Joy of the Rovers

The 5th of November this year marks the day, in 1875, when John Lewis and Arthur Constantine met at a hotel in Blackburn to discuss the possibility of forming a football club.

150 years on, through the ups and downs that mark the history of any organisation that lasts so long, and Blackburn Rovers FC are making plans to celebrate their anniversary.

The visit of Derby County on Saturday 8th November is fitting, not just because of its closeness to the date of that meeting but because it brings together two founder members of the Football League.

A 12:30pm kick-off also gives time afterwards for a match between a Rovers Legends side and the Old Etonians, featuring Kevin Gallacher among others, one of my favourite former Coventry City players.

In a nice touch, adult ticket prices have been set at £18.75 with reductions for the various concessions.

Shot at Glory

Relegation out of the Football League isn't something that any club would willingly choose, especially those with proud records of service in the competition, but it can offer the chance of a reset and also of Wembley glory with a run in the FA Trophy.

York City, Wrexham and Cambridge United are amongst those clubs to have lifted the trophy in recent years and Rochdale will be hoping to emulate those feats by getting past Spennymoor Town at Spotland on Saturday 5th April.

Tickets for the game have been reduced to £12 for adults, as agreed by the two clubs, £8, £5 and £3 for under-14's.

A Good Friday And Saturday Night's Alright

Two clubs looking for a big finish to the season have reduced prices for upcoming matches to help get some more supporters through the turnstiles and give their team a lift.

On Good Friday at Brunton Park, Carlisle United host Tranmere Rovers and the Cumbrians are looking to get 10,000 inside and create a rocking atmosphere in their promotion push.

Ticket prices have been reduced to £10 adults and £5 for under 18's (under 7's free) with no increase on the day of the game.

And on Saturday 15 April at Ewood Park there is an evening kick-off for Blackburn Rovers against Hull City.

Adult tickets in all areas are £15, seniors and 18-23's £10, 12-17's £5 and £1 for those 11 and under.

A Christmas Cracker In Morecambe

The last Saturday before Christmas has traditionally been a time when attendances have dropped off slightly, supporters perhaps either shopping, recovering from the night before or saving their money for the fixtures to come over the next week or so.

So you do often see clubs reducing admission prices for matches on this day and that is what Morecambe have done for the home game against Newport County on 21st December.

Buy before the day of the match and prices are £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 for 11-18's.

Trying to run a tight ship financially while remaining competitive on the pitch is a daily struggle for many clubs in the lower divisions but Morecambe, like plenty of others, have also had to deal in recent years with owners whose motivations for getting involved in football were ill-judged to put it charitably.

One of the men who worked tirelessly throughout that period to keep things going was manager Jim Bentley and an era ended recently when he opted to move to AFC Fylde of the National League.

The current owners, who look to have steadied things around off the field, have opted for former Plymouth manager Derek Adams to succeed Bentley and turn the departure of the long-serving boss into an opportunity for new ideas and momentum.

The Big 5-0 At Clitheroe & When Stanley Met Mario

Trying to repair what he describes as 'something of a dis-connect between the town and the club in recent times,' Clitheroe FC chairman Lee Sharples launched the new £50 season tickets this week in a bid to re-position the Blues at the heart of their local community.

Concessions are priced at just £30 with free admission included to pre-season, youth and under-21 matches as well as all home league matches in the 2019/20 Evo-Stik League campaign.

I don't usually take too much notice of Premier League and Football League sides who are hosting overseas opposition in pre-season but I can't resist a mention of Accrington Stanley against Olympique Marseille, Mario Balotelli and all.

It's a shame that Marseille aren't heading for the Wham Stadium itself, the game set for the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford on 11 July at 6pm, but tickets are well-priced at £10 Adults and £5 Concessions and are available from Monday.

Some friendlies beside the seaside to end with and all home summer fixtures at Margate FC are priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 Under-16's.

Two of the matches will give you even more for your money as there are double-headers on 13 July (when Margate Ladies take on Gillingham) and 3 August (Margate Sports v New Romney).

Barnoldswick, Bath & Sholing

A trio of matches to be played on Saturday 29th September that will all celebrate the role played by the host club in and around their local community.

In Lancashire, Barnoldswick Town FC of the North West Counties Premier Division are marking their founding in 1972 and hope to see as many people as possible who have contributed to the club's rise.

Ashton Athletic are the visitors to the Silentnight Stadium and admission will be on a 'Pay What You Want' basis.

And it is 'Pay What You Want' for National League South action at Bath City FC (against Welling United) for their annual Community Day.

There are loads of activities going on for families and the club are also looking to entice students heading to the city this month to sample the atmosphere at Twerton Park and perhaps adopt The Romans as their second team.

At Sholing FC, where manager Dave Diaper recently marked 1,000 game in charge of The Boatmen, it is also Community Day and there is free entry for the game against AFC Portchester in the wessex Premier League.

Squires Gate FC

A very nice evening in Blackpool on Thursday was a good reminder to write about a local club in the town who work hard to attract new spectators and play a part in their local community.

Squires Gate FC of the North West Counties Football League, charge £6 and £3 admission to the Brian Addison Stadium with Under 12's free. During the summer they hosted a number of 'Pay What You Want' friendlies as well.

The next scheduled home fixture is on 14 November when Irlam FC are the visitors. If you're by the seaside, try and pay them a visit.

In Blackpool This Summer...?

Then try and get along to School Road, the home of Squires Gate FC of the North West Counties Football League.

Formed in 1948 as Squires Gate British Legion, the club have worked very hard on social media this summer to get people watching their pre-season friendlies with this Saturday's visit of Colne FC (kick-off at 1pm to allow the visitors time for a 'team bonding session' in Blackpool afterwards) the fourth consecutive fixture that is Pay What You Want on the gate (minimum £1).

Season tickets are priced at just £50 and £30 for the 2017/18 campaign and before that begins there is a home FA Cup tie with Ashton Athletic on Saturday 5 August.

The Shrimps Versus The Dolly Blues

Or Morecambe against Lancaster City to put it another away.

The Lancashire clubs will play for 'The Bay Trophy' at the Globe Arena, home of Morecambe FC, on Saturday 15 July and they hope this will become a regular pre-season fixture that alternates between there and Giant Axe, Lancaster's wonderfully named stadium.

Admission is priced at a flat £5 with Under 16's free on an afternoon that also sees a Family Fun Day take place.

The game will also raise money for local beneficiaries, one of the first of which will be the Neil Marshall Memorial Fund which was set up after the untimely passing of the former Lancaster captain.

As Morecambe director Rod Taylor told the official club website, the Shrimps are also keen to strengthen their links with the local community after their help and support during what could easily be described as difficult times last season.

The North West of England is home, of course, to many Football League clubs and it is good to see the likes of Rochdale, Fleetwood, Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton Wanderers taking sides around the region in pre-season.

Reduced Prices In The Scrap For Championship Survival

Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City face crucial home matches in the Championship this coming Saturday (29 April) as their battle for survival goes down to the wire.

The duo are currently separated by two points and, crucially for Birmingham, the dotted line that can define a season, as they head into this weekend's penultimate round of fixtures.

Rovers steady decline over the past few years mirrors that of my club Coventry City (Tony Mowbray is currently trying to keep Blackburn up after leaving the Ricoh Arena earlier in the season) and I understand why supporters may baulk at the message 'Your Town, Your Team' which accompanies the reduced prices that are in operation for the visit of Aston Villa this Saturday.

Adult tickets are £10, Concessions £5 and Juniors £2.

Bewilderment, rather than anger, is possibly the emotion currently being felt by Blues fans.

Going along quite steadily under a highly-rated manager in Gary Rowett, one who also seemed to have a real feel for what the club is all about, they have since witnessed a slide down the table under Gianfranco Zola and now the appointment of Harry Redknapp with a brief to keep them in the division.

Prices for Saturday’s visit of Huddersfield to St Andrew’s are £10 Adults, £5 Seniors, Students, 16-18’s and £1 for Under 16’s.

Blackburn Rovers

A busy period at Ewood Park, host to an FA Cup 5th Round tie against West Ham United on Sunday, continues on Tuesday evening when Luton Town are the visitors for an FA Youth Cup quarter-final, kick-off 7pm.

Admission is £4 and £2 with free entry for season ticket holders.

Then, on Saturday, Rovers senior side get back to Championship business against MK Dons and they also have Tuesday evening games against Middlesbrough (1 March) and Birmingham City (8 March).

With those three matches coming in quick succession Blackburn have a special offer in place, saving supporters 50% on matchday prices. Adult tickets start from £30, Seniors £21 and Juniors £12.

It is a very busy time of year, especially the further down the divisions you go as teams are catching up with matches postponed due to the weather or commitments in cup competitions.

Torquay United, who are still in the FA Trophy, have five Tuesday night fixtures between now and the end of the season and are offering 25% off tickets to anyone who buys in advance for three or more of those games.

Half Season Tickets & Reduced Admission At Accrington Stanley

Enjoying their best start to a Football League season since the 1950's and having recently secured new investment from local businessman Andy Holt to clear £1.2m of debt, Accrington Stanley are looking to the future and hoping to attract more supporters to the Wham Stadium in the New Year.

Half season tickets are on offer for £130 Adults and £90 for Over-65's and Under-16's which allow admission to all league matches between January and May and also give free admission to the Boxing Day clash with Carlisle United.

And, after a review of all things connected with the club following the recent takeover deal, admission prices will be reduced from January to £15 Adults, £10 Over-65's and Under-16's while Under-12's will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

#Fishwick For A Fiver At Burnley FC

Burnley FC are using their home game against MK Dons on Tuesday 15th September as a testing ground for allowing home supporters to occupy part of the David Fishwick Stand at Turf Moor on a more regular basis.

To that end, Clarets fans can sit in the Fishwick For A Fiver against the Dons and it is proving a popular offer as almost half of the available tickets had been sold within 48 hours of the deal being announced.

Nelson FC

Established in 1881, the Admirals ply their trade at Victoria Park, also known as Little Wembley, and are gearing up for the new season in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division.

Keeping any club going at this level requires a huge amount of work from a lot of good people and that may be even more so in a part of Lancashire where Football League clubs surround you from all sides.

Recognising this, Nelson, who already offer good value season tickets priced at £90 Adults, £40 Concessions and £150 for a Family, will take 50% off those prices if you are a season ticket holder at any other football club.

Bradford City, Accrington Stanley

No apolgies for mentioning these fine clubs once again.

Bradford City's #onefournine campaign, with Adult, Senior and Student season tickets priced at £149 until July 5th, initially had a target of 15,000 sales for 2015/16 but the Bantams have now upped that to 17,500 having already shifted over 11,000.

Speaking to the official club website, chief operating officer James Mason said: "With approximately 20 per cent of those 10,000/11,000 being new season-ticket holders, and with some of our strongest weekends to come with people getting paid etc, we have revised our target."

And Accrington Stanley are offering Over-65's the chance to buy a 20-year season ticket for the cost of 5 full price 2014/15 Concession season tickets which cost £200.

"This particular initiative was one actually suggested to me by some of our more vintage supporters and I think it is a great idea,” said Stanley Chairman Peter Marsden.

"Not only do our Golden Oldies (who have earned their stripes) get a chance to buy a season ticket for the next 20 years at a favourable price but it gives the Club a little more cash during the close season."

JPT Area Final: Great Value From Preston North End (And Pretty Good From Walsall Too)

Just 180 minutes from Wembley, Preston North End meet Walsall in the Northern Area Final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy early in 2015 and both teams have announced very attractive prices for their respective home legs.

PNE, take a bow, with adult prices of either £5 (for Season Ticket holders/Ambassadors) or £6 for general sale, and just £1 (ST holders/ambassadors) or £2 for under-16's.

The Deepdale game is scheduled for Wednesday 7th January at 7:45pm and hopefully the result will leave plenty to play for at the Banks's Stadium on 4th February.

Walsall have announced prices of £10 adults and £5 for over-60's and under-18's.

Hopefully both clubs will be rewarded with full houses and a great atmosphere.

Burnley, Liverpool & Newcastle United Subsidise December Trips to Manchester

The Premier League's 'away fans fund' of £200,000 per club, per season to assist with the costs of attending away fixtures in the top-flight, is being utilised by three clubs to reduce the price of December visits to Manchester.

Always an eagerly-awaited fixture in the football calendar, Liverpool visit Old Trafford on Sunday 14 December and the Anfield club have subsidised every away ticket by £10. The Reds also say that first-team players have contributed to the fund and have 'directly helped supplement the discount for this game'.

Of course this match would have been a sell-out at the original prices and travel-wise it is a short journey for those based on Merseyside.

The nature of the away fans fund means there will always be a decision to be made as to how it benefits supporters the most but in this instance the Liverpool supporters who manage to get tickets will be those with the most points accumulated from away visits and so their loyalty is being rewarded.

Also facing Manchester United in December are Newcastle United and their trip to Old Trafford on Boxing Day has been subsidised for away fans to the tune of £10.

Much-maligned in many ways as a club, the Magpies have gone beyond the remit of the fund in recent seasons with a number of reciprocal price deals in place that have made a significant difference to the cost of away tickets for their supporters.

New to the Premier League this season, Burnley have opted to use a percentage of their fund money to cut the cost of tickets (available to season ticket holders only) for the match at Manchester City on 28 December.

Again, there is a balancing act to be made as to how best to use the money (in the absence of any kind of league-wide agreement or even legislation on away prices) and Burnley would presumably have taken a large support to the Etihad Stadium anyway.

But, with the original price of an adult ticket being £47 (concession prices ranging from £39 to £28), the discount to £25 (£20 and £15 for concessions) is a substantial one.

Super Sunday at Morecambe FC

Morecambe FC play their first ever league fixture on a Sunday when they host Exeter City at the Globe Arena on 26 October with a 1pm kick-off and to mark the occasion the club are offering a variety of different offers to get people through the gate.

Adult season ticket holders can bring two friends to the game (in the Bay Radio terrace) for £5 each and get a free transfer to that part of the ground themselves.

All adult and concession tickets for other parts of the stadium, if purchased before the day of the game, have been discounted by up to £5 and the club's Kids Go Free offer is also in place which allows an adult to bring up to 3 under-14's to the match for free.

Nelson FC & Basingstoke Town

Situated amongst a host of Football League and Premier League clubs, Lancashire’s Nelson FC have come up with a great offer for season ticket holders of any of the 92 clubs in the top four divisions.

The ‘Premier Season Ticket’ allowing entry to all 21 of the club’s home league games in the North West Counties Football League in 2014/15 for just £45.

Nelson were originally intending to target the offer at season ticket holders of Burnley and Accrington Stanley but, wisely given the sheer number of clubs in the area, have extended it to all Football League and Premier League teams.

It means that attending just nine games at Victoria Park would cost the equivalent of just £5 per match.

Meanwhile, Basingstoke have announced an innovative sponsorship deal with Sky’s Soccer AM programme which will see the club’s ground renamed after the show.

The Dragons hope that regular exposure on Saturday mornings across the nation will give a boost to numbers through the game and raise the profile of the club.

In the short term it means free entry for fans at the pre-season friendly against Woking on Saturday 2 August when the sponsorship deal is launched officially.

Today's Lesson is...Free Season Tickets at Morecambe FC

Morecambe FC manager Jim Bentley was the guest at two local schools last week to promote the club's offer, in partnership with Centrica Energy, of a a free season ticket for all Year 11 pupils in the local area for the upcoming 2014/15 season.

The Shrimps envisage handing out around 1,200 vouchers over the coming weeks and are hoping that a significant number of these are used in return for a season of free football at the Globe Arena.

It's an excellent offer and one aimed at an age group that can sometimes be forgotten about as clubs look to build their younger fanbase.

Also in League Two, Carlisle United featured on these pages a couple of times last season and have launched a loyalty card for the new campaign in a bid to reward those without season tickets who are still regular match-goers. If a supporter attends 10 matches then they will receive £10 off their next ticket purchase.