Bethnal

I was up for the Charlton game, long-planned. We were conflicted (a couple didn’t come to either) about going to both Wrexham and Charlton, but the 12.30 Wrexham k/o made the decision for us and we had a better day out at Clitheroe, instead. The boycott was a big consideration, though. We drank locally, ate from the vans pitched outside Ewood. What I saw on the day was a mix: a lot of people going out of habit/“ignorance;” a fair few in a similar boat to myself (not local anymore, back home for the festive period); those who were there for social/family reasons (gonna chalk this up to “oblivious” though that term is probably unkind). It was sad, none of us felt particularly buzzy about going on, none of us had actually bought tickets until we got to Ewood, we considered sacking it off at lunch in Clitheroe. I’ve never once had that feeling before and it kind of continued in the ground, during the game and after. We weren’t talking about the game, we were talking about whether we’ll keep coming back, whether we should’ve sacked it off after all (admittedly this bit was half time). For transparency, I have done a fair bit of work for the coalition but “left” (if you can even call it that) around the anniversary game. What I’ve since realised is - this is probably a breaking point. I don’t necessarily mean that we’ll tumble down the leagues into obscurity, I weirdly don’t think that will happen. But the core base of fans still attending is too few, too disengaged and too stubborn to ever really cause/back major action. I also don’t think anything has cut through since October last year, on the action front and you could argue the last big cut through moment was the Middlesbrough game. I’m not even posting this as a rallying cry/criticism, so much as an observation of the reality we face. I want change as much as the rest of those that do, but if the rest of the turkeys around you keep voting for Christmas, you’re getting in the fucking oven. We are unfortunately a victim of others’ stubbornness, fans and owners alike. I don’t really know where I am with it, anymore. I’ve talked with friends about the QPR away game in February, we’ll probably go. I’ll watch all games that are watchable via any and all means, but the intensity of the feeling of initial cut-through and subsequent stalling, as well as seeing your fellow fans’ position makes any further action feel a bit futile.

I seem to remember it being £33 a ticket, when I looked. Some brass neck to price it like that and serve up this performance.

Missing a pre-season but you can see him being very useful at this level.

Pears’ kicking is atrocious

I recognise this Millwall performance, I’m just used to it being us.

Has also defaulted to Oxford commas. I suspect it’s written initially and then tightened with GPT.

I pushed for the Trust to coordinate the fundraising for the action that was proposed for the Derby/150th game. That was to avoid any one, sole person being personally liable for action that wouldn’t have been illegal. You were in the same group chat, so you’ll remember the responses.

While trying to avoid acquiring some shiny, tinfoil headgear - essentially, yes. I think their rationale is multi-faceted, but I think it's not a coincidence that the only executive at the club who wilfully pushed fan engagement (and directly engaged with the Trust on a regular basis) gets unceremoniously defenestrated on the 22nd May this year and three days later, the board of the Trust meets to decide to "work with" those already under the banner of the Coalition, after the relative success of the Coalition's initiatives in such a short timeframe. I would also point to the glacial pace that both are now working at, but that's a subjective assessment and I obviously have no idea what they're working on, so could be completely incorrect.

Yeah, I am a member of the Trust (I assume, never really hear from them, but did get the survey), but I was also "in" The Coalition (again, it's just a few group chats. No formal structure, when I left, at least). I suggested that the fundraising for the action planned by some in the Coalition should be something the Trust undertakes, given it has a formal structure and - implicitly - they were near-enough running the Coalition by that point. The Life of Brian analogy is entirely fair. As I've always understood it, the Coalition is a mixture of fans' groups, independent fans, etc, under one banner. It became it's own thing because of the traction it got. It changed once the overlap with members of the Trust happened, which I felt was cynical and/or not conducive to making progress.

Once they realised they were being left behind, this came.

This is subjective, so confirmation is tough, but my tuppence: I left the coalition (it’s not even formally a thing, by the time I left it was two group chats) basically because there was action around the Derby game planned but I and another got stonewalled on it. My suggestion was that the trust had the governance and infrastructure to fundraise for that action - I wasn’t comfortable having a fundraiser done by a lone person or group of independent people. I was told expressly by Trust board members that the didn’t have the mandate to fundraise for action, the rest of the board wasn’t as motivated to take action as the coalition/the trust board members in that coalition were and that some board members didn’t need the heat on them. The plan for action ran out of time, I left the group. In my view - everything slowed at the point where the Trust and The Coalition fused a bit. I expect those still active will say that’s not the case and that’s their opinion to have. But it isn’t my experience.

I think you see what teams are made of chasing a game late or defending a lead late. I also think we’ve seen enough of what this squad is made of to assume we’ll really struggle to close games out or get points late. There’s something very wrong at Brockhall.

You can prove it by lodging a FOI request with the police, who have to be provided with the actual attendance (people in the building) for safety/fire risk, etc. it works, it’s been done already this season.

Absolute definition of a “doesn’t fancy it” player. Looks like he’s being made to play his mate’s charity match.

They’re supposed to be “in talks” with Birmingham about a fee, aren’t they?

Buying TGH would be a real head-scratcher. What data is there, aside from mileage?

I’d be inclined to argue that we’re so neglectful as to have forfeited the match by not solving a known issue. Zero effort has been made to provide a solution since the Ipswich abandonment. You could have rain covers at half time. Not ideal for subs wanting to stay warm, but abandoning a match every time there’s moderate-to-severe rain in Blackburn also isn’t ideal. They ought to throw the book at us, teach the owners and Pasha a lesson and hand out a hefty fine. In the meantime - expect a club announcement of a shake up in the ground staff, as though that’s even remotely the issue.

All those years of “critical friendship” really paying off!

Excellent work from in-house DJ to be playing "Hard to Explain" by The Strokes.

I’d find a lot of value in betting on us going down with this many late conceded goals, if I was a masochist

With Rudy Gestede still kicking his heels in France somewhere, just imagine where we would be!

Hope he was apologising to them for making the wrong subs yet again.

I believe that’s now 6 goals at 90+ minutes

De Neve again. A total liability. Caught ball wayching

Are we sure De Neve isn’t a kind-of Ali Dia thing?