[Archived] Sustained Attempt to Undermine the Club?

[RovertheHill]

In all probability I'm going to regret this when the flaming starts but here goes...

There seems to be a sustained campaign by many on here with the sole purpose of undermining the owners and the manager, which in effect means undermining the club. It is vitriolic, it is personal and undignified. Much of it seems to be based on hearsay and rumour, or on secret contacts who hint at problems deep within the club, without such things being evidenced or even mentioned in anything more than nudge, nudge, wink, wink tones. I have my doubts about these contacts but if they are real then surely the malevolence will be flowing both ways and thereby actually contributing to and amplifying any unease or unrest within the club. If journalists were writing anything like the things that are being hinted at there would be uproar about the papers.

And to be clear I do NOT support Venky's. I did NOT want Allardyce sacked mid-season. I did NOT want Steve Kean appointed.

I just think the hypocrisy should stop, and the attempts to undermine should stop.

[sambo]

Agreed.

Hate the constant speculation with nothing to back it up.

I won't name names, but the board is a horrible place to be at times currently - too much arguing, and not enough support for the team, plus 'factions' making it a warzone nearly. Not fair on the moderators, who continue to do a good job, especially with the t-shirt to raise money initiative etc. Too many making their jobs harder than it should be.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

This is honestly one of the most negative, snipey football messageboards I've ever come across. I think people who haven't been here before would be shocked at how much every tiny detail is analysed and spun to look like the end of the world.

Many messageboards would by now have moved on from the Newcastle game but we'll still be discussing it and bemoaning it for two weeks now. Maybe it's a Rovers thing. Maybe it's a BRFCS thing.

[Ben-2000]

My visits to this board are purposly limited and I very rarely post anymore for reasons such as the above. Let the whingers and those with agenda's get on with it.

It's a shame really, because it's a very well run forum. But a few members and the road many threads go down are very off-putting and spoil it for many others I feel.

[Exiled in Toronto]

The board has changed completely from when I first joined. There is little to no pleasure these days coming from exchanging views with fellow fans. A dozen or so motormouths repeating soundbites ad nauseam might give them some sort of kick, but for the life of me I cannot fathom what it is.

[The Dart]

The board has changed completely from when I first joined. There is little to no pleasure these days coming from exchanging views with fellow fans. A dozen or so motormouths repeating soundbites ad nauseam might give them some sort of kick, but for the life of me I cannot fathom what it is.

Empty vessels and all that.

[neekoy]

Some want to see the club fail so we can go back to British owners who appoint British managers, this is not racist, just an unwillingness to accept that the Premier League has now only ENGLISH in it's name because that is where it is located.

I don't think people seriously want to undermine the club but it appears from an outsider that this club seems to be a literal exxtension of their personal fabric and suck any changes like the ones we had recently feels foreign, like their body trying to reject a new limb even though they need it.

If it was me, any future mention of Sam Allardyce as the crux of all points of arguement i.e what Sam would have done, could have done, should have done differently should be a warning and then ban.

Sam Allardyce is personally not to blame, but he has become a symbol on this board for those who want it as it was and those who want it the way it is now.

People just to get over it and move on, support the club or find a club that does hold your values and traditions, cause this one is NEVER going to change back to what you want it to be.

[philipl]

Of course change from what was a relatively secure situation which pertained even in the second half of last season is discomforting.

But I don't think it is the supporters who are undermining the club.

[grizfoot]

People just like whining about things. When Big Sam was in charge we played negative football that was boring and unbearable to watch. Now Steve Kean is in charge he's playing too open expansive football that will surely get us relegated. The club needed new owners for financial backing for us to move forward. We got new owners in but they sacked our not universally loved manager and then backed our new manager in the transfer market in January adressing key areas upfront and in midfield. But one of them is a crock, the other is not very good and the two that haven't even played are rubbish by default. Jason Robets & Keith Andrews are the spawn of satan. Didn't you hear there's a new Venky's chicken shop opening adjacent to Ewood Park which can be used for gags involving Benni McCarthy & David Dunn.

[neekoy]

Well it is not the Owners or Manager Phil, that leaves ex staff/players, the media or fans. Take your pick I guess.

All I know is Sam Allardyce Sam Allardyce in my heart Sam Allardye, undermine and Sam Allardyce for sure.....

[47er]

Some want to see the club fail so we can go back to British owners who appoint British managers, this is not racist, just an unwillingness to accept that the Premier League has now only ENGLISH in it's name because that is where it is located.

I don't think people seriously want to undermine the club but it appears from an outsider that this club seems to be a literal exxtension of their personal fabric and suck any changes like the ones we had recently feels foreign, like their body trying to reject a new limb even though they need it.

If it was me, any future mention of Sam Allardyce as the crux of all points of arguement i.e what Sam would have done, could have done, should have done differently should be a warning and then ban.

Sam Allardyce is personally not to blame, but he has become a symbol on this board for those who want it as it was and those who want it the way it is now.

People just to get over it and move on, support the club or find a club that does hold your values and traditions, cause this one is NEVER going to change back to what you want it to be.

This whole thread is beyond belief and your post is the most unbelievable of all. So ironic after all the undermining that went on when Allardyce was manager.

NOBODY wants to see the club fail. This a trumped up charge.

You've also flirted with allegations of racism which is a disgrace. I welcomed the Venkys takeover with open arms, I don't want British owners------there were none forthcoming. I welcome change, we needed it but I want change for the better.

The current discontent on the Board emanates from nothing other than a sequence of poor results which put the Premier League future of the club at risk---11 points out of 30 not particularly difficult fixtures. And that comes from a dreadful decision by the owners to sack an experienced manager and put in a novice yes-man.

And the discontent will grow if the results don't improve.

You can stick your head in the sand if you want to but anyone who loves the club should not be bullied out of telling it like it is.

[Miker]

This board is surprisingly pleasant compared to some of the other messageboards I've looked at, both in terms of tolerance and the quality of the posts. I'm not sure if that's a good reflection on this messageboard, or a really terrible one on the others.

I don't think any of the supporters are trying to undermine the club and I've valued everyone's contribution recently, it makes for good debate and discussion. However, I find it ironic that some people on here who are now defending the owners are the same people who, not so long ago, were constantly speaking negatively about our previous manager ("he who shall not be named") to an even higher degree than our current manager is being spoken about now.

I think a problem has been that there's people on both sides who are getting too emotional about some of the posts on here and start making snide remarks, which triggers a chain reaction of angry posts. I think the key points to remember is that all of us care about the club and whether there's problems behind the scenes or not, there isn't a whole lot we can do about it, but I appreciate that there are people on here who are willing to keep us informed, even with tiny bits of information.

[Glenn]

It's always gone in cycles, the team plays well and wins stuff, it's a lovely fluffy place with little agro and polite conversation. Things don't go so well, or simply change (people fear change and change is a very negative emotion) and people are at each others throats.

The difference at the moment is we've had years where off the pitch there has been little to moan about and all we've had to worry us was on the pitch (and almost everyone thinks that simply regaining Premiership status is an achievement, so even then, the moans were minor). This has been obvious because people like Vinjay, Waggy, Jan and Gordon have really stood out by being very vocal about stuff being wrong when the rest felt it was pretty good.

However, now we've got the biggest change since before Jack, we've got foreign owners in an area where race relations is already a hot topic and we've had a period of bad results (Ince) followed by bad football (Sam) and now more uncertainty (Kean) and we've lost the one thing almost everyone thought was what kept us "punching above our weight" (John Williams), so effectively just about every emotional button available has been pressed.

We have periods like this before (I remember us putting the forum on "suicide watch" making it read-only after defeats in the Souness era), but we always come through them. The good (well, less uncertain) times will come again, maybe at the hands of Venky's, maybe not. Only time will tell. But we will hit that purple patch again and people will forget about just how rough it is to be a Rovers fan right now.

As for an attempt to undermine the club, there quite possibly is, but it sure as hell isn't starting here. Vinjay was a one man attempt to undermine the club using forums and nobody took him seriously. However, this time it's obvious that quite a number of normally level headed and thoughtful people not known for gossip mongering or panicking have good information sources (or at least ones they trust) much nearer the club than this forum and they are scared. Rightly on wrongly these people believe passionately that the information they are privy to is potentially damaging to the club (or at least the fans) and wanting to protect their club which is something I think is only natural. To me, it's not those concerned about the club that are undermining it, it's those feeding them the info. The question is, is the info good, SHOULD we all be scared ?

[neekoy]

This whole thread is beyond belief and your post is the most unbelievable of all. So ironic after all the undermining that went on when Allardyce was manager.

NOBODY wants to see the club fail. This a trumped up charge.

You've also flirted with allegations of racism which is a disgrace. I welcomed the Venkys takeover with open arms, I don't want British owners------there were none forthcoming. I welcome change, we needed it but I want change for the better.

The current discontent on the Board emanates from nothing other than a sequence of poor results which put the Premier League future of the club at risk---11 points out of 30 not particularly difficult fixtures. And that comes from a dreadful decision by the owners to sack an experienced manager and put in a novice yes-man.

And the discontent will grow if the results don't improve.

You can stick your head in the sand if you want to but anyone who loves the club should not be bullied out of telling it like it is.

There were no flirtations, I simply described that people want it like it was, when we had British owners and a British Manager, something they could feel connected to, hell call it Jack and Kenny if you want. Call it how you like, there are inveritably always calls for British Managers to be appointed whenever there is a vacancy or at least someone who has a connection to club.

The current discontent on this board is from the likes of yourselves who want to constantly refer back to Sam Allardyce as some sort of saviour. If Sam had 6m well, you know it would be been a hell of a lot more different, and you know this how? You do know that Allardyce nearly got Bolton relegated one year right?

Have a look in the mirror if you want to know who is undermining the club..."And that comes from a dreadful decision by the owners to sack an experienced manager and put in a novice yes-man." As if you speak from some sort of expert knowledge on the workings of the club, what actually occured behind closed doors and the character of our new manager.

You could have just left it at the performances but no, like your counterparts, another sly dig....pathetic really. But of course, lets turn THIS THREAD into another Sam Allardyce arguement.

[dj54nna]

Just what we need. A thread full of whinging about all the whingers...

[BangkokRover]

I doubt any REAL Rovers fan wants anything but success for Rovers. The reason there is so much doom and gloom around the club on the website, can be firmly blamed on the new owners. Now I am 100% certain that the new owners only want the best for Rovers, as who buys a club at great expense and then tries to destroy the club??

BUT the way the owners have handled the press and us as fans has been incredibly poor. The sacking of BFS was a really stupid decision and the timing of it was just completely crazy. Coming out to the press and saying we are going to sign Ronadlinho was just madness. He was never going to come to Blackburn and if the Venkeys cheque book was the reason he came then he would be no benefit at all to Rovers. Ronadlinho's career has been over for since he left Barcelona. No matter what anyone says he has not been the same player. The loaning of RSC and Jones are an improvement to squad but we all know RSC is very injury prown but when on top form he is one of the best strikers in the EPL. Lets hope he he can stay fit. The two youngsters signings could be good for future seasons but they could also amount to nothing.

Now we get on to John Williams leaving, this for me is most worrying part. John Williams has done an amazing job, well respected with in football and by the fans. He should have been the link between the new owners and the fans. For what ever reasons John Williams had he is a massive loss for Rovers.

As for the future I doubt Rovers will go down this season but the future is not as bright as we though when Venkey's came in. As long as we stay up anything is possible next season.

[m1st]

This whole thread is beyond belief and your post is the most unbelievable of all. So ironic after all the undermining that went on when Allardyce was manager.

NOBODY wants to see the club fail. This a trumped up charge.

You've also flirted with allegations of racism which is a disgrace. I welcomed the Venkys takeover with open arms, I don't want British owners------there were none forthcoming. I welcome change, we needed it but I want change for the better.

The current discontent on the Board emanates from nothing other than a sequence of poor results which put the Premier League future of the club at risk---11 points out of 30 not particularly difficult fixtures. And that comes from a dreadful decision by the owners to sack an experienced manager and put in a novice yes-man.

And the discontent will grow if the results don't improve.

You can stick your head in the sand if you want to but anyone who loves the club should not be bullied out of telling it like it is.

Ah but; and I know that this is something that occurs on other Boards [both football-related and otherwise], the anonymity which a Message Board allows also permits people to say things in a way which I hope few would ever use in a face-to-face discussion. That, imo, is what often makes many Message Boards [not just this one, from time to time] unpleasant places to visit and/or belong to.

Which is all the sadder when we're all supposed to be on the same side.

[DE.]

I don't think the mb is worse than any others as far as general reaction to matches and events go. Seems basically the same as other footy forums I frequent. Football fans may support different clubs but the majority are fickle, overly analytical and think they can do the job better than those in charge. It's hardly a new phenomenon, been that way for years and will be for a long time yet.

Has the overall quality of this board gone down a bit? Probably, but that's the price paid for becoming more popular. Of the forums I go to (popular ones, anyhow) this one is certainly the most organised and sensible of the lot. Unfortunately, there are some very deep personal vendettas and wars going on between members here which cause a lot of negativity.

It also seems to have gotten to the point now where there seem to be more people "in the know" than out of it. In reality there are very few people on this board with good, reliable information. That has become apparent over the course of the last few months. It's annoying to read tidbits from people claiming to be ITK, who aren't, and then have it regurgitated as gospel in future debates. Otherwise, the general negative vibe is really to be expected in probably the most uncertain era of recent times for this club.

[Miker]

As for an attempt to undermine the club, there quite possibly is, but it sure as hell isn't starting here. Vinjay was a one man attempt to undermine the club using forums and nobody took him seriously. However, this time it's obvious that quite a number of normally level headed and thoughtful people not known for gossip mongering or panicking have good information sources (or at least ones they trust) much nearer the club than this forum and they are scared. Rightly on wrongly these people believe passionately that the information they are privy to is potentially damaging to the club (or at least the fans) and wanting to protect their club which is something I think is only natural. To me, it's not those concerned about the club that are undermining it, it's those feeding them the info. The question is, is the info good, SHOULD we all be scared ?

Glenn, that is a really important point because those of us who have been on the forum for a few years now know that people like phillip are respected posters and they would not be purposely making this stuff up to undermine the new owners.

The question really is who these sources are and why they are coming out with this information. Either way, I think there's cause for at least a little bit of concern. Anyway, top post Glenn, I think it sums everything up nicely.

[47er]

There were no flirtations, I simply described that people want it like it was, when we had British owners and a British Manager, something they could feel connected to, hell call it Jack and Kenny if you want. Call it how you like, there are inveritably always calls for British Managers to be appointed whenever there is a vacancy or at least someone who has a connection to club.

The current discontent on this board is from the likes of yourselves who want to constantly refer back to Sam Allardyce as some sort of saviour. If Sam had 6m well, you know it would be been a hell of a lot more different, and you know this how? You do know that Allardyce nearly got Bolton relegated one year right?

Have a look in the mirror if you want to know who is undermining the club..."And that comes from a dreadful decision by the owners to sack an experienced manager and put in a novice yes-man." As if you speak from some sort of expert knowledge on the workings of the club, what actually occured behind closed doors and the character of our new manager.

You could have just left it at the performances but no, like your counterparts, another sly dig....pathetic really. But of course, lets turn THIS THREAD into another Sam Allardyce arguement.

So you can refer to him (twice) in your first post on this thread but I can't refer to him in responding to you! Says it all really!

[Glenn]

The question really is who these sources are and why they are coming out with this information.

I've decided I genuinely don't want to know. I've always wanted to keep the forum impartial and I've learnt the hard way, it's very difficult to do that if you only get one side of the story.

[Steve Moss]

There were no flirtations, I simply described that people want it like it was, when we had British owners and a British Manager, . . .

Speaking as a non-British reader, I have detected absolutely no preference for British owners and British managers, with the sole exception of the English national team. In fact, the vast majority of the posters seem very open-minded. Examples include wanting Bilic, Bradley, Martin Jol, Henk ten Cate, etc. all as managers for the Rovers.

So what is the basis for your rather shocking charge?

As for the future I doubt Rovers will go down this season but the future is not as bright as we though when Venkey's came in. As long as we stay up anything is possible next season.

I think this sums it up. I agree we will probably survive, though it will likely be a much closer run thing than would have otherwise been necessary. Unnecessary worry and dissappointment probably colors a lot of opinions, including mine.

[Exiled in Toronto]

You can stick your head in the sand if you want to but anyone who loves the club should not be bullied out of telling it like it is.

Again and again and again. I'm sure if you repeat it just a few more times Venky's will reinstate Allardyce, give him 500 million, build a temple to JW and then sell-up for ten quid to Margo Grimshaw.

[American Rover12]

The board has changed completely from when I first joined. There is little to no pleasure these days coming from exchanging views with fellow fans. A dozen or so motormouths repeating soundbites ad nauseam might give them some sort of kick, but for the life of me I cannot fathom what it is.

Too true. Summed up my thoughts perfectly.

[Miker]

I've decided I genuinely don't want to know. I've always wanted to keep the forum impartial and I've learnt the hard way, it's very difficult to do that if you only get one side of the story.

That's completely fair enough, I've felt the same way and haven't sought out anyone by PM or otherwise to discover the sources. I feel like there isn't much that I can do either way.