150th Anniversary kit/celebrations

[Penwortham Blue]

55 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

150th Anniversary Working Group Wednesday 23rd April 2025

1. Brett Baker, Head of Football Administration, took us through possible pre-season friendlies
and those clubs we have been in touch with regarding our 150t Anniversary (Hibernian and
Birmingham also celebrating their 150th Anniversary)
Athletic Club unable to play this pre-season but could look at pre-season 2026.
Queens Park approached but possible dates too early for our pre-season schedule.
Brett would also be making a request to the English Football League (EFL) special
consideration for a home fixture on or close to the 5th November 2025 as possible.
It was proposed we should also contact SKY regarding their scheduling of games for the first half of the 25/26 season

2. Steve Waggott, CEO, had been in contact with Elliott Charles of Old Etonians with a view of staging a re-enactment of their FA Cup Final along with inviting Darwen F C to also be
involved in these games that we would be looking to stage in one of the International breaks during the 25/26 season (September, November or March)

3 . An official club letter had now been finalised with the view of sending to various governing bodies (FIFA, UEFA, FA, EFL) and possibly members of the Royal Family ( a copy of which was circulated to all attendees)
Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, is also working on a Royal Visit that
could include Blackburn Rovers.

4. Steve Waggott had approached the English FA to give permission for us to have a full size
replica trophy to commemorate us being the only club to win the competition over three
consecutive seasons in 1884, 1885 and 1886. We await further discussion with them on this

5. Just awaiting completing the final piece of the 150th Anniversary Book to enable it to got to print.

6. An 150th Anniversary Club video is nearing completion and the group will be updated once
final cut is done.

7. 150th Anniversary Web page / site is now under construction and the club will look to
finalise it come the end of the current season to enable events / projects to be posted and
promoted.

8. Anna Melia, Head of Marketing, highlighted the 150th logo now being used plus informed
the group that she had now sourced Commemorative Caps should they be required. The group felt i t would be beneficial to contact the Former Players Association to get their
thoughts on who should receive a cap should we proceed with this initiative.

9. Steve Waggott proposed that the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust be our nominated
charity for the 150" Anniversary year which was approved by all the group.

10. Nick Cooney and Mike Jackman advised the group that it had now been agreed with the club that the whole of the second floor of the Darwen End for the 150th Anniversary Exhibition. Work would commence as soon as possible on redecorating the rooms on the second floor with cabinets and design of rooms being discussed with external organisations. Discussions were on-going with the Heritage Lottery Fund for a smaller grant to facilitate certain parts of the larger unsuccessful bid.

11. Lynsey Talbot, Head of Operations, outlined the possible club events including a fireworks
display on or around 5 November, a Gala Dinner and a summer 2026 Music Festival. Lots of other planned / themed events will be developed once fixture lists are released. Other potential partners had come on board followng the call to arms at the recent Blackburn with Darwen Partnership Forum including BwD Children Services Department and The Exchange in Blackburn.

12. Yasir Sufi, Head of Commercial, updated the group on a 150thLimited Edition Kit and also possible mural on the Watson Ramsbottom building in Blackburn Centre using local artists.
Other sites were also being considered for further murals along with the need for consideration of appropriate 'Blue Plaques' locations.
Jamie Holman was also looking at a musical performance in the Blackburn End with a choir of all ages.
Darwen Terracotta had also stated an interest in being involved in the 150th Anniversary with
Wayne Wild being a good contact t o discuss further.
The use of LED Lighting of 150 being projected on to Ewood Park and other appropriate buildings would need to be discussed with the
Council.
13. Paul Salmon proposed reaching out with our club letter to the Royal Family to see if there would be an acceptance of either Prince George or Princess Charlotte becoming an Honorary Club President. He also thought that the unveiling of a new piece of artwork could be linked to a visit from FIFA to unveil whatever we thought would be appropriate for our 150 Anniversary. Darwen Terracotta was mentioned again as a possible partner to look at this proposal. A time tunnel around
Ewood Park was also suggested subject to funding.

14. Duncan Miller on re-engaging with supporters proposed Supporter Groups championing a player; flags with players and supporter group logos; introduce a limited printed matchday programme for the 25/26 season; develop a Fan Advisory Board (FAB) or Shadow Board

15. Steve Williams, representative of We Are The Rovers (WATR), informed the group that more military personnel had been found who had been former Rovers' players. He felt any exhibition should include a military section. He also said h e was available to help as and when required on heritage initiatives / projects.

16. Anna Melia highlighted the fact of having an inclusive approach on gathering ideas and opinions from younger supporters/ Junior Fans Forum especially around what the club and Town would look like in another 150 years.

17. The meeting ended in a general discussion around seeking appropriate sponsors for various elements of the initiatives being proposed.

Date of next meeting - During May

 

 

The follow up meeting to this was in July, not May. By that time Steve Waggott had left so no minutes were ever circulated but a number of the above ideas were completely taken off the table with no discussion. There has been no follow up meetings or even any email correspondence to the committee since.

It is like their work won’t be complete until our club has been totally and utterly destroyed and Ewood lies in abandoned ruins. A glorious history and systematically dismantled and destroyed within 16 long years, an utter disgrace.

[Tomphil2]

The club doesn't belong to the town anymore it just belongs to faceless corporate names thousands of miles away.

The people running it aren't custodians of the club for the town as all before them were they are just installed gravy train riders minding the club for the detached ownership and whoever else is involved.

This is the reason beyond all else the town and whole fanbase aren't behind the club and never will be until something changes. And if they think, which i suspect they do, that all that won't matter if they engage the rapidest growing part of the local community to replace lost fans they are deluded even beyond the wildest realms we already see.

There's only one real cure to all this.

[Mattyblue]

The irony is the only way that growing community would ever even remotely engage with the club is if it achieved something in the pitch, I.e Premier League… which of course will *never* happen under this regime.

So yes, only one cure whatever way you slice it.

Edited 3 hours ago by Mattyblue

[Upside Down]

8 hours ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

You seriously want the Remembrance Day fixture disrupted in this way ? The men who served in the trenches had a courage and a dignity that an idiot like you will never understand.

The cheek of you calling anyone an idiot.

[Guy N. Cognito]

3 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

You're merely doing what you always do though in taking the contrary and view so no real surprise there.

It's not so much contrarianism as it is trying to kibosh every major protest idea by poisoning the well. It's a running theme with this poster and certainly raises eyebrows...

Edited 1 hour ago by Guy N. Cognito