[Archived] The Walker Trust

[PAFELL]

Jack Walker was a football supporter of Blackburn Rovers Football Club. He did, before he died, bring Rovers the premiership title. Not one Rovers supporter can be anything but grateful for this achievement - for that as a Rovers supporter, I say thank you.

I fully understand that football is NOT your passion and that you have to take into consideration all the other businesses that you are responcible for. These probable take priority - understandable, after all football is only a sport.

But, Jack Walker put his heart into the club of Blackburn Rovers - all we ask, is that you continue and back his dream of making Blackburn rovers a success.

As things stand, it is common knowledge you want to sell the club. We also know how hard it is to sell Blackburn Rovers - after all what is Blackburn - even the locals have given up,on the town, let alone the club.

At this momment in time Rovers lack the players to turn this club into a successful club. The higher Rovers finish in the table the easier it will be for you to find a buyer for the club. But at the moment, you are the ones that are preventing both success and the sale of the club.

No manager can turn the team around unless they are given the financial backing that is required - even the £3. million you stopped giving is better than nothing.

For the sake of the memory of Mr jack Walker, Uncle Jack, please support the dream he had for Rovers. He started a dream, you need to continue it.

This in turn will help you sell rovers. Also it will be helpful in the initial quest to turn Rovers into a self dependent club.

[PAFELL]

Wow, think the Trust will change their mentality now!

If the supporters of Blackburn Rovers do not try - who will? Come on it is time that the trust understand, that they are needed, they are wanted and they are loved - we owe it to Jack Walker to do what we can.

[RibbleValleyRover]

It wasn't their dream PAFELL so i can understand why they won't pump any money into the club. I just can't see what can be done about it, unless they have broken some of the guidelines or rules set in place then they can do whatever they like.

One thing they cannot do is complain when we get relegated as for years we have had one of the lowest budgets in the league. We are basically a premier league club running on a championship budget, so its inevitable that one day we will get relegated.

There's nothing we can do, just have to hope we stay in the premier league long enough for us to find a decent owner.

[DE.]

Saying we're on a Championship budget is a little extreme. I don't think many Champiosnhip clubs could foot our wage bill. Burnley are a premier league club running on a championship budget. We're on a lower table premiership budget.

[PAFELL]

It wasn't their dream PAFELL so i can understand why they won't pump any money into the club. I just can't see what can be done about it, unless they have broken some of the guidelines or rules set in place then they can do whatever they like.

One thing they cannot do is complain when we get relegated as for years we have had one of the lowest budgets in the league. We are basically a premier league club running on a championship budget, so its inevitable that one day we will get relegated.

There's nothing we can do, just have to hope we stay in the premier league long enough for us to find a decent owner.

Sorry, but the time has come to speak out publicly. How is another question. The only way I can think of at this moment in time is Nicko, please give us a platform. I tried to pm him, but his post box is full and cannot recieve anymore messages.

The status quo will remain unless we try - anything.

[tony gale's mic]

Saying we're on a Championship budget is a little extreme. I don't think many Champiosnhip clubs could foot our wage bill. Burnley are a premier league club running on a championship budget. We're on a lower table premiership budget.

If the Championship clubs were recieving the Premier League TV money we get theyd be able to foot our wage bill.

Wages and TV money basically cancel each other out in terms of budgeting, so yes, I'd say we are on a Championship budget.

[PAFELL]

Saying we're on a Championship budget is a little extreme. I don't think many Champiosnhip clubs could foot our wage bill. Burnley are a premier league club running on a championship budget. We're on a lower table premiership budget.

Please De4life, lets stay on subject. Lets get a public voice out somehow, via this message board. After all we are all Rovers supporters. Lets get a petition going to encourage the trustees to support the club more financially - show them that they are needed and loved - for Jack Walkers sake, not just Rovers. Hopefully Nicko will do an article in his paper to voice the fustration of the supporters - anything is better than nothing. Nicko pm me please.

[DE.]

If the Championship clubs were recieving the Premier League TV money we get theyd be able to foot our wage bill.

Well of course they would, but they aren't on Premiership TV money, which is the point isn't it?

Please De4life, lets stay on subject. Lets get a public voice out somehow, via this message board. After all we are all Rovers supporters. Lets get a petition going to encourage the trustees to support the club more financially - show them that they are needed and loved - for Jack Walkers sake, not just Rovers. Hopefully Nicko will do an article in his paper to voice the fustration of the supporters - anything is better than nothing. Nicko pm me please.

I'll be honest with you mate, I think you're onto a lost cause. I'll stop posting in this thread though... plenty of doom to be had elsewhere

[PAFELL]

Well of course they would, but they aren't on Premiership TV money, which is the point isn't it?

I'll be honest with you mate, I think you're onto a lost cause. I'll stop posting in this thread though... plenty of doom to be had elsewhere

I may be onto a lost cause - but I have fought harder ones and not given up. But I am a supporter of Rovers and believe the time has come for ALL supporters to speak out.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

All you ever hear from the 'Walker trust' is silence.

[PAFELL]

All you ever hear from the 'Walker trust' is silence.

If they refuse to answer a knock on the door - then kick it in. The time for Rovers supporters to do things meekly has come to an end. By speaking out and encouraging the Walker Trust to do something, you are not speaking against Jack Walker, but for him.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I agree PAFELL but fear we are p1ssing into the wind.I would love nothing better than a Q+A session with the mysterious,faceless 'Walker trust' at present.

[RibbleValleyRover]

at the and of the day though(if wonders never cease and you aren`t vinjay), i still find your aim of encouraging dissent towards our board and trust harmful to the club, so have to question your alliegance?

We have every right to question the board and the way the club is run, would be a boring place if fans never expressed their opinion or feelings on any aspect of the club.

I am not happy with the lack of money being spent, especially when we have sold players for huge profits in recent years and replaced them with inferior players with only a fraction of the money generated from the player that was sold. Not expecting any answers or anything to change, but if i feel something is being done wrong then i feel its right to express it.

[PAFELL]

ok, just so you know, vinjay is a massively unpopular figure that most rovers fans on the majority of messageboards feel is a fan of another club that hates rovers, they believe his ultimate aim is to(via internet footy chat sites) encourage rovers fans to display mass dissent against the club and it`s owners in the the hope that it destroys the club, leading to relegation etc.

Ok, well as I have already said, I am not him. But if you still believe I am, then get the mods to check my past posts etc etc or whatever.

I have never been against Rovers and have been a supporter for as long as I can remember, possible longer than yourself.

We have every right to question the board and the way the club is run, would be a boring place if fans never expressed their opinion or feelings on any aspect of the club.

I am not happy with the lack of money being spent, especially when we have sold players for huge profits in recent years and replaced them with inferior players with only a fraction of the money generated from the player that was sold. Not expecting any answers or anything to change, but if i feel something is being done wrong then i feel its right to express it.

But on here you get called vinjay if you voice concern or raise questions etc.

[PAFELL]

ok, just so you know, vinjay is a massively unpopular figure that most rovers fans on the majority of messageboards feel is a fan of another club that hates rovers, they believe his ultimate aim is to(via internet footy chat sites) encourage rovers fans to display mass dissent against the club and it`s owners in the the hope that it destroys the club, leading to relegation etc.

what `form` of encouragement do you suggest vinj.., er sorry, pafell? demonstrations for instance..?

Go back, search etc my past posts on the subject. I have always said, I don't know what should or could be done. But you appear to ignorant to do that.

you said i called you `wacko`, i can only assume you felt i called you that from the description given for the particular smiley i used. as such, yes you did mention the smiley.

when somebody replies to a post that has a smiley in it - it says what the smiley means. I have not said anything about being angry etc about it.

[saxo1man30]

Go back, search etc my past posts on the subject. I have always said, I don't know what should or could be done. But you appear to ignorant to do that.

when somebody replies to a post that has a smiley in it - it says what the smiley means. I have not said anything about being angry etc about it.

well imo, wanting a stink creating via the newspapers is not the actions of a rovers fan. the tabloids love nothing more than writing damaging stories about whats so-called going on behind the scenes at rovers when results are bad. for you to be trying to actively encourage them to do that is stupid beyond belief.

sensible rover- bloody hell, things are bad. guess we`ll just have to stick behind the lads and hope sam can sort things and we hit a run of form.

dumbass rover- nah, let`s go online and get alan nixon to write about turmoil at the club, no money for players and how unhappy the fans are, that`ll help our relegation fight, DUHHHHH!!!!

[Seedstral]

Did anyone hear David Gold's interview on Radio 5 last night about hows he's looked at buying 20 teams in England but has been put off by the finances of everyone of them and believes at least 1 big club will go bust before the end of the season. I'm not saying Rovers are 1 of them but you can understand people like tghe Walker Trust not wanting to put money in sadly. If there is turmoil within the ranks which is being banded about on this site then sadly i see no way forward as a sacking will mean a pay off for Sam and his backroom staff and a new man will want money for new players which we dont have and i cant see JW ever gambling on the clubs future and so he shouldn't. Be realistic every club apart from man city is in financial turmoil and Gold even said when Portsmouth won the FA Cup they lost £38 million that season and in his own words was it worth the gamble down the line no it wasn't but fans dont look at it like that as they want instant success!! I've followed Rovers since the early 80s and sometimes after reading the drivel on this site wish we could go back to those days to give folk a massive reality check!!!

[PAFELL]

well imo, wanting a stink creating via the newspapers is not the actions of a rovers fan. the tabloids love nothing more than writing damaging stories about whats so-called going on behind the scenes at rovers when results are bad. for you to be trying to actively encourage them to do that is stupid beyond belief.

How else do Rovers supporters contact the Walker Trust? Do we all just sit back, not care, let the current situation continue, maybe allow the club to get relegated or even worse administration. To be honest, I am open to what supporters could do, the media may not be the answer, but there again niether is the current situation of doing nothing.

Did you join facebook against either Ince or Sam? I did not. My concern is that imo the lack of funding is harming the club - more than any media article could ever do. Therefore I have posted my concerns on here.

[saxo1man30]

How else do Rovers supporters contact the Walker Trust? Do we all just sit back, not care, let the current situation continue, maybe allow the club to get relegated or even worse administration. To be honest, I am open to what supporters could do, the media may not be the answer, but there again niether is the current situation of doing nothing.

Did you join facebook against either Ince or Sam? I did not. My concern is that imo the lack of funding is harming the club - more than any media article could ever do. Therefore I have posted my concerns on here.

thankfully nicko does seem to have some care for rovers even if it`s not his club, so i very much doubt he`ll be writing anything about the issues you have in his columns. he knows the people running the club are doing the very best they can, whereas you seem to be in the small minority of our fans that believe there is money they aren`t willing to spend.

john williams details every season what happens to the money from transfers and the reason our managers don`t get it all to spend, most chairman wouldn`t bother and you`d just have to accept situations like that without answers. yes our finacial situation puts us at risk of relegation along with many other clubs at the bottom that have a larger support and therefore more income than us. what makes us so special in your opinion that we shouldn`t be amonst them other that your bias?

[roversmad95]

Did anyone hear David Gold's interview on Radio 5 last night about hows he's looked at buying 20 teams in England but has been put off by the finances of everyone of them and believes at least 1 big club will go bust before the end of the season. I'm not saying Rovers are 1 of them but you can understand people like tghe Walker Trust not wanting to put money in sadly. If there is turmoil within the ranks which is being banded about on this site then sadly i see no way forward as a sacking will mean a pay off for Sam and his backroom staff and a new man will want money for new players which we dont have and i cant see JW ever gambling on the clubs future and so he shouldn't. Be realistic every club apart from man city is in financial turmoil and Gold even said when Portsmouth won the FA Cup they lost £38 million that season and in his own words was it worth the gamble down the line no it wasn't but fans dont look at it like that as they want instant success!! I've followed Rovers since the early 80s and sometimes after reading the drivel on this site wish we could go back to those days to give folk a massive reality check!!!

i started watching the rovers 26 years ago i understand what you are saying so many people dont remember those days standing in the blackburn end with the old little stadium. my dad has been watching for nearly 40 years when we went down to the 3rd division. so to be where we are now in the best league in the world is fantastic. we are one of 4 teams to ever win the premier league in 17 years. remember the good time as they wont last forever. this small town club and the board has done fantastic in keep us in this league and competing.

come on the rovers!

[Mr. E]

thankfully nicko does seem to have some care for rovers even if it`s not his club, so i very much doubt he`ll be writing anything about the issues you have in his columns. he knows the people running the club are doing the very best they can, whereas you seem to be in the small minority of our fans that believe there is money they aren`t willing to spend.

john williams details every season what happens to the money from transfers and the reason our managers don`t get it all to spend, most chairman wouldn`t bother and you`d just have to accept situations like that without answers. yes our finacial situation puts us at risk of relegation along with many other clubs at the bottom that have a larger support and therefore more income than us. what makes us so special in your opinion that we shouldn`t be amonst them other that your bias?

No one is saying they are pocketing our transfer money, but the complete and utter silence and lack of interest from "The Walker Trust" can not be good for the club. Yes we do hear from John Williams, and every time his accounts about our financial situation is more and more depressing. People are going to go on about how everything today is all business, but I do not agree that the owners of the clubs should distance themselves so much from us, even if they don't care as deeply as Jack did.

The point is that I don't see how some expect people to not even question what's going on, when the ownership of the club lies in the hands of people that seem to want nothing to do with the fans or the club itself.

[Majiball]

Why do people think the answer is to throw money at the team and sign players?

Pray tell how much money Sam has spent? How many of his signings have become a success?

Regardless of the overall negative amount the man has had more than most rovers ever get and IMO he's not spent it well.

I'm just not convinced its the answer we need.

[Rovers0411]

I would love the Trust to be able to release the purse strings and start pumping millions into the club but it is clearly not possible even if they had the will and desire.

Pafell, from your posts it is obvious you have no understanding of the concept of a Trust. I am a Trustee of a small Trust fund but the concept is the same regardless of the value of the fund. Trustees have legal obligations and responsibilities to manage the funds and assets of the Trust in accordance with the instructions in the Trust Deed of the person or organisation that sets up the fund. Put simply the funding being made available from the Trust by the Trustees has to be in accordance with the wishes of Jack Walker. It is also worth remembering that Jack Walker frequently publicly stated his desire that Rovers should become self sufficient, no longer relying on donations from his personal wealth.

People should also think about how much financial support has been given to the club by Jack Walker, through his Trust, since his untimely death. £3m DONATION per annum with the exception of one season. Over £40m of loans effectively written off by being converted into paid up share capital on which no dividends have been paid. Thats circa £65/£70m that the Trustees have GIVEN to the club since Jack Walker died. There is no doubt that the Trustees do not have the same passion for the Rovers that Jack Walker did so do you really think they would continue giving any money to the club and write off massive loans unless they had to because of the terms of Jack Walkers will and Trust Deed? Even if they did share Jack's passion for Rovers they could not give more money to the club unless there is provision to do so in the Trust Deed.

The one area I would criticise the club and the Trustees about the funding Jack Walker made available for Rovers through his Trust is that they do not make a statement to tell fans exactly what provision he made. If they simply released a statement that said exactly what provision Jack Walker made fans would understand exactly what position the club was in.

Rovers are trying to compete in a league in which we have one of the lowest revenues. We also have the problem that other clubs, who fans think we should be able to compete with financially, are spending enormous amounts on wages and transfer fees that have been made available through massive borrowing. Fans forget that borrowed money has to be repaid. Following that policy Pompey and WHU reel from one financial crises to another. Over the last few days the full extent of the looming financial crises at Liverpool and Man Utd is starting to come out.

Fans look to a club like Birmingham and ask why we cannot get new owners prepared to provide a similar large transfer budget. However those new owner's company in Hong Kong has lost money for the last 4 years. They have had to borrow money to complete the takeover. Do you really believe Carsten Yeung has paid millions to Gold/Sullivan to buy Birmingham then simply given Mcleish a £40m transfer budget with no expectation of all that money having to be repaid? Unless Birmingham achieve and maintain success they are another Pompey in waiting. Is that the sort of takeover fans want? John Williams has publicly stated that the Trust Deed does not allow the club to be sold to anyone who would simply borrow money against the club's assets (a la Man Utd, Liverpool) in order to finance a takeover.

In today's PL the £3m annual donation (received every season except one since Jack Walkers death) received from the Trustees is a relatively small amount. Maybe if Jack Walker had anticipated the massive explosion in transfer fees and players wages he would have made greater provision for ongoing financial support from his Trust Fund. But fans should understand that, unlike the loans that most PL clubs are financed by, the donations received from the Trust do not have to be repaid (albeit a few years ago the club did take out a small, manageable loan - in addition to the donations from the Trust - that is being repaid).

Over the next few seasons I believe the full extent of the financial crises within the game, and the PL in prticular, will be revealed. Clubs managed within their financial means (like Rovers) will start to get an advantage as other clubs who chased the dream on borrowed money struggle to survive. The best thing that could happen to Rovers would be the likes of WHU and Pompey being forced in administration or bankruptcy through relegation as well as Man Utd or Liverpool missing out on the Champions League and being forced into selling their star names to meet interest payments on their massive debts. That might bring some sort of financial sanity back into the game and, because of John Williams sensible financial management of the club, give us more chance to compete.

As I said previously, I do believe the Trustees/Club should be more transparent about the provision Jack Walker made for the club in his Trust. However, for those calling for the club to be sold I would ask you to consider how does John Williams find new owners who would GIVE more financial support to the club than is currently availabe from the Trust - and I stress GIVE more financial support as oppossed to facilitate massive borrowings in the pursuit of short term success. There may be many foreign owners willing to INVEST in a PL club but how many true BENEFACTORS are there? Jack Walker remains one of the very few who has GIVEN money to a club. Only a handful of clubs benefit from one benefactor, for John Williams to find another is literally like searching for the 'needle in a haystack'.

One final thought for those calling for the Trutees to loosen the purse strings. Assuming they were able to ignore Jack Walker's instructions what would your reaction be if they said they were going to double the funding on condition it was matched by fans with ticket prices doubled (in most cases only to levels paid by fans of other PL clubs)? After all, we see Rovers as much 'our club' as the Trustees club so if we expect the Trustees to pay more why should'nt we? We all know the answer - a massive drop in attendances.

[47er]

Why do people think the answer is to throw money at the team and sign players?

Pray tell how much money Sam has spent? How many of his signings have become a success?

Regardless of the overall negative amount the man has had more than most rovers ever get and IMO he's not spent it well.

I'm just not convinced its the answer we need.

I haven't worked out what he's spent but its minus something .That's the point isn't it? We are largely debt-free but soon we'll be player free.I think several of his signings have been a success by the way, surprising given the nominal amounts paid for them.

[Brfcrule1]

but surely the point has to be if we continue like this we are heading one way and that is relegation which would be catatrosphic even supporters of other clubs on their boards esp with the beattie swap bid with Roberts they are saying we are a joke club with no money