[Archived] What are your thoughts on the future of BRFC?

[suzyk2002]

Hi everyone, I hope you can be of assistance. I'm a freelance writer currently researching an article on the financial problems facing some of our clubs. Given the recent news stories concerning Glasgow Rangers and Portsmouth, do you fear for BRFC's future under Venky's ownership? What improvements do you think football's governing bodies need to look at to stop club's from failing?

I've picked BRFC as it's my club so I've a vested interest - I've been a fan for as long as I can remember and can't help but worry as to what the future holds...

Any comments that are eventually published in an article will be properly attributed to the poster and the BRFCS forum so I may be in contact with some of you again in the near future. Just so you are aware I am contacting other local teams' fans as well.

Thanks for your time.

[Brfcrule1]

Suzy I am in the process of making a dossier of all the pledges that have been borken along with my thoughts on the mess I could email it to you when it's done.

[EwoodDawn]

Hi Suzy,

I hope I'm telling you things that you already know - there is a mountain of stuff to tell you about Rovers' fans' attitudes and fears on this website. Just in case you haven't delved yet - try these from current and archived threads:

Financial problems?

Venkys willing to sell?

Simon – contractual issues?

Looking ahead to next season

Michel Salgado

Pompey go into administration

What the hell is happening at Rovers?

How do we get Venkys out?

Venkys – do you support them as owners of the club?

There's probably loads more besides but looking back at that lot was depressing enough. Enjoy (not).

[Stuart]

Suzy, just pick virtually any thread on this messageboard, grab a few shots of hot lava java and buckle yourself in for an all-nighter.

Plenty of material in here:

http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php/topic/26259-venkys-willing-to-sell/

http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php/topic/26567-india-media-company-wants-your-opinions/

Enjoy! And good luck!

[braddock]

Wondering if it will be the owners or the fans who tip us over the edge.

[roversfan83]

A macabre interest in dying football clubs. Well you've come to the right place. I found these 3 adequately sum up the background to the horror show that is brfc.

http://www.twohundredpercent.net/?p=17066

http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2012/01/16/football-association-have-watching-brief-on-blackburn-transfers160106/

http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2012/01/15/revealed-the-letter-that-exposes-the-history-of-blackburn-rovers-crisis-150102/

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Its all a good example of how lack of leadership can lead to meltdown by social media outlets. There has never been so much c**p written about Rovers - matching the rubbish way the club is being run.

[Mc Love]

I have lost my passion for Rovers - dont even post or lurk much anymore on here.

HELP!

And it all lies at the hands and feet of those deluded fools that own the club/The clown we have as manager!

[thenodrog]

Wondering if it will be the owners or the fans who tip us over the edge.

fairly obvious by that statement and your usual stance that you don't class yourself as a fan braddock.

However in response it's fair to point out that the fans have been around for almost a century and a half, the owners a little over 12 months. Go figure.

[braddock]

fairly obvious by that statement and your usual stance that you don't class yourself as a fan braddock.

However in response it's fair to point out that the fans have been around for almost a century and a half, the owners a little over 12 months. Go figure.

I'm saying tip us over the edge, not cause the downfall.

[thebigguy]

if no one at the club takes lead very soon there will be no more brfc because the passion of the fans will end up dieing where it cannot be recovered. This is if the current management don't act quick enough to reasure fans and counteract the failings that have happened so far.

This will effect more to the younger fans as they will bugger of to the glory hunting top 4 teams if not careful. because they have never hear of rovers in champ/div 1 before

[ABBEY]

Wondering if it will be the owners or the fans who tip us over the edge.

Rishtons dingles are priceless

[braddock]

Rishtons dingles are priceless

What is your fascination with me living in Rishton?

[rovers11]

Hi Suzy,

I hope I'm telling you things that you already know - there is a mountain of stuff to tell you about Rovers' fans' attitudes and fears on this website. Just in case you haven't delved yet - try these from current and archived threads:

Financial problems?

Venkys willing to sell?

Simon – contractual issues?

Looking ahead to next season

Michel Salgado

Pompey go into administration

What the hell is happening at Rovers?

How do we get Venkys out?

Venkys – do you support them as owners of the club?

There's probably loads more besides but looking back at that lot was depressing enough. Enjoy (not).

This would make a fantastic documentary

[Kelbo]

Wondering if it will be the owners or the fans who tip us over the edge.

The owners won hands down, Rovers were tipped over the edge within 6 months of Rao family buying the club, lost the mopst respected Chairman in the Premier League, lost Tom Finn, sacked a perfectly competant manager for a clown, and cost cutting made by the deluded woman in Pune which has been done without any thought whatsoever!!

[braddock]

The owners won hands down, Rovers were tipped over the edge within 6 months of Rao family buying the club, lost the mopst respected Chairman in the Premier League, lost Tom Finn, sacked a perfectly competant manager for a clown, and cost cutting made by the deluded woman in Pune which has been done without any thought whatsoever!!

Well we've yet to tip, so I disagree.

[yoda]

ABBEY, on 15 March 2012 - 01:26 AM, said:Rishtons dingles are priceless

What is your fascination with me living in Rishton?

you don't live in Rishton, you exist

Wondering if it will be the owners or the fans who tip us over the edge.

wtf is this US business?

[jim mk2]

To answer the qustion, my thoughts on the future of BRFC is that the present situation is unsustainable. The owners need to ask themselves why they bought the club and what they hope to achieve because their present policy of little or no investment in the club will weaken it and damage it in the long term. The Walker trust was criticised for lack of funding but they at least had competent managers in place who knew who to run the club on a shoestring. Unless Venky's change policy and make money available - or sell out to more committed and wealthier owners - in the short term Rovers will be finished as a top-flight club and in the long term the club's future will be very grim indeed.

[thenodrog]

To answer the qustion, my thoughts on the future of BRFC is that the present situation is unsustainable. The owners need to ask themselves why they bought the club and what they hope to achieve because their present policy of little or no investment in the club will weaken it and damage it in the long term. The Walker trust was criticised for lack of funding but they at least had competent managers in place who knew who to run the club on a shoestring. Unless Venky's change policy and make money available - or sell out to more committed and wealthier owners - in the short term Rovers will be finished as a top-flight club and in the long term the club's future will be very grim indeed.

I suggest (again) that when cold hard economic reallity is forced into the footballing equation as it surely is being currently then 4 or 5 financially unsustainable local clubs will become 1 healthy and vibrant one. Forget the fantasy world of the Premier League and mega money TV deals sooner or later football clubs must become self sustainable.

[Mattyblue]

Rational idea in theory gord, but it won't ever happen.

I could see clubs like PNE going semi-pro before they'd merge.

[broadsword]

Football isn't rational, it's emotional.

The owners have got rid of anyone who had a bit of nous on the administrative side, because they would've done things their way (ie sensible, logical, progressive) and not the Venky's way (deranged, chaotic, regressive). They haven't a clue what they're doing, but that doesn't stop them.

Clueless owners, rubbish manager, the run is being run by flogging off the family jewels and receives no external funding from its disinterested feckless clueless lame brain-dead fumbling disaster-prone clumsy owners who stubbornly refuse to sell. The fans are beginning to ebb away, fed up with seeing such incompetence.

The club's only going one way under such circumstances - relegation, administration, liquidation.

[eire3382]

The basis of any article of rovers right now is quite simple.

A once well run club is about to fall off a cliff.

Previously we had good people running the club who for the most part made good decisions 90% of the time.

We have been blessed with a string of mainly very good managers.

Now we have owners who either don't have a clue or else don't give a s%*!.

We have a manager who is totally out of his depth and who treats the fans with contempt.

The fan base is constantly fighting or so it seems.

Season ticket sales are about to drop significantly.

Several senior players have left and more will leave this summer.

All in all the club is £%$&+?.

Oh and there is major money issues.

Must be a couple of books worth there!

[John]

Hi Suzy

I would say the majority of fans are upset and hurt by what has gone on since Venky’s took over – illustrated by the declining attendances seen at Ewood Park. Therefore very worried over what the future holds.

Reasons for this? Well, simply put, the horrendous decision making by the Rao family who clearly did not know what they were getting into when owning/taking over an English football club.

Some of the decisions have been strange and make little sense (on the outside looking in). Firstly, a competent manager in Sam Allardyce sacked without any logic or good reason – especially given the time of the season when he was sacked.

Just to rub the salt into the wounds, our first team coach (Kean), a complete novice in football management, replaces Allardyce under a cloud of suspicion and allegiances with the agent who is advising the Rao family on football matters. This still leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth to this day.

Next - Chairman John Williams, widely regarded as one of the best administrators in the game, leaves the club. Again, no one replaces him, plus the Rao family break another one of their ‘assurances’ made in their offer document to the Walker Trust.

The manager, his agent and ultimately the owners have created an awful atmosphere both on and off the pitch. Attendance have declined and are likely to decline further – the heart and soul has been ripped out of the club.

In terms of looking to the future and finances, alienating income from sponsors seems to be another popular feature of the Venky’s era – corporate income has dropped and will continue to do so unless things change. We don’t even have a sponsor for this season, again, down to poor management off the pitch.

If poor decisions continue to be made, along with the lack of finance, surely the club is only going on way, and that is down.

[Miker]

Hi Suzy

I would say the majority of fans are upset and hurt by what has gone on since Venky’s took over – illustrated by the declining attendances seen at Ewood Park. Therefore very worried over what the future holds.

Reasons for this? Well, simply put, the horrendous decision making by the Rao family who clearly did not know what they were getting into when owning/taking over an English football club.

Some of the decisions have been strange and make little sense (on the outside looking in). Firstly, a competent manager in Sam Allardyce sacked without any logic or good reason – especially given the time of the season when he was sacked.

Just to rub the salt into the wounds, our first team coach (Kean), a complete novice in football management, replaces Allardyce under a cloud of suspicion and allegiances with the agent who is advising the Rao family on football matters. This still leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth to this day.

Next - Chairman John Williams, widely regarded as one of the best administrators in the game, leaves the club. Again, no one replaces him, plus the Rao family break another one of their ‘assurances’ made in their offer document to the Walker Trust.

The manager, his agent and ultimately the owners have created an awful atmosphere both on and off the pitch. Attendance have declined and are likely to decline further – the heart and soul has been ripped out of the club.

In terms of looking to the future and finances, alienating income from sponsors seems to be another popular feature of the Venky’s era – corporate income has dropped and will continue to do so unless things change. We don’t even have a sponsor for this season, again, down to poor management off the pitch.

If poor decisions continue to be made, along with the lack of finance, surely the club is only going on way, and that is down.

Good summary.

[m1st]

if no one at the club takes lead very soon there will be no more brfc because the passion of the fans will end up dieing where it cannot be recovered. This is if the current management don't act quick enough to reasure fans and counteract the failings that have happened so far.

This will effect more to the younger fans as they will bugger of to the glory hunting top 4 teams if not careful. because they have never hear of rovers in champ/div 1 before

I apologise that this is slightly off-topic; I know what you're saying, bigguy; but I'm not sure that I can go all the way with your train of thought.

Darlington is a club which is only 8 years younger than BRFC and, although they've never hit the heights we have, are a club which has loyal fans like we do. At present, they're in the Conference relegation zone due to a 10-point deduction because of administration. The following, which was posted on their Message Board in January [before what they feared would be their last game, away at Barrow, before being liquidated] and copied to solicit funds in their fight to keep the game going in their town [which is a bit smaller than Blackburn with Darwen], surely makes the point that there'll always be some fans to keep the faith.

Let’s make Barrow on Saturday a celebration of the life of Darlington Football Club, not a wake or a funeral or an attack of those who have dropped us into this position.

Go to Barrow and show people around the world how proud we are of our team and our lads. Let’s show people that we still care, that we are still proud of the club and our town. Let’s show people that Darlington Football Club stands as an ambassador for our town and our area and we will not just give it up and slope off home. We will fight on.

Let’s show the players that that shirt still means something, that that shirt still needs to be worn with pride and that it is worth putting on that shirt and running out on that pitch and representing all of us one last time. One last go lads, everything you have got, one last time, 90 minutes of life as a Darlo player left. s*** or bust, hero or zero. Go out with a bang and not a whimper.

Use this game to thank them and the legend that is Craig Liddle for everything they have done recently, against so much strife, unpleasantness and uncertainty and tell them that we are so proud that they are carrying on, lets get behind whoever takes a place on that pitch, regardless of opinion, past reputation or performance on the day. Because this might be the last time!

Lets show people what it means to be a fan of Darlo, celebrate those 128 years of existence. Celebrate everything that has gone before, the good, the bad, and the ugly, show people that we although we have been here through thin and thinner, that we have suffered blow after blow we are still not beaten ,we are still not broken, we are still here and we still stand proudly behind Darlington Football Club.

Show them that although we have been on knocked down and might be on the canvas right now we will get back on our feet and come out punching. It will be us who land the knock out blow. Use this day to shame all of those plastics and couldn’t give a damns in the town into thinking about what they could have been a part of, make them see what have been about, what we are about and what we will be about again.

Lets celebrate the good times, the 85 promotion, Boro, the Conference win in 89/90, Welling away, 90/91 champions, Rochdale at home, Knowles, Little, Hodgy Platt, Hodgy (again), Wembley in 96 and 2000 and that sweet moment in May when a little fella headed home from half a yard to win us the cup.

Make everyone who has knocked us or laughed at us over the years understand that today we embrace all of the crap players, the terrible teams, the rubbish managers and the crazy chairman who have afflicted us. Why? Because all of that makes the few good times even better. Because all of those things are what Darlington Football Club is about. Let’s show them what it means to call your self a Darlo fan one last time.

Lets also think of all those people in the Tin Shed in the sky who aren’t able to stand with us on Saturday, think about what the club meant to them and how they passed on that love for the club to you, think about how one day you want to pass that love on to the next generation so that they know what being a Darlo fan is all about. I am sure they will be stood leaning on that crash barrier under the Sunday Sun board with their scarf’s and flasks of Bovril thinking "typical bloody Darlo" - but they would still make the journey if they could! In fact I am sure they will be there with us. Sing that bit louder for them.

If anyone is unsure about going and is able to go they should make the trip, it could be your only chance to say goodbye to the team you love. It could be your last chance to wear the black and white and get behind the lads. Do whatever it takes to get to Barrow, wear your shirts with pride and wave your scarf’s one last time. Tell anyone you meet where you are going and why. Tell them you are proud to support the lads!

And should this turn out to be the last time then lets celebrate all of that, lets support the lads and the manager, lets keep singing up to the final whistle and beyond because this club means something to each and every one of us, it has been part of our lives for so long, it is what makes us who were are, it is what makes us better than everyone else and it might not be there for much longer. Let’s make this day one of the greatest moments for this football club.

If it is to be the end lets go out on a high, all guns blazing giving it everything we have got and not for one minute forgetting that we are Darlington Football Club and we will bounce back!