Painful Acceptance

[Tomphil2]

Great to read stories from such long standing supporters we need more of it on here it might break up the angst and bickering a bit.

Saw a post on Facebook the other day from Rovers at Spurs i think it was the FA cup run up to the 1960 final ?

Must've been half a dozen different people talking about the games then that they were at including that one and it made such a contrast to the normal crap you read on there.

[oneandycrawford]

Having started watching in 74 I'm of the generation who grew up in the darkest times the club had known up until that point. 3rd division for the first time in the clubs history, low crowds and no money. 

And yet there was always the knowledge that the people running the club cared, even if we didn't always agree with their decisions!

There were several flirtations with the top flight along with a brief return to the 3rd division. Some memorable Cup moments as well.

It was all so different to today. The key thing was there always a sense of ambition - Duncan McKenzie and Howard Kendall, wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, engaging with the town and fans.

Now it just feels like supporting an empty shell. I live in Bath and couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go to the Bristol and Portsmouth away matches. Haven't been to Ewood since before COVID.

I still care about the club and pray Venkys fuck off soon but I worry that I'll never get that sense of belonging back.

[wilsdenrover]

47 minutes ago, oneandycrawford said:

Having started watching in 74 I'm of the generation who grew up in the darkest times the club had known up until that point. 3rd division for the first time in the clubs history, low crowds and no money. 

And yet there was always the knowledge that the people running the club cared, even if we didn't always agree with their decisions!

There were several flirtations with the top flight along with a brief return to the 3rd division. Some memorable Cup moments as well.

It was all so different to today. The key thing was there always a sense of ambition - Duncan McKenzie and Howard Kendall, wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, engaging with the town and fans.

Now it just feels like supporting an empty shell. I live in Bath and couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go to the Bristol and Portsmouth away matches. Haven't been to Ewood since before COVID.

I still care about the club and pray Venkys fuck off soon but I worry that I'll never get that sense of belonging back.

With new (and half decent owners) I reckon that feeling would return in an instant.

 

[waynerovers]

Totally understand. The destruction they caused in the early 2010's caused me to not only check out from Rovers, but from football completely for over a decade. It took Englands performances in the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 to finally bring me back to watching football regularly. I watched no league or European football at all between 2011 and 2021. When I did start watching again I made an agreement with myself that I wouldn't allow myself to get so emotionally invested in it again like I was before to the point it ruins your weekend if your team loses. I now try to view football through the lens of entertainment, hence why I find myself watching United vs City today rather than the Ipswich game.

[AvRover]

It's a very sad state of affairs I'm afraid. We do have to remember Venkys won't last forever. Things don't go on forever, but things often go on longer than they ought.

I was told my Great-Grandfather bought a season ticket at Ewood in the 1920s. I heard the stories of the "dark days of the Third Division" in the 1970s and the fairytale of the 1995. I was there in the 2000s for FA Cup Semis, beating Burnley at Ewood in 2009.

I have now taken the decision to boycott until the regime falls. It's simply depressing and not fun - that's simply what it should be and why people went through the turnstiles every other Saturday. We live in hope that one day someone will see the value of a small town club in East Lancashire with a proud history and want to make a better future.

Sadly, I am falling out of love with football. I can recite tales from throughout football history and I'm passionate about the game. However, the silent decline and fall of Blackburn Rovers is simply how the smaller clubs are being purged, there's no next gen fans who drift off to spend £150pp at Man City. Look at the state of VAR and the state of FIFA. PSR rules designed to entrench teams at the top and kill 'the dream' Rovers once lived.

With a heavy heart - Rover and out.

[Waggy76]

5 minutes ago, AvRover said:

It's a very sad state of affairs I'm afraid. We do have to remember Venkys won't last forever. Things don't go on forever, but things often go on longer than they ought.

I was told my Great-Grandfather bought a season ticket at Ewood in the 1920s. I heard the stories of the "dark days of the Third Division" in the 1970s and the fairytale of the 1995. I was there in the 2000s for FA Cup Semis, beating Burnley at Ewood in 2009.

I have now taken the decision to boycott until the regime falls. It's simply depressing and not fun - that's simply what it should be and why people went through the turnstiles every other Saturday. We live in hope that one day someone will see the value of a small town club in East Lancashire with a proud history and want to make a better future.

Sadly, I am falling out of love with football. I can recite tales from throughout football history and I'm passionate about the game. However, the silent decline and fall of Blackburn Rovers is simply how the smaller clubs are being purged, there's no next gen fans who drift off to spend £150pp at Man City. Look at the state of VAR and the state of FIFA. PSR rules designed to entrench teams at the top and kill 'the dream' Rovers once lived.

With a heavy heart - Rover and out.

The dark days of the 3rd Division were infinitely  better than this deliberate destruction of the football club.

At least we had hope and the fans , were united !

[RoverDom]

5 hours ago, waynerovers said:

hence why I find myself watching United vs City today rather than the Ipswich game

I also did this and im much happier for it

[Bbrovers2288]

Great original post and one I can resonate with. I grew up in a wee place just outside of Glasgow where I just so happened to live next door to the sister of a certain jack walker. When her husband heard I was into football he would give me signed strips and balls, then tickets, then taking me to jacks office, and I loved it being a young boy, especially with the squad featuring a lot of Scot’s at the time and dalgleish being the manager, I loved being the kid at school that didn’t support rangers or Celtic and would proudly say I was a Blackburn fan. Everyone knew me as the Blackburn fan and would then take an interest in their results/signins knowing I would be invested in all things rovers. 
I would make the trip down to ewood 3/4 times a season and it was always so exciting to go, I would look forward to it for weeks. 
sadly jack passed and I moved away from my neighbours , learning of their passing in later years but my link to the club was now deep in my blood , I was obsessed with the club, my weekends hinged on our result. 
Fast forward to now, I have moved even further away from ewood to the north of Scotland due to work. I haven’t been to ewood this season, my visits became less and less frequent to the point I can’t justify it. I now have 2 boys and I can’t bring myself to pass on my club to them. I used to defend the club to the hilt, I now can’t, I am embarrassed to say it’s who I support. I watch less and less football every season and I blame Blackburn for me losing love of the game. Everything is so flat and bleak with the club it’s just tiring. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I’m apethetic and lost with the club. My only slight consolation is this forum and having those with similar feelings. I hope that one day we can have a revival but I think there is further falling and despair before that can happen. I will always support the club but from afar these days. When the green shoots arrive, I will return 

[...]

7 hours ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Great original post and one I can resonate with. I grew up in a wee place just outside of Glasgow where I just so happened to live next door to the sister of a certain jack walker. When her husband heard I was into football he would give me signed strips and balls, then tickets, then taking me to jacks office, and I loved it being a young boy, especially with the squad featuring a lot of Scot’s at the time and dalgleish being the manager, I loved being the kid at school that didn’t support rangers or Celtic and would proudly say I was a Blackburn fan. Everyone knew me as the Blackburn fan and would then take an interest in their results/signins knowing I would be invested in all things rovers. 
I would make the trip down to ewood 3/4 times a season and it was always so exciting to go, I would look forward to it for weeks. 
sadly jack passed and I moved away from my neighbours , learning of their passing in later years but my link to the club was now deep in my blood , I was obsessed with the club, my weekends hinged on our result. 
Fast forward to now, I have moved even further away from ewood to the north of Scotland due to work. I haven’t been to ewood this season, my visits became less and less frequent to the point I can’t justify it. I now have 2 boys and I can’t bring myself to pass on my club to them. I used to defend the club to the hilt, I now can’t, I am embarrassed to say it’s who I support. I watch less and less football every season and I blame Blackburn for me losing love of the game. Everything is so flat and bleak with the club it’s just tiring. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I’m apethetic and lost with the club. My only slight consolation is this forum and having those with similar feelings. I hope that one day we can have a revival but I think there is further falling and despair before that can happen. I will always support the club but from afar these days. When the green shoots arrive, I will return 

That's a great tale to tell and envious of your closeness though far away! 

The roots that lead to Blackburn Rovers are far and wide. Built up through 135 of pride

[roversinmyblood]

On 12/01/2026 at 10:46, Devon Rover said:

This is difficult to write. But something I have found sad on here over the years has been seeing so many posters I've enjoyed reading just disappearing. So I thought I'd say farewell, for now.

Back in 1992, an elderly couple moved down from Blackburn into a semi-detached house across the road on our Somerset council estate. Being a horrible little teenager, I harassed them early on, with casual games of knock-knock-ginger. Once, they caught me at the door and “invited” me in for a chat. I suspected this might involve a blow to the head and a call to the police but, intrigued by their ‘strange’ accents, remembering my mum had the only landline in the street, and being a bit bored, anyway, I sheepishly went in. Anne made us all a cup of tea, while Doug and I sat in silence in big old armchairs in their cold living room. Out of the blue, Doug asked me if I liked football. Within 30 minutes we were onto our second cuppa and Doug was regaling me with stories of a club I knew nothing about – Blackburn Rovers – and his watching them through the 1960s and 70s. He showed me black and white collection cards of Bryan Douglas and Ronnie Clayton and he assured me, with a white-moustached smile, "the Rovers are on their way back; just you wait and see”.

Doug and I met up most Saturdays, to read the sports pages of the papers and to consider the Rovers’ chances in the afternoon’s game. Before I even knew it, Blackburn Rovers was my team, my club. A million miles away from me and my home, yet just across the road. In the next few years, supporting the Rovers gave me some of my happiest life memories, whilst dealing with the stresses of school, gangs, and adolescence. I clung to the Rovers, as a representation of hope and aspiration.

When Doug died in the late 1990s, I was already a big Rovers fan in my own right, despite never having been anywhere near Ewood Park. At nights, I dreamt of having the chance to be there, and during the day I knew I had to stick with the club, come what may, for Doug, as well as for myself.

Well, I have tried, Doug. I’ve given it a really good go, and I hope you wouldn’t be too saddened that I can’t keep it up, now. I suspect it would be nothing next to your sadness for what has become of your Rovers.

The truth is, for me the excitement of Rovers has gone, the enjoyment of our games has gone. But most of all, the 'hope' is gone. This club is no longer one Doug would recognise, and nor do I. It brings me only sadness rather than any fun, pleasure, or aspiration. Rainy drives to games at Ewood Park have left me with a deflated feeling – amplified by the stress of wondering if that game will even start/finish.

My wife asked me yesterday, after I had attended a different club’s match, successfully seeking something a bit more fun, why am I still following Rovers? What do I get out of it in return for my time, energy, money? What is the point if there is no expectation of things getting any better? Why would I travel 500-mile round trips in the hope of maybe seeing a couple of shots on target? She seemed genuinely sad and frustrated for me and at how this all makes me feel and behave. For the first time (we’ve had similar conversations before), I just responded with “I don’t know. I don’t really want to, anymore.”

So, with that, I now, sadly, withdraw my support for this previously great club – one that I have loved for 33 years, and always will, deep down, but which is now just the cause of unhappiness for me. I don’t know how many future seasons of football I will get to see, but I do know I don’t want them to be spent with bleakness and anger towards something that should, on some level/s make me happy.

I will remain registered on BRFCS, a place that is brilliantly run and has represented a rare place of ‘safety’ for me to share views about what has been the absolute destruction of what many of us, and those before us, were able to enjoy and love. But I’ll only really be looking out for Venkys leaving, and consequent hope that the great Blackburn Rovers can be reborn.

Until then, being a Rovers fan, for me, is no longer a place for happiness. The club has become a symbol of decline and disappointment, and I choose, painfully, not to have that in my life.

Thank you all for being interesting to interact with. Of course, each one of us behind a username is a person, with a story of our own. So, keep being kind. Take care. 

Great post. I got to this stage last season when VI took over and went on that terrible run of defeats. I was happy with my decision and felt that it was for my own wellbeing.  However, we then went on a winning spree and had the chance of the playoffs and I was sucked back in again!! 
I’m trying to stay positive, but finding it almost impossible to do so because even with the transfer window giving us hope that we could make signings that could change our fate, we just know that the clueless cheapskates who run our club will let us down once again. When we need to spend to prevent us from being relegated they won’t, because they seem to live a world where they don’t believe it’s even a possibility. 
The next two weeks are going to be crucial for Rover’s future, but I know deep down that they’ll screw it up and we’ll be ultimately relegated. I think that it is Venkies’ plan so that they reduce the funding to £10M pa and then they can truly forget about us. 
And so, with that in mind I’m preparing myself to “check out”, like Devon Rover, after 63 years of supporting my beloved Rovers through thick and thin. I deserve to be happy based on my own endeavours rather than the efforts of individuals who are only bothered about themselves. I’m getting too old to suffer anymore, I’ll leave that to you younger supporters to carry the burden and the fight to our terrible owners and management.

I still live in hope that Venkies might see sense and sell up, but I’ll not hold my breath on that.