[Archived] Renew Or Not Renew

[K-Hod]

In the Sunday Times "Rich List" the Walker Family still figure in the Top 200 with over 200mn from their various 'enterprises'. There is still some mileage in appealing to them again, 'in the name of Jack'.

None of them care, and I don't think any of them are fans in any case....

[JHRover]

Perhaps we could have a poll as to people's predictions for when the club will make any sort of announcement on season tickets. Whilst the vast majority of other clubs are actively promoting and selling tickets for next season, including early bird periods that have been and gone, the most information we have had is a very brief comment in the last fans forum minutes saying it shouldn't be too long.

Of course the people running Rovers know best. All the other clubs in England are wrong and we've got it spot on to sell as many season tickets as possible. Minimise the window of sales, ensure that there is no publicity, ensure that they don't go on sale until the season has ended and people aren't travelling down to Ewood every Saturday.

Who reckons we can make it through to June without an announcement?

[K-Hod]

Perhaps we could have a poll as to people's predictions for when the club will make any sort of announcement on season tickets. Whilst the vast majority of other clubs are actively promoting and selling tickets for next season, including early bird periods that have been and gone, the most information we have had is a very brief comment in the last fans forum minutes saying it shouldn't be too long.

Of course the people running Rovers know best. All the other clubs in England are wrong and we've got it spot on to sell as many season tickets as possible. Minimise the window of sales, ensure that there is no publicity, ensure that they don't go on sale until the season has ended and people aren't travelling down to Ewood every Saturday.

Who reckons we can make it through to June without an announcement?

Reckon it might even be mid-June.....

[Gav]

In the Sunday Times "Rich List" the Walker Family still figure in the Top 200 with over 200mn from their various 'enterprises'. There is still some mileage in appealing to them again, 'in the name of Jack'.

I agree with the sentiment mhead, but why should the family get involved when we have 10k die hard Rovers fans that don't think its worth the effort.

General consensus is that they were happy to be rid of Rovers, I don't see any way to realistically appeal for them to return to the fold. If they truly cared about Rovers the way Jack did, they wouldn't have slashed funding to almost nothing in their final few years then sold us to a group of chicken farmers just because they were able to stump up the cash. They are also responsible for allowing Anderson to get his foot in the Ewood door.

If you sell your house and its becomes a brothel are you responsible?

The brothel owner stumped up the cash, did you care?

People keep blaming the Trust or the Walkers, its nonsense, they sold to a set of idiots granted, but they that met the asking price and criteria, simple as that.

[DE.]

If you sell your house and its becomes a brothel are you responsible?

The brothel owner stumped up the cash, did you care?

That's entirely my point. The Trustees saw Rovers as little more than an albatross around their neck - they have no love for the club, so asking to bring them back into the fray is pointless.

[Gav]

That's entirely my point. The Trustees saw Rovers as little more than an albatross around their neck - they have no love for the club, so asking to bring them back into the fray is pointless.

I think you mentioned the Trust are responsible also, but regardless, I think asking the Walkers to be part of a consortium in Jacks name is worth a shout, they can only say No.

But the more 'money men' you get involved, the more egos need stroking, and we already heard a few noses being put out of joint when the original idea of taking over from Venkys was mooted.

"I'm not working with him, he's not working with us" b0llox

[DE.]

I think you mentioned the Trust are responsible also, but regardless, I think asking the Walkers to be part of a consortium in Jacks name is worth a shout, they can only say No.

But the more 'money men' you get involved, the more egos need stroking, and we already heard a few noses being put out of joint when the original idea of taking over from Venkys was mooted.

"I'm not working with him, he's not working with us" b0llox

I said they are responsible for getting Anderson involved, which is true enough. Besides of which, even if they are responsible, it doesn't follow that they have any obligation to do anything about what has happened. As you say, they took the cash and are apparently quite happy with that as we've not heard a peep since.

[JHRover]

I agree with the sentiment mhead, but why should the family get involved when we have 10k die hard Rovers fans that don't think its worth the effort.

If you sell your house and its becomes a brothel are you responsible?

The brothel owner stumped up the cash, did you care?

People keep blaming the Trust or the Walkers, its nonsense, they sold to a set of idiots granted, but they that met the asking price and criteria, simple as that.

If my house was a family heirloom that my father had built up with love and affection and it was also a cornerstone of the town and community then I would be very selective over who I was selling it to. Especially if I had the cash from a billion pound business empire behind me. They didn't need to sell. They weren't short on money or going bust. If they were then it might excuse the rash, hasty sale to the first people who put the money on the table. However to my knowledge the people responsible for the sale are still extremely well off, affluent people who have made a lot of money out of Blackburn Rovers.

There were rigorous steps and tests in place left by Jack Walker to ensure fit and proper people ran his club for him after his death. He went to a great deal of trouble to ensure that everything was in place to thrive once he was gone. I'm sure he didn't tell them to sell the club as soon as they could to anyone who offered the money, and even if he did, surely we can all expect some sort of statement of regret, or remorse, from the people concerned?

'We needed to sell the club, we thought we were doing the right thing selling to Venkys, but obviously that hasn't been the case and we are really sorry to the supporters and people of Blackburn and to Jack Walker for what has happened because of our decision to sell'

There. Simple. Took me 20 seconds to type, they've had 5 years but couldn't give a damn.

[JHRover]

That's entirely my point. The Trustees saw Rovers as little more than an albatross around their neck - they have no love for the club, so asking to bring them back into the fray is pointless.

I don't know how they have managed to paint a well run Premier League club as an albatross around their neck.

Fair enough, they didn't share the passion that Jack Walker had for the club and weren't keen on spending fortunes to bankroll a spending spree. Unfortunately it wasn't their decision to make. Jack Walker left very clear directions when he died that funding was to continue from his other businesses into the club. So whether they liked it or not they had an obligation to their benefactor who was paying them to carry out his wishes beyond his death.

They inherited a debt free football club, with all the top class management structure of Williams, Finn, Souness in place, a very strong playing squad in place. A brand new stadium and world class training ground just opened a few years before.

Within 9 months of Jack Walker dying the club had regained its place among the most valuable league in the world and despite minimal investment succeeded in staying there and putting itself on a global stage for 10 years.

They didn't invest in Ewood Park or Brockhall, initially invested in players for a couple of years before turning that tap off, and then followed a policy of the club needing to cash in on its star players to generate transfer funds.

Look at the influx of foreign owners into English football since Abramovich arrived in 2003. Owning a Premier League football club is a moneyspinner, not an albatross. They failed in their task, and then when they decided they were selling failed in their second task which was to ensure at the very least that they sold to the right people. If that meant giving the club away for £1 rather than £20 million it would have been better than letting Venkys or Syed through the door.

Nobody with real concern for the wellbeing of BRFC would have entertained Venkys or Syed and seriously had complete faith in them being right for this club.

[roverstdt]

I don't understand this concept of protesting or this concept of whether to renew or not. I understand fans are hurting under the Venky's regime, I understand the issues we have had with Shebby, Kean, Anderson, and so many others to name. To me football and your club should never be a question whether you should turn up or no. Having grown up in Wimbledon within a Family of Wimbledon supporters, I saw the issues they had in the 90's and the whole MK Dons, to creating AFC Wimbledon. Trust me what they have gone through is far worse than us because they at least had they club ripped away from their hands and knees and had to restarts in the 8th Division. Through thick or thin no matter what people throw at us we should always stand tall and stand by the team you support.

We fundamentally are the only constant in football. Players come and go as do owners. I think the only thing the club should do is bring the crowd back with cheap cheap season tickets. Fundementally Blackburn Town is not like London or Manchester, the income levels aren't great and the town itself prospers when their is a feel good spirit around the place which Blackburn Rovers can and have delivered in the past years. For me in Venky's position i would go with the idea of having a season ticket at 120 pounds a year to fill up the stadium as much as you possibly can. Go for volume in the stadium to create a dam good atmosphere. Giving fans cheap tickets prices is a way of at least building a bridge as it gives people to come back at such a low price. At least it gives the club the chance to build on additional revenue because people will always spend money at a match.

[Gav]

If my house was a family heirloom that my father had built up with love and affection and it was also a cornerstone of the town and community then I would be very selective over who I was selling it to. Especially if I had the cash from a billion pound business empire behind me. They didn't need to sell. They weren't short on money or going bust. If they were then it might excuse the rash, hasty sale to the first people who put the money on the table. However to my knowledge the people responsible for the sale are still extremely well off, affluent people who have made a lot of money out of Blackburn Rovers.

There were rigorous steps and tests in place left by Jack Walker to ensure fit and proper people ran his club for him after his death. He went to a great deal of trouble to ensure that everything was in place to thrive once he was gone. I'm sure he didn't tell them to sell the club as soon as they could to anyone who offered the money, and even if he did, surely we can all expect some sort of statement of regret, or remorse, from the people concerned?

'We needed to sell the club, we thought we were doing the right thing selling to Venkys, but obviously that hasn't been the case and we are really sorry to the supporters and people of Blackburn and to Jack Walker for what has happened because of our decision to sell'

There. Simple. Took me 20 seconds to type, they've had 5 years but couldn't give a damn.

If you sold a house to a brothel owner, they looked very respectable when they arrived in the Bentley, would you apologies to the people on the street when you found out it was being used as a brothel?

Move on, they sold to billionaires, they couldn't have known what was going to happen and owe nobody an apology.

If anyone should apologies its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today.

But we digress.

[VinjayV4]

No doubt I'm wasting my time saying this but its already been established what certain members of the Walker Family are like. Try reading the Egerton-Vernon thread which if anything exposed the behavior of certain Walker Family members.

Why they aren't complete and utter hate figures in this town is beyond a joke. I despise them.

[K-Hod]

If you sold a house to a brothel owner, they looked very respectable when they arrived in the Bentley, would you apologies to the people on the street when you found out it was being used as a brothel?

Move on, they sold to billionaires, they couldn't have known what was going to happen and owe nobody an apology.

If anyone should apologies its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today.

But we digress.

They couldn't take the money fast enough and didn't follow their grandfather's wishes. I thought we weren't blaming the fans? If they couldn't have known how this would have worked out, how could the fans? (Initially). This seems to keep being brought up all the time, the fanbase were fitted up good and proper by the media via he who can't be named and his cronies. That's one of the reasons many fans (i.e. me) felt helpless and powerless at the time. Nothing to do with apathy really.

[JHRover]

If you sold a house to a brothel owner, they looked very respectable when they arrived in the Bentley, would you apologies to the people on the street when you found out it was being used as a brothel?

Move on, they sold to billionaires, they couldn't have known what was going to happen and owe nobody an apology.

If anyone should apologies its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today.

But we digress.

Comparing a house to a Premier League football club isn't really the best analogy though. If I inherited a house and unknowingly sold it to a brothel owner nobody outside my family/neighbours would be in the slightest bit interested or bothered what happened after I left. I wouldn't feel responsible to the town/community because one house will cause minimal damage, although if it had been my parents house and they had invested in it and loved it and asked me to look after it responsibly then I would be ashamed if it ended up as a brothel.

If I inherited a football club that my father had dedicated the latter years of his life to revolutionising with his money, who had then gone to great trouble to ensure was protected financially and legally beyond his death and had asked me to look after it, and I had accepted that responsibility knowing what it involved and knowing how important the club was to tens of thousands of supporters and customers and to the image of the entire town as a whole, then unless I was in dire straits health wise or financially myself then I would have been very selective.

I don't expect an apology anymore. Its clear there isn't going to be one which I think sums those people up in they care so little for what has happened after their decision making they can't even be bothered to produce a paragraph to put in the paper. I think I would have been man enough to hold my hands up, admit I got it wrong, and apologise to the supporters of the club who are suffering because of it.

None of the fans had a legal duty to look after the club and none of the fans managed a business empire worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

If you sold a house to a brothel owner, they looked very respectable when they arrived in the Bentley, would you apologies to the people on the street when you found out it was being used as a brothel?

Move on, they sold to billionaires, they couldn't have known what was going to happen and owe nobody an apology.

If anyone should apologies its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today.

But we digress.

You are totally over stepping the mark to blame the fans

[Gav]

You are totally over stepping the mark to blame the fans

Stop being a drama queen

They couldn't take the money fast enough and didn't follow their grandfather's wishes. I thought we weren't blaming the fans? If they couldn't have known how this would have worked out, how could the fans? (Initially). This seems to keep being brought up all the time, the fanbase were fitted up good and proper by the media via he who can't be named and his cronies. That's one of the reasons many fans (i.e. me) felt helpless and powerless at the time. Nothing to do with apathy really.

Excuses K-Hod, the media did this, sky TV did that, slimy agent did this.....

Its still going on, its not to late you know.....

[K-Hod]

Stop being a drama queen

Excuses K-Hod, the media did this, sky TV did that, slimy agent did this.....

Its still going on, its not to late you know.....

Not excuses Gav, they're facts, that's what went on! Hung out to dry by the media as part of a giant smear campaign orchestrated by that goon!

Anyhow, enough of that, what have you done that gives you the right to be so preachy?

[Gav]

Not excuses Gav, they're facts, that's what went down!

Anyway, enough of that, what have you done that gives you the right to be so preachy?

Another fact - its not to late K-Hod, we're still being taken for passive idiots.

Preachy?

I was talking about The Walker family not being responsible, thats hardly Preachy!

[K-Hod]

Preachy?

I was talking about The Walker family not being responsible, thats hardly Preachy!

When I said 'what have you done that gives you the right to be so preachy?' (tongue in cheek of course). I meant this:

'If anyone should apologise its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today'

[Gav]

When I said 'what have you done that gives you the right to be so preachy?' (tongue in cheek of course). I meant this:

'If anyone should apologise its the apathetic fan base for sitting quietly in the corner whilst the club was robbed and pillaged and are still doing the same today'

So you picked one line out of 6 or 7 posts on the subject, context K-Hod, context

The fans must share some of the blame for just accepting the situation, don't you agree?

[VinjayV4]

One more time...Howard Walker everyone.

http://www.brfcc.com/mb/index.php/topic/30907-walker-family-lawsuit-v-paul-egerton-vernon/page-2

[K-Hod]

So you picked one line out of 6 or 7 posts on the subject, context K-Hod, context

The fans must share some of the blame for just accepting the situation, don't you agree?

I don't think anyone accepted anything if I'm honest.

Whilst I imagine some, like myself felt absolutely helpless due to the fitting up of the fanbase via the media, apart from more people going on the protests, what more could have been done? Kean would have spun it one way or another, how many seemingly impossible situations did that goon wriggle out of?

[Gav]

The junior doctors are out strike at the moment, taking on a much bigger proposition than 3 thick chicken farmers from Pune. Most of the junior docs will never have raised their voices in their entire lives let alone stand up against a government, but they're fighting for what they see as injustice.

Blackburn Rovers pulls its support from hardworking, proud working class folk, and I estimate no more than 150 people marched in protest against king rat. Since he ferked off the owners have continued to take the p1ss and hardly a dissenting voice from anywhere.

Why? Is that Sky TV's fault? The medias fault?

[Mike Graham]

You are right Gav. If this was going on in the 70's or 80's then Rovers fans would be in uproar.

I have rarely met such a lilly liver bunch of fans. If the V's force fed them poison chicken they would probably thank them for the free fowl.

I am on the verge of giving in the towel.

The owners don't care and the fan base are castrated eunuchs.

It may be time to start supporting and following black pudding throwing.

[K-Hod]

The junior doctors are out strike at the moment, taking on a much bigger proposition than 3 thick chicken farmers from Pune. Most of the junior docs will never have raised their voices in their entire lives let alone stand up against a government, but they're fighting for what they see as injustice.

Blackburn Rovers pulls its support from hardworking, proud working class folk, and I estimate no more than 150 people marched in protest against king rat. Since he ferked off the owners have continued to take the p1ss and hardly a dissenting voice from anywhere.

Why? Is that Sky TV's fault? The medias fault?

People have voted with their feet, that's how they've protested GAV, you know that, I know that. I suppose a lot of people probably had the view at the time of 'what's the point?', 'what will it achieve?'. I can't speak for everyone, can only guess at what happened. So long as everyone blaming the fans for not acting enough went on every protest rather than doing the same as the fans they criticise......