JHRover

As I suggested over 6 months ago I suspect the reason the Riverside idea is a non-starter is because Waggott doesn't have the authority to do such a thing. To get approval for such a relatively major task would require him to go to India and request permission and funding to do it, which he clearly is unwilling or unable to do these days. Whether that is because the owners aren't taking calls any more or because he simply wants to keep his head down and not bother them we can only speculate, but it is clear he isn't in the business of asking India for money to do things. Hence why there is a 'non starter' approach to the suggestion of rail seating. he can't use the FFP excuse because it is irrelevant to such a job, and numerous other Championship clubs have already installed it - yet he is nipping that one in the bud from the start. I wish some more probing questions were asked - has he had it costed? If so how much would it cost to do? Has he raised it with the owners as something they might be willing to fund? I suspect the answer to all those things is no. Life is easier for Waggott to do the bare minimum required to keep things going saving costs wherever possible and doing nothing that will require unnecessary capital outlay

I think we know what will happen if it does get called off or moved. There will be a 4-5 line 'apology' from the authorities and clubs dreamt up by someone in an office who has probably never paid to go to an away game in their life. Then that will be the end of the matter. No action, no compensation, just get your tickets paid for and shut up. For all the talk of treating fans with respect I see precious little evidence of it from clubs and particularly the ghastly EFL who time and time again leave the paying supporters in the lurch.

Yes that's what I was thinking. I suggested a 1-0 win because that was what they awarded Ipswich after Bolton failed to turn up for their game the other year. I moaned about this situation at the start of the season and people shot me down saying that it didn't matter, that it wasn't their fault and that they would have to make the games up at a more inconvenient time. I disagree - I think it does matter. First off because it makes a mockery of the league for a club to not be able to fulfil its fixtures no matter who is to blame. Secondly because all these clubs they have postponed against also have to fit the extra game into midweeks causing extra difficulties for them. End of the day they have gone into the deal at the Ricoh for reasons only known to them after selling off Highfield Road. I presume one of the reasons was financial. In doing so they have left themselves open to risk of being tenants and some agreement whereby they don't control or have exclusive use of the venue. That's their choice but I don't see why the league or rival clubs should be messed about because of it. About time sporting and financial sanctions were imposed. Fines and games awarded to the opposition if they aren't capable of hosting matches, or they find somewhere else to play that is less convenient to them. Most non-league clubs have their own venues and can play there every week so I don't accept there is no alternative for a relatively wealthy Championship club.

I was critical of the decision to let Coventry 'get away' with the situation earlier this season. As far as I am concerned being unable to host games on their own ground is a major issue that needed dealing with robustly by the authorities, instead they were just allowed to postpone them all, catch the games up and play them at a time that causes havoc to other teams' fixtures So no doubt if there is an issue with our game there we can forget about the League dealing with the situation and we will probably just get an 11th hour postponement and then have to listen to someone telling us how they really care about supporters. Whilst this situation isn't entirely their own fault the reality is they don't own or have exclusive use of their stadium nor have responsibility for their own pitch so no sympathy. Everyone else manages. The League should be setting a deadline of midday Monday. Before then it should be moved to a neutral venue between here and Coventry and be closed to home fans If after then they can't host the game at their ground a 1-0 win should be awarded to Rovers. About time the League got a grip and started dealing with repeat offenders. Bolton another lot who got away with allsorts for years.

We must have a different view on 'building'. I'd say assembling an entire squad in one transfer window, many of whom are loans, on money few other clubs at this level could afford or be allowed to spend, is the opposite of 'building'. You mention wealthy benefactors yet don't mention tens of millions of borrowing from 3rd parties to prop the club up? It's working so can't fault it so far but in reality Burnley have done this summer what any other parachute laden club has done over the years - used the Sky money to 'have a go' at bouncing straight back. If they succeed it resets things. If they fail then drastic cuts will be inevitable. Same applies to WBA, Watford, Norwich. Burnley no different.

Not sure I'd go that far. If this was last season with Fulham and Bournemouth off to rapid starts they'd be looking some way off. Its partly because the other clubs who have big budgets in this league - Watford, Norwich, Sheffield United, West Brom are all failing that they are seen as the most likely show in town. Fact of the matter is that despite all that money and supposed talent they've won less than Rovers, have 2 points more after over a third of the season gone and that's despite no shows for Rovers in 4-5 games. They might go up - so they should with that outlay- but either way it's a ticking time bomb. They won't survive in the PL playing this way and won't be able to rely on loans like they have this season. More to the point when JDT gets his November with the players we should improve. "Built not bought" was the motto wasn't it?

There aren't really that many factors involved in season ticket sales. Price and product are the main 2 for the vast majority. Of course some people fall into smaller categories - personal circumstances, moving away, working on matchdays, but I'd bet that the vast majority of people who aren't in the (diminishing) core of those who will always renew no matter what make their decision based on either the affordability/price of a season ticket or their belief/confidence/enjoyment in the product being served up, or a combination of those two things. When we look at sales at Blackpool, Bolton and Preston there is no chance that they are selling more than us because they are able to offer a more attractive product - they can't. So it likely comes down to price, and it just so happens all are considerably cheaper than ours. Yes I do think our match day prices are too high. I've said it before I think a match adult ticket for Rovers should be £20 in all areas bar JW Upper central. This should be a flat price for all home games and all tickets should be on sale NOW not a couple of weeks before the match. We have the luxury here of vast space - we could give tickets away and not fill the 23,000 home seats - so I'd adopt an approach of sell as many and fill as many seats as possible otherwise they are just sitting empty. I recognise however that in putting season ticket prices so high that £20 matchday tickets are not feasible. This is another reason season ticket prices need reducing so that even at £20 matchday tickets season ticket holders are still saving. We all know why they won't get near £20 on a consistent basis and that is because there is always one eye on making money from the away fans. But there are ways around that - the 1875 membership could be used better - a member could qualify for £20 tickets to all home games or a reduction on their season ticket, non members pay a higher price. Thus continue to charge more for away fans and offer a real incentive to join the membership scheme.

So if we sold 2,000 next year then the year after sold 3,000 you'd consider that success? Of course the performance of rival clubs is relevant. If you aren't interested in how other clubs get on in comparison to Rovers then there's not much point being involved in competitive sport - the whole point of which is to outperform rivals. If just about every other club is getting more people on watching and are increasing their ticket sales, and we are bucking the trend by heading backwards on attendances, then someone somewhere should be very alarmed by it. The chickens are coming home to roost on crowds and anyone who suggests the numbers are good or isn't worried about the numbers at Ewood and recent trajectory of attendances clearly isn't paying attention. Waggott isn't paying attention. He's not here to improve or grow the club, and clearly has no remit nor intention to do anything serious about it. He's got a narrowly defined set of powers that amount to occasional 'promotions' usually with various strings attached or rolled out for fixtures that nobody wants to go to. Waggott is paid to make the balance sheet look better each summer when those in India review it. He's probably survived 5 years on his salary because he's advanced an argument he is worth employing because he's increased income and cut losses by more than that. Unfortunately, when you are a Championship football club, playing in a competitive league, in a competitive part of the country, in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis, there is a bit more to it than working out how to extract more money in the coming weeks and months from a dwindling support base. There is a bigger picture. A short, medium and long term. Not in Waggott land there isn't. An opportunist interested only in the next few weeks never mind years who knows full well he won't be here to pick up the pieces down the line. Again it comes back to the owners - someone of his 'calibre' wouldn't have got near running this Club under competent owners and wouldn't have survived this long through deteriorating attendances. But our owners seem quite happy to have a patsy in situ who pays for himself with his schemes and who deflects attention away from them. Most clubs are aware of the situation and risks of plummeting gates, which is why they have taken the bold step of reducing ticket prices, enabling hard up fans to renew in difficult times when the temptation is there to give up and save the money. League One Bolton and PNE getting 5-6 thousand more season ticket holder than us is a disgrace. No ifs or buts about it.

Anyone know what happened to that giant flag of Mowbray that we used to have at Ewood pre-match? Just wondering if we can have it couriered to Sunderland so they can use it now.

Or he has been instructed by the 'powers that be' that we aren't going to be using him and that he needs to be offloaded, and the easiest way to do that is to make his position here untenable.

Just the media trying to stir up division and distration. Must be worried we are looking like promotion contenders

Absolutely they could. That is one easy, obvious option to try and boost numbers coming in from areas in the wider region. It isn't rocket science, go to many other Championship grounds and you'll see coach after bus after coach parked up outside the ground waiting to take people back to their towns and villages after the game. Waggott is aware of this- I've seen it raised at several fans forum meetings over the years and we get the customary 'will look into it' response yet 5 years into his tenure nothing has happened. Why? Because it comes back to my original point - he isn't here to grow numbers, that is just a welcome outcome if it happens. He's here to cut costs and increase cash flow, so going to the hassle of arranging additional expense and transport costs to try to encourage more people to come just isn't on the agenda. Never has been, never will be. It would cost money and effort in the short term, wouldn't guarantee a return in the near future and therefore is of no use to him and his spreadsheets. It's a dangerous game when you look at the demographic and economic changes in a town like Blackburn and consider the vast numbers of support we have in more distant areas - those people need building and growing - but it seems the Club has all but given up on doing that, it seems they are happy for those areas to be surrendered to rival clubs and instead focuses it's efforts to 1 double decker bus to collect children from Blackburn and give them free tickets. Nice idea and gets plenty of positive publicity but unlikely to make any noticeable difference to things.

The simple answer to that is more season ticket holders. We should have upwards of 14,000 of those given that's what PNE and Bolton have, there's absolutely no reason we couldn't. Unfortunately it is too late now, as sales are done and the prices set. Anything from here on in will be minimal numbers and club is constrained on pricing because they can't make a habit of undercutting the season ticket rate. Want more fans? Don't charge top prices, get season tickets on sale sooner and promote them better. PNE were going round Garstang putting flyers through doors. We did nowt. Sadly it won't make any difference. The aim here isn't to increase numbers but to increase immediate cash flow. So Waggott will repeat it all over again next summer and then we can have this same discussion next autumn after a further price rise and drop off.

Did you read my post? I've explained the possible non-footballing reasons. Pretty much every estimate/rumour I've heard has him as top earner and on somewhere between 15 and 20 grand a week. What do you think he is on compared to the rest of the team?

Dack is top earner reportedly on the best part of £20000 a week, is 28 soon to be 29 and has barely played for the last 2 years. We often hear about the 'project' at Rovers - that 'project' obviously doesn't involve people on that sort of money, at that sort of age, with serious injury records. So I wouldn't be surprised if part of the 'project' was focused on phasing him out and finding someone to take him off our hands. They could pay 4-5 first teamers for one Dack. Not saying I agree with it but he isn't the first to be nudged out the exit door at Ewood for non-footballing reasons.

The 1875 stunt is typical Waggott in operation. It wasn't even up and running at the start of the summer when season tickets went on sale - not a single mention when advertising season tickets that this scheme would be introduced again and then all of a sudden it is set up after most people have committed to a season ticket. He's little more than an opportunist, there's no plan or strategy it's just react to the situation and circumstances and try to cash in on it to make a few quid. Some might say there's nothing wrong with that if it works but it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth and I'd like to see a bit more forward planning and strategy from the club about growing rather than cynical late attempts to screw the diminishing numbers for a few more quid. Others have rightly pointed out that the 1875 membership won't be needed for any fixture except the dingles and possibly away in the FA Cup if we get drawn against a small club with a very limited allocation. Nobody can predict that to happen so it comes down to the dingle game. He's basically wanting to coin it in off an away game knowing tickets will for once be in high demand. He's absolutely shameless, but it will basically have netted him an extra £20,000 for doing very little so he's happy. I remember the days when having a season ticket and a database history of buying away tickets was sufficient to get priority - evidence of loyalty following the club through thick and thin clearly not important to Waggott who sees paying an extra £10 as sufficient to defeat someone who hasn't missed an away game but has not paid extra for membership. Sums him up neatly - all about the money and who pays the most and not about loyalty and dedication. It's the same with the 'refurbished' Legends Lounge. It's sat empty for most of the last 5-6 years, never used, never open, and then all of a sudden some hastily arranged lick of paint so it can be opened for when Sunderland come. He's just sat there, worked out that they'll probably bring a few and reacted to that by opening this room to try and profit from them. Again there's nothing wrong with looking at ways to capitalise but it's just ad hoc, last minute, minor efforts rather than anything sustained or substantive.

The problem is that there is no responsibility or accountability for it. Any other club and the ownership would be taking executives to task for falling crowds - here our owners don't know nor care. I think it is quite obvious the basis on which Waggott was employed and I suspect only because he was able to advance a money-saving agenda did they agree to take him on. Things like cutting ticket prices, promotions and serious efforts at growing numbers all cost money in the short term but importantly reap rewards in the long term. Waggott isn't paid to improve things long term, he won't be here anyway, and will be back in Kent enjoying his retirement in the next couple of years. You only have to look at the miniscule effort being made to 'grow' the fanbase - which basically amounts to putting on ONE free bus to drive around Blackburn and pick primary school age children up. I mean its a start, but it is tragic if this is seen as a serious effort at turning around our falling gates. You need dozens of those sort of buses, reaching out way beyond Blackburn into Rovers' supporting communities who are out of the habit, you need to be targeting teenagers and young adults - people who have the means and will to go to games on their own or with their mates. We'll get the usual excuses - London clubs fans have more money, NE clubs have less competition and bigger catchment areas - not interested - lets look at more relevant stuff - Blackpool, PNE, Bolton - local clubs, similar populations, similar economies, similar standard of football - yet putting us to shame on attendances. There's no excuse for that. No amount of spiel from Waggott can account for that - put simply it is pricing and strategy - both of which he has got wrong yet he continues in place wreaking more havoc.

Convenient I said last night that the one player who we tend to avoid turning to and giving a chance happens to be the biggest earner and at the wrong end of the age scale for the 'project' I've seen enough over the years to question whether that one is purely footballing.

Anyone know why only us/Wigan and PNE/Bristol are playing this week? An already congested fixture list made more so whilst the dingles and others have a rest.

Dyche isn't the hot property some would have you believe or indeed he was made out to be during his time at the dingledome. I kept on saying that his near 10 year spell there wasn't because he was unusually dedicated and loyal to their project, but instead because very few serious alternatives came along for him during that time. He's now been unemployed for 6 months during which time by my count there have been 20+ vacancies arise in the top 2 divisions and none have gone to him. I think the likelihood of a PL club giving him a job is close to zero and someone like WBA is the best he is going to get - sorting out a struggling side making them harder to beat at a club that will tolerate dull football having been used to it under Pulis, Allardyce and Bruce. A Championship relegation scrap not exactly the 'future England manager' stuff some were predicting a few years ago. The struggles of Wilder and Bruce have surprised me but that doesn't mean they are finished or outdated. I see the latest 'sexy' name linked with everywhere is Rob Edwards - for some reason considered to be hot property after 1 good season at FGR and a short failed spell at Watford. He is portrayed as some sort of up and coming modern coach with very little to back that up whilst Bruce is seen as a dinosaur despite achieving more than most at Championship level.

I've seen a few on twitter complaining about the decision to allow independent travel on the basis there is 'bound' to be trouble. End of the day I'm a big boy and a free citizen. I can make my own decisions in life and don't need babysitting. If I want to go under my own steam I will. Anyone who doesn't feel safe or comfortable has a choice. Go on the subsidised buses the club are providing or don't go. Fed up with this nanny state attitude that everyone should be subjected to rules and restrictions because of a minority who might get into trouble. If you are daft enough to turn up in the middle of Burnley wearing Rovers colours shouting and bawling you'll find trouble and that will have to be dealt with by the authorities. I'll be doing what I always do - parking up, going for a beer somewhere if possible and minding my own business. I might even almost enjoy the day if I'm able to do these things that make away days worthwhile. I'd also love to know how many of the 2275 tickets actually find their way into the hands of season ticket holders with 1875 membership. Of course they will give some to players families but that should be it. No hangers on or exceptions. All us 1875 members have paid on the understanding that WE have priority not other groups.

Yep - jam tomorrow is the motto for these owners and their subordinates. Promising good or great things but not to expect them now but in time to come. Tomorrow never comes. I can't fathom making a decision now that we won't be doing much business in January. What happens if we are in the same league position then as now and need reinforcements? What happens if we continue to win 50% of our games and have a real shot at success? What happens if we lose players through sales or injurieS?

What can Hull offer him that we couldn't in the summer?

Or Rovers have gone cap in hand to United and asked if they can use their 'highlights' (very limited in content) because they've neglected to cover it themselves. Either way - are you satisfied with a meagre 6 minutes of highlights to cover a battering of Man Utd? I'd expect a bit more content than that from a home game especially when most people have been unable to go to it due to a direct clash with a senior fixture.

Pretty sure they've just taken Man Utd's coverage there.