[Archived] what would happen if people spoke?

[ABBEY]

If Sam ,JW ,Kean ,Salgado etc........have been paid "shhhh" money and they actually spoke out? Not saying anyone has but legally if they had and then they completly dished whatever dirt there may be.

[cwspellowe]

Depends on the terms of the NDA if there was one signed. If it was like an injunction, surely someone like Salgado could speak out as injunctions only seem to be covered in the UK?

God knows, noone seems to be able to say for definite that there have been NDA's signed. If they have though, it would seem even those with the most integrity (Williams et al) can be bought.

[47er]

Anyone who's paid out on the basis that they won't reveal any info about their previous employment would lose their dough in a civil suit + would potentially face legal costs + any possible penalties.

Best bet for a reveal is if Big Sam refuses to listen to any offers and takes Kean and the Club to court.

[TBTF]

Anyone who's paid out on the basis that they won't reveal any info about their previous employment would lose their dough in a civil suit + would potentially face legal costs + any possible penalties.

Best bet for a reveal is if Big Sam refuses to listen to any offers and takes Kean and the Club to court.

I Can't believe why the all agree to these NDA's.Bar the odd notable exception ,Their right to compensation is surely cast iron without having to promise to never say anything and yet nobody ever does. Completely mystifying

[ABBEY]

are they legal or blackmail?

[beerwins]

Could it be possible that a certain agent still has a vested interest in some players at our club and certain directors are very accomodating where as team selections or managerial positions are concerned.

Would be about that time of year where an agent fills his boots so to speak might be nice to have a manager that would agree on players coming in and out, lets face it.......it certainly happened before.

[philipl]

Beerwins is on the money.

[47er]

I Can't believe why the all agree to these NDA's.Bar the odd notable exception ,Their right to compensation is surely cast iron without having to promise to never say anything and yet nobody ever does. Completely mystifying

Yes but if they've been paid over and above their entitlement..............? That is the only way really to shut someone up (other than criminally!)

[OJRovers]

Could it be possible that a certain agent still has a vested interest in some players at our club and certain directors are very accomodating where as team selections or managerial positions are concerned.

Would be about that time of year where an agent fills his boots so to speak might be nice to have a manager that would agree on players coming in and out, lets face it.......it certainly happened before.

Nicko said on twitter there is a "connection" between MacDonald and either Agnew or Shaw

Anyone know what the connection is?

[cwspellowe]

Beerwins is on the money.

So to turn completely about face, has Shebby removed Berg and is looking for his own man, and the other two don't like that because he may not be a puppet?

A rather dramatic twist if true.

[Pedro]

Berg was sacked because we were useless and gutless in the majority of games I have watched. He was sacked for the very same reasond Ince was when we had a proper structure. Singh on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if he does meddle and try to influence team selection. We are a mess, an absolute shambles and like many have said it'll end one way unless we put an experienced board in place.

[Gav]

People are more interested in money than revealing the truth, sad but true.

[wazzarover]

People are more interested in money than revealing the truth, sad but true.

What about someone like Salgado? Multi millionaire and was openly critical of the owners/Kean on Twitter and in the media but refused to go into any specific detail.

The whole situation with these NDAs is very bizarre and unprecedented. Nelsen was supposedly injured and didnt play for us for god knows how long then mysteriously goes to Spurs and plays the next week? How did Harry know he wasn't injured and why didn't Nelsen come out and clarify his 'injury'?

Surely the players that were here before Venky's bought the club like Salgado and Nelsen weren't bound by the NDAs, Nelsen could have refused to sign one safe in the knowledge he could easily get a equal/better deal at another club, which he did!

[Roverthechimp]

I think the odds of getting another job would be severely restricted if it was proven that a person had breached a (probably) well worded secrecy clause in a contract. In terms of retrospective NDA's i suspect that the penalties are specified and can be ridiculously high (10 million would be my guess). The only way out would be to persuade a court that the terms were either illegal or entirely unreasonable. Unreasonable is difficult as the football industry is worth billions and a loss of reputation for a club/business could easily cost said club/business 10 million in lost revenue and/or brand goodwill.

[Daniel Louis Grabko (Dan)]

Surely the players that were here before Venky's bought the club like Salgado and Nelsen weren't bound by the NDAs, Nelsen could have refused to sign one safe in the knowledge he could easily get a equal/better deal at another club, which he did!

But our dear friend Mr. Anderson is on record as saying he "helped" the club during January 2011 by coming in and "renegotiating" many players' contracts. He even slept at the training ground to see his good work was done properly!

[BlueMonday]

What about someone like Salgado? Multi millionaire and was openly critical of the owners/Kean on Twitter and in the media but refused to go into any specific detail.

The whole situation with these NDAs is very bizarre and unprecedented. Nelsen was supposedly injured and didnt play for us for god knows how long then mysteriously goes to Spurs and plays the next week? How did Harry know he wasn't injured and why didn't Nelsen come out and clarify his 'injury'?

Surely the players that were here before Venky's bought the club like Salgado and Nelsen weren't bound by the NDAs, Nelsen could have refused to sign one safe in the knowledge he could easily get a equal/better deal at another club, which he did!

The list of people who have let Blackburn Rovers and the fans down by not speaking out, is long and shamefull.

If or when the full extent of the goings on at the club over the last 2 years comes to light, everyone of them should be held in contempt. By maintaining their silence, for what ever reason, they are IMO, contributing to the destruction of our once proud club.

If this was happening at Man U, Liverpool, or Arsenal, there'd be national outrage, a media campaign and likely Acts of Parliment to prevent it from happening again.

[wazzarover]

But our dear friend Mr. Anderson is on record as saying he "helped" the club during January 2011 by coming in and "renegotiating" many players' contracts. He even slept at the training ground to see his good work was done properly!

I see what you're saying Dan, but my point about our top senior players refusing to sign one and getting an equal deal elsewhere still stands?

Someone like Samba, who by all accounts was after a move back then and linked with Arsenal etc must of known he could get a better deal elsewhere should he of refused to sign an NDA and been placed on the transfer list?

[JAL]

Could it be possible that a certain agent still has a vested interest in some players at our club and certain directors are very accomodating where as team selections or managerial positions are concerned.

Would be about that time of year where an agent fills his boots so to speak might be nice to have a manager that would agree on players coming in and out, lets face it.......it certainly happened before.

I bet Venkys could make as much if not more money out of Rovers in january than they could from six months of trading chickens in India.

This would suggest why they dont want a manager but a coach to look after the stock whilst others make their sales possible.

[pk1875]

I asked a player after the Bolton Game last season to talk in public, the answer was you don't do that in football as it is career ending.

[Bundesburn]

I think it's been pointed out in this thread that people won't talk about what's gone on because the fact is that you're pretty much unemployable after doing so and you could be paying for it financially for a very long time.

I'd be interested to hear about NDAs and whistleblowing, if anybody knows more about it. That is to say, if anything - hypothetically - illegal and/or against Premier League/Football League regulations/statutes, etc was going on at Ewood, would this nullify the penalties outlined in the NDA, should a party come forward with such information?

If - again, I stress, hypothetically - anything untoward was going on and could be proven (which I believe has been hinted at by some), then it's interesting to note that nobody has come forward with the info, especially if whistleblowing would cover their backs. Then again, I could be very wrong.

[mhead]

It is simple: the current issues at the Club need John Williams to comment on.

We are not asking him to talk about his short period with the Venkys.

He has got another job and Venkys are not in the PL clique.

Its 2 years soon.....we should have a black-tie day on the 2nd Anniversary....and be asking him to release a statement on that day.

[Daniel Louis Grabko (Dan)]

I see what you're saying Dan, but my point about our top senior players refusing to sign one and getting an equal deal elsewhere still stands?

Someone like Samba, who by all accounts was after a move back then and linked with Arsenal etc must of known he could get a better deal elsewhere should he of refused to sign an NDA and been placed on the transfer list?

Fair point, wazza. According to the official line, he and the others that renewed were fed a story of ambition and success that they would definitely want to be on board for. They must have bought into it and not looked to closely at the NDA fine print or just had it glossed over? Sounds a bit of a stretch, I know...

I can just say that in my line of work, if I was offered a lucrative employment where the contract had anything other than the industry standard NDA for the position on offer, I would be very wary of why this would be required of me and think long and hard before putting pen to paper.

There are many legitimate reasons for NDA's like this, such as research and development and other intellectual property, but I can't really think of that many in the footballing industry.

Plus, like others have pointed out, NDA's are not generally legally enforceable if related to illegal activities. However, from a practical point of view, again as others have mentioned, there is the future employment issue in a close knit industry with a strong fraternal element and whistleblowing is probably something that could bring your career to an abrupt and permanent end. Since players usually have a long life after retirement ahead of them where they hope to continue to make money within the game, it has got to be a difficult position to be in.

The long and short of it is, I too wonder what the deal is with these alleged NDA's. Your point is one that I agree with in the end. If I was the agent of some of those players I would have been working overtime to get them somewhere else during that January window back in 2011.

Of course hindsight is 20/20. (or better )

[Salgado Is A Hero]

I asked a player after the Bolton Game last season to talk in public, the answer was you don't do that in football as it is career ending.

There's that and the fact that they might not think it's beneficial to reveal all the wrongdoings.

[Steve Moss]

Goop point. If I were Ryan Nelsen or Salgado, would I really want to speak if it would injure the club and by extension the fans? Probably not.

[Amo]

They're getting on with their lives and probably don't fancy a libel case.