[Archived] An Open Letter

[VinjayV4]

Sorry, meant to quote Gav. It was more in reply to his question of "What did you do Paul?" More than pretty much everyone else is the answer.

You're right though, most ideas involve breaking the law and most people won't risk a criminal record and losing their job (and all that follows; mortgage, car, future employment, etc) for what is when it comes down to it, an expensive hobby. All be it one that has a lot of emotion attached. And risking all that will do precisely nothing to force Venkys out, unfortunately. They'll go when they want and we just have to suffer it til they do. It's not pleasant and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to say "we'll just sit and do nothing while we die then shall we?" or "little Blackburners attitude" or some such, but there is actually nothing we can do. And that's the bit that hurts the most.

Well I'm not going to deny that I don't want one. I was lucky not to be arrested in 2011 and there's not going to be a repeat of that.

Apart from a few people running on the pitch (and the snowballs) everything has been legal anyway. I certainly don't see the Rovers Trust, BRAG, etc condoning illegal group acts. Maybe some individual fan might completely snap and do something drastic (and no it won't be me) but I can't really see a major group protest anytime soon. For instance invading the pitch as some have suggested though it would be hard to punish everyone legally due to time constraints, etc. We couldn't do much directly to Venkys due to location other than ads (obviously they got the message from the snowballs at least so you can see why they aren't in a rush to visit) but it hasn't stopped the Oystons swanning around Blackpool has it?

People need to use common sense though too and be ready for opportunities. For instance with Liz Windsor's birthday yesterday it reminded me again of her visit to Ewood. That would have been a great opportunity to gain some publicity because media would obviously have filmed a group of fans protesting if she was there. That would have humiliated Venkys as well.

What we can do is threaten to be a constant annoyance in the future. Even in the worst case scenario we can harass, tarnish and damage Venkys reputation (and therefore their stock) as much as possible. We need to get ruthless and I maintain my grudges for a very long time.

[Stuart]

OK. Simple question which is not intended to antagonise you.

You are one of a number who repeatedly post about the problems. What are you doing about it? Other than talking?

I keep asking this question of people who want protests, letters, adverts, helicopters or whatever.

Why is it the people who talk the most do the least?

I'm not trying to irritate anyone. I just want a straight answer. What are the talkers doing, apart from talking?

Thanks for that Paul. As somebody who supported the Action Group by joining the protests and continues to support and champion the RoversTrust it's hard not to see "the people who talk the most do the least" as antagonistic.

Talking with fellow fans about what could be done is the first step. The problem is that there are people who will put up blockers against anything they didn't first think of themselves. For instance, you did a lot of work behind the scenes with the Trust but you did this quietly, behind closed doors, without consultation with the fanbase or members, and then announced to the world that you had applied for Ewood Park to be considered an asset of community value. How do you know that Venkys didn't take that as a slight? You don't, but it was your idea so you went on and did it anyway. Yet you poo-poo any other suggestion or idea. That's hypocrisy.

As usual though when you have no reply to the points made you make a personal attack and then retreat like a wounded animal when you get it back. A request for a straight answer from the master of swerve. Right now we are at spitballing phase, Paul. I'm quite prepared to contribute to, or even write, the letter should this be practical. I can't personally spend thousands on an advert myself but at the moment fans like you are trying to halt any kind of direct action. What are your ideas apart from sitting on your hands and waiting?

I wonder how long this post will be on the mb before it is hidden. "Can't upset Paul". Yet even your Man City dig at Vinjay remains while mine was hidden.

Hope I've not antagonised you though, "I'm not trying to irritate anyone".

[ABBEY]

Good to see that we have a new buzz word for anyone who disagrees with venkyscum

Tremblers are not the hip thing now you are now a TALKER

[Rover_Shaun]

Isn't it odd that 'some fans' can easily get agitated by other fans but seem schtum, shhhh, quiet as little church mice when it comes to criticising those that are really in the wrong.

Being more of a reader than a poster these days I'm beginning to see what you mean Abbey about the backroom team seemingly having their brains removed and replaced with a pork pie when it comes to Venkys.

All rather odd.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

According to my paper there are to be demonstrations at both Villa and Charlton today regarding their respective owners. On the back page of todays " Guardian " sport section there's an interesting article regarding Charlton's absentee owner.

Let's see what sort of coverage the demonstrations get.

We seem to be old news now and nobody in the media is interested in the goings on at Ewood, If they ever were.

[ABBEY]

Haha just choked on me sausage laughing

[yoda]

Good to see that we have a new buzz word for anyone who disagrees with venkyscum

Tremblers are not the hip thing now you are now a TALKER

Flexible word that ABBEY, if you add an s somewhere.

The open letter should be constructed like an open sandwich,

If it's not appealing or attractive no one will eat it.

[Leonard Venkhater]

Thanks for that Paul. As somebody who supported the Action Group by joining the protests and continues to support and champion the RoversTrust it's hard not to see "the people who talk the most do the least" as antagonistic.

Talking with fellow fans about what could be done is the first step. The problem is that there are people who will put up blockers against anything they didn't first think of themselves. For instance, you did a lot of work behind the scenes with the Trust but you did this quietly, behind closed doors, without consultation with the fanbase or members, and then announced to the world that you had applied for Ewood Park to be considered an asset of community value. How do you know that Venkys didn't take that as a slight? You don't, but it was your idea so you went on and did it anyway. Yet you poo-poo any other suggestion or idea. That's hypocrisy.

As usual though when you have no reply to the points made you make a personal attack and then retreat like a wounded animal when you get it back. A request for a straight answer from the master of swerve. Right now we are at spitballing phase, Paul. I'm quite prepared to contribute to, or even write, the letter should this be practical. I can't personally spend thousands on an advert myself but at the moment fans like you are trying to halt any kind of direct action. What are your ideas apart from sitting on your hands and waiting?

I wonder how long this post will be on the mb before it is hidden. "Can't upset Paul". Yet even your Man City dig at Vinjay remains while mine was hidden.

Hope I've not antagonised you though, "I'm not trying to irritate anyone".

I will help with the letter, if you like. Obviously, we will need to agree the aim of the letter first, which could be contentious in itself.

I think one issue will be deciding what to leave out. As you said yourself, there are too many things to protest about. .

We will also have to take it on the chin, when some complain about what is in or out of the letter....

[Gav]

According to my paper there are to be demonstrations at both Villa and Charlton today regarding their respective owners. On the back page of todays " Guardian " sport section there's an interesting article regarding Charlton's absentee owner.

Let's see what sort of coverage the demonstrations get.

We seem to be old news now and nobody in the media is interested in the goings on at Ewood, If they ever were.

Randy Lerner made a statement earlier this week:

Aston Villa's relegation from the Premier League "lies at my feet and no-one else's".

Now that doesn't excuse the terrible situation the club finds itself in, Lerner has been a major failure at Villa, but at least he's got the balls to apologies and take responsibility.

Our lot are still confused, have NEVER apologised for destroying this once proud club and yet we need them, we need their money, can't survive without them.

Its just bl00dy perverse

Just on Pauls comments above, I've know the poster for a few years now, he's got the best interests of the club at heart and I respect his views, so lets not have a witch hunt please, its just a messageboard at the end of the day.

[VinjayV4]

Lerner still maintains some degree of integrity unlike Venkys and the trustees. I'll rank Lerner as an owner above both of them despite his numerous mistakes its obvious he hasn't done it on purpose. Venkys gave a very half hearted apology (still more than their predecessors which never gets mentioned) via their palatial palace and tried using Jack's name to gain favor. I guess its the closest to a genuine apology we will ever get from them.

So is anyone going to promise financial contributions or not? I'm not going to set up any crowdfund in my name if people are hesitant because of that.

[Ste B]

Isn't it odd that 'some fans' can easily get agitated by other fans but seem schtum, shhhh, quiet as little church mice when it comes to criticising those that are really in the wrong.

Being more of a reader than a poster these days I'm beginning to see what you mean Abbey about the backroom team seemingly having their brains removed and replaced with a pork pie when it comes to Venkys.

All rather odd.

Its because Venkys are funding us ! Or so the conspiracy theorists seem to be implying.

How many letters have been sent to Venkys, and from people with supposedly better sway than us. They all end up filed under C in MrsD's inbox and you hear no more. Its only recently that the RoversTrust tried to reopen communication and got nothing.

[Dreams of 1995]

Registering Ewood Park as a community asset was a great move, although you could argue that would annoy the Venky's also.

Every person has a different opinion to what we should do. Perhaps this topic should be renamed to 'Potential Ideas' so we can at least discuss various options available to us as opposed to strictly just an open letter. An idea which I'm for but do respect there are other avenues to be explored.

I just think that we need a plan of action if we have a poor transfer window and Lambert walks. Without it we'll be running around like headless chickens arguing with each other and that won't do Blackburn Rovers FC any good whatsoever.

[VinjayV4]

Registering Ewood Park as a community asset was a great move, although you could argue that would annoy the Venky's also.

Every person has a different opinion to what we should do. Perhaps this topic should be renamed to 'Potential Ideas' so we can at least discuss various options available to us as opposed to strictly just an open letter. An idea which I'm for but do respect there are other avenues to be explored.

I just think that we need a plan of action if we have a poor transfer window and Lambert walks. Without it we'll be running around like headless chickens arguing with each other and that won't do Blackburn Rovers FC any good whatsoever.

Potential ideas AND funding sources. I've already committed to a minimum figure (and even promised to leave the forum if I don't meet it) when are others going to do the same? I'm sick of going round in circles the protest thread has been running for months now. People are just wallowing around and need to pick themselves up a bit. I've managed to in past few months after my problems.

Are people scared of criticism? Maybe people need to protest in a way where its not tracked back to them. I'm not saying it has to be illegal but if you're afraid to hand out leaflets for instance leave them somewhere lying around. Maybe that's what I should have done with the trustees in the past lol. There should be a mailing campaign too why haven't any protest leaflets come through my door?

Someone who is publicly known and trusted needs to set up a crowdfund. We can then indicate specifically what we want individual contribitions used for. I won't contribute to another plane over Ewood for instance (waste of money) but I would say please put this towards a Pune ad, etc. Really there's an unlimited number of crowdfunds we could set up.

[Dreams of 1995]

I am a student and can't commit to any funding. I can donate the odd 20 quid here and there but unfortunately I'm hundreds of miles away from sympathetic ears and wallets. I am more than happy to help in any which way I can.

Committing to funding isn't exactly the big problem here. Not every idea has to revolve around cost. I am pretty sure the Rovers Trust raised a hell of a lot of money in their early years and it didn't bring us any closer to solving the problem.

A plan can be formulated and then we can discuss the problems with funding. There's no point raising money with no 'end-game' to it. People won't donate to a cause without a purpose.

In order to address the 'all talk no walk' criticism that has been banded around on here I would like to say that this is a messageboard. Built for BRFC fans to talk. Ideas will be thrown around here because it is extremely easy to say what you want on a forum like this and hold little to no accountability for it. It might be true that some fans simply like to talk but the starting point of any meaningful movement is debate. We can discuss and plan moves on here that are realistic and those among us that are willing to go the extra mile can do that. Whilst I can't contribute much in the form of money, and certainly can't promise an exact figure, I can and will put my time and effort into putting any plan we possibly make into action. I am sure others feel the same way.

[VinjayV4]

I am a student and can't commit to any funding. I can donate the odd 20 quid here and there but unfortunately I'm hundreds of miles away from sympathetic ears and wallets. I am more than happy to help in any which way I can.

Committing to funding isn't exactly the big problem here. Not every idea has to revolve around cost. I am pretty sure the Rovers Trust raised a hell of a lot of money in their early years and it didn't bring us any closer to solving the problem.

A plan can be formulated and then we can discuss the problems with funding. There's no point raising money with no 'end-game' to it. People won't donate to a cause without a purpose.

In order to address the 'all talk no walk' criticism that has been banded around on here I would like to say that this is a messageboard. Built for BRFC fans to talk. Ideas will be thrown around here because it is extremely easy to say what you want on a forum like this and hold little to no accountability for it. It might be true that some fans simply like to talk but the starting point of any meaningful movement is debate. We can discuss and plan moves on here that are realistic and those among us that are willing to go the extra mile can do that. Whilst I can't contribute much in the form of money, and certainly can't promise an exact figure, I can and will put my time and effort into putting any plan we possibly make into action. I am sure others feel the same way.

Because too much of it was probably based on membership fees and buying the club. Fans can't even agree on what to do on a forum never mind take a stake in the club. Perhaps its time to bring in some marketing experts or at least someone who knows how to run a good smear campaign! It would be very easy to make £20 and I know things like survey sites are boring but every little bit helps. 1000 fans at £100 that's £100,000 at least (certainly 100 fans isn't unrealistic) that would be more than enough to make an impact in Pune. Surely people could make that kind of figure in 3 months even if you have to keep sticking spare fivers on at 10/1 lol! We need to bombard them with one bit of negative press after another. Maybe an anti-Venkys website with just the facts detailing the damage they have caused.

I said before too that incentives should be offered to fans. People would attend a protest if they might have the chance of winning something. I haven't got any ulterior motive in suggesting that its just an idea. Is anyone going to come up with a better one?

[tomphil]

Give it a few more years and we might be running donation campaigns to raise money for players

Surely it can't get that bad ........ At least the Riverside is sorted !

[VinjayV4]

Give it a few more years and we might be running donation campaigns to raise money for players

Surely it can't get that bad ........ At least the Riverside is sorted !

Right now I'm more interested in running a smear campaign though its exactly not a smear campaign if its the truth! I'm not talking about the stuff Glen M has mentioned (its not my decision how to publish that) just stuff people will definitely print. Their core business has hit a rough patch and we need to seize on that weakness by providing negative publicity to gain the attention of their shareholders. That's what Kentaro did they spotted weakness at the club (as I've said before the whole "family club" thing which is why likes of Agnew and Beamish were not fired in my opinion) with completely disinterested owners. I'm saying Beamish (wouldn't go so far to compare him to Agnew) because he was openly heard moaning that fans were a "disgrace" just because more than expected showed up to a signing. Williams read this board why wasn't it investigated further? It might seem like I'm picking out minor details but I'm not. As I said weaknesses need to be EXPLOITED. Kentaro managed that and I hate using them as an example but its true.

I'm sure there's a lot of people in Pune (including media) who don't like Venkys. Seek them out.

[Dreams of 1995]

Both Charlton and Aston Villa's protests have been mentioned on Sky Sports News. People do take notice.

[Stuart]

Both Charlton and Aston Villa's protests have been mentioned on Sky Sports News. People do take notice.

Let's play a game - spot the difference...

London

Birmingham

Blackburn

[VinjayV4]

Maybe I'll just hand my promised contribution over to charity instead then?

[matt83]

For the classified results just said Charlton v Brighton a late result match interrupted by balls, balloons and flairs. Another club who's fans feel like their club has been taken away from them.

[Gav]

Registering Ewood Park as a community asset was a great move, although you could argue that would annoy the Venky's also.

[CAPT KAYOS]

I know it's an honest question I'd expect no less from yourself and GAV.

Do we? What for? The club is £100m in debt, albeit to the owners, and losing £2m a month, we have a very poor squad and desperately need to at least mount a promotion challenge. Looking at the three clubs coming down and those who will miss out this year it's already looking like 5th or 6th is the most likely best we can do.

I feel we need the owners simply to fund £2m a month to run the club. In two weeks time we have zero income for three months, no gates etc, so where else is the money going to come from.

GAV clubs of our stature have gone to the wall and come back - Boro for one. If Venky's pull out what do we need? £2m per month to operate and for arguments sake £20m to rebuild the squad.

Whoever comes in is looking at the thick end of £50m in the first year. What are they getting? Well effectively a £50m bet at odds of 2:1 against a return to the PL.

Now as much as we all love the club we need to open our eyes. £50m!!! Where is it going to come from? Divorce yourself from being a fan for five minutes. You've got £50m knocking around your bank account would you put it into a football club and risk losing it all in 12 months?

We need Venky's money.

sorry - Late back to the conversation again

Paul - I think its looks like our stance is from different perspective to each other- agree with what you say with regard to the 50m if we are looking to try and make it worse for ourselves but for me its far to far down the road for miracles and our heady days in the P/L - I just want the club back to some normality and not blinded by the over glamourised P/L even though it might be the 'golden goose'

We don't need ' the toss pot loons for that, many clubs are never going to compete with the elite anymore off the field financially ( and indirectly off it) in the strict word of things, but for the structure /pyramid to work more clubs will sink into severe financial issues if it means ridiculous amounts of '£££s having to be spent to survive never mind the strive of the make believe P/L...and something needs to change ( this is one thing I don't lay at their door and is just the state of football at the moment which surely can't continue')

The way the game has gone and is still , if money that has/is being haemorrhaged away from the game is allowed to carry on. there will be countless more clubs that start floundering - this I don't blame the loons for but continue with them at the helm with or without funding and we will just basically fade away.

We need a fresh start and if required a rebuild - not the loons and not their apparent funding

[Rover_Shaun]

Being more of a reader than a poster these days I'm beginning to see what you mean Abbey about the backroom team seemingly having their brains removed and replaced with a pork pie when it comes to Venkys.

All rather odd.

And then we get the belittling Biscuit poll in what is a topic (though repeated) on a serious issue............hmmm. Pork Pie anyone?

[ABBEY]

cant believe someone took the time to do a poll on biscuits..its pathetic aint it pal...odd is understatement.