5 minutes ago, Mercer said:

So glad I couldn't make today's game!

You & me both @Mercer!

Oops, sorry @tomphil; my erm 'joke' fell flat when I saw your actual prediction!🤔 That's what can happen when there seems to have been a close season, what with the Queen’s passing and the international break. It'll be good to have another six weeks of concentrated League football before the World Cup.

I fear a fairly dour game with us winning 1-0.

On 28/09/2022 at 15:19, tomphil said:

0-0 

We are about due one and this type of opposition alongside our traditional sluggish emergence from international breaks, this could be it.

10.833

We'll struggle to get that many goals tomorrow, specially the way Millwall play.😉

2 hours ago, Herbie6590 said:

The main site sponsor…👍🏻

https://theterracestore.com/search?q=blackburn rovers

Enter BRFCS at checkout 😉

Thanks very much, @Herbie6590.

On 15/07/2022 at 08:10, Herbie6590 said:

As valued users of the site, we want to keep you appraised of some planned enhancements at BRFCS and share with you all the context and rationale for what is proposed…

Subscribe Now: https://www.brfcs.com/subscriptions/

 

New Development... BRFCS Ad Free

Throughout 2022 we have sought to optimise our advertising revenue to provide greater confidence that our income will continue to cover our running costs. BRFCS handicaps itself to a degree however, because we refuse to accept advertising for gambling, adult, alcohol and tobacco. 

The challenge we face therefore, is to earn as much as we can from what remains. This has meant that ad positioning and frequency are elements over which we have diminished direct control.

Following these changes, we have had a reasonable amount of feedback from some users, who have commented that the ads are becoming increasingly intrusive and that this is impacting adversely upon the user experience - especially on mobile devices.

With that in mind therefore we have introduced an *option* to subscribe to an ad-free* experience.

*It's important to clarify that the sponsor mentions on the magazine and forum threads will remain; as noted above, sponsorship income is a vital component of our overall revenue streams. 

All other non-sponsor ads are removed as part of this package.

 

What does that mean for current users ? 

It can mean absolutely nothing. If you are not interested in an ad-free experience, just carry on using the site as you were - nothing will change for you.

However, if you wish to benefit from an ad-free experience*, then by subscribing, you will remove the (non-sponsor) advertising from the site on whatever device you use - please note, you have to be logged in to remove the ads.

 

How much is this going to cost ? 

In our own tribute to Steve Waggott, we will offer an early-bird discount to allow users the opportunity to trial the option at a discounted rate.

The initial subscription plan will therefore cost £1.99 for one trial month, reverting to £3.99 per month thereafter. 

Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any point should circumstances change for whatever reason.

Platinum membership of £39.99 for a full year will also be offered. 

This can also be cancelled before the ANNUAL renewal date. 

 

As an aside - if you are canny enough to take the £1.99 initial offer; cancel after one payment, then renew for 12 months - this brings the effective monthly charge down to £3.23 for a period of 13 months #NorthernThrift 😉

In a spirit of transparency, we have no idea how many people will be attracted by this offer and equally, we can only guess at the impact it will have on our overall revenue, but clearly, if the subscription revenue received proves to be consistently less than the advertising revenue lost, we will have to put our thinking caps on and come up with another plan.

 

What if all this is a raging success…presumably the site owners be able to continue to operate BRFCS albeit now as tax exiles based in Monaco ? 

Well quite…the spirit of BRFCS always has been "by the fans, for the fans" - it has never been operated as a hard-nosed, capitalist venture. This philosophy will not change. The free option (served with advertisements) will remain. 

This is simply our attempt to offer a service that many have indicated they would welcome but without threatening overall viability of the site.

 

How does BRFCS incur running costs? 

The site has overheads, principally these relate to IT costs; although as we add new features, these are increasingly including additional subscription fees for services, as many more providers are moving towards that kind of a pricing model. 
For instance, even Google is now charging for its basic business suite of email addresses and shared storage.

As the site is owned and operated via a limited company, there are also fees associated with running a company, including statutory Companies House returns, accountant's fees, bank/payments charges and so on.

 

How is BRFCS funded? 

Historically, the site was funded purely from Google ad revenue, but the returns were a bit thin and somewhat unpredictable. Consequently, different options have been pursued to provide a more stable income and eliminate over-reliance on Google. 

These include sponsorship of different aspects of the site - it was this type of funding that enabled the site revamp last year for instance, when BRFCS evolved from being purely a forum, into the comprehensive package of features you see today; including the magazine elements, the 4000 Holes archive, podcast hosting and of course the excellent Match Centre feature.

 

Anything else you wish to share with us? 

Well...just to summarise - the purpose of sharing this background is to provide the context as to why/how we aim to address legitimate concerns raised by users; the purpose of sharing the rationale of our approach with you all, is to be transparent as to our thinking.

 

Essentially, the owners and contributors provide (considerable amounts of) their time & expertise for free because they enjoy doing it. When the pleasure is no longer there, then we will no doubt look to pass on the mantle. 

For the avoidance of doubt...we are ALL currently enjoying it !

 

Many thanks for your time and for visiting BRFCS.com...the best Rovers site out there, since 1996 [citation needed] 😉

The BRFCS Team

More Info: https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/premium

I'm convinced that I was born with a collecting gene. As a kid 60-odd years ago now it was train numbers, stamps and football programmes. However, in much more recent times and, as a result of having to move into semi-sheltered accommodation, I've had to pass most of my collection of Rovers' programmes to a fellow season ticket-holder who also collects to give them a good home.

However, once a collector, always a collector; and now that postcards have gone out of style as a souvenir, I've turned to mugs as a reminder of places I've visited. Plus - of course - several Rovers-related mugs.

What I wondered was whether any of the mugs in the photo associated with the article above are still on sale; and if so, where?

Imagine my surprise on reading this headline in the Sports section of Today's Times Newspaper's Online edition:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/toxic-reign-of-these-unworthy-owners-cannot-end-soon-enough-v9drthvhv

Only to find it was on top of an article about Worcester Warriors RUFC.

I should have guessed it would be about the 15-a-side game!

27 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

each to their own K-Hod to be fair. I enjoy driving and I would also choose that route unless I was travelling to London I would drive every time

Off-topic, I know; but that's not very Green of you, @chaddyrovers!

8 hours ago, sharpysharps86 said:

Same team as Watford please. Brittain might be in the squad but Id be surprised if he was thrown straight back in from the start.

We'll need that same back 3 if we are to keep Luton's forwards quiet, especially as the midfield battle to be very tough, probably tougher than Watford given Luton haven't won at home yet and they'll be desperate to change that.

Let's hope the team goes into it full of confidence and not the slow and tentative approach that we've seen in other games. Rovers really have been a Jekyll and Hyde so far this season.

I'll go for a 1-1 draw. Rovers to score first, and we'll probably be hanging on a bit by the end but we have to draw at some point...right!?

 

I totally agree with that analysis, up to the final paragraph. For some reason, I just reckon that Tuesday night's result will have given the team confidence to take the Luton bully boys on and think - hope? pray? - we'll win by the odd goal in 3.

I hate writing in this vein; but I fear that Watford will gives us a right tonking - not a Fulham-last-season tonking - but the kind of defeat that Bristol City, if they'd taken their chances, could have given us.

It's games like this that remind me of JDT's reminder that, as far as he and Gregg are concerned, the BRFC "Project" isn't one to produce overnight results, but will take 2 or 3 Transfer Windows to bear full fruit. So, more like the "Johnny Carey" gradual improvement over 3 or 4 seasons in the 1950s than Uncle Jack's strengthening of the team. (Although, to be fair, that was under way - with the arrival of Tony Dobson and Steve Livingstone - before the national media became aware of this upstart team taking the Premiership - as it then was - by storm.)

It's a weird looking scoreline; but I reckon it'll be something like Rovers 1, Watford 4.

Is it a mark of how, erm, "unpredictable" our season's been so far; or that there's no midweek game; that all the recent posts have been about where to drink in Wigan?

Just wondering!

On 04/09/2022 at 14:50, blue_and_white said:

I'm getting it from reality. Maybe the 2001 and 2011 census results for Blackburn are easy to miss living in Yorkshire, but the town has changed massively since the 80s. We'll see what the results of the 2021 census in terms of ethnicity/religion when they're published in November, but I expect another huge shift.

Better put the usual disclaimer that this is in no way a political opinion on anything, its just the facts. Many white people have moved out of Blackburn and into the Ribble Valley, the Preston/Leyland/Chorley area, or other surrounding areas. There's a direct correlation between the distance someone lives from the ground, and their willingness to go to games. Mill Hill, Higher Croft, Darwen etc are a huge source of Rovers support because its as easy as walking out your front door and 10 minutes later walking through the turnstile. Its the same reason clubs with town/city centre grounds tend to do better for gates.

Rovers are losing local fans, have been for decades now. A football message board can live on far-flung supporters, but a football club can't. It needs the locals, so I'm all for Eid prayers on the pitch etc, but its not turning into significant numbers of fans yet and I'm not sure how the club is going to make that happen.

A really good post, imo, @blue_and_white. It bears out my experiences following the Rovers, particularly over the last 50 years.

Because I'd been working in Rochdale for since 1975, I moved to live there in 1981 and have lived in various parts of Rochdale Met. Borough until early this year. Until 2007, when I took early retirement on health grounds, getting over to Ewood wasn't much of a problem.

However, when I took early retirement, I also stopped driving and started coming over to Ewood by public transport. Which because of their timetables, mean that I had to leave home on the 11.15 am bus to be sure of getting to Ewood in - plenty of - time for the kick-off. Getting the next bus an hour later would often find me on a bus between Darwen Circus and Ewood when the game started. So there were Saturdays when I'd miss a home game because I hadn't got my act in gear soon enough. Attending evening kick-offs at Ewood also became virtually impossible because the last bus to Bolton went past the ground during half time!

I moved back to live in Blackburn earlier this year; and while I can't honestly claim that I did so simply to make attending home games easier, those who know me will know it was quite a significant influence in my choice!

Since returning to the fold, I've noticed that there are more people of South Asian heritage in the Riverside as spectators than I remember from the days, probably 6 seasons ago, when I last had a season ticket. That shows that at least one of the club’s initiatives, which always seem to gain kudos from the non-sporting media, is beginning to pay off.

Like many such initiatives, it's one which will take some time to pay off, if it ever does. What it's easy for old beggars like me to forget is how long ago were those glory days at the time the Premier League was founded. Our memories of winning the Premier League are now nearly 30 years ago; it will be beyond 2050 before many of the young Blackburners of South Asian heritage who are, perhaps, in their first season of watching the Rovers have memories of similar vintage.

But that doesn't mean, imo, that the decision-makers should ease up on their efforts to demonstrate that the club is open to all Blackburners, irrespective of the colour of their skin. It would be instructive, I believe, to learn from clubs like Leicester City as to what steps they, in what I'm fairly sure is the most ethnically diverse city in the country, have taken to attract fans of various heritages to their stadium.

Another initiative I'd like to see - and this one would require some sort of co-operation with the football authorities - is whether Blackburn Rovers Ladies could play their home games at Ewood on Saturdays when the first (men's) team's playing away. Not just Rovers, obviously; most of the top level women's teams seem to play their games at grounds of League Two or National League clubs.

Given that three of the recently successful Lionesses took early steps in their careers - again attracting favourable comment from the regional media - with Blackburn Rovers, couldn't the club investigate whether the people running women's football nationally whether the fixtures in the women's Leagues could be scheduled for Saturdays when the men's teams are playing away.

It might be unimportant for the Chelseas of this 21st Century world; but for smaller clubs like Rovers, it might stop the drain of fans which @blue_and_white foresees.

32 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

No need for sympathy for them. I don't expect them to tolerate his bullshit for too long.

Certainly nowhere near as long as we did. I'll bet their Board won't put up with what we've tolerated.

His excuses will be seen for what they are. (And I'm one who cut him some slack for longer than many on here did.)

1 hour ago, rigger said:

Schoolboy error.

... or Early-onset Alzheimer's.😦

Is there really nobody else than Travis we can afford to play right-back today/for as long as Britton's out?

I don't know much about how Bristol Rovers play; but they don't have a good record on the road yet. In recent years that would have been a cue for a Moggasaurus selection that would have been totally wrong for the day. I can't see JDT ever being so weak.

I think that, once Britton's fit, the back 4 should pick itself. It almost feels like we're spoiled for choice in midfield and up front, so let's hope we kick on from that win on Wednesday and consolidate our place in the top 6 above the team that can't play till the final whistle!

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Sky can’t show every night game because of their contract.

But it looks like it’s back for the next round of midweeks.

 

Wow; Albion v. Birmingham being played at night; can't be much rivalry there. Can't imagine Mr. Plod would allow t'Classico to start at 8.00.

On 01/09/2022 at 20:39, Andy said:

Gutted I'm missing this one - bought tickets to take the kids to a wrestling thing in Cardiff on Sat before the fixtures came out 🤦‍♂️

 

Oh dear; hope your phone's: i) on mute; ii) set to this page, so you can surreptitiously keep up-to-date! 😉

5 hours ago, AspRover said:

... ... ... ... 

Start compiling the shortlists for January.

I'd have hoped that work had already begun.

Just one other thought; about 10 days or a fortnight ago, the mood seemed to have dropped from the euphoria which I - and many others, no doubt - certainly felt when JDT's appointment was announced.

That certainly came from left field; as have many of our new squad members. And suddenly there's a spring in my step again!

But let's not kid ourselves, tomorrow's game will be a tough one. Nigel Pearson's no mug as a manager; Bristol City are only one point and a couple of places below us; they've scored in every game this season so far. They'll be no walkover; tomorrow's game will give us an indication of how far we've come this season and how well-equipped we are for the remainder of the season.

Or at least until the midwinter transfer window opens!

3 hours ago, Oldgregg86 said:

Or the perfect time to start the post Xmas death spiral mwahahaha

Or start Sunderland's for them, maybe? After all, it's a phenomenon their manager's used to!

7 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Or we win and go bat shit fecking crazy!

Sunderland are now a member of the mini league that we must top this season, the others being all from Lancs, I don't need to name them. We top that and we've had a very good season.

I know what you mean, @AllRoverAsia; and this is why I can't understand the incomprehension @chaddyroverssays he has for those of us who compare the progress the club makes season on season.

However, if I may suggest, beating the Mackems at their place - and Ewood, obvs! - and topping that Lancashire mini-League will only be the mark of a "good" season for me.

A "Very good" season will see what feels like a re-booted Rovers in the play-offs; an excellent season will see us back in the Premier League.

But Rome wasn't built in a day; so, with no disrespect, @AllRoverAsia , I hope JDT has the team prepared for my definition of a very good season rather than yours!

8 hours ago, 47er said:

I agree with that, I was assuming Brereton's approval. He does seem to have an affection for us.

He seems an intellgent lad, and doubtless remembers how he struggled in his first couple of seasons.

Compared with the fees being bandied about these days, £7 million's nothing (!!); but it must have been a bit of a millstone round his neck in his early days here.  The club - and we fans - stuck by him then; his attitude now feels like him acknowledging that.

I bet he's pleased by the little gestures like the Chilean flag draped over the front of the JWU at each home game.

8 hours ago, roverandout said:

Sunderland fans are in for a shock 

No longer our problem, thank goodness.

As followers of a club in the self-styled "Hotbed of soccer", the Mackem fans will soon let their Board know what they think of Mogga-man's "philosophy".

1 hour ago, rovers11 said:

How I would rate our summer signings:

Brittain - good signing and an upgrade on Nyambe 

Hyam - feel like he was our best signing of the summer 

Morton - decent signing. Good on the ball but I fear he'll get bullied by the more physical sides

Mola - Not an exciting signing but hopefully a decent squad player 

Szmodics - Not convinced by him at all. Think the money could have been better spent

Hirst - I would have preferred someone more proven but I think his attributes will add a lot to our team. 

Overall a decent window but not an amazing one. 

But surely an improvement on what we've endured for the past five summers.

5 hours ago, bigbrandjohn said:

Interesting comment Mowbray made about his new owners 

“ But I feel as if there is a plan from the owners. They are not saying ‘Sunderlandhave to win the league this year’. They want to grow this club incrementally, they don’t want to spend £100 million this summer. Put talent and quality into your club and let it grow.“

Looks like another journey then?  No pressure to get promoted. Luvly.  

It's a pity that the only one of my friends to support the Mackems passed away a couple of months ago. Not just for his family & friends, obvs; but I could have had such fun forwarding the above to him for his comments!

(Just my contribution to the "Get 1,000 pages on this thread" effort!)😉

2 hours ago, Tugay-is-God said:

Slightly tangential, but I always like to see fans of other clubs appreciating our badge/shirt as one of the best around. 

Stuttgart fan here saying we have easily one of the most beautiful badges. 

Well, he's only telling the truth, isn't he? But it's always nice to be appreciated.