News Roundup

[BRFCS Content]

Published: Tuesday, 4 January 2011

News Roundup

by BRFCS News

The last 24 hours have again seen Rovers dominate the headlines with confirmation from owners Venky's that they are interested in bringing Ronaldinho to Ewood Park.

Earlier yesterday it appeared that the stories linking Ronaldinho to Rovers were false as co-owner Venkatesh Rao told the Lancashire Telegraph that the story was not true. However, by yesterday evening it had been confirmed by Venky's that they were indeed in talks to bring the Brazilian superstar to Ewood Park. This morning an interview with Venky's chairwoman Anuradha Desai was broadcast on Sky Sports, while the BBC caught up with her in a radio interview. Talking to BBC Radio Lancashire about their plans for Ronaldinho, she said that "he is keen to play in the EPL [English Premier League] and I think that goes in our favour." She then went on to reveal the details of the deal on offer: "To be precise it is, like, 7.6 million euros for the first year what we have quoted and about 8.5 million euros for the second and third year."

Rovers manager Steve Kean welcomed the move for Ronaldinho: "I know there has been contact made by the owners to representatives of Ronaldinho but I don't know how far down the line it is and whether it will actually happen," he said. "If any Premier League manager was asked if they wanted to sign someone who has been World Player of the Year twice, they would be interested. That is something that puts us on the map in terms of trying to bring players of that stature to the club. Everyone should look at it as a positive ... if we can attract players - maybe not that individual if it doesn't happen - but players of that stature. I think it has been a long time since we have been able to do that."

Mrs Desai also indicated that they are looking into bringing Damien Duff back to the club and revealed to Radio Lancashire that they were looking to bring in young Spanish striker Ruben Rochina.

In equally surprising news Mrs Desai also confirmed to Sky Sports News that they were planning to offer Steve Kean "a full-term contract" as manager of Blackburn Rovers. Currently he is on a short-term contract until the end of this season, but Mrs Desai indicated that she felt he should be awarded "a proper contract" of "at least two to three years", describing him as very positive and a good thinker.

After another whirlwind 24 hours, there is no doubt that the owners have succeeded in raising the profile of the club. Once again, however, they do need to look at their communication strategy. The last 24 hours have seen more mixed messages from Mr Rao and Mrs Desai. While it is perhaps understandable that they are wanting to communicate directly with the fans and other stakeholders, there needs to be more strategic thinking behind their communication, because mixed messages only serve to damage the credibility of both the owners and our football club.

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