28 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Lancslive Predicts:

-----------------Pears

JRC----Anneysley--Pickering--Edun

----------Morton---Wharton

Markandy------Dack-----Dolan

-----------------Vale

That's up there with one of the poorest back 4's we'll have seen in a long time.

Happy (poor choice of word) to be reminded but have we had a worse set of defenders in the last 30+ years? Genuinely, without exaggeration, I can't think of a worse-looking back 4. Even when we had some stinkers (ability, attitude or both) there was at least one redeeming presence.

I've told my Bradford-supporting mates they could be in for an exciting evening.

7 minutes ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

I suppose if absolute standard of play is one’s only yardstick then one would never watch a kids game or one’s local pub or Darwen or…yet some do and really enjoy it. 

Personally, I can get invested in games at any level if they are evenly matched and all trying their best. Some of my most enjoyable moments were when I coached my next door neighbour’s women’s team: most were novices but two or three could play, one better than I ever was. While moments of skill were few and far between, the effort, enthusiasm, team spirit and improvement over time were what I enjoyed. There’s far more to footy than skill.

Good points. Absolutely couldn't fault the desire that's for certain.

Just to clarify, I'm not some misogynistic dinosaur who despises the women's game. I enjoyed watching the England women's team far more than their male counterparts and the passion, sporting ethos and technical ability were there for all to see this summer. Just couldn't get enthused by this game so preferred to go home and watch Newcastle/City.

I'm sure I stated my own opinion was not shared by the many who loved today. I was pleased to see so many kids having what looked like their first taste of Ewood. I just wasn't entertained, that's all. There are many films I am not interested in as I think the acting/writing is terrible. Some songs just don't appeal. I also don't like mayonnaise. One man's opinion can be safely ignored. I am still entitled to it.

Unnecessary would be:

"I'm not going to consider attending today because I think all women's football is pointless."

Just now, Colt Seavers said:

What was the attendance? Surely a bumper crowd with tickets priced from as little as £2. Particularly following the massive publicity and achievement of the national side this summer.

I left early so didn't hear the attendance but the family area was full. No other stands open.

OK. Confession time. Today marks the first time I've walked early from a Rovers game since K**n.

I popped down Ewood to show willing and the family area was full with families and young girls. Brilliant. Get them hooked and you love to see it. New people too by the number of them with no clue about how to get to a seat or even no alcohol in the seats.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves and every save by our keeper or near-miss pass was applauded.

GOD THE STANDARD WAS EMBARRASSING!!!

I'm not talking about pace or stength or direct ability comparisons with the men. It was genuinely like primary school children swinging their foot at the ball and kicking it against someone else's shins a yard away or missing the ball entirely. Sheff Utd's many chances ended in a weak pass/shot to the centre of the goal which the goalkeeper bent down to pick up. Our goal came from their defender missing the ball when trying to head it. 45 minutes was enough. I couldn't stand another half of such garbage when in truth I didn't really care. Probably me in the wrong but this felt like a team in blue and white calling themselves Blackburn Rovers but, deep down, I knew they weren't.

I really wanted to enjoy myself and support them, I really did. Oh well, back to Ewood for the coach on Tuesday evening...

1 minute ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

That's grown rapidly since the last census😉

Oopsy! I googled an American city. Teach me to accept facts blindly! Oh well, let's try and salvage something:

Lancaster has a similar population to us. Are their crowds the same?

Just made the terrible mistake of reading the Telegraph comments about season ticket sales. Gave up quickly but here are some of the points made (some reasonable points on there too):

1) "£399 is for the Jack Walker isn't it? I'm sure that's what I paid for my daughter. Riverside and Blackburn End should be much cheaper."

Talk about ignorance. How do people like this get by in day-to-day life?

2) "Our season ticket prices have been steady for years." 

Riverside 19/20 (pre-Covid) - £319 22/23 - £399/429. Steady?

3) "Bradford have 14k sales in L2 because they're a big city."

Seriously?! Is population the main factor? Was Blackburn twice as big a decade ago? Another poster attacked the comparison saying how silly it was to mention it because their tickets were cheaper so OF COURSE there's more uptake. Erm... That's kind of the point...

I used to think that people on there were defending the club for the sake of it but maybe they're just quite thick.

The main point I take from @glen9mullan's meeting isn't about Waggott. I always got the impression that he wasn't dodgy so much as bang-average. He clearly has never understood his customer base and this has badly affected attendance.

However, I also had the impression that Talbot was 'one of us' who had somehow managed to avoid losing her job in all the madness and was quietly working in our interests. That one reply blows this out of the water. The idea that the (excellent) work of Yasir Sufi is far more important than winning back lapsed fans can be understood. There are thousands of potential fans after all. Reality says though that new, regular fans would number in the hundreds not thousands. I personally have been to several conferences at Turf Moor without wanting to go on the weekly. I've had many memorable parties at St Helen's rugby ground in Swansea without ever buying a ticket to a match.

No, more daft than this is what she came back with. To again ignore the enormous 10,000 hole in our support from happier days in favour of highlighting the (again, commendable) work with Pride and other causes shows a serious lack of awareness.

Photo opportunities and positive engagement feedback shouldn't be prioritised over core results. How many season tickets were purchased as a result of our Pride involvement? Rovers should be for everyone. EVERYONE. We are a true community club and we must embrace and engage the whole community. We should attend every Pride march, every Eid gathering, every big local event. All these vital things though should be treated as separate to the focus on overall consumer uptake (purchase of merchandise or tickets).

Therefore, I now doubt her response to, "Is this board fit for purpose compared to previous ones?". Can her word be taken at face value? I doubt anyone would say their superiors were powerless oafs in front of one of them.

More than Calzaghe vs Kessler in Cardiff some years ago, I long for Mullan vs Waggott, Round 2...

I think Rovers twitter have it right. The 3rd shirt is marketed along with some jeans and it definitely suits them. Lovely shade of red (almost pink in places to my eyes). How much the XXL shirt suits W36" jeans is another matter...

1 minute ago, Waggy76 said:

What was the score ?

 

First game (majority senior) 0-1 loss. Booed by a couple in the stand. Very last season hit-and-hope. Diaz leagues ahead of the rest of the pitch.

Second game (majority kids) 2-0 win. Excellent entertainment. The sort of slick interplay you find in the warm-up routines.

Vale, Hedges and Dolan impressed far more than Gallagher or Markanday, admittedly against an inferior opposition.

Magloire seems not to have progressed and was still the catastrophe that played against Blackpool. Carter and Phillips looked the part.

For me it's a miss. I don't actually mind the same halves on the back from recent times or even the sponsor BUT:

1) Two shades of blue seems odd-looking to me.

2) Collar is just bizarre.

3) The biggy. As others have pointed out, lots of aspects of the shirt are not symmetrical. As someone with a touch of OCD, I can't stand that. Why wouldn't you treat blue and white equally?!

The away shirt looks like sub-standard training gear but the 3rd shirt might be another case of 'so bad it's good' like the orange CIS shirt or the pale yellow with styled crests monstrosity. Will need a full look in person before I commit to that one.

No shirts out yet but at least the shop has the retro shirts in proper sizes again (for those of us over-fond of a pie). ICI Perspex in at XL and XXL.

Just now, Wheelton Blue said:

When they announced the week extension for early bird, my initial thought was that they did that as they expected to make an announcement beforehand.

Otherwise, I can't think of a single, sensible reason why they only pushed it out by only a week. 

 

May I humbly suggest you take 'sensible' out of the Rovers equation and go with 'pathetically out-of-touch' instead.

As with others, the managerial choice will inform if I am going to renew or not. I want to. I really do. There are very few names that would put me off (like Coyle). Of the names I've heard, someone unproven like Ferguson would worry me and I would wait until Christmas.

It's one thing to not make a huge deal about supporting equality. I'm sure most of us don't give it much thought on any given day.

It's quite another to go out of your way and refuse to play so you can avoid supporting equality. Idrissa Gueye seems to belong to this group. Senegal teammate Cheikhou Kouyate called him "a real man". Ismaila Sarr with similar support.

Wouldn't mind seeing the lad put in a strong challenge or two should he ever play against them.

Some fans will never know the joy we have felt.

Let's talk non-contract outgoings. Is it too much to hope that some League 1 team might take Edun on loan or something? Seeing him in the next tweet after Uncle Jack this morning was genuinely upsetting.

Ainsworth would be my choice. There is NO WAY a proper Premier League-in-waiting manager like Farke or Dyche would lower themselves to Venkys (note I said Venkys not Blackburn Rovers). I believe that we remain a draw in name even if the owners then cause a change of heart. They will wait for the next time Fulham or Bournemouth sack their guy.

All I ask is passion on the pitch and on the touchline. A desire to do better in the future no matter how good the present. There's a reason Bolton fans are happier than us even though their team is a league below and of vastly inferior quality. Bradford fans love their team even if they rattle around L2. Mowbray could not instill a desire to succeed but Ainsworth would, even if he is himself also limited and history would be the main reason behind getting him in.

9 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Can I throw it open to the MB...what would you interpret as a good Season ticket deal?

I would have been delighted with an announcement of Mowbray's departure at the same time as announcing tickets were £359 or so.

I would have been happy with a new manager and a price freeze FOR EVERYONE ALL SUMMER LONG.

I would have understood a silence on the managerial front with a big price drop.

This is pathetic. I will only renew with a decent appointment that implies at least that lesson has been learnt (I remain unconvinced).

10 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

The red carpet being laid out for this Renzo seems to be rubbing people up the wrong way. It seems the Chile novelty has worn off. In 6 games time when Brereton goes elsewhere he will be seeking out another team.

There are far worse things to get upset by down at Ewood than an overly excited Chilean. A few mard-arses on Twitter probably won't spoil the guy's holiday. The fact that his trip was part-funded by Rovers fans implies that a fair number are happy for him. I for one could do with some degree of positivity even if it is him running around London in a Rovers shirt.

On 12/03/2022 at 11:52, Gav said:

On here it is, the fans in ground are fully behind him. 
Read any past match day thread where we never won and you’ll get the picture. 

I am in the ground (when they're playing). I am not fully behind him. I think he is tactically very poor and his obsession with wide strikers and wingers in the middle is moronic. Will I still cheer players on? Of course. Please don't confuse that with being happy with the dinosaur or with donkeys like Gallagher or with Buckley as a false 9.

Dolan my MOTM. Willing to be fair and admit that having Gallagher on for Khadra did somehow work well. He still looked pretty talentless but somehow the ball bounced in the right direction from our point of view. Not his fault his goal got chalked off. A decent outing.

Not too angry about losing as Fulham were excellent value but what grates is the idea that we can't be expected to compete with a promotion-chasing side even though we're chasing promotion as well. Other sides have done it. We beat Bournemouth. Why not? If only we had a real striker to head in Giles' crosses. Ho hum on we go...