Boycott Or Not?

[Penwortham Blue]

9 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

I would like to thank everyone who chose not to go today as your symbol, that this is bigger than 22 men chasing a piece of leather on the pitch. Id like to personally thank everyone who has supported the coalition and even further given me so much support over the years to try and keep up the good fight against all the adversity that comes with putting your head above the parapet. At 10am yesterday i got the news we all dread, as one of my parents sadly suffered a heart attack and were blue lighted to Blackpool straight into surgery and not in a great way.  In a strange way, it galvanised my spirit of why we do what we do. Without my parents. Id not be here. Id not be a rovers fan and certainly not be so invested in trying to protect it.

Emotions are running high, always are after a game, and the dust settling will evolve in the coming days.

Whats next is the burning question?

For me, its take stock, evaluate, listen, and then the picture will become clear

Thoughts and prayers with you and the family, Glen and hopefully, they will pull through.

[RevidgeBlue]

11 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

I would like to thank everyone who chose not to go today as your symbol, that this is bigger than 22 men chasing a piece of leather on the pitch. Id like to personally thank everyone who has supported the coalition and even further given me so much support over the years to try and keep up the good fight against all the adversity that comes with putting your head above the parapet. At 10am yesterday i got the news we all dread, as one of my parents sadly suffered a heart attack and were blue lighted to Blackpool straight into surgery and not in a great way.  In a strange way, it galvanised my spirit of why we do what we do. Without my parents. Id not be here. Id not be a rovers fan and certainly not be so invested in trying to protect it.

Emotions are running high, always are after a game, and the dust settling will evolve in the coming days.

Whats next is the burning question?

For me, its take stock, evaluate, listen, and then the picture will become clear

Sorry to hear about your Parent. Hope all is as well as could be expected

For me, its needs to be a co-ordinated and fairly relentless schedule of different types of protest. Don't let up.

And you also imo need to try and co-ordinate some fund raising efforts to give you some fighting funds.

Edited 1 hour ago by RevidgeBlue

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

4 minutes ago, Goozburger said:

The boycott being "decent enough" for you is no good. No good. If it was to truly work, it had to be "decent enough" to those that will give it traction. The media. The owners (recognising it as a sign). Or whoever else it's supposed to bring attention to. You are already in support of it. So what good is it if it's just good enough for you? It's not swaying anybody's opinion to alter the course of history.

Who would be willing to take on the burden of our losses? Even with a bumped number of ST holders (let's say that would happen with new owners), you're still staring annual losses of several million or more a season just by standing still, as well as keeping onside with FFP rules and avoiding points deductions and fines. So who is going to take that on? I keep hearing "Venky's won't sell". I don't know who is close enough to them over in India to know that first-hand, but forget that for a moment... Where is the queue of buyers? I really doubt any business-minded person with "ambitious" intentions would think we're a profit-making project to have at.

If the owners weren't paying players and bills, I'd feel differently. Scoff. Call it a low bar. But the ingredients particular to Sheff Wed, for example, aren't there. At least they had absolute full validity and full support to put on a full boycott. Their owners were not keeping to their financial obligations. 15 years on, despite our downfall being of the Venky's own making, they are still, at the very least, standing up to their financial obligations. Nobody can deny that unless they were not paying the bills.

There is simply no validity or wider acceptance for a boycott in our case. It was never in a million years going to get external support because the elements are simply not their for wider sympathy, recognition, and so on. You can feel sorry for yourselves about it, but until you have an Oyston or a Chansiri TRULY witholding the dosh from people that are owed it, a boycott that results in a few thousand less than a normal attendance is going to do absolutely nothing.

As long as everybody in football thinks the club isn’t for sale there won’t be any prospective buyers. The fact that the Chicken Chokerd have knocked back previous approaches will be well known in football circles. 
 

[davulsukur]

I can't believe there are people think that the club dropping 25% of its fan base isn't a big deal.

It was an absolutely excellent first step along, what could be, a very long road.

 

[Penwortham Blue]

7 minutes ago, Goozburger said:

The boycott being "decent enough" for you is no good. No good. If it was to truly work, it had to be "decent enough" to those that will give it traction. The media. The owners (recognising it as a sign). Or whoever else it's supposed to bring attention to. You are already in support of it. So what good is it if it's just good enough for you? It's not swaying anybody's opinion to alter the course of history.

Who would be willing to take on the burden of our losses? Even with a bumped number of ST holders (let's say that would happen with new owners), you're still staring annual losses of several million or more a season just by standing still, as well as keeping onside with FFP rules and avoiding points deductions and fines. So who is going to take that on? I keep hearing "Venky's won't sell". I don't know who is close enough to them over in India to know that first-hand, but forget that for a moment... Where is the queue of buyers? I really doubt any business-minded person with "ambitious" intentions would think we're a profit-making project to have at.

If the owners weren't paying players and bills, I'd feel differently. Scoff. Call it a low bar. But the ingredients particular to Sheff Wed, for example, aren't there. At least they had absolute full validity and full support to put on a full boycott. Their owners were not keeping to their financial obligations. 15 years on, despite our downfall being of the Venky's own making, they are still, at the very least, standing up to their financial obligations. Nobody can deny that unless they were not paying the bills.

There is simply no validity or wider acceptance for a boycott in our case. It was never in a million years going to get external support because the elements are simply not their for wider sympathy, recognition, and so on. You can feel sorry for yourselves about it, but until you have an Oyston or a Chansiri TRULY witholding the dosh from people that are owed it, a boycott that results in a few thousand less than a normal attendance is going to do absolutely nothing.

Strewth, he’s back again with who would buy Blackburn Rovers. The same day, confirmed big money investment interest in Preston and we see little old Wrexham scoring two late goals to further cement their credentials for a place at the top table.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

As long as everybody in football thinks the club isn’t for sale there won’t be any prospective buyers. The fact that the Chicken Chokers have knocked back previous approaches will be well known in football circles. 
 

 

[Tricky]

16 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

These people who boycotted are telling you they will stop going unless something changes. There was a significant amount of ST holders who didn’t attend today

If they don’t renew next season, it is very worrying for the club. That is the worry here. Maybe you should do more to listen to those fans. You have far more in common with boycotters than yoy do with the owners. I know whose side I’d rather be seen to be on

What has a season ticket holder gained from not going? A pat on the back from a similarly minded fan, great.

Pointless, they already have your money.

Edited 1 hour ago by Tricky

[Ossydave]

12 minutes ago, Penwortham Blue said:

The police numbers don’t lie, thousands stayed away and to my mind, it has been extremely well observed.

What were the police figures for Charlton and Oxford? Genuine question not a criticism, I salute anyone who's trying.

We're being widely mocked on social media, as expected....

[RevidgeBlue]

14 minutes ago, Goozburger said:

The boycott being "decent enough" for you is no good. No good. If it was to truly work, it had to be "decent enough" to those that will give it traction. The media. The owners (recognising it as a sign). Or whoever else it's supposed to bring attention to. You are already in support of it. So what good is it if it's just good enough for you? It's not swaying anybody's opinion to alter the course of history.

Who would be willing to take on the burden of our losses? Even with a bumped number of ST holders (let's say that would happen with new owners), you're still staring annual losses of several million or more a season just by standing still, as well as keeping onside with FFP rules and avoiding points deductions and fines. So who is going to take that on? I keep hearing "Venky's won't sell". I don't know who is close enough to them over in India to know that first-hand, but forget that for a moment... Where is the queue of buyers? I really doubt any business-minded person with "ambitious" intentions would think we're a profit-making project to have at.

If the owners weren't paying players and bills, I'd feel differently. Scoff. Call it a low bar. But the ingredients particular to Sheff Wed, for example, aren't there. At least they had absolute full validity and full support to put on a full boycott. Their owners were not keeping to their financial obligations. 15 years on, despite our downfall being of the Venky's own making, they are still, at the very least, standing up to their financial obligations. Nobody can deny that unless they were not paying the bills.

There is simply no validity or wider acceptance for a boycott in our case. It was never in a million years going to get external support because the elements are simply not their for wider sympathy, recognition, and so on. You can feel sorry for yourselves about it, but until you have an Oyston or a Chansiri TRULY witholding the dosh from people that are owed it, a boycott that results in a few thousand less than a normal attendance is going to do absolutely nothing.

Im struggling to see what point it is you're trying to make.

So you think we should say and do nothing until we ACTUALLY end up in administration as opposed to acting beforehand and trying to prevent it happening in the first place?

[JHRover]

16 minutes ago, Goozburger said:

 

Who would be willing to take on the burden of our losses? Even with a bumped number of ST holders (let's say that would happen with new owners), you're still staring annual losses of several million or more a season just by standing still, as well as keeping onside with FFP rules and avoiding points deductions and fines. So who is going to take that on? I keep hearing "Venky's won't sell". I don't know who is close enough to them over in India to know that first-hand, but forget that for a moment... Where is the queue of buyers? I really doubt any business-minded person with "ambitious" intentions would think we're a profit-making project to have at.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/championship-club-preston-north-end-fc-holds-talks-with-chelsea-suitor-13498336

Example one.

I could find another 20-30 from other Championship clubs alone from the last 10 years if you need.

I keep hoping that eventually the penny will drop that :

a) EVERY Championship club loses money - Rovers are not some random outlier

b) EVERY Championship club that goes up for sale eventually gets new owners

But it seems you are still sticking to the 'nobody would buy us' routine despite all the available evidence suggesting there are plenty of people out there looking at clubs even less attractive than Rovers, such as Preston Nob End. 

[Goozburger]

This is quite hilarious.

I'm happy.

I want administration.

(Although sole credit to Rev for those silly interpretations).

As for evidence of who wants to buy us, why are you looking at other clubs? Where's the evidence of who wants to buy us and, more importantly, what would make them more suitable than the current bunch? I'm not being funny - seriously - I would love to know! But I have seen zero evidence to date, and the numbers seem self explanatory about that to me.

Edited 1 hour ago by Goozburger

[Mattyblue]

‘Decent enough’ was a turn of phrase, gooze.

It shows even a good percentage of the remaining attending rump are unhappy and not the ‘venkyclappers’ they (me included) are painted as.

The rest of your post is speculative, me/you have no idea who’s out there as you need two to tango, and we don’t know what level of risk a potential buyer would be willing to take on.

But even on its own merits today was worth it, there’s still a bit of fight left in the dog.

Edited 1 hour ago by Mattyblue

[Dreams of 1995]

8 minutes ago, Tricky said:

What has a season ticket holder gained from not going? A pat on the back from a similarly minded fan, great.

Pointless, they already have your money.

But they won’t have it next year. That’s what those fans are telling you. A point you’re missing.

You seem ok with that. Fair enough. I am deeply worried about the direction of this club.

You have more in common with those boycotting fans than the owners. Remember that. They are asking you to stand with them or else they cannot take it anymore. These people are your neighbours, co workers, friends, drinking partners or whatever. The Venkys are nothing to you. They don’t care about you. Now you can sit here and slag it off all you like but what are YOU gaining from that? You are happy to turn your back on the fans with whom you share so much with but not happy to turn your back on the Venkys, who despise you so much they refuse to step foot in your town.

I would start to look at what you’re gaining from all of this before questioning others 

[JHRover]

1 minute ago, Goozburger said:

 

As for evidence of who wants to buy us, why are you looking at other clubs? Where's the evidence of who wants to buy us and, more importantly, what would make them more suitable than the current bunch? I'm not being funny - seriously - I would love to know! But I have seen zero evidence to date, and the numbers seem self explanatory about that to me.

What 'evidence' would satisfy you other than what actually happens elsewhere at similar / inferior clubs?

You want private businessmen / consortia to go around giving interviews and talking about it publicly even though it isn't for sale?

You want public access to private communications?

There's no public 'evidence' of many things but anyone with a grasp on reality knows what is going on.

You seem to be expecting or demanding something that never happens in any business transaction in the world - nobody ever goes public about their interest in something when the people in control won't even answer the phone. 

 

[Penwortham Blue]

2 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

It was a turn of phrase, gooze.

It shows even a good percentage of the remaining attending rump are unhappy and not the ‘venkyclappers’ they (me included) are painted as.

The rest of your post is speculative, me/you have no idea who’s out there and what level of risk they’d be willing to take on.

But even on its own merits today was worth it, there’s still a bit of fight left in the dog.

Maybe in some of us, Matty but certainly not Goozburger !

[DE.]

37 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

I would like to thank everyone who chose not to go today as your symbol, that this is bigger than 22 men chasing a piece of leather on the pitch. Id like to personally thank everyone who has supported the coalition and even further given me so much support over the years to try and keep up the good fight against all the adversity that comes with putting your head above the parapet. At 10am yesterday i got the news we all dread, as one of my parents sadly suffered a heart attack and were blue lighted to Blackpool straight into surgery and not in a great way.  In a strange way, it galvanised my spirit of why we do what we do. Without my parents. Id not be here. Id not be a rovers fan and certainly not be so invested in trying to protect it.

Emotions are running high, always are after a game, and the dust settling will evolve in the coming days.

Whats next is the burning question?

For me, its take stock, evaluate, listen, and then the picture will become clear

My thoughts are with your family Glen. Hoping for the best possible outcome. 

[Goozburger]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

It was a turn of phrase, gooze.

It shows even a good percentage of the remaining attending rump are unhappy and not the ‘venkyclappers’ they (me included) are painted as.

The rest of your post is speculative, me/you have no idea who’s out there and what level of risk they’d be willing to take on.

But even on its own merits today was worth it, there’s still a bit of fight left in the dog.

Will a boycott be ongoing? It was only asked of the Watford game. A 25% reduction in attendance might be a first step, but that's the easiest. Is it going to gradually build to 50%, 75%, and then 100%? The answer is likely "no". My opinion is simply that there are bits and pieces of bad ownership, but unless they truly stop funding the club and paying bills, it's never going to have majority support from Rovers attendees, let alone the wider footballing world.

I'm not here as a "oh, here he is again with his blah blah mantra". It's my opinion. Nothing more. Nothing less. And I can assure those who think that I'm deluded and whatnot, that I ain't the only one who thinks the same.

[Tricky]

7 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

But they won’t have it next year. That’s what those fans are telling you. A point you’re missing.

You seem ok with that. Fair enough. I am deeply worried about the direction of this club.

You have more in common with those boycotting fans than the owners. Remember that. They are asking you to stand with them or else they cannot take it anymore. These people are your neighbours, co workers, friends, drinking partners or whatever. The Venkys are nothing to you. They don’t care about you. Now you can sit here and slag it off all you like but what are YOU gaining from that? You are happy to turn your back on the fans with whom you share so much with but not happy to turn your back on the Venkys, who despise you so much they refuse to step foot in your town.

I would start to look at what you’re gaining from all of this before questioning others 

I understand why people feel driven to boycott, but I don’t believe it achieves whats hoped. The owners already have the money this season, so the immediate impact is on the team, the atmosphere, and the wider fan experience rather than on those in charge.

Long term, fewer renewals may not force change — it’s just as likely to lead to further cost-cutting. For owners this detached, empty seats don’t create pressure; they create division amongst the fans, much like Reform do in today's politics.

[simongarnerisgod]

look at the situation in this context

we`ve gone from a team that were looking good for the play offs under eustace,the owners ****** him about and he left,ismael came in and suddenly we are in transition??????

last  summer we sold all our best players,brought in a lot of shite and now we are in danger of relegation,not a murmur of protest from the fans present at ewood,i really think stockholm syndrome has taken over whats left of our support,what needs to happen to unite fans to our plight????,ffs some of them need cattle prodding to realise whats going on 

[Mattyblue]

Until the wages stopped being paid you want get critical mass, we saw that at Sheff Wed. But so what? No protest movement is easy.

[DE.]

Just now, Goozburger said:

Will a boycott be ongoing? It was only asked of the Watford game. A 25% reduction in attendance might be a first step, but that's the easiest. Is it going to gradually build to 50%, 75%, and then 100%? The answer is likely "no". My opinion is simply that there are bits and pieces of bad ownership, but unless they truly stop funding the club and paying bills, it's never going to have majority support from Rovers attendees, let alone the wider footballing world.

I'm not here as a "oh, here he is again with his blah blah mantra". It's my opinion. Nothing more. Nothing less. And I can assure those who think that I'm deluded and whatnot, that I ain't the only one who thinks the same.

I suppose a lot of it comes down to whether you still find any enjoyment from supporting Rovers under Venky's. If you do, then I get the antagonism, but at the same time if the belief is that the boycott is pointless and won't change anything, then no need to be concerned about it. Just let people do what they want to do and keep on doing what you're doing. 

If you find little to no enjoyment from the club under Venky's, then it makes sense to try and do something about it. Even if it's ultimately futile, there's no shame in trying to enact positive change. There's also no need to fear what would happen if Venky's pull the plug, if you genuinely have zero enjoyment from the club under their tenure to begin with. One day they will go, and a new owner will be needed - why not try and make it possible sooner rather than later?

[RevidgeBlue]

9 minutes ago, Goozburger said:

This is quite hilarious.

I'm happy.

I want administration.

(Although sole credit to Rev for those silly interpretations).

As for evidence of who wants to buy us, why are you looking at other clubs? Where's the evidence of who wants to buy us and, more importantly, what would make them more suitable than the current bunch? I'm not being funny - seriously - I would love to know! But I have seen zero evidence to date, and the numbers seem self explanatory about that to me.

If you think we won't end up in administration if the V's stay in charge that's fair enough but I fear you'll be sadly disappointed. I think the clock is clearly ticking and there's only a limited amount of value left they can squeeze out of it.

So to rephrase it your solution is to do nothing and just hope for the best?

[superniko]

28 minutes ago, Penwortham Blue said:

Strewth, he’s back again with who would buy Blackburn Rovers. The same day, confirmed big money investment interest in Preston and we see little old Wrexham scoring two late goals to further cement their credentials for a place at the top table.

Posters who plod that line out are just gaslighting at this point. 

[Dreams of 1995]

4 minutes ago, Tricky said:

I understand why people feel driven to boycott, but I don’t believe it achieves whats hoped. The owners already have the money this season, so the immediate impact is on the team, the atmosphere, and the wider fan experience rather than on those in charge.

Long term, fewer renewals may not force change — it’s just as likely to lead to further cost-cutting. For owners this detached, empty seats don’t create pressure; they create division amongst the fans, much like Reform do in today's politics.

Fewer renewals devastate the club. These fans are telling you they are not willing to attend whilst Venkys are here. You should stand with those fans and not the owners 
 

How you have concluded that empty seats create division is beyond me. I think it’s an AI post tbh - what the fuck does empty seats have to do with Reform? And how does it create division if people decide they can’t support Venkys any more and don’t want to part with their hard earned cash? 
I won’t be replying to you again. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Dreams of 1995

[M_B]

The wealth of the owners should be a positive, but when it comes to getting rid of them it is their wealth which is the biggest problem. 

The problem here is that they don't actually need to sell, which is why comparisons with Chansiri and Oyston are missing the point. 

Their wealth will also deter  potential buyers looking for a good deal,you can't bully someone financially if they're richer than you are.