Might have been done elsewhere but today's "protest2"

Which would have meant attendances remained consistent throughout the season if this was the reason for not attending. But that's not been the case, we've seen a decline as the season has gone on.

 

Yes that's true. I didn't say it accounted for everyone but there is a sizable amount of people who have bought tickets without using them due to covid related reasons

 

I don't claim to know why people aren't attending. I can't speak for anyone else. What I do know, and I know this because it is obvious, is that attendances have declined rapidly this season and there are now far fewer people attending games than we've sold season tickets. I don't deny some people buy tickets and don't go to all games or have bought tickets but are still wary of going to places like Oakwell because of Covid, but this cannot account for the huge gaps in Oakwell because those gaps were not nearly as obvious earlier in the season. There are dozens of season ticket holders using this BBS who have admitted they don't attend any more, they can shed light on why that is.

 

Easy. I'm sick of how the club is being run and I won't set foot inside of Oakwell again whilst this board is in place. A 1-0 victory over QPR doesn't alter that one iota. After decades of watching & supporting the club I love up and down the country, this is the best, most peaceful, way of signalling my dissatisfaction. It definitely wasn't an easy decision to make, though. I have no issues with people who disagree with me. They are allowed to do as they see fit, as will I.

 

Reminded me of a Red Dwarf sketch where Rimmer turns into an eco warrior and his way of bringing down an alien killer was an aggressive leaflet campaign ... it'll be T shirts next

 

The BBS is just a platform for some snidey b@st@rds to decry other reds fans efforts. The poison and toxicity on here far outweighs the predicted toxicity at games.

Time I gave this site a break.

 

And mine

 

What's difference between this site and others? Fans are against each other everywhere - nice to see win bring people temporarily together. Read plenty of snider comments about people not holding up signs ... those with them are showing passion ...

 

This is the site I have used for over 20 year and the only site I use/d for BFC.

 

Me too on Internet - look at comments this board gets on FB. Mild on here - believe me

 

Dont use facebook or twitter or the likes and I aint sticking up for the other sites they will have the same snidey b@st@rds as on here, 2 wrongs dunt mek a reight and I always thought this site was a cut above but am afraid a lot has been allowed to go on here. Sithi.

 

They don't you're right not sure what the comments are to be honest ...

 

I dont get the following-

If your a member of the Conway Out group your seen as anti Conway all the way.

If your on the BBS your seen pro Bfc and anti protest.

If your on Tykesmad your a bit of a fence sitter.


Why the division?

Surely if change is wanted then we all need to be on the same page.

 

Hear, hear!

 

I'm anti 'Conway Out' because it got my hopes up initially by saying that new owners were waiting in the wings and had funds in place.

Naively I initially hoped that this was true - when clearly it isn't, and the FB Group is clearly just a vehicle for people who want to cause a bit of aggro at games.

And I don't like that.

 

Some thought there would still be the free iFollow option at the time they were buying them.

 

I'm a regular on this site and I'm in the Conway Out group, primarily out of interest in its original aims, but subsequently becoming less and less convinced that it's going to achieve them, so yesterday's outcome wasn't a surprise to me, but not something I take any enjoyment from (so quite the polar opposite to the on-field situation!)

I read the various threads on there last night, which were a bit of a post-mortem on the group so far. Luke has decided to step back from being the public face, as it's impacting on his personal life, and the other main guy was frustrated that they'd only received two offers of help with leaflet distribution. There's a fair amount of internal acrimony on there about the campaign, none of which I'm particularly interested in. However, it will be interesting to see what happens with the group moving forward, as a consequence of those events.

I think the failure of the poster protests yesterday was primarily down to organisation and communication, much of which has been discussed already. However, it probably also didn't take into account the fact that a good number of those most likely to align with the views of the group are those currently not attending games, so many of the people it needed to be successful were simply not there yesterday. There's also a good deal of people, again as recent threads show, who can't currently align with the group, for various reasons. Some don't like the Conway focus, some are caught up in the division that the group has generated (when what's needed is an alignment of fan groups, not a factionalisation of them), some don't like the nature of the protests that have taken place since it was set up (whether or not they were a factor in this), etc, etc.

Rather than take any enjoyment out of the protest 'failure' (and, to clarify, I'm not accusing anyone of doing so) it's probably a good point in time for everyone to assess how we might be able to turn a disparate mixture of campaigning across several groups/forums into something more effective and co-ordinated. The group has managed to achieve something tangible, which is to establish links with fans of other clubs within the ownership portfolio and create some initial unity with them.

Putting aside the 'noise' around it (e.g. the Martin Nettleton thing) I think the big missed opportunity so far was the expectation management around the event at the Garrison, the original intention of which was supposed to provide an 'introduction/background' regarding the potential investors, but which became something quite different, and thereby raising further doubts about their existence among some followers. These doubts around the potential investors are probably the biggest factor holding things back at present from gaining a wider groundswell of support, albeit I retain the view that any serious investor should be approaching the owners directly to establish the likelihood of a deal, and there's no evidence to suggest that this has taken place to date.

Many of us supporters have a 'natural home' with regard to following BFC, but in reality we don't fit into a single category of these supposed warring factions. For example, my 'natural home' is the BBS, but I'm a lifetime member of BFCST, a member of the Conway Out group and an occasional lurker on other forums and Facebook groups. I'm also doing my own #NAPM campaign for entirely personal reasons, as are a number of others, which I believe is the most effective form of protest available to effect a change of ownership, but which I've said previously isn't something I expect will gain widespread support.

The key question is how do we most effectively combine all our varying levels of dissatisfaction with the ownership in the most effective way possible? (and I ask this secure in the knowledge that there are no easy answers). Ultimately, we are a group of, say, 15,000 supporters who potentially would attend games either as ST holders or via the odd match here and there. None of the 'group badges' that exist fully capture or represent this entire group, but to have an effective voice we need become something that comes as close as possible to doing so.

There's plenty of work to be done to achieving this, but today feels like a particularly relevant point to start doing so, from whichever 'badge' anyone currently aligns themselves with.