[Archived] Possible Futures

[Athlete]

Well done to Kamy on the other thread for his excellent letter. The kind of diplomatic approach that may ultimately lead to change. .... But I couldn't help but notice the delicious irony of imagining the metaphorical sage nods of approval (deduced from 'likes' and comments) from the usual suspects when reading the following passage :-

We appeal to you to use your influence as a Venky's shareholder to question the Rao family about what has happened to Blackburn Rovers and urge them to act to arrest the slide of the club by either filling the football and administrative managerial vacancies with competent people who have relevant football experience OR to appoint advisers to work on the sale of the club.

The suggested courses of action dovetail nicely into paths 4. and 2. .... my choices in that order, with 4. being by far the most realistic. Be careful Kamy when the penny drops they will be accusing you of being a quisling 5th Columnist.

What a pompous twohat venky lover

[AllRoverAsia]

What a pompous twohat venky lover

+100 extra likes

[ABBEY]

What a pompous twohat venky lover

Correct

[jw_]

So generally speaking ES, what has been your opinion of the Venky era?

Having read through this thread I believe this is a great question to ask, so come on Ewood Spark how about answering it.

[Athlete]

Having read through this thread I believe this is a great question to ask, so come on Ewood Spark how about answering it.

He got a free holiday out of em with a big two fingers too everyone else

[Gav]

All Academies are in the process of being reassessed - the Rovers was done at the end of last year - and the results will be announced in the summer. As part of the Academy structure this is routine as they all have to undergo this reassessment every three years.

As a regular watcher of the Under-21's and the Under-18's when first team games allow, I must say that I agree with den on this issue. The present crop of youngsters are promising but I doubt if more than two or three at most will make the first team and become regulars at that level. Talk of throwing them into the first team next season is nonsense and that leaves a huge gap in the squad that needs to be filled on a very limited budget. The outstanding young player is Scott Wharton - a centre half - who is the one player who looks ready to step up.

Thanks for the information Parson.

Did we not have some sort of 'downgrading' of the accademy facilities or something along those lines in the past 6yrs?

I can recall real concern over the ability to attract the best young footballers because of the downgrading.

I believe we eventually got the rating back?

[K-Hod]

It's been hard to pin you down on this thread for your ideas for the future .... your contribution seems limited to personal digs. But I'm going to assume that you fall in the camp of 'get rid at any cost' .... that makes you a 3. because that is the apocalyptic scenario ... it also makes you an enemy of the club.

That's very poor form from you. Though it isn't the first time.

[Athlete]

That's very poor form from you. Though it isn't the first time.

K-Hod Ewood Sparks Venky's argument doesn't wash as has been confirmed by Kamy and another party there are 3 consortiums still interested in taking the club

[Parsonblue]

Thanks for the information Parson.

Did we not have some sort of 'downgrading' of the accademy facilities or something along those lines in the past 6yrs?

I can recall real concern over the ability to attract the best young footballers because of the downgrading.

I believe we eventually got the rating back?

No, the owners put money into the Academy and we got grade one status. However, the standard to meet grade one continually goes up and as ours is one of the older academies at that level it becomes increasingly difficult to meet the criteria - one of the problems being its situation and the issues of planning permission. Eric Kinder has done a brilliant job since he came in to make improvements to both staff and facilities and hopefully we will have done enough to meet the criteria this time round. But, as with everything else, being out of the Premier League doesn't make it any easier particularly when money is tight.

[47er]

Wonder what he thinks of the French Resistance

Trouble-makers.

[ABBEY]

les tremblers de enemy

[Ewood Spark]

So generally speaking ES, what has been your opinion of the Venky era?

Absolutely bloody awful. No arguments from me about the last five and a half years. Not least the division it has caused on this message-board. I remember when we all used to be one happy family. I know a lot of the guys and gals on here from way back ... hell I even used to celebrate goals with Abbey as part of the 'Pillar 5' crew at the back of the old Blackburn End!

Also no arguments from me that that our decline coincided with the takeover. I didn't rate the Trust, they clearly had no interest in the club at all, but luckily for them they had John Williams and Tom Finn in place and delegated the running of the club to them.

Unfortunately for us the agent responsible for finding new owners had plans of his own. Rooky owners combined with unscrupulous advisors set us on the path to where we find ourselves. Firing Allardyce, Williams and Finn in quick succession was not the advice of somebody with the clubs best intentions at heart. I think everybody agrees with this part of the story, the disagreements arise when trying to analyse the Rao's culpability.

So why is my perception of the Raos at odds with the majority on here, after all we are all after what is best for the club? I would be the first to defend the club from any perceived vindictive attack. The fact is I don't think the Raos are vindictive and I believe that they genuinely want the club to do well. So here are a some of the reasons I have come to this conclusion.

1. Family Oriented. I like this trait in people and having seen them at close quarters they are clearly a close knit group.

2. Philanthropic. In a country without any meaningful benefit system they literally feed poor people. Again this is a trait I admire, it shows their humanity, and caring nature. I have also heard from people at Ewood that they have donated money to several projects in Blackburn ... I tried to find out which, but they are very secretive about such things, they don't want to shout it from the rooftops. I like this trait ... it shows humility.

3. Balaji. He is clearly the football fan. Apparently he knew about Rovers in some detail before the takeover after reading Ronnie Clayton's biography "A Slave to Soccer". It's obviously good if an owner can become a fan.

4. They are very rich ... but are not an oligarch. No moral compromises about the source of their wealth.

If somebody asked me what type of owners a family club like Blackburn Rovers should aspire to, most of the traits I would look to are covered above. What they need now is a lucky break with an appointment of a quality manager and advisor.

[Stuart]

A lucky break? Your post started off so well and ended with four different defences of these idiots. One of which is a secret!

Luck has nothing to do with incompetence.

Venkys are not going to provide this club with what it needs. The only way that happens is when they leave, and it's a long road back.

I'm really worried that you genuinely believe what you have posted there and aren't just being contrary. I'm not sure which is worse.

[DE.]

"A lucky break" ffs. Yeah, but far more importantly they need to run the club properly. That might help in their elusive quest for good fortune.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Well done to Kamy on the other thread for his excellent letter. The kind of diplomatic approach that may ultimately lead to change. .... But I couldn't help but notice the delicious irony of imagining the metaphorical sage nods of approval (deduced from 'likes' and comments) from the usual suspects when reading the following passage :-

We appeal to you to use your influence as a Venky's shareholder to question the Rao family about what has happened to Blackburn Rovers and urge them to act to arrest the slide of the club by either filling the football and administrative managerial vacancies with competent people who have relevant football experience OR to appoint advisers to work on the sale of the club.

The suggested courses of action dovetail nicely into paths 4. and 2. .... my choices in that order, with 4. being by far the most realistic. Be careful Kamy when the penny drops they will be accusing you of being a quisling 5th Columnist.

So your choices are 4 and 2.

Does it sound like venkys are funding a promotion push? (your favoured option)

...and you are deluded if you think anyone will pay venkys £100 million back and take the club off their hands.

So we drift along, losing money and increasing the debt further. Still no communication. This is only sustainable long term if Venkys are prepared to write off all the debt when they finally give up...otherwise it's the admin/liquidation scenario.

So in a nutshell, you are happy to keep increasing the debt and not upset the applecart - in the hope we get a lucky promotion before venkys give up?

[Stuart]

So in a nutshell, you are happy to keep increasing the debt and not upset the applecart - in the hope we get a lucky promotion before venkys give up?

Anyone who doesn't share this happiness is an enemy of the club.

[gumboots]

Lot of us about Stuart

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

I believe that they genuinely want the club to do well.

Not a particularly bad post over all but I have to single this line out because personally I've reached the point where I want to snap my phone in half upon hearing it.

Be it anything in life, there are 2 reasons why something that you want to do well keeps on being done terribly:

1. You are thoroughly and utterly incompetent and incapable in the whole area you want to do well in. However the longer the time you continue doing terribly, the more your motives have to be questioned, as surely nobody is quite that bleeding awful?

2. Your commitment to doing well is zero. Practically no money, time or interest is invested. You say you want it to do well and then for years at a time leave it in the hands of someone else. This is my opinion of Venkys, their claims of genuine benevolence to the club are only worthy of being used to wipe one's backside.

[bob fleming]

Sorry ES, I appreciate your point of view, I get it. I don't agree with it but I get it.

By the time I've finished typing this I'm confident "a lucky break" will have been quoted a few times.

It's not a "lucky break" they need - it's a clip round the ear and them being told to stop being so pig headed and start listening to the fans. It doesn't take a genius to find them, some have even been out there of their own accord in an attempt to meet with them (I don't mean the FF) some have tried making contact more recently. Every time their indifference and arrogance prevents them from listening and opening dialogue with the very people who on the face of it, will act in the clubs best interests. It's gross negligence of the highest order on Venkys behalf.

It's a disgrace. Name me another club in the country who has one senior executive? He might be a sound enough bloke (I have no idea) but he can't do it in his own, not in a million years. This time tomorrow we won't have a manager. Any club in our position would have been doing all they possibly could two months ago to sign Danny Graham on a permanent contract, what did venkys do? Nothing. Lambert clearly showed his hand to Venkys months ago and declared his intention to quit. What did Venkys do? Nothing. Oh but there's no rush for a manager apparently. They'll take their time.

It's run by an Accountant in the UK*, run by idiots from abroad who admitted when they bought the club they know nothing about football (and have proved it ever since), we have an advisor who is scared of his own shadow and won't speak to the press, they have other "advisors" that if comparable with the previous feckwits that have graced Ewood during their tenure will either be stark raving bonkers or just here for the cash - or both.

In short the club has been run by people who have their own interests at heart - and not Blackburn Rovers best interests. They are unwilling or simply somehow unable to do the most obvious thing and speak to the right people. If they don't know who these people are just put a "For Sale" sign up on top of the JW stand.

They'll be the ones with Season Tickets. Maybe they can work with them? Just start talking...

(* what happens when he's on holiday in the summer or off ill? Nothing I presume, they're good at that)

[Reedy You're A Star]

Absolutely bloody awful. No arguments from me about the last five and a half years. Not least the division it has caused on this message-board. I remember when we all used to be one happy family. I know a lot of the guys and gals on here from way back ... hell I even used to celebrate goals with Abbey as part of the 'Pillar 5' crew at the back of the old Blackburn End!

Also no arguments from me that that our decline coincided with the takeover. I didn't rate the Trust, they clearly had no interest in the club at all, but luckily for them they had John Williams and Tom Finn in place and delegated the running of the club to them.

Unfortunately for us the agent responsible for finding new owners had plans of his own. Rooky owners combined with unscrupulous advisors set us on the path to where we find ourselves. Firing Allardyce, Williams and Finn in quick succession was not the advice of somebody with the clubs best intentions at heart. I think everybody agrees with this part of the story, the disagreements arise when trying to analyse the Rao's culpability.

So why is my perception of the Raos at odds with the majority on here, after all we are all after what is best for the club? I would be the first to defend the club from any perceived vindictive attack. The fact is I don't think the Raos are vindictive and I believe that they genuinely want the club to do well. So here are a some of the reasons I have come to this conclusion.

1. Family Oriented. I like this trait in people and having seen them at close quarters they are clearly a close knit group.

2. Philanthropic. In a country without any meaningful benefit system they literally feed poor people. Again this is a trait I admire, it shows their humanity, and caring nature. I have also heard from people at Ewood that they have donated money to several projects in Blackburn ... I tried to find out which, but they are very secretive about such things, they don't want to shout it from the rooftops. I like this trait ... it shows humility.

3. Balaji. He is clearly the football fan. Apparently he knew about Rovers in some detail before the takeover after reading Ronnie Clayton's biography "A Slave to Soccer". It's obviously good if an owner can become a fan.

4. They are very rich ... but are not an oligarch. No moral compromises about the source of their wealth.

If somebody asked me what type of owners a family club like Blackburn Rovers should aspire to, most of the traits I would look to are covered above. What they need now is a lucky break with an appointment of a quality manager and advisor.

@#/? me, are we talking about the same people? They have systematically destroyed our club over 5 and a bit years. Family orientated? We are their baby are we not? We should have been put in care years ago. Philanthropic? If they are so rich and willing to give to such good causes, they should write the debt off and allow us to be sold to people who care, or chuck in the cash required to get us up. They're not going to, hence PL leaving. Balaji can't be that up on football if he thinks we can prosper with the twisted, backward decision making and managerial structure. Again, we had probably the best managerial team we can probably attract right now and they blew it. Are they very rich? If they are, they can write off the debt and chuck a decent budget at getting a CEO, chairman, manager and a squad of players that can compete at the top of this league. I'd bet against it though.

If somebody asked me what type of owners a family club like Blackburn Rovers should aspire to, I would say almost anyone but these @#/? idiots!

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Have to say as well its like a breath of fresh air hearing people savage the youth approach on the previous page. The promise of youth is the most over-rated thing in football since Eric Cantona. Get the youngsters in, they'll show some spirit, they won against some other 18 year olds the other day and such and suchabody had a field day against a lad who'll probably end up playing at blummin Darwen FC.

In getting on 25 years our academy has produced maybe 5 premier league standard players and about 10 Championship standard. One every 2 years at the very most who can contribute to our first team. I'm not knocking the academy, at youth level it competes with the top dogs. But I am knocking the significance of youth level, its not significant, there is an astronomical step up to be made and so few make it that its no way to plan a future.

Back in the Kean era and the latter days of Allardyce it was all the rage to "cut the deadwood" and bring youth in. Well you could give me the old stagers like Pedersen, Dunn, Nelsen, Emerton, Diouf, Roberts any day. They'd already come through the great filter into pro football, almost or every one of that semi-final team who played at Chelsea won't.

[Proudtobeblue&white]

@#/? me, are we talking about the same people? They have systematically destroyed our club over 5 and a bit years. Family orientated? We are their baby are we not? We should have been put in care years ago. Philanthropic? If they are so rich and willing to give to such good causes, they should write the debt off and allow us to be sold to people who care, or chuck in the cash required to get us up. They're not going to, hence PL leaving. Balaji can't be that up on football if he thinks we can prosper with the twisted, backward decision making and managerial structure. Again, we had probably the best managerial team we can probably attract right now and they blew it. Are they very rich? If they are, they can write off the debt and chuck a decent budget at getting a CEO, chairman, manager and a squad of players that can compete at the top of this league. I'd bet against it though.

If somebody asked me what type of owners a family club like Blackburn Rovers should aspire to, I would say almost anyone but these @#/? idiots!

Not only do I like your post, I am speechless at the prospect of anyone defending the clueless ones, ffs look at their record!!!

[matt83]

Ewood spark the venkys have ripped the heart soul out of the club and as a result the town has suffered. Anyone who supports them and their incompetent actions clearly does not want what's best for the club and the town. You support the worst thing to happen to Blackburn since the Black Death which is why your apparent loyalty to the club and fondness of the town baffles me. You're an enigma.

Yes because of the debt now racked up through their own stupidity we are sort of stuck with them but they could at least try and sell up. By their actions we are little more than a trinket to the venkys a play thing for them brag about owning to their other rich friends. Once they've finished playing and get bored of us (may be there now or soon) they will discard us like a used tissue. Once that happens its liquidation time club gone, history gone. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR ABSENTEE INDIAN HEROES

[ABBEY]

words fail me

[bob fleming]

Have to say as well its like a breath of fresh air hearing people savage the youth approach on the previous page. The promise of youth is the most over-rated thing in football since Eric Cantona. Get the youngsters in, they'll show some spirit, they won against some other 18 year olds the other day and such and suchabody had a field day against a lad who'll probably end up playing at blummin Darwen FC.

In getting on 25 years our academy has produced maybe 5 premier league standard players and about 10 Championship standard. One every 2 years at the very most who can contribute to our first team. I'm not knocking the academy, at youth level it competes with the top dogs. But I am knocking the significance of youth level, its not significant, there is an astronomical step up to be made and so few make it that its no way to plan a future.

Back in the Kean era and the latter days of Allardyce it was all the rage to "cut the deadwood" and bring youth in. Well you could give me the old stagers like Pedersen, Dunn, Nelsen, Emerton, Diouf, Roberts any day. They'd already come through the great filter into pro football, almost or every one of that semi-final team who played at Chelsea won't.

So with gates of 8000 tops next season and circa £100m in debt what do you think the policy should be regarding player recruitment?

And Keans approach to cutting the deadwood was to replace with inadequate rubbish whilst paying extortionate agents fees that obviously didn't get cut two or three ways.