*Sky have invested in increased player and agent incomes for the long term.

I don’t blame anybody but the owners.

Like the sound of this, on the record: We have a commitment that we can operate normally in the summer. We have had conversations on what that might look like in terms of shaping the budget and transfer funds. "My recommendations to the board are that we will have a significant influx of money. It does not all hit in one transaction with Adam Wharton and the David Raya sell-on, but transfers do not go out in one hit either. "My recommendation is to invest in four areas - transfer fees, wages to be competitive, the Academy and infrastructure and then money put aside for the season in case we need that for whatever reason. Do not spend it all in one hit, you never know how you might go into January. "The indication is that yes, we will have money to spend”. But then the politician comes out with the qualifying statement… “But I have been on record before and said last summer we had clarity on the budget and that had to change for reasons out of our hands.”

Nobody thinks we have impressive crowds, but we also know there are mitigating factors. All those other clubs could give more tickets in their existing away areas - they choose not to.

End of the day we don’t know how the season would’ve panned out under JDT but the players had downed tools and the form had fallen off a cliff, so even as a big JDT fan I’ve no qualms in saying we’d still be in big trouble - yet we do go down, JE had to take a big part of the blame he’s had plenty of time and a points buffer throughout. (Obviously neither are the real culprits)..

‘It’s time we started helping the owners’

Probably be about 5k match tickets sold by KO then, nothing wrong with that. It is what it is when you only have 9k ST holders, sell more STs = bigger crowds, simple as that.

Not saying it is, just find it interesting on how the media (and now social media) has put those two other clubs on a pedestal as uniquely fantastically supported when in reality they are no better than anyone else, indeed Leeds support has more than often been very poor considering the size of the place.

To be fair the Sheffield clubs get no credit for their crowds in comparison to comparable cities like Leeds and Newcastle (‘best fans in the country ya ya ya’), when between them they are pulling in c60,000 and have been largely crap for decades.

Yes, morten I know you think we have shit support, you’ve made that very clear over the years. I’m talking about other clubs who also have a plethora (but yes, not as many as us) of empty seats. These clubs also have no parachute payments and I would wager wouldn’t mind the extra revenue from 5k+ followings, but they choose to restrict - why? If not to the protect home advantage?

Exactly, all away. Very rare we put a side to the sword at Ewood. Though forget a hammering, even routine wins (or this season, wins at all) don’t come around very often.

Plod will have a field day in these parts then on a Saturday afternoon. There will be crims in houses on every street for them to round up.

Plenty of clubs in this league have c10k empty seats most weeks yet they cap away allocations at 2/3k - Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Stoke, Cardiff etc. They don’t give away teams 5k+. We choose to, it doesn’t particularly bother me, but it is a choice and it’s a choice a lot of other clubs wouldn’t even entertain.

Certainly with most younger fans I speak to that don’t go regularly, they pretty much all have IPTV.

It’s a good point, under JDT )and Eustace at Sunderland) we’ve put in some cracking away performances and results - but at home, when did we last give a team a hiding?

Of course, yes, most on here know why this club gives generally bigger away allocations than any other club. However, to be fair to tomphil et al, they are talking about a restricted following for this specific game, I.e a relegation six pointer where a good result has us safe, a poor one drags us back into it, so why give any further boost to the rival? (Yes, it’s a debate as to whether a full Darwen End does boost the opposition, but that is their rationale). A few extra grand on Sunday or lose millions with a L1 relegation?

I withdraw all previous praise of Don Goodman

Every club is a selling club, apart from maybe Real Madrid, especially in the FFP environment of now, look at oil state club Newcastle’s rumoured summer of sales for evidence of that. Nobody has a problem with that, especially here, we’ve been doing it from day dot, even in Jack’s day. What is different now is the team sees none of it and as a result we are at best hoping to stay out of the third division despite big money sales.

He knows he can come out with any old tripe, he’s brazen because he’s bulletproof and he knows it. He can feather that nest for as long as he wants. I can think of many adjectives for Swag, none of them positive character traits, and though he obviously isn’t exactly cerebral, he’s a canny operator, the way he’s manoeuvred behind the scenes this season is proof of that. The thick ones are these owners that continue to let such chancers take the piss.

Nah Gary, there’s loads of lads just like him.

Didn’t know I was disagreeing, it is what it is and it won’t change unless we double our ST numbers (ha!) - it’s a ground that will always have lots of spare seats otherwise. But there obviously is a reason most clubs restrict away followings even if they have more seats available.

Oh I thought we were talking about the impact of big away supports at Ewood.

Didn’t we lose all those games at Ewood? (Plus PNE).

The only time it hasn’t happened is in seasons we haven’t needed to due to huge amounts of ST holders - I.e 95/96, ‘Taking Back Ewood’ late 2000s era. A ground that was built for a top PL side, not one with fans paying big prices in the second division year after year after a decade of farcical ownership. So of course we have a plethora of spare seats and as long as that remains the case I can’t see any regime not flogging the full end, easy cash.

Makes me laugh how modern keepers punch and punch… until defending a lead late on, they then suddenly remember how to catch again (with elaborate falls to the ground wasting thirty seconds) 😅