[Archived] Rumour: Venky's To Sell?

[Athlete]

Yes, I understand that. I'm not denying that. I am also hoping for Venkys to be able to make it in time and improve Blackburn Rovers before the window closes.

Maybe above the dark clouds, somewhere we can't see, there's a bright sun shining happily on an efficiently-run heaven.

Or maybe above the clouds lay a meteor shower ready to burst through anytime and rain down destruction our own beloved Ewood Park.

We can only guess and hope.

So for me to be a real Rovers fan, I should start bashing Venkys and accusing them of being liars?

Didn't know it was a requirement.

I apologize if my ramblings seem nonsensical. Please ignore me if you can't stand reading them.

that isnt a requirement but it is true they have lied to us ! as for your ray of light what planet are you on ???

It's just lashed it down in Blackburn no ray of light shining through here or on our club for that matter....lol

[Black Burn]

Can you tell us what this 'thin ray of sunlight shining over ewood park is?' As I cannot see it with these owners.

I could tell you, but it is likely that you won't believe me.

Not that I blame you. I personally take optimistic reports with a pinch of salt the same way I do with pessimistic reports.

Let's see: in the past week we had reports from Alan Nixon and Kamy that Blackburn Rovers is falling apart, the owners are clamming up on buying players, we are having our targets being snatched away. This is cause for concern.

We also had director Rao and Ms Desai saying we will buy players soon and not after big names. This seems optimistic, but most people think the Venkys are liars and are refusing to believe them. As I said I will give what they say the same amount of belief I give Alan Nixon and Kamy. Nothing personal, but it's only fair to give the same amount of trust to all your Internet sources rather than favoring one over the other, or believing one source that bring bad news more than another that brings good news or vice versa.

I cannot defend Venkys. They have talked a lot and made all these speeches. Now the ball is in their court and they must back up what they say and buy players. If they don't do what they've said, then I'll be joining you guys on September 1st with napalm, flamethrowers and verbal abuse to torch Ewood Park, or rather Venkys London Headquarters to the ground.

that isnt a requirement but it is true they have lied to us ! as for your ray of light what planet are you on ???

It's just lashed it down in Blackburn no ray of light shining through here or on our club for that matter....lol

I take it you missed the comment about the meteor shower.

[ABBEY]

Why are you quoting me without saying anything?

I get it that you find me stupid, and you're entitled to do so. I won't argue against my lack of intelligence. Not that your low opinion of me makes much of a difference to me.

It's just that amidst a sea of flames and hellfire burning the Venkys at stake, I chose to play devil's advocate and pretend to be a defense attorney, and somehow I get accused of being stupid and being a Venkys PR agent.

I've said it before: your grievances are justified. You guys are entitled to complain. Things are not looking good.

But there is a possibility that there is a thin ray of sunlight shining through the dark clouds that have gathered over Ewood Park. If you think searching for that thin ray of light is stupid, then so be it. I won't argue with that.

You are entitled your opinions. I, apparently, am not.

You doth protest too much..venky plant or not.

[JAL]

Yes, I understand that. I'm not denying that. I am also hoping for Venkys to be able to make it in time and improve Blackburn Rovers before the window closes.

Maybe above the dark clouds, somewhere we can't see, there's a bright sun shining happily on an efficiently-run heaven.

Or maybe above the clouds lay a meteor shower ready to burst through anytime and rain down destruction our own beloved Ewood Park.

We can only guess and hope.

Black Burn we DO NOT as a western society do Guess and hope.

Are the Rao brothers about guess and hope ? the way things have panned out it would strongly lean that way.

[RoverInverness]

When he said I'm not a Venkys PR agent, he was covering both official and unofficial.

Please...enough of this. It isn't funny at all.

Anyway, Venkys to employ family members to deal with transfer deals. Doesn't look like they are selling in the near future if this is the case.

You do realize that some of your examples are me quoting my friend on IM?

I never stated my opinion on them, just told you guys what he told me and warned you that it might not be true. And as it turned out it wasn't true, which is why I'm no longer quoting my friend here.

The second was just a hypothesis and me stating a possibility. If you think using "what if" makes me stupid, then fine. I wasn't stating facts, I was proposing a near-impossible scenario. I could be wrong - in fact I do admit there's 99.9% chance of that being wrong, but there's still the 0.1%, isn't it?

Whatever. This just proves that saying whatever you don't want to hear makes me stupid. Unfortunately, I'm not about to jump on the bandwagon and sing the same hymns and curses just because most of the others are doing it. If it makes me stupid, so be it.

How ironic it is that the West is supposed to criticize Asians for conforming to social values and encourage them to be different and "individualistic", but I see a real-life example of a messageboard predominantly West hammering down the nail that sticks out. Real life is really different from stereotypes published in Western academia, eh?

My sincere and non-sarcastic apologies for offending you. If I seemed to be implying that you were stupid then I wholeheartedly retract it. Your last paragraph - above - clearly shows you to be intelligent, thoughtful and eloquent. You are obviously not 'stupid'.

However, I do find your indefatigable credulity towards our current owners a little hard to believe. Also the mere fact that you bothered quoting and refering to your 'source' reflects a niavety in your nature. It is these things that I was refering to as 'stupid'. I am sorry if I made the point in a too personal a manner.

Also - apologies if I appear to be 'hammering down on a nail that sticks out'. Full credit to you for having your own opinions, but with regards to the current situation at the club PLEASE PLEASE wake up and smell the coffee.

Thanks for your replies, apologies for my blank post, and please rest assured I would never attack anyone on the grounds of 'Western' v 'Asian'. Cheers.

[Black Burn]

You doth protest too much..venky plant or not.

Sorry about that.

But someone has to do the protesting or it will just be full of Venkys-bashing here. Admittedly some of the criticism are deserved, but some might be overboard.

My sincere and non-sarcastic apologies for offending you. If I seemed to be implying that you were stupid then I wholeheartedly retract it. Your last paragraph - above - clearly shows you to be intelligent, thoughtful and eloquent. You are obviously not 'stupid'.

However, I do find your indefatigable credulity towards our current owners a little hard to believe. Also the mere fact that you bothered quoting and refering to your 'source' reflects a niavety in your nature. It is these things that I was refering to as 'stupid'. I am sorry if I made the point in a too personal a manner.

Also - apologies if I appear to be 'hammering down on a nail that sticks out'. Full credit to you for having your own opinions, but with regards to the current situation at the club PLEASE PLEASE wake up and smell the coffee.

Thanks for your replies, apologies for my blank post, and please rest assured I would never attack anyone on the grounds of 'Western' v 'Asian'. Cheers.

No, I hope I have not implied that this was anything related to Western vs Asian. It was just something that I found amusing because I've just read an essay where some scholar claimed that Japanese are so conformative, and should learn to be individualistic and different from the West, etc. And I see this stereotype disproven in real life, so I decided to comment on it. I did not mean to imply anything of that nature, I apologize. My point was that all the scholars who wrote those pieces comparing Japanese conformity with Western individuality should really get out of their office and books more often.

I have woken up and smelled the coffee - I do believe that there is a high possibility that our club is in trouble. And that if the owners don't deliver what they promised, we'll be rioting outside their HQ in London. That said, there's still 50 days left, so we can only hope.

[ABBEY]

Why are you quoting me without saying anything?

I get it that you find me stupid, and you're entitled to do so. I won't argue against my lack of intelligence. Not that your low opinion of me makes much of a difference to me.

It's just that amidst a sea of flames and hellfire burning the Venkys at stake, I chose to play devil's advocate and pretend to be a defense attorney, and somehow I get accused of being stupid and being a Venkys PR agent.

I've said it before: your grievances are justified. You guys are entitled to complain. Things are not looking good.

But there is a possibility that there is a thin ray of sunlight shining through the dark clouds that have gathered over Ewood Park. If you think searching for that thin ray of light is stupid, then so be it. I won't argue with that.

You are entitled your opinions. I, apparently, am not.

You doth protest too much..venky plant or not.

[Athlete]

My sincere and non-sarcastic apologies for offending you. If I seemed to be implying that you were stupid then I wholeheartedly retract it. Your last paragraph - above - clearly shows you to be intelligent, thoughtful and eloquent. You are obviously not 'stupid'.

However, I do find your indefatigable credulity towards our current owners a little hard to believe. Also the mere fact that you bothered quoting and refering to your 'source' reflects a niavety in your nature. It is these things that I was refering to as 'stupid'. I am sorry if I made the point in a too personal a manner.

Also - apologies if I appear to be 'hammering down on a nail that sticks out'. Full credit to you for having your own opinions, but with regards to the current situation at the club PLEASE PLEASE wake up and smell the coffee.

Thanks for your replies, apologies for my blank post, and please rest assured I would never attack anyone on the grounds of 'Western' v 'Asian'. Cheers.

got a few asian friends and they are of the same opinion as me totally disgusted at the way the clubs being run and can see a car crash happening in slow motion ....

[Black Burn]

got a few asian friends and they are of the same opinion as me totally disgusted at the way the clubs being run and can see a car crash happening in slow motion ....

I don't see a car crash, though.

If what is reported by Alan Nixon and Kamy are true and things continue the way they are, I believe I'll be staring right at Armageddon itself. And the remains of what used to be our beloved Ewood Park.

[bob fleming]

I cannot defend Venkys.

Then what on earth have you been banging on about then?

[RoverInverness]

We also had director Rao and Ms Desai saying we will buy players soon and not after big names. This seems optimistic, but most people think the Venkys are liars and are refusing to believe them. As I said I will give what they say the same amount of belief I give Alan Nixon and Kamy. Nothing personal, but it's only fair to give the same amount of trust to all your Internet sources rather than favoring one over the other, or believing one source that bring bad news more than another that brings good news or vice versa.

O.K, I will personally give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are definately not an agent of Venkys but infact an incredibly valuable representative of BRFC's tiny Asian fan base.

Please read carefully. I have been a mainly silent but very regular reader of this board for several years. You are wise to take the words of Mr. Nixon with a pinch of salt, his information is superb but his motives are questionable. Similarly, the views of most other people who doubtless have some small amount of insider knowledge about the club should also be treated with caution. However, Kamy and BPF have proven over and over for many years that they do have genuine trustworthy contacts within the club. To compare their comments with 'other internet sources' is naive in the extreme.

As for taking seriously words that are uttered by one of the Rao brothers. Where have you been for the last nine months?

[cruz]

Are the Rao brothers about guess and hope ?

Yes. They guess and we hope they will get it right

[Black Burn]

Then what on earth have you been banging on about then?

Nothing, which is why I am incredulous as to why people think I am a Venkys PR agent. I quoted my...misguided friend for a while back then, but frankly none of his assurances have come true so I won't quote him again.

I am just of the opinion that while the club might be in trouble, it is too premature to judge them as it is not yet September 1st, and we are not part of Venkys so we don't know what exactly is going on.

O.K, I will personally give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are definately not an agent of Venkys but infact an incredibly valuable representative of BRFC's tiny Asian fan base.

Please read carefully. I have been a mainly silent but very regular reader of this board for several years. You are wise to take the words of Mr. Nixon with a pinch of salt, his information is superb but his motives are questionable. Similarly, the views of most other people who doubtless have some small amount of insider knowledge about the club should also be treated with caution. However, Kamy and BPF have proven over and over for many years that they do have genuine trustworthy contacts within the club. To compare their comments with 'other internet sources' is niave in the extreme.

As for taking seriously words that are uttered by one of the Rao brothers. Where have you been for the last nine months?

No, I am not taking his words seriously. I am taking his words with a pinch of salt. Something like "oh, he said that. Let's see if he really means it but I have some doubts about it" rather than a straight "it's a lie" outright.

Sorry about the naivety. I in no way meant to imply that Kamy and BPF are untrustworthy. I am aware that they have been proven right over the years, and I trust the information they give, but I do not...how do you put it, take them as the gospel. Yes, they are certainly reliable and honest, but even they can make mistakes at times. I think they rarely make mistakes, though, but I wouldn't be surprised if their sources have been misled from inside.

[Stuart]

Nothing, which is why I am incredulous as to why people think I am a Venkys PR agent. I quoted my...misguided friend for a while back then, but frankly none of his assurances have come true so I won't quote him again..

You've quoted your 'friend' who seems to refer to Venkys as 'we'. Is it fair to say that your friend is part of Venkys group, or their PR team?

[imy9]

"Anyway, I asked my friend on IM, and he tells me he hasn't heard anything about Venkys wanting to sell Rovers to anybody. But then again even if the top brass did they wouldn't tell him anyway so don't take my word as absolute truth. He did tell me though that Venkys are trying their best to get a signing within this week to quiet the fans or something along those lines."

"But what if...and I really mean if...their silence is because they are too busy chasing targets, nailing down players and negotiating contracts to pay attention to all these rumors of financial trouble, club-selling and whatever?"

"Oh, and before I forget - a line from my friend: "Selling the club? No, no, I don't think so. We're staying here for long-term. The higher-ups have a vision and they are trying their best to realize it, but it will take time." "

I can not be bothered looking for any more examples.

Apologies professor.

I am confused, he shares his views on a message board- telling us what his friend has said- articulate? I would say so, so which part of that is "stupid." It is scary how ridiculous this board is getting- Black burn shares his opinion and is getting 'stick' for being a Venky's PR agent, this isn't Stalin's Russia

[greco]

black burn

When we look at the facts, then you come across as a bit naive, but so does alot of the "hopefull" types.

No chairman

no director of football

novice manager

sold one of our best players

seem to dwell on buying new and quality players

A squad depleted in both quality and quantity

Awful pr and in general contradict themselves

now the docs are gone too

we dont need to sell to bye players and other promises gone with the wind

etc

etc

etc

etc

etc

i have asked this question a couple of times and will do so again.

what have the rao´s done so far, that has been positive for our club.?

im well aware, that a new takeover would probably destabilize our club. Im also well aware, that venky´s have time to rectify some of the damage. that has been done.

But i gotta ask, what is it, that makes you believe, that they will right their wrongs..?

what have they so far done, that makes you believe in them.?

in short, how have they made our club and team better.?

I am seriously having a hard time, finding anything, even minor events, that i would call positive. I´ll gladly be persuaded, if you or anyone else, can point me in the right direction, with sound and logical reasoning.

Looking at the list of their mistakes, which in reality are stupid rookie mistakes, i seriously doubt they have the intellect to right their wrongs

[imy9]

When he said I'm not a Venkys PR agent, he was covering both official and unofficial.

Please...enough of this. It isn't funny at all.

Anyway, Venkys to employ family members to deal with transfer deals. Doesn't look like they are selling in the near future if this is the case.

You do realize that some of your examples are me quoting my friend on IM?

I never stated my opinion on them, just told you guys what he told me and warned you that it might not be true. And as it turned out it wasn't true, which is why I'm no longer quoting my friend here.

The second was just a hypothesis and me stating a possibility. If you think using "what if" makes me stupid, then fine. I wasn't stating facts, I was proposing a near-impossible scenario. I could be wrong - in fact I do admit there's 99.9% chance of that being wrong, but there's still the 0.1%, isn't it?

Whatever. This just proves that saying whatever you don't want to hear makes me stupid. Unfortunately, I'm not about to jump on the bandwagon and sing the same hymns and curses just because most of the others are doing it. If it makes me stupid, so be it.

How ironic it is that the West is supposed to criticize Asians for conforming to social values and encourage them to be different and "individualistic", but I see a real-life example of a messageboard predominantly West hammering down the nail that sticks out. Real life is really different from stereotypes published in Western academia, eh?

:tu:

[Black Burn]

You've quoted your 'friend' who seems to refer to Venkys as 'we'. Is it fair to say that your friend is part of Venkys group, or their PR team?

He is a supervisor at one of their branches. Something to do with chickens, but I didn't exactly ask for further details. What he tells me is what he hears from his workplace, or that is what I am led to believe.

black burn

When we look at the facts, then you come across as a bit naive, but so does alot of the "hopefull" types.

No chairman

no director of football

novice manager

sold one of our best players

seem to dwell on buying new and quality players

A squad depleted in both quality and quantity

Awful pr and in general contradict themselves

now the docs are gone too

we dont need to sell to bye players and other promises gone with the wind

etc

etc

etc

etc

etc

i have asked this question a couple of times and will do so again.

what have the rao´s done so far, that has been positive for our club.?

im well aware, that a new takeover would probably destabilize our club. Im also well aware, that venky´s have time to rectify some of the damage. that has been done.

But i gotta ask, what is it, that makes you believe, that they will right their wrongs..?

what have they so far done, that makes you believe in them.?

in short, how have they made our club and team better.?

I am seriously having a hard time, finding anything, even minor events, that i would call positive. I´ll gladly be persuaded, if you or anyone else, can point me in the right direction, with sound and logical reasoning.

I certainly agree with you that the Venkys seem to have done more bad than good than the club.

As much as I dislike Sam Allardyce (nothing personal, disliked him ever since his Bolton days, and was dismayed to see him become Blackburn's manager), I was willing to give him a chance and I did felt that he was unfairly sacked. Kean has bombed in his job, but the rare times where he got it right was the amazing 3-1 win over the admittedly hopeless Roy Hodgson's Liverpool and Wolverhampton. Other than that, I think he's not a good manager. He might be one day, but he's not there yet.

Venkys seem to be in a mess right now, but other than the sacking of Sam Allardyce, the absurd promises to bring in Ronaldhino and Beckham (I was cringing at that time because I didn't like Beckham), they did do a few good things. One, they didn't raise the price of season tickets. Two, they did give their fans the occasional treats, like the one at Wolves. Three, they spent nearly 5 million as promised during the January transfer to bring in Rochina, Formica and bring Santa Cruz and Jones on loan. Whether the signings succeeded or not are another question - they promised 5 million on transfers and we got it.

No reason to think they are lying about getting transfers in the current window, except for the mess that is going on as reported by Alan Nixon and Kamy. Once the mess is sorted out, then perhaps we can perhaps focus on getting players.

However, as you have said, things are looking dismal for us. John Williams left, our doctor left, our club is at shambles at the moment. There is also no reason to think that they will be sorting that out any time soon either, but here's hoping.

After all, the Venkys didn't inherit and continue their multibillionaire business by running around like headless chickens. A football club might be a whole new game, but they aren't stupid. If they are, then I guess it's time for us to throw the fox into the chicken's den.

[greco]

He is a supervisor at one of their branches. Something to do with chickens, but I didn't exactly ask for further details. What he tells me is what he hears from his workplace, or that is what I am led to believe.

I certainly agree with you that the Venkys seem to have done more bad than good than the club.

As much as I dislike Sam Allardyce (nothing personal, disliked him ever since his Bolton days, and was dismayed to see him become Blackburn's manager), I was willing to give him a chance and I did felt that he was unfairly sacked. Kean has bombed in his job, but the rare times where he got it right was the amazing 3-1 win over the admittedly hopeless Roy Hodgson's Liverpool and Wolverhampton. Other than that, I think he's not a good manager. He might be one day, but he's not there yet.

Venkys seem to be in a mess right now, but other than the sacking of Sam Allardyce, the absurd promises to bring in Ronaldhino and Beckham (I was cringing at that time because I didn't like Beckham), they did do a few good things. One, they didn't raise the price of season tickets. Two, they did give their fans the occasional treats, like the one at Wolves. Three, they spent nearly 5 million as promised during the January transfer to bring in Rochina, Formica and bring Santa Cruz and Jones on loan. Whether the signings succeeded or not are another question - they promised 5 million on transfers and we got it.

No reason to think they are lying about getting transfers in the current window, except for the mess that is going on as reported by Alan Nixon and Kamy. Once the mess is sorted out, then perhaps we can perhaps focus on getting players.

However, as you have said, things are looking dismal for us. John Williams left, our doctor left, our club is at shambles at the moment. There is also no reason to think that they will be sorting that out any time soon either, but here's hoping.

After all, the Venkys didn't inherit and continue their multibillionaire business by running around like headless chickens. A football club might be a whole new game, but they aren't stupid. If they are, then I guess it's time for us to throw the fox into the chicken's den.

One could claim, that the father did all the hard work and they are lucky to be, in a blooming asian market.

the excuse about it, being a new industry, simply doesnt fly. If you are an intelligent person, you wouldnt act the way they have done. Its not only stupid mistakes, its really a list of mistakes, an intelligent human being wouldnt make.

They had the best chairman a club culd wish for, 99.9 % of their mistakes would never had happened, had they pulled their heads out of each others asses and pattiently learned from williams. Even idiots with minimal knowledge, knows, that it would be wise to listen to people, with a vast amount of expertise.

Come on black burn, deep down you know, that you ar psuhing it, when you have to mention "treats" and the season tickets.

You really didnt answer the question regarding, what makes you believe, that they will right their wrongs .?

eventhough i´m not agreeing with you, you do write some fine posts/essays

[Black Burn]

One could claim, that the father did all the hard work and they are lucky to be, in a blooming asian market.

the excuse about it, being a new industry, simply doesnt fly. If you are an intelligent person, you wouldnt act the way they have done. Its not only stupid mistakes, its really a list of mistakes, an intelligent human being wouldnt make.

They had the best chairman a club culd wish for, 99.9 % of their mistakes would never had happened, had they pulled their heads out of each others asses and pattiently learned from williams. Even idiots with minimal knowledge, knows, that it would be wise to listen to people, with a vast amount of expertise.

Come on black burn, deep down you know, that you ar psuhing it, when you have to mention "treats" and the season tickets.

You really didnt answer the question regarding, what makes you believe, that they will right their wrongs .?

eventhough i´m not agreeing with you, you do write some fine posts/essays

I am the one agreeing with you, actually. I'm not saying you are wrong. But thanks for that.

Yes, their father did most of the work. But admittedly if the Raos were incompetent the business would have collapsed and fallen apart under their reign. Instead, their company is thriving and growing - except for the Blackburn Rovers front, of course - so that says a lot. And apparently Mrs. Desai is acclaimed in a lot of business circles.

And you are right. They shouldn't have let John Williams go. I have no idea what happened on that front. Maybe they forced John Williams out or Williams decided he wanted a change of scene. Either way they shouldn't have let him go until they have learned everything they need to learn from him.

People make mistakes all the time. The Venkys certainly made a lot. The hope now is that they will learn from it.

I am pushing it, certainly. I'm not sure what other good things they have done.

I was thinking that based on the January window they fulfilled their promises. If they got their mess and chaos sorted out now, they will fulfil their promise regarding the Jones money being available for transfers plus the 5 million/10 million cash on top of that. Unfortunately I have no idea how they will right their wrong, but like I said, anyone who is running a multibillionaire company and recording growth shouldn't be stupid and should be capable of learning from their mistakes. Only time will tell if the Venkys are competent enough.

[Steve Moss]

How ironic it is that the West is supposed to criticize Asians for conforming to social values and encourage them to be different and "individualistic", but I see a real-life example of a messageboard predominantly West hammering down the nail that sticks out. Real life is really different from stereotypes published in Western academia, eh?

I actually think you've hit on something here but are misunderstanding it. Not everyone of this board is hitting your odd nail down. There are many divergent viewpoints and roughly formed "groups". Your nail is being hit by one of the "groups", not the message board as a whole.

So yes, some are taking the verbal pitchforks to you. But that is not them hammering down the unique flower the is Black Burn. That is them challenging you to defend your views in an open and honest debate. One that I think you can score some points in, though probably not win. That is the West: say what you like, but be prepared to defend you position; do what you like but don't bother me unless you want a harsh word (and perhaps a bloody nose, to boot) in return. The West is not about cherishing fragile, beautiful butterflies simply because they are unusual unless they have the ability to prove their worth.

Please try to avoid the martyr-complex thing. It is not a tactic that will persuade anyone.

Why are you quoting me without saying anything?

. . .

You are entitled your opinions. I, apparently, am not.

I'm relatively new to this message board, but I think quoting someone without comment is either: an indication of agreement; or, an assertion that they've said something nutty which is self-evident. I think he intended the first, but since they're English (for the most part) I have a hard time interpreting some of their comments and intentions. The English can be worse than the Chinese when it comes to interpreting what they mean.

But again, avoid the martyr complex. No one will care about your hurt feelings if it becomes a habit.

what have the rao´s done so far, that has been positive for our club.?

They did spend money the first window and brought in J. Jones. That move alone probably was enough to save us from relegation.

On the other hand, they threw us into a relegation battle by firing Sam and appointing Kean as his replacement, mid-season. Sam was on track for an 10th place finish and based on his prior record, he probably would have achieved that. Or perhaps more if he'd been given 5 million. So on balance, Venkys did more harm than good there.

They've also bought Rochina and Formica. Its too soon to say, but Rochina looks like he might be something, though it is too soon to opine on Formica.

Anyway, the Raos have screwed up royally. Per Mrs. D quoting their Dad, they're supposed to get 9 out of 10 decisions right. To date, they've got 9 out of 10 wrong. But we shouldn't ignore the one, even if it doesn't change anyone's opinion (including mine).

Venkys needs to step up and right the ship. They've sent us off course with their incessant, ill advised tampering and need to fix what they've broken. I think they're able. The question becomes whether their willing do to something positive other than talk?

[Black Burn]

I actually think you've hit on something here but are misunderstanding it. Not everyone of this board is hitting your odd nail down. There are many divergent viewpoints and roughly formed "groups". Your nail is being hit by one of the "groups", not the message board as a whole.

So yes, some are taking the verbal pitchforks to you. But that is not them hammering down the unique flower the is Black Burn. That is them challenging you to defend your views in an open and honest debate. One that I think you can score some points in, though probably not win. That is the West: say what you like, but be prepared to defend you position; do what you like but don't bother me unless you want a harsh word (and perhaps a bloody nose, to boot) in return. The West is not about cherishing fragile, beautiful butterflies simply because they are unusual unless they have the ability to prove their worth.

Please try to avoid the martyr-complex thing. It is not a tactic that will persuade anyone.

Sorry about that. As I said earlier, that comment was just an ironic statement I was making more to myself than anyone else because I had just recently read an essay where an academic scholar was bashing the Japanese for being conformative and praising the Western model as being individualistic and different. I was just amused that he was wrong.

I hope I have not bothered anyone.

[John]

Venkys could change their ways and improve things however if anything it appears they are getting worse.

They have created this situation, it is up to them to earn respect now.

[Exiled in Toronto]

But that is not them hammering down the unique flower the is Black Burn. That is them challenging you to defend your views in an open and honest debate.

Accusing him of being a Venky's plant and then someone checking up on his background is a lot more than that! Even if he ahd been Venky's head of PR, would he have been banned?

Divergent views and contrary positions are what used to make this messageboard interesting and enjoyable, now I find it like watching school bullies when people are rounded on.

[PAFELL]

I could tell you, but it is likely that you won't believe me.

Not that I blame you. I personally take optimistic reports with a pinch of salt the same way I do with pessimistic reports.

Let's see: in the past week we had reports from Alan Nixon and Kamy that Blackburn Rovers is falling apart, the owners are clamming up on buying players, we are having our targets being snatched away. This is cause for concern.

We also had director Rao and Ms Desai saying we will buy players soon and not after big names. This seems optimistic, but most people think the Venkys are liars and are refusing to believe them. As I said I will give what they say the same amount of belief I give Alan Nixon and Kamy. Nothing personal, but it's only fair to give the same amount of trust to all your Internet sources rather than favoring one over the other, or believing one source that bring bad news more than another that brings good news or vice versa.

I cannot defend Venkys. They have talked a lot and made all these speeches. Now the ball is in their court and they must back up what they say and buy players. If they don't do what they've said, then I'll be joining you guys on September 1st with napalm, flamethrowers and verbal abuse to torch Ewood Park, or rather Venkys London Headquarters to the ground.

I take it you missed the comment about the meteor shower.

I'll ask again, what is this ray of sunlight? We cannot believe or disbelieve it, if your keeping it to yourself.