[Archived] Jerome Anderson = FAIL

[Glenn]

Having previous burned a lot of favours getting free professional legal advice from a libel specialist who also happens to have a good grounding in technical matters (i.e. actually understands the difference between a forum and a blog) after the site faced some serious and credible legal threats recently, I now have a pretty good grounding in such matters. my belief is that TB&W is mostly along the right lines (even if the info focuses on three high profile cases that are easily googled) and even in my view I agree Philip's post is carefully worded and "pretty safe" (which is why it's not been removed) there still haven't been enough cases to clarify that something driven by user content (such as a forum) gives the website "common carrier" protection (the fact that we DO edit/hide posts both works for and against us in different cases. See Demon vs Godfrey for why waiting for a C&D or a court order before removing stuff isn't enough). It is all still very very grey and pretty much comes down to the interpretation of the judge you get. As an aside, I've recently done an hour long phone interview with google, who are researching how such things can stifle innovation, with the intention of presenting their findings to a government review panel. The bottom line is the site doesn't have the cash to get into a legal battle (though we do have the offer of assistance should it ever come to that) but as importantly, I don't have the time. So erring on the side of caution is the key here.

[philipl]

Thanks Glenn- I have been very careful.

I don't for a minute think that anyone would go to Court over this thread but my goodness it would be fascinating to see what would have to be disclosed as a result of some very smartly worded questions on the fans' side! I think quite a few of us know what to ask for.

[Fife Rover]

I have a feeling that the namesake of this thread will be a name seldom heard in the future...

Why...Is he changing his name?

[Fife Rover]

Who else do we blame for getting just about every decision wrong since they took over ?

If they were clever business people they would have realised there were no decisions to make and stuck by the maxim "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

I am not saying that there is no blame attaching to the owners for recent events including the sacking of Sam and the freezing out of JW. But given their admitted paucity of knowledge of the world of football, and the fact that they have hired highly paid advisors to make footballing decisions for them, I think we should all be aiming the brickbats in the direction they truly belong, and maybe give the owners a break.

I am sure that they now realise that they have made some very expensive mistakes but they themselves have been victims of poor or even bad advice. The time has now come for all of us and the owners to draw a line under the various mistakes made and to start afresh. The Venkys for their part need to rectify the mistakes that they are able to; especially sorting out the way the club is managed and by whom. And then we the supporters need to get behind the club, the owners, the management and the players. Only when all that has been done can there be any hope for a return to the stability that we had under the previous management. I am not expressing any opinion on whether or not Mr. Kean should continue in his present position........that is for the owners to decide after they have weighed all the facts including the pressing need to avert the very real danger of relegation we are now in. If all these things are done sensibly, calmly, and quickly then I for one will be able to say "well done" to the owners and will from there on look forward to having a stable and well managed club once again.

[philipl]

I am not saying that there is no blame attaching to the owners for recent events including the sacking of Sam and the freezing out of JW. But given their admitted paucity of knowledge of the world of football, and the fact that they have hired highly paid advisors to make footballing decisions for them, I think we should all be aiming the brickbats in the direction they truly belong, and maybe give the owners a break.

I am sure that they now realise that they have made some very expensive mistakes but they themselves have been victims of poor or even bad advice. The time has now come for all of us and the owners to draw a line under the various mistakes made and to start afresh. The Venkys for their part need to rectify the mistakes that they are able to; especially sorting out the way the club is managed and by whom. And then we the supporters need to get behind the club, the owners, the management and the players. Only when all that has been done can there be any hope for a return to the stability that we had under the previous management. I am not expressing any opinion on whether or not Mr. Kean should continue in his present position........that is for the owners to decide after they have weighed all the facts including the pressing need to avert the very real danger of relegation we are now in. If all these things are done sensibly, calmly, and quickly then I for one will be able to say "well done" to the owners and will from there on look forward to having a stable and well managed club once again.

Great post.

The Kean conundrum must surely mean the owners are on a fast learning curve to start making decisions of their own independent of the man whom many believe is responsible for putting Kean into the Manager's chair.

[47er]

I agree that the players have to take some responsability - games like Wigan would have been won if not for individual mistakes at the back and some very bad finishing. I don't think you can put all the blame at Kean's door - just a fair %.

As for Venky's - I think it was widely accepted that under the Trust we would have in the short to medium term been relegated due to lack of finance. We have punched above our weight for a long time - and good housekeeping by JW and some astute purchases by SA & MH could not go on forever. I applaud their apparent ambition - and their drive to push Rovers in the media. However - their approach is haphazard - and unnecessarily risky. The sacking of SA was a case in point - they could have kept him in a job - only let him purchase loans - and then looked for a replacement in the summer. Unlike many I thought the transfer window was good - they brought in two established international players in on loan to bolster the squad - while picking up a couple of promising players for the future (though they may need to show their worth earlier than was hoped). Unfortunately - in John Williams - they have lost the one person that they should have been talking to for advice. Fine taking advice from agents - but better to also talk to one man who has seen it and done it for Rovers for a number of years.

As for an agenda against Venky's - I have to agree that some people (justified or not - as they won't spill the beans on what they allegedly "know") have had it in for them from the start. Personally - and possibly for a large number on the MB - they have lost my confidence over a period of time with a number of ill-thought out decisions that have put the very future of our club at risk.

Couldn't disagree with any of this.

[bob fleming]

I am not saying that there is no blame attaching to the owners for recent events including the sacking of Sam and the freezing out of JW. But given their admitted paucity of knowledge of the world of football, and the fact that they have hired highly paid advisors to make footballing decisions for them, I think we should all be aiming the brickbats in the direction they truly belong, and maybe give the owners a break.

I am sure that they now realise that they have made some very expensive mistakes but they themselves have been victims of poor or even bad advice. The time has now come for all of us and the owners to draw a line under the various mistakes made and to start afresh. The Venkys for their part need to rectify the mistakes that they are able to; especially sorting out the way the club is managed and by whom. And then we the supporters need to get behind the club, the owners, the management and the players. Only when all that has been done can there be any hope for a return to the stability that we had under the previous management. I am not expressing any opinion on whether or not Mr. Kean should continue in his present position........that is for the owners to decide after they have weighed all the facts including the pressing need to avert the very real danger of relegation we are now in. If all these things are done sensibly, calmly, and quickly then I for one will be able to say "well done" to the owners and will from there on look forward to having a stable and well managed club once again.

Really Fife? I can't agree with that at all I'm afraid.

"Highly paid advisors"? They're called "Football Agents". By defnition (I'm sure anyone could google it and read up a bit, especially if you were "buying" a football club) they are generally in it for their clients and themselves - not the owners, fans or football club owners.

Do we really believe that this has all been done naively? As business people would you really take over a going concern and get rid of: -

1. The Chairman of the company who has kept it performing at the highest level with little to no investment in recent years, a man who is well respected throughout that industry by his peers.

and

2. A manager who saved the company from the brink of collapse and stabilised it. Again with no investment - which may explain why his methods were crude and unpleasant on the eye.

Did they not even think to seek the advise of the people who sold them the club?? What about John Williams? Completely disregard his opinion? The Board of Directors? The players? The previous manager? Even stop for one moment to hear these people out? Ask the fans even??

No, disregard all that in favour of appointing Steve Kean because his Agent told them to? Because he is capable of getting on a plane and flying to India?

It's nothing short of negligence.

If we go down it's no one elses fault but our new owners. Not Keans (saw his chance and went for it, sack him and he's made for life) not Anderson's (saw his chance and went for it, again. (As an aside check out the Man City part on that fountain of truth Wiki) - Fergusons quote that Theno referenced the other day is also there in the Rovers part).

Great post.

The Kean conundrum must surely mean the owners are on a fast learning curve to start making decisions of their own independent of the man whom many believe is responsible for putting Kean into the Manager's chair.

I'm not buying it. The whole thing stinks. Oh and this mortgage that we don't talk about, how much money are our new owners actually losing here?

[Paul]

Edited

[Mercer]

Great post from Bob Fleming.

[Fife Rover]

Really Fife? I can't agree with that at all I'm afraid.

"Highly paid advisors"? They're called "Football Agents". By defnition (I'm sure anyone could google it and read up a bit, especially if you were "buying" a football club) they are generally in it for their clients and themselves - not the owners, fans or football club owners.

Do we really believe that this has all been done naively? As business people would you really take over a going concern and get rid of: -

1. The Chairman of the company who has kept it performing at the highest level with little to no investment in recent years, a man who is well respected throughout that industry by his peers.

and

2. A manager who saved the company from the brink of collapse and stabilised it. Again with no investment - which may explain why his methods were crude and unpleasant on the eye.

Did they not even think to seek the advise of the people who sold them the club?? What about John Williams? Completely disregard his opinion? The Board of Directors? The players? The previous manager? Even stop for one moment to hear these people out? Ask the fans even??

No, disregard all that in favour of appointing Steve Kean because his Agent told them to? Because he is capable of getting on a plane and flying to India?

It's nothing short of negligence.

If we go down it's no one elses fault but our new owners. Not Keans (saw his chance and went for it, sack him and he's made for life) not Anderson's (saw his chance and went for it, again. (As an aside check out the Man City part on that fountain of truth Wiki) - Fergusons quote that Theno referenced the other day is also there in the Rovers part).

I'm not buying it. The whole thing stinks. Oh and this mortgage that we don't talk about, how much money are our new owners actually losing here?

Come on now Bob......Do you REALLY believe (or even think) that I am so naive that I haven't already thought out all the points you have raised and a damned sight more besides. If you do then I suggest you read back through my many posts on several different threads over the last few months. and you will have more than enough evidence of my thoughts on the happenings ever since the change of ownership and especially concerning the sacking of Sam, and the sidellining of John Williams. I dont intend to waste my time going over all that again, and I am both saddened and disappointed that you should think me capable of being so naive (nay stupid)

So moving on (which is what I did yesterday) I asked myself a few relevant questions, the answers to which gave rise to the post which you seem to find so objectionable. And seeing that you do take issue with my solution to my own questions I will now put some of them to you.

Leaving aside the question if why would the Venky's wish to buy Blackburn Rovers (we all know the basic reasons for that), and starting from the fact that they know/knew as much about the real world of football as most of us know about the Hindu way of life and it's beliefs; that made it ESSENTIAL from their point of view that they got some persons or body to act as their trusted advisors. OK so far?Which leads us to the first question :

1. Why did they employ Kentaro/ J.A. to act as their advisors? Well why not?....They probably cast around and enquired within the football world and were told that these people were so widely experienced and had so many connections in so many different aspects of the game that they (Venkys) would struggle to find anybody better suited to act as advisors. And obviously with their level of football knowledge and experience they went along with that. If you had been in their position at that time would you have done any better?

2. Virtually everything else that followed on from the time they became our new owners was done with the full knowledge of Kentaro/J.A.and as far as we can tell was done on their advice. We don't need to trawl one by one through all the things that were done, but we all certainly know what the main things were.

So now if you re-visit my post from yesterday that you seem to find so objectionable, perhaps you could tell us all what exactly it is that you find objectionable in my post which is simply advocating that we all now draw a line under the mistakes made through the inexeperienced new owners following the advice that they were given by highly paid world of football professionals (that is what Kentaro and J.A. are whether you like it or not). As I said in my post we now need to draw the line under all the mistakes Venkys have made in their naivety and move on. We (or rather they) also need to relocate the blame for these mistakes were it actually belongs .... on their advisors (whoever they are).

I hope that clears things up now for all the objectors. Or perhaps there are some people that are actually enjoying the disruption and lack of stability in our football club that we all claim to love and support, and wish it all to continue. My post is an attempt to see a way FORWARD from where we are now. And if it is acted upon with maximum good will on all sides it will eventually restore peace and stability

[92er]

1. Why did they employ Kentaro/ J.A. to act as their advisors? Well why not?....They probably cast around and enquired within the football world and were told that these people were so widely experienced and had so many connections in so many different aspects of the game that they (Venkys) would struggle to find anybody better suited to act as advisors. And obviously with their level of football knowledge and experience they went along with that. If you had been in their position at that time would you have done any better?

I'm pretty sure it came out at the AGM that Kentaro had been involved with them in their previous sporting activities, especially the cricket matches they had organised.

[JAL]

Is BBC radio Lancashire and the Lancashire Telegraph looking to interview Jerome Anderson?

[thenodrog]

Mr A's first appearance at Ewood was as a compulsive conspiratorial whisperer in the ear of Balaji whilst watching Chelsea at home.

Dunno if this has been mentioned before but maybe that is not necessarily true.

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/8861327.Bassini_did_consider_Blackburn_Rovers_bid/

If this is kosher then it seems he was given the task of finding a buyer and persuading him/them to invest in BRFC by either the Trust or Rothschilds. No wonder that the Venkey team would come to place so much faith in him.

[philipl]

Dunno if this has been mentioned before but maybe that is not necessarily true.

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/8861327.Bassini_did_consider_Blackburn_Rovers_bid/

If this is kosher then it seems he was given the task of finding a buyer and persuading him/them to invest in BRFC by either the Trust or Rothschilds. No wonder that the Venkey team would come to place so much faith in him.

I do not believe for a moment that the Trust or Rothschilds instructed Jerome Anderson and that article doesn't say that.

Jerome Anderson was far more likely to have been sniffing around for a middle man fee from buyers by broking a Kentaro/new owner deal for buying Rovers. On that basis I guess he was looking for any well-heeled potential purchaser to make the bid.

In retrospect, 28 August 2010 was the first time the Venky's/Kentaro team made a visible move for Rovers if nicko's scribblings were accurate but my hunch is that Jerome Anderson was hedging his bets and still looking for other potential Rovers buyers even after the Venky's bidding process was under way.

[thenodrog]

I do not believe for a moment that the Trust or Rothschilds instructed Jerome Anderson and that article doesn't say that.

Jerome Anderson was far more likely to have been sniffing around for a middle man fee from buyers by broking a Kentaro/new owner deal for buying Rovers. On that basis I guess he was looking for any well-heeled potential purchaser to make the bid.

The article says...

"Bassini is also friends with high-profile football agent Jerome Anderson and it was he who introduced him to Blackburn Rovers prior to its recent takeover.

Bassini said: “I was offered Blackburn Rovers, as Jerome Anderson is a good friend of mine, and I went to see some games there."

Are we splitting hairs here Gunner?

[Mattyblue]

Didn't Kean state on Sky that BRFC/the Trust employed Anderson to find a buyer?

[BPF]

This isn't entirely relevant but I am of the belief / opinion that no Trust members met anyone from Venkys before the sale was complete. It was done almost entirely through Anderson.

[cn174]

Didn't Kean state on Sky that BRFC/the Trust employed Anderson to find a buyer?

On Goals on Sunday he did. I was always under the impression it was rothchilds doing this?

[John]

Anderson is the main adviser to Venky's so of course he would be heavily involved in the deal...?

[BPF]

Anderson is the main adviser to Venky's so of course he would be heavily involved in the deal...?

Let me put it a different way...

Would you sell Blackburn Rovers to people you had never met because a well known football agent told you 'It'll be reet'?

[Majiball]

Let me put it a different way...

Would you sell Blackburn Rovers to people you had never met because a well known football agent told you 'It'll be reet'?

No I wouldn't be.

And I truly hope that isn't true.

[roversmum]

Certainly not, especially if the gentleman in question was involved ...

[Exiled in Toronto]

Come on now Bob......Do you REALLY believe (or even think) that I am so naive that I haven't already thought out all the points you have raised and a damned sight more besides. If you do then I suggest you read back through my many posts on several different threads over the last few months. and you will have more than enough evidence of my thoughts on the happenings ever since the change of ownership and especially concerning the sacking of Sam, and the sidellining of John Williams. I dont intend to waste my time going over all that again, and I am both saddened and disappointed that you should think me capable of being so naive (nay stupid)

So moving on (which is what I did yesterday) I asked myself a few relevant questions, the answers to which gave rise to the post which you seem to find so objectionable. And seeing that you do take issue with my solution to my own questions I will now put some of them to you.

Leaving aside the question if why would the Venky's wish to buy Blackburn Rovers (we all know the basic reasons for that), and starting from the fact that they know/knew as much about the real world of football as most of us know about the Hindu way of life and it's beliefs; that made it ESSENTIAL from their point of view that they got some persons or body to act as their trusted advisors. OK so far?Which leads us to the first question :

1. Why did they employ Kentaro/ J.A. to act as their advisors? Well why not?....They probably cast around and enquired within the football world and were told that these people were so widely experienced and had so many connections in so many different aspects of the game that they (Venkys) would struggle to find anybody better suited to act as advisors. And obviously with their level of football knowledge and experience they went along with that. If you had been in their position at that time would you have done any better?

2. Virtually everything else that followed on from the time they became our new owners was done with the full knowledge of Kentaro/J.A.and as far as we can tell was done on their advice. We don't need to trawl one by one through all the things that were done, but we all certainly know what the main things were.

So now if you re-visit my post from yesterday that you seem to find so objectionable, perhaps you could tell us all what exactly it is that you find objectionable in my post which is simply advocating that we all now draw a line under the mistakes made through the inexeperienced new owners following the advice that they were given by highly paid world of football professionals (that is what Kentaro and J.A. are whether you like it or not). As I said in my post we now need to draw the line under all the mistakes Venkys have made in their naivety and move on. We (or rather they) also need to relocate the blame for these mistakes were it actually belongs .... on their advisors (whoever they are).

I hope that clears things up now for all the objectors. Or perhaps there are some people that are actually enjoying the disruption and lack of stability in our football club that we all claim to love and support, and wish it all to continue. My post is an attempt to see a way FORWARD from where we are now. And if it is acted upon with maximum good will on all sides it will eventually restore peace and stability

Excellent couple of posts Fife, but out of tune with the endless repetition and regurgitation that passes for debate these days on here. The only thing that matters is what happens going forwards, not what happened in the past.

[bob fleming]

Excellent couple of posts Fife, but out of tune with the endless repetition and regurgitation that passes for debate these days on here. The only thing that matters is what happens going forwards, not what happened in the past.

Thanks for that EiT.

Fife, I have no beef with you whatsover. If my post came across a little harsh at you personally then I apologise, it wasn't meant that way. My post was born out of frustration / anger at our position as a football club.

You said, "draw the line" and move on. The massive problem I have is that I have absolutely zero confidence in our new owners and their decision making rationale - on what basis should I?

Hey, but it's all been said before hasn't it EiT. Let's not go round in circles eh?

Finallly Fife if you think I'm one of those people "that are actually enjoying the disruption and lack of stability in our football club that we all claim to love and support, and wish it all to continue" then you really are wide of the mark (you may not think I am but that was a comment made in your post in direct response to my previous one).

Anyway, I shall now leave the debating to the experts.

All the best.

[philipl]

"The board has had several meetings with Venkatesh and Balaji Rao, their advisers and the Premier League"

Verbatem from the Annual report of BRFC.

Some key points here:

Advisers probably mean lawyers/accountants and not JA. The board of Rovers were extremely confident that JA would fulfil no role at Ewood Park going forwards at the time they sold to Venky's from what I understand was being said at the time.

Contrary to nicko's denials at the time there were several meetings with the PL as I posted last September/October. There was either miscommunication in the Rovers/Trust/Rothschilds camp or the Rovers were unaware that JA was accompanying the Raos to the PL meeting (as nicko disclosed and I incorrectly denied) when the Raos went for their fit and proper test. Almost certainly the club would have been informed by the PL of the consequences of JA having been present with the brothers and according to an unsubstantiated rumour, answering most of the questions for them.

There is an obligation on PL clubs to disclose their contracts with agents (either directly or entered into on their behalf)- Rovers did not disclose any contract with SEM/Kentaro as far as I have seen.

I can only reiterate that the Trust engaging SEM/Jerome Anderson to seek a buyer appears to be a myth based on a sentence in a Watford newspaper which could be read either way.