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Riverside under the drip

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Everything posted by Riverside under the drip

  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.
  16. Welcome! I would probably introduce Rovers this way: 1) We do have our moments and, no matter what, we are always a decent side with some cracking players that fans of lower league teams gush about. By no means was that normal though even as a playoff chasing team. We've all been somewhat bored recently as a new style has taken time to bed in. There are signs of progression which are clear for all to see in the last month or so. 2) We're quite a civilised bunch overall so home atmosphere can be a bit hit and miss. JW Upper for the best views and a relaxed time, BBE for atmosphere. JW Lower, BBE side if you want to bring children/grandchildren along (more the merrier). The Riverside is beginning to rust away and the pillars can obstruct your view towards the back. From a different era than the rest of the ground and boy does it show. OK when you're used to it but not a place to choose I wouldn't have said. Stereotypical place to bring a rug and a flask of Bovril! Cheaper than JWU if you want a side-on view but you get what you pay for. 3) We are a 'proper' club with 'proper' fans. Not the loudest, not the most numerous (understatement), not as lary as some fanbases but we care. The history side won't hit you as much obviously but we're proud to be a Lancastrian town side that can still have its day against the 'big' clubs all around us.
  17. Bussing in schoolkids to Ewood primarily. Yasir Sufi the community integration guy runs it as a way to increase the fanbase. This would be the second away trip after Bradford which offers a 'tailored experience'.
  18. Delicate one this (I have a feeling mods might be busy). Having been along to Ewood with this and seen the faces of kids at their first match, I'm absolutely on board with it. However, the trip to Watford is heavily subsidised (food, excursions) and appears to have been organised without regard for the announced stages of sale. It doesn't quite sit right that 1975/ST holders are again sidelined to an extent. Having said that, 2000 to Watford seems unlikely so that argument isn't the be all and end all. Moreover, the unspoken idea that it was to get more of the Asian community (specifically Muslim) to attend has been totally embraced, but this also means excluding those of a different faith or none. Adults are invited as well as kids but central to the tailored experience are trips to local mosques. Surely all those disadvantaged or who feel unable to go to the games in BwD should be enticed onto such an excursion? Having said that, the aim is clearly to boost our fanbase and that is obviously going to heavily focus on certain communities. Are people reading too much into it or is it a little too exclusive? Mods: Feel free to shut this down if it all gets a bit political/dodgy.
  19. I think the key for me when considering this performance (and many others over several years) is central midfield. For whatever reason, we have populated it with loans, journeymen and kids who don't help the defenders by picking up runners, don't screen the edge of the box, don't get forward to help in attack and can't effectively position themselves to receive the ball in those little triangles they endlessly practise every warm-up. Every single issue we have lies in our very heart. Rotherham's goals came from controlling the space around our box. Rathbone was for them what we sometimes deceive ourselves Travis is, a proper midfielder with dynamism who gets properly stuck in. Dolan tries to do this for us but is fundamentally a small guy lacking real physicality. Markanday showed how easy it was today to run from midfield and get into their box. After an hour and 2-0 down. Morton and Garrett (and Travis and a dozen others over the years) simply do not get the ball into their box with any kind of regularity. Hedges tries but is asked to do a million other jobs at the same time. I could go on for equally as long about how we don't seem to have anyone for whom goal-scoring is their purpose in life. Danny Graham, Jordan Rhodes et al. Gallagher simply isn't this and never will be no matter the patience we show or the starting position. Hedges neither. I'd argue neither Armstrong nor Diaz are natural goal-scorers but made/make up for it with pace and technique. Do we really see Vale has those?
  20. Really can't understand this one. I'd pick him out as up there with our most exciting prospects. One like Phillips to develop and sell on for millions in our apparent financial strategy. So how does he develop without playing? Game-by-game, he's young and might well not feature. This, though, is a worrying pattern emerging of him being left out and Garrett, Morton etc (similar ages, I'd argue lesser abilities) getting regular minutes. JDT acknowledged a similar shut-out with Markanday but has there been a clash with the boss who doesn't like his attitude?
  21. OK this is getting daft now. The issue has been raised countless times at the forum but is always swatted away as not Rovers' fault. Can the pathetic stocking of the club shop be called out with a real demand for change please? No replica shirts whatsoever to give to someone at Christmas? Surely at least one kid would have asked Santa for a shirt? A supply issue. Shrug. An entire shop with the colour choice of black or rainbow when we are the only side with such an iconic halved design? The rainbow one is actually a good idea. Shrug about the dreary ones. The 88-89 retro range was only released a week or two ago and I naively assumed there'd be a blue tracksuit top left in XL. Wrong. The entire range appears now to be only available in 2XL or 3XL (of which there are dozens for each item, the only colourful things in the entire store). Can we demand to know whose job it is to order stock? Maybe they don't know that you can order more. Maybe they don't know that you need more L than 3XL. Maybe they don't know that even chunky people tend to be XL rather than 2XL. Maybe they don't know children exist. Maybe they should be replaced.
  22. It's not all grey or beige. Don't forget their latest black range! Genuinely impressive how lifeless and 'chav chic' the merch is when you get past the (admittedly good) kits at the moment. Lost my blue and white halved beanie hat years ago and they've never restocked. It's always stripes or all blue. My last batch of club cash went on several bags of cola bottle sweets!
  23. Have to say that Footy Scran twitter is very dodgy. Lots of blatant fakes aiming against rival clubs or simply for clicks. Prime example is a reply to this particular photo showing the poor quality pizza that they 100% definitely got from Ewood. Erm... Even so, I can absolutely believe this. Catering has gone through the floor. Only time this season I ordered in the JW Upper concourse at the Hartlepool game, they overcharged me for a pie/pint deal. The till treated it as separate. When I pointed this out, the teenage staff were all new that day and had NO CLUE what to do because 'computer said no'. I was one of the first in and they seemed glad it had happened early as 30 minutes later would have been a much angrier story for a lot of people. Eventually, 15 minutes later, a steward went and got someone senior from some other zone and they fixed it. Half a dozen people and not one iota of experience serving anything to anybody.
  24. I had the seekh 'roll' for £5 the other week expecting something substantial. It was not a roll but a wrap. Except it wasn't wrapped. There was the actual wrap material then there was the meat at the bottom of the bag with a bit of lettuce. Bad value for money and poorly handled. Taste-wise fine if a little spicy for me personally. Straight back to the burger van behind the shop it is. Better quality, cheaper price and much better variety. It's not that hard.
  25. For all the focus on the bitterness and intensity of our rivalry, I really don't view Burnley fans as rivals. Only the club. Even then, I refuse to take part in the whole: "Stand up if you hate Burnley." I just don't hate them. I enjoy their failures and dearly wish we'd thump them, but hate? Nah, life's too short for such silliness.
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