Maybe, just maybe...

[BillyStubbsTears]

...just, just, just maybe, given the circumstances of the game last night, the local derby aspect, the get-dragged-back-down-into-a-relegation-dogfight-if-we-lose aspect, the we've-never-won-a-league-match-at-Hillsborough-before aspect, the regiments-on-the-Somme-had-more-fit-men-than-our-defence aspect...

...just maybe, last night was the finest Rovers performance of my lifetime.

That was an utter privilege to watch. It was football of as high a quality as you could ever expect to see at this level.

I've had Wednesday fans coming up to me at work today shaking my hand and saying, \"kin 'ell, how come there's only 9,000 at home matches if you play like that every week.\"

Lord knows I've had my criticisms of O'Driscoll, but THAT has answered every last one of them. That was football that I never in my wildest dreams believed I'd ever see the Rovers produce.

I might stop going to watch them now. It can't get better.

[Superspy]

top post BST, except for that last line.

[muff licker]

BillyStubbsTears wrote:

...just, just, just maybe, given the circumstances of the game last night, the local derby aspect, the get-dragged-back-down-into-a-relegation-dogfight-if-we-lose aspect, the we've-never-won-a-league-match-at-Hillsborough-before aspect, the regiments-on-the-Somme-had-more-fit-men-than-our-defence aspect...

...just maybe, last night was the finest Rovers performance of my lifetime.

That was an utter privilege to watch. It was football of as high a quality as you could ever expect to see at this level.

I've had Wednesday fans coming up to me at work today shaking my hand and saying, \"kin 'ell, how come there's only 9,000 at home matches if you play like that every week.\"

Lord knows I've had my criticisms of O'Driscoll, but THAT has answered every last one of them. That was football that I never in my wildest dreams believed I'd ever see the Rovers produce.

I might stop going to watch them now. It can't get better.

I think all Rovers fans scratch there head about the attendances after all Weeds get nigh on 20k every home game and they are a poor side, and have been 'found out' i feel.

Maybe DRC should do some sort of promotion to get fans into the KM, a bit like Mansfield did the other week when they did a 'pay what you want' game. The 3rd April is Plymouth at home and maybe this game could be used to introduce such a promotion.
The club do the kid for a quid on some matches, and thats great after all they are the future but thinking to now maybe an idea from the the VSC forum could be put to JR via Gartom and see what happens???

[scuzzer]

Great post BST and I'd have to say last night was my proudest moment as a Rovers fan too.

I still remember how low it felt coming out of there last year having battered them for 90 minutes and getting nothing in the middle of that terrible run of results. Last night showed everything about how far we've come in the past 16 months or so in terms of cementing our position in this division and how we've learnt to turn our undeniable fantastic play into results as well.

Pure undiluted pleasure last night was, thanks to Mr Ryan, to SoD, to RoK, to every single player and member of staff, thanks to them all for a fantastic evening where little Donny Rovers humbled the once mighty Sheffield Wednesday in their own back yard and made me and a good few others from the town full of scrubbers very happy indeed!

[Bristol Red Rover]

We really should be averaging 12k. There's never been a more important and better time to go all out for promoting the club to the community. I've said it before several times, the first team squad need to be visiting primary and secondary schools, doing a bit of coaching, praising anything good that they see, signing autographs, giving away a handful of tickets etc etc. Two hours of it a week, one first teamer, one reserve together.

This is so basic. I've no idea what they do at present, but don't get the impression its that much.

[ferribyrover]

I agree with most of BST's sentiments, obviously not the last one.
So many players were near the top of their game and after a few shaky moments early on we were fantastic. Sulli was fantastic. The Ward goal was fantastic, our team and the football they produced was fantastic, fans were fantastic, result was fantastic. A fantastic night (obviously).

[bpoolrover]

Bristol Red Rover wrote:

We really should be averaging 12k. There's never been a more important and better time to go all out for promoting the club to the community. I've said it before several times, the first team squad need to be visiting primary and secondary schools, doing a bit of coaching, praising anything good that they see, signing autographs, giving away a handful of tickets etc etc. Two hours of it a week, one first teamer, one reserve together.

This is so basic. I've no idea what they do at present, but don't get the impression its that much.

problem is in this climate football is bottom of alot of peoples lists,hopefully we can carry on playing like this and when/if things look up in the financial world they will turn up at the keepmoat.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

OK visiting the schools, but why should the kids get it all. Get the players out n about to pubs and clubs (Not the town centre variety !)

[WheatleyRover]

There currently doing school visits to the stadium for that success doncaster thing, why not do offers and deals for college students a pound to get in, what about banners, one on the frenchgate centre above the tunnel saying something like your town, your club, your pride theres got to be more ways of getting the attendances up

[Superspy]

WheatleyRover wrote:

why not do offers and deals for college students a pound to get in, what about banners, one on the frenchgate centre above the tunnel saying something like your town, your club, your pride theres got to be more ways of getting the attendances up

i've mentioned this kind of thing before, and i have it on pretty good authority that the reason why we DONT do thinks like that is because the mayor is a moron and wont allow the club to advertise around the town.

[MrFrost]

Our lunatic mayor has already said he doesn't care for a football team in Doncaster, and the stadium woulud never have been built under his watch.

[Superspy]

yup, exactly, and i hope that this is the ONLY time i will ever have to use the line \"a reliable source...\" (as usually i dont believe them either)....BUT....a reliable source told me 2 things

firstly what i just said, that the reason we dont advertise around the town is because the mayor wont let us

and second, that we are waiting for the mayor to cotton on to the fact the stadium is losing money so we can attempt to buy it from the council on the cheap.

fingers crossed on that last one anyway

[not on facebook]

you can bet your last dollar that the said mayor will jump straight onto the rovsers
band wagon the day they reach the play offs and all the media attention that comes to the town with it.

god forbid if rovers should win the play offs and hit the prem as it will be 'tea all round for players and staff of drfc' from the mayors lodgings in town centre

to which you will get the 12,000 rovers fans at every game at KMS with 'floaters'
comming out of the woodwork left/right/centre

which in turn will make the atmosphere at KMS even more lacksture due to fact good proportion of 'orvers fans' have not gone through the bad days of watching the donny
and will never really appriciate the more vocal hardcore doncaster followers

what to do what to do

[danumdon]

Superspy wrote:

yup, exactly, and i hope that this is the ONLY time i will ever have to use the line \"a reliable source...\" (as usually i dont believe them either)....BUT....a reliable source told me 2 things

firstly what i just said, that the reason we dont advertise around the town is because the mayor wont let us

and second, that we are waiting for the mayor to cotton on to the fact the stadium is losing money so we can attempt to buy it from the council on the cheap.

fingers crossed on that last one anyway

I actually believe this is a load old cobblers,

The mayor for all his faults and issues cant actually stop anyone from advertising their business in the town, its down to individual concerns to approach the right authorities,and forge the relationships required to enable the business to prosper and grow, something the club has been deficient in well before this clown was elected.

As for waiting for him to cotton on to the fact that the stadium is losing money so we can attempt to buy it, what world do you live in fella?.

If any deal was ever likely to take place between the club and DMBC to buy the KMS he would be the least of any worries that the club may have in that department, deary me !!

This club needs to capitalise on its current fortunes and do what it has failed to do for virtually all its existence,

Sell itself to the people of Donny.

Reap and they shall come !!

[Superspy]

dont know if you're aware, but the \"right authorities\" would be the council...

when i worked at halfords we put a sign up saying we were still open (as people thought we were closed permanently) on the railing outside of the carpark and within half an hour the council were round telling us it had to come down as we were \"defacing council furniture\", and no im not making that up, so actually, with regards to putting banners etc up in areas around the town, i think you'll find that the mayor/council have more than enough power to stop it happening.

and with regards to the stadium buy-out thing, i never said it would be an overnight thing...

[Muttley]

danumdon wrote:
Reap and they shall come !![/quote]

Think there's a bit of sowing to be done first  

Agree on the advertising, nowt to do with the mayor/DMBC, unless I it's on council property or requires planning permission.

I'm fairly sure that the Mayor knows the state of the Keepmoat's finances pretty well already - its the sort of thing he likes to concentrate instead of doing his job. In my opinion DRFC would be foolhardy to even think of buying the stadium - far too much to take on, both financially and administratively.

Do the club know how to advertise to their target market(s)?

Do they know why these target markets aren't attending?

Why don't they send a team around the pubs in the town centre after 3pm on a Saturday and ask people why they're not at Rovers? Did they know the game was on etc? Maybe take a laptop with a compilation of a few choice highlights to show people what they're missing. And then bung them a few free tickets for the next home game.

[danumdon]

I believe its been well documented in here on numerous occasions that the clubs back room operations require a root and branch reorganisation, of that their is no doubt.

If we are to stoop to the level of tying handmade banners outside the KMS stating that the lights may be out but were all business inside then we will have really hit rock bottom and should consider going into the Sunday market trading business!!

Lets hope that the commercial staff can achieve just a fraction  of the success that SOD and the team have produced.

[not on facebook]

at bellevue i was on the understanding that a mr jefferys was in the commercial
department along with a chap called miles who lived out scarboro way.

when rovers went into KMS the two above were off loaded if iam correct.

does anybody ITK wonder that the two chaps above could have a done a better job than
the present lot at KMS

as for sure jefferys man did know the town centre inside and out via whatever means

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Why don't they send a team around the pubs in the town centre after 3pm on a Saturday and ask people why they're not at Rovers? Did they know the game was on etc? Maybe take a laptop with a compilation of a few choice highlights to show people what they're missing. And then bung them a few free tickets for the next home game.

Exactly. Market research, not exactly rocket science.

[BobG]

And I'm still sitting here waiting for that bloody computer system thing to actually do something. Anything actually. Even the crap I used to get in my inbox occasionally has stopped now. I thought, Rob, you said that folk were working on it? Is it a snail?

BobG

[PDX_Rover]

And so... inevitably...we arrive back at the business/marketing plan submitted to the club.

We seem to be arriving back here a lot this season!

Dave Morris... step forward... rather... step down.

[BobG]

Funny, isn't it Mark? How everything that's rubbish about the Rovers ultimately lies at one door. I'd be a bit stronger. It's pitiful.

BobG

[Snods Shinpad 2]

To be fair I've had two Redline emails in my inbox lately.

Lucky ol' me.

[BobG]

Well they must have abandoned me then 'cos I've had none for ages and ages.

BobG

[Lord Farquaad]

If you insist on a tailored cap, Bob, you really have to wear it.

[Snods Shinpad 2]

I've got no idea how the system works, but from the details they have on me it seems that they have got my details from the ticket office if that's of any interest.