[Archived] Is It Time To Protest Against Venkys?

[BlueMonday]

I just think protest would not be welcomed by 99% of the remaining attending supporters.

Any unrest in the stands could see Lambert chuck the towel in, after all he is trying his best and is working blind-folded without owner communication.

Someone told me on Saturday that because SEM went bust there is no target or justice.

I nearly choked on my pint as this was very small minded and made me wonder how little knowledge people have of the business and legal system. SEM going bust does not protect those with legal responsibilities and the legal system is so much geared for civil action against anyone. As stakeholders of Rovers there is a route which can be taken regarding those who deliberately broke the rules for self gain

No one is advocating unrest in the stands. See my earlier post, but the way forward is to show a united front at Ewood, vocal backing for PL and direct criticism to Pune. We need to be more focused and maybe media savvy, set out our vision and what we expect from Venkys perhaps with some famous names with Rovers allegiance.

Edit: L.V. beat me to it with similar views

[BlueMonday]

Unfortunately Venkys silence appears intractable and we are obviously talking round in circles

http://www.brfcc.com/mb/index.php/topic/30710-dialogue-with-the-owners/?p=1570927

[Paul]

The major obstacle to be overcome involving protest in whatever form is persuading the fan base to take part. There are many examples of initiatives which need the fans' support yet the numbers prepared to turn out are tiny. Why this is I've no idea. Is this unique to Rovers or is it that only very few protests actually get off the ground and so achieve lots of publicity?

The other issue is leaders. There are 63 pages of comment on "what we need to do is" yet only one poster in the thread who I know who actually put words in to action.

I don't want to be antagonistic but if someone has an idea get on an organise it, don't just talk about it. Handwringing on a message board achieves nothing though I suppose it's cathartic.

I'd suggest two guidelines; make it legal, protest immediately makes people think of pitch invasions etc. and make it simple to join in.

[mhead]

I agree with others that we are in a 'wait and see' period.

The Huddersfield match is a great day to get behind the Team and the Manager....purely as a way of boosting him and creating a kind of movement(out of nothing).

By then he must know what the score is for next season, surely. Then there are just a few weeks left and the Summer.

Of course nothing is certain because of the Venkys, its the lack of momentum all round that worries me.

At the moment I am a keyboard warrior from 6,000kms away but not for longer than this year.So I feel helpless and my next match is Bristol City. Prepared to help with money but wish I had a helicopter. There is now a point at which the Trust needs to speak out again.

[Jock]

Tennis balls on the pitch from all sides of the ground.

Maybe the 18th and 75th minute?

Let's face it these Pillocks from Pune will kill OUR club so let's get proactive.

[Blue blood]

Also given how removed Venkey are, and how much their name has been dragged through the mud in the whole Rovers ownership debacle, would protesting actually do anything?

I mean they're getting nothing from the club of benefit to them now, what would a protest change things?

Now if we could somehow get to hurt their profits from some of their other companies/businesses, I bet that they would take notice. However, I can't think of how we'd feasibly do that.

[JHRover]

Also given how removed Venkey are, and how much their name has been dragged through the mud in the whole Rovers ownership debacle, would protesting actually do anything?

I mean they're getting nothing from the club of benefit to them now, what would a protest change things?

Now if we could somehow get to hurt their profits from some of their other companies/businesses, I bet that they would take notice. However, I can't think of how we'd feasibly do that.

Protests won't achieve anything. They didn't achieve anything when the energy and fury was there in the Premier League, broadcast around the world and Kean was the villain of the show. Now the filth has been removed from Ewood there's no public face to the regime in the UK and the anger isn't as it was.

Protests won't work, just as they haven't at Charlton, Blackpool and Villa this season. Unpopular owners will leave when it suits them, not when a few hundred people start booing/singing/making banners.

Unless we can find a way of persuading millions of Indians to change their diets/suppliers then I can't see how any serious impact can be made on their core businesses.

[Gav]

Protests won't achieve anything. They didn't achieve anything when the energy and fury was there in the Premier League, broadcast around the world and Kean was the villain of the show. Now the filth has been removed from Ewood there's no public face to the regime in the UK and the anger isn't as it was.

Protests won't work, just as they haven't at Charlton, Blackpool and Villa this season. Unpopular owners will leave when it suits them, not when a few hundred people start booing/singing/making banners.

Unless we can find a way of persuading millions of Indians to change their diets/suppliers then I can't see how any serious impact can be made on their core businesses.

Completely wrong I'm afraid JH.

Just to put you straight on the Villa protests, they have so far resulted in 3 new board members being appointed with the sole purpose of improving the club from top to bottom, running things from the UK and not the states and selecting a new manager.

A direct result of the protests and dire situation the club finds itself in.

But you keep telling yourself protests won't work...

[Mike E]

Completely wrong I'm afraid JH.

Just to put you straight on the Villa protests, they have so far resulted in 3 new board members being appointed with the sole purpose of improving the club from top to bottom, running things from the UK and not the states and selecting a new manager.

A direct result of the protests and dire situation the club finds itself in.

But you keep telling yourself protests won't work...

They worked!

Once...

At a City club...

[tomphil]

Just watching some of those responsible at Charlton having a very uncomfortable afternoon squirming in their seats whilst they protested in a live game was probably worth it for them in some small way.

Also seeing Oystons face with that sit it would have been priceless, especially when some of em went after him. Sadly we don't have the luxury of anyone to aim it at on the ground.

A sit in can't be ignored though and neither can a virtually empty ground for a game. It might not be much nor change anything but it's a statement.

[AggyBlue]

A virtually empty ground is the way to go IMO.

A televised home game, try and get as many regulars to stay away.

[mhead]

Even if we scheme for the next two weeks the key issue is that we cannot mobilise sufficiently.

The good guys like Glenn M. wasted their lives and got half-vilified last time.

This is why I believe Trust/BRAG are the two/one key body. But they cannot do 'guerilla' activity because they must seem professional not anarchist.

[JHRover]

Completely wrong I'm afraid JH.

Just to put you straight on the Villa protests, they have so far resulted in 3 new board members being appointed with the sole purpose of improving the club from top to bottom, running things from the UK and not the states and selecting a new manager.

A direct result of the protests and dire situation the club finds itself in.

But you keep telling yourself protests won't work...

Are you sure the fan protests have seen the 3 new board members being appointed at Villa? Or alternatively is it because they're going down as the worst Villa side in history, one of the worst sides in Premier League history, having squandered £60 million on players and simply have to bring in change to adapt ahead of the Championship? Lerner has some business sense and knows wide-ranging change is needed to get them back in business.

A far bigger problem for Randy Lerner is the loss of income and asset value through Villa being in the second division. I somehow doubt he's losing sleep over some fans holding banners.

Likewise at Charlton - protests every home game, thousands boycotting, tennis balls on the pitch, pitch invasions, demonstrations outside the ground - what have they achieved? Duchatelet is still owner and has recently said he isn't selling. Meire is still CEO. They've still got the Belgian head coach system and are going down. No change has been achieved.

Oyston is still laughing his socks off at Blackpool fans as they risk dropping into League Two with 3000 gates likely next season. He'll sell up when he's ready to and clearly couldn't care less what the fans want or do.

[BlueMonday]

We obviously have to rethink this:

What we need to do is plant some acorns in a meadow. Then we sit patiently in a transcendental state cleansing ourselves of conflict and negativity and rediscovering the meaning of everything

After 250 years the acorns will have matured into majestic Oak Trees and we can marvel at the circle of life while reading about and studying the history of a once famous North West Football Club at the National Football Museum

Its a non confrontational approach which guarantees Rovers will be Venky free at the end of it.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

I am still at the wait and see stage - personally I have no idea how difficult it is to replace a football clubs CEO. Lets not forget that Shaw was hardly Mr Popular.

Until a new CEO is in place - possibly plans are on hold - at the end of the day none of us know how far off that is.

So I wait with bated breath - clinging to the hope that they wouldn't have employed PL just to then pull the rug from under him.

My main worry - what has changed - he was surely employed with some promises about future finance for next season - why is he suddenly questioning this via the press ? TBH the way he appears to have used the press has been a worrying aspect of PL's time in charge - when he took over he said what a great job GB did - then as we hit a rough patch he started to question GB's methods, training and fitness - he was also quick to place all blame at Rhodes door for the transfer (without doubt he had pushed for it, but I can't but help feel the PL was happy for him to go so he could bring Graham in). Similarly the questions being directed at Venky's via the press seem to have come as we are struggling - doing this via the press is hardly a way of bringing the club together and I am a little disappointed he has done it.

Though I think we can all see what he is trying to do - his time so far hasn't been the success I hoped it would be - and I think questions have to be asked about how little we have progressed since he took over.

[Gav]

They worked!

Once...

At a City club...

Lets not bother then, maybe if we get city status we'll have a go but until then we'll do nothing......

[Rover_Shaun]

I'm not usually pedantic about typos/spelling errors but did they manage to spell his name right?

[sambo]

Even if we scheme for the next two weeks the key issue is that we cannot mobilise sufficiently.

The good guys like Glenn M. wasted their lives and got half-vilified last time.

This is why I believe Trust/BRAG are the two/one key body. But they cannot do 'guerilla' activity because they must seem professional not anarchist.

That's the issue - it caused such a divide in the fanbase that lasts to this day. It was the 'we must make a stand' against the 'get behind the lads' brigade. With Venky's as crazy as ever and with the most hated manager ever at the helm, with all the publicity too, we still didn't get huge numbers (a max of about 1,000 one day - I'll never forget the masses of people from 2 starting points congregating en masse and singing in unison).

If Venky's don't back Lambert, then I'd be all in favour of protests. If they ruin this, then there is no hope. Should another coach be installed the inevitable slide will soon follow, and 'getting behind the lads' will be futile. Whilst many say protesting is also futile, it's all we can do. There are a whole host of options: boycotts, tennis balls, marches, demonstrations. All the different groups would have to put their differences aside and rally for a common cause.

I hope it doesn't come to it, but we are currently drinking at last chance saloon and I don't trust the Venky's one bit!

[VinjayV4]

They worked!

Once...

At a City club...

Sorry that's nonsense. Since people talk about how it was a "family club" and "community club" more fans KNOW each other. It should actually be easier here to arrange a protest and its not like the stadium was empty in 2011/2012.

Unfortunately its been nothing but divisions instead. Under the previous owners people said to me that if they were bad owners (which they were) fans would be unified (that's UNIFIED) in protest. Well that didn't totally turn out to be the case when Venkys got involved did it? Some people went after Glen M of course but some of them lets say had "incentives" to do so as he's already elaborated himself.

Forget this tennis balls thing its been done now by a smaller club. Not even sure why they were throwing them specifically anyway.

[Mike Graham]

This STILL appears on the home page of the Venkys London website:

"Sports and health goes hand in hand and Venky’s has taken one step further by owning

one of the most popular English Premiere League Club – Blackburn Rovers. By

fructifying this deal Venky’s has become the first Indian Company to achieve this fete.

This club has a proud history as that of its owners and has won English Premiere League

for three times and FA Cup six times in total. As a part of its future strategy, the VH

Group is determined to establish Blackburn Rovers as a truly global brand and take all

efforts to ensure retaining and further upgrading its status of being one of the best run

clubs within the premier League."

What a bunch of wallies !! "and a further upgrading of its status of being one of the best run clubs within the premier League".

THEY MAKE ME SICK

[Gav]

Are you sure the fan protests have seen the 3 new board members being appointed at Villa? Or alternatively is it because they're going down as the worst Villa side in history, one of the worst sides in Premier League history, having squandered £60 million on players and simply have to bring in change to adapt ahead of the Championship? Lerner has some business sense and knows wide-ranging change is needed to get them back in business.

A far bigger problem for Randy Lerner is the loss of income and asset value through Villa being in the second division. I somehow doubt he's losing sleep over some fans holding banners.

Likewise at Charlton - protests every home game, thousands boycotting, tennis balls on the pitch, pitch invasions, demonstrations outside the ground - what have they achieved? Duchatelet is still owner and has recently said he isn't selling. Meire is still CEO. They've still got the Belgian head coach system and are going down. No change has been achieved.

Oyston is still laughing his socks off at Blackpool fans as they risk dropping into League Two with 3000 gates likely next season. He'll sell up when he's ready to and clearly couldn't care less what the fans want or do.

The fan protests have been instrumental in the changes that have taken place from what I can gather speaking to the locals and reading the press.

I think you're giving Lerner a tad to much credit also JH, he's presided over this mess that Villa are in, much like those idiots in Pune. I'm not saying the club was going places under Doug Ellis but it wasn't in the mess it's in now.

[Hasta]

Randy Lerner net spend at Villa.

Year 1 - £13.1 million

Year 2 - £6.5 million

Year 3 - £45.3 million

Year 4 - £18.5 million

Year 5 - £4.7 million

Year 6 - (-£20.5 million)

Year 7 - £23 million

That's £13million a year villa spent on players over those 7 years.

He announced he would sell the club 2 years ago but no buyer has been found.

I've not followed villa that closely but it looks to me that they have suffered from bad managers making bad football decisions. How much say Lerner had in appointing those managers directly I don't know. Maybe the blame here lies at the board who appointed the managers and that's why they've been removed.

I know that fans of other clubs don't follow in enough detail to see what's really going on (our plight showed this) but Lerner is far from catastrophic as a football club owner in my view.

[Jock]

Looks like Abbey has been banned again. Damn pitty that a true Rover gets so much grief on here.

[Gav]

Randy Lerner net spend at Villa.

Year 1 - £13.1 million

Year 2 - £6.5 million

Year 3 - £45.3 million

Year 4 - £18.5 million

Year 5 - £4.7 million

Year 6 - (-£20.5 million)

Year 7 - £23 million

That's £13million a year villa spent on players over those 7 years.

He announced he would sell the club 2 years ago but no buyer has been found.

I've not followed villa that closely but it looks to me that they have suffered from bad managers making bad football decisions. How much say Lerner had in appointing those managers directly I don't know. Maybe the blame here lies at the board who appointed the managers and that's why they've been removed.

I know that fans of other clubs don't follow in enough detail to see what's really going on (our plight showed this) but Lerner is far from catastrophic as a football club owner in my view.

Sorry Hasta I'm not having that.

Aston Villa are a big club that have been in the premiership since its creation, they're a joke of a club now that buy players by vote, not by manager decision alone, thats just madness and on his watch.

They're now a championship club in reality, so to say Lerner is far from catastrophic is wide of the mark, they're a club that could well fall through the leagues if the next managerial appointment isn't right, he's they're not at Venky levels yet, but he's getting there.

[Leonard Venkhater]

Looks like Abbey has been banned again. Damn pitty that a true Rover gets so much grief on here.

Just when we need him

MUSCENYKV