[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[den]

Well I think that might explain why we have little money for available for transfers. Increased Wages, a loss of 4m (3m from Jersey, 1m from season ticket transfers) plus net spending in the summer of 3.5m for Santa Curz.

Still think we should have about 3 or 4m hopefully before outgoings. A little depressing when you consider the number of clubs considerably financially better off than us has now reached THIRTEEN! (Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Fulham, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Sunderland, Everton, Spurs, Aston Villa, West Ham). How can we compete long term?

Those scrabbling round for the bargains with us include: Derby, Middlesborough, Birmingham, Wigan, Bolton and Reading. It is a great testement to Hughes judgement that we are the only team in that bracket in the top half. And we are a full 11 points higher than Reading- the next placed thrifty purchasers. The message could be: find a daft invester who has little problem throwing his money away (as surely all the investers in the likes of Pompey and Villa are) or get relegated!

The rumours are for a £3m loss last year.

[Hughesy]

How can we be worse off now with the massive extra TV money? I just dont get it!!!

[stuwilky]

How can we be worse off now with the massive extra TV money? I just dont get it!!!

The published accounts are for the period ending June 2007. The new TV Contract kicked in in August 2007.

[Paul]

I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on the most important point here. It sounds as though the trustees have now washed their hands of the club. They wont be putting any more money into rovers. It points to the new TV money as the reason, but evidentally, we have no money to spend and the trustees don't see that as a concern for them.

Are the Walker days truly over?

This is an important point but I think we should all be very careful to read every word and not take the worst possible scenario as our view. At this level words are chosen very carefully, it is important to read them all. I have a copy of the chairman's report but have been asked not to publish it. I won't do so until I know it is public knowledge. I think one can safely comment on the following.

from unsall's post:

the trustees still want to dispose of there holding and because of the new tv deal this season, see no immediate requirement to invest further,having donated £3m a year since 1992

The two bolded words are important. The trustees see no IMMEDIATE requirement. Rovers have an additional £10-15m from TV revenues this year. Presumably the trustees are telling the board with this additional income we don't see a need to invest further right now.

Secondly the chairman's report states £3m donated from 2002 and not 1992.

The chairman's report goes on to speak positively about the club's ability to operate profitably and generate cash without donation from the trustees.

We have known for months the trustees are ready to sell, that they do not currently see reason to invest in the club should not be taken to mean they have abandoned Rovers for good. At least not until the club is sold.

[rebelmswar]

I always felt like these donations should only be looked at as a stopgap untill the trusties find a good buyer for all concerned.

[JAL]

What i cant fathom is Blackburn Rovers image

Weve got the kit ........a quality blue and white halved shirt unique to any other football team.

Weve got the badge ....another quality symbol

Weve got the players .....we beaten your Manu's,Arsenals,Liverpoolsand many of the rest.

Weve got as decent a ground as you'll find maybe not as big as others but its got good facilities...

Weve got the history....We've won the league, weve won trophies and are capable of doing ot again with a bit of luck.

Weve been in europe several times

So why are the crowds and the image of Blackburn Rovers not higher...WHY?

[rebelmswar]

It is simple,

low media hype+ low population = low crowds

high media hype + high population = high crowd

low media hype + high population = medium crowd

high media hype + low population = medium crowd

This formula supports all our support trends.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

So it appears the mysterious big ginge Rover from the fylde coast has realised what we all knew deep down....Rovers are a bad investment if your looking for any kind of profit.Its a shame but thats the hard facts like it or not,only a local,born and bred Rovers fan like Jack Walker,who wanted literally no financial return, will ever again take this club to the next level.......problem is there will only ever be one Jack Walker in this small town.

Its hard to swallow seeing clubs (with all respect) like Q.P.R. with some of the richest men in the world now in control but I suppose we have had our time and success and should wish them well.

P.S.

OI DAN! if your reading this 'owd Walter says can he have his 'history of B.R.F.C.' book back please asap!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

It is simple,

low media hype+ low population = low crowds

high media hype + high population = high crowd

low media hype + high population = medium crowd

high media hype + low population = medium crowd

This formula supports all our support trends.

'Small club' Rovers average gate to date puts them as the 21st best supported club in the whole of the UK.....I challenge anyone to damn that statistic knowing the problems the town faces.

That alone for me puts Rovers crowds in the medium size bracket.

[RevidgeBlue]

I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on the most important point here. It sounds as though the trustees have now washed their hands of the club. They wont be putting any more money into rovers. It points to the new TV money as the reason, but evidentally, we have no money to spend and the trustees don't see that as a concern for them.

Are the Walker days truly over?

In reality Den, "the Walker days" seem to have been over ever since Duff was sold.

Net expenditure on the squad has been virtually nil ever since that point (up until the arrival of RSC) and even that modest outlay looks small beer compared to the sort of sums our immediate rivals seem prepared to invest.

[RevidgeBlue]

So why are the crowds and the image of Blackburn Rovers not higher...WHY?

Better question would be:

Why aren't the crowds lower considering the size of the town??

Why? WHY?????

[JAL]

It is simple,

low media hype+ low population = low crowds

high media hype + high population = high crowd

low media hype + high population = medium crowd

high media hype + low population = medium crowd

This formula supports all our support trends.

I'll go with that, looks like we need improve the amount and the quality of people who go out and work in the local and national medias who can sell Rovers.

The Lancashire Telegraph tries its best but with the scouser plonker pulling the strings we end up sharing the back pages with dOnkey Burnley football club this shouldnt really be the case.

The local radio station seems to be run by a manc whose seems to lean towards both Burnley and Blackpool, the only time he becomes supportive of Rovers is when they are away in Europe.

Surely these are two areas Rovers must have more of an influence to improve the media hype but it doesnt help when the owners arent local either and arent in touch with local goings on.

[Paul]

Net expenditure on the squad has been virtually nil ever since that point (up until the arrival of RSC) and even that modest outlay looks small beer compared to the sort of sums our immediate rivals seem prepared to invest.

I've higlighted the word invest because this is a concept I'm starting to struggle with. The idea of "investing" in football clubs is very much at the forefront at present. Now I think I could be misinterpreting RB's words here but it still raises a valid question.

How can one seriously be said to be investing in a football club? For PL clubs the best possible return that is close to guaranteed is the TV money. £30m per season. After that it's a lottery dependent on the team's performance, only the top four can reasonably predict their income from success. For the rest of us it's a shot in the dark. Sunderland have "invested" £36m this season and look where it has got them.

The only serious way one can make money out of a football club is to buy players cheap / raise them in an academy and sell for millions. Duff being a prime example. For most clubs this supposed investment in players is simply spending the TV money, in most cases the investment does not increase in value.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

As we all know, we can't realistically get an extra 10,000 / 20,000 fans to support Blackburn and turn up at games week in week out but we can boost the amount of income we can receive abroad by really promoting the club in places where football is really popular. I'm seriously surprised that we aren't affiliated with any Asian clubs or even considered starting academies out in India and China to increase the global name of Blackburn Rovers, especially considering the factors JAL mentioned above and the fact there are billions of people there to advertise to.

Just imagine if Blackburn Rovers had an academy in India and we got sent some of the best Indian youngsters to try their luck over here. If they made it at Blackburn and became a first team player in the Premier League then imagine the impact he would have in India? It would be unbelievable! Amir Khan is massive over there yet he's a British-Asian so to to see a player from their home land become a footballer in the Premier League would just create so much hype and so much exposure for the club as well as revenue.

I see so many British-Asians walking around with Liverpool shirts, Man Utd shirts wearing 'Gerrard' or 'Torres' but that could change if we took the chance.

We have 61m people in England. India has 1.1 Billion. I'm sure if they have the facilities and the training then i'm pretty sure there is a chance we could find the next big thing!

[rebelmswar]

As we all know, we can't realistically get an extra 10,000 / 20,000 fans to support Blackburn and turn up at games week in week out but we can boost the amount of income we can receive abroad by really promoting the club in places where football is really popular. I'm seriously surprised that we aren't affiliated with any Asian clubs or even considered starting academies out in India and China to increase the global name of Blackburn Rovers, especially considering the factors JAL mentioned above and the fact there are billions of people there to advertise to.

Just imagine if Blackburn Rovers had an academy in India and we got sent some of the best Indian youngsters to try their luck over here. If they made it at Blackburn and became a first team player in the Premier League then imagine the impact he would have in India? It would be unbelievable! Amir Khan is massive over there yet he's a British-Asian so to to see a player from their home land become a footballer in the Premier League would just create so much hype and so much exposure for the club as well as revenue.

I see so many British-Asians walking around with Liverpool shirts, Man Utd shirts wearing 'Gerrard' or 'Torres' but that could change if we took the chance.

We have 61m people in England. India has 1.1 Billion. I'm sure if they have the facilities and the training then i'm pretty sure there is a chance we could find the next big thing!

I think that is a fabulous idea should throw one in the US at the same time, I would be worried about the cost though as we are already loosing money. I am sure that it would pay of in the long run however.

[Brfcrule1]

Hi all,

hope everyone had a good xmas and new year the above posts doesn't look good as Sparky has said before we can't go on forever plucking rabbits out of the hat at some point the wheels come off the car and you can no longer compete then what happens is administration which I think in this day and age we need a new buyer as soon as possible but most importantly it has to be the right man I also don't understand this Dan williams first off he sends a representative to say he is not interested he should have done it himself out of courtesy and also now he is saying rovers are a bad investment and they cost too much but when he left it towards the end of the summer when he didn't come back with an offer he said there was no need to rush it as the transfer window was closed and most importantly he did say that Rovers was one of the best well run clubs it had the best chairman,best board and that things were being run very well so I don't see how it could be that much of a bad investment as sparky is very good in the transfer market can't help but wonder was he having us on all the time? I don't know anyway hope something comes about soon as I feel the squad could benefit from a larger investment

Laters all.

[LeftWinger]

Hi all,

hope everyone had a good xmas and new year the above posts doesn't look good as Sparky has said before we can't go on forever plucking rabbits out of the hat at some point the wheels come off the car and you can no longer compete then what happens is administration which I think in this day and age we need a new buyer as soon as possible but most importantly it has to be the right man I also don't understand this Dan williams first off he sends a representative to say he is not interested he should have done it himself out of courtesy and also now he is saying rovers are a bad investment and they cost too much but when he left it towards the end of the summer when he didn't come back with an offer he said there was no need to rush it as the transfer window was closed and most importantly he did say that Rovers was one of the best well run clubs it had the best chairman,best board and that things were being run very well so I don't see how it could be that much of a bad investment as sparky is very good in the transfer market can't help but wonder was he having us on all the time? I don't know anyway hope something comes about soon as I feel the squad could benefit from a larger investment

Laters all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . < I'll lend you these, you can put them in your post if you like

[Tim Southampton Rover]

If they can use labour exploitation to make billions of western world products for peanuts, i'm sure we can get them to build our facilities on the cheap

Only kidding! Just for the record (so I don't get sued) Labour exploitation is wrong!

[rovers1993]

im thai and im probably one of ten thais that truely support rovers (14 years supporting now) and its a mircale to me when i see any other people wearing a rovers shirt in bangkok. 60million people in thailand and around 20million are football fanatics but only approximately not more than 20 are rovers fan, that should say something.

man city's reputation in thailand just seems to get bigger and bigger. it used to be around 10,000 people but now it is in millions as they have bought 3 thai nationals to play for them. this has boosted its reputation largely and partly because the owner is thai .

Fact is... blackburn needs to start boosting its reputation outside england much more to get investment. if we are able to advertise to other countries more not only will we get more money for shirts sales and more supporters but we will have a MUCH bigger chance of finding an invester.

[rebelmswar]

im thai and im probably one of ten thais that truely support rovers (14 years supporting now) and its a mircale to me when i see any other people wearing a rovers shirt in bangkok. 60million people in thailand and around 20million are football fanatics but only approximately not more than 20 are rovers fan, that should say something.

I understand that, I was in Kmart wearing the 94-95 red away shirt the other day and people kept asking me for help, they seemed to mistake the shirt for the Kmart outfit for some reason.

[Damage]

im thai and im probably one of ten thais that truely support rovers (14 years supporting now) and its a mircale to me when i see any other people wearing a rovers shirt in bangkok. 60million people in thailand and around 20million are football fanatics but only approximately not more than 20 are rovers fan, that should say something.

man city's reputation in thailand just seems to get bigger and bigger. it used to be around 10,000 people but now it is in millions as they have bought 3 thai nationals to play for them. this has boosted its reputation largely and partly because the owner is thai .

Fact is... blackburn needs to start boosting its reputation outside england much more to get investment. if we are able to advertise to other countries more not only will we get more money for shirts sales and more supporters but we will have a MUCH bigger chance of finding an invester.

hi rovers1993!

Don't worry about the rarity of rovers fans in thailand - we are quite a precious breed. Be proud of that fact!

I would like to ask you a question about sales of premier league shirst in thailand. What is the retail price of shirt in Bangkok? Are they genuine shirts or local copies? How many people (per thousand) of the population would you estimate have possession of a premier league shirt? Thanks

[Plastic Head]

Right, what we need to do is this.....

Form a political party, I suggest calling it the 1875 Group.

Stand for election in every seat in Blackburn and Darwen and gain overall control in BWD Council.

Add £500 to every council tax bill in the first year, £200 after that. (treble for Business)

This should raise the majority of the £65M. Then buy the club.

The £200 per year will raise plenty for future investments.

Let's get started.....

[den]

This is an important point but I think we should all be very careful to read every word and not take the worst possible scenario as our view. At this level words are chosen very carefully, it is important to read them all. I have a copy of the chairman's report but have been asked not to publish it. I won't do so until I know it is public knowledge. I think one can safely comment on the following.

from unsall's post:

The two bolded words are important. The trustees see no IMMEDIATE requirement. Rovers have an additional £10-15m from TV revenues this year. Presumably the trustees are telling the board with this additional income we don't see a need to invest further right now.

Secondly the chairman's report states £3m donated from 2002 and not 1992.

The chairman's report goes on to speak positively about the club's ability to operate profitably and generate cash without donation from the trustees.

We have known for months the trustees are ready to sell, that they do not currently see reason to invest in the club should not be taken to mean they have abandoned Rovers for good. At least not until the club is sold.

Hmmm, I just wonder then, what circumstances will see them put more cash into the club? If the Trustees think the club is in a financially sound state now, then why has Hughes no money whatsoever to spend? Why does Hughes say we can't compete with other clubs of a similar standing?

I'll wait for the official report as you say Paul, but I'm just commenting on Unsall's post.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

It seems to me that some people see the slightest bit of criticism aimed towards the trust as an attack on Uncle Jack, thus the apparent vociferous defence we seem to get from the usual posters.

Im not going to go off on a Vinjay style rant about the Walkers, trust etc but if the club do not give our excellent manager some funds; this club will begin to head toward the bottom three and quick. He has squeezed the last drop of talent from this squad and signed gems for peanuts; but as he has said himself he cannot do this every season.

It is apparent that the trustees have little interest have little interest in football, that’s fair enough its their prerogative. But we can not have a situation where the club and manager are in limbo they either sell fast or spend. It seems they want to hold onto the club until they get their price without investing in these times clubs cannot afford to stand-still, they have two options, they either:

Sell the club at a lower-price, ensuring that the discount on the value of the club is spent on investment

Or if they are in no rush make some money available for transfers, as 3 million in three years is not enough for a top-flight club

[JAL]

One opportunity that seems to arising is the downgrading of Preston North End by their owners who seem to be pissing off their own supporters big time.