Mattyblue

Obvious quality, yet spends season after season loaned out without a chance of getting a game for his parent club. Everything that’s wrong with the ‘Big 6’s’ stranglehold on the modern game from academies onwards.

You honestly think a single fan thought we were about to sign Ronaldinho?

"How it descended into that, I don't know. What they've done is left us open to criticism on mentality.” What a plonker he is 😀

Hull offer it, no?

You’ve convinced me, so that’s my gas bill sorted.

Just the nine Championship clubs knocked out by lower league opposition tonight… so definitely nothing risky about putting a Merce on that near certainty tomorrow.

If it was a late season dead rubber and the young loaned player was about to go back to his parent club, of course play your own youngsters over the loanee. But at this stage if Morton is expected to be around the first team, then this is exactly the kind of game he should be playing in to get his match fitness up.

c3k did for Swansea, as remember we only had 6,995 ST holders by KO last season. But still, walk ons do seem to be consistently higher since the charge up the table last season… until gas bills knock that on the head in winter.

Very likely. That’s why it is so important to have as high a number of ST holders as possible already in the tent… whereas here, just 8.5k folk signed up going into these headwinds won’t give us any kind of buffer when walk ons and away support falls away.

Who’s wound up? I find it amusing more than anything when they come out with it all in such earnest tones. And fair play to them for getting a career out of it…

You are never by yourself at Ewood once you get settled in a ST seat.

Exactly right. All non-renewers probably think they’ll ‘pick their games’ and still be down at Ewood on plenty of occasions through the season. Some will, of course. But many others quickly get out of the habit. It’s much easier keeping hold of ST holders than trying to get them back. But Swag’s ‘met his targets’ so who cares about that…

Some big crowds and away followings over the first couple of weekends. Most clubs holding of reducing ST prices this summer has played a big part in that. So high ST numbers will help to protect a lot of clubs from any potential drop off in walk ons and away followings over the winter. Our poor ST sales will mean we are one of the few clubs that could really suffer…

Is it poor for us when it’s Swansea? It’s always our smallest following of the season. People I know that go pretty much everywhere didn’t bother. If we start taking 500 to weekend London games or to the midlands it would be more of a worry that the away support has dropped off after a good few years of growth. Sheff Utd will be interesting as generally when it hits £30 you see a lot of folk swerve it.

A BILLION quid on players since Ferguson to be this bad. 😁

Absolute pig to get to for both northern and southern Rovers fans, plus it was £32.50, so 500 seems fair enough.

You’re joking, loads were saying it! ‘Miserable after 3-0 wins’ etc. Good job fans don’t run professional clubs!

Yet, sensible ST pricing, coupled with the already higher looking walk-ons means it’s certainly still possible to see crowds substantially rise, especially if we carry on with the most important factor of all, winning - alas they are being held down with the mindset of the present CEO.

1500 more ST holders at this stage at £429-£529? So 10k? No chance.

A few on here not long back were also trying to make out that it isn’t all about the three points. It is, always.

Great prose, Herbie. Must be a spare weekly slot in the LT for you? I know local rags are skint, but maybe pay you in life-long paywall free access, or something? Saves you the few clicks of turning on incognito mode, at least…

Which is why it so important to get as many folk as possible signed up for the season. Well, we thought it was important…

If they weren’t £429 to £529 then without doubt, but at that price point with the country hurtling towards a winter of discontent, it will be limited. But we certainly may continue to see higher numbers of walk ons.

And you soon will (well, kind of) as I believe they are about to start filming a revival. I must know the first six seasons or so off by heart. You always had a knowing nod of superiority if you met another fan 😀

Of course it was a puff piece… it was a ‘Clem’ segment on Football Focus! Still some interesting bits for me. Travis saying that ‘it’s now much more intense than before’ being one.