47er

Well that's the crux of it! My point was that many people might find it difficult to make it to Ewood Park mid-week with the current timing. Its not an answer to say it doesn't worry me!

He's certainly better than Markanday! There'd be different views re Dolan! Bit early to tell yet.

No, I need a new memory.2 nd half started earlier than I said. But that doesn't detract from my principle point. Penalties and you wouldn't have been home as early would you? Also depends how close to Ewood you park. Took me 20 mins to walk back to the car up and off Livesey Branch Rd and set off. And this is with a small crowd remember. But if you don't think night games should start earlier then you don't, its just my opinion.

The difference is in the ownership. We could be set up to do exactly what Brentford have done at the football level but Venkys will always find a way to stuff it up. I don't want to be a wet blanket, I want it to be as you describe but factoring in Venkys saves you grief down the track.

Game starts 7-45pm. 2nd half starts 9.05pm after 5 mins extra time. Game finishes pretty much on 10pm after 9 minutes of extra time. Anyone taking half an hour to get home from there, and many would take more, and you're home for 10-30pm. Its a bit late for mid-week isn't? I know it wasn't a school week but regular Championship games and possibly FA Cup games will be. And---suppose they'd equalised and we had penaltiy shoot-out? That's the rule in the League Cup isn't it? But FA Cup is extra-time and pens isn't it? Not sure of the rules but I am sure those responsible need to look at earlier kick-offs midweek or attendances will be way down.

Caught the eye did Gilsenan as did Garret.No spectacle though, despite the score, hundreds of little passes that went nowhere. Our left flank was exposed so often in the first half and it was the left side in the second half. We just didn't gel tonight despite scoring 4 goals!

Plenty of top strikers have scored plenty without being physically imposing-----Greaves being the most obvious example. Aways in the right place at the right time. Early days yet but indications are that Leonard has the nous to be like that.

I thought our crowd of 16471 Was pretty good but it was actually the 2nd lowest in the Championship! Only Plymouth got fewer and that only by a Hundred or two. 😰

No contradiction there. Depends who you're reading I suppose.

The not-given penalty was interesting. Apparently the decision was contact not a shove. But the replay clearly showed the Nigerian defender hanging on to her opponent's shirt for ages, as soon as the English player made her run in fact. So is shirt-pulling in the penalty area now officially OK?

I posted on this topic a few months ago after stats were produced showing that the ball was in play for forty minutes of the 90 quite often and a few games went below 40 minutes. Regardless of the outcome for any particular team, fans are/were being cheated. Football is expensive and we deserve better than that. If footballers want to play for 90 minutes or just over, stop the cheating.

At least a couple.

I think Dolan gets a hard time on here, at Ewood not so much!

He was a nightmare that guy. Built like a brick shithouse and really quick.

They were very beefy weren't they!

No

I said that about Adam too. But I seem to be on my own re Dolan---thougt he was terrific.

Reverse is true for me. A poor performance from Markanday has been masked by a goal. I thought Dolan was a nagging sore for them all game

I agree with you there. He is just too light-weight.

Rocking all over t'world

Encouraging.

Haven't read any other post on the game so apologies if I repeat anything! It was a great start to the season. For around 20 minutes I thought it might not be, we were rarely in their half. For all that, we suddenly scored 2 in a minute and the game was transformed.Both were nicely worked and scored from close in and on an angle. I thought Leonard's was probably more difficult than Markandy's. Second half we were all over them and I was thinking would it be 3 or 4? We wasted 2 or 3 very clear chances one from the pass of the year from Wharton and then let them back into it with sloppy, suicidal pissing about with the ball in our own area. Even then we didn't learn the lesson and continued to give us heart flutter. 9 minutes extra time added to the drama with memories of Preston and Coventry flooding back. However we finished comfortably to earn 3 points. Some talking points---Markandy scored his first goal and I'm delighted about that but he didn't do too much else. He is simply too lightweight to be effective in this league right now. Wharton showed his class when he came on but played some poor passes as well, really lackadaisical. Hyam and Carter were outstanding in defence, Hyam finished the game with an injury---hope it isn't serious. JRC off in 2nd half with injury, had been playing well. Dolan was outstanding, seems stronger defensively, never stopped running and challenging. Produced some trickery. Great to see Leonard score, he certainly put himself about. Missing--- a big central striker but we all knew that. Ref---inconsistent, no way did we deserve 4 yellows, Carter's was particularly annoying. Support was terrific, Very few seats vacant in Blackburn End or in the whole of the Jack Walker. All in all very happy opening day of the season!

It al depends where you start from! if you're starting from 1950's they've gone massively down. But others are correct to identify a national trend of rising attendances everywhere in recent years while ours are only fractionally up.

In the 50's though, Ewood Park was packed every home game. Not 50000 obviously, that sort of crowd was served for The FA Cup--always a very special occasion!. But high 20's for normal home games as I recall. And that was in the 2nd division obviously.

Those were the days eh! Sadly never to return.