[Archived] Articles Related To Venky's And Rovers

[AllRoverAsia]

Just now, elwaxo said:

Why on earth would they only be willing to sell to foreign owners?

It's a mental condition known as the "Snowball Syndrome".

Can be avoided by staying in warmer climes and not poncing around Ewood in big black Limos with guys in dark glasses.

[Dunnfc]

Indian express now covering rovers 

http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/blackburn-rovers-relegated-league-one-indian-owners-face-outrage-venkys-rao-everything-you-need-to-know-4647587/lite/

[Dunnfc]

Battersby nixon bayes live - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_lancashire

Just don't think battersby is right tbh, talks allot of sense on venkys but not convinced he'd be the right new owner.

 

[Stuart]

Just now, Dunnfc said:

Battersby nixon bayes live - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_lancashire

Just don't think battersby is right tbh, talks allot of sense on venkys but not convinced he'd be the right new owner.

 

I can't see him being owner. More like a lead for a consortium.

[Dunnfc]

Just now, Stuart said:

I can't see him being owner. More like a lead for a consortium.

Talks very much right on Venkys and the club but if he's looking after more than a pound of someone's i'd be worried as an investor, not convinced by his "vision". 

[bob fleming]

Just now, Dunnfc said:

Talks very much right on Venkys and the club but if he's looking after more than a pound of someone's i'd be worried as an investor, not convinced by his "vision". 

Appreciate it's your opinion but I do have to disagree. He's exactly what we need. 

And what came from that programme was that the club needs to act NOW. Is the manager staying? We need to know NOW.

Is there any money? Need to know NOW. Which in turn leads to - who stays, if anyone. Again, NOW will be good. Instead I imagine Cheston is sat in a hammock in Barbados and Pasha is painting his nightclub. Leaving precisely no one to tell Venkys that they need to act, er, NOW. As they said on the programme she doesn't like bad news.

If anyone's under any illusions at just how utterly knackered we are then take a listen later, they'll be a link no doubt.

 

 

[RoversClitheroe]

The Two Ian's still effectively saying they want to buy the club. 

Nixon saying they have to sell otherwise there's a £10m hole straightaway which should put Venkys off keeping us. 

Anyway we can get in touch and setup a big consortium with the two Ian's and then other people that JB said yesterday were interested together and us fans to create one large consortium? 

Just a thought.

[Glenn]

http://www.wsc.co.uk/news/13784-clueless-owners-oversee-a-second-relegation-for-blackburn-rovers

 

[aletheia]

For those who find the Times article link time expired. Don't think The Times or Henry would mind now.
Cowardly Venky’s must face up to Blackburn fans

Henry Winter, Chief Football Correspondent

May 9 2017, 12:01am, The Times

When Blackburn Rovers fans chorused “there’s only one Jack Walker” at Griffin Park as their side slid towards League One, they voiced homage to one of their own, to a late, great owner who invested much of the fortune that he made in steel into a club he loved with a passion. Walker embodied principles now absent from the Ewood Park boardroom. The song was also a denunciation of the present owners, Venky’s poultry processors. From steel to chickens — the sad symbol of the change in Rovers leadership.

The owners are cowards. They issued a bland statement last night, containing the welcome news that the head coach Tony Mowbray enjoyed their “full backing” but then inviting ridicule with the lack of humility, contrition or even awareness of their own culpability. Venky’s claimed that relegation was a “temporary setback”, forgetting it is the second demotion of their calamitous seven-year tenure. They dared to suggest that “results elsewhere led to the relegation”, ignoring the long litany of mistakes emanating from a boardroom devoid of proper football expertise.

What is a business to Venky’s — and a PR vehicle back in India — is pure emotion to Rovers fans

Venky’s is not necessarily run by bad people but they are naive and poorly advised. The statement was PR by numbers, written by individuals with no compassion for those who constitute Rovers’ lifeblood, the support, a group bereft by the disaster that has befallen their famous club, a founder member of both the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992. “This is indeed a very sad situation,” the statement blithely continued. “Indeed”?! How callous. It read like an elderly traffic warden casually reporting a pile-up.

It got worse. “We are deeply hurt by these events,” Venky’s insisted. Crocodile tears. If they truly cared, one of the family would have been at Griffin Park on Sunday, rather than back in Pune overseeing their food operation, preparing barbecue chicken wings. They griddled while Rovers burnt. They should have been at Brentford, witnessing the commitment and listening to the concerns of 1,600 long-suffering, far-travelling supporters.

They might have admired the defiance, and appreciated all the gallows humour on judgment day, about not worrying because Diane Abbott was doing the numbers on the points required, and Rovers would stay up. They could have echoed fans scanning their smartphones, praying for news of a Bristol City goal against Birmingham City. But, as tears flowed down faces as the grim reality of relegation sank in, Venky’s might then have fully understood the human cost of their incompetence.

They would have seen the disbelief, frustration and anger filling middle-aged men and women who remember the wild title-winning party of 22 years ago. They would have watched distraught children wearing shirts bearing the names of their favourite players shortly to be offloaded. Budget cuts incoming. These kids have known only difficult times but still loved turning up with parents or friends, supporting the team, daring to dream. Until Sunday.

If Venky’s possessed a shred of decency and journeyed to London for the denouement, they could have boarded the trains or coaches back north and shared the misery, grasping fully how important Rovers are embedded in a town, in people’s lives.

What is a business to Venky’s — and a PR vehicle back in India — is pure emotion to Rovers fans. The owners needed to experience that. But they hid.

Had they left Pune, they would have comprehended exasperation over only £250,000 being spent in the past four transfer windows, the loathing of agents who all but ran the club, the resentment of the sacking of good managers in Sam Allardyce and Gary Bowyer, and the distress caused by the appointment of the walking embarrassment Steve Kean and Owen Coyle, always controversial given his Burnley connections.

The Rao family, who control Venky’s, did not attend Blackburn’s decisive match on Sunday.

If these men had any backbone, and attended Griffin Park, they would have heard fans raging about the owners’ and directors’ test, formerly the fit and proper persons’ test.

Such sentiments are increasingly prevalent: Nottingham Forest, Coventry City, Leyton Orient, Charlton Athletic and Blackpool all have issues with owners.

The English Football League has to join forces with the FA and Premier League (as Rovers were in the elite level when bought) to update this check, mainly in ensuring that new owners have access to trusted advice on completion, a tug to guide them into safe harbour, and such safeguards continue during their reign. There is no after-care from the authorities, no sense of warning of future pitfalls and no sustained willingness to call owners properly to account.

Venky’s affects lives. Misery seeped through social media with Rovers fans pleading with their promising young goalkeeper, David Raya Martin, who has done well since replacing Jason Steele, to please stay loyal with them in League One. Wrath spread with the Venky’s Wikipedia page being updated to include descriptions unlikely to be found on the company’s official website.

Blackburn elicit strong feelings. If Venky’s paid heed, it would become aware of the devotion many former players still feel to Rovers as seen in outpourings from Alan Shearer and his old SAS partner Chris Sutton, and the way that Míchel Salgado took time out while travelling between Tokyo and Dubai to send a heartfelt message of support to the fans.

But Venky’s wasn’t listening. They weren’t at Griffin Park. They were 4,500 miles away, cut off. From Arsenal in the Premier League to Leyton Orient tumbling out of the Football League, too many owners don’t take note of supporters’ thoughts. It is why Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough, Peter Coates at Stoke City, Tony Bloom at Brighton & Hove Albion, and Ben Robinson at Burton Albion, among others, are so respected; they see fans as human beings, not customers. They understand their clubs’ place in the community. In Blackburn yesterday, stories about Rovers’ decline and fall accounted for four of the five most read items on the Lancashire Evening Telegraph website. Rovers matter to people.

Venky’s needed to appreciate the teamsheet circulating yesterday among the Rovers faithful, relating to their last game in the third tier, the 2-1 loss to Bury on May 3, 1980. Howard Kendall revived them, Mick Rathbone made them laugh, Duncan McKenzie and Simon Garner gave them ambition. Noel Brotherston, Derek Fazackerley, Tony Parkes and Glenn Keeley also featured. It was a good side, who went up. Paying attention to history might make Venky’s realise that keeping the talented youngsters, backing Mowbray, and some judicious investment might reap rewards.

All is not lost for Blackburn Rovers but the owners have to shed their cowardice, meet supporters, address grievances and learn to govern the Walker way. The alternative is acrimony and administration.

[jim mk2]

Just now, Glenn said:

http://www.wsc.co.uk/news/13784-clueless-owners-oversee-a-second-relegation-for-blackburn-rovers

 

Well written summary of our situation. If what you say is correct and it's the name "Raos" that needs to be highlighted rather than Venky's, then future action should focus on the family rather than the firm. The club is in dire straits and there would be nothing lost in holding an on-pitch demonstration before or during the first home match next season - anything that grabs worldwide attention and puts the Raos firmly in the spotlight and causes them embarrassment in India. We might get deducted 10 points by the league but in our current plight I don't think it matters any more.  .  

[jim mk2]

Just now, aletheia said:

For those who find the Times article link time expired. Don't think The Times or Henry would mind now.
Cowardly Venky’s must face up to Blackburn fans

 

Henry Winter, Chief Football Correspondent

 

 

Good piece but it was highlighted in other threads more than 10 hours ago. 

[Hasta]

Just now, jim mk2 said:

Good piece but it was highlighted in other threads more than 10 hours ago. 

Did you read his first sentence?

[Salgado Is Still A Hero]

13 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Henry Winter has always took an interest in BRFC.

One of the few in the Fleet Street football corp with integrity.

I think it's just because he's a proper journalist, rare in this Country.

[blueboy3333]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/15281053._That___s_down_to_mismanagement____Former_Rovers_boss_Sam_Allardyce_reacts_to_the_club_s_relegation_to_League_One/?ref=mac

 

[JonnyP]

Nice little piece on news talk in Ireland where Kevin Kilbane talks to Keith Andrews about Ireland U17s but then has a decent chat about rovers and he basically confirms all the dodgy carry on with Anderson etc etc. If you skip to the last quarter of the program. It was nice to see that it got some air time over here and that the message is being spread. It's certainly hard to ignore at the moment.

http://www.newstalk.com/listen_back/10/35976/11th_May_2017_-_Off_The_Ball_Part_3/

[Lie_still_Rover]

Anybody else notice Keith Andrew slip up in that interview before correcting himself...  "I think if Mark Venus, sorry, Tony Mowbray had been there all season..." Hasn't Mark Venus reportedly been down at Brockhall the past week?

[JonnyP]

1 minute ago, Lie_still_Rover said:

Anybody else notice Keith Andrew slip up in that interview before correcting himself...  "I think if Mark Venus, sorry, Tony Mowbray had been there all season..." Hasn't Mark Venus reportedly been down at Brockhall the past week?

With his past of working with TM if he was seen floating around it could suggest TM intends on staying and setting up his own staff to work with him next season and that he has been granted more control of what happens on the football end of things

[Iceman]

28 minutes ago, Lie_still_Rover said:

Anybody else notice Keith Andrew slip up in that interview before correcting himself...  "I think if Mark Venus, sorry, Tony Mowbray had been there all season..." Hasn't Mark Venus reportedly been down at Brockhall the past week?

Mark Venus new manager more likely 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Simon Smith,Telegraph Rovers columnist:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/15277975.Simon_Smith__The_only_way_Rovers_can_start_any_sort_of_a_revival_is_if_the_future_of_Tony_Mowbray_is_secured/#comments-anchor

'We all know,or at least I hope we all do,who is to blame'

'Ultimately it is not the Rao family'

Please Simon lad....stand down and give us all a ferkin break! 

 

[47er]

ULTIMATELY it really is them to blame! How could it be otherwise? They are the owners, therefore they are ULTIMATELY responsible for everything that happens at the Club, directly or indirectly because they have appointed all the employees.

He's an idiot.

[K-Hod]

2 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Simon Smith,Telegraph Rovers columnist:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/15277975.Simon_Smith__The_only_way_Rovers_can_start_any_sort_of_a_revival_is_if_the_future_of_Tony_Mowbray_is_secured/#comments-anchor

'We all know,or at least I hope we all do,who is to blame'

'Ultimately it is not the Rao family'

Please Simon lad....stand down and give us all a ferkin break! 

 

They own the club, the buck stops with them. Simple as that. Click bait at best.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Just now, 47er said:

ULTIMATELY it really is them to blame! How could it be otherwise? They are the owners, therefore they are ULTIMATELY responsible for everything that happens at the Club, directly or indirectly because they have appointed all the employees.

He's an idiot.

Yep,logical common sense thinking or so you would have thought.

People still  in denial or simply thick as pig shyte?

[Stuart]

2 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Simon Smith,Telegraph Rovers columnist:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/15277975.Simon_Smith__The_only_way_Rovers_can_start_any_sort_of_a_revival_is_if_the_future_of_Tony_Mowbray_is_secured/#comments-anchor

'We all know,or at least I hope we all do,who is to blame'

'Ultimately it is not the Rao family'

Please Simon lad....stand down and give us all a ferkin break! 

 

He seems to be trying to take a higher level view of things and is blaming football itself for the state it is in. In some ways he has a point. Ultimately, the football authorities are to blame for creating conditions for utter human scum to come along and exploit. Self-serving greed creating self-serving greed.

The Premier League and Champions League have created an environment where the money has been disproportionally transferred to the 'big clubs' and created a vacuum in the lower divisions. The wall used to be between Premier League and football League and there was a fair gap between the two. In the current era of the Championship (another score for the marketing people) there are now two walls - and the second wall is more of a dam really.

This imbalance has continued as money is poured into the game at the top end - chiefly by TV companies. A comsequence of this has been the unscrupulous folk who want a piece of this: Agents and owners.

Having helped to set all of this up, the football have then completely shafted fans through negligence. Their testing for suitability of foreign ownership is woefully short of where it should be and if their stance is that these are businesses in a capitalist market then the FA serves no purpose and it should be left up to the Sports Minister to regulate the game. They miss the whole point of what football clubs are and what their duty to them (as community assets) is.

So, no, the Raos are not "ultimately responsible" for the evils of football in the 21st century, and are simply a symptom of it.

Where they are ultimately to blame is in their callous destruction of an individual football club. They cannot blame the Premier League or the FA or even agent she for being utterly incompetent. For their neglect. For their lack of decision making. For their slowness to react - new species can evolve faster than a Venkys transfer budget confirmation. They are ultimately responsible for having no board of directors at the club. They are ultimately responsible for a succession of poor managers causing the team to underperform year on year. They are responsible for us leapfrogging downhill over the first wall and now flying over that dam into he abyss below. They are ultimately responsible for buying the club in the first place when they had not done their due diligence and couldn't afford it.

Is the state of football their fault? No.

Is the state of Rovers their fault? Abso- @#/? -lutely it is.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Point taken Stu but the sorry state of Rovers is all I care for right now.We don't need Simon Smith side tracking the main issues here.

There should be all out War in the local and national media on the Raos and what they have done to this club...a relentless big can of whoop arse!

One week on from our disastrous relegation and not a single one of these Pune cowards will give a face to face interview on our situation.

Accountability? 

[Stuart]

3 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Point taken Stu but the sorry state of Rovers is all I care for right now.We don't need Simon Smith side tracking the main issues here.

There should be all out War in the local and national media on the Raos and what they have done to this club...a relentless big can of whoop arse!

One week on from our disastrous relegation and not a single one of these Pune cowards will give a face to face interview on our situation.

Accountability? 

Agreed but until something changes with the football authorities nothing will change with ownership.

We are the collateral damage and we are left to hope that things like tax investigations have a bigger affect than simply to give more excuses for delayed decision making and for certain fans to bemoan bad luck.