipswich will be the first night game I’lll have been to all season and that’s only down to being fairly close by on Tuesday due to a work thing - I certainly doesn’t prioritise it anymore.

Edited 6 hours ago by Mattyblue

[Parsonblue]

I guess I'm very fortunate, or unfortunate depending on your point of view, as I still get the same buzz going to Rovers - home and away - as I did as a kid at the start of the sixties.  I'm well into my seventies now and recent health issues have made me realise that I'm not going to be here forever, so I'll continue to go and enjoy it as long as I can.

As Herbie said, meeting up with friends makes it a social occasion and that's all part of the day.  However, I agree that for many supporters there comes a point when it's difficult justify the cost of football, particularly if you have a Sky subscription.  

Also, the TV deal is not really helpful to those who go to away games in particular.  Within a matter of days we have Ipswich Town away at 12.30 pm (meaning a 4.30 am start from Ewood), and then Swansea City away as an evening kick-off.  Not to mention that these are quickly followed by Norwich City away at 12.30 with another 5.30 am start from Ewood.  It's almost as if the EFL want to get rid of away supporters altogether.

Around me, the other night, there were a large number of season ticket holders who opted to watch the game on TV rather than travel to Ewood on a cold, wet night in November.

Ultimately, everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons with regard to attending football matches. 

 

[Mattyblue]

Get all that Parson, Sky etc, same everywhere, but you don’t see some unique issues here? I.e. why has the rest of league and non league football boomed crowd wise (up to 1950s levels), yet not here?

[wilsdenrover]

2 hours ago, Herbie6590 said:

This is the crux for me. Finite disposable to spend & priority calls to be made. I weigh up which matches to go to based on my personal xE score…Expected Entertainment..!

If it’s a new ground, an exciting away day, involves meeting up with friends/family…the xE rises. Rovers playing well contributes to the xE but is no longer the key contributor.

I’ve found I’d rather go to fewer games (invariably away) but wrap something into the day beyond just the football. 

Once that habit is broken & you start justifying the spending then it’s easier just to watch on TV. That explains the missing 13,000.

The 8,000 are like I was in the 80’s…I’d sell my granny to go to Ewood. 

My tipping point was Owen Coyle….the closest I got to buying a season ticket again was after meeting JDT at Brockhall…!

I used to spend much of my disposable income on attending matches - then Kean twathead arrived and I stopped entirely.

I now have other ways I spend my money and money.

I’m still occasionally tempted to go to a match again but not to the point I’d forego my other hobbies to do so.

I doubt I’m the only one whose ‘ended up like this’.

Edited 4 hours ago by wilsdenrover

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Get all that Parson, Sky etc, same everywhere, but you don’t see some unique issues here? I.e. why has the rest of league and non league football boomed crowd wise (up to 1950s levels), yet not here?

Maybe because the people in charge at the Rovers don't give a toss about the fans (just my opinion).

[wilsdenrover]

I’m surprised by the below table (re us) but of course the club supplies the figures so a pinch of salt may be required:

[...]

2 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

I guess I'm very fortunate, or unfortunate depending on your point of view, as I still get the same buzz going to Rovers - home and away - as I did as a kid at the start of the sixties.  I'm well into my seventies now and recent health issues have made me realise that I'm not going to be here forever, so I'll continue to go and enjoy it as long as I can.

As Herbie said, meeting up with friends makes it a social occasion and that's all part of the day.  However, I agree that for many supporters there comes a point when it's difficult justify the cost of football, particularly if you have a Sky subscription.  

Also, the TV deal is not really helpful to those who go to away games in particular.  Within a matter of days we have Ipswich Town away at 12.30 pm (meaning a 4.30 am start from Ewood), and then Swansea City away as an evening kick-off.  Not to mention that these are quickly followed by Norwich City away at 12.30 with another 5.30 am start from Ewood.  It's almost as if the EFL want to get rid of away supporters altogether.

Around me, the other night, there were a large number of season ticket holders who opted to watch the game on TV rather than travel to Ewood on a cold, wet night in November.

Ultimately, everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons with regard to attending football matches. 

 

See that's a fair comment and an angle not considered alot of the folks in Upper JW are older folks and perhaps see it as an occasion a day out and social thing. And perhaps be too old for getting involved with all that stuff behind the scenes now. So yea that's a fair point

[Tomphil2]

Oh look, Preston averaging less that 11k ten years ago i wonder what made a major contribution to their 50% uplift ?

We'll be looking at that average next season.

 

[Mattyblue]

Clubs generally are bringing higher away followings, we certainly are, so that will account for part of that slight increase, plus a fair bit of time towards the top of the league had led to a few more walk ons - but, as we just don’t sell STs in any good number it soon all falls away.

Our STs have generally oscillated between 8.5k and 10k since 2012. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Mattyblue

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

On 28/11/2025 at 10:00, JHRover said:

Who could have seen that coming?

Indeed..who wudda thunk it!🤡

 

[Tomphil2]

Post covid North End did early bird adult season tickets behind the goal for £280.

That significantly boosted their actual home support on every game not just selected ones like happens here when we have a good season.

[Penwortham Blue]

47 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

Post covid North End did early bird adult season tickets behind the goal for £280.

That significantly boosted their actual home support on every game not just selected ones like happens here when we have a good season.

The Knobbers and Notlob business model to successfully increase crowds and atmosphere, constantly pointed out to the stooges at Ewood. Sadly, they have no idea how to run a business and  have no interest beyond the headline ST revenue collected.

[StHelensRover]

1 hour ago, Penwortham Blue said:

The Knobbers and Notlob business model to successfully increase crowds and atmosphere, constantly pointed out to the stooges at Ewood. Sadly, they have no idea how to run a business and  have no interest beyond the headline ST revenue collected.

The Bolton one is the example I think is most galling for us as it shows how to get it right with the fanbase. Despite them being in a lower division, I strongly reckon their fans are generally much happier overall, enjoy match days more and are more optimistic about the long term future of their club than Rovers fans. Their stadium is almost full every week and it's pretty much all down to the cheap season tickets that they've had for several years now. Bolton is a slightly bigger town than Blackburn but it's also closer to the big Manchester clubs, so they are doing very well on their attendances. They wil eventually get out of that division and back into ours. With all the positive momentum that they will build, they'll probably fancy getting back into the top flight eventually. Something which no one has even got close to at Ewood Park for 13 years.

[lraC]

5 minutes ago, StHelensRover said:

The Bolton one is the example I think is most galling for us as it shows how to get it right with the fanbase. Despite them being in a lower division, I strongly reckon their fans are generally much happier overall, enjoy match days more and are more optimistic about the long term future of their club than Rovers fans. Their stadium is almost full every week and it's pretty much all down to the cheap season tickets that they've had for several years now. Bolton is a slightly bigger town than Blackburn but it's also closer to the big Manchester clubs, so they are doing very well on their attendances. They wil eventually get out of that division and back into ours. With all the positive momentum that they will build, they'll probably fancy getting back into the top flight eventually. Something which no one has even got close to at Ewood Park for 13 years.

Bolton has almost double the population of Blackburn.

[Mattyblue]

Bolton Metropolitan Borough is, the town itself isn’t considerably bigger.

Majority of our fanbase now resides in other boroughs regardless. 

We and Bolton have been similarly supported for a long time..until they got new owners.
 

Edited 1 hour ago by Mattyblue

[StHelensRover]

7 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Bolton Borough is, the town itself isn’t considerably bigger.

Much of our fanbase comes from other boroughs. 

We and Bolton have been similarly supported for a long time..until they got new owners.
 

I agree. Many people who live in the 'Bolton area' probably live as close to Old Trafford as they do to the Breezeblock, which is closer to Wigan than Bolton. There's load of people in Blackburn who glory hunted toward the likes of Manchester and Liverpool, so it's surely worse in Bolton, given how much closer it is to Manchester. Bolton has also lost much of its identity in recent years as a town in its own right, instead being part of 'Greater Manchester'. I think that probably makes it difficult to attract younger fans. As you say, our two clubs have had similar sized attendances over the decades until quite recently. They have good owners and a good pricing strategy. We have terrible owners and a poorer pricing strategy, which isn't the worst in the league, but it's not as good as theirs. 

Edited 58 minutes ago by StHelensRover

[Tomphil2]

Bolton have a new generation of fans all across Adlington, Horwich, Blackrod towards Wigan, Farnworth etc and of course Chorley.

Very much the choice of team for young locals in those areas if you aren't going to glory hunt and they pulled them in on the back of relegation to league 1 with pricing the product correctly.

Look at their away followings as well, mostly young people, they struggled to bring 2k to Ewood plenty times in the Prem.

We are a joke.