15 minutes ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

Camera angles yesterday were like one of those FA cup ties at a none league ground.

Was just reading a bit about and watching a couple of videos of their new stadium, as I was wondering if this was going to be a Bolton special.

In fact the new stadium is less than a mile away. It will home Brentford and London Irish. Is slap bang in the middle of the community with great transport links directly next to the ground and I think they also built 910 homes (I guess upwards). Capacity is 17,250 (from 12,300 at Griffin Park) which sounds modest but its a size that fits the sustainability of the club.

I am impressed.

 

"Creation of a new stadium campus

At the heart of this initiative is a mix of sports & leisure, education and residential facilities as part of the larger urban quarter contributing to the existing neighbourhood."

 

Got me thinking again about our beloved Rovers, our 31,000 2/3 empty falling into disrepair stadium, our humble owners wanting to invest but restricted by FFP (?), Mr Waggotts community vision (which I think most agree with the concept of), our historic industrial town and the future sustainability of our club.

 

Firstly the ground is too big and the Riverside needs to be rebuilt.

There is largely a blank canvas  around the ground.

We are very proud of Ewood Park, the history of the old ground, Jack's legacy and would not want it to be rebuilt elsewhere.

Why don't we knock the Riverside down at the end of the season and crack on with building a new one including the hotel. Stop talking about it and Venky's just say..."get it done".

The new stand should include proper 21st century disabled area & facilities, safe standing, premium seating accessed from the hotel, have solar panels (carbon neutral). This can also surely be added to the other stands.The ground capacity could go down to 28,000 as a result but think what a great facility we would have.

The train track can be extended down towards the hotel for a new Ewood Park station.

The bus lane  can also be extended to the station to create a transport hub. Here trains and buses and coaches from local communities have purpose built fast access DIRECTLY to the stadium. Solar panels / sustainability. Welcoming arrival close to the hotel Hotel with matchday popup food, bars including real ales & entertainment, 

Why don't our humble owners just say...this is our vision. Here's the money now get it done? We once had an owner with a vision.

This investment will encourage the council and local businesses to invest in the area. They had planning permission for 3G pitches which may then be realised.

What or whom is stopping this from happening ?

 

Meanwhile the camera angles should be only marginally better, from under the Riverside roof on the Wednesday red button.

I hate Venkys but they really can bring us all back together with a visionary community infrastructure project which a PROPER HUMBLE OWNER once proved could be done. 

A great idea but think about the practicalities. A railway line direct to Ewood?? A transport hub? You’re talking decades to get any of that completed.

The riverside is different but it’s hard to justify the investment when half the stadium is empty every week. I’m sure it will get done eventually as it is looking it’s age. I think reducing the capacity is a pragmatic decision. 

1 hour ago, Ewood Ace said:

Another case of  what could have been at Griffin Park. For a an hour I thought that we were comfortable, the first goal as well taken as it was, was poor defending from Tosin and Lenihan to be so far off him. 

As for the two penalties. Our's is a penalty, Raya's decision making as bad as it has always been. As for theirs it is a blatant dive but as soon as he chucked himself to the floor I just knew the ref was going to give it. Although very poor defending by Bell to allow him to get into the area.

Travis and Johnson were the stand out performers today for me. Johnson is a strange player some games he looks so far of the pace you think he should be long retired and then other games he is dominant there doesn't seem to be any in between with him.

The mental strength of this squad is still a worry. With the play offs in sight we again passed up the opportunity and of course yet more points dropped from a winning position.

Completely disagree. Brentford controlled most of the game and we scored against the run of play. It’s a good point in the circumstances. For an hour we were comfortable?! Which hour was that? On the coach? 

4 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Or a deflating one after throwing away a 2 goal lead.

I thought we did ok for the most part, and a point is a good result on paper.

Thing is though I just can't be "happy with a point" after being 2-0 up, and the day I am is probably when I'll decide to pack it all in to be honest.

It's 2 points dropped, especially with Preston winning.

This time next week we'll have a good idea whether we're in the running or not I think.

It’s not 2 points dropped based on how the game panned out. Brentford threatened to cut loose throughout the game. We were in the same position last season and conceded 5, that says a lot about where we’ve come in 12 months. Walton, especially, has stepped up.

A very good away point. Losing a 2-0 lead would be galling in other circumstances but Brentford were always in it and when it got to 2-2 it looked like only going one way. We scored out of nothing in the first half and Brentford tore us to shreds at times. Got to be happy with a point out of that. Very few teams will go there and win. 
Our season will not be defined by today. The next week will tell us a lot.

16 minutes ago, Inglorious basturk said:

Not really , if he can engineer a difficult win then perhaps he’s worth sticking with , if we get more of the same that we have in the past in these tricky fixtures then he isn’t ever going to change . You can only persevere so long  

You can’t base it on today. If we lose. It’s the reaction next week that matters. 
 

9 hours ago, Inglorious basturk said:

This game is pivotal for me , 

a - we bury Brentford I feel we have turned a corner, I’ll resign all previous reservations and be totally positive 
 

b-  we get nothing from the game , rinse and repeat , new manager needed

That’s ridiculous. One of the toughest away fixtures in the league and you’re prepared to call for the manager’s sacking if we lose. We’re top of the form table over the last 17 games but that will all go out of the window I assume. You don’t do yourself any favours.

Losing today is not a disaster. Losing there last year wasn’t a disaster, it was the month of results that followed which sealed our fate. Today is a big test but if we lose it’ll all come down to the reaction next week.

44 minutes ago, Stuart said:

We all know what puts bums on seats. Charlton proved it last week.

This isn’t about increasing attendance, let alone growing the fanbase, it’s about trying to maximise revenue from existing fans.

Surely it’s both? Do you propose slashing prices to £5 a game on a regular basis? At some stage, the club has to consider making a profit. Would you prefer dirt cheap season/match day tickets and an additional 3/4K fans per week but the club slides into even greater debt? 

It’s a very difficult balance to strike. The truth of it is that, in football terms, our tickets are cheap in comparison to other clubs. We struggle because Blackburn is not an affluent area and there are a number of league clubs within a 20 mile radius. I don’t know what the solution is but I’m not pretending that the simple answer is to keep making the tickets cheaper. 

8 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

If we set up full strength at the back then I think we win.  If any of Del or Ell start in the back 4 we lose.

Neither of which have started in the back 4 in nearly a month and we’ve just kept back to back clean sheets....? 
The benching of Bennett does seem to have flown under the radar for some. He wasn’t involved at all against Charlton. Seems firmly out of the picture for now.

1 minute ago, Mattyblue said:

All part of a stripped back operation, I’m afraid.

A decade ago we had a radio station and an in house TV station. So pre-game there was a variety to what you saw/heard (though Radio Rovers did decline in quality over the years).

Now you have Neil Yardley on the pitch reading the teams out, then he’s charging up to the gantry for the first half ifollow commentary, then he’s on the pitch at half time doing the half time raffles, then he’s back to the gantry for the second half.

Add it to a shut town centre club shop, a shut Blues Bar, a filthy ground, and all the rest of it. It’s a skeleton operation, but remember they never ‘refuse to sign a cheque’.

We’re a championship team, how on earth can we justify an in-house TV station? Do you want our debt to increase even higher? Would you seriously have kept those things running if you were in charge? Be reasonable.

8 hours ago, 47er said:

As I've posted before, I think the injuries have prevented the weekly tinkering. There just aren't the options available to play around with.

Everyone picked today was in their best position.

At least 4 of our injuries are to our very best players which shows that a team which gels can beat any 11 individuals.

TM should learn from this--no more Gallagher on the wing please. The injuries have, counter-intuitively, saved his season!

Would you have selected Buckley and Samuel over Graham? I see Bennett is barely featuring any more, despite the injuries which I think many people doubted would happen.

Out injuries are largely concentrated in one area of the pitch which is a plus.

8 hours ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Let’s not get too carried away mate, we failed against Fulham , got past a very weak hull team but today was a good result. I found his interview very unambitious however, almost as if he doesn’t want promotion hmm

It’s a post match interview, why on earth are you taking comments so literally? All managers down play wins to avoid bringing pressure on themselves. 
 

Just give credit where it’s due. He’s done well over the last 4/5 weeks. Failure against Fulham isn’t something to beat him with.

3 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Another thing other clubs do in this div just to reward the regular support now and again. Yet of course when a few Rovers fans suggest it up go the cries outrage and mock offence.

Bad fans, bad fans...

Bad fans?

Mock offence to the mock offence I’d suggest.
 

10 hours ago, rigger said:

More people going that might return

Might return to Charlton??

We lose enough money as it is. Laying on subsidised travel to an away match which has already got significantly discounted tickets doesn’t sound sensible. 

£5 tickets is a great initiative to be fair. Rovers could certainly consider that for the future instead of £10 tickets. 

Just now, CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber said:

It's hard to watch. What's become of my club? Empty seats, shit football, complete apathy. 

It happened 8 years ago. Where have you been since?

21 minutes ago, Husky said:

Yawn.

Nothing here to encourage the end of my Mowboycott.

It’s great that your support is conditional on the manager. Classy.

4 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Rather than all the January BS, has anything been said about ownership? Finances? Commerciality? Tony Parkes?

Y'know, the actual agenda? We should reject Tony (or any manager) being part of these meetings, that's not what they should be!

Should be board members and relevant members of staff. It's NOTHING to do with the playing side.

Have you read any of the live blog?

If Tony wasn’t there you’d be criticising him for not fronting up to the fans.

1 hour ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

Season Tickets £320 mean £14 per game. 8500 will pay no matter what.

 

Walk ons charged £22 - £30

PLUS £3 Waggott Tax.

 

Grossly unfair 2 tier system. No wonder nobody goes down.

 

Put season tickets up to £18  per game £414.

Make all games a flat rate of £20 for walk ons NO Waggott Tax.

 

ST holders will either pay it or convert to walk ons and pay even more. Fair pricing for all fans and consistently more in the ground.

 

Can anyone compare our prices (season tickets and match day) to other teams in the league? I don’t have the figures but I’m assuming that on both fronts we’re at the lower end of the pricing scale? 

It’s easy to demand cheaper tickets but I understand that if we don’t break around 15k for each game currently, we make a loss. To lower the ticket prices, we’d need to have a very significant uptake to make it worthwhile. I honestly can’t see that happening, although I don’t deny that it may be worth a try.

7 hours ago, Boroblue said:

Why do people endless down play us like we are some little minnow trying hard to get by. We are more successful club historically than most if not all of the clubs in this league. I’m not going to go through a list because facts are facts. I will not downgrade my expectations. Will he take us up no but not for the reasons you give but because of a total lack of ambition. 

We are top of the current form league which suggests we can compete but that had to be built on but again like last season the opportunity will pass us by. 

Let me just repeat this we are not a small shit club lucky to be sat at the same table has the big boys we are equal if not better and pretending differently does not excuse management.

But what is factually inaccurate about my post. Look at the attendances and the finances. We operate on a lower mid-table Championship budget, attract one of the lowest crowds and have cheap tickets. Am I wrong? We have a glorious history but that’s the uncomfortable reality.

We did phenomenally well to have the success we enjoyed in the prem. But to expect us to get back there quickly overlooks where we stand at the moment. It’s going to be tough. 

As you say, we’re top of the form table and fighting for promotion. Yet most fans on here want to sack the manager because we’re not walking the league. As I put it before, a reality check is needed.

5 minutes ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Don’t think fans were asking to spend big to be fair, just to keep us from derailing second half of the season, who knows perhaps a wee go at promotion, imo league is weak this season 

I agree that the league is weak. My thinking is that we’ve spent reasonable money over the last two summer windows and very little money has been brought in. We’re over £150m in debt and FFP is a major factor. We have some of the cheapest tickets in the league and barely get more than 12k at Ewood each game. I really don’t see much scope for any significant spending, regardless of Venky’s intent or Mowbray’s negotiating skills. 

Some fans need a reality check. It’s easy to be negative. If you want to look for faults, you’ll always find them. But look at the squad Mowbray inherited and look at it now. He’s done a reasonable job. Will he take us up? Probably not, but based on our revenue, debt, attendances etc. we’re doing well to compete with the top 6 at all. 
He’s made big mistakes and Brereton is certainly the headline. But to expect us to constantly spend big money every window is delusional. 

Disappointing but not surprising. With our expenditure in the last two summer windows and no significant outgoings, there was always going to be the need for caution at some stage. It’s very hard to know this window could have panned out but it seems clear that we didn’t have the scope to spend big. It’s a shame, but I just don’t think we’re in a position to spend.

The single biggest issue with our transfer dealings hasn’t been Venkys reluctance to spend or the overall quality of the players we’ve signed. It’s that on the only occasions where we’ve spent big money, the signings have failed and in Brereton’s case, spectacularly. That is where we gambled and lost. Now we’re paying the price.

2 minutes ago, tomphil said:

This !

Handily placed it is real opportunity to kick on. Any club or its owners that was really serious about trying to get into the top 6 would make some sort of effort. 

I'm convinced these lot are more than happy to sit in the middle of this division.

By spending money we don’t have and bringing a likely breach of FFP?

For fans who doubt every move Mowbray makes in the transfer market, it’s funny how many more transfers you want him to make.

5 minutes ago, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

We wont be buying anyone.  Sounds like we are scraping round for a couple of prem loans.  We know that's the preferred venky model.   

The Venky model? They’ve spent around £10m on transfers in the last two seasons.  How well that money has been spent is a different issue.

If FFP is the big concern then I can fully understand why we’re being cautious. I’m sure you’ll be blaming them when we’re hit with a transfer embargo next season.

Decent win. Keeps us in the mix, albeit a long shot. Think we’re destined to finish 4/5 points off the play offs which is an improvement on last season. That’s probably where our squad is. Anything above that would be a bonus.

Armstrong scoring regularly is massive. We needed someone to step up after Dack. Our goal difference is starting to look ok compared to others around us as well. 
 

22 minutes ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

Agreed. Waggott should be fired for not doing anything to get fans back.

A re-arranged Tuesday night game, mid-winter with 250 away fans. Never going to be a decent attendance. Cut the prices and I doubt you’d have seen many more on. 

Says more about the size of our fan base than Waggott in my opinion.