[Archived] India Media Company Wants Your Opinions

[seanc88]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was happy as I believed we were being taken over by a very successful and driven family. Blackburn Rovers (in my lifetime) has always been a family orientated club and I had hoped that Venky's were looking to carry on the great tradition of out club.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

I honestly believe that there is no way Steve Kean can be a success as the managers of BRFC. He is a well respected coach but has been given no real support from Venky's. If they honestly believed in him, then they would have given him significant financial backing (as they promised to do) and also employed an experienced chairman to replace John Williams to run the club on their behalf. A football club is a different entity to any other business. The manager manages the team. He should not be responsible for other matters within the club. We had a highly successful team at the club when Venky's came in. There bullishness and inexperience has seen a complete u-turn in our clubs fortunes and they have now completely exiled themselves from the most important people at the club...... The Fans!

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

The unwillingness to work with the experienced board we had in place at the time has been the biggest mistake so far. With John Williams and co's experience, A steady cash injection from Venky's could have seen our club rise to the top 8 sides in the premiership within a season or two and European football could have been achieved with a reasonable steady budget.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

I am personally a fan of the owners being present on a regular basis but yet again if the board of directors had been kept in place along with a Venky's representative, then I see no reason why they couldn't have stayed in India.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

Keeping Chris Samba is always positive, as long as he is actually playing. However we are now in the situation where we have an incredibly talented footballer and leader on the pitch, sidelined because he is fed up with the mismanagement of the club and the false promises made by Venky's.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

Sadly given our fixtures, current league position and manager it is very hard to see us avoiding relegation. Relegation is a horrible experience and one I have been through before. The difference last time was that we had a loyal owner who had the best interests of our club at heart. This time it is not the same. Venky's may say that Blackburn Rovers is like 'Our baby', but there have seriously neglected the club and the community as a whole. Venky's have hurt the fans over the last year and it's hard to see a situation where people forgive them, unless they sell the club to a suitable person who wants to really take the club forward. The only thing I am sure of is that, I love Blackburn Rovers and I will support them until the end. I am Rovers Till I Die!

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

If Venky's stay - They would have to actually keep their promises, invest heavily, reduce the club debt and work incredibly hard to create a relationship with the fans.

Otherwise Venkys have to see our club, either to the fans or to a suitable person with significant funds to turn the club around.

[neekoy]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

more than willing to welcome them

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

keeping Steve Kean in charge will only further disenchant the fans

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

Removing an excellent and respected management team

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

if they attended they wmay learn something about football and the passion of the fans

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

Its good for BRFC to have Samba,sad that his situation has got so bad,another sign of poor management

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

Demoralised is how i feel,never in a month of sundays will i forgive Steve Kean for his part in this debacle,Venkys would need to do things which regretably I feel they are not capable of, and would beg of them to sell the club

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

1) Was happy with Venky's based on their media statements and stated intent. They appeared to be a solid business with a family model which was important for a club like Rovers.

2) It will not work. Steve Kean should never have been given the job to start with.

3) They haven't done anything right. Not one decision they have made has been the correct one. Not just in hindsight but also forsight.

4) If they attended matches they might actually see what is happening and get an understanding why such suppporter anger

5) If they had kept their promises they wouldn't have needed to "hold on" to Chris Samba.

6) No. Steve Kean will never have my support. Venky's can get my support back by doing what is right for the club and it's fans.

7) Install an experienced manager or sell the club to someone respectable who understands how to run a football club.

[Rovermatt]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was quietly hopeful. The previous ownership had been trying to run the club on the cheap for years so I was encouraged at the prospect of wealthy and serious benefactors taking over. Like many others, I was duped.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

The clamour to sack him is essentially linked to his horrible record and obvious lack of managerial ability. There have been few positive results during his time and most of those owe more to his apparent and uncanny knack for squeaking wins precisely when he needs them rather than any particular sage judgment on his part. Indeed, his poor tactical knowledge and confusing substitutions have cost the team more second half leads than I care to count.

The dissatisfaction with that aspect of his job performance has been overshadowed somewhat by his belligerent attitude to the disquiet in the stands and the arrogant manner in which he has conducted himself. In addition, he has faced no scrutiny of any kind over his consistently untruthful statements on team affairs. His sense of entitlement is truly staggering and, as such, his relationship with the club's loyal supporters is damaged beyond repair.

However any talk of getting rid of the manager is moot in the context of the current absentee owners. The circumstances surrounding his appointment and his subsequent untouchable status grow more suspicious by the day. He is clearly the owners' man and is going nowhere any time soon. At a normal club, the guy would have been out of the door a long time ago (of course a normal club would never have appointed such a rank amateur in the first place) and thus it is clear that to see the back of Steve Kean, we must first see the back of Venky's.

If you were advocating on his behalf you might suggest that he's been left out to dry by Venky's, receiving no real support - financial or otherwise. With survival assured, he could have walked away at the end of last season with his reputation intact. Instead it is in tatters. He has chosen to embrace his opportunity with such unquestioning, blind loyalty that he is indelibly linked to the owners. They are the real sickness. Steve Kean is a mere symptom.

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

Quite simply, every single decision made by the owners during their tenure has been a mistake. To isolate a few, the dismissal of an experienced and capable manager in Sam Allardyce and the subsequent appointment of a no-mark like Steve Kean was clearly a failure of truly epic proportions. The refusal to remedy this stupidity, in spite of increasingly woeful results and a risible defensive record (indeed, Kean was awarded a salary increase), is beyond suspicious.

Perhaps more crucially, the move to dispense with the services of a number of highly experienced executives and the gelding of the board with respect to its decision-making powers has damaged the club, at an operational level, to an almost unquantifiable degree. What was once one of the proudest and best run footballing institutions in Europe has been transformed into a hollow shell where all major decisions are seemingly made in, and dispensed from, India via e-mail (if such decisions are made at all) while a skeleton executive staff and an inexperienced, failing football manager preside over what little club business still operates out of Blackburn itself.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

It makes no difference to me. They showed little acumen or interest when they did attend Ewood Park. At least now the regularity of their visits reflects the passion they have for the club.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

I'm split on this. On the one hand Samba is subject to a long-term contract and thus the club has every right to refuse to sell him. He is a good player and may very well be useful in the continuing relegation scrap. On the other hand, he seems to have the measure of the owners as witless and deceitful incompetents who could, at some point, fail to even meet payroll. The supporters can't be the only ones who see that Steve Kean is taking the team nowhere fast. Part of me can't blame Samba for wishing to jump ship. In truth though, given our likely relegation, the club will be in a weak position when it comes to negotiating a favourable fee for a player who seems destined to leave during the summer transfer window.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

If relegation is avoided I will be relieved of course. However both the manager and the owners have served to tear the soul from the club, trample on its proud legacy and alienate the supporters with arrogance, ignorance and willful deception. I'm not sure they will ever be truly forgiven.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

There can be no change of fortune whilst these owners are in charge. It sound fatalistic but for the club to rediscover itself these people must sell up and forget they ever heard of Blackburn Rovers.

[Brfcrule1]

kamy please don't start giving this to media before tomorrow night I will be doing this tommorrow morning and include the answers on here before midday thanks

[American Rover12]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was optimistic. The trust seemed disinterested and for Rovers to remain relative we needed new owners. At the same time I knew our new owners wouldn't be like Man City's owners but I was more than willing to let them come in and prove themselves capable of running and growing the club.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

I still want steve kean sacked provided we don't follow him up with another Paul Ince type character. (An unproven top flight manager.)

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

Failing to realize that running an English football club is much different than running a chicken farm. The dichotomy with the fans and community is something that can't be understated and they seem not to care at all. I also think they were naive in how much money this project was going to require.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

It looks like they're hiding. It's a giant cop out. They know the fans are unhappy and don't want to face the boos. They made their bed and should lie in it.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

While I was happy Samba stayed and the club held firm on the fact he just signed a new contract, what's the point if he's not going to play? We could have gotten big money for him.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

Do we have a choice? I think the best thing that could happen at Rovers is the Raos showing up in their box at Ewood, issuing a formal apology, asking for a clean slate and then giving the financial backings we were promised. That being said? We probably will be relegated which would be almost unforgivable as the way we're set up as a club means we would probably do more a leeds than a west ham.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

Having the Raos bring in people that know the English game and culture and provide the financial backing they promised.

[darrenrover]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was quietly hopeful. The previous ownership had been trying to run the club on the cheap for years so I was encouraged at the prospect of wealthy and serious benefactors taking over. Like many others, I was duped.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

The clamour to sack him is essentially linked to his horrible record and obvious lack of managerial ability. There have been few positive results during his time and most of those owe more to his apparent and uncanny knack for squeaking wins precisely when he needs them rather than any particular sage judgment on his part. Indeed, his poor tactical knowledge and confusing substitutions have cost the team more second half leads than I care to count.

The dissatisfaction with that aspect of his job performance has been overshadowed somewhat by his belligerent attitude to the disquiet in the stands and the arrogant manner in which he has conducted himself. In addition, he has faced no scrutiny of any kind over his consistently untruthful statements on team affairs. His sense of entitlement is truly staggering and, as such, his relationship with the club's loyal supporters is damaged beyond repair.

However any talk of getting rid of the manager is moot in the context of the current absentee owners. The circumstances surrounding his appointment and his subsequent untouchable status grow more suspicious by the day. He is clearly the owners' man and is going nowhere any time soon. At a normal club, the guy would have been out of the door a long time ago (of course a normal club would never have appointed such a rank amateur in the first place) and thus it is clear that to see the back of Steve Kean, we must first see the back of Venky's.

If you were advocating on his behalf you might suggest that he's been left out to dry by Venky's, receiving no real support - financial or otherwise. With survival assured, he could have walked away at the end of last season with his reputation intact. Instead it is in tatters. He has chosen to embrace his opportunity with such unquestioning, blind loyalty that he is indelibly linked to the owners. They are the real sickness. Steve Kean is a mere symptom.

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

Quite simply, every single decision made by the owners during their tenure has been a mistake. To isolate a few, the dismissal of an experienced and capable manager in Sam Allardyce and the subsequent appointment of a no-mark like Steve Kean was clearly a failure of truly epic proportions. The refusal to remedy this stupidity, in spite of increasingly woeful results and a risible defensive record (indeed, Kean was awarded a salary increase), is beyond suspicious.

Perhaps more crucially, the move to dispense with the services of a number of highly experienced executives and the gelding of the board with respect to its decision-making powers has damaged the club, at an operational level, to an almost unquantifiable degree. What was once one of the proudest and best run footballing institutions in Europe has been transformed into a hollow shell where all major decisions are seemingly made in, and dispensed from, India via e-mail (if such decisions are made at all) while a skeleton executive staff and an inexperienced, failing football manager preside over what little club business still operates out of Blackburn itself.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

It makes no difference to me. They showed little acumen or interest when they did attend Ewood Park. At least now the regularity of their visits reflects the passion they have for the club.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

I'm split on this. On the one hand Samba is subject to a long-term contract and thus the club has every right to refuse to sell him. He is a good player and may very well be useful in the continuing relegation scrap. On the other hand, he seems to have the measure of the owners as witless and deceitful incompetents who could, at some point, fail to even meet payroll. The supporters can't be the only ones who see that Steve Kean is taking the team nowhere fast. Part of me can't blame Samba for wishing to jump ship. In truth though, given our likely relegation, the club will be in a weak position when it comes to negotiating a favourable fee for a player who seems destined to leave during the summer transfer window.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

If relegation is avoided I will be relieved of course. However both the manager and the owners have served to tear the soul from the club, trample on its proud legacy and alienate the supporters with arrogance, ignorance and willful deception. I'm not sure they will ever be truly forgiven.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

There can be no change of fortune whilst these owners are in charge. It sound fatalistic but for the club to rediscover itself these people must sell up and forget they ever heard of Blackburn Rovers.

[blue_n_white99]

It may be an idea that the media company use links to this thread, I would hate Venkys or any of their spin trolls to claim these views were only 1% of the fan base, and whilst I appreciate that 5 pages is hardly the Blackburn End, it is wholly indicative of those who use web forums.

[PAFELL]

Be interesting to see what this Indian media company do with these comments. Be good to have a follow up.

[47er]

Be interesting to see what this Indian media company do with these comments. Be good to have a follow up.

Surely nothing can or will be done?

[PAFELL]

Surely nothing can or will be done?

I have said for ages. Only pressure in India is likely to have an affect on venkys. But even that they have resisted so far.

[JAL]

Just cant believe you guys and gals have gone and answered all these questions.

What we should have done as fans is, had a complete blanket silence to these questions. Too late now though, unless the mods can delete this whole thread.

Its their mess let them sort it.

[RoyRover]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was excited whenever the owners took over the club. The club had been punching above its weight for years, despite a chronic lack of investment from the Walkers Trust. Much of this success has to be put down to fantastic way that the club was run by John Williams. Since returning to the Premiership after being relegated, we had two successful managers in Graeme Souness and Mark Hughes. We won the League Cup, avoided relegation, progressed season by season, we were able to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal when they visited Ewood Park, we regularly finished in the top half and occasionally qualified for Europe. The club didn't have a lot of money, so we spent within our means, managed to get some very good players that other teams had cast off like Roque Santa Cruz, Benni McCarthy, Craig Bellamy and David Bentley and then sell some of them for a huge profit which ultimately funded the running of the club.

We were the model for how smaller teams and even some big ones should run their business. However this model of buying players cheaply and selling on for a big profit is very hard to continually sustain. We went backwards under Paul Ince and it took Sam Allardyce to come in and save us from relegation. Even though his style of football wasn't to everyone's taste, it got results and we were never in danger of being relegated while he was in charge. It had become obvious that the Walker's Trust was wanting to sell the club and had stopped investing anymore than they needed to. So when Venky's came along, promising to invest heavily in the club and see us challenging for Europe I was excited. I thought their ambitions for Champions League football were a bit much. I was a bit concerned when they openly stated that they knew nothing about football, but I was then reassured when they stated that because of this they would not be changing much of how the club would be run, that the manager and the administration staff would be kept in place as they knew how to run a football club.

I had some small worries about the takeover when you saw what had gone on at other English clubs, particularly Portsmouth, under foreign owners. But overall I was happy and excited with the takeover and thought that it could be a new dawn for the club. How wrong I was.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

Steve Kean should not be the manager of Blackburn Rovers and I think you would find 99% of fans believing that. When he took over the team were sitting comfortably in mid table. By the end of the season, it took a win on the last day to ensure our Premiership survival. The summer was the perfect chance to get rid of him and get someone else in. He has consistently shown that he can not win Premiership matches on a consistent basis. This season picked up were last season left off. Some of the losses have been unacceptable and yet somehow he has remained in the job. When you look at the results, you have to wonder why the owners are persisting with him when they were so quick to sack Sam Allardyce after two losses. Steve Kean got the job because his agent was the very person advising Venky's. The fact is that when the owners took over they talked about Champions League football, but under Kean's reign we have slipped further and further away from it. You have to ask why then he is still in charge?

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

The owners have made so many mistakes that it would be almost funny if it weren't happening to our football club. But without doubt the biggest one has to be the sacking of Sam Allardyce and replacing him with Steve Kean and then not sacking Steve Kean and replacing him with a proper manager like Martin O'Neill or Mark Hughes when they were both out of work. It's from this that all the other things have grown - John Williams & Tom Finn resigning and thus a lack of communication from the club to the supporters, the league position and string of terrible results leading to fan protests, players wanting to leave and the list goes on. The owners admitted they knew nothing about football when they bought the club. They should have watched and taken note of how a club runs for a year or so and slowly started to make any necessary changes that they saw fit. But to more or less scrap all of the good work that has been doing over decades at Rovers in little over a year, speaks to their arrogance, their lack of understanding and their unwillingness to listen to people with greater experience.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

It gives the impression that they aren't interested in the club. After all that has gone on over the last couple of months, for the owners not to have attended a home game since the Arsenal game is staggering. It tells me that they don't want to come over as they know what type of reception they will get. They have let things get so bad, that they are afraid to face the music at Ewood Park. If they were confident in how they were running the club and fully backed their decision to support the manager, surely they should have the courage to turn up at Ewood Park to face the fans. It won't be pleasant, but it has to be done. Otherwise they just come across as people, burying their heads in the sand, hoping that everything will turn out ok and whenever the team starts climbing the table and the fans anger has died, they can show themselves at Ewood Park again. Further more, it's devastating for Rovers fans to see a club we love and supported all our lives, being ripped apart by some people who live 5000 miles, who have no connection with the club or town, who have barely even been to Blackburn and are making decisions that are killing the club, due to the fact that they can because they are the owners.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

This is one of the few positives to come from Venky's. They were obviously upset at losing our best player in Phil Jones to Manchester United last season the way we did. I think that player power has gotten to an unacceptable level. Chris Samba is out of order to be demanding a move and claiming that he can't give 100% to the team. He signed a contract and gets paid massively for it. If a club wanted him, they should have paid the £12 - £15 million that it would take to buy him. For Chris Samba to throw a tantrum and apparently refuse to play because the club didn't accept a couple of bids that were far too low, is disgraceful and I'm glad the club stood up to him. I hope that we can get Samba back into the team, as we stand a better chance of staying up with him in the side. In the summer, hopefully we will still be in the Premiership and he can get his big move then.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

I feel resigned to relegation and fear for the club's future. The owners and Steve Kean have managed to totally destroy one of the founding members of the football league and one of the best run clubs in English football in little over year. By and large, the entire British media has stood back and watch this all unfold and has never batted an eyelid. In fact they have portrayed the Rovers fans as the villains in all of this because we dared question and protest at the direction our club was taking. I will not forgive them for what they have done, but the owners could go some way toward building bridges with the fans and doing some good if they were to sack the manager, communicate with the fans and listen to people who genuinely have the clubs best interests at heart.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

Fire the manager and replace him with someone who knows what they are doing and who will at least give us a chance of staying in the Premiership. Or just sell the club to the Arabs and take Steve Kean with them.

[Fife Rover]

It may be an idea that the media company use links to this thread, I would hate Venkys or any of their spin trolls to claim these views were only 1% of the fan base, and whilst I appreciate that 5 pages is hardly the Blackburn End, it is wholly indicative of those who use web forums.

I fully agree with that, and in fact had just been thinking the same thought as I diligently read every word of every post since the start yesterday.

There has been so much said in the answers so far , but yet in essence everybody is in virtual complete agreement; Who could have possibly imagined that happening on this or any other Rovers fans forums? If you actually condense the meaning of all the replies so far you find that in all the main thrust of the answers we are all saying the same.........we can't ALL be wrong can we?

It would indeed be good if Kamy or someone who is looking to pass on the condensed thoughts of "Rovers Fans" to the Indian TV company could find a way to get them to simply view this thread (in its entirety) for themselves.

[Rovermatt]

@ darrenrover. Why have you quoted my post without saying anything?

[sw0808]

ditto "fife rover"

I have read through the entire thread and couldnt add anything to the vast majority of posts - but would just like to add my support to the points made

Particularly the crazy sacking of very able staff

[Brfcrule1]

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong? To be honest at the time I knew the Walker Trustees they were not prepared to invest the small amount into the club and with clubs around our level investing in their squads on a good level clubs like Villa,Sunderland etc.. and because of this I knew something had to change. I knew we needed backers who could invest to make the team a mid-table-top half Europe team so I was quietly optimistic and once I found out how much Venkys were worth. I was looking forward to a bright new future but I did begin to get suspicious once I found out they took out 2 mortgages secured against the club and were not investing any of their own money. I was fearful as borrowing money against the club was very risky that coupled with a manager who is inexperienced and worst of all one who lies constantly to save his own skin was always a recipe for disaster. If however the manager were to get results from the start and the team were higher up the league it would be more comfort to me. The fact the club is not higher up the table and with debts spiralling out of control makes me very worried for the future even leading to many sleepless nights. Also with the Premier League and FA sitting by and watching it unfold makes me mad as they have not learnt anything from previous clubs facing massive financial problems.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans? I believe contrary to what Mr Kean believes the majority wants Kean gone and I am very much the same the fact he dumped on John Jensen blaming him for the teams poor results and blaming everyone else for his own inadequacies coupled with drink driving charges and threatening behaviour towards a journalist makes him completely unsuitable for this job and to be perfectly honest after the first game of the season no disrespect to Wolves if I were in charge he would have been gone after that defeat the fact he has clinged on blaming everyone else means I could never accept or forgive him for placing this once proud club heading towards oblivion.

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over? Hiring Steve Kean and then when discovering the guy is totally out of his depth not having the balls to fire him and listening to an agent on who to hire as manager.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly? I feel now they are cowards they have they alone single-handedly destroyed a club with a rich heritage and now things have gone wrong have gone into hiding only cowards would hide real honest and honourable men would come here face the music however bad the reception is and have the balls to sort out this mess starting with a new manager,chairman and proper structure of the club their silence from the 1st day of Champs Lge. footy speaking loads in the press to now them being as quiet as in a mauseleum speaks volumes they talk a good talk but as they say actions speak louder than words and given the fact they have ignored letters from big people in authority Jack Straw,Kate Hollern & Graham Jones MP, leading sponsor of the stadium Wayne Wild etc.. and have gone into hiding in my eyes makes them guilty of neglect.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore. This is the one area I am happy with them with like Spurs did with Modric, City with Tevez they have taken a hard line stance players these days have too much power they are very quick to ask for the most amount of money and live the high life when the team goes through a rocky patch they are itching to get away having said that the departures of club legends like Nelsen & possibly Salgado soon the negative aspects of their dealings far outweighs the positives.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation? Definitely not for a good mid-table to Europe team to fighting of relegation I can never forgive them since they promised champs Lge footy,Ronaldinho etc.. and executing the business plan wrong first stabilising the club in the premier league with a competent manager & structure then looking at opening academies in India I can never forgive them because that much is common sense and for the manager & his team for clinging on and lying your way to keep yourself in a job they will never be forgiven by me and hopefully these clowns will be made to answer crimes but I am not holding my breath.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes? If by some fluke the club survives in the premier league I would like them to admiit their failures and sell the club onto the community of blackburn, the fans & the rest of their consortium who clearly have the clubs best interests at heart so they can rebuild the club,infrastructure so that as fans we can move on and try clearing up the mess they have created and feel proud of the club once again and for the authorites to admit they have made mistakes and to well and trully beef up their fit and proper persons test without any loopholes for criminals to exploit ours and any other clubs in the future.

Thanks Kamy for doing this sorry to go on but these are my honest heartfelt opinions of the mess that engulfs this once prestigious club. I hope it helps and puts pressure on the loons from Pune to do the right thing.

Best Wishes

Savio Mathias

[Al]

I am judging from your name that English is not your first language but that is almost unreadable.

[Boner]

Firstly, thanks Kamy for sorting this out.

Secondly, well done to those who have posted so far, there have been some excellent responses.

Thirdly, for those who don't think this will have any effect: Maybe so, but it made me feel better getting some of this off my chest.

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

I was optimistic when Venky's took over. The investment promised by the new owners was in my mind just what we needed; the club had an excellent setup in the boardroom but had suffered from underinvestment from The Walker Trust over the years. I was enthusiastic about the ties to India - A country that is a growing economic power but has had very little penetration from football as a business. If this was approached in the right way the club could benefit from an increased fan base, an increase in income from media coverage, and could have been first to the party to recruit exciting young football talent from the subcontinent. I didn't think much could go wrong, a good business person would see how well the club was run and try to keep that in place, we'd just benefit from the additional investment.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

The short answer is, even a broken clock is right twice a day. There are huge questions to be answered about Steve Kean's role at the club and how he got the job in the first place. He has never engaged with fans through TV/newspaper interviews; Instead choosing to direct his answers in these at the owners, and more recently to deride fans to cover his own shortcomings. Steve Kean is poison for this club, but unfortunately he's only a symptom of a greater disease.

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

Decapitating the management structure at the club. This may be common practice after corporate takeovers, but in the football world you simply can't afford to lose the sort of skills and experience we had in place. This mistake has been compounded by the fact that these people haven't been replaced, and there is now no-one and Blackburn Rovers who knows how to run a football club. This foolish mismanagement has affected every aspect of the club; Press releases are dull and inane, other clubs don't want to deal with us during transfer windows and one of the worst managers in Premier League history is still in a job.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

If there was a management structure in place at Ewood I wouldn't mind if Venky's never showed their faces again. As it stands however, they're trying to micromanage a football club from half way around the world. The situation is beyond ridiculous. Either they're running the club themselves or they aren't. Although they're obviously well aware of the overwhelming sentiment towards them which is why they've adopted the ostrich defence.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

I think the bank has the biggest say in this matter. Having said that we didn't receive any serious bids for Samba so why would we have let him go? He has been lied to by Venky's as much as the fans the only difference is that as a player he can hand in a transfer request. It's clear that Kean doesn't have the backing of the senior players which is why they have been / are being shipped out. They know how a club should be managed and they aren't seeing it at Rovers.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

If we avoid relegation we'll have to go through this pain and heartache again next season, if we're relegated we won't see the premier league again for a long time. Why would we forgive the people who have unnecessarily put us in this horrific position? The general feeling around the club is disenfranchisement; this is no longer the club we have all grown up supporting. Match days are painful - If we chant against the manager/owners it doesn't help the team, if we get behind the team Kean declares we're all backing him.

I will never forgive any of them, their words and actions have shown them to be disgusting people.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

A real owner. Anyone with half a brain can see the problems at the club. To refuse to rectify these problems through arrogance and the desire to save face is just beyond comprehension. Any change now needs to go from the top to the bottom of the club to put right this complete shambles.

[test]

India based TV channel is doing a report on Venky’s ownership of Rovers. They have asked if fans could respond to the questions below, I will leave this thread open until tomorrow 9.30pm. Please quote the question(s) in your answers:

1) Were you happy when Venky's from India took over the club? Or did you dread that something might go wrong?

The instant they revealed their plans for the clubs future rang alarm bells as it was and is sheer fantasy.

2) With the current on-off results that you have had, do you think that maybe keeping Steve Kean in charge will finally work? Or is the clamour to sack him still unanimous among fans?

Kean is not good enough to be manager of a Premiership Club and his record to date is proof enough.

3) What is the greatest mistake the owners have made since the take-over?

This is a tough question because there have been so many mistakes, perhaps alienating the previous management and the fans is the biggest faux pas.

4) How do you feel about them staying India and not attending matches? Would it make any difference if they attended matches regularly?

If they had been present in England they could possibly have reacted to events quicker as is required, their absence is also a sign of disrespect to the opposition directors.

5) Do you think the club did well to keep hold of Chris Samba? Or might it backfire having a player amongst you that doesn't really want to play at Ewood Park anymore.

I think they have totally mishandled the Samba situation because at the moment we have no cash from his sale to invest in the team and no captain, an unbelievable mess.

6) How is the general feeling about the club now? Will you forgive the owner/manager (management as a whole) if you manage to avoid relegation?

I will not go to the club again until the Venkys have gone whatever happens, I despise them with all my heart.

7) Name one change you would like to see in the club which you think can alter its fortunes?

The only way forward is for the Venky's to leave. Go and ruin something else you fools. You have made a respected well run town club turn into a music hall joke.

[Stuart]

Just cant believe you guys and gals have gone and answered all these questions.

What we should have done as fans is, had a complete blanket silence to these questions. Too late now though, unless the mods can delete this whole thread.

Its their mess let them sort it.

I don't understand this post.

Who is going to sort out the mess?

[JAL]

I don't understand this post.

Who is going to sort out the mess?

Venky's and their football advisors!

[Kamy100]

Thanks for all the responses, very high quality stuff. I will get all of this together and send it across to Network 18. I will try and ensure that these comments are used in the proper context.

Thanks again to all who have responded.