Mattyblue

Exactly what we said would happen, especially for a 3pm. The ‘boycott’ is happening anyway, 6,000 are in the ground midweek, 8,000 on a Saturday. 6,000 for a Championship club of our stature! That should have been shouted from the rooftops through traditional and social media, we didn’t need anything ‘official’. Case study, lad next to me, he’s lamented with me what’s happened to this club every step of the way for a decade plus, he is no way in the ‘who else we gonna get brigade?’ But when I floated the boycott idea him and his mate looked at me like I had two heads. It wouldn’t have entered their minds for a second to do that, or that I would do it either. For them it’s simple; this is who they support, so they turn up, terrible owners and all, they just hope they can see them off at some point. Whilst they are paying the wages the remaining core will be there and as soon as you start making it ‘official’ it actually becomes counterproductive folk get very intransigent about it, ‘who are these people telling me what to do?’

Was in Jack’s Kitchen today, it was packed which I was pretty surprised about considering 12.30 game and our horrendous home form. Listening in to conversations and around me in the ground, any boycotts were generally just scoffed at. Of course, the fact there was probably just 8,000 or so rattling around Ewood tells you all you need to know regardless but I really doubt it will be significantly emptier for Watford than it was today.

Who cares if it’s ’carnage on here’. There was ‘carnage’ anyway because the likes of De Neve are crap. You play good footballers whatever the route to the first team. It’s the job of those down there to make judgements on players not give a feck what Rovers Lad75 on a forum thinks.

Team winning = little dissent. Was ever thus, especially with the rump that’s left at Ewood.

Same RTID that was saying he wasn’t going to any more games about, err, two weeks ago.

That’s Crawley making 100 caps then… with an average of 31. Lucky lad.

Apt considering his greatest legacies, Ewood Park and Brockhall have been left to slowly rot away.

Pot, kettle.

‘Val will do it cheaper, so go for him’ being the conclusion of the brains trust, I’d imagine.

Cecil Chadwick back in 1936, ‘that Owens should just focus on his running’

No other counties bid because they knew FIFA and Saudi had carved it up between them for 2034 💰 💰 💰

A club of our stature, spent pretty much twenty years in the top flight, stuck down here since and one manager has been sacked (and that was too late) in a decade. As always, not normal.

Of course. Not a chance big numbers of their floating fans are going to shell out for months on end of dead rubbers.

Back then at least the regime had some semblance of normality. I.e crap manager they get sacked and replaced with a safe pair of hands (obviously an actual normal one wouldn’t have appointed the clown in the first place and at the very least sacked him earlier). Now? This fella is here for the duration, if that ends in League 1, ah well 🤷‍♂️.

Sheff Wed fans did briefly but the crowds have dropped back again (to be expected when the team is that bad). No reason there wouldn’t be an initial return of a good number here.

Still every chance it gets canned with a ‘due to unforeseen circumstances…’ (Obviously nobody down there could have foreseen that no fecker would be daft enough to cough up… bit like how nobody could have foreseen Adam Wharton turning into a good footballer).

Not just the hearts and minds of neutrals, a lot of our own fans too. The long term anti-Chansiri crew only got the rest on board once the wages stopped being paid.

Imagine finding a ticket for that in your Christmas stocking 🎅

Far more than 10% are content enough for the owners to stay.

The ground won’t be empty. Just like it wasn’t for Sheff Wed’s the other month. All about expectation management and having the real figures (and how they compare to a standard 3pm) quickly to hand. I don’t generally disagree with much of EiT’s post. Do I think it will lead to much? No, not really. But it’s been fifteen years, we have to try something, quickly too, as we are getting to the point of no return as once we get stuck in the lower leagues, with the Cat 1 academy gone, with Brockhall once again in the sights of developers, with the Riverside either mothballed or actually in the river, with a ground generally in compete disrepair, then yes, those that decry ‘well, who’d buy us’ would have far more of a point then who this very attractive club could attract as of right now.

But of course a football club is about more than the present team. It represents your town, it’s about its history and heritage that is wrapped up in your own family’s history and heritage. It’s about wanting your own children and grandchildren to follow in your footsteps as you pass the baton on. I’m a ‘diehard’ for all the above, but others seem to struggle to see that players, teams, and yes, even regimes come and go, we are the constant, we are the club and sometimes action to protect the above has to taken because we are diehards, not in spite of it.

Remember when this club was renowned for how it treated people.

Totally agree. Sheff Wed fans did a lot of grumbling in earlier seasons, but it was only when wages stopped being paid that the whole house of cards came down and fans properly mobilised. Here, a ‘small club’ with ‘crap crowds’ is still in the Championship and the wages are paid. ‘What you all moaning about, who else will pay them?’

One person doesn’t, he’s been very clear that he has zero other social/life events/holiday commitments between August and May.

Just as an aside, rigger was a regular till this season (and I think he’s still been this season).