If all the glory fans bought tickets and attended on a regular basis, we wouldn't constantly be having the same old issue of the smallest budget in the league.. If the people who turn up to Wembley matches etc turned up week in week out, we would have the budget to compete in this league.. FACT ! That for me is what is holding this club back season after season.. Just look at this forum for example..How many people on here also pass negative comments toward the clubs ambition etc when they just sit behind their computer screen and don't attend matches.. Those of you who come back with the argument that you can't get to matches because you live away etc, why not do your bit for the club and make a token gesture via a small dontation? I'm not talking about season ticket money levels, but just something to help support your club! In turn the club still need to be more customer focused and commercially savy, I've sent numerous emails with suggestions.. Have I ever had a reply?? No! At the end of the day don't expect us to keep competing at this level unless that budget increases significantly to attract quality.
If every seat in Oakwell was filled (23,009 capacity) with fans paying £29 per game for every game of the season (23 game season) we would just about cover what the relegated teams are given in parachute payments (£15million). That would not include any of their income from gate receipts or sponsorship. They get that for up to four years after relegation. That is up to 12 teams (depending on who is relegated) who we can not now, or ever in the future (while these payments are still made) compete with on a financial basis. That does not include teams that are blowing their budget out of the water thanks to rich owners and flicking the Vs to FFP (Leicester, Leeds, etc). With sell-out crowds, we would be on an equal financial footing with teams in the lower half of the division.
I think we'll throw that open to the floor.... Everybody, all ten thousand of you - Conan reckons your support of BFC counts for ****!! Any thoughts...?
There is one main reason money or the lack of it. We do not have the finances to compete in this league due to the skewed nature of it as a result of the parachute payments. Also we have failed to take the opposite route available to clubs in this position and concentrate on developing out own talent effectively. Oh and we are not very good. Some of the points on here about relegation are valid though we may not wish to accept it. Our crowds are dwindling after years of scraping by, both fans and players seem to have relegation fatigue. The match doesn't provide an escape from the mundanity of real life anymore but just adds to the ****. I don't want to see us relegated but I would like to support a team able to punch it's weight in whatever league we are in rather than frantically trying to jump on the last life boat every year. Something has to give. Onwards and upwards.
Give it a few years and the top 2 divisions will be mainly Prem/recent Prem clubs, with a smattering of cheeky upstarts with relatively wealthy owners.
Exactly. If us being more positive made the players play better we would do, but it doesn't. It's hardly surprising we are negative after nearly a decade of championship struggles. Watching clubs like Swansea who we beat to get to this level passing us. Teams like Bournemouth coming up and being above us.
Trouble is there is absolutely no guarantee we would do any better in the 3rd division. Look how successful Bristol have been this season - and the Blunts havent exactly been a roaring sucess for the last couple of seasons. And we didnt exactly bounce straight back last time we got relegated from here either - the football that first season back in L1 was much worse than anything we have had to put up with this season and we only just avoided relegation I still like to see us playing championship sides - we have forest and Leicester for our next 2 home games - Next season it could easily be Rochdale and Fleetwood. The stay away fans will just use that as their excuse not to go. Ill still be there next season no matter where we are but much prefer to watch us struggle in the championship than in League 1
Ha ha ha normally snapped out of it by Sunday morning but I'm not looking forward to next game yet I'm really thinking about going to races instead and not bothering at all next season unless we go down
There's only one reason we'll go down: we'll fail to secure more points than at least three other teams. Don't know if that will happen or not, neither does anyone else. 2 points from safety and a game in hand certainly isn't out of it. I haven't given up.
Bloody nora. Just get in from work, switch on the laptop, log onto the BBS to find out we're relegated, and discussing 5 reasons why. I know that shift was long, felt like a bloody week to be honest, not 8 hours, but wow, 9 weeks I've been away eh?
I think it has actually been quite a sensible debate to be honest. Although we've had the usual contributors (from both sides of the argument) who appear to believe that their opinion can only possibly be the 'right' one, the more fair-minded have tried to see both sides. And, in my opinion, there are two sides to this argument. In my case, of course I want to see my club playing at the highest possible level, but I am also getting pretty weary of the annual struggle to compete. I honestly don't think that makes make me negative; it just means I love my club and want to see it succeed. Just as an aside, I have a 6-year old Grandson who is mad about football and has a season ticket at Oakwell. He's missed the last couple of matches because, to paraphrase him, he is fed up of watching them lose. I'll make sure he doesn't end up 'supporting' one of the Manchester clubs or some such, but it seems to me unlikely that our club can build the kind of lifelong support they've had from the likes of me if fed a constant diet of failure. The 1967-68 promotion season from the old 4th Division hooked me.
Yep my lad has said same , 13 years old and had a season ticket 4 years. , he's fed up of seeing us lose and not play well . Says he doesn't want a season ticket next year , hopefully in the next 14 matches I and the players can change his mind
Somehow we can buck the trend and get a large percentage of our fans to buy season tickets? How do you propose that then? Our crowd is a reflection on our overall support base, which is the same for every team. People who buy season tickets make up a fraction of that overall base in every town, they are the exception not the rule. To call out people who don't come every week is to call out the majority of fans for every club in the country.
My post was in response to SM. His points were fair, and I enjoy reading his stuff, but he was so matter of fact about everything. You'd think we were 10 points adrift the way some are going on. If you're Grandson is fed up of watching us lose, he's supporting the wrong club. Sounds harsh, but it's true. I remember being the same age when I started going with my dad and his pals and I knew from day one that 'Tarn' are **** and don't wanna go up etc. Every young fan needs to be told how **** we are.
It's the joys of being a Tarn supporter, tell him. Because the utter bilge we put up with regularly, makes the special moments much more special. Support a Man Utd etc and I bet it's boring as **** (this season aside). My mate's a United fan. He can actually relate to me at last. Knows what it's like now to suffer.
yep i know that mate , but when your 13 you want to see us win a few matches , been to about ten away games this season and not seen us win away since boro last season . i still think we will stay up , hope danny and the players think the same