[Archived] Has This Been Our Worst Ever Season ?

[arbitro]

I don't think it is our worst ever season (although it feels like it sometimes). The relegations over the years have to be worse but I really feel that even those will be usurped over the next few years unless something drastic (more probably miraculous) happens and we rid ourselves of the millstone currently dragging us under.

If there is such a thing as Karma they and several others really have it coming.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

The SK relegation season has to be the worst I have seen as a Rover's fan.

This season will be defined by how our owners react to PL's comments. If they decide to back him in the summer - if they get in a decent CEO - then this season may prove to be a springboard back up the table. However - if they remain silent, don't back PL, bumble on without a CEO - it will be a trap door rather than a spring board we will be looking at.

As well as the fans - I feel most sorry for Jack - he left a legacy that should have protected the club for years to come.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The SK relegation season has to be the worst I have seen as a Rover's fan.

This season will be defined by how our owners react to PL's comments. If they decide to back him in the summer - if they get in a decent CEO - then this season may prove to be a springboard back up the table. However - if they remain silent, don't back PL, bumble on without a CEO - it will be a trap door rather than a spring board we will be looking at.

As well as the fans - I feel most sorry for Jack - he left a legacy that should have protected the club for years to come.

I agree regarding Lambert.

I'm just pleased Jack never saw the shambles that the chicken chokers have wrought on his club.

[AllRoverAsia]

I can remember all of the bad seasons that we've had, relegations and 3rd Division but they was also hope and expectations for the future. The feeling that one day we would come back and that things would just get better. That feeling is what the unts from Pune have stolen. I wish them nothing but bad.

[JC4LAB]

1966 against Bolton was my first Game.My Neighbour was a Blackburn goalkeeper at the time too. Since then and Pre JW the seasons in the past were generally see saw..In the Simon garner era we at best hovered around promotion but never quite made to the top tier..When down the other end,appointment of some good managers(Saxon,Lee,Furphy,Kendal,Smith,Souness,all then poached by a Ist division side + their decent buys helped us bounced back fairly quickly.Some of those years were great to watch.The see saw has been tilted one way only for the last few years..thats the difference..we are not bouncing back ....

The fun is those nearly days was not getting promotion but the being a contender.with a chance..

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Not even the worst in the last few years. The 2012/13 debacle where we squandered a high paid and still reasonably talented squad by hiring possibly the 2 worst managers in the history of the club, Berg and Appleton. And being relegated on a pathetic 31 points has to run a close 2nd with this season, I know we were in the PL but there were some truly diabolical performances that season, with the lip licking idiot blaming dew on the grass and counting the number of times we were in the final third, and Jerome Anderson crying his crocodile tears and basically calling the fans monsters.

To be honest I'm struggling slightly to understand the level of negativity at the moment. Its a rebuilding season, it doesn't matter whether we finish bottom half or mid table. We've got a good manager now with good support staff and owners who are leaving him to it. The money and attendances aren't there yet but there's every chance they will be next season.

[mhead]

The Jim Iley Season was pretty bad and those last 3 Home Games when we sat on the Riverside!

[philipl]

Calendar year 1971 was the worst.

Abject relegation from Div 2 and Div 4 here we come including losing 7-1 at Shrewsbury...

This isn't the worst season- it just feels like it....

[rigger]

Calendar year 1971 was the worst.

Abject relegation from Div 2 and Div 4 here we come including losing 7-1 at Shrewsbury...

This isn't the worst season- it just feels like it....

I remember it well

[jim mk2]

Calendar year 1971 was the worst.

Abject relegation from Div 2 and Div 4 here we come including losing 7-1 at Shrewsbury...

This isn't the worst season- it just feels like it....

Amazingly, 7 years before we were top of the First Division with probably the best Rovers team I've seen.

[VinjayV4]

I agree regarding Lambert.

I'm just pleased Jack never saw the shambles that the chicken chokers have wrought on his club.

Or his son making excessively disparaging remarks about the club following his death (as Koi pointed out) after lapping up fans applause on pitch 2 months earlier.

[rigger]

Or his son making excessively disparaging remarks about the club following his death (as Koi pointed out) after lapping up fans applause on pitch 2 months earlier.

What is the topic again

[Claytons Left Boot]

Season 1971-72 was the worst for me although, as has been said several times, this season is a contender by simply feeling like it is the worst.

If only the ----wits in Pune would convey some sort of message to the fans, let us know that some sort of plan was in their heads, it would give us a glimmer of hope. As we know, that hasn't been in their modus operandi since day one.

The optimism of appointing Paul Lambert seems to have been dissolved in a relatively short space of time. We should have built up a head of steam this season, undertaken team strengthening in the summer, to hit the ground running in August. The chance of that happening seems to be lessening day by day.

I'm sick of the ----ers and I'm not alone. I have been with GAV all along with his thread on protesting again, suffice to say I don't think our fans have the bottle do go down that route effectively.

Obviously we need Venky's until such a time as they sell to a suitable buyer. That aside, I would feel better in myself if the club went into administration and "did a Rangers," dropping down the leagues but galvanising the support and working itself back to say Championship level over a period of time.

The joy of being without the ----wits would be immense.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

The optimism of appointing Paul Lambert seems to have been dissolved in a relatively short space of time. We should have built up a head of steam this season, undertaken team strengthening in the summer, to hit the ground running in August. The chance of that happening seems to be lessening day by day.

I'm sick of the ----ers and I'm not alone. I have been with GAV all along with his thread on protesting again, suffice to say I don't think our fans have the bottle do go down that route effectively.

Obviously we need Venky's until such a time as they sell to a suitable buyer. That aside, I would feel better in myself if the club went into administration and "did a Rangers," dropping down the leagues but galvanising the support and working itself back to say Championship level over a period of time.

The joy of being without the ----wits would be immense.

Its dissolved because people started developing the ludicrous expectation that we would make the play-offs this season virtually immediately after his first interview where he said he'd discussed coaching with the likes of Guardiola. There is literally no patience in football these days, the number of times pundits say a manager needs a season or 2 to get going and it always seems to fall on deaf ears. I've been mentioning a perfect example in our own recent history, Hughes' first season where we did no better than Souness's worst season in the league and scored a lot less goals. But again, doesn't seem to get through to some.

There's been one discouraging interview to suggest the funds in summer may not be guaranteed and on the basis of that alone the hysterical fan negativity has reached such a level that a campaign seems to have begun regarding giving up STs next year.

The oldies generally say football fans have always moaned their heads off and been hard to please but I just can't imagine expectation levels being so consistently high 40-50 years ago. By revenue generated through the club (i.e. not handouts from owners), we've no right to even finish mid-table in this league. And yet half our fans seem to want to hurl themselves off a cliff every time the play-offs stop looking like a good bet.

Doesn't matter who the manager, owners or players are (unless its another Jack Walker), the fanbase will always be in a state of general depression with the occasional respite whilst expectation levels are so far removed from financial reality.

[JHRover]

Some major differences between ourselves and Rangers. When Rangers collapsed they 'only' dropped to the 4th division. They retained their history, stadium, fanbase and training ground. A massive club that was always going to rise again in a country with 2 giants and the rest minnows. Rangers will always attract big crowds, investment and media coverage which will see them eventually rise again to what they always have been.

I'm sure many Rovers fans would take administration and dropping to League Two today if it meant a few seasons of pain, the back of Venkys and a new dawn for the club to rebuild up the leagues as Rangers have. Unfortunately English football is far more competitive than in Scotland, club size is less important. Portsmouth are in their third season in the 4th division under much praised fan ownership yet sit below Accrington Stanley despite gates of 15,000 a week. We aren't a club of the size of Rangers that other clubs want to play for financial reasons. Our gates would dwindle to average levels in the 4th division and wouldn't give us that much of an advantage. We are more likely to follow clubs like Chester, Wimbledon, Hereford, Darlington in going out of business completely and having to form a new club in non-league. That prospect doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, as it wouldn't be Blackburn Rovers and likely wouldn't be at Ewood Park, and I couldn't follow a phoenix club like I currently follow Rovers.

For that reason we're in catch 22. The club can't survive without Venkys or some white knight coming to the rescue and taking over from them prepared to lose millions every year, yet sticking with them and this misery is likely to continue or get worse every season.

[Gav]

Going a bit off topic I know, but I really like your posts JH, I always take time to read what you have to say, but come on pal, you can't be lumping us in with the likes of Chester, Darlo and Hereford surely?!

We're Blackburn Rovers, founder members, great history, league titles, cup wins, known the world over, if those idiots sod off and leave us with this massive debt the club will not die, the club will be bought out and we start to recover, in my opinion.

Forget going bust, forget having to support the owners 'because they're all we have'

With respect JH if you're relying on Venkys you have nothing, you may as well pack it in now.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Going a bit off topic I know, but I really like your posts JH, I always take time to read what you have to say, but come on pal, you can't be lumping us in with the likes of Chester, Darlo and Hereford surely?!

We're Blackburn Rovers, founder members, great history, league titles, cup wins, known the world over, if those idiots sod off and leave us with this massive debt the club will not die, the club will be bought out and we start to recover, in my opinion.

Forget going bust, forget having to support the owners 'because they're all we have'

With respect JH if you're relying on Venkys you have nothing, you may as well pack it in now.

Sorry Gav I think JH is spot on. I don't see a White Knight coming to our rescue, if Rovers get to the point when they need someone to bail them out or they go under my money is on the latter.

It took years to sell the club when they were a mid-table/pushing for Europe team in the Premier League with less than £20-30m of debt.Who is going to want to buy a club with £100m+ debt and is struggling to reach mid-table in the Championship?

If Rovers get to the point where they are facing liquidation it's going to happen IMO.

[Husky]

known the world over,

It's so true, amongst football fans at least.

I'm normally met with a blank stare when I mention Blackburn when I'm off on my travels. But everyone that likes football always says 'Ah, Blackburn Rovers, Alan Shearer' or similar.

[Claytons Left Boot]

It took years to sell the club when they were a mid-table/pushing for Europe team in the Premier League with less than £20-30m of debt.Who is going to want to buy a club with £100m+ debt and is struggling to reach mid-table in the Championship?

.

Absolutely no-one will buy Rovers with £100m of debt. It will not happen. If Venky's are ever to sell the club, they will have to write off the vast majority of what is owed, be that their own shareholding or monies due to the banks.

[Gav]

Sorry Gav I think JH is spot on. I don't see a White Knight coming to our rescue, if Rovers get to the point when they need someone to bail them out or they go under my money is on the latter.

It took years to sell the club when they were a mid-table/pushing for Europe team in the Premier League with less than £20-30m of debt.Who is going to want to buy a club with £100m+ debt and is struggling to reach mid-table in the Championship?

If Rovers get to the point where they are facing liquidation it's going to happen IMO.

Respect your opinion but this club will never go under, Bolton never went under, slighyly different scenario I agree, but they got bailed out and so will we.

It's so true, amongst football fans at least.

I'm normally met with a blank stare when I mention Blackburn when I'm off on my travels. But everyone that likes football always says 'Ah, Blackburn Rovers, Alan Shearer' or similar.

We're known for football amongst football fans the world over, do these people know Preston, Wigan, Burnley? The majority don't because our history eclipses those clubs.

[Iceman]

i have never lost interest in Rovers, even during the dark days of Kean, but this season and last season i have gone and done other things. I use to religiously check scores, make time to watch a game if on tv, but honestly the interest has gone a bit im afraid. We have had so many good years at the top, because we had so many good people running the club. Now we have so many bad seasons, because we have so many bad people running the club.

Its clear by that, get good people who know what they doing to run the club, and good things will return to the club. Until then, we are going in the wrong direction, and sadly we dont know which path to take to get back on track

[toogs]

i have never lost interest in Rovers, even during the dark days of Kean, but this season and last season i have gone and done other things. I use to religiously check scores, make time to watch a game if on tv, but honestly the interest has gone a bit im afraid. We have had so many good years at the top, because we had so many good people running the club. Now we have so many bad seasons, because we have so many bad people running the club.

Its clear by that, get good people who know what they doing to run the club, and good things will return to the club. Until then, we are going in the wrong direction, and sadly we dont know which path to take to get back on track

I think there are a lot of (mostly) good people at the club.

But you can't run a successful business without a correct structure and accountability. There is no figurehead running the show, and there hasn't been for a few years. I'm amazed we are still in the championship and are still functioning somehow.

We all know who is to blame for all this.

[JC4LAB]

Where we are now league position wise would satisfy if a local business man was behind Rovers but being owned by mega rich Venkys ,reported once as 3 times richer than Walker,.so we should do better..and fans are right to expect that.The comparative private wealth of all clubs owners would be interesting.reading.and where Venkys ,although rich ,are in comparison to others.Maybe Venkys arent as wealthy,personally, as all the premier league club owners ,so where we are simply reflects. On that note wonder how wealthy Leicesters Owners are in comparison to Venkys and the rest of the premier league?

It will probably be a HMRC issue that will be the last straw for a club.. (as with Bolton and Rangers) so.as long as we can pay the tax man...Cant think of a club that went into adminstration without this scenerio.

[joey_big_nose]

It does feel that this is the season where we are confirmed as a Championship club for the foreseeable future. Bitter pill to swallow.

[Mattyblue]

It does feel that this is the season where we are confirmed as a Championship club for the foreseeable future. Bitter pill to swallow.

Exactly that for me, of course we have had worse seasons on the pitch, but the last month has so has been one of the most demoralising.

To go from the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Lambert's appointment in which it seemed that everyone was pulling in the same direction- not that Lambert was a guarantee of anything, but it looked as if the owners were FINALLY making professional decisions- to where we are now, a real kick in the teeth.