[Archived] Ian Battersby Interview

[Kamy100]

Ian recently did an interview with the a newspaper which sadly didn't make it online. He has kindly provided BRFCS with the transcript as it answers quite a lot of questions about what they have been doing recently, this interview was done before the Rovers accounts were published:

We last heard from you six months ago when Ian Currie and yourself contacted Venky’s to say you had the funds in place for a takeover bid – what happened then and since then?

From our point of view very little. We made overtures to the effect that we had brought together an investor group who said they would back a ‘sensible and credible’ proposal. And that is a key phrase. We know so little about the true financial health of the Club that it’s virtually impossible to work to a number. The over riding issue is to have the operating model under proper control such that you ensure the Club’s financial exposure is capped but with sufficient headroom to support the playing side with a level of working capital that allows you to be competitive and from where we are now to push towards the Premier League and hopefully get back there.

What has happened and what has been revealed since is that the Club continues to bleed cash at an alarming rate and even though a measure of calm and stability has ensued since the Summer, the fact that most of these costs are contracted for at least another 2 and in some cases 3 more years takes this notion of ‘’sensible and credible’’ much further away. Season 2012/13 was a truly horrific period in the Club’s history at any number of levels. The job of repair has been made significantly harder as a result of an on going sequence of awful decisions and financial largesse.

Whether a sensible and credible proposal remains possible who knows but that will be very much down to the owners. But as yet there has been no contact on the matter and we have been unable to establish a dialogue. Equally, investors who are greeted with a wall of silence don’t tend to hang around indefinitely.

Last week there was a report that Ian Currie approached a Manchester-based multi-millionaire with a view to launching a new takeover bid – can you shed any light on this?

I can .It is total nonsense. Neither Ian or I have a clue who the reporter is or upon which basis he fabricated his story. It is unhelpful to everybody apart from him probably.

Are you still interested in buying Rovers?

Buying Rovers is not what we set out to do at all. 2 years ago when we met with the owners it was on the premise of trying to encourage them to communicate their plan and support its implementation with a proper structure at Ewood Park which allowed the football side of things to get on and flourish without getting continually embroiled in all the off field issues.

So it was about trying to engage with them in a way that then allowed further engagement with the fans at local level most of whom, like us , were completely baffled at what was going on..

We did feel that the message had got home when we returned but in fact things spiralled badly in the opposite direction and it quickly got to a stage where the whole Club looked to be falling apart. It was at that point that we sought to offer the owners a way out if they wanted to consider that or to work in concert with us if that could be made into a viable option.

The entire purpose of our interest is to try to ensure we preserve the heritage of our great Club and ensure it is still here for future generations and I think the Rovers Trust are on exactly that page too. And they are to be commended for their continuing and heartfelt attempts to seek a break through and significantly it appears their membership numbers continue to grow. So many people do care apart from us.

Since flying to India to meet Venky’s in October 2011 have you had any contact with the Rovers owners? .

Minimal to be honest. It isn’t for the lack of trying but the drawbridge still appears to be very much up in terms of communicating with us.

Have you been given any indication that Venky’s would like to sell the club?

None at all. And that’s their perogative to be fair . But it would be nice for everyone over here to see a level of acceptance from them that things haven’t panned out as anyone would want and for them to communicate the plan from here and to at least try to reconcile with fans. It’s the total void that upsets most fans who simply want and need to reconnect.

What is your opinion of how the club is currently being run? Do you think it has improved from last season?

There is much more stability on the face of it and bluntly in my opinion the absence of the Global Adviser has been a major factor in that. That isn’t intended to be a personal assault ;I have never met him and no doubt he is a decent man but not what this Club needed. The legacy of some of his actions will continue to affect us for some considerable time yet both financially and non financially.

Gary Bowyer deserves credit for pulling together what was a complete shambles at the back end of last season and now has a young energetic team who care and are worth watching. Off the field there is a massive amount still to deal with and we don’t have a recognisable structure, which cannot help. But the likes of Derek Shaw and Ian Silvester are experienced people with an unenviable task and they will get about their business subject to the instructions they have to take from India. I am sure there is much more they would want to influence but let’s remember they are taking their instructions from the owners.

But the fact the Club are no longer front page , national headlines is welcomed by many of us.

What were your thoughts when Rovers managing director Derek Shaw this week admitted the club is likely to fall foul of Financial Fair Play whether it gets promoted or not?

He wasn’t saying anything we didn’t already know. We are miles adrift of FFP for reasons discussed earlier and with parachute payments reducing at the end of this season the situation will arguably get worse. Our income levels probably dictate that our operating costs should be closer to £10m under FFP so on the face of it we could be £20-£25m adrift. The worry at fan level is how this gets addressed because whilst we still have high earners and by definition they are either our best players ,who we wouldn’t want to have to sell ,or others who are impossible to move on when they are still sat on 2 or 3 year contracts that they couldn’t hope to match elsewhere. That is the mismanagement legacy we are stuck with and which will hurt us for some time yet.

The task of keeping a squad intact who are capable of mounting a promotion challenge whilst reducing costs are two competing forces.

I am not convinced by the dynamics of FFP. The intent is correct but it should focus on containing debt within Clubs as its primary mission. If owners wish to commit cash in the form of hard equity to support their investment then why shouldn’t they be allowed to? It‘s when the funding is done on the back of escalating debt that the problems start .But that’s for another day . We have immediate challenges to overcome with FFP.

That news, followed by the £27m loss posted by Venky’s London Limited for the last financial year, has left Rovers fans fearing for the future. Do you share the concerns of your fellow supporters?

Well clearly that’s unsustainable and I don’t believe that Venkys ever envisaged writing cheques at £2.5m a month to support a mid table Championship side. But many of our problems are completely self- inflicted

and taking us from a mid table Premier League Club to where we are now and having to fund it at this level must trip their minds. That is what causes the concern amongst the fans because they recognise it cannot go on indefinitely no matter how wealthy you are .More over,if they decide enough is enough tomorrow , then what happens?

Without anything to hang on to which puts your mind at rest then you are bound to have those concerns. This is why we , Rovers Trust , Action Group etc and many of our fans urge communication of their future plans.

He also said that this season is crucial in terms of going up and he is dead right. One way of helping to solve the short to medium term financial problem is for us to get promoted .

Would you agree the club, on the field, is as stable as it has been under Venky’s ownership?

Definitely. In fairness, with what we are spending on a huge squad then it should be. But the Manager and his coaching staff are starting to get a good tune out of the players who clearly have been encouraged to respect the shirt and that’s appreciated by the fans. Like I have said, we are a young energetic side who can play a bit and it would be great to see those that have stayed away ,but perhaps are wavering ,starting to come back to support the team again. We need those fans back in the stadium .Half season tickets will be available shortly and the club can do no more in terms of making it affordable. We have a team again and its not often we have been able to say that over the last 3 years.

Do you have a message for your fellow supporters?

Well let’s not try and sweep away the traumas of the last 3 years because its been high on emotion and sadly has caused fractures in the fan base. But whether the root cause of our problems is down to rank bad advice, naivity or even total stupidity, I do think it’s time to put the conspiracy theories to bed .Of course there are massive issues still to resolve but most are outside our sphere of influence. If all the thousands who have made their stand could actually start to channel that energy into coming back to Ewood and really uniting behind the manager and their team again then we would all be in a much better place. Walking away from a problem rarely solves anything and to me, staying away on match day achieves nothing and filling the ground is the biggest statement we can make as fans.

If people genuinely want progress from where we are now, and we can’t rewrite history, then that momentum comes from having the weight of more and more fans backing the team. If that sounds more like an appeal than a message then it is !!

[AndyNeil]

Out of interest Kamy, can you say which newspaper the article was originally intended for?

[Stuart]

Sounds like the Ians are not our white knights.

Not that I blame them.

So I guess that's all she wrote.

[Kamy100]

Out of interest Kamy, can you say which newspaper the article was originally intended for?

I think that it was for the LT. Ian says that it made the print version but didn't make it to the LT website.

[AndyNeil]

Thanks for that - strange how it made the print but not the online version...

[chaddyrovers]

He answered the questions very honest and truthfully. I read the article on the day of Blackpool away game in the LT.

IMO, He still seems interested in buying Rovers with his investment group but dont Venkys will sell before this season. Waiting to see if we go up or not.

He is someone I would like to see involved in Rovers in the future whether on the board as a director of the club or just advisor on the running the club.

[Tom]

'So it was about trying to engage with them in a way that then allowed further engagement with the fans at local level most of whom, like us , were completely baffled at what was going on..

We did feel that the message had got home when we returned but in fact things spiralled badly in the opposite direction.'

Sadly I know that feeling all too well

[thenodrog]

Thanks for that - strange how it made the print but not the online version...

Maybe they want people to buy the paper.

'So it was about trying to engage with them in a way that then allowed further engagement with the fans at local level most of whom, like us , were completely baffled at what was going on..

We did feel that the message had got home when we returned but in fact things spiralled badly in the opposite direction.'

Sadly I know that feeling all too well

Can't say that you weren't warned Tom.... but at least you had the experience of a free trip to India and a freebie holiday out of it. That must be worth something to the FF guys I guess.

[Rover_Shaun]

IMO, He still seems interested in buying Rovers with his investment group but dont think Venkys will sell before this season. Waiting to see if we go up or not.

And there lies our problem. The owners are just very very stupid and naive. That question has been answered to the negative already imo. Uneventful Mid-table will be a cracking season for the club after last seasons farce

[PAFELL]

I think he raised a good point about fans backing the manager. Although a full Ewood park would not write off the debt. It would help - even if only a little - towards reducing the 2m a month the club is losing now. Which would also show the football world that the fans still support this club.

[tomphil]

I think he raised a good point about fans backing the manager. Although a full Ewood park would not write off the debt. It would help - even if only a little - towards reducing the 2m a month the club is losing now. Which would also show the football world that the fans still support this club.

Sadly i don't think the numbers will increase much until possibily the last 3rd of the season if we are in with a shout. Venkys aside history shows us that a large slice of the Rovers public will just not turn out to watch 2nd tier mid table football (same for other northern town clubs as well) on a regular basis. Playing good stuff in the top 5 will bring a few more in but it would take something huge to recapture the imagination and get over 15k home fans on regularly lets not kid ourselves.

[FGS5635]

Sadly i don't think the numbers will increase much until possibily the last 3rd of the season if we are in with a shout. Venkys aside history shows us that a large slice of the Rovers public will just not turn out to watch 2nd tier mid table football (same for other northern town clubs as well) on a regular basis. Playing good stuff in the top 5 will bring a few more in but it would take something huge to recapture the imagination and get over 15k home fans on regularly lets not kid ourselves.

Sadly very true. I think as much as good results we need some PR masterstroke. Not sure what, but things like maybe getting friedel / duff on loan kind of thing to bring a few back maybe?

[AndyNeil]

Maybe they want people to buy the paper.

Can't say that you weren't warned Tom.... but at least you had the experience of a free trip to India and a freebie holiday out of it. That must be worth something to the FF guys I guess.

Bet you are slightly disappointed that nobody has bit yet...

[Andy]

It's a fair point, mind.

[AndyNeil]

It's a fair point, mind.

Maybe to a WUM with nothing better to do than try and score cheap points, however it would be fair to say that EVERY supporter who went on that trip would swap it in a heartbeat without even thinking about it, in return for the days pre-Venkys.

Anyway, I'm not giving the silly old fool anymore airtime...

[Mike E]

Sadly very true. I think as much as good results we need some PR masterstroke. Not sure what, but things like maybe getting friedel / duff on loan kind of thing to bring a few back maybe?

It's whether such a plan is possible. I'd love to see Friedel on board as a coach after his playing days are up (IF he intends to go into coaching). I think we're already seeing the benefits of someone like Short in there. Articulate, headstrong, demands 100% effort and loves the club. Those are the people we need around our young squad. Be better for Kean to learn off one of the PL's best keepers than some Pompey-reject.

[FGS5635]

It's whether such a plan is possible. I'd love to see Friedel on board as a coach after his playing days are up (IF he intends to go into coaching). I think we're already seeing the benefits of someone like Short in there. Articulate, headstrong, demands 100% effort and loves the club. Those are the people we need around our young squad. Be better for Kean to learn off one of the PL's best keepers than some Pompey-reject.

Freidel is the obvious one as he ticks some needed boxes. Really the key is getting tugay onboard somehow, he guarantees fans, but I cant see a practical way of getting him or anybody else for that matter. Freidel and duff are the only 2 semi realistic options that may carry enough fan love to generate some good pr

[TBTF]

I think he raised a good point about fans backing the manager. Although a full Ewood park would not write off the debt. It would help - even if only a little - towards reducing the 2m a month the club is losing now. Which would also show the football world that the fans still support this club.

I am with you on that Pafell.

I think all the blurb about who we should be signing is put into context in this article.The problems are about what are in front of us now and not about who we could bring in.Surely we will be losing some rather than gaining some in the face of our massive issues.

No arguments about that article from anybody i know even if there is nothing new in it in reality.But a refreshing assessment that is forthright and honest and reflects how most of us feel.

[pk1875]

Maybe to a WUM with nothing better to do than try and score cheap points, however it would be fair to say that EVERY supporter who went on that trip would swap it in a heartbeat without even thinking about it, in return for the days pre-Venkys.

Anyway, I'm not giving the silly old fool anymore airtime...

I'm sure everyone would swap that trip for a return to Pre Venkys days,

On a serious note I know Fernhurst was one of "Pune 9" and by the look of it so was Tom. Who were the other 7 and do they post on here?

[only2garners]

As I outed myself before we went I'm happy to confirm I was one of the 9. Of the other 6 I think 4 post (or have posted) on here and 2 don't.

[Rover_Shaun]

I'm sure everyone would swap that trip for a return to Pre Venkys days,I

On a serious note I know Fernhurst was one of "Pune 9" and by the look of it so was Tom. Who were the other 7 and do they post on here?

Ewood Spark?

Roversmum?

[Tom]

Roversmum and her husband went but not as represtatives of the fans forum they had previously met the owners and recieved a personal invite

Anyway this isn't directly relevant I was just saying that at the same time Ian Battersby was trying to set them straight and getting nods and agreement as a front other people were also trying with a very similar facade and outcome.

[Guest Norbert]

The Pune 9 were conned, as we thought the Raos may be normal people deep down. Sadly, we now know all to well they are Burnley supporting space lizards determined to ruin the club.

As for Ian Battersby, he can't be our saviour if Venky's won't sell the club. At the moment, it seems they are dead set on ownership at all costs.

[Roverthechimp]

Why does the phrase "we'll take it off your hands for free" come to mind everytime i see/hear/read from either the Ians, BRAG or The Trust?

[pk1875]

Roversmum and her husband went but not as represtatives of the fans forum they had previously met the owners and recieved a personal invite

Anyway this isn't directly relevant I was just saying that at the same time Ian Battersby was trying to set them straight and getting nods and agreement as a front other people were also trying with a very similar facade and outcome.

I know it was off topic but it was something I've wondered for a while and the topic came up, So we have Fernhurst, Tom, OnlySG who where are the others?

Why does the phrase "we'll take it off your hands for free" come to mind everytime i see/hear/read from either the Ians, BRAG or The Trust?

The BRFC Action Group have never had any thoughts on owning the club whether for free or not