Hasta

I take it they are not consoling themselves that he gave the ball,away against Bournemouth anymore?

Agree, but they ain't giving free gifts to the club either.

51 pages summed up in 2 lines.

They get coverage on TV anyway as part of the package they have signed up to, as well as visibility around Ewood on a match day and I presume some sort of corporate package. If the sponsorship deal was signed before everything went tits up I'd be asking for money back, not giving freebies out.

If I was a local sponsor I'd be asking the club what I was getting for my money now that no local public was going to be attending Ewood. I wouldn't be chucking free prizes at the club.

But you never had to pay for something you couldn't use. I admit its a valiant way to 'support the club', but from a personal point of view you might as well just wait and pay the money next July. Either way, the club is only receiving £399 from you over the next 2 years, and as Venkys are putting X amount of million a year in we won't be living hand-to-mouth for cash. I'm not sure the praise for Preston is for their forward thinking way of getting money into the business early. I think its because they are giving options to people who have paid their money up front.

I think it's Madon's comments at the top of the page I don't get. Why would "buy your season ticket for 21/22 now be "how you do it". The only incentive is that the price is held.

I've not read the fine print as I never really considered renewing for the reasons I outlined back in July. But as far as I understand it, the club made it clear that for any game you couldn't attend you got an ifollow code and the remaining value off your season ticket next year. So they are carrying the money they class as 'not used' over. Several people on here said that if season tickets went on sale people might not be in the grounds till next year if at all. Everyone knew that when they purchased, and also knew the above scenario was in place. Yet other said they knew the risks and would buy regardless. How anyone can turn around now and say "Well I didn't think it would actually happen" is beyond me.

Fair play to Preston but people bought season tickets this season at Ewood knowing the circumstances, the risks and the deal. It was fairly obvious what has happened was a realistic possibility. At the start of this thread there are loads of people saying they'd pay their money upfront whatever the risks. Im all for slating Waggot on his many failings, and the price rise was stupidity, but there is little reason why the club should refund season tickets or carry the money over to next season.

Brereton has only had 2 chances because he doesn't get himself into goalscoring positions. It's an instinct. Hoddle famously said Andy Cole needed 5 chances to score a goal, but he scored lots of goals because he had the ability to know where to be stood to get those chances. It wasn't luck. Jordan Rhodes was the same. They might be top class goalscorer but if you look at DG's catalogue of goals there will be many in and around 12 yards where he picks up the pieces. The argument will come that BB is often being asked to perform a slightly deeper or wider role, but Dack is currently our best example of a player with a goalscorer instinct, and he never plays up front as a central striker. He did his job in the run for the 3rd goal against Wycombe, but lets be honest. He runs into open space with no challenge and then plays the easy ball well. Rochina may well have done a step-over at the end and tried to bend it in from 25 yards so all credit for doing the simple thing well. But I would expect any professional player with a bit of pace to have been able to do that, including the likes of Bell. For balance, he has made short runs outside the box several times where he has actually gone past a man several times this year which are a far better example that he has a bit of dribbling talent. I have seen him be a bit more effective this season, but he still looks like an offensive squad player and is never a goalscoring striker. I said weeks ago there was no chance of him getting 15 goals a season and a couple of people said it was possible. He will score goals but isn't going to get even 10. Armstrong may well be flying but over the course of the season we will need another source of goals.

Very early 90's but to the tune of Tom's Diner. Tyrhys Dolan, doo, doodoo, doo Tyrhys Dolan, doo, doodoo, doo

Which is all fine and good points. But you have admitted you don't think the rise from last season to this season is fair. And you are arguing something which nobody else is arguing against. When you say "Fans complaining that the price in the blackburn end has in real terms increased by less than £1 a year over the last 18 years." that's not really happening is it? Fans are complaining that the prices has gone up from last season despite the product offer and experience being worse. Despite the fact you agree with this, you state that these complaints prove "our Indian owners seem far more committed than most of our fans." Billionaire owners who were never seen at Ewood in god knows how many years, I'm committed to my wife. I'm also committed to my council tax bill. I know which kind of committed Venkys are to Rovers. I think obligated would be a better word for it.

Do you think it is right in the current circumstances that the club should increase riverside season ticket costs from last year by over 30% for being able to attend less games, and the games you do attend will be an inferior experience?

I'll not quote the entire post to keep the page tidy but your missing the point about timing completely. Would I pay £400, a £50 increase, for my season ticket if it was a normal season. Yes Will I pay £400 a £50 increase, for this years season ticket when you miss a number of games immediately, possible miss multiple other games and the matchday experience is seriously diluted? No. Now if it's back to normal next season and the price is £400, then I will return and won't grumble about the new price at all after what the club and everyone has been through. But to increase prices by up to 30% on last season, for a product that is inferior in both number of games you receive and in match day experience, is crazy.

@Herbie6590 which episode was the one with Bayes / Lenny / MND? I must have missed that one and wouldn't mind a listen.

Minutes are coming. [please delete]

"Ran with the ball a lot, dribbled and beat his man but in positions that weren't dangerous or nothing came of it, got a couple of shots away from outside the box, some of which were blocked." Am I describing a Rothwell bad game or a Brereton good game?

Armstrongs goal scoring record and general threat over the last 2 years probably give him some credit. I thought Brereton was anonymous first half but much better second half, especially for a 10 minute spell around the hour mark. However I do think for the last 20 minutes the defenders sussed out he was dropping deep and then trying to drive forward with his first touch and managed to stop him. He still has to pull the trigger at the end though. Good enough performance in the second half from him but we still need a striker as the goals just aren't going to come from the lad.

Use your right foot there Del.

I bet it doesn't even have the Premiership Pledge anymore.

Forget comparing it to 15 years ago when many fans wouldn't even have been going or would have been on kids rate. You need to compare it to the product you bought last season. • You ultimately get to attend less matches for £50 more. • If there are more than 1 of you in your household then, after the first season ticket holder, you get no recompense for any matches you cannot attend. • The match day experience is going to be far worse than a normal season. The timing of this price increase to the £400 barrier is an absolute shocker. The club isn't that hard up as the Gladwin / Smallwood situations show. A bit of PR would have been to announce that in light of the costs associated with COVID that prices should go up. However in acknowledgement of the issues at the end of last season, the enforced change of seating / stands, and the general unertainty of this season, announce that the price increase was on hold with prices held and ifollow away games thrown in as a bonus. Then give some spiel about budgets and the market value of our tickets being too low etc... and say that passing on some of the extra costs associated with COVID are being deferred until the experience is back to normal. Again, confirm that prices need to go up and would be going up next year if things are back to normal, apologise for the lack of information and clarity up to this point and thank people for their understanding.

It's more a gamble that putting prices up by 15% will not lead to an 15% drop in attendance. As it is, we will never know as this will be a season like no other.

The problem is that all those little things in the recent past such as the increase in food and drink costs, the Waggot Tax, relocating the family stand, closing the Darwen End etc... have been nudging supporters away from the club for some time. It became clear that everything has been about extracting as much money as possible to the detriment of club-supporter relations, whilst the playing side have been allowed to fritter money in some areas without restriction from above. (Gladwin extension, Smallwood extra month etc...) Communication has been non-existent for years but especially over the last few months, where even an explanation of why there where delays would have been better than silence coming from a weed-strewn Ewood Park in August. Now with a little bit more consultation and communication all of the above could have been handled a lot better, so that in times like these, when they need to extract an 18% cost increase for a reduced season (the cost per match you attend will have gone up more than 18% !!) the fan base were more likely to accept it. As it is, all those penny pinching, divisive antics are going to come home to roost now they are having to go back to their core customer base cap-in-hand.

Wohooo. It must be true then. It's time to get excited. Defenders are coming. Defenders are coming. Defenders are coming. Defenders are coming.

Before I get excited can somebody please fill me in. Is this a solid link about us signing a quality defender? Or is it someone off twitter's mate who had a pint with an ex player on Sunday?