Winning is the be all and end all of professional sport (and life imo). But we’re talking about style of football here and people are struggling to separate the two. If you enjoyed that style of football then good for you. I love to win too…but I still know how I choose to win. I rarely compromise on either.

I enjoyed winning too Kenny. That’s why I’ve said I would’ve kept him in context. It’s why I’ve said sacking him was arguably Venkys worst decision. He was certainly the man for that moment…but as a separate point, I (and thousands of others across the country) stand by our point that his football was vile. Anti-entertainment. My hope for this season is to see us winning and playing high tempo, entertaining football

I’m really happy you did. Quite frankly, it made my eyes bleed. I pray to God JDT plays better! 👍🏼

Sound 👍🏼🙄

Eh? I’m seeing a load of Rovers fans saying what they think Bolton played like. Meanwhile I’m providing opinion from Bolton fans (about 20 or so - unfortunately for me) about a period in their history. Im not seeing anyone saying that they enjoyed Sam’s brand of football at Rovers. Sure we enjoyed being a mid table PL but we were awful to watch.

They really did not. Most of my family and all of my wife’s family are Bolton fans. They all love Sam. He’s a Bolton legend. But they still say his football was terrible and when comparing to their all time great teams prefer the exciting football of Rioch in the Mcginlay era. Sam was a one trick pony, and a bloody good one at that. But ask any supporter at any club he managed whether they enjoyed the football. The answer is always the same…

I loved being a mid table PL side. But I hated the football. HATED it. It literally made me feel like not wanting to watch. For the record, there’s no way I would’ve sacked him. Sam, Williams and Finn were Venkys golden ticket. Their decision on that trio has genuinely cost them £200m 🙈

The problem was, it wasn’t 3-0. It was usually walking out feeling deflated after watching the most horrendous match of your life before a long punt upto Samba in 88th minute had been headed down for Diouf to bundle over the line and make it 1-0….and those were the exciting ones! God forbid we go 1-0 in the 70th minute and you’d be treated to 10 at the back for the remaining 20 mins 🙈 Its the first and only time in my life when I stopped enjoying us win. Like a weird form of torture.

Fair enough, but we’ve missed those now anyway. So I say crack on and add as much value as possible…then next season, offer a proper early bird offer in January and continue the positivity into the summer to top up… The problem commercially of course is that if PNE have done 10k at £280 and 2k at £450 (£3.7m) and we do 10k at £450 then it makes sense (for the money men) to stick to their guns. Though from a playing point of view, and extra 2k guaranteed in the ground would be ideal! Argh!

Exactly - based on some of the comparable figures I’ve seen for northern 2nd tier clubs, I’m now firmly in the camp that the club MUST continue to add value and increase engagement, comms and motivation. The costs are more or less aligned with the likes of Burnley and Preston. Clubs that we will expect to compete with and beat.

Interesting if correct….doesn’t look like the pricing is off?

Fingers crossed. We want as many people in the ground as possible…but re-funding is a huge gamble at this stage. Give 8000 people £100 back and only sell an extra 1000 st’s at £300 and you’ve absolutely fucked it! 🙈😩

Negativity on BRFC’s????? Those days are long gone!!! 😊

We did 8k whilst still in Covid-ish and the most dour, drab vibe ever with most fans expecting a relegation fight….of course we can do 10k this season!! 💪🏽

Hmmmm I reckon we could do it! Though your last point runs truest of all. I’d honestly work for free if they’d listen! 😩🤣

I’d love some money back, but we only sold 8k last season at an average of £300?? We’ll potentially do 10k or more at £400 with the renewed positivity….would you reduce them and hand money back or turn up the positivity and hope we trickle up to 11k?? The Family days with guest appearances from GB and gorgeous Jon are a great idea though!

Honestly, I don’t think you need to drop prices if you provide tons of value to the customer and improve their lives. Make them feel proud to be a Rovers fan again. Make it cool…give people more for their money. More value, better entertainment, clearer communication, a team they can relate to, excitement, pride!! People will find the money, just like our parents (my Dad) did for us / me back in the 80’s and 90’s.

It’s not that hard mate….honestly, I reckon an hour or two with some of this forum would do them the world of good…. I think I could set up implement a direct emailing campaign and a supporting eco system inside two weeks / a month max that could get us to 12k st’s - research and segment the target audiences, create the copy to enhance each group separately and roll out our new darlings (GB & JDT) - BOOOOM! Ok, I’m getting overexcited now….it’s just such a shame they’re so average at this.

If we are now one of the most expensive then that’s poor from the board, considering the demographic and cost of living increases. But I still think they can sell the tickets if they keep up the engagement, positivity and communications. GB in particular feels like he will be the man to speak with the fans. Some of his comms this week eg re Nyambe are like, “Yes, we’ll be speaking to him soon…AND I’LL GET BACK TO YOU” Hallelujah! A proper communicator! The direct marketing could be SOOOO much better! I’ve renewed and not had a single email or message since! Imagine us all getting an email with a video from GB and JDT thanking us for our support and telling us about upcoming things we can support the club with like merchandising launches or ‘fan team building days’ at the blues bar!! Happy hour….build some spirit amongst us so we have friendship groups who begin meeting before games….the potential is endless in the town imo. We are all looking for positivity after the last few years, that’s what football was built on. Working class people escaping their lives to enjoy competitive sport and a few pints… If they do this right, I truly believe we can do 12k st’s this season and set our sights on 15k within 3yrs.

Tell you what, if we get to 10k+ season tickets, I’ll be delighted. My feeling is that should the club back up the management appointments with more good news, say around Nyambe staying, keep the vibe up with positive player interviews and then bring in some mysterious Scandinavian wonderkid typ signings….we have the potential to sell up to 12k ST’s. Contrary to the opinions of some, I believe there’s plenty of disposable income in parts of Blackburn and the surrounding areas. The clubs target over the next few years should be 15k st’s…they’ll sell them, even at the higher price point, IF they continue to engage and excite. Then look to boost gates with incentivised 3 game reduced packages etc to increase the atmosphere and open up further to those who cannot afford to pay full price. The conundrum around inclusivity with affordability is one they must crack with community schemes and innovation etc. There are MANY working class clubs attracting fans into their stadiums across the Uk. What are they doing? My final point is around corporate hospitality. It’s so under used at the club. Why not push incentives to get businesses into the club and boost the coffers? I’ve booked these facilities maybe 10x over the last 2yrs and NEVER had a single marketing email back. They’ve never even tried to sell to me…why not send every season ticket holder emails offering an ‘upgrade’ option to pay an extra £30 to for this game or that and be able to experience corporate hospitality for a special occasion? Throw in a couple of beers….there’s so many opportunities. The world is becoming more expensive for EVERYONE remember, including Rovers. So the answer, imo isn’t to lower the prices. It’s to add to value, add entertainment, add to the positivity in peoples lives and make Rovers a priority in the fans eyes. Make fans, feel willing to sacrifice some of their other pleasures to come and watch their team again….

This is wonderful news mate, if we can’t back these guys, we’ll never back anyone. For me, the most exciting appointment since Mark Hughes. I really hope lots more of our fans do the same through the summer, get the place buzzing again. 👍🏼

Don’t apologise mate. The club will eventually disappear if the fans don’t return. But there are two sides to this and the club have been pretty awful at engaging, motivating and inspiring fans to attend for well over a decade. The community work and DoF / Head coach hires will certainly help but I must admit, the timing of the price hikes is poor….surely, any leadership team about to bring in GB and the handsome exuberant JDT would’ve kept prices low and attempted to ‘pile em high’? 15k sold….now that would’ve been a statement! *reaches for tin hat - But, I still say there’s a responsibility to us as the fans. Our job / role at a basic level is to go to the ground, pay our money and cheer on (Support) the team. Of course, there will be a % who genuinely cannot afford a ticket and those who for genuine reasons, cannot face it because of deep rooted beliefs. That’s understandable…But, my feeling is that there’s a thick wedge of “I just can’t be arsed” so called fans who need to ‘be arsed’ if they love the club and want us all to prosper. It’s this group that must wake up, if they do really care. The club must continue to improve and find ways to make tickets more affordable and build bridges with those most effected by the last 12 years

What a wonderful first interview. So refreshing to hear a vibrant, young, ambitious manager. He speaks brilliantly - I can see why he’s been a winner!

Certainly going to be interesting to see how this new regime does. I don’t think any of us have a clue in reality….I was hoping for Farke or Carvalhal, soooo glad it wasn’t Pardew or Adkins etc. I would’ve accepted an Ainsworth or a Warne, so a JDT / GB axis is certainly left field. It’s clear that both guys have football in their blood and there’s some encouraging elements of their CV and experience. There’s also cons in terms of the lack of experience in the roles and division but I’m quietly excited at the potential here! Could literally go either way!! 🤯🤣

Few murmurs that JDT is done now pending a work permit. Anyone else heard the same? Also, is there likely to be a hold up with the work permit?