[Archived] BRSIT reaches £1.2m in pledges!

[StubbsUK]

http://www.brsit.co.uk/2012/04/blackburn-rovers-legend-simon-garner-explains-why-he-joined-the-brsit/

”I have got involved because I am scared of the way the club is going." was the quote from SImon that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

Very good news about the £1.2m too, just goes to show that it IS a viable option, and only gets more so as each day passes.

[Hughesy]

Very good news about the £1.2m too, just goes to show that it IS a viable option, and only gets more so as each day passes.

Wayne Wild said £1.1m to me after that article went to press......so not sure its £1.2m yet.

As for showing its a viable option - why does it?

[StubbsUK]

Wayne Wild said £1.1m to me after that article went to press......so not sure its £1.2m yet.

As for showing its a viable option - why does it?

I got the £1.2m figure from the article itself ...

Maybe viable isn't the right word, "more achievable"? "easier to reach"? "getting there"? something like that.

[Tom]

Not sure how I feel about the numbers.

It's a good start but only 12% there and you'd think a lot of people who would commit would have already committed by now.

Glad there is a rise in publicity though that can only be a good thing

[Amo]

OT: I haven't heard anything from the two Ians for awhile. Are they connected to BRSIT, at all?

[Roost]

I expected pledges to top out at around £1.5M, so I would say those that will pledge have already done so, leaving the project well short of its minimum requirement.

Every credit to those involved and their efforts, but it is and always has been a pie in the sky idea.

And before I hear the inevitable - I dont have an alternative suggestion.

I live in hope that there is still interest from the other parties and that Venkys want to listen this time around.

[StubbsUK]

It's a good start but only 12% there and you'd think a lot of people who would commit would have already committed by now.

I think there's a lot of people sitting on the fence & waiting to see which way it goes before they pledge, so hopefully this kind of announcement, plus the addition of big names like Simon will give those people the nudge they need to pledge.

[Hughesy]

The BRSIT has too many unanswered questions/ rules for it be a success im afraid.....

[Al]

I expected pledges to top out at around £1.5M, so I would say those that will pledge have already done so, leaving the project well short of its minimum requirement.

Every credit to those involved and their efforts, but it is and always has been a pie in the sky idea.

And before I hear the inevitable - I dont have an alternative suggestion.

I live in hope that there is still interest from the other parties and that Venkys want to listen this time around.

£1.2mil in pledges is a good start. It's only a concept at this stage and I would expect many more people getting involved if it becomes real. As far as I've seen here is the only place the "Expression of interest" form has been availible. If it were circulated around the area as a flyer a great deal more interest would ensue.

[bob fleming]

The BRSIT has too many unanswered questions/ rules for it be a success im afraid.....

What questions do you have Hughesy?

[jannerman]

How much are they hoping to raise? 10m?

[glen9mullan]

I went to the meeting on Saturday, and this was not a room full of dreamers, this was a room full of successful Business men, high profile MP's, and different supporter groups.

Wayne ansewered some difficult questions, but did not shirk from a question. Furthermore as the 2 hour presentation evolved more and more people in the room opened up and with it brought about a real feeling that this could really work. PMA was all over the room, I was actually very proud to be a rovers supporter when I saw and felt the passion that the room held to make this work.

Different supporter websites were represented, as was the BRST, Birdie was also there and they all gave it their support.

Its like anything, if you dont buy a ticket you can't win a raffle, I just hope those who are sat on the fence who are waiting for others to pledge, come down off the fence and pledge today. They are not asking for any money at this stage, but what they do need is supporters to support the concept of a supporter stake at Blackburn Rovers.

I listened to Waynes podcast last night, and this is the only viable option we have at present, No-one else has publically come forward, whilst Venkys have continued to dismantle our club.

Yes we will not be minted, but what we will have is people who care (Us the supporters) protecting the clubs future.

[booth]

Not sure how I feel about the numbers.

It's a good start but only 12% there and you'd think a lot of people who would commit would have already committed by now.

Glad there is a rise in publicity though that can only be a good thing

At that meeting there were many people who hadn't pledged and by the end of that meeting only one put up their hand to say they wouldn't be pledging, and that was because of his profession as a journalist. £1.2m in one month with relatively little publicity or PR and it isn't bad and only the start. It only takes one heavy hitter to get involved and that number could sky rocket.

[Pitty]

Never going to work, 1.2 million in pledges but out of those pledges how many will actually be true to their word and hand their money over. I have also heard that 20 million is needed, so their is a long way off. Reading between the lines of this fans take over would mean borrowing money to survive and also cutting the playing staff wage bill, is that not what is happening now?

Also BRSIT prodict that we will average 28000 attendance each season, bearing in mind we only averaged short of 27000 in the good old days when we where winning the league. Like Hughesy said there are to many unanswered questions to work.

I have pledged on the website but after reading through it I am less confident about handing my hard earned cash over to a plan with no real base.

[booth]

Never going to work, 1.2 million in pledges but out of those pledges how many will actually be true to their word and hand their money over. I have also heard that 20 million is needed, so their is a long way off. Reading between the lines of this fans take over would mean borrowing money to survive and also cutting the playing staff wage bill, is that not what is happening now?

Also BRSIT prodict that we will average 28000 attendance each season, bearing in mind we only averaged short of 27000 in the good old days when we where winning the league. Like Hughesy said there are to many unanswered questions to work.

I have pledged on the website but after reading through it I am less confident about handing my hard earned cash over to a plan with no real base.

At the moment Venky's are taking out and not putting much back in. With BRSIT any earnings from transfers or league position would go back into the club. It'd be run as a business, as the Walker Trust ran it. There would be no ulterior motive to owning the club apart from keeping the club going. It wouldn't just be some PR exercise.

Many of the people in that room hadn't pledged and by the end they all bar one said they would pledge. So 1.2m will rise even even without any forthcoming PR. And now the word is being spread by those businesses to their partners and associates. As Glen said, these weren't dreamers and many were hardened business people and sceptical of BRSIT but by the end they all said they would support it.

[jannerman]

At the moment Venky's are taking out and not putting much back in. With BRSIT any earnings from transfers or league position would go back into the club. It'd be run as a business, as the Walker Trust ran it. There would be no ulterior motive to owning the club apart from keeping the club going. It wouldn't just be some PR exercise.

Many of the people in that room hadn't pledged and by the end they all bar one said they would pledge. So 1.2m will rise even even without any forthcoming PR. And now the word is being spread by those businesses to their partners and associates. As Glen said, these weren't dreamers and many were hardened business people and sceptical of BRSIT but by the end they all said they would support it.

But wasn't the point of the Trust's "experiment" that it wasn't sustainable as a Premiership concern?

Apologies for not knowing my stuff, but I've not read the BRSIT proposal fully, was there any detail on how much would be allocated to salaries / projected costs etc?

[booth]

But wasn't the point of the Trust's "experiment" that it wasn't sustainable as a Premiership concern?

Apologies for not knowing my stuff, but I've not read the BRSIT proposal fully, was there any detail on how much would be allocated to salaries / projected costs etc?

Well the difference between the Walker Trust and BRSIT is that BRSIT actually want to run the club, rather than "having" to run the club. What I would suggest to anyone with any concerns is to go to the forthcoming questions and answers session with BRSIT.

One thing is for certain is that if the Trust's way of running the club wasn't sustainable, Venky's way has got to be 100x worse.

[Tom]

At that meeting there were many people who hadn't pledged and by the end of that meeting only one put up their hand to say they wouldn't be pledging, and that was because of his profession as a journalist. £1.2m in one month with relatively little publicity or PR and it isn't bad and only the start. It only takes one heavy hitter to get involved and that number could sky rocket.

But how many people were at the meeting?

I'd say fan input will top out at around half the needed amount but if some big boys do get involved there is a chance.

The assumptions made in the document originally put out concerned me specifically regarding funds from player sales becoming available and costs being cut successfully.

What would concern me most is if I hand over £1000 will someone be asking me for more in the future

[booth]

But how many people were at the meeting?

I'd say fan input will top out at around half the needed amount but if some big boys do get involved there is a chance.

The assumptions made in the document originally put out concerned me specifically regarding funds from player sales becoming available and costs being cut successfully.

What would concern me most is if I hand over £1000 will someone be asking me for more in the future

It doesn't matter how many were there Tom, at this event it wasn't about quantity. It was about presenting it to the business owners and VIP's who were interested in putting their money in so was invite only. These people may be interested in putting a lot more money. If someone was prepared to put more in, depending on their reasons for doing so, I doubt they would be declined.

The next session is supposed to be more of an open event for anyone interested, and will be the place to ask questions if anyone is in any doubts. Wayne was quite eager for transparency and didn't shirk any difficult questions. So that will be the time if you have concerns like your last question. I wouldn't discount BRSIT yet.

[Tom]

I have never discounted it and want it to work, I personally disagree with the invite only policy of that initial meeting, for me the first one should have been open then have your VIP one later but that's another matter.

Finding enough people to commit is going to be hard though, look at the supporters open meetings, they have been widely advertised and have had disappointing turnouts.

Edit: having said that I want to be persuaded it is doable as it looks like our only way out at the moment

[booth]

I have never discounted it and want it to work, I personally disagree with the invite only policy of that initial meeting, for me the first one should have been open then have your VIP one later but that's another matter.

Finding enough people to commit is going to be hard though, look at the supporters open meetings, they have been widely advertised and have had disappointing turnouts.

Edit: having said that I want to be persuaded it is doable as it looks like our only way out at the moment

I wouldn't read too much into it Tom, I think the invite only one was done now because they could get everyone there. Leaving it till later may have meant they couldn't get certain people in attendance. Even as it was some people couldn't make it due to things changing at the last minute. At the moment everyone is doing this for free in their spare time for the love of the club so that has to be taken into account. An open meeting would be a much bigger undertaking and would have needed a much bigger venue.

And yes, at the moment it does seem like our only way out at the moment. Venky's are are now in free fall it seems.

Owning a piece of the club is quite an exciting prospect though!

[Parsonblue]

Whilst admitting that I have no answers to the problems that Venky's have caused, the only reason I haven't pledged money to BRSIT is simply that I haven't heard anything yet that convinces me it is a viable proposition. I listened to the latest podcast but found little in it to suggest that sufficient funds could be found to support a Championship club, let alone a Premier League club. I think the people involved are to be congratulated on reaching £1.2m but, as others have said, I suspect that many of those who were always going to pledge money will now have done so. I also suspect that there are many more like myself who are going to need alot more convincing before making a pledge of £1,000.

[bob fleming]

I've no idea if it's do-able or not. As things stand I'm not sure what the alternative is. Nothing doesn't sit well. As I previously mentioned I was waiting for Venky's to show us their hand but there's more chance of them showing us their arse than that happening I would suspect.

Swansea City are 20% owned by the fans. This is up to 12% already? I can't help thinking that if one 5th of the club was in the control of the fans we wouldn't be in this mess. Then again I'm probably just an old romantic fool.

I also have to hope that there are big players working in the background, they may even have been present at this meeting? Whether that's the two Ian's or whoever. Doing their work quietly (who does that remind you of?) is always the best way to go in football I suspect.

[Veevs]

Still lost at the 10m figure, I do not believe Venkys will sell at that price unless we dropped two leagues and did not have the parachute payments coming and thus became a major burden.

Our current position and the actions of Venkys have shown they do not easily budge when under pressure, I personally believe they may be willing to relieve themselves of control in exchange for selling 49% or should I say much less but I would hate to end up supporting those fools even for the club I love.

My personal opinion is after all this hell is that they want to turn us into a feeder club for the premier league using kids brought in from the new academies in India with further possibilities abroad from other members of IBSA, it is my understanding they have invested into the ventures there while taking more and more away from Rovers (even our well reputed academy). This becomes very easy to understand when you consider the possibilities that are available to these emerging countries, to build 20plus academies in these countries will cost you the same as signing someone like Salgado (I kid you not the cost of making something like an academy out there is probably a few months wages).

At the same time they have gained one of a handful of clubs who have won the premier league, with one of the best academies going, in the league when they bought them and a founder of football.

Some things in life are how should I say it "lost in translation" but one thing is not and that is confidence the one thing that our fool of a manager has in abundance because Psychosomatic influences are non-existent in cross culture and language borders.

[booth]

Still lost at the 10m figure, I do not believe Venkys will sell at that price unless we dropped two leagues and did not have the parachute payments coming and thus became a major burden.

Some of these questions were asked at the meeting and will be online at some point.