Mattyblue

Don't blame you one bit, but the reality is that crowds are going to be hit across the board, especially in winter. We have a sizeable percentage of our fanbase that live away from Blackburn and travel fair distances, a decent proportion just won't bother now for night matches, which then starts to impact on how valuable their 23 game season ticket is too. Very short sighted move from the EFL.

No, only league games.

Oh I do, well worth a gamble for me, but just not sure TM will...

Excitement and flair, simple as that, our fans have been starved of it for so long that when they watched him in full flow, however fleeting, it was a joy - bums off seat player. Not sure he'd be reliable for a tough Championship season though and as Mogga likes his 'defensive wingers', not sure he'd want him at this level...

Sorry to quote you Rev, but I just remembered this post from the time. Looking at the figures from open day I estimate we've probably sold an extra 1,000 or so. Thinking back to the buzz around the club from Doncaster through to Oxford, for me the club has missed a big opportunity. I wasn't expecting sales of 12,000; it's mid table Championship at best for us at the moment, so it's not going to pour them through the gates, but I certainly had hopes for the 10,000+ that Waggott himself was targeting. But why? - Price? - Delays in getting them on sale? - Has the whole database been targeted to get them back in the tent? - Lack of signings? Combination of them all?

The bloke should be one of the biggest names in English sport, but show a picture of him to youngsters and I bet most couldn't even name him. That's what hiding cricket away for a decade and a half has done to our summer game...

Hundred folk gathered in a corner, surrounded by empty seats is far superior than NO1? Where it’s fairly full, people do sing and stand up and you’re in a stand with about 4,000 people. Come on! It was pretty good in there on Saturday, so stop with the excuses and get yourself down!

Of course the 2000s were better than now - much bigger home support, much bigger away support (generally), much better players on show, a generally content club/fan relationship, that buzz that only the PL brings. But run of the mill games against say Charlton with 16-18,000 in the ground weren’t raucous occasions with Ewood in full voice, but we forget those matches - indeed in those days you were probably more likely to get a ‘sidown!’ than you are now. Our memories always takes us back to the grand occasions that we saw maybe a third of the time.

Fair enough, but Ewood really really hasn’t been like that for donkeys years, well apart from odd pockets like the hundred or so in the Darwen End or N01 at one time. Most grounds haven’t been how you describe for a long time, folk just watch the game and you hear that general murmur sound of chatting. Great performance or terrible ref or big away following often got the place going, but I’m not having that Ewood was a cauldron every week in the 2000s, because it just wasn’t.

Still room in N01, why not move over? The Crystal Palace singing section is in the exact same position in their main end and they are known as the best in the Premier League.

I don’t take it personally I like a good sing song as much as the next man. I just don’t see how labelling fans who don’t sing as non supporters helps debate? I thought the BBEnd made a decent noise yesterday, as did the Millwall fan at the other end of the ground, as it goes. But I’m not sure what else people expect in a less than half full all seater stadium in this day and age, Ewood, like most grounds is fairly quiet unless roused - a 0-0 against Millwall isn’t going to get thousands of people engaging in 90 minutes of raucous chanting.

I would say Bennett’s work is very noticeable, unlike Lowe he actually makes tackles. I really do think we are missing a trick in not getting him in the middle, his extra pace over Smallwood could make a difference.

That looks like a 4-4-2 formation, how quaint!

I’m pretty sure when it’s a live Sky game the angle is higher.

It was still announced as Peter Jackson’s MoM from what I heard...

Which side of the JW gregg ? From my seat the kids in the family stand seemed to be milling about, having photos taken with Rover the Dog etc.

Hmm, not something I remember myself very often. I think we often look back to those days with rose tinted spectacles. 30,000 at Ewood for Liverpool with a load of away fans too, of course the atmosphere was great. But there were many games against clubs like Fulham who brought very few and the ground would often have 10,000 or so empty seats, the atmosphere would be average then too, it’s just those empty seats now number 17,000/18,000 - how are you supposed to have a cracking atmosphere with such vast gaps? I go to plenty of away matches and the atmospheres are poor at most of them, so not going to get too worried about it - get safe standing in and we may see changes.

People support how they see fit, they put money into the club, they often bring others who then get the bug, most fans do clap even if they don’t sing and if they don’t, so what? I know you and barry et al are upset about this whole affair. But it was the club that made a mess of the Darwen End issue, not the fans in other stands, so aim your fire at those who deserve it instead of calling long standing Blues, who’ve put up with no end of shite this last few years ‘non supporters’.

Do you? I remember us constantly getting stick about our attendances and atmosphere throughout our PL tenure, it used to rile me up no end, in fact.

Think it’s probably time to move Bennett into the middle at the expense of Smallwood. Richie did a job at League 1 level, but the extra bit of nous and pace that many of those he’s going up against at this level have I feel will leave him exposed.

1,500 up on the equivalent game last season. With the price rises and expectations of a fairly average season, as much as we’d all wish to see a load more of the 27,000 trap, did anyone really expect much more of a crowd than what we saw? At least we now seem to be approaching the levels that we had prior to the Coyle induced nosedive in crowds that saw us struggling to reach five figures...

You don’t sing, you’re not a supporter? Few folk are getting a bit silly now

I’m not staunch anything, I just sit there out of habit really. But it’s obvious surely that a vastly more populated home End has more chance than a few dozen people tucked away in a corner, miles away from that End and seemingly miles away from the away fans too as the club has switched the away half of the Darwen End to the Riverside...

It’s obviously acoustics. There were plenty singing in N01 yesterday, I could hear them loud and clear and it went across the rest of the End at certain points. I used to get told that the Darwen End made plenty of noise but I couldn’t ever hear them, just like I couldn’t hear the JW corner yesterday. End of the day, if there’s going to be around 4,000 folk in the Blackburn End then that is where the noise will come from, not 100 people stood as far as way as possible from that End. If there is not going to be a proper Ultras area set up then the Blackburn End has to be the focal point, so let’s hope it continues to improve, more folk move back and and it gets back to its former glory.

Coyle spotted at Bloomfield Road according to the Blackpool Gazette...