[Archived] Some Thoughts On Recent Events

[mrsjansen]

Ive been saying that about Fergie, he should butt out and carry on with running his own team.

I also get the feeling that Venkys will be our shirt sponser next season.

[bob fleming]

I struggle to take in the fuss here.

Phew, well that's a relief.

For a minute there I thought Rovers had been bought by people who don't know the first thing about football, and aren't prepared to listen to people at the club who do, that Venkys sacked a very experienced manager and replaced him with a complete novice, and that BRFC is on the verge of practically being run by a firm of football Agents. Panic over then, all is well.

Sometimes I get worked up over nothing me. What could possibly go wrong?

[Laurence]

He should keep his face shut after the scandalous way his phone call cost a good manager his job last season.

Interfering bam.

Care to elaborate Nicko?

[Steve Moss]

I also get the feeling that Venkys will be our shirt sponser next season.

Good. They should get some return on their investment. And I hope [forlorn as it may be] they are savvy enoough to maximize that return by getting the Rovers into Europe where our shirts will be seen on a larger stage.

[nicko]

Phew, well that's a relief.

For a minute there I thought Rovers had been bought by people who don't know the first thing about football, and aren't prepared to listen to people at the club who do, that Venkys sacked a very experienced manager and replaced him with a complete novice, and that BRFC is on the verge of practically being run by a firm of football Agents. Panic over then, all is well.

Sometimes I get worked up over nothing me. What could possibly go wrong?

Right then. Let's paint this picture.

There was NO takeover.

Your pitifully small squad just lost three players at the weekend who will be out for various lengths of lay-offs.

There is a transfer window two weeks away.

And you have no money.

Judge this new set-up at the end of January.

Care to elaborate Nicko?

It's not hard to work out.

And a look at the foot of the Championship table tells you how good that plan was.

[broadsword]

Right then. Let's paint this picture.

There was NO takeover.

Your pitifully small squad just lost three players at the weekend who will be out for various lengths of lay-offs.

There is a transfer window two weeks away.

And you have no money.

Judge this new set-up at the end of January.

It's not hard to work out.

And a look at the foot of the Championship table tells you how good that plan was.

Did you not say that if teh Trust didn't sell the club in November then they would take another look at how the club is funded?

I can't remember given all the stuff that's been posted on here, but doesn't the trust have more money than Venky's?

[bob fleming]

Judge this new set-up at the end of January.

It's a bit difficult to do that nicko at the moment. They've not made the greatest of first impressions.

We shall see, if we sign a few players for a few quid would I be correct in thinking that that'll be debt? I mean it works for every other club in the country after all.

Oh and by all accounts Irv was better off out of there anyway.

[nicko]

Did you not say that if teh Trust didn't sell the club in November then they would take another look at how the club is funded?

I can't remember given all the stuff that's been posted on here, but doesn't the trust have more money than Venky's?

There was a period when that was considered - maybe September - when it looked as if none of the bidders was going to come foreard. The high-ups realised that the lack of investment could cost the club relegation.

The fact is the Trustees were desperate to sell and got lucky when Venky's came along.

I am sure the Trustees have plenty of money, but they didn't want to spend it on Rovers.

And - just as a matter of interest - the Trustees spoke to all of the interested parties who wanted to buy the club...

So you might want to ask what the others must have been like...

You can't judge these people on the strength of what has happened so far.

If they fail to sign players in January, then you have a real cause for concern.

Right now is a difficult transition period.

At least they had the balls to say 'we don't want to give this manager our money to spend.'

It's their dough - it's their call.

Oh and by all accounts Irv was better off out of there anyway.

[broadsword]

The bottom line is we as fans can't do anything about it, whatever is said on here, the Venky's will still be in charge come february.

Telling us that the Venky's were the best of all the available options is a bit like setting a mate up with a minger, but telling him not to get fussed, as her mates look even rougher.

We have no option but to wait and see, but on the evidence of what I've seen so far, I'm not greatly enamoured.

[Lytham]

Of course people can judge on what has happened so far, they'd be daft not to.

Just about 100% of the pundits, the media and people in the game have done so, and they've all come to the same conclusion as the majority of Rovers fans.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Heads should roll, if come Jan 31st we are still under a caretaker boss.

And who is going to be the executioner when the lunatics have already taken over the asylum and are calling the shots?

[m1st]

These are very sobering times for Rovers'fans, especially those too young to remember the days when we were in the old Divison 3.

I can remember the late 1950s and the 60s; and I particularly remember the pride I had in our club on that Tuesday evening in 1992 when I saw Tony Adams leading out opponents I never thought I'd see in a League game at Ewood to play in [and lose! ] the first top Division League game at Ewood for 26 years - I can't remember how much I paid for cakes the next day to celebrate at work! That pride was because, in that quarter Century, we hoped [but probably never really believed until Uncle Jack recruited Kenny Dalglish and Ray Harford] that we'd ever get back to where we were in the period from 1958 - 66.

I no longer live in town, and getting to matches gets more difficult as I get older, especially in this weather. So what I need to encourage me to think about renewing my season ticket at the end of any, but particularly this, season is a successful team. By this, I mean, for a club like ours, a minimum of retaining its Premier League status with, hopefully, a decent run in on or other [preferably both!] of the Cups.

Two or three weeks ago, although [like many on here] I had my reservations about Sam's tactics, I was content because they were, yet again, making sure that we retained our status. We didn't look like we'd qualify for Europe through the League, but hey, there's still the FA Cup [just in case, I've altered next year's holiday plans so that I'm in this country on Cup Final Day!].

Because of the weather and because I'm getting on, I wasn't able to get to Ewood yesterday, and from what I've read on the various threads on here since, I'm not sorry. I'll be coming to as many matches as I can get to between now and the end of the season; but it's going to take a significant improvement in performance at all levels [owners' PR performances; management selection/player recruitment/tactics; and players' commitment/personal pride in performance] to get me to renew my season ticket.

That's partly because of the way the new owners' PR disasters have made a laughing-stock in the football world of the club I've always been proud to support. I agree with all those on here who would have kept Sam until at least the end of the season because I think that, with him at the helm, the club would have continued to meet my definition of success as set out above. I can [just about] cope with er, "witty" texts and emails from friends in this country who are Dingle fans, Bolton fans or members of the Toon Army ; but when my Dingle mate in NZ contacts me within a couple of hours of Sam's sacking because it's big-ish sporting news there [through the Ryan Nelsen connection], then it gets a bit much. Then I worried when I found that the owners had no other "big" name lined up to replace Sam; although I'm impressed by Steve Kean's coaching qualifications.

The worry I have here is whether he'll be allowed to have any input on player-recruitment next month. I think we all know that we need improvement in midfield and upfront. If we get some decent quality midfielders in, then I feel sure that Kean's a good enough coach to keep us up. What worries me, though, is what I read about the performance yesterday.

And I come back to that word: "pride"; it sounds like there's nobody in the team with pride in the shirt. I'd exempt Dunnie from that; in his case, and it pains me to write this, I fear he's just no longer able to give us the 90 minutes' Premier League quality we need from all 11 members of the team. The team can surely only "carry" someone like that if there are no other substitutions forced on management by injury.

So, like other contributors to this thread, I'm considering my position. I'd never look for another team to follow; as I put on the "Blackpool preview" thread earlier this season, the 7-year-old m1st knew [me Dad told me and he wouldn't lie!] that the team which finished 9th in Divison 2 in 1952-53 were better than the Blackpool 1953 F.A. Cup-winning team. I now live equidistant from a couple of lower division clubs and might go to games at one ground or the other if they looked to be exciting.

But there'll never be another club I could say I was proud to support; come on Rovers, make me proud of you again!

[Majiball]

There was a period when that was considered - maybe September - when it looked as if none of the bidders was going to come foreard. The high-ups realised that the lack of investment could cost the club relegation.

The fact is the Trustees were desperate to sell and got lucky when Venky's came along.

I am sure the Trustees have plenty of money, but they didn't want to spend it on Rovers.

And - just as a matter of interest - the Trustees spoke to all of the interested parties who wanted to buy the club...

So you might want to ask what the others must have been like...

You can't judge these people on the strength of what has happened so far.

If they fail to sign players in January, then you have a real cause for concern.

Right now is a difficult transition period.

At least they had the balls to say 'we don't want to give this manager our money to spend.'

It's their dough - it's their call.

Since Mrs Desai was the one who said 'we don't want to give this manager our money to spend.' are you saying she has balls?

From Sam's 'testicals', to Mrs Desia's 'Balls'. It just gets better.

[Laurence]

And a look at the foot of the Championship table tells you how good that plan was.

Thanks - I should've done my homework. This is very interesting - does any of this sound familiar to anyone:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/preston/8433842.stm

as someone once said "Football, bloody hell!"

[Wiggy]

If they fail to sign players in January, then you have a real cause for concern.

Fair enough, but which decent player ( or manager!) will want to come to Ewood after witnessing the global PR disaster that the Rao family have created?

Maybe they'll have to pay over the odds for some Carlos Kickaball on SEM's books. ( The agent takes even more commission then I suppose.)

Whichever way this is wrapped up, the stupidity of the Rao family, in media interviews or in the sacking of Sam with no contingency plan, has made them a laughing stock from Sidney to Sabden.

[nicko]

Fair enough, but which decent player ( or manager!) will want to come to Ewood after witnessing the global PR disaster that the Rao family have created?

Maybe they'll have to pay over the odds for some Carlos Kickaball on SEM's books. ( The agent takes even more commission then I suppose.)

Whichever way this is wrapped up, the stupidity of the Rao family, in media interviews or in the sacking of Sam with no contingency plan, has made them a laughing stock from Sidney to Sabden.

A player or players with stones.

Which is what you need.

I would imagine that plenty would come - and I would equally imagine that SEM or Kantaro have had a phone full of offers from players and managers wanting to get in on the act.

[Wiggy]

A player or players with stones.

Which is what you need.

I would imagine that plenty would come - and I would equally imagine that SEM or Kantaro have had a phone full of offers from players and managers wanting to get in on the act.

But Alan that misses my point.

Let's say clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Stoke or even Liverpool have similar budgets for January, any 'decent' player wouldn't touch Rovers with a barge pole.

Unless Venky's paid them far more.

With the press that the Rao's have received worldwide, the player would feel he was joining a circus coming to Ewood.

'

[Roversider]

But Alan that misses my point.

Let's say clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Stoke or even Liverpool have similar budgets for January, any 'decent' player wouldn't touch Rovers with a barge pole.

Unless Venky's paid them far more.

With the press that the Rao's have received worldwide, the player would feel he was joining a circus coming to Ewood.

'

How do you define 'decent player', Tevez is unhappy at City but he still plays his socks off every week. If you peeled back the surface of half the Premiership there is more than a fair share of clown suits being worn behind the scenes. I am willing to wait until after the window to make my judgement. There are more players than clubs by my calculations, for us it is about bringing some balance to the squad. Most notably pace and an ability to pass the ball.

Give Kean some time to change the emphasis, it took Sam a while to set up his style and I doubt if Mr. Kean will be looking for revolution but a more varied content.

[nicko]

Let's say clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Stoke or even Liverpool have similar budgets for January, any 'decent' player wouldn't touch Rovers with a barge pole.

Unless Venky's paid them far more.

With the press that the Rao's have received worldwide, the player would feel he was joining a circus coming to Ewood.

'

Everton, who by the way rely on one agent more than most, do not have much cash. So you can compete with them.

Sunderland have done their dough.

Stoke are...well, Stoke.

Liverpool have problems of their own.

I wouldn't bet against Rovers winning signing battles with any of those in January. Of course, you pay a premium in this window. But that wouldn't matter who your owners are.

The point is this was always going to be a vital month.

I don't think any player or agent gives a monkey's about people getting excited over owners and their advisers.

The bottom lines will be - is it a good move financially and is it a good move for football reasons.

[Roversider]

The point is this was always going to be a vital month.

I don't think any player or agent gives a monkey's about people getting excited over owners and their advisers.

The bottom lines will be - is it a good move financially and is it a good move for football reasons.

It would have been a vital month without Venkys and Kentaro. Would we really have felt that we had a chance without some more cash that the Trust was unwilling to offer up? Would Sam have felt that the lure of Dubai might have been more tempting without investment?

Lots of ifs.

With Venkys we should have some investment available, Kentaro might give us an edge with one or two players. Of course, if you have already made your mind up about what will happen in the next few months then turn away and don't bother waiting to see what may be possible.

Give me strength, Rovers are a small club that needs some different ways to survive and grow, if this doesn't work then yes, we may lose out but so will Venkys and to a smaller degree Kentaro who will have blown a potentially good opportunity.

I have more patience than many I suspect.

[47er]

I wonder if the team we turn out on the first day of next season, assuming we are still in the Premier League, will remind us of City in Sven's first year? They were recruited in a hurry, they came from everywhere, no-one had heard of them, some were signed for little money, others were loaned or freebies, the manager was introduced to them just before the first game when they were introduced to each other!

Everyone said how crazy this was and waited for the disasters to come. Amazingly they didn't and the club was high up the table for the first half of the season before reality set in and they dropped down. Still finished top half as I recall.

Next season the team looked completely different!

I haven't researched this so that's the best of my recollection. Somehow it all seemed so confected and desperate. Some would describe it as an exciting roller-coaster ride but to me it seemed plastic and unreal. Hope I'm wrong and there are 6 or 7 familiar faces in our Premiership line-up next season (or this season!)

Edit--just noticed the same discussion going on at the Kentaro thread. Sorry about that.

[LeChuck]

Let's say clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Stoke or even Liverpool have similar budgets for January, any 'decent' player wouldn't touch Rovers with a barge pole.

Unless Venky's paid them far more.

That was the case long before Venky's bought us I'm afraid.

When is the last time we fought off Premier League opposition to sign a player?

Nothing has changed in that respect; we're still looking at a] unearthing players from abroad, or b] taking other PL cast-offs and making use of them.

[JAL]

But Alan that misses my point.

Let's say clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Stoke or even Liverpool have similar budgets for January, any 'decent' player wouldn't touch Rovers with a barge pole.

Unless Venky's paid them far more.

With the press that the Rao's have received worldwide, the player would feel he was joining a circus coming to Ewood.

'

Think your question to nicko wiggy, should be along the lines of, are Venky's prepared to raise the current level of player salaries ?

If so, then attracting new players wouldnt be as difficult as you may think.

[philipl]

Think your question to nicko wiggy, should be along the lines of, are Venky's prepared to raise the current level of player salaries ?

If so, then attracting new players wouldnt be as difficult as you may think.

Going bust will be even quicker as well!

[JAL]

Going bust will be even quicker as well!

Just think of the current waste in players salaries going out the door.

So the players allegedly or maybe some are unhappy with the current situation, what a shame, on a million pounds plus per annum for mediocrity. They should be very alarmed as the new owners re evaluate their value to the new cause, one would think.

Maybe a written transfer request from some of the players would look better on their CV's, rather than being identified as not fit for purpose, then shown the exit door to a lesser outfit.