Boycotting

[ABBEY]

Man its hurting especially games like today. Please dont say ABBEY come back .

 

[davebirch]

Kudos Abbey, respect your stand.
Not so sure I could have done that had I been in Blackburn.

 

[ABBEY]

Its getting harder by the game Dave. Yesterday was tough .

 

[Drog]

Now I'm not saying boycotting is not well intentioned but be careful all you boycotters that you don't chuck the baby out with the bathwater! BRFC are no longer on the premier league nipple, self sufficient and able to afford these actions. It's like one of these sci fi storylines where some alien entity has invaded a body and wrapped itself around the heart and any attempt to remove it will kill the host. All boycotters need to look in a mirror and ask themselves in all honesty 'do I hate the venkys more than I love the club'?

So 64000 dollar question..... Leaving aside the desperate question of who will pay the bills / wages etc next week please everybody give us an estimate of what %age of boycotters would return for the next 3 home matches (and buy a ST for next season) should the venkys up sticks and leave this week?

My figure would be 25% tops. In fact absolute tops.

 

[ABBEY]

I look in the mirror at every boycott and I'm happy and satisfied that I am not contributing any more to venkys/andersons funds.
Love rovers hate venkyscum .

 

[ABBEY]

That last bit .. I for one will be back the moment the parasites leave .

 

[Drog]

I don't doubt you Abbey but my impressions from keeping my ear to the ground around these parts are that the venkys are being used as a convenient excuse.
I've seen crowds fall to gates of 5k when we became a small financially struggling club years before anybody had even heard of the venkymob. Dougan, FA Cup Final (ffs!!!), selling our best players, hooliganism etc etc were all used as solid excuses for not attending 30 / 40 years back and then just as quickly forgotten once Jack waved his wallet and literally thousands of 'lifelong' BRFC fans suddenly materialised out of the woodwork.

btw Pretty sure that we are currently 'bleeding' the parasites! How does that work?

 

[ABBEY]

The people I know are venky boycotting .

 

[blueandwhitehalves]

It's a mix in my opinion. It's usually glossed over but the fact is out average attendance dropped from 25,000 to 21,000 in a period of enormous success under Hughes. That slide was only reversed by two huge ST price cuts, from £450 to £300 in 2007 and £300 to £200 in 2009. We had major attendance problems before Venkys ever came on the scene and the simple reason is the changing demographic of the town.

So we've an underlying long term problem which Venkys contribute to through their horrific ownership, relegation has contributed to and the feedback loop has contributed to (less people go, worse atmosphere, less enjoyment, even less people want to go). Plus, as in my case, the disintegration of the group you go with. There were 7 of us under Big Sam which dropped to 2 by a few years ago and then just me.

 

[Alan]

It's a mix in my opinion. It's usually glossed over but the fact is out average attendance dropped from 25,000 to 21,000 in a period of enormous success under Hughes. That slide was only reversed by two huge ST price cuts, from £450 to £300 in 2007 and £300 to £200 in 2009. We had major attendance problems before Venkys ever came on the scene and the simple reason is the changing demographic of the town.

So we've an underlying long term problem which Venkys contribute to through their horrific ownership, relegation has contributed to and the feedback loop has contributed to (less people go, worse atmosphere, less enjoyment, even less people want to go). Plus, as in my case, the disintegration of the group you go with. There were 7 of us under Big Sam which dropped to 2 by a few years ago and then just me.

It's the same with me. I used to have three other fans in my car every home match. None of them go now and I car share with another guy from Baxenden who also used to have a car full. None of them are boycotting. Just lost interest.

 

[Drog]

A graph from these figures would I feel make it pretty obvious from this that many people fall off because of lower division football than any other factor.
http://european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/blar.htm

As I've said and I can tell when I ask people and look in their eyes when asked why they no longer go to Ewood that many people are simply using the venkymob as a convenient excuse to save face. Now I can't tell folk what to do with their hard earned but I can tell them as my old Mum used to say "tell the truth and shame the Devil".

 

[Marcus140295]

I'm glad I won't be going anymore after this season, away games only, not funding venkys no more, can't stomach it no more!

 

[ABBEY]

DONT FORGET if you don't buy on the gate venkyscum get a cut.

 

[Marcus140295]

Probably how I will be doing it, my mate will probably do it for me, as he has a way of getting em without giving em money, no idea hah

 

[Drog]

Shame that Marcus. I've rediscovered quite a strong sense of pride and belief since Mowbray came. He's done well and he needs support both from the terraces and even more from increased income if he is to take us forward. If he doesn't get it then the odds on him leaving will reduce dramatically. Pretty obvious that the club is now being run on a strict budget based on income (which is as it should be) but which is obviously hampered by people electing not to go for whatever reasons they hold or will admit to. Use it or lose it I'd say. The biter bit is that to actually benefit the club and see it prosper we should all not go to a single away match but instead pay half again or even double for the home matches. I suggested this way back in the early 90's and it's even truer today. It'll never happen though, people will simply not be able to take that such a concept on board at all.

DONT FORGET if you don't buy on the gate venkyscum get a cut.

Who on here wants a cut (IN) of the million pounds a month they are reputedly chucking in every month to subsidise the club?

 

[Marcus140295]

I know, but cause mowbray is now doing well, doesn't cut it for me I'm afraid. 6-7 years of utter incompetence and not caring about us.

 

[darrenrover]

Shame that Marcus. I've rediscovered quite a strong sense of pride and belief since Mowbray came. He's done well and he needs support both from the terraces and even more from increased income if he is to take us forward. If he doesn't get it then the odds on him leaving will reduce dramatically. Pretty obvious that the club is now being run on a strict budget based on income (which is as it should be) but which is obviously hampered by people electing not to go for whatever reasons they hold or will admit to. Use it or lose it I'd say. The biter bit is that to actually benefit the club and see it prosper we should all not go to a single away match but instead pay half again or even double for the home matches. I suggested this way back in the early 90's and it's even truer today. It'll never happen though, people will simply not be able to take that such a concept on board at all.


Who on here wants a cut (IN) of the million pounds a month they are reputedly chucking in every month to subsidise the club?

A rhetorical question from you Drog.
I agree regarding finances, it was ever thus though.
The match day experience at home games for me proved to be so distressing, I no longer go. I'm not boycotting per se but I'm just so bloody angry about it all, I choose not to bother any more. It hurts like hell.
If only the Venkys could come clean, admit their failings and seriously commit to the club that they bought but WE ultimately own, then that in itself would put thousands on the gate, IMO.

 

[Drog]

I don't need them to admit their failings dr... I know them well enough. They've screwed up and they know it. As far as committing to the club I'm not sure
a. how they would do it
and
b. aren't they already showing a level of commitment? Some people don't want to see their faces at EP (Count me in that category if any) and then others moan because they don't see their faces and complain that they obviously aren't interested.

Truth as I see it is
1. They screwed it all up big time through a combination of ignorance and crooked advice but they are still hanging in with financial support albeit probably soon at life support only level.
2. The time to protest by boycotting the ground has long gone. Whilst we were on the Prem nipple we could boycott and hurt them without hurting the club. Trouble is too few could see a reason to do so at that time.
3. We can't boycott now thats for sure. We are skint, the venkys are obviously cutting their blue and white coat according to the cloth (I can't disagree with that either) and every boycotter for WHATEVER the reason is just hammering another nail in the coffin of BRFC. People imagine that boycotting and a half empty ground in Div 1 will drive the Indians away but I'd argue the opposite. That scenario will deter any would be owners a damned site more!

 

[Tom]

Abbey and others stance is admirable but there are plenty that don't go just because we aren't very good anymore.

I'm still going this season, not sure if I will continue to.