[Archived] Jerome Anderson = FAIL

[Al]

Without taking this too far off track, I don't think that many of us do owe PhilipL an apology. My criticism of PhilipL and others is that posting a 'The club is in crisis' message with nothing, literally nothing, with it to say what the crisis is, what it's about or any sort of qualification is like someone saying 'You should be scared.'. When asked why, said person says 'Can't tell you but you should be'. It ends up being dismissed when there might well be something behind it. The other criticism is when someone says something like 'I know something, I can't say what it is but I know it.' then coming back a couple of months later when some news has come out and saying 'That's what I knew.' It would be better to not say anything until you actually can and can qualify what you were told. Also, a lot of his predictions have ended up not happening. It doesn't do anything for your confidence in their inside knowledge when that happens on a fairly regular basis. You have to understand that I want to hear things that are going on in my club, vague and completely unqualified statements don't do anything for anybody.

As for Jerome Anderson, what comes out in the wash will properly form my view of him. He's not someone I particularly wanted around the club but I don't know what he actually did or maybe is doing to form a proper opinion. He's a football agent though so he's already off to a terrible start

On a completely different tangent, did anybody see the episode of Hustle with the football agent? The opening speech was EXACTLY how I feel about the game and football agents.

I was actually beginning to think it had been written with inspiration from the Rovers' take over.

[RibbleValleyRover]

It is high time all the petty squabbles and the such that have occured over the last few months are laid to bed.

All is far from rosey at casa del Rovers and if the fans can't all join together in this time of need then we have no hope.

You could go even further back than that. I would say the departure of Hughes is when it really started (years of under investment no doubt was a factor), then we saw key players leaving and not replaced, the arrival and departure of Ince and even under Sam it was far from rosy. We've had a rough couple of years as Rovers fans with possibly more upheaval to come.

On the whole issue about what may or may not be going on behind the scenes I'm just keeping an open mind right now. Venky's may be running this club into the ground, then again they may not. Jerome Anderson may be running the club and making every key decision but then again he may not. John Williams a man who had contributed a great deal to the club may have been forced out of the door, then again he may have decided he wanted to call it a day and take on a new challenge. Speculation can be a dangerous thing and we have all been guilty of it at some point.

I can tell you right now if evidence comes to light that backs up what some posters have been saying for the past few months and it's conclusive enough for me to form an opinion then I will be one of the first to hold my hands up and acknowledge that these posters were right about their fears and right to be concerned.

Until then I will have no opinion one way or the other when it comes to what may or may not be happening in the background and I'll be worrying more about the playing side of our club and whether we can stay up this season.

[PAFELL]

I don't remember anyone screaming you down last time but i do remember a lot of anger from people who you accused of fiddling while Ewood burned. At that time I asked you to put up or shut up and tell us this info you had. I actually got a PM off someone i trust and consider very reliable who basically vouched for you as someone on the level and also suggested things were happening in the background but had to be kept low key.

Fair enough i thought benefit of the doubt given i'm sure you and others know what you are doing. Some time down the line however little or nothing has change off the field at least. We still have no real idea of any negative plans from Venkys, we certainly have no ideas of any protest we can latch onto and support, despite the fact that with on field events taking a downturn there certainly would seem to be a good number of people ready to support anything, if given the facts to base them on.

Instead once again you are simply slating fans for doing nothing when i would state it is in fact you and others who have knowledge of things and either are not able or willing to disclose. Surely when you see people who you state are sensible posters like RVR, you must see that whatever message you think is being said loud and clear is simply not doing. I've spoken to lots and lots of people off this board at games and not one has a clue about all this stuff you say is there if people look hard enough.

So either we're all daft, or you are simply not getting the point across well enough. I'll say it again in the hope it gets in this time. If you want to encourage fans to join in a protest, insulting them and telling them they've done naff all while the club goes down the pan isn't going to do any favours.

Totally agree with this post. Times were I got Pm's and emails about concerns with regards to the club. These dried up. Imformation with held. Snippets alone on the messages board is not enough to mount any form of protests -for or against something. When people have concernes about the club and have geniuine imformation that supporters need to be told about. They need to find away of disclosing that imformation - email / pm etc. That first of all protects this messageboard from legal action, protects the source of information.

The reality is I was told one or two things. But was not in the position to know if those things were true or not. I have never met any person from this messageboard. I do not live in Blackburn. I am not in the business world. So when told things via pm I have no idea if I should trust what is being said or not. So for people like timmytimmy to come of here and be critical of other posters for not backing them, is really a disgrace and pathetic. How can anybody back or support less than half a story.

I do believe that people on here genuinely love their club, that is why they come on here in the first place. That is something we should all be aware of.

I will be at fulham tomorrow, as it is more a less a home game for me. Yet when I ask people I meet, if they come onto this site, they all say no. This does not surprise me, when you consider other posters turn on each other. But depending on who you are it appears that the administrators, let it go. The latters do a fantastic job on here, upmost respect to them.(sorry if I offend you on the latter, not intended)

But most on here did not know if we should believe or not believe what concerns people had about the club, if these were true or not. Often because we do not know the people involved, never met them, never spoken to them. That has always to be born in mind.

[Exiled in Toronto]

If we take JAs compensation (I hear he is due a bit), JWs compensation, SAs compensation, the backroom/coaching staff compensation plus the transfer loan fees and wages plus the newly renegotiated contracts plus agents fees - non of which add anything to the balance sheet - boy have Venkys spent a ton of money, and bought what exactly. At this rate they'll be bust by next season.

If our premiership Sky money disappears next year Lord knows what we will do.

Some on here could see this all unfolding hence the anger as events unfolded (mostly behind the scenes) and then we had to cope with all the Venky/Kentaro/Anderson apologists who just threw petrol on our flames.

If there hadn't been so much "it's their club to do with as they wish - show us the facts" and showed a bit more unanimity we could at least have had a chance of mounting a fans rear guard action to slow things down. I got screamed down last time I said this but I'm past caring, scream away. We are where we are - up a creek without a paddle. Like the rest of you I love my club and this has been like watching the proverbial slow motion car crash.

We simply have to get three points tomorrow and against Blackpool then all this can be put behind us and we can move on. If we survive though it will be by good luck and not good management but I'll take what's on offer, I don't care how we do it or who gets the credit, we just have to start wining. For what it's worth I think we will win tomorrow and against Blackpool, I'll be shouting the lads on until I'm hoarse.

On the Syed front it was acknowledged that he had the money, trouble was no-one could find out where it had come from - that's a tough situation to get past the FA committee - so which bidder do you choose? There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the Venkys IMO, I believe as I have stated before that they are decent honorable well meaning people, they've just been led up the garden path by someone. Hopefully they have benefitted from a fast painful learning curve.

If all those in the know did was post a few obtuse comments on a messageboard, I can't comprehend why you expected those not in the know to be marching down Nuttall St.

[Tom]

Frankly, how the hell can we do that when we haven't got the foggiest what you're talking about? And what rear guard action could we possibly mount?

This is a fair point, are we meant to protest at every whiff of a rumour? All we were told is some things aren't good, there is nothing we can do with that information.

I told Philip via PM back in January I think that there is a good chance of what he preached could come true but as I couldn't personally do anything to help it then the Ostrich postion suited me fine for the time being.

[broadsword]

Couldn't agree more, for as long as I have been a member on BRFCS PhilipL has been one of the more informed posters and his explanations on financial matters in particular have been much appreciated. The abuse that he got whilst offering his insight into how he could see things panning out was uncalled for and cringe worthy on many an occasion.

So hope there is time to repair the damage, I dread to think what will happen if we cannot arrest the downwards spiral we are on.

Nicko telling him that "I genuinely think you should be sectioned." was a low point.

Where is Nicko by the wasy?

[Majiball]

You could go even further back than that. I would say the departure of Hughes is when it really started (years of under investment no doubt was a factor), then we saw key players leaving and not replaced, the arrival and departure of Ince and even under Sam it was far from rosy. We've had a rough couple of years as Rovers fans with possibly more upheaval to come.

On the whole issue about what may or may not be going on behind the scenes I'm just keeping an open mind right now. Venky's may be running this club into the ground, then again they may not. Jerome Anderson may be running the club and making every key decision but then again he may not. John Williams a man who had contributed a great deal to the club may have been forced out of the door, then again he may have decided he wanted to call it a day and take on a new challenge. Speculation can be a dangerous thing, we have all been guilty of it at some point.

I can tell you right now if evidence comes to light that backs up what some posters have been saying for the past few months and it's conclusive enough for me to form an opinion then I will be one of the first to hold my hands up and acknowledge that these posters were right about their fears and right to be concerned.

Until then I will have no opinion one way or the other when it comes to what may or may not be happening in the background and I'll be worrying more about the playing side of our club and whether we can stay up this season.

Originally I had the last couple of years, but changed it so as to only focus on the here and now.

I can completely understand your stance and it's refreshing to see people not acting like sheep. I always think of the playing side of things as being a reflection of what is going on behind the scenes, if all is rosy you generally see good performances on the pitch but when its not the reverse applies. The culture of football is a delicate one with pandering and pampering galore to ensure that the players frame of mind is exactly as it needs to be. To be in this frame of mind you need to have everything off the field perfect and running with cohesion. I don't see good performances at present and that for me adds further weight to what is being said on here, something is very wrong.

If we don't get things right behind the scenes we won't see things right on the pitch, the two go hand in hand. But football is a very fickle beast and a couple of wins and things change and become less of a concern. Look at Sam last year, he was on his last legs at the club and a few good results and everythings back to normal, the question for me is can Kean get those couple of results? Getting the players all (they all require different techniques) in the right frame of mind and up for it in the current climate is no easy task, even Sam almost failed at it last year. Keans job would be so much easier if things were right off the field.

Venky's have jumped in with both feet and from the off changed things which will only cause issues behind the scenes. Regardless of what exactly is going on in the background to me it's clear all is not rosy and some of the changes that have occurred have obviously upset the apple cart. Everyone else at the club at present has seen the two most influential and respected members of staff leave for what ever reason, so what do you think is going through everyones mind at present? Who's next and how do I survive. Diouf remember was just dumped out the door asap, chimbonda as well, even the players will be thinking like this not just staff. So regardless of the mechanics at a time when we should all be fighting for the club most will be fighting for them selves and their jobs, even if they are not trust and faith will have been blown away and that won't aid the working environment.

A couple of wins though and all will seem much better behind the scenes regardless of if anything really changes, football is fickle. But the simple fact remians before Venky's and Jerome (whatever his role they have said he is their advisor on football matters) all was fine and we were headed in the right direction. Now we are bottom of the form league and playing as badly as we did under Ince, it's clear that the takeover has not had the desired effect as things stand and for whatever reason things are not right, this is what we the fans need to agree on, not the mechanics behind it all.

What we do with that knowledge though is another matter.

[RovertheHill]

I don't remember anyone screaming you down last time but i do remember a lot of anger from people who you accused of fiddling while Ewood burned. At that time I asked you to put up or shut up and tell us this info you had. I actually got a PM off someone i trust and consider very reliable who basically vouched for you as someone on the level and also suggested things were happening in the background but had to be kept low key.

Fair enough i thought benefit of the doubt given i'm sure you and others know what you are doing. Some time down the line however little or nothing has change off the field at least. We still have no real idea of any negative plans from Venkys, we certainly have no ideas of any protest we can latch onto and support, despite the fact that with on field events taking a downturn there certainly would seem to be a good number of people ready to support anything, if given the facts to base them on.

Instead once again you are simply slating fans for doing nothing when i would state it is in fact you and others who have knowledge of things and either are not able or willing to disclose. Surely when you see people who you state are sensible posters like RVR, you must see that whatever message you think is being said loud and clear is simply not doing. I've spoken to lots and lots of people off this board at games and not one has a clue about all this stuff you say is there if people look hard enough.

So either we're all daft, or you are simply not getting the point across well enough. I'll say it again in the hope it gets in this time. If you want to encourage fans to join in a protest, insulting them and telling them they've done naff all while the club goes down the pan isn't going to do any favours.

Absolutely spot on - sick to death of the self-pitying posts slating the rest of us when 1) the poster was one of the cheerleaders for the club being taken over 2) most of us have no idea what is being hinted at and 3) if you know that much then state what it is and take some action rather than blaming the rest of use

[deftangel]

I've had a couple of perfectly cordial exchanges with PhilipL despite being largely critical of his posts. Asides from their secret squirrel nature, the main problem I had was an inability to separate the information he obviously is privy to from his added speculation.

Lets surmise some of Mr Anderson's "achievements";-

SEM clients added to the playing staff - 0

SEM clients added to the managing staff - 2

Players sold to fund purchases - 0

Compared to some of the speculation as to exactly what he might have gotten up to in January he's made a horrendous hash of implementing his evil schemes. He was supposed to ship in a lot of sub-rate talent, pocket the fees and do one. Perhaps SEM have sacked him for failure instead?

The managerial staff bit of course is a critical issue currently making us all uncomfortable but we have a reputable source in Nicko suggesting he was not behind the timing of the sacking.

Say we adopt a worse case scenario and presume Anderson advised Venky's to give all the players fat new contracts and took a hefty commission out of negotiating them on their behalf. A feasible scenario that would suggest something of a scoundrel but explain to me how this can not be immediately obvious to astute and successful business people such as the Venky's exactly what might be going on there?

I've kept an open mind about Anderson because I (still) haven't seen any real evidence of wrong doing. Certainly nothing like pre-January fears but now if he has gone, the Venky's are OK again? Give me a break. They are the owners, they make the decisions and the buck stops with them. Whatever Anderson may or may not have advised, he can't be the scapegoat for everything.

[47er]

BPF. Didn't Philip also use his 'ability and inside knowledge' to massively back Syed??

He can't have it both ways you know.

I have been critical of Philip in all of this, I'll hold my hands up to that. I'm pretty sure that nobody on here was ecstatic about Andersons involvment.

Agree. Philip has been all over the place, very oblique and consistently put himself in a position where he could claim to be right whatever the outcome. He invited the criticism he received.

Its a sideshow anyway, all I care about is 3 points tomorrow.

[m1st]

It's a sideshow anyway, all I care about is 3 points tomorrow.

Isn't that the truth?!

[phili]

As i work in the gambling industry, this is what i have heard from quite a few people at our betting partner although i don't know how accurate it is:

1. The mortgage was taken out to cover losses for the season since the takeover.

2. There was a revolt from players, instructed by their agents who hate JA and wanted to get one over on him. To combat everyone all wanting to leave at once and try and show everything was rosey JA caved in and offered new contracts which give more weekly income, removed 50% relegation wage cut and gave them a guaranteed wage increase each year for the duration of their contract. JW was against this as he believed players would no longer fight to stay in the division which caused him to leave.

3. The overdraft has not been paid off as Venkys have issues raising finances due to their banks not allowing them to raise finance for rovers using their companies. This is also why a mortgage was taken out in addition to our existing debt arrangements.

4. Our wage bill is shot to pieces with new contracts and loan signings. Our signings have also cost an awful lot more than reported.

5. All players have lost interest and atmosphiere is very reminisent of the relegation season and have very little faith in keans coaching or tactics. There is certainly no fight or desire in the players to get us out of the situation as there was last year with sam but hey if you are guaranteed your wage no matter what who cares about fighting.

6. The viewpoint is that if we go down we'll be in administration, there is now definitely no cash for summer transfers and even if we stay up we'll struggle to do anything next season unless we can raise income. We should anticipate season tickets etc going up.

[BPF]

As i work in the gambling industry, this is what i have heard from quite a few people at our betting partner although i don't know how accurate it is:

1. The mortgage was taken out to cover losses for the season since the takeover.

2. There was a revolt from players, instructed by their agents who hate JA and wanted to get one over on him. To combat everyone all wanting to leave at once and try and show everything was rosey JA caved in and offered new contracts which give more weekly income, removed 50% relegation wage cut and gave them a guaranteed wage increase each year for the duration of their contract. JW was against this as he believed players would no longer fight to stay in the division which caused him to leave.

3. The overdraft has not been paid off as Venkys have issues raising finances due to their banks not allowing them to raise finance for rovers using their companies. This is also why a mortgage was taken out in addition to our existing debt arrangements.

4. Our wage bill is shot to pieces with new contracts and loan signings. Our signings have also cost an awful lot more than reported.

5. All players have lost interest and atmosphiere is very reminisent of the relegation season and have very little faith in keans coaching or tactics. There is certainly no fight or desire in the players to get us out of the situation as there was last year with sam but hey if you are guaranteed your wage no matter what who cares about fighting.

6. The viewpoint is that if we go down we'll be in administration, there is now definitely no cash for summer transfers and even if we stay up we'll struggle to do anything next season unless we can raise income. We should anticipate season tickets etc going up.

--

[philipl]

As i work in the gambling industry, this is what i have heard from quite a few people at our betting partner although i don't know how accurate it is:

1. The mortgage was taken out to cover losses for the season since the takeover.

2. There was a revolt from players, instructed by their agents who hate JA and wanted to get one over on him. To combat everyone all wanting to leave at once and try and show everything was rosey JA caved in and offered new contracts which give more weekly income, removed 50% relegation wage cut and gave them a guaranteed wage increase each year for the duration of their contract. JW was against this as he believed players would no longer fight to stay in the division which caused him to leave.

3. The overdraft has not been paid off as Venkys have issues raising finances due to their banks not allowing them to raise finance for rovers using their companies. This is also why a mortgage was taken out in addition to our existing debt arrangements.

4. Our wage bill is shot to pieces with new contracts and loan signings. Our signings have also cost an awful lot more than reported.

5. All players have lost interest and atmosphiere is very reminisent of the relegation season and have very little faith in keans coaching or tactics. There is certainly no fight or desire in the players to get us out of the situation as there was last year with sam but hey if you are guaranteed your wage no matter what who cares about fighting.

6. The viewpoint is that if we go down we'll be in administration, there is now definitely no cash for summer transfers and even if we stay up we'll struggle to do anything next season unless we can raise income. We should anticipate season tickets etc going up.

Sad to say I cannot disagree with any of that. Either the sentiment or the factual accuracy.

I wish it were hysterical ramblings but it isn't for the most part- everyone of those comments has been made by people whom most of the MB would sit up and say they probably know what they are talking about in many different conversations.

This is the sort of thing which originates from people whose livelihood would be directly imperilled were it to be written on the MB verbatem by the likes of me. Items 1,2 and 3 happened back in December so feel like ancient history (the old £16.1m overdraft moved to Venky's Lonon but it is secured against the club so effectively it contributes to our risk profile), items 4 and 6 seem to be common knowledge (the hidden excessive cost of the signings refers to some hefty agents bills which were greater for these transfers than Rovers had paid in total over the last several years) and item 5 is progressively leaking out of Brockhall with a more dramatic version which may or may not be true currently doing the rounds. People know who knows whom and Blackburn is virtually a village at the end of the day which is why I need to be careful with how I use what I receive.

I am not point scoring but RVR and CrazyIvan, this gives you a flavour of what we are talking about here.

It is no exaggeration to say that a large chunk of money that would have made a big difference to the club under JW/Sam has been ineffectually wasted by the political power game and large fees of JA.

Yes Sam and Neil were got out of the way, JW went, the board was neutralised, he neutralised the player revolt with ridiculous contracts but he totally mis-calculated in the final analysis. I believe he thought he could flout PL and FIFA rules about agents with impunity but it appears the Raos were not willing to go all the way with him on that risk so the Kentaro academy and fancy Red Star leases got blocked.

But the biggest JA miscalculation was probably over how much the VH are worth to him- he got the decks cleared for himself to have an unhindered spending spree on his own terms only to find there is nothing much left to spend.

I don't know whether Rovers have blown £20m as den has suggested but as I wrote earlier I think the tab for JA and the consequential losses of him being around is not going to be less than £12m even if we stay up. So between two and four transfer window budgets have apparently needlessly disappeared because the Rao brothers fell in thrall to JA.

[Sverre]

Sad to say I cannot disagree with any of that. Either the sentiment or the factual accuracy.

This is the sort of thing which originates from people whose livelihood would be directly imperilled were it to be passed onto the MB verbatem by the likes of me. People know who knows whom and Blackburn is virtually a village at the end of the day.

I am not point scoring but RVR and CrazyIvan, this is what we are talking about here.

It is no exaggeration that a large chunk of money that would have made a big difference to the club under JW/Sam has been ineffectually wasted by the political power game JA played to achieve his own end.

Yes he got Sam and Neil out of the way, he got JW out of the way, he neutralised the board, he neutralised the player revolt with ridiculous contracts but he totally mis-calculated. I believe he thought he could flout PL and FIFA rules about agents with impunity but the Raos were not willing to go all the way with him so the Kentaro academy and fancy Red Star leases got blocked.

But his biggest miscalculation was probably over how much the VH are worth to him- he got the decks cleared for himself to have an unhindered spending spree on his own people only to find there is nothing much left to spend.

I don't know whether Rovers have blown £20m as den has suggested but as I wrote earlier I think the tab for JA and the consequential losses is not going to be less than £12m even if we stay up. We are talking about between two and four transfer window budgets having disappeared because the Rao brothers fell in thrall to JA.

How do you see the club going forward in the more administrative manner? It has been mentioned that J. Anderson is no longer "serving" the club now... are they "kean" to get rid of others in contract under SEM as well?

[philipl]

How do you see the club going forward in the more administrative manner? It has been mentioned that J. Anderson is no longer "serving" the club now... are they "kean" to get rid of others in contract under SEM as well?

No idea where we go from here but I'd watch the directors' box tomorrow.

The fervent hope obviously is we will stay up- administration is what awaits after a prolonged agony if we go down.

The most sensible thing to do would be to wind the clock back and put the people who know how to run Blackburn Rovers back in charge. Anything else at this stage compounds risk upon risk.

[deftangel]

So basically, on the basis of 2 & 5 we're saying that the players collectively, at the behest of their agents decided to put themselves before the club and take advantage of the management turmoil at Rovers in order to get themselves fat new contracts which they are now sitting on counting the money not wanting to put a shift in.

The same players that were being praised for "speaking up". Players like Ryan Nelsen. The same players whose individual errors are as much a factor in our run of bad form than Kean's suspect selection.

[Steve Moss]

^ Most PL player are spoiled, self-centered, selfish brats.

[Paul]

1,3,4 and 6 have been clear to anyone who takes the time to go beyond what a great transfer window we had (sic) for months. It's interesting to read it potentially confirmed by someone else. I'd never considered administration as a threat though. As for points 2 & 5 they sound feasible to me but that's all.

I have great difficulty understanding the idea the players have lost interest. As sportsmen you would think there is always an underlaying desire to win. Or are we saying the PL has become so corrupted by money even that basic competitive urge has died.

Should phili's post prove true, and I don't doubt the words, the Rao family have permitted the most horrendous errors to be made on their behalf. They will be entirely responsible for bringing down our club.

If the worst happens we can hope there are wealthy fans who might be able to buy them out and rebuild.

Like thenodrog I'd like to know where the nickoteenies cheerleader is these days. Posting on QPR boards perhaps?

[patrickvalery]

I understand that agents are not held in high regards by most people. I understand the nature of their business is to claim as much money as possible for their clients thus taking a percentage for themselves. But my financial nous is goes no further. Beyond taking an advisory fee from the Rao's, how was JA making money from us?

This post isn't designed to question the validity of previous posters. Simply to clarify things to my restricted brain! If no SEM playing staff were recruited then surely the only way Kentaro benefit is by JA's advisory fee and Kean's promotion and Jensen's appointment. Is this correct? If so what gain is there for JA to have sanctioned or manipulated such high agents fees for the players brought in? Unless his rabble are getting a kick back from the agents connected to said players. In which case surely that is illegal is it not?

If Venky's have been fleeced of most of their available cash by JA, via his advisory fees, then they can only have themselves to blame. I am not a man of significant wealth, nor am i on the poverty line. I know what i have coming in and going out. As such if someone said to me "i'll take care of all your weekly food shopping and other outgoings if you leave me your bank card", i'd tell them to get bent. Even if it was a person i knew reasonably well. If Venky's, on a budget of whatever amount, were so willing to let this man control their outgoings then they must have the business accumen of a cauliflower.

This whole business has frazzled my head. I cannot fathom the logic behind any of these points if indeed they are true. I work with a bloke who moved to England from India. We have discussed our shiny new owners many times. He has been at pains to stress to me that they are a careful bunch who run their businesses ethically and sensibly. He admitted they are not a huge company but are a group showing rapid growth. A sensible and well run operation which would, over the long term, be very beneficial owners to us. Now, i realise its essentially the same as me going to India and somone asking me for the low down on WH Smiths. This colleague probably knows as much as i would. As such i don't take things i hear as gospel truth. But he was aware of their existance before they purchased Rovers. If a company is sucesseful in its own right, then how can they make such laxidasical mistakes with our beloved Rovers? Its bad management on such a grand scale. Beggars belief.

[Bobby G]

Does Tom Finn currently have an "active role"?

[PAFELL]

Does Tom Finn currently have an "active role"?

Has Jerome Anderson definitly left the club or is it just speculation and hope?

[Sysagent]

As i work in the gambling industry, this is what i have heard from quite a few people at our betting partner although i don't know how accurate it is:

1. The mortgage was taken out to cover losses for the season since the takeover.

2. There was a revolt from players, instructed by their agents who hate JA and wanted to get one over on him. To combat everyone all wanting to leave at once and try and show everything was rosey JA caved in and offered new contracts which give more weekly income, removed 50% relegation wage cut and gave them a guaranteed wage increase each year for the duration of their contract. JW was against this as he believed players would no longer fight to stay in the division which caused him to leave.

3. The overdraft has not been paid off as Venkys have issues raising finances due to their banks not allowing them to raise finance for rovers using their companies. This is also why a mortgage was taken out in addition to our existing debt arrangements.

4. Our wage bill is shot to pieces with new contracts and loan signings. Our signings have also cost an awful lot more than reported.

5. All players have lost interest and atmosphiere is very reminisent of the relegation season and have very little faith in keans coaching or tactics. There is certainly no fight or desire in the players to get us out of the situation as there was last year with sam but hey if you are guaranteed your wage no matter what who cares about fighting.

6. The viewpoint is that if we go down we'll be in administration, there is now definitely no cash for summer transfers and even if we stay up we'll struggle to do anything next season unless we can raise income. We should anticipate season tickets etc going up.

The first immediate things that come to mind (well certainly mine anyways) is:-

• How have / had things been allowed to get this far and this bad, surely warning bells must have been sounding when all this money was draining out of the club
  
• Where was the Premier League in all of this tawdry mess, it strikes me of another Portsmouth in the making... You get the feeling that the Premier League have deliberately sat back and watch these events unfold in order for us to hopefully get from under theirs and the medias skins, surely under the new Premier League laws this should never have gotten so far
  
• Have any legally binding parts of the contract between the Trust and Venkys been broken, if there has at least there maybe an avenue of exploaration in removing the current clearly incompetent owners that have been overseeing this catastrophe and replacing them with someone who has a clue about the club, what it means and the footballing world in general
  

Oh and...

If the player's contracts thing is truthful, it just shows how much Steve Kean's role as a manager for Rover's really isn't and that JA has been pulling his and everyone else's strings all along...

What a bloody mess this is, I just hope to God for all our sakes that some sanity and solution is forthcoming pretty damn immediately or else I can see our great historic club going down the pan... I really can...

;-(

[CrazyIvan]

Information finally!

[Drunx2002]

The most depressing thing I've read on this site since first joining in 1998.

So basically, even if Anderson has gone, Venky's are now adviser-less and the club seems on course for the relegation zone which spells the end for the club?

Now, it seems, it is down to whether the manger and players can somehow scrape together enough points for survival. And then a MAJOR rethink over the summer.