I could well be wrong but I cannot see Wharton staying more than a couple of years at best. His contract will deliver salary wise for him but more important to his employer it increases his sale value and this fits with our new way of doing business.

I hear Rosie the Riveter is a Rovers fan 🔵⚪️

A brilliant effort from our fans. I sadly it does not mean an extra 1,500 fans attending. You can’t just get that number to attend along with parents / guardians. Any balance goes towards Community Trust community programmes over Christmas.

I can’t take credit for that one; it was either Duncan or Ian but collectively we pushed it. For a number of the kids attending v Watford using the brfcs raised monies it will be their first time ever at Ewood, or a rare visit at least; giving them Rovers themed gifts will hopefully cement their relationship with Rovers for life.

I 100% agree. Although I must admit when I go and watch Rovers at Leeds I normally sit in their kop with family. It has been a problem for years when tickets are in demand.

Yes, plenty.

IMO it looked nailed on from where I was sat. The player moved his arm towards the ball and changed the direction of the ball movement. However it is history now and whilst I was fuming abut it I am going to move on and have a whisky snifter instead.

I know of quite a few Leeds fans in the JW Upper today; the ones I was chatting to (sat behind me) had tickets bought by Rovers fans. A couple of acquaintances also bought tickets for Leeds fans - this was always going to happen and it is difficult to blame the Club when this happens. As for the game we seriously lacked an experienced striker and tried to play it around the penalty area. We have no money for a striker in January unless it is funded by player sales or commercial activities. The owners are back in the Delhi High Court in January but this is another Interim Relief application similar to the recent application. I thought we played well for periods but it was literally men v boys out there and clearly shows the farce and unfairness of parachute payments. SS looked tired from the onset and sadly James Hill picked up an injury that could make him doubtful for Tuesday.

They will get very wet 💦

Met Office weather warning has been posted.

One of the other ideas suggested by the Supporters Trust and our BRFCS friends in the planning meeting was a collection point in the Roverstore for fans to donate Club shop items for less well off families with children. The Club, yet again, agreed to our suggestion. There are plenty of stocking fillers in the shop close to the donation point. Thank you in advance to those who donate 🔵⚪️👏👏

Exactly Mattblue. Many Rovers fans have never lived in BwD. I originate from Leyland and now live in a part of Chorley; virtually all of those ST holders who sit immediately around me in the JW Upper come from Chorley (especially the villages of Wheelton, Brinscall and Hoghton), Penwortham, Bamber Bridge and Leyland. Sad to say, and this is not a cheap point, it is almost certainly the case that all have a higher disposable income than most in BwD and is therefore another reason why the outside of BwD support and the diaspora of Rovers fans should be nurtured. I was speaking with a PNE Director some 12+ months back and their Club have a policy of targeting every PR postcode and it is fair game to build their fanbase across all those areas. Are you aware for example that Chorley Borough starts after the 2nd terraced house on Moulden Brow which is the terrace on the right hand side as you start up the hill after coming out of Fenniscowles - they have PR postcodes!! This is a real issue with me and I will not let it drop; Rovers, and the Community Trust relationship is with BwD schools, while PNE and others such as Accrington and Burnley to the East have a relationship with LCC schools which gives them far greater school coverage and for PNE a near monopoly over schools in our joint catchment area of Chorley and South Ribble.

Coming to Blackburn Library in February. Talk sponsored by ‘We Are The Rovers’ and given by our Trust Board lead on heritage the excellent historian Steve Williams. Watch this space for more details. A further Rovers talk by Steve is planned in the Chorley area as part of outreaching to the many Rovers fans* outside of BwD. Incidentally Steve is presently researching a new book ‘Rovers in Uniform’ giving the stories of around 180 Rovers players to have served in the armed forces, some sadly never to return. *over 50% of Rovers ST holders are from outside of BwD.

January.

This is from the Watford FC official website:

We have just finished another planning meeting at Ewood with the Club. Again this was an excellent open discussion. We are clearly on the same page as far as the Watford game is concerned and Club staff have been very helpful with images, publicity, access to players and JDT as well as general logistics. Let’s make this game to remember. Well done to ‘We Are The Rovers’ Supporters Trust and our partners : brfcs; roverschat ; Proud Rovers; Her Game Too; and of course the fans for supporting #GreatRoversFanTakeoverChristmasAppeal Ticket sales are very encouraging and the big push starts after the home games v Leeds and Bristol City. Some areas of the ground such as the BBE and JW Upper and Lower are already looking good ticket sale wise.

The banners have arrived 🔵⚪️

That is not the case in any of the 18 clubs who already have safe standing. Given the investment why would any club make it cheaper?

Our 3 new banners purchased by ‘We Are The Rovers’ Supporters Trust arrive next week. They are all 1m high and two are 4m long and one is 5m long. They have grab handles in the corners and at every 1m interval. The Trust hope you like them. Trust town team.pdf Trust pride-of-lancashire (1).pdf Trust we-are-the-rovers.pdf

We are going to. We will have printed versions of the survey at the ‘We Are The Rovers’ stall / hut in the Fanzone.

No, it is an allocated and ticketed space.

Thanks 1995. There is definitely a change of approach by the Club and the Trust are determined to work with them for the benefit of supporters and our Club. We cannot afford to screw this up. No doubt a small minority of fans do not want us to engage and do not trust the Club representatives; the vast majority I believe are supportive of constructive engagement and us giving constructive criticism where due. I talk with non message board supporters everyday and they want the Trust to have a hands on relationship with the Club.

In my opinion they got the above wrong by not consulting. This has been raised and the Club have assured us that they will consult, no doubt with the advice / assistance of ‘We Are The Rovers’ Supporters Trust and the FF. We are looking at the future and it is positive the Club wants to engage with the Supporters Trust - that is what the MoU is all about; the best example of this is the ‘Fans Takeover’ games v Girona and Watford.

That is true. I was just reporting on what I have seen re the Survey to date.