Jump to content

BRFCS

BY THE FANS, FOR THE FANS
SINCE 1996
Proudly partnered with TheTerraceStore.com

Riverside under the drip

Members
  • Posts

    306
  • Joined

  • Last visited

ST

  • Season Ticket Stand
    Riverside

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Riverside under the drip's Achievements

Premier League

Premier League (6/9)

  • Week Streak Rare
  • One week done Rare
  • 28 Days Later Rare

Recent Badges

602

Reputation

  1. Particularly on the Telegraph, there is a VERY small number of posters. The same two or three people comment and are then congratulated by the other one or two. There is usually a reply saying "well said" or something equally brief and supportive. Quite frankly, the sort of reply you'd expect if someone had several profiles or if two people were best mates. The Atomic and Reg posters, in particular, can be seen on there for every single Rovers article expressing strong opinions. There have always been unusual opinions expressed on any subject down the pub. These people have always been argued with, mocked or ignored. The difference here is that the comment stays and has a wider audience than their own circle of drinking buddies. Equally, any post that comes from a profile which you look at and go, "Chav" should be ignored. Mental capacity is essential in reasoning problems and anything with shades of grey needs it. "Get behind the lads FFS" is this in a nutshell. This is me being very judgmental (feel free to think I'm smug and superior), but I have no interest in the opinion of anyone who uses unnecessary swearing in everyday language or posts middle fingers in a profile picture (we all know the sort). Anyone who uses their post to say "Our fanbase is uniquely pathetic" is mistaken and can't distinguish sincere, honest criticism from needless abuse. When a post is well reasoned, with valid arguments, then I will accept it even if it completely contradicts my own. I am willing to accept that Steve Waggott is an experienced leader of a football club who exhibits loyalty to his bosses when attempting to save whatever pennies of their money he can. I believe the facts can be selectively chosen to paint this picture. Without access to any information on Rovers beyond going to Ewood, I might also have that opinion. Just as my opinion is informed by knowledge of Bradford Western Union and other titbits. The more information you learn (redevelopment of Brockhall; delays in appointing the last manager before JDT came in; Glen's accounts of meetings etc) the more you believe he is a jobsworth without any care for the well-being of the business he is supposed to lead covering for owners who place pride way ahead of actual competence in their dealings. The Indian Government knocking their pride is, to my mind, the only thing that will move them. In the meantime, let's not have fights in the BBE because different people choose different culprits to apportion blame to or who refuse to blame anyone connected to Rovers. "Never argue with fools. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” ― Mark Twain.
  2. Quite frankly, some of those praising Venkys are no different to when you teach lower ability children reading comprehension at primary school: "What does this passage mean?" ...proceeds to read it word for word... "No that's what is says. What does it actually mean?" ...Blank expression...
  3. How has it got this far and nobody has said Eagle Ostenstad?
  4. As ever, a joy to watch is a subjective opinion. I would argue that the lack of atmosphere is directly linked to the lack of goal-mouth action throughout the majority of the game which means we don't ever finish teams off as we simply don't create enough chances to do it. I don't find it particularly joyful to watch endless slick passing that never results in shots on goal no matter the coaching required or how much the players enjoy doing it. My personal opinion is that JDT is a good manager who could get an already decent side to improve but who is finding it tough to get effective play from our bag of youngsters and freebies. To borrow from that phrase, he needs some spare silk to make a purse but we still just have a sow's ear. The likes of Millwall recently, Luton last year and Hull this find ways to win regardless of their budget or ability.
  5. As much as our 'brand' of football could be entertaining, with our current squad it is just plain boring for long sections of the game. Once or twice a game, our quick passing tears teams apart. Mostly, we flick it off our ankles onto a defender's shin. A handful of normal corners have resulted in genuine chances and goals yet we persist in losing the ball easily from short passing most of the time. WHY?! With 10 seconds left, we were still passing it around defence. This isn't good football without a better class of player who can pass more effectively. Can we afford them? No.
  6. If you're going to go online only, at least have a functioning website. SIX times I got as far as paying for Harrogate tickets but the website timed out before I could pay. Why is it so bad to go in and buy a ticket from a person? Or even phone? Absurd.
  7. What I find absolutely incredible is that literally anyone would buy training shirts for £36. I mean, seriously! I'd probably get one for a tenner but no more than that. £20 and many people would I'm sure. £36?! There are many who wouldn't buy the actual kit for that! "A fool and their money are soon parted."
  8. Unfortunately, as someone who chats to these young people every weekday, I can confirm that the Ewood Express is seen by our kids as a 'couple-a-year' experience, something different to watching on Sky. One lad explained that he'd love to go to Ewood much more often but his family simply said no. When the Blackpool tie was re-arranged, I suggested going to watch the cup game as it was reduced prices. No go. There is no way the majority of youngsters at the minute will be able to convince adults any time soon. Retaining them for years into the future needs more than a few games. It needs shirt giveaways, more school visits by first teamers etc. Both boys and girls of primary age are obsessed with football and only a few show even close to the same interest in cricket. That simply doesn't translate as yet to going to watch it. Playing at dinner and watching the 'big clubs' on Sky is all they see football as. You will also notice the shirts on display when youngsters are shown on Rovers twitter at half-term events at the BRIC or somewhere. White kids might have Rovers shirts but Asians there are in Messi Barcelona shirts or Utd/Liverpool. To sum up, little steps are starting to show but another 10-20 years is needed for a real difference to be felt in terms of 1000s of fans.
  9. Quite frankly, I don't see the point in the meeting at all if the minutes do not record those present demanding Waggott do more to get fans in the ground with cheaper tickets and an improved experience. I'm just assuming this point was made. If it wasn't a major talking point of the meeting, thereby requiring minuting, why not?! You've got yet another reduction in ST sales, players demanding more is done to improve atmosphere, major unrest in response to pathetic 'phases' etc. You would have thought this would result in a lot more minute-worthy discussion than just a quick summary of how happy they are with a small loss of ST holders. Target of 6.5k?! We are Blackburn Rovers. Is there any way in which FF members can go straight to the owners above Waggott's head? It seems that there is no pressure on him whatsoever if he continues to lower targets year-on-year, then barely scrape even those. Whilst I am sure they don't really care beyond the financial aspect, Glen Mullan has referred several times to contact with them appearing to suggest they want advice from him (to no effect it must be admitted). It truly is one of the most sobering times of the month when you open the FF minutes expecting the fans' voices to be heard and there is nothing there worth reading beyond platitudes with no push-back.
  10. For me, the most disappointing thing of all is how predictable this was. Every single negative can be tracked all the way through the season with very little change. 1. Gallagher tries his best but just doesn't have much footballing ability. He isn't up to standard but it is always picked as our 'goal-getter' striker. 2. Morton goes missing in many, many games. This hasn't changed all season. He'll be gone long before he improves. 3. Diaz has been pretty average and plays too far back on the left. No sign of him improving before he leaves. 4. Substitutions made too late even though the requirement is obvious to all. When did we last make a much needed change of tactics at half-time or before? Without solving these issues, how can we possibly do better?
  11. Gutted. That's twice now our school's kids have signed up for the Ewood Express this season and twice they'll be disappointed. Blackpool was our doing in the cup but this?
  12. Then the point becomes: Numbers back to what? I would argue that to get proper crowds of 20k+ again under Venkys in this league, it would take reductions well below £300. Let's say £329. That would undoubtedly increase numbers. To what though? My own opinion is 3k more. It's nothing more than a guess. There will always be the argument that a cheaper price means more fans. Some would argue they can't afford £200. It simply isn't ever going to be that cheap to buy a ST at Ewood no matter how much we hope. I don't think we'll ever see less than £379 again. Inflation for one. For two, the club's work in the Asian community is bearing fruit for all to see. It's not in the thousands yet but give it a decade and I think it will be. Let's not kid ourselves. The ONLY way to actually get real numbers back is a hard reset of Premier League status and a Venkys apology/change of ownership. That would sway plenty I think at whatever price (maybe not £500!). Minus the apology, I think this price with promotion would get us gates ~16-18k. Establishing ourselves would increase new fan numbers back to where we should be. That'll do me for now.
  13. I will be honest and say I was expecting a price freeze at £429 so to pay £379 for my ST is a welcome surprise. Yes, there will always be those who want to attend the majority of matches whilst missing a few but we have to be fair here and ask what was expected. £350? £300? Realistically, that was never going to happen. The possibility of a 'night matches excluded' type ticket isn't viable as it's impossible to know when matches might be re-arranged. I must admit that a 10 or 15 game bundle sounds doable. Would the numbers taking it up warrant the extra admin? That sounds a very Rovers question but I'm inclined to say no it wouldn't. Let's not forget also that there remains a chance that these tickets will be for the Premier League. Rovers fans will obviously assume not but to an outsider we have every chance as things stand. The time given to take up the offer seems reasonable to me too. At least one payday if not two and I really can't fault them for once. I'll pop down this week...
  14. While I don't actually know who, if anyone, gets free tickets, I'm sure all tickets allocated count towards attendance figures. However, as my school is one of those who does the Ewood Express, I can categorically state that these tickets are NOT given away. This has been levelled at Yasir Sufi many times on twitter and he keeps pointing this out. All tickets are paid for by various organisations and the children's families pay £8 (the most recent match we were involved with was Blackpool before it was cancelled). Next one we're doing is the Luton game and kids are absolutely buzzing (admittedly some are Utd fans etc but we do what we can to show them the light)...
  15. Going to put this here. I thought about e-mailing the club but concluded it would be filed under 'concerning but hey-ho'. Perhaps a collection of such anecdotes from across the fanbase all at once might have to be officially addressed in the minutes of a forum meeting. I make no comment on the game yesterday beyond pride and disappointment. The organisation, stewarding and policing yesterday were the worst I have experienced in 35+ years of attending football. Organisation/Use of stewards Coaches arrived either late or almost late, many with the wrong numbers. I saw dozens of people having to get off coaches as the numbers were changed after they got on. There were dozens of stewards (mostly young and clearly inexperienced) rambling about but not a single one seemed to be aware of which coaches were where. For 1/2 hour after departure time, large groups of people wandered around trying to find their coach with no assistance. Our coach set off last, at 8:35, and had to collect several people who had been left behind having failed to find their own coaches. I say coach. It was a double-decker with no toilet facilities for a long trip and deeply uncomfortable seats. It struggled to get uphill at more than 30mph. Not ideal on the M62. All of this was annoying. The real incompetence occurred in Sheffield. Some fellas were let off near the city centre and immediately started urinating by the side of the road. Randomly, the driver stopped the coach on the main road at the wrong side of the ground and told us he had no clue where we'd find the coach later, but to ask a steward. OK? Our coach, along with 2 others, was parked a fair distance away from the ground nowhere near all other coaches. This was not relayed to any police or stewards near the ground until much later. We walked aimlessly for almost half an hour before finally being directed there by a copper who'd heard its location on the radio. No stewards from the coaches in sight as they had stayed sat next to the lost coaches. We were eventually directed past a rowdy pub full of people chucking stuff by a policeman using Google Maps. Geting there, we had a bit of a moan and the steward looked up from checking on his mobile to say how bad the police were. Erm... Self-awareness? The coach left only half-full. No idea where the other half went or if they were simply left behind. Police The minimum wage jobsworths functioning as coach stewards were incompetent and annoying. S Yorks Police were dangerous. Leaving the busy concourse through the one exit into a crush of home and away fans was the first time ever I was truly worried for my safety at a game (including lone away trips, Feyenoord etc). A line of police stopped home fans walking up to (most of) the coaches but this served merely to increase the crush on the other half of the tiny side street as thousands of Blades walked along the road to the city centre and thousands of Rovers tried to cross. One fight started right by me but the real threat was being swept along and any major disorder could easily have resulted in crush deaths. In that city of all cities, it seems lessons have not been learnt.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.