Saturday 28th January will see Blackburn Rovers host Blackpool FC in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Under normal circumstances, the game would be a mouth-watering prospect for two of England’s most historic clubs. The fixture will see these two local teams battling for a place in the fifth round of the oldest cup competition in the world. The romance of the FA Cup should see a bumper crowd cheering, whilst dreaming of being on the road to Wembley.

However, both clubs have been reduced to a shell of their recent and historic glorious past. Under the disastrous ownership of the Rao (Venky’s) and Oyston families, both clubs have suffered not only a humiliating fall from grace but have become totally disengaged from large sections of what should be the very lifeblood of any football club: their supporters.

Both sets of supporters have seen long-running protests against their respective owners. Both sets of supporters have met a wall of silence from their incompetent owners and the footballing authorities.

The Football Association, who deemed both the Rao (Venky’s) and Oyston families as “Fit and Proper” owners, seem happy to sit back and watch the coordinated dismantling of both football clubs.

As a result of the actions of these families and the lack of action from The FA, this game will see rival football fans stand shoulder to shoulder: fans united in an unprecedented protest at the wanton destruction of their clubs.

Supporters of both Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool are encouraged to boycott this fixture and stand together in protest outside Ewood Park whilst the game is played inside.

With both sets of owners and the FA standing to gain financially from this fixture, the message from boycotting fans will be loud and clear: “Enough is enough, we have asked YOU, The Football Association for help, yet YOU continue to do ‘sweet FA’”.

The Blackburn Rovers Action Group believe:

“We call on all supporters, including those currently boycotting Ewood Park to join us and stand in solidarity with the supporters of Blackpool against the destruction of 2 historic Lancashire football clubs. Football supporters have been the lifeblood at clubs up and down the country for generations, ensuring that clubs continue to remain at the epicentre of its local community. Supporters remain a constant, whist owners can pick it up and drop it as they see fit. At Blackburn Rovers & Blackpool the two stories are different, however the supporter anguish and fear is identical. Two football clubs destroyed by incompetent and disinterested owners, leaving supporters disengaged with the very thing they have devoted parts of the lives to. Supporters of both these clubs, together with other clubs across the country have been in dialogue for some time regarding co-ordinated protest plans against the football authorities and their lack of will to ensure that supporters remain a part of football. We ask supporters not only to consider boycotting the FA Cup fourth round fixture, but to attend Ewood Park and to remain outside in demonstration as the match kicks off, a heart-wrenching sacrifice, yet a powerful message to the powers that be that football supporters have had enough!”

The Blackpool Supporters Trust believe:

Blackpool Supporters’ Trust encourages all Blackburn and Blackpool supporters to not only boycott the 4th round FA Cup match but to demonstrate together outside Ewood Park on match day. A ‘more out than in’ protest against the unacceptable running of both clubs will send a powerful message to the football authorities that fans are being disenfranchised and changes in the governance of the game are long overdue. Without the fans there would be no football. These are our clubs and we want them back.

The Tangerine Knights (Blackpool fans’ organisation) believe:

“With 90% of the Blackpool fans adopting the NAPM (Not a penny more) stance at Bloomfield Road, it has come to symbolise our fight against owners who have sued fellow fans and have shipped millions of pounds from Blackpool Football Club into family businesses through a variety of interest free loans. Whilst the current owners of football clubs seem to care only about the monetary values involved in our national game, the ethos of it being a ‘working man’s sport’ has been lost and in time the clubs that have been the mainstay of communities could well be lost also. The way fans can fight back is by hitting the owners with the one thing they care most about in this world, money. By calling for a boycott of the Blackburn v Blackpool game, we hope that both sets of supporters can unite as #FansUnited and show that beyond the rivalry there is a camaraderie between supporters who have one common goal, to see their clubs run for the benefit of the local community with fan involvement and an end to football clubs being brought to their knees by owners who care only about what they can get out of it, not what they put into it. An empty Ewood would mean empty ticket office tills which would match the owners empty promises. Jock Stein once said that ‘Football is nothing without fans’, in the FA Cup 4th round at Ewood Park you will see that a ground without fans is not football.”

I'm just all meh about it nowadays!

I've sympathy with Blackpool, because the Oystons are LOVELY PEOPLE WHO NEVER EVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND NO ONE HAS A BAD WORD TO SAY ABOUT THEM*

*edited by the new app AVOIDBEINGSUED

I thought the Venkys had been running 'Operation Empty Ewood' for a few years now. Good to see the owners and supporters finally have a shared goal.

'In normal circumstances this game would be a mouth watering prospect' ...
...has to be the funniest line of the year so far. I think I've pulled a muscle!

I have some sympathy with the situation at Blackpool.

I have none whatsoever for them down the road. You reap what you sow. Living off a rich mans handouts and achieving far greater than was naturally possible. It has come back to bite them in the backside. It is called Karma. Natural order has been resumed.

The situation at Blackpool is a joke tbh
They'll be in non league soon, from the Premier League to a relegation battle in League Two in a matter of 5 years?

Do you think Blackburn can do that in seven seasons?

I sympathise with Blackpool fans. Can't say the same for Rovers. Where would they be if it wasn't for Venkys anyway? Probably around where they are now. I remember when they were all excited at the prospect of riches from the chicken farmers Still brings a smile.

Guich wrote:Do you think Blackburn can do that in seven seasons?

Hopefully in 3

Rumour has it, they're dropping the "rovers" part of their name and changing it to Blackburn C.I.T.Y.

Apparently it stands for Conference In Three Years.

Apart from continuing to put in millions into a sinking pit, what are the Venkys doing wrong If you are a rovers fan?

summitclaret wrote:Apart from continuing to put in millions into a sinking pit, what are the Venkys doing wrong If you are a rovers fan?

They'll spout off about destroying Jacks Legacy, but nothing has been destroyed really.

Venky's are still covering the running costs in the same manner as the Trust, who also had debts of £100 million that they eventually wrote off.

They're still paying for the academy to be cat 1.
The club is still playing at Ewood and there have been no rumblings about that or the training facilites being sold.

It's simply down to the league they're playing in that the fans aren't happy about.
They'll bang on about secret dossiers, proof of wrong doings and scottish gangsters, but that's all just amusing stuff to hear.

chortle

Rather Optimistic Venkys Expect Relegation Soon
ROVERS !

IndigoLake wrote:I sympathise with Blackpool fans. Can't say the same for Rovers. Where would they be if it wasn't for Venkys anyway? Probably around where they are now. I remember when they were all excited at the prospect of riches from the chicken farmers Still brings a smile.

Has Ronaldinho signed yet?

What a conflict! What a quandary! On the one hand, I really want supporter power to succeed here against the ever growing trend of wrongdoings and mismanagement of some club owners but on the other, I look at the two clubs involved and think 'whatever'!

I don't recall any solidarity when Burnley and Preston were in Division 4.
Duck 'em

I've just p*ssed myself laughing !

Just when you thought it couldn't get any funnier !

Let's hope the Tangerine Army DON'T bring their donkeys !!! Could be carnage !!!

the bigger the mess both clubs are in the better.

Bet Rovers fans wouldn't be boycotting if they were on a promotion charge. Like rats deserting a sinking ship!

Empty Ewood has always been the master plan so it can be knocked down and have a horse rendering plant built alongside a chick hatchery .

Blackpool fans are protesting becasue the Oysters are a bunch of LOVELY PEOPLE*

Bastards protesting because their team is **** and they are plastics.

Simples

*post automatically edited thanks to the app DONTGETSUED

This is them practicing in December. Good effort lads.

rufus lumley wrote:Empty Ewood has always been the master plan so it can be knocked down and have a horse rendering plant built alongside a chick hatchery .

Forgive me being thick but is " a horse rendering plant" a bit like a brothel? Genuine question.

For what it's worth Blackpool supporters situation is absolutely nothing like Blackburns. Oyston has actually said he's not bothered if they go down to non league.

Seating plan for 2moro.

Not often we both get a 3pm KO at home. Could be interesting travelling on the train to Burnley tomorrow.

Just had a lovely chat with some rovers fans on Facebook who disagreed with me. I said that no one really cares and I'd be suprised if the majority of football fans even new who the VENKYS are. This seemed to hit a nerve because I was blasted with anger and insults

So let me get this straight, Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool supporters are actually having a competition to see who can have less fans attending tomorrow's game at Ewood.

Has there ever been a better time to be a Burnley fan?

If we all sat round a table and thought long and hard about how we would want the
demise of Blackburn Rovers to pan out, we really couldn't improve on the current situation.

Wonderful.

They could make it zero every game just change the deadwood signs to job centre.

Convenient that every time Rovers fans boycott it's when they're playing a League Two team at home.

Is there any prospect the rain will continue to fall down the road until 5pm. It could affect the crowd stood outside the ground during the game. It's a shame it's not colder, with heavier rain as well, as the gathering would probably not bother going and they may number 100 protesting fans in total.

mickleoverclaret wrote:Convenient that every time Rovers fans boycott it's when they're playing a League Two team at home.

hopefully not too long before they are boycotting every league match then

9327 official attendance.

They can't even organise a boycott properly.

Sidney1st wrote:9327 official attendance.

They can't even organise a boycott properly.

Can't blame them. That was a mouth-watering fixture.

I've been reliably told that any attendance's sub 10k are signs of a proper boycott.

If they were in the PL, or challenging for promotion to it, then the fans would be happy, would assume the club is being run properly and wouldn't need to stay away or boycott.

Q: How do you break someone from Blackburns finger?
A: Smack them in the nose!

Everything they boycott/protest they win
As if they don't look stupid enough

Who gives one about our tin pot neighbours. I hope the pair of them just melt into history

The success is the 20,000 who boycotted

Rovers fan on 5 live.

Apparently a well organized protest.
Should've been a 20k plus crowd in normal circumstances for a Lancashire Derby.

They still want the football authorities to deal with Venkys and because the FA get a cut if match day ticket money this was aimed to hit the FA in the pocket.

Venkys and Oystens are, according to this lad, destroying their respective clubs and they fear this could be a league fixture in league 1 or 2 in the near future.

Sidney1st wrote: Venkys and Oystens are, according to this lad, destroying their respective clubs and they fear this could be a league fixture in league 1 or 2 in the near future.

Oooh, League 2 please!

The Lancashire Telegraph seem to have overlooked that there was any sort of protest on Saturday, if more than 300 ( majority of which were Blackpool fans) had shown up, may have been a tad more newsworthy.