Mattyblue

Get the sentiment. But be realistic, he’s well ensconced at the club. Close relationship with Waggott and the owners.

No chance he goes anytime soon, even if he oversaw a relegation.

59 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Wonder if Bolton will miraculously have some players available today who weren't with them yesterday? Shady dealings from the League to enable them to play their games? 

Yep. Three new signings.

Charlton, similar club to us in many ways, operate buses to the Valley from across Kent, as like us much of their fanbase has moved from its origins, south east London for them, the town of Blackburn for us, further afield.

Presumably most of the 1,000 complementary STs will be in the JW?

As will complimentary match day tickets?

Just now, Paul said:

 

As for the last sentence. It keeps people happy 

You haven’t read it then? 

Just now, Brigger68 said:

Preston is slightly different in my opinion as the football club is situated right in the heart of the Asian community and interactions are definitely there. Deepdale is a very mixed community and unlike other northern towns Preston isn't splintered and despite a tragic case a few years ago between feuding gangs from Fishwick and Callon resulting in a poor lad losing his life relations are very good. You will see very very many Asian lads playing football on Moor Park in replica Preston gear. 

Roop Singh is one of their favourite fans and a Sikh. 

Thought northern towns didn’t have Asian lads in the local shirt?

PNE shirts are well behind Liverpool shirts in your town for everybody, so don’t give me that.

Just now, Ossydave said:

I guess so, but I don't ever sit in the Jack Walker stand so to me personally that's irrelevant. 

I suppose I pay £25-£30 regularly for away tickets. Just never have for Ewood, so it does make me blink when I see the prices, when there are 20,000 empty seats.

Personally think match day prices at £30+in the Jack Walker, £45 against Leeds and Sheff Wed are not reasonable for mid table second division football, but ‘value is in the eye of the beholder’ and all that.

Just now, Paul said:

I don't know if they are but it's unlikely to be cost effective and is therefore not pursued.

Marketing phone calls? Pointless as many people don't answer unrecognised numbers or hang up when it's obvious the call is about marketing.

Mail shots? Every single piece of unsolicited mail delivered to our house gets a cursory look at the envelope before going straight in the recycling bin. Only those with an envelope which suggests it might be important get opened, 30 second glance and binned.

I actually don't buy from companies who use mailshots as I regard these as damaging to the environment.

Same applies to unsolicited email, I usually look for the unsubscribe button and then delete without reading.

Most people now where to buy products they want. There is little Rovers can do in this respect.

A lot of that is your personal view on marketing, fair enough, and you are a fan that commits regardless.

Lapsed fans surely cannot just be left as ‘former fans’. May as well delete the database, as fans will find their way to Ewood regardless.

Since relegation, every Championship season we’ve gone on and on about crowds (me certainly included!), but the  Coyle season aside we’ve ended up with 11/13,000 home fans in the ground each week, this season will be no different.

Average side year in year out, no real sniff at promotion, tickets now costing £400- £450 in the main stand, so why on Earth would anything change? Just bizarre that Waggott is seemingly very disappointed that we haven’t suddenly added 1200 new ST holders.

The club could certainly do more, not having tickets on sale for Oxford was a great example of a missed opportunity, are lapsed fans chased enough?

But as always, get a decent side at the top end and we’ll see some improvement, promotion and the rest will follow.

Love your style Paul!

Switch off in early May, switch back on early August.

Probably do this site good too! 

Another season of tripe incoming from that clown.

Shame they didn’t put someone fresh in for the new season.

Course he’s a Preston fan!

Bamber Bridge fan, my arse!

Just now, Ossydave said:

Have you got kids? Because I can tell you now there's a lot of Asian kids buzzing round play centres and parks with rovers tops on. Unfortunately a lot think football crowds are full of racist drunks....

Sounds great but that isn’t the impression I get from working in Asian schools. From memory gumboots was a teacher in similar schools and came across the same thing.

Football mad? Absolutely.

Rovers mad? No, not remotely on their radar.

Just now, Tom said:

They have no kit but agreed a short term kit with Hummel. Hummel make class kits so they’ve done ok there.

Do they even have enough academy players to fill the team tomorrow

Depends on how much the EFL bend the rules, I believe there have been various out of contract pros at training today...

Teesside is three quarters of a million people and they are the only club. 

Akin to Rovers being the only club in east Lancs, Bolton and Preston.

We all know big season ticket sales will only happen on promotion, and no hand wringing or innovative ideas on here will alter that fact.

However, this summer Waggott targeted an increase of 1,250 on last summer. The only time that kind of increase has happened since 2012 is the summer of 2014 on the back of just missing out on the play offs the previous May, so a decent side to watch and a lot of optimism around that we would go one better.

I don’t know why Waggott would think finishing 15th, with a fairly small net spend and £325-£450 prices would lead to a similar increase this summer? Very optimistic to me.

One of the 5 first team outfield players has refused to play (Magennis).

Obviously that can’t and won’t happen.

There is some truth in that.

The white population of Blackburn and east Lancs have been going down t’Rovers for nearly 150 years. Passed down from father to son, or mates dragging down other mates. A culture of going to matches.

That culture just doesn’t exist in the Asian community. We are largely attempting to build a fanbase from a standing start. As I said, very difficult. So do we just not bother with half the town?

Just now, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Pure folly to focus the club's efforts on the Towns Asian population,Cricket is their main Sport.The few who do follow football choose to wear the Red is either Utd or Liverpool.

From my experience they will definitely not pay good money to watch footy at Ewood.

Cricket certainly isn’t anymore for the vast majority. That’s long gone with younger generations.

I spent some time in Pleckgate school (95% Asian intake) recently. Football is massive. By far the number 1 conversation. Unfortunately your second point is sadly true, the bags/pencil cases were to a lad United/Liverpool/City. Rovers just don’t register.

One lad asked me who I supported, ‘Rovers, of course, I’m a Blackburner’. He looked at me like I had two heads. About 10 minutes later he said, ‘but no really, who do you support?’

It will be a long and often frustrating process to get the Asian population in the tent, but it is a must as it is too large a demographic to be ignored in our already small catchment area. But we cannot expect quick results.

However, more short term we can look to ensure that those existing fans now further afield from BwD are chased and chased and the club realise that we are now more than ever a club with a Lancashire wide fanbase.

He’s angry as he knows this is his last chance. I think he envisaged bouncing straight back up and a rehabilitation of his career.

Instead an early sacking/resignation is incoming and that’s him done at a decent level in England.

More fool him for not working out how Evans operates, not the expert he thinks he is, obviously.

‘Passionate north east’ is the biggest myth in football. 3 league clubs for a whole region that stretches from the Scottish border to Yorkshire, so no surprise they get decent numbers.

Old Lancashire is as passionate as they come, we are just chocka with clubs, a double edged sword, as it shows the heritage and passion for football, but makes it fiendishly difficult for non PL clubs to attract big numbers.

Something else Waggott doesn’t seem to get. We are not Coventry that is the main club for a good size city and county (Warwickshire), we are hemmed in by historic clubs, with mega sized clubs also in the vicinity.

I think he understands that the Asian population of the town are small in number at Ewood and wants to change that. Good to hear as it is a necessity if the club wants to continue to thrive in the town itself.

However are they doing enough to entice in and entice back the large and ever increasing numbers of fans that now live across Lancashire? As the further from Ewood you live the more of a palava it is to trek to the ground every other week.

Also, he must be in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks a club based in east Lancashire with its socio-economic factors, can charge £25-48 for match tickets.

As I’ve put on the Attendances thread... why would he expect a big increase? Average season last time, average spend, same price.

Because they’ve put billboards up in Preston, that counts as ‘hard hitting?’