IHB, like it or not, the minute the big clubs break away from the Premier league, is the minute clubs like rovers disappear back to the days of 5000 gates. It's only the Prem money that differentiates us from the rest of the similar sized clubs. Leeds United, the two Sheffield clubs, Everton, Newcastle etc etc that you say will want to go that way, will in fact only have one thing on their mind - joining the Man U's and Chelsea's, not seeing them off. They want to tap into the prem money. They want to play those clubs every week. "I say let's increase the interest in Rovers by bumping up the crowds and making a real atmosphere." I know I keep saying it and some don't like it, but if you have some suggestions as to how to achieve that, then forward them to the club. They don't know how to boost crowds, nor do I, nor does anyone else. Success on the field is the only possible way, but that needs success year on year. That is very difficult for a club with rovers' finances. As we have seen, one good season makes little difference to attendances.

I take it no-one saw John O'Mara? Worse than any of them.

That's a bit different to "he played his best football for Palace"

LU? Apologies for a rather flippant reply from me, EIT. On your points - For you to be able to push your points further, you would IMO, have to persuade the people at Ewood that more people attending = more points. It possibly does, but can you give a solid case that reducing prices to a tenner, would result in full houses? I suggest that even if you gave tickets away, you wouldn't fill it. Or to be more serious, a tenner a ticket wouldn't fill Ewood regularly. Maybe against Man U it would, but not against Fulham.

I wouldn't think so, Theno. Having said that, it should be quite easy to use the existing database to find the answers.

Someone has to find a scheme, whereby agents don't benefit from their clients moving clubs. That would put paid to much of the corruption.

The concern within the club, is that kids go down to Ewood until they have to pay full price. Then they don't come along any more. Not all kids, but quite a lot. It's the price that forces the issue.

So you have no ideas on how to increase gates then?

I'm talking average gates here. 80/81 Average Gate; 11,684 81/82 Average Gate; 8,353 82/83 Average Gate; 7,069 83/84 Average Gate: 7,613 84/85 Average Gate; 9,647 85/86 Average Gate; 5,826 86/87 Average gate; 7,277 87/88 Average Gate; 9,956 88/89 Average Gate; 9,380 89/90 Average Gate: 9,611 Jim, you must be talking about the 81/82 season where this was the result from the last home gate of the season: May 15 h Chelsea.........D 1-1 garner. gate: 5,833 Just trying to point out that rovers never dropped to 4000 average. Course we can drop even further than where we are now, but again, it's pretty much out of the clubs hands. Unless someone knows the answer to the question "how can BRFC reduce prices and compete in the Premier league"?

1988/89 season: Feb 21 h Oxford U.......W 3-1 hendry,og,diamond Att. 5,724 Average gate that season: 9,380

It's finding the answer that's the problem, BP. The screwing of away fans is a calculated gamble though, isn't it. The gamble being that it needn't cost any rovers fan one penny. The small number of walk on rovers fans on the BBE can always go in another part of the ground. Ticket prices are definately way too high - the club DO know that. They can't reduce prices unilaterally. Nor can they force/persuade any of the other big clubs to do the same. When Man U can't fill OT, then something will happen, not until then. Like I said there's no obvious answer. ps, I don't think rovers ever sank to an average of 4000, but what's the real hardcore support of most other clubs in the old third division?

How can you be sure that city would have sold 8000 tickets? I've said a couple of times recently that they have lost 5000 fans of their own. That's not down to price alone. Rovers reducing prices at this moment in time, is only going to lose the club more money. There isn't an answer for Rovers alone. The only time prices will come down, is when Man Utd can't sell out O.T.

You think the club haven't been looking at pricing policy? They aren't stupid, nor are they out of touch with the fans. They know tickets are too expensive. FYI, JW sees his role at Ewood as that of a fund raiser. He sees Blackburn Rovers as a club who's sole intention is to get a football team onto the pitch. As good a team as is possible. Rovers are different to some clubs in that sense. So to do that, he needs to maximise income from all areas, including ticket prices. Now if anyone has a formula that hasn't been tried, then email him, he's always ready to listen. The truth to me, is that the club have tried just about every method of maximising income that they know. This season they're obviously trying to bring in more money from away fans. One things for sure though, if the way forward was to reduce prices, they would have done that. There's absolutely NO evidence that reducing prices will bring in more revenue. Of course, they could reduce prices, but what would the fans think of lower league football again?

It's OK picking prices out of the air, so now you can tell us what the effect on the clubs income over a season would be and how we make up the shortfall? Plus your evidence that dropping prices will actually bring back lapsed fans?

I really think we need to get back to the old back four - Neill, Kishi, Todd and Gray. Not ideal, but a lot better than what we have now.

There was certainly need for a leader today. Someone to take command of the back four.

Bloody cheerful that, USA.

No they're not. Good job we didn't start playing until the second half - it could have been eight otherwise.

Which question USA?

To a man, city fans want Pearce out. They think they're going down. MEN

It is a worry SG, but it's affecting all clubs. City used to bring 8000 to Ewood - today they didn't even open the top tier. I said last week that they have lost 5000 supporters of their own. While the top sides are filling their grounds, nothing will happen.

Think you're getting confused with Andy Tod of Accrington Stanley.

We'll go above City if we beat them. Rovers 2 - 1 City

Just looking at Biddys links and wondered if anyone has used THIS site? It's basically a search engine that searches forums. It can be useful if you want to read discussions on a certain topic.

If you look at the goals, where Lucas has been blamed on here again, you will see that the player who had the scorer marked and didn't track back all the way was pedersen. Lucas was the nearest to the Salzburg player when he scored, but he had to leave the player that he was marking, to try to get to the player that Ped allowed a free run to.