Although breaks from the domestic season may be essential for the various international managers, they do absolutely nothing for me when I come to write this column.

Before the transfer window came about I could have maybe speculated on the possible comings and goings from the club to make up for the void of no game.

With the inspiration of the previous week's game and idle transfer speculation taken away from me I find myself writing about that old favourite of all Rovers fans - the falling attendances debate.

Over the past three years 3,000 fans have decided they have better things to do on a Saturday than watch their team at Ewood.

An alarming statistic for all concerned and one that was really brought into focus when the Charlton game attracted just under 18,000 for a Saturday 3pm kick off when it had attracted 10,000 more three short seasons ago.

The question is: where are these people now?

One can cite many reasons for non-attendance such as a lack of a competitive league, easy availability of TV coverage, resentment at extortionate player salaries and perceived prohibitive cost. The one reason that I believe stands above all of these though is the shocking home form of recent years.

When the fayre has been as sub-standard as it has been it's a lot easier to question the price of the ticket, or why you should subsidise a highly paid player who you believe cares little for you or your club. You can still join the debate on the performance on Monday morning at work thanks to the wonders of Sky TV and even bag the brownie points for that trip to B & Q with the wife.

Is there a case for slashing prices in order to fill the stadium and get back the revenue that's so desperately needed if we are to compete?

In theory, it would appear to be the way to go but there are large flaws in this thinking. For instance, if Rovers charged £15 and got on average 20,000 paying customers that would be worth £300,000.

If the club were to reduce the price to £10 there would need to be an average of 30,000 fans to make the same amount of money.

With the response to previously generous initiatives at Ewood is there any wonder that there is a reluctance to do this?

With the way we are playing, it should be a hell of a lot easier to persuade the stayaways to find the cash for a half-season ticket.