Boycott Or Not?

[BRFCS.com]

The Fans’ Quandary

Read the full article on the front page and let us know your thoughts.

[Crimpshrine]

Boycott - It needs to be done. The club is only going one way if Venky's remain

Edited 3 hours ago by Crimpshrine

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Boycott...make a statement,enough is enough.

Show some bollox FFS!

[Upside Down]

Been on the boycott for 15 years and will remain so until they are gone. 

It's the only way.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I’ve been boycotting until a year or two ago when my grandson became really interested in the club. I’m at an age when the Venkies could easily outlast me. He is still in his teens so I’m pretty sure they won’t outlast him. I want the love of Blackburn Rovers to remain in my family. So we began attending games again.

I’ve discussed the boycott with him and his opinion is he’s up for it as long as it has some noticeable effect. I’m in the same camp, so neither of us will be at the Watford game.

In my eyes the Chicken Chokers are a cancer running through Blackburn Rovers and until they are gone the slow downward spiral will continue. Nothing will change for the positive while they still own the club.

[pentelrobot]

Refused to renew my season ticket 2 years ago, having had one for 55 years. I will buy a season ticket the minute this lot are gone.

[Salgados Hair]

Last time I had a season ticket was the season these clowns rocked up.. They need to go.

[Dolly blue]

52 minutes ago, pentelrobot said:

Refused to renew my season ticket 2 years ago, having had one for 55 years. I will buy a season ticket the minute this lot are gone.

I’m in the same boat. Had a season ticket from way back when..but I no longer attend matches at Ewood. I will , as will 3 members of my family , buy one the minute they are gone. 
I fully support any action that could regain our values in whatever league that might be ..even League 2 or lower. 

[...]

Boycott. Its been too long. Too neglectful , the impact on the town has been damaging. Lived here all my life and probably posted the same stuff time and time again. The town needs this club to be up there again. As a percentage of our great historical town it was a high flying asset. Proudly verbalised by many during football chats at work, the on a train platform, on holiday.

Little old Blackburn Rovers the jewel in the Lancashire Crown.

Boycott.

We want owners that care about our heritage and our town.

[StHelensRover]

None of us know whether a boycott will work at Ewood, but there is evidence it has worked at other clubs, so there is hope. After 15 years of failure, mediocrity, countless embarrassing PR stories and zero ambition shown, there is no other realistic set of  options for ways we can protest the regime that are within the law except a boycott. I hope as many fans as possible will bite the bullet and boycott just the one game to see if that makes a difference. It's just one game to send a message, the sky won't fall in if we all just miss one game to let them know how we feel. As a fan base we can assess the impact and go from there. We need to think about the long term, not dwell on missing one 90 minute match which will mean little in the grand scheme of things.

Edited 6 hours ago by StHelensRover

[Mattyblue]

As a tactic has it worked elsewhere? Yes. 

Would these owners care? I’m highly dubious going off their track record, but who really knows, so it’s a start. 

Will a high percentage of the remaining match goers go for it? In my opinion, no.

Point three is therefore the issue. The Coalition and this forum are coming from a position of where they are and where they think the match goers also should be, not where they *actually* are. Of course it’s only one game, of course it’s for the greater good, but if the majority of those still attending Ewood don’t see it that way and to them ‘regardless of owners you still go and get behind the team’ and yes, ‘who’s this lot telling me what to do?’ then it will ultimately fall on it’s arse as a campaign.
 

Edited 5 hours ago by Mattyblue

[RevidgeBlue]

In terms of sheer numbers I stopped going three and a half years ago so my decision to support a boycott won't make any difference.

I do however fully support the call for a boycott. Imo we have to do something or the Club dies.

Im prepared to support any initiatives the Coalition come up with and god willing will be back at Ewood on a permanent basis should they be successful in their aims.

[RevidgeBlue]

41 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

 but if the majority of those still attending Ewood don’t see it that way and to them ‘regardless of owners you still go and get behind the team’ and yes, ‘who’s this lot telling me what to do?’ then it will ultimately fall on it’s arse as a campaign.

 

Completely irrelevant imo as long as it's only one part of a concerted and co-ordinated campaign to get them out that never lets up.

Presumably some things will work better than others.

[Mattyblue]

How is it ‘irrelevant’ to say that a boycott that doesn’t have a sizeable number of match goers boycotting isn’t much cop?

Campaigns, whatever the cause are about hearts and minds and bringing people with you, if this boycott doesn’t grab said hearts and minds of the very people it is supposed to - I.e the folk being asked not to attend, then this part of the campaign is a failure.
 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Mattyblue

[simongarnerisgod]

it`s your personal choice,while it would be lovely to see the crowd reduced to a couple of hundred and  see the hierarchy panic ,it`s unrealistic to expect fans not to turn up,though having observed a drop off in crowds this season,it`s pretty clear the boycott has already began,the charlton game could see a gate of 5000,though they will certainly inflate the figure

we can protest all we like and how we like,venkys ar`nt present and show no interest,they are not effected,pasha needs to be got at imo,he seems remarkably fragile to criticism

[MarkBRFC]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

As a tactic has it worked elsewhere? Yes. 

Would these owners care? I’m highly dubious going off their track record, but who really knows, so it’s a start. 

Will a high percentage of the remaining match goers go for it? In my opinion, no.

Point three is therefore the issue. The Coalition and this forum are coming from a position of where they are and where they think the match goers also should be, not where they *actually* are. Of course it’s only one game, of course it’s for the greater good, but if the majority of those still attending Ewood don’t see it that way and to them ‘regardless of owners you still go and get behind the team’ and yes, ‘who’s this lot telling me what to do?’ then it will ultimately fall on it’s arse as a campaign.
 

Yep exactly as I see it.

[StHelensRover]

Maybe there is a better way to communicate to the wider football community the scale of resentment and apathy at the club. There's a few news articles, local and national that acknowledge "attendances are down".

That's not the same as saying "when Venkys bought the club, gates were 24,000, now sometimes they're below 7,000 and the club are publishing official attendances which are way higher. During the period of their ownership almost every club in England has seen a rise in average attendance and BRFC buck this trend."

[chaddyrovers]

4 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Yep exactly as I see it.

second that. @Mattyblue is correct

[StHelensRover]

One thing I have been thinking about regarding the boycott. Even if the owners themselves don't hear about it, or don't care, it would send an alarming message to everyone else in the club. Players and coaches might start to think that something is seriously wrong (those who don't already realise and are prepared to block it out), they might start getting on to their agents to look elsewhere. It might start some awkward conversations in the club that pasha and rudy can't ignore. Crunch time is going to be May and season ticket renewals, regardless of the division we're in. They won't have a "150th anniversary. Be a part of the story" strap line to guilt trip me.

[RevidgeBlue]

40 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

 

41 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

How is it ‘irrelevant’ to say that a boycott that doesn’t have a sizeable number of match goers boycotting isn’t much cop?

Because, regardless of take up its still getting the issues into the public domain.

We get it, you dont think a boycott will have much take up, you've told us nearly as often as chaddy has said he won't be boycotting.

We'll have to wait and see.

 

 

[Mattyblue]

And you’ve repeatedly said how it’s a good idea when the evidence of actual fans that still go says the exact opposite. 

Protesting by numbers instead of thinking what will actually work.

But if we don’t actually need boycotting fans for a boycott to be a success as we’ll actually judge it on having a few weeks of an odd press article before the media moves on, then fine.

Edited 3 hours ago by Mattyblue

[RevidgeBlue]

1 minute ago, Mattyblue said:

And you’ve repeatedly said how it’s a good idea when the evidence of actual fans that still go says the exact opposite.

Protesting by numbers instead of thinking what will actually work.

So you've spoken to a handful of people and are citing that as evidence a boycott "won't work?"

 

[Herbie6590]

57 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

How is it ‘irrelevant’ to say that a boycott that doesn’t have a sizeable number of match goers boycotting isn’t much cop?

Campaigns, whatever the cause are about hearts and minds and bringing people with you, if this boycott doesn’t grab said hearts and minds of the very people it is supposed to - I.e the folk being asked not to attend, then this part of the campaign is a failure.
 

 

It’s the start of what will almost certainly have to be a long (& divisive) campaign. 

 

…if the alternative is 15 more years of death of a thousand cuts, then…🤷‍♂️

[Herbie6590]

19 minutes ago, StHelensRover said:

One thing I have been thinking about regarding the boycott. Even if the owners themselves don't hear about it, or don't care, it would send an alarming message to everyone else in the club. Players and coaches might start to think that something is seriously wrong (those who don't already realise and are prepared to block it out), they might start getting on to their agents to look elsewhere. It might start some awkward conversations in the club that pasha and rudy can't ignore. Crunch time is going to be May and season ticket renewals, regardless of the division we're in. They won't have a "150th anniversary. Be a part of the story" strap line to guilt trip me.

Season ticket renewals seems to be one of the very few metrics that motivates Suhail…

[chaddyrovers]

8 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

So you've spoken to a handful of people and are citing that as evidence a boycott "won't work?"

 

How many match day fans did you ask on Saturday? what did they say? 

The concourse at half time was very busy in BBE. I posted what the people I asked said. The club shop would have been busy in the last couple of days I bet. People will be attending the Wrexham game and Charlton games as people would have bought tickets as Christmas presents.