[Archived] Should the Protests Stop?

[Eddie]

I'll preface this post by saying that I am as unhappy with the current situation as any Rovers supporter, but it gets to a point where the approach may need to change as the methods are seemingly ineffective.

The protests have been going on for some time, including several mass and spontaneous protests. The movement has received attention from almost every single local and national media source and has been covered ad nauseum by many. Despite this coverage and the fact that the message has clearly been conveyed to the management, board and owners that has been no change at the club. With this in mind, considering the grave situation that the club now finds itself in, might it be better to turn attentions to directly supporting the players on the pitch and trying to help them towards picking up more points.

This isn't a criticism of the protest organisers or the protests themselves, I really wish that they had worked and it has been encouraging to see how passionate many Rovers fans are, but sadly the movement simply hasn't been effective.

If the same level of passion that has been displayed in recent weeks is translated into full support of the players than I have no doubt that we would create one of the most intimidating atmospheres in the league and that it would help the fight for survival. Perhaps a middle ground would be found where fans would continue to wear yellow to show their disapproval for the way that the club is being run, but that now banners would no longer be used and the 'Kean Out' and other chants would stop.

This shift in approach could be announced by the protest organisers with a statement to press, but it seems as if we are fighting a lost cause and that the effort could be put into being the crucial '12th man' that might just help us stay up.

[Paul]

Eddie we are relegated now. The focus should be on the Rao family causing them every discomfort possible till they get out or fulfill commitments to the club.

[LDRover]

People will always show displeasure and anger at games, that's human emotion and it's perfectly understandable in the current situation.

There's no need (and there hadn't been) organised protest for the last three games and look where we are. Protest in those games has been spontaneous borne out of p1ss poor performances masterminded by a p1ss poor manager.

This would happen at every one of the 92 clubs in England if they were faced with the same, of that I'm convinced. Unfortunately for us, at 91 other clubs the manager would've been removed.

One final thought, the 'anti protester' was borne out of supporters being told to protest and how to do so, you're in danger of creating an 'anti anti protestor' by trying to do the polar opposite.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Ah but Eddie you seem to be under the assumption that the players haven't been supported during this period of time, in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. It's clear from the banners, chants and other forms or protest media that the players aren't being targeted with these protests it's clearly Kean & Venky's.

To answer your question I don't think the protests should stop. If the protests stop then the owners and Kean will think they have won over the fans and that it becomes a clear mandate to carry on as is. Stopping the protests will also undo the hard work that has been carried out by those protesting when it comes to generating media interest in our current plight.

From a players perspective there hasn’t been any evidence whatsoever to suggest that the protests have had a negative impact on results. Rovers were losing games when the owners, Kean and the players were being backed. Since the protests we are seeing pretty much the same results. I also feel that the lack of quality in the manager is far too powerful to overcome, even if fans backed the club as a whole 100% it wouldn’t make any difference.

[DE.]

As long as Kean is manager fan support will not be enough to keep us up. The fans supported the players last season and look how poor we were then... and that was with a better squad the only way we could have clawed our way out of this mess was hiring a new manager, but it's too late now. We'll enter January with a pathetic 10 points.

[The Prof.]

Nothing else works with thick skinned idiots like these.

[Amo]

I'd love to know how the fans are supposed to drum up any enthusiasm for the club in the current state it's in. Ewood isn't exactly a 'cauldron' at the best of times, is it? Yet you reckon fans are going to rally behind Kean & the Venky's when relegation is a foregone conclusion? Sounds like you're clutching at straws, Eddie. And I should say it's not too surprising you'd come out with something like this when you insisted that anyone who can buy a season ticket, should buy a season ticket, regardless of what's happening at the club. Football fans have been treated like mugs for long enough. It's about time the majority of them woke up and realized their love for the game and club identity has been exploited by owners, agents, players and alike.

[MullenVoid]

I too was wondering if the protests should stop. I think they have got the message to the media, the club and the owners. However when we talk about results all i can see is a huge amount of negative publicity. Sadly the owners are as stubborn as they come and will not bow to fan pressure, not of this kind anyway.

I understand that it looks like giving up, and keano is bound to put his own spin on it. However i do think that a new tact should be considered, though admittedly i'm not sure what. Carrying on with protests despite a lack of results could just make us seem as stubborn and closed minded as the owners.

[den]

The protests have and are being very effective Eddie. You can read about and watch news items all day long. Without the protests, no-one outside Ewood Park would be any the wiser to our plight.

Also, if cheering the team on worked, we wouldn't be facing relegation in the first place.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

We would appear to be damned if we do and damned if we dont.

We really are in an awful situation on/off the field of play.

[thenodrog]

Why start a new thread for this? It shoudl be on the protest thread.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

I too was wondering if the protests should stop. I think they have got the message to the media, the club and the owners. However when we talk about results all i can see is a huge amount of negative publicity. Sadly the owners are as stubborn as they come and will not bow to fan pressure, not of this kind anyway.

I understand that it looks like giving up, and keano is bound to put his own spin on it. However i do think that a new tact should be considered, though admittedly i'm not sure what. Carrying on with protests despite a lack of results could just make us seem as stubborn and closed minded as the owners.

The issue is that the last two 'protests' ie during the game were not organised. The organised ones were suspended having been promised a meeting by the club....a promise which they have broken.

People are angry, we could go to the stoke game with the best intentions but if we play badly or go behind, people will flip again. It is the emotional nature of the situation. It is these 'unorganised protests' that got the negative press but you cannot stop it now without removing Kean/the owners or both from the situation.

It's pointless therefore calling for the protests to stop...and nor should they.

The owners may be stubborn and not bow, but neither should we.

It's also worth considering that we will know the financial implications by the Stoke game - Will the £10 million have been paid to Barclays? Will we have ANY money for transfers? or as has been suggested by some well informed posters, will we be having a fire sale?

We could have a whole host of new things to whinge about in jan!

[chris]

GOD NO we will be in hell soon and forgotten, any pressure possbile must be applied.

Kean is a ###### loon

[Seggie]

I think the Kean ones should stop, not because I like the guy or think he's capable of improvement but because Venkys should now get the abuse, What seems to be evident is Kean has support from within the game as they all think he's handling an awful situation well but there is no sympathy for Venky's, target Venky's Kean will be the one that gets chopped whether they sell up or not. Venkys are the root problem of which Kean is the symptom, I also feel that Kean is starting to feel untouchable with the Kean out protests, change the tune a bit it may unnerve him a bit especially if the protests are about his bosses as they could become more knee jerk when decisions are being made

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Eddie you've been in France too long. " Cheese eating surrender monkies " ring a bell ?

[jim mk2]

Should the protests stop, more a question of when did they start ?

To my mind, meaningful protest is a large-scale insurrection with anger and violence leading to 144pt headlines on front and back pages in newspapers across the world.

Only then might the idiots in India take some notice.

On that peaceful note, happy Christmas to one and all.

[walk down bolton road]

No Surrender

The time for them to stop is when Coco has been removed.

And when the ringmasters in India have disappeared over the horizon.

In the words of Winston Churchill "WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER".

[chris]

Should the protests stop, more a question of when did they start ?

To my mind, meaningful protest is a large-scale insurrection with anger and violence leading to 144pt headlines on front and back pages in newspapers across the world.

Only then might the idiots in India take some notice.

On that peaceful note, happy Christmas to one and all.

you right that alomot needs to happen, but nobody could plan this in a million years, probably go to kail if something went too far.

[yoda]

Eddie you've been in France too long. " Cheese eating surrender monkies " ring a bell ?

The protests should be escalated 10 fold minimum and aimed at the Rao's

[yoda's brother]

r'kid is right, its time to turn our attention to the owners

[47er]

I'll preface this post by saying that I am as unhappy with the current situation as any Rovers supporter, but it gets to a point where the approach may need to change as the methods are seemingly ineffective.

The protests have been going on for some time, including several mass and spontaneous protests. The movement has received attention from almost every single local and national media source and has been covered ad nauseum by many. Despite this coverage and the fact that the message has clearly been conveyed to the management, board and owners that has been no change at the club. With this in mind, considering the grave situation that the club now finds itself in, might it be better to turn attentions to directly supporting the players on the pitch and trying to help them towards picking up more points.

This isn't a criticism of the protest organisers or the protests themselves, I really wish that they had worked and it has been encouraging to see how passionate many Rovers fans are, but sadly the movement simply hasn't been effective.

If the same level of passion that has been displayed in recent weeks is translated into full support of the players than I have no doubt that we would create one of the most intimidating atmospheres in the league and that it would help the fight for survival. Perhaps a middle ground would be found where fans would continue to wear yellow to show their disapproval for the way that the club is being run, but that now banners would no longer be used and the 'Kean Out' and other chants would stop.

This shift in approach could be announced by the protest organisers with a statement to press, but it seems as if we are fighting a lost cause and that the effort could be put into being the crucial '12th man' that might just help us stay up.

There is no chance of us staying up with Kean. I believe we are gone already. Therefore make as much noise as we can, ensure Venkys know it will never stop and force them to sell.

Only then, when the cancer inside our club has been removed, can we start to rebuild.

That's what the optimistic side tells me. The pessimistic side tells me that Venkys would prefer to destroy the club than see us dictate to them.

No chance with your solution though and no honour.

[ABBEY]

Kean out venkys out

[FourLaneBlue]

I'll preface this post by saying that I am as unhappy with the current situation as any Rovers supporter, but it gets to a point where the approach may need to change as the methods are seemingly ineffective.

The protests have been going on for some time, including several mass and spontaneous protests. The movement has received attention from almost every single local and national media source and has been covered ad nauseum by many. Despite this coverage and the fact that the message has clearly been conveyed to the management, board and owners that has been no change at the club. With this in mind, considering the grave situation that the club now finds itself in, might it be better to turn attentions to directly supporting the players on the pitch and trying to help them towards picking up more points.

This isn't a criticism of the protest organisers or the protests themselves, I really wish that they had worked and it has been encouraging to see how passionate many Rovers fans are, but sadly the movement simply hasn't been effective.

If the same level of passion that has been displayed in recent weeks is translated into full support of the players than I have no doubt that we would create one of the most intimidating atmospheres in the league and that it would help the fight for survival. Perhaps a middle ground would be found where fans would continue to wear yellow to show their disapproval for the way that the club is being run, but that now banners would no longer be used and the 'Kean Out' and other chants would stop.

This shift in approach could be announced by the protest organisers with a statement to press, but it seems as if we are fighting a lost cause and that the effort could be put into being the crucial '12th man' that might just help us stay up.

Our current league position has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the protests that have been going on. We are in the position that the manager and players deserve to be in due to their level of performance over the season.

We aren't good enough. This "12th man" you mentioned is in reality a fallacy.

We are already as good as down. The only TINY speck of hope we have left is if Kean is sacked. How exactly is that going to be helped if the fans give up all forms of protest?

Besides, the protests shouldn't be about relegation. That is a myopic, blinkered viewpoint. The protests should be about the future of the club.

The club is a shambles and we have no idea where we will end up. If I was a betting man, however, I'd put it on administration in the not too distant future.

The protests need to continue because the results on the pitch are the least of our problems.

[Waggy76]

I have been going on Ewood Park for 42 yrs , and I am not going to give into these buggers , I might boycott games and call BRFC current owners but I have blue and white blood .. The thing is I will be back ,but Kean will be looking over is shoulder for the rest of his life because he relegated Blackburn Rovers and couldn't careless.One day he will be in the wrong place at the right time ...

[47er]

The only true significance of the "12th man' argument is that we, the fans, are being set up for the blame when, inevitably we are relegated and worse consequences follow.

We will be slaughtered as unworthy of a great club who let it down in its hour of need.

Its the biggest con-job in the history of the Premier League.