[Archived] John Williams Leaves

[Ray P]

I am not a regular poster on this board but this news is the last straw. JW leaving his post was inevitable but the timing and manner is yet another example of a total lack of class, business acumen and planning by owners who are totally out of their depth. They ride roughshod over all that Rovers stood for and our reputation as a club run by sensible fair minded people with roots grounded in the local community. The 'welcome' the family received when presented on Wednesday was indicative of the lack of rapport they have built up since the take over. I have watched Rovers for 55 years and IMHO this is a nadir in the history of the club - worse than days in Division 3, worse than any of the rare defeats by BFC, worse than any relegation. At least then we were together as Rovers!

We have gone from being a respected founding league member, proud of our roots and history, to a joke whose standing in the football community has nosedived, and continues to do so. The Venkys style of management is doing irrepairable damage to our reputation and they (and their advisers)seem totally oblivious to their style and actions. Our fan base is polarised because the ownership handover was handled in such an amateurish style. Even if Rovers are unbeaten for the remainder of the season the damage has been done. RIP to the club I loved - pass the shotgun please!

I would like to add my thanks to John Williams for his successful stewardship of our club through difficult times, conducted with skill and integrity. He is well out of the madhouse. Just a pity that his tenure has to end in this way and his expertise will doubtless be lost to the club just when they need it most.

[BRFCS Content]

John Williams Leaves

[trueblue]

Hmm the Venky's may have said they would not get rid of JW for at least 12 months.. they didn't say anything about making his position untennable and him leaving of his own accord.

Sad day indeed for Rovers.

[Roversider]

John Williams has been an outstanding Chairman and Chief Executive over the years for Blackburn Rovers and I wish him well in whatever he does in the future. We will miss his steadying influence and I really hope that the FA consider whether they can use his knowledge and experience within football in their organisation.

Inevitably these changes occur when ownership changes.

Good luck John!

[alexanders]

John Williams has been an outstanding Chairman and Chief Executive over the years for Blackburn Rovers and I wish him well in whatever he does in the future. We will miss his steadying influence and I really hope that the FA consider whether they can use his knowledge and experience within football in their organisation.

Inevitably these changes occur when ownership changes.

Good luck John!

+ 1

[LarryLink]

This is very sad news and something that leaves me feeling quite concerned. John Williams was an integral part of the club and he has a very wise head on his shoulders. It worries me that he has issues with the way the club is being run. Also the fact that he has been left out of club affairs lately worries me about the new ownership and how they are running our club. He is a well respected man in the football world, alot of people regard him as one of the best in the business. Venkys should be working hand in hand with a man of his experience and reputation, not ignoring him and pushing him out. especially when they are new to the business and trying to find their feet. I guess this SEM / Kentaro group are having much more of a say in things than I had thought or hoped for that matter.

All this comes just after we had a good transfer window and we have started to play some nice entertaining attacking football, with all this alot of my fears about the new ownership had eased. I had a real feeling of hope and excitement about the future but now I am feeling uneasy with it all again.

Mr Williams you will be missed, you have been a great servant to our great club. Its a sad day for rovers.

[Dan]

I thought the trust were staying on to advise Venky's? They must have advised against this? Its a bit worrying losing JW, but he was always going to be retiring in the near future anyway.

As the poster above has said, they should have kept him on and used his wealth of knowledge and experience. Though I guess Mr. Anderson doesn't want anyone stepping on his toes.

[philipl]

PaulPlunkettLT Paul Plunkett

Yes John Williams has left Blackburn. No official statement still. Four pages in today's LT on it #rovers

Losing JW is an enormous wrench but the manner of his leaving is an utter disgrace and totally undermines the new ownership.

[broadsword]

A steadying, calming influence whose savoir-faire will be greatly missed.

Part of the fabric of the clu, leaving in circumstances that leave something to be desired.

[thebigguy]

Hmm the Venky's may have said they would not get rid of JW for at least 12 months.. they didn't say anything about making his position untennable and him leaving of his own accord.

Sad day indeed for Rovers.

If he did leave on his own accord as you said, then he would not of got any pay out. If he has been given the push then he would get a payout.

Shame he has left and be a big hole left in blackburn rovers.

Dont want to copy and past my comments so re them from this post about what i think on this subject http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php/topic/24054-board-changes/page__view__findpost__p__1023991

[philipl]

I am not a regular poster on this board but this news is the last straw. JW leaving his post was inevitable but the timing and manner is yet another example of a total lack of class, business acumen and planning by owners who are totally out of their depth. They ride roughshod over all that Rovers stood for and our reputation as a club run by sensible fair minded people with roots grounded in the local community. The 'welcome' the family received when presented on Wednesday was indicative of the lack of rapport they have built up since the take over. I have watched Rovers for 55 years and IMHO this is a nadir in the history of the club - worse than days in Division 3, worse than any of the rare defeats by BFC, worse than any relegation. At least then we were together as Rovers!

We have gone from being a respected founding league member, proud of our roots and history, to a joke whose standing in the football community has nosedived, and continues to do so. The Venkys style of management is doing irrepairable damage to our reputation and they (and their advisers)seem totally oblivious to their style and actions. Our fan base is polarised because the ownership handover was handled in such an amateurish style. Even if Rovers are unbeaten for the remainder of the season the damage has been done. RIP to the club I loved - pass the shotgun please!

I would like to add my thanks to John Williams for his successful stewardship of our club through difficult times, conducted with skill and integrity. He is well out of the madhouse. Just a pity that his tenure has to end in this way and his expertise will doubtless be lost to the club just when they need it most.

Totally agree the sentiment and the elegant way it is expressed.

[Mattyblue]

I met him on a few occasions, nobody else you would want in your corner. Good luck John.

Who is going to be running the club on a daily basis? I hope they know what they are doing...

[PAFELL]

PaulPlunkettLT Paul Plunkett

Yes John Williams has left Blackburn. No official statement still. Four pages in today's LT on it #rovers

Losing JW is an enormous wrench but the manner of his leaving is an utter disgrace and totally undermines the new ownership.

We don't know the manner of his leaving as yet. So to call it an utter disgrace and undermines the new owners, is a bit premature. JW was not far off retirement. Maybe he has been given early retirement package.

You haven't liked the new owners from the beginning, so anything they do would be a disgrace to you.

[BRFCS Content]

This is Kamy.

It is a great shame that John Williams has gone. He should/will be remembered as a club great, he has achieved so much in his 13 years at the club.

The news that he has gone has not come as a surprise. The new owners have every right to run the club in anyway they see fit. However, when Venky's took over Mrs Desai stated that the club's management would stay the same for the foreseeable future, yet 11 weeks later Sam has gone and now John has gone, like I said before Venky's have every right to run the club in anyway they see fit but surely it would have been more prudent to get these issues sorted out at the time of the takeover rather than afterwards.

No one knows exactly what has gone on, but it patently obvious that John has nor been involved in the decision making process with the owners choosing to seek and act upon the advice of their advisors, again no problems with that. The problem is that the new way of working totally undermined John's position and eventually his position has become untenable.

However, I personally feel that the way that John has been treated shows a lack of class and respect. In any business when new owners come there is change. It's the way that the change his handled that is crucial.

People have eluded to a personal issue(Which should NOT be discussed on this board) also playing a part in John leaving. That did not play a part in the decision for him to leave the club yesterday.

Club will of course move on, we wait to see who is John's replacement and the direction the club will take under the new management structure.

I will be opening a John Williams appreciation thread in a moment, so if people want to post messages to be passed onto John then use that thread and will ensure that each and everyone is passed onto him.

[philipl]

We don't know the manner of his leaving as yet. So to call it an utter disgrace and undermines the new owners, is a bit premature. JW was not far off retirement. Maybe he has been given early retirement package.

You haven't liked the new owners from the beginning, so anything they do would be a disgrace to you.

I am sorry but posts in his mode are fantasies. To tell people they don't know what they do know is ridiculous.

It is being picked up elsewhere now:

Guardian report.

Daily Telegraph comment

Even the Indian press report JW's departure in a very downbeat manner. They are probably getting embarassed by what is going on.

Nothing positive in any of those is there?

[artemorethanlabore]

I am sorry but posts in his mode are fantasies. To tell people they don't know what they do know is ridiculous.

It is being picked up elsewhere now:

Guardian report.

Daily Telegraph comment

Nothing upbeat in either of those is there?

Carbon-copies of the first one, no? To me it reflects more disinterested reuters-style reporting than any kind of understanding of the situation at rovers.

[TimmyJimmy]

...

Stuff is happening, Philip knows it, I know it, several others know it on here, clearly you don't - but that's just the way it is, why not be a little more trusting and even interested in what may be going on in your club?

...

For my part I sense something highly negative in the offing. No it's not 'fact' because it hasn't happened yet, but I have been told in confidence and I'm 90% certain therefore that it will happen - but then again I'm not pulling the levers so I can't make it happen. Can I say more - no - what's the time frame - maybe by the end of the transfer window - how will you know if I am right or wrong - either way I'll post something at the end of the window. I don't fear looking bad and I refuse to look the other way.

In the mean time give this naive stuff a rest will you and stop continually disrespecting posters of good intent.

Post it now. Let the cat out of the bag. Let us all join your clique and put me in my place.

...

But what is the point of posting "Something bad is going to happen"? What do you expect us all to do? Run around shouting "Something bad is going to happen"?

...

The annoying thing is, it's all just something bad. There's no quantification.

What you see as bad may well not seem bad to me. The same for everybody and some people take the rumour as fact that something bad is going to happen and they assume the worst, whatever their worst is. And if enough people repeat it, it gets passed on as fact.

Unless the rumour can be quanitified or expanded upon then it's probably best to just not bother saying it at all.

Poster: "Heard rumblings of something bad going on behind the scenes".

Next day:

Poster: "Heard rumblings of something bad going on behind the scenes".

The following day:

Poster: "Heard rumblings of something bad going on behind the scenes".

And so on...

Am I the only one who is getting sick of this?

...

I'm sick to the back teeth of hearing "I know something you don't". The only person who can pull it off is Nicko, simply because he's obviously respected enough and has enough sources to work for a national newspaper. Unfortunately, unless people are going to post what they've heard, or what they believe, I'm considering it bull****.

...

Well there you have it, I (and others) have been sitting on this for a while now and it eventually happened yesterday, almost on cue eh? As promised here is my post on the subject.

My first reaction is one of anger, not only with the Venky clan who clearly had all this in their minds since day one, but also with the numptys who, if they weren't so consistently hostile and abrasive could have helped join a ground swell of supporter opinion that could have prevented this.

Everything posted on here by people 'in the know' is actually true then it seems. It's never possible to disclose chapter and verse without compromising sources but given that we all clearly have the best interests of the club at heart why the heck do others set themselves out to be appeasers and apologists dressed up as loyalty.

Were players in open revolt and had to have their contracts 'renegotiated' to quieten things down? Were the agents encamped down at Brockhall? Were JW and others persuaded to stay on last time? etc, etc. Open your eyes, what more do people want, someone to tattoo it on their foreheads. Well 'show me the facts' Doubting Thomas here is the hole to poke your fingers in. Enjoy, you're now one of the 'in crowd'. Thanks for all the support.

The club that was once BRFC is now no more, pure and simple. The name survives but there are no standard bearers to carry forward what that name stands for. 'Family' has gone out of the window. It's now just a distant arm of some multinational that just happens to be situated in Blackburn (for the time being).

A number of us have been working b*lls out behind the scenes for a while now to try and rescue the situation and on one occasion we actually thought we were very very close but alas we now come to this. There's no rescuing this particular situation, the fat lady has sung.

As long as the positive results continue on the field then certain 'supporters' who care about nothing more than points will stay happy, when/if things start to go wrong they'll jump ship in their droves. For those that felt part of the soul of this club irrespective of points or position, well sorry guys and gals that club is now long gone IMO.

It's a sad and bitter day. The only person who truly knew what Jack wanted has now been heaved out of the window. I wonder who'll get the job?

Thanks John for all your work over the years. You made a difference and you will be missed.

[Simon Says]

However, I personally feel that the way that John has been treated shows a lack of class and respect. In any business when new owners come there is change. It's the way that the change his handled that is crucial.

Totally agree.

A sad day. The man did a fantastic job for us in very difficult times.

He deserved better.

[Roversider]

Well there you have it, I (and others) have been sitting on this for a while now and it eventually happened yesterday, almost on cue eh? As promised here is my post on the subject.

It's a sad and bitter day. The only person who truly knew what Jack wanted has now been heaved out of the window. I wonder who'll get the job?

Thanks John for all your work over the years. You made a difference and you will be missed.

Firstly, congratulations on being able to demonstrate your inside knowledge. As an aside I have never rubbished your comments or felt it necessary to deride your sources or intentions.

On the other parts, as you point out indirectly, it was not our club before by your definition, it was Jacks. Now I do agree that I had a lot in common with Mr.Walker than the current owners but he never consulted me on his decisions, wonderfully, however, they were all what I wanted. Jack is a truly sad loss.

John Williams operated with professionalism and care for the club, he is also a sad loss but thankfully he is still alive and can look forward to enjoying his severance package.

The club has been in existence since 1875, in that time (in the last 20 years particularly) football has changed beyond belief. As a fan who has followed Rovers through some breathtakingly grim times I am used to despairing about the future. The Trust was put in place to further Jacks desires, they sold the club .....

I do not intend to climb a tall building and jump nor do I intend to give up on Rovers. I will wait to see what happens before I tear up my season-ticket up.

Life goes on, even if it is different, but my loyalty remains, stubbornly, perhaps stupidly, unchanged.

[chocky]

It is hard when a new regime come in and you feel that you cannot be part of it. I wonder if some on here have bugged the boardroom or have sepcial contacts in the club becuase their knowledge in unparalled. Know all know nothings. Someone high uop in the club told me this and told ne that. Jesus. The Venky's own the club get on with that. They will run the club the way they want to whether some like it or not. They have not bought the club to fail.

[The Gull]

I think John would have left a lot sooner if he could have but his loyalty to the club kept him here till now.

This news was inevitable, John has wanted to retire for a while but stuck around to see the sale process through, but I agree he deserved much better treatment from the new owners even though he was always likely to be gone.

I imagine others will follow him, his son Simon who has been the driving force behind a lot of the initiatives which have increased attendances in recent years, Martin Goodman the FD and my former boss who has been here since JW joined. There may well be others.

On the pitch Venky's, with or without the SEM/Kentaro assistance, have made good progress in relation to the players we have got in and seem to be doing things the right way.

Off the pitch may be a big struggle for them, their current PR and business dealings leave a lot to be desired, but I am willing to wait and see rather than giving them hell at this point.

[daveoftherovers]

Firstly, congratulations on being able to demonstrate your inside knowledge. As an aside I have never rubbished your comments or felt it necessary to deride your sources or intentions.

On the other parts, as you point out indirectly, it was not our club before by your definition, it was Jacks. Now I do agree that I had a lot in common with Mr.Walker than the current owners but he never consulted me on his decisions, wonderfully, however, they were all what I wanted. Jack is a truly sad loss.

John Williams operated with professionalism and care for the club, he is also a sad loss but thankfully he is still alive and can look forward to enjoying his severance package.

The club has been in existence since 1875, in that time (in the last 20 years particularly) football has changed beyond belief. As a fan who has followed Rovers through some breathtakingly grim times I am used to despairing about the future. The Trust was put in place to further Jacks desires, they sold the club .....

I do not intend to climb a tall building and jump nor do I intend to give up on Rovers. I will wait to see what happens before I tear up my season-ticket up.

Life goes on, even if it is different, but my loyalty remains, stubbornly, perhaps stupidly, unchanged.

What a great reply Roversider! I'm going to just agree on all the points rather than re word what would be a repeat, I am however, going to be singing a few songs at Wigan, just hope you are their or are listening John.

[Wilky]

wasn't it part of the terms of takeover that John Williams keeps his job until the end if his contract?

[Barnesy]

John Williams invited me in persoanlly on a couple of occasions to discuss the Rovers "off the record". He made me a brew, chatted like he was my best mate and countered all my grumbles about key decisions that were made in his reign. eg. The sale of Bellamy. I wish him all the best- a thoroughly decent chap. However, the new club owners want a hands-on approach unlike the Walker Trust who werre happy to leave John doing the hands-on bit. You can't blame them. John was fighting for the club's survival ( aka Sam) whilst the Desai's are looking at moving upwards and raising the club and,therefore, their business profile-eg. more TV coverage/press space) One of John's difficulties seemed to be in communicating with the fans as a whole. Radio Lancashire, for example, claim they contact him for discussions on issues (like they do with Oyston and the others) but he offers no comment. Aka LET. Venky's want plenty of comment-and you need to do that to keep in the public eye. You also need to win and climb the table. Let's do it for John tomorrow at the Pie Eaters.

[vintageadidas]

i will be singing " THERE IS ONLY ONE JOHN WILLIAMS" at the DW on Saturday!!!!!

Give hime a good send off from our club. It is what he deserves!