[Archived] Dialogue With The Owners

[Amo]

Boycotting the club shop etc. as a catalyst for change is a futile gesture. By all means do whatever you want out of principle, but these people are happy to write-off £5m a year on the club. Even if you managed to organize something like that, I honestly doubt they would care, and just like mass boycotting games, it's simply not realistic. You are always going to have the hardcore support who attend games come wind, rain or shine and have to buy the latest merchandise. If the fans couldn't unite during the height of Kean's reign, I don't think it'll ever happen.

[ABBEY]

Toppers don't tell long standing season ticket holders what we can and what we can't do . You say us fans are racist and that's why you don't attend .

[yoda]

Pune rover is wrong in his assumption that only money will get their attention, the only way to get their attention is to play on the face saving angle.

That will take a bit of thinking about mind.

[Amo]

Toppers don't tell long standing season ticket holders what we can and what we can't do .

Not like you to completely miss the point

You say us fans are racist and that's why you don't attend .

No, I said the racist contingent of fans at away games awhile ago put me off attending. Slight difference there, Abbey, but don't let that stop you.

[47er]

Pune rover is wrong in his assumption that only money will get their attention, the only way to get their attention is to play on the face saving angle.

That will take a bit of thinking about mind.

Humiliate them by not turning up.

[Gav]

The only time they've ever taken notice is when the gate went down under ****, I clearly remember someone saying they've acknowledged the feeling of the fans and are asking questions.

I wish I could find the comments in the Telegraph or maybe it even came from Kamy, but if the bottom line is impacted upon they'll take notice.

It's not about finance as such, it's about saving face like Yoda mentions, they want to be liked.

[ABBEY]

Not like you to completely miss the point

No, I said the racist contingent of fans at away games awhile ago put me off attending. Slight difference there, Abbey, but don't let that stop you.

yea course i did.

poll time ...would you partipated in an organised boycott of a game against venkys.

[punerover]

CLB

Punerover - a few questions for you.

When you say they will only listen if they are offered money, do you mean new prospective buyers coming in who would be willing to pay Venky's back what they have put in, circa £100m?

This would be option 1 like any business would do. I would presume they would listen as their champions league dreams are well and truly over after the relegation which everyone would agree. All sellers overvalue their businesses. IMO the not for sale sign in the business world only means the price is not right.

Do you mean to say accept some cutting of losses and accept around £50m?

Could be option 2. Me thinks this is unlikely as they have assets (land value in india in and around pune has increased 5-10 times in the last 5-10 years.) if not cash to sustain / save face for now and the near future. I think this has not happened yet coz they are in a wait and watch mode. A relegation to League 1 might trigger this.

Do you mean to accept what the club is now worth, say £15m?

No. Dont think so. They would rather take it to league 1 then accept such an offer. This is my personal view as it would be the very very last resort when BRFC starts threatening their existing business. I do not think they have reached that stage yet.

Are you based in England and of Indian origin or do you live over in India? I ask this because if it's either of these you will undoubtedly understand the Indian business culture/way of doing things that EiT alluded to in earlier posts.

Yes based in India. Like Yoda rightly pointed out. i am a smallish businessman myself. So do understand it a bit.

I don't think that there will be too many Rovers fans in India but are you/they aware of what has gone on at the club and how it has been systematically demolished from within? What is your take on why Venky's are acting in this way and what, in your opinion, is the solution from Venky's perspective?

There are some brfc fans After the takeover. We were all optimistic but reality set in and saw the distruction of the club. IMO, the Venkys were sold the idea by some that cannot be named that buying a club in the EPL would be a huge boost to their Company image (look maa we also own a football club ), branding (Why spend so much in adverts. When we have an ever growing viewer base.) and in turn sales (look at their year on year sales figures since they took over, I would still like to know overseas sales figures which are difficult to obtain wherein lies the key as to why venky's are still here) as its a platform with huge viewership all over the world. Most indians view the EPL more than our local football clubs primarly because of the quality on offer. Obviously the guys who sold the club to the venkys assured them that things could only get rozy. The viewership, the EPL tv deal money, they global branding, even the champion's league, the platform to get that expertise to India which is still a baby in terms of football. Being a huge player in the Global football scene. Hence the arrogance and all their comments after they bought the club. My personal view is that the club was sold to them and bought by them under dubious circumstances. Many financial transactions involved I am sure with lots of people. There was no buyer assessment from the Walker Trust and these ppl got in only because someone convinced them its better for their business. They have no love for a football club. Having said that, they had / have no clue as to how to run a football club. But now since they own one, they have no choice but to take matters in their own hands, which will make things worse because of lack or personal knowledge of football. Hence the over reliance on other people. Agents, Chairman, managers, global advisors, etc.

From the Venky's perspective, coming to the present day, I think they have realized the perils of relegation. They know a tiny viny bit more about football club but nowhere near enough to run it successfully. They have gone into damage control mode, I personally dont think promotion is an objective anymore. Embargo ensures they cant throw any more money to the problem. They are acting this way because they have to rely on "someone" for information. Whether that someone has the clubs best interests or his own personal interest is debateable. .

I know i am alone when I say this and this is my personal opinion.

1. Venkys could sell the club and get out, but who will buy and at what price? - I dont see this happening.

2. Venkys could turn this around. - If they could, would they be in this situation in the first place? I dont see this happening either

3. What i do see as the way forward though is this. An individual or a fan club goes to Venkys to sell the idea of promotion and tell them that the current crop is not capable of achieving it. Like another global advisor but someone who knows football and football clubs and get paid for it. A plan to convince them how to get promoted based on our current circumtances. Basically sell them why we can do a better job compared to the existing employees of BRFC. Or 22000 fans pour in 1000 pounds each to match Venkys valuaton of the club and then they can do whatver they want. Or fans find another buyer who will meet their valuation. or wait till the club goes down the drain and hope that Venky's quit. And then again hope that we get a good owner. My opinion that not turning up for games is not an effective idea is that it only makes them loose face. It does not financially hit them enough. If it did, i would support ABBEY,s and GAVs opinion of a boycott. I dont think that is going to work.

While a person like me will always be considered an outsider, and to a certain extent I do understand why, i have followed BRFC and this forum for quite some time like many other international fans. Rant finished, Ready for more abuses and insults.

[yoda]

CLB

There are some brfc fans After the takeover. We were all optimistic but reality set in and saw the distruction of the club. IMO, the Venkys were sold the idea by some that cannot be named that buying a club in the EPL would be a huge boost to their Company image (look maa we also own a football club ), branding (Why spend so much in adverts. When we have an ever growing viewer base.) and in turn sales (look at their year on year sales figures since they took over, I would still like to know overseas sales figures which are difficult to obtain wherein lies the key as to why venky's are still here) as its a platform with huge viewership all over the world. Most indians view the EPL more than our local football clubs primarly because of the quality on offer. Obviously the guys who sold the club to the venkys assured them that things could only get rozy. The viewership, the EPL tv deal money, they global branding, even the champion's league, the platform to get that expertise to India which is still a baby in terms of football. Being a huge player in the Global football scene. Hence the arrogance and all their comments after they bought the club. My personal view is that the club was sold to them and bought by them under dubious circumstances. Many financial transactions involved I am sure with lots of people. There was no buyer assessment from the Walker Trust and these ppl got in only because someone convinced them its better for their business. They have no love for a football club. Having said that, they had / have no clue as to how to run a football club. But now since they own one, they have no choice but to take matters in their own hands, which will make things worse because of lack or personal knowledge of football. Hence the over reliance on other people. Agents, Chairman, managers, global advisors, etc.

From the Venky's perspective, coming to the present day, I think they have realized the perils of relegation. They know a tiny viny bit more about football club but nowhere near enough to run it successfully. They have gone into damage control mode, I personally dont think promotion is an objective anymore. Embargo ensures they cant throw any more money to the problem. They are acting this way because they have to rely on "someone" for information. Whether that someone has the clubs best interests or his own personal interest is debateable. .

I know i am alone when I say this and this is my personal opinion.

1. Venkys could sell the club and get out, but who will buy and at what price? - I dont see this happening.

2. Venkys could turn this around. - If they could, would they be in this situation in the first place? I dont see this happening either

3. What i do see as the way forward though is this. An individual or a fan club goes to Venkys to sell the idea of promotion and tell them that the current crop is not capable of achieving it. Like another global advisor but someone who knows football and football clubs and get paid for it. A plan to convince them how to get promoted based on our current circumtances. Basically sell them why we can do a better job compared to the existing employees of BRFC. Or 22000 fans pour in 1000 pounds each to match Venkys valuaton of the club and then they can do whatver they want. Or fans find another buyer who will meet their valuation. or wait till the club goes down the drain and hope that Venky's quit. And then again hope that we get a good owner. My opinion that not turning up for games is not an effective idea is that it only makes them loose face. It does not financially hit them enough. If it did, i would support ABBEY,s and GAVs opinion of a boycott. I dont think that is going to work.

While a person like me will always be considered an outsider, and to a certain extent I do understand why, i have followed BRFC and this forum for quite some time like many other international fans. Rant finished, Ready for more abuses and insults.

If they answered the emails from a certain person this would come about for FREE, if you still have contacts in Pune, pass this thought on to them

[tomphil]

CLB

There are some brfc fans After the takeover. We were all optimistic but reality set in and saw the distruction of the club. IMO, the Venkys were sold the idea by some that cannot be named that buying a club in the EPL would be a huge boost to their Company image (look maa we also own a football club ), branding (Why spend so much in adverts. When we have an ever growing viewer base.) and in turn sales (look at their year on year sales figures since they took over, I would still like to know overseas sales figures which are difficult to obtain wherein lies the key as to why venky's are still here) as its a platform with huge viewership all over the world. Most indians view the EPL more than our local football clubs primarly because of the quality on offer. Obviously the guys who sold the club to the venkys assured them that things could only get rozy. The viewership, the EPL tv deal money, they global branding, even the champion's league, the platform to get that expertise to India which is still a baby in terms of football. Being a huge player in the Global football scene. Hence the arrogance and all their comments after they bought the club. My personal view is that the club was sold to them and bought by them under dubious circumstances. Many financial transactions involved I am sure with lots of people. There was no buyer assessment from the Walker Trust and these ppl got in only because someone convinced them its better for their business. They have no love for a football club. Having said that, they had / have no clue as to how to run a football club. But now since they own one, they have no choice but to take matters in their own hands, which will make things worse because of lack or personal knowledge of football. Hence the over reliance on other people. Agents, Chairman, managers, global advisors, etc.

From the Venky's perspective, coming to the present day, I think they have realized the perils of relegation. They know a tiny viny bit more about football club but nowhere near enough to run it successfully. They have gone into damage control mode, I personally dont think promotion is an objective anymore. Embargo ensures they cant throw any more money to the problem. They are acting this way because they have to rely on "someone" for information. Whether that someone has the clubs best interests or his own personal interest is debateable. .

I know i am alone when I say this and this is my personal opinion.

1. Venkys could sell the club and get out, but who will buy and at what price? - I dont see this happening.

2. Venkys could turn this around. - If they could, would they be in this situation in the first place? I dont see this happening either

3. What i do see as the way forward though is this. An individual or a fan club goes to Venkys to sell the idea of promotion and tell them that the current crop is not capable of achieving it. Like another global advisor but someone who knows football and football clubs and get paid for it. A plan to convince them how to get promoted based on our current circumtances. Basically sell them why we can do a better job compared to the existing employees of BRFC. Or 22000 fans pour in 1000 pounds each to match Venkys valuaton of the club and then they can do whatver they want. Or fans find another buyer who will meet their valuation. or wait till the club goes down the drain and hope that Venky's quit. And then again hope that we get a good owner. My opinion that not turning up for games is not an effective idea is that it only makes them loose face. It does not financially hit them enough. If it did, i would support ABBEY,s and GAVs opinion of a boycott. I dont think that is going to work.

While a person like me will always be considered an outsider, and to a certain extent I do understand why, i have followed BRFC and this forum for quite some time like many other international fans. Rant finished, Ready for more abuses and insults.

Nice to see a few opinions from the Indian side of things, if you're genuine and know anymore out there please encourage them to post their thoughts. If they are thick skinned enough that is

[Exiled in Toronto]

If they answered the emails from a certain person this would come about for FREE, if you still have contacts in Pune, pass this thought on to them

I think that's not quite what he's saying though. PuneRover seems to be saying (correct me if I'm wrong, PR) that they may, just may listen to someone who i) has more tangible football knowledge/experience than whoever they currently listen to, and ii) is looking to optimise the situation for them, not just the club. I'm not sure the person you refer to would meet either criteria in their eyes. For whatever reason, it seems that Venky's view anyone who has Rovers' best interests at heart as not having their best interests at heart.

[yoda]

I think that's not quite what he's saying though. PuneRover seems to be saying (correct me if I'm wrong, PR) that they may, just may listen to someone who i) has more tangible football knowledge/experience than whoever they currently listen to, and ii) is looking to optimise the situation for them, not just the club. I'm not sure the person you refer to would meet either criteria in their eyes. For whatever reason, it seems that Venky's view anyone who has Rovers' best interests at heart as not having their best interests at heart.

1 - you don't know who the person is

2 - the person in question wants the club to be run properly again which is in the best interest of them(the Rao's) as well as the club

3 - person in question has the knowledge and contacts to bring it about, FOR FREE

[ABBEY]

Silence speaks volumes

[Gav]

CLB

There are some brfc fans After the takeover. We were all optimistic but reality set in and saw the distruction of the club. IMO, the Venkys were sold the idea by some that cannot be named that buying a club in the EPL would be a huge boost to their Company image (look maa we also own a football club ), branding (Why spend so much in adverts. When we have an ever growing viewer base.) and in turn sales (look at their year on year sales figures since they took over, I would still like to know overseas sales figures which are difficult to obtain wherein lies the key as to why venky's are still here) as its a platform with huge viewership all over the world. Most indians view the EPL more than our local football clubs primarly because of the quality on offer. Obviously the guys who sold the club to the venkys assured them that things could only get rozy. The viewership, the EPL tv deal money, they global branding, even the champion's league, the platform to get that expertise to India which is still a baby in terms of football. Being a huge player in the Global football scene. Hence the arrogance and all their comments after they bought the club. My personal view is that the club was sold to them and bought by them under dubious circumstances. Many financial transactions involved I am sure with lots of people. There was no buyer assessment from the Walker Trust and these ppl got in only because someone convinced them its better for their business. They have no love for a football club. Having said that, they had / have no clue as to how to run a football club. But now since they own one, they have no choice but to take matters in their own hands, which will make things worse because of lack or personal knowledge of football. Hence the over reliance on other people. Agents, Chairman, managers, global advisors, etc.

From the Venky's perspective, coming to the present day, I think they have realized the perils of relegation. They know a tiny viny bit more about football club but nowhere near enough to run it successfully. They have gone into damage control mode, I personally dont think promotion is an objective anymore. Embargo ensures they cant throw any more money to the problem. They are acting this way because they have to rely on "someone" for information. Whether that someone has the clubs best interests or his own personal interest is debateable. .

I know i am alone when I say this and this is my personal opinion.

1. Venkys could sell the club and get out, but who will buy and at what price? - I dont see this happening.

2. Venkys could turn this around. - If they could, would they be in this situation in the first place? I dont see this happening either

3. What i do see as the way forward though is this. An individual or a fan club goes to Venkys to sell the idea of promotion and tell them that the current crop is not capable of achieving it. Like another global advisor but someone who knows football and football clubs and get paid for it. A plan to convince them how to get promoted based on our current circumtances. Basically sell them why we can do a better job compared to the existing employees of BRFC. Or 22000 fans pour in 1000 pounds each to match Venkys valuaton of the club and then they can do whatver they want. Or fans find another buyer who will meet their valuation. or wait till the club goes down the drain and hope that Venky's quit. And then again hope that we get a good owner. My opinion that not turning up for games is not an effective idea is that it only makes them loose face. It does not financially hit them enough. If it did, i would support ABBEY,s and GAVs opinion of a boycott. I dont think that is going to work.

While a person like me will always be considered an outsider, and to a certain extent I do understand why, i have followed BRFC and this forum for quite some time like many other international fans. Rant finished, Ready for more abuses and insults.

Interesting take on things, thanks for the reply.

I get the feeling the only thing Venkys are interested in is incoming money, gate receipts, transfer fees, sky money, I know that sounds mad when they've managed to accumulate 80m in debt, but they're mad, no doubt about that.

[A cup of beans]

Nice to see a few opinions from the Indian side of things, if you're genuine and know anymore out there please encourage them to post their thoughts. If they are thick skinned enough that is

Indian side of things.. ???

Id bet everything I own on this guy being Lancashire based.

I find his posts interesting points for debate, but question the motivation behind them.

EIT offered far more insight into the "Indian SIDE OF THINGS"

We probably wont get any dialogue with them until their own hierarchy/ chain of command changes (ie If Madame steps aside or is taken ill etc.. )

Sorry to seem callous, but..

[tomphil]

Indian side of things.. ???

Id bet everything I own on this guy being Lancashire based.

I find his posts interesting points for debate, but question the motivation behind them.

EIT offered far more insight into the "Indian SIDE OF THINGS"

We probably wont get any dialogue with them until their own hierarchy/ chain of command changes (ie If Madame steps aside or is taken ill etc.. )

Sorry to seem callous, but..

I have suspicions it's another regular but just giving the benefit of the doubt

[ABBEY]

No way are they from puneatic

[tomphil]

What's their opinions on Gaz, that should give a few more pointers

[broadsword]

Interesting take on things, thanks for the reply.

I get the feeling the only thing Venkys are interested in is incoming money, gate receipts, transfer fees, sky money, I know that sounds mad when they've managed to accumulate 80m in debt, but they're mad, no doubt about that.

They're not mad.

Clinically stupid, yes. Greedy, yes. Ignorant, yes. Classless, yes.

Mad? Nah.

[wolfie]

No way is pune Indian. Possibly an Brit living in India but more than likely a Brit living over here pretending to be from Pune.

Takes all sorts, I suppose.

[Exiled in Toronto]

1 - you don't know who the person is

2 - the person in question wants the club to be run properly again which is in the best interest of them(the Rao's) as well as the club

3 - person in question has the knowledge and contacts to bring it about, FOR FREE

No doubt. But perhaps they see it as someone who wants a punt at the 100 million Premiership jackpot while they have to write off their 100 million. What counts is their perception of what's in their best interests, not your nameless friend's.

The fact is, they hold all the cards - all of them. They could stay here forever or close us down tomorrow or anything inbetween, all on a whim. It's clearly going to take a bit more than "Answer the effing email" to start to influence how they choose to play their hand.

[ABBEY]

No doubt. But perhaps they see it as someone who wants a punt at the 100 million Premiership jackpot while they have to write off their 100 million. What counts is their perception of what's in their best interests, not your nameless friend's.

The fact is, they hold all the cards - all of them. They could stay here forever or close us down tomorrow or anything inbetween, all on a whim. It's clearly going to take a bit more than "Answer the effing email" to start to influence how they choose to play their hand.

who has done that?

[yoda]

No doubt. But perhaps they see it as someone who wants a punt at the 100 million Premiership jackpot while they have to write off their 100 million. What counts is their perception of what's in their best interests, not your nameless friend's.

The fact is, they hold all the cards - all of them. They could stay here forever or close us down tomorrow or anything inbetween, all on a whim. It's clearly going to take a bit more than "Answer the effing email" to start to influence how they choose to play their hand.

Do you have a problem reading, where did I say effing anything ?

My friend does have a name, you just don't know what it is.

[A cup of beans]

Do you have a problem reading, where did I say effing anything ?

My friend does have a name, you just don't know what it is.

Could they not get in touch with the new intermediary guy at Rovers, to try and break the ice?

[yoda]

Could they not get in touch with the new intermediary guy at Rovers, to try and break the ice?

PM'd you