Hello from Norway

[hendry]

I`ve been following Blackburn Rovers F.C. for about 20 years now. English Premier League is huge in Norway, but being a proud and traditional club like Rovers, is shadowed by the larger clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and off course Manchester United. They are numerous as supporters, and they cry together over lost CL-finals, and disappointing 5.places.

It is a lonely faith being the only one in your social network, living a long distance relationship with monogamist boundaries. My friends support me off course, coming over to watch the games with me, as long as it doesn`t collide with their own top games, usually early Sunday games, because there are always at least one major team involved when they are lining up in their couches for weekend football. I have a few Newcastle friends as well, they pretend to understand what I am going through, but I think they have forgot the pain, when Ba hit the net, and they suddenly are contenders for Europe. I am alone in my pain, sharing it only with a few acquaintances on the internet, and reading frustration and agony at Twitter and other forums.

So, what is it like to support a club like Blackburn? What on earth made me choose a team that none of my nearest, or in my periphery network, support? For me it is easy. Off course, the early nineties where great years for us, but I only need to remind my self; Colin Hendry, Tim Sherwood, David Speedie and Alan Shearer. And the Norwegians Henning Berg, and later Tore Pedersen, Egil Østenstad, Martin Andresen, Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Lars Bohinen, and now, Morten Gamst Pedersen, are important to keep us Norwegian fans updated through Norwegian media.

Anyway, now I have reached 30 years of age, and it isn`t posters of Alan Shearer, or David Dunn that decorates my living room. The club is bigger then a single player, I probably wouldn`t cry if it was today Alan shearer left for Newcastle, I know that their will always be another player filling his place. Off course I would love to see Junior sign a new contract, and I rather watch Phil Jones in blue and white then in red and black in Champions League(sorry, Europa League that is..). But watching the entire club fall apart ruins my day, affect my sleep and leaves me helpless on the other side of the Northern Sea.

Through my visits at Ewood Park I have experienced the people of Blackburn as great people. Off course we share a common love, but anyone I have ever come to talk with are truly good people, and being inside the stadium, which I had only watch on telly before my first visit, is great! I am no poet, so the feeling is hard to explain. My first visit to Blackburn was like coming home.

I do my best to follow my club, and through internet it has become much easier, and I believe that I am well informed through twitter and supporter forums, and I am a daily user of Lancashire telegraph online. In addition I watch more or less every game through the season, missing at most one or two Rovers-games in a PL-season.

Anyway.I also want to share my views on the current situation of our club, Steve Kean(SK), John Williams(JW), Venkys and everything that is falling apart.

As David Moyes, Harry Rednknapp and now SAF are stating their disgust at Rovers supporters. That is frustrated supporters watching their club breaking from the bottom. Having no other option then to meet at games and protest. That is fruatration. I do agree, Steve Kean gets a lot of noise directed at him, no one should experience anything like that, but if the owners had dared to show their faces, maybe things would have been different. Some communication has never hurt anybody. I believe it is the other way around actually. Get your arses over here, and deliver what you promised.

I feel sorry for Steve Kean, and I think that he have some dignity left, only because he has kept his calm. But, now it is time to go, Steve, if you want to keep some of your dignity past new year.

The horrific part is that Steve Kean is not the problem. He may, or may not, be a bad manager, but the people above him are certainly either missing or incapable of doing anything correct. SK got the owners support, fair enough(actually it isn`t, but bear with me), but when a person telling us that the owners have faith in him, it comes from SK, not mrs. Desai, or anyone else from the great nation of India. And the chairman has left us. John Williams, where are you? If you read this, I will put up a framed poster of you in my living room for eternity, if you only can fix this!

For Boxing Day we are going to OT, and Anfield at New Years Eve. We need points, we need people in charge and we need motivated players. The standing are 10-0-0.

Glen Mullan, Mikey Delap, and everyone else doing their best to come through to the people in charge! Keep it up! Support the club! Bring the fortress back!

So as LET so nicely put it:

LAY OF OUR FANS!

RTWD!

Regards!

Oyvind