WATR (The Rovers Trust)

[rigger]

8 minutes ago, Andy said:

Just on this forum alone we have many experienced professionals who could step into either of their roles tomorrow and genuinely do a better job.

I would say we have inexperienced people who would do better jobs.

[TheRoversGRL]

Reflection

When I joined the trust, I wanted to help with social media and the communications aspect. Something which I love and enjoy to this day.  I wanted increase engagement with members and on social media. 

Yesterday, I took the decision to resign from the role because I can’t sit back and allow the club to die. I’m all for trying things; but statements won’t cut it from fans perspectives. They want action, someone to put their views too and I felt like WATR wasn’t acknowledging members views or reading the room. Fans and members alike have reached boiling point. 

WATR are not a protest group; nor I expect that to change. I don’t wish no malice or distress against other members, but what is a meeting going to achieve at this stage? Have we asked members what they want us to do? Have members been asked if they want the MOU ripped up? If the owners wanted to speak to anyone. They would have done it now. They don’t care about the club and neither do the people running it apart from a few.  If Steve cared, we should have got a meeting as soon as the January Transfer window was closed 

Yesterday could have been great. All supporters group together with one message.

Put down the tea and biscuits. Ask members what they want. This club needs new ownership.

[Upside Down]

WATR anthem.

Edited Saturday at 22:57 by Upside Down

[TheRoversGRL]

2 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

 

????

[Upside Down]

Just now, TheRoversGRL said:

????

Read the lyrics.

[Upside Down]

1 hour ago, TheRoversGRL said:

Reflection

When I joined the trust, I wanted to help with social media and the communications aspect. Something which I love and enjoy to this day.  I wanted increase engagement with members and on social media. 

Yesterday, I took the decision to resign from the role because I can’t sit back and allow the club to die. I’m all for trying things; but statements won’t cut it from fans perspectives. They want action, someone to put their views too and I felt like WATR wasn’t acknowledging members views or reading the room. Fans and members alike have reached boiling point. 

WATR are not a protest group; nor I expect that to change. I don’t wish no malice or distress against other members, but what is a meeting going to achieve at this stage? Have we asked members what they want us to do? Have members been asked if they want the MOU ripped up? If the owners wanted to speak to anyone. They would have done it now. They don’t care about the club and neither do the people running it apart from a few.  If Steve cared, we should have got a meeting as soon as the January Transfer window was closed 

Yesterday could have been great. All supporters group together with one message.

Put down the tea and biscuits. Ask members what they want. This club needs new ownership.

The Trust don't need to be a protest group.

That doesn't mean they're not able to show solidarity and support with protests and other forms of direct action.

They're currently losing credibility at an alarming rate with their isolationist stance here.

Still yet to hear a peep from them. Embarrassing really.

[DE.]

WATR/The Trust already called for Venky's to leave in their previous statement, so they seem to be broadly aligned with the general sentiment of the recent coalition of groups. It would be helpful for them to explain why they opted against being a part of the latest call to action, as otherwise it just allows speculation to grow. This could be harmful to WATR long-term if people begin withdrawing donations under assumptions that may not be true. I'd urge them to get their view of current events out there sooner rather than later. Transparency is always important, but even more so in the current climate.

[TheRoversGRL]

26 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

The Trust don't need to be a protest group.

That doesn't mean they're not able to show solidarity and support with protests and other forms of direct action.

They're currently losing credibility at an alarming rate with their isolationist stance here.

Still yet to hear a peep from them. Embarrassing really.

I wish they would speak. I can’t force them too.

 

[lraC]

I think Waggott is now using the Trust, in every sense of the word.

He is referring to constructive meetings, in his spiel defending himself against the latest uprising.

I think a statement needs to be made very quickly to explain why the trust are not backing the latest rebellion, or I fear the end. Not enough is being done to make life uncomfortable and the original intentions, are shot down now, when you look at what it was all about from the off. 

[TheRoversGRL]

6 minutes ago, lraC said:

I think Waggott is now using the Trust, in every sense of the word.

He is referring to constructive meetings, in his spiel defending himself against the latest uprising.

I think a statement needs to be made very quickly to explain why the trust are not backing the latest rebellion, or I fear the end. Not enough is being done to make life uncomfortable and the original intentions, are shot down now, when you look at what it was all about from the off. 

I think a statement needs to be put out asap. 

[glen9mullan]

20 hours ago, TheRoversGRL said:

Reflection

When I joined the trust, I wanted to help with social media and the communications aspect. Something which I love and enjoy to this day.  I wanted increase engagement with members and on social media. 

Yesterday, I took the decision to resign from the role because I can’t sit back and allow the club to die. I’m all for trying things; but statements won’t cut it from fans perspectives. They want action, someone to put their views too and I felt like WATR wasn’t acknowledging members views or reading the room. Fans and members alike have reached boiling point. 

WATR are not a protest group; nor I expect that to change. I don’t wish no malice or distress against other members, but what is a meeting going to achieve at this stage? Have we asked members what they want us to do? Have members been asked if they want the MOU ripped up? If the owners wanted to speak to anyone. They would have done it now. They don’t care about the club and neither do the people running it apart from a few.  If Steve cared, we should have got a meeting as soon as the January Transfer window was closed 

Yesterday could have been great. All supporters group together with one message.

Put down the tea and biscuits. Ask members what they want. This club needs new ownership.

Talking to the club has become a pointless exercise, it's also been used as a yardstick to claim supporter engagement 

The fans forum ain't spoken to them for near on 5 months. This is unacceptable, whilst the trust represents only it's membership base which is less than 1% of the supporter base 

There has been no meaningful communication from either the club or anyone meeting the club neariy all season.

We are at the point of no return, the club has clearly taken the wrong advice, and no amount of grovelling is going to change the landscape. Their approval rating is probably at the lowest of any administration the club has had, certainly in my life time of over 45 years.

We saw this week a shift, not since Shagnew have the fans took a stand. These cretins are pussy cats in comparison.

I genuinely think they thought approval to action would gather no traction,

They should of read the history books, as previous action as ended with the executives departure, and this will end the same way.

[TheRoversGRL]

40 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

Talking to the club has become a pointless exercise, it's also been used as a yardstick to claim supporter engagement 

The fans forum ain't spoken to them for near on 5 months. This is unacceptable, whilst the trust represents only it's membership base which is less than 1% of the supporter base 

There has been no meaningful communication from either the club or anyone meeting the club neariy all season.

We are at the point of no return, the club has clearly taken the wrong advice, and no amount of grovelling is going to change the landscape. Their approval rating is probably at the lowest of any administration the club has had, certainly in my life time of over 45 years.

We saw this week a shift, not since Shagnew have the fans took a stand. These cretins are pussy cats in comparison.

I genuinely think they thought approval to action would gather no traction,

They should of read the history books, as previous action as ended with the executives departure, and this will end the same way.

I don’t disagree with everything you have said. As you pointed out, the trust has a small membership base and I believe it will be smaller after the trust hasn’t backed the statement. 

[chaddyrovers]

23 minutes ago, TheRoversGRL said:

I don’t disagree with everything you have said. As you pointed out, the trust has a small membership base and I believe it will be smaller after the trust hasn’t backed the statement. 

Do you think the current WATR board is the right one for the Rovers trust and its objectives? 

[TheRoversGRL]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Do you think the current WATR board is the right one for the Rovers trust and its objectives? 

I think some have a heart and truly care about the club, but they need to read the room and be proactive in their approaches

[chaddyrovers]

10 minutes ago, TheRoversGRL said:

I think some have a heart and truly care about the club, but they need to read the room and be proactive in their approaches

Thanks for answering the question 👍

[lraC]

5 hours ago, TheRoversGRL said:

I think some have a heart and truly care about the club, but they need to read the room and be proactive in their approaches

I agree and for what it’s worth, think Waggott has manipulated certain people and destroyed the real reason that the trust was set up for initially.

[lraC]

8 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

Talking to the club has become a pointless exercise, it's also been used as a yardstick to claim supporter engagement 

The fans forum ain't spoken to them for near on 5 months. This is unacceptable, whilst the trust represents only it's membership base which is less than 1% of the supporter base 

There has been no meaningful communication from either the club or anyone meeting the club neariy all season.

We are at the point of no return, the club has clearly taken the wrong advice, and no amount of grovelling is going to change the landscape. Their approval rating is probably at the lowest of any administration the club has had, certainly in my life time of over 45 years.

We saw this week a shift, not since Shagnew have the fans took a stand. These cretins are pussy cats in comparison.

I genuinely think they thought approval to action would gather no traction,

They should have read the history books, as previous action as ended with the executives departure, and this will end the same way.

 I think I had my meeting with Waggott the same day that you and Mark Fish were seeing him, back in November 2023. He was more interested in whether or not I was recording him, than discussing, the real reasons, I was there.

As you say, talking to the club, has become a pointless exercise and I realised that back then.

For what it’s worth Waggott, accidentally copied me into an E Mail to his P A so That I knew what he was covering up, before the meeting, which was also the reason, he was worried about being recorded. 
I also got the impression that I was being recorded too, but that could be a touch of paranoia on my part.

[TheRoversGRL]

3 hours ago, lraC said:

I agree and for what it’s worth, think Waggott has manipulated certain people and destroyed the real reason that the trust was set up for initially.

100%. I agree. 

[RoversClitheroe]

https://x.com/RoversTrust/status/1907138203594653946?t=w3Rwp6t-K6Vc-HxjKG-L-g&s=19

What the hell is going on?

[Upside Down]

Stop sitting on your hands and get involved FFS!

This organisation is very quickly losing any credibility it ever had.

[Mattyblue]

They’ve posted again stating they are still patiently waiting for a meeting.

I’m afraid they’ve been completely taken over by events and in the fan group sphere they have been rapidly usurped by a more innovative and focused collection of folk.

A shame, as run by good Rovers people - but they just haven’t grasped the nettle, haven’t thought on their feet and have very quickly become insignificant.

Edited Tuesday at 20:41 by Mattyblue

[Upside Down]

14 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

They’ve posted again stating they are still patiently waiting for a meeting.

I’m afraid they’ve been completely taken over by events and in the fan group sphere they have been rapidly usurped by a more innovative and focused collection of folk.

A shame, as run by good Rovers people - but they just haven’t grasped the nettle, haven’t thought on their feet and have very quickly become insignificant.

Their only option now is to throw their weight in with the other groups and join the fight.

Still no direct communication from them to the paying membership.

As I said previously, if you can post on twitter you can send an email.

[We Are The Rovers]

April 2025 Newsletter

 

We have 2 important items in this latest membership Newsletter.  Our AGM and a statement about the Club; in this statement for call for a change in ownership of Our Club.

 

AGM:

The AGM of We Are The Rovers, the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust will take place as follows:

7pm Prompt
Wednesday 25th June
At Blackburn Library (upstairs), entrance via Northgate, Blackburn.

Non-members are welcome to attend.  However you must be a paying member to be nominated for our Board and to vote on any issues (Join via www.roverstrust.co.uk)

We will be holding a free raffle for all attendees on the night.

We are looking for additional Board members. Meetings are hybrid Zoom and in person. This is unpaid and is voluntary.  We are looking to extend and diversify our board and encourage nominations from fans of all ages and backgrounds. We are particularly in need of adding skills in marketing and social mediamanagement.  Please advise if you wish to be nominated by emailing peterridehalgh@talktalk.net with the email subject ‘WATR Board Nomination’ before 15th June at the very latest.

We look forward to seeing you on 25th June.

Mike Graham
Chair 

 

 

WATR STATEMENT re BLACKBURN ROVERS:

On 3rd January 2025 we wrote to the club to advise them we believed the Rao family’s continued ownership of Blackburn Rovers had become untenable and called for them to sell the club.

 

Due to our Memorandum of Understanding with the club, we have since been attempting to arrange one of our overdue mandated meetings as a matter of urgency. We allowed leeway during this time while the club sought to appoint a managerial replacement, and after us chasing up this request numerous times we were granted a meeting with senior club executives on Tuesday 1st April. Our agenda items and questions provided to the Club are listed at the end of this Statement; however, the ultimate reason for our meeting was to press for a face-to-face meeting with the Club Owners. Sadly, the key attendee the Club’s Chief Operating Officer Suhail Pasha/Sheikh who had earlier confirmed his attendance was instead making media appearances to defend the Club’s ownership before going “travelling”.

 

Despite assurances of his attendance, and our willingness to accommodate his diary, COO Suhail Pasha/Sheikh failed to attend. This wasn’t the first time he has done so and indeed has always appeared reluctant to engage despite the best efforts of the WATR board and other club officials.  We have instead been offered a meeting with the Chief Executive Steve Waggott prior to the Middleborough game this Friday evening.

 

Prior to the release of 2024/25 season tickets, We Are The Rovers met regularly with club staff to discuss our proposals for them.

 

After a tumultuous season we were encouraged that some of our ideas had been taken on board. We would have liked them to have gone a lot further and committed to a strategy designed around 3 core activities: Recruitment, Retention and Re-engagement. We were however hopeful that the modest reduction in the early bird phase, and significant savings across concessionary tickets would mitigate the inevitable drop off due to events that occurred during the season.

 

In a previous meeting with the Rovers executive team, Suhail Pasha/Sheikh told us that: 

 

“The biggest mistake we (Venky’s) ever made was listening to Steve (Waggott) and Fraser (Read) and reducing season tickets by £30. What do you want next year, a reduction of £150?”

 

Fraser Read had left the club by this point with his ticketing duties assumed by Yasir Sufi, and Suhail has taken all responsibility for ticketing matters away from Steve Waggott.

 

When we pointed out that an extraordinarily high number (26%) of season ticket holder had opted not to renew due to incredibly poor performances on the pitch and chaotic events behind the scenes, we were told we can’t keep using transfer window failures as an excuse, and that the core support of Blackburn Rovers is only around 6,000 fans.

 

Yasir Sufi also told us to forget about re-engagement with lapsed fans, and that getting the new generation of support in was where their priorities lay.

 

This season there has been very little engagement from the club regarding our proposals. We have been asked how we think we can add thousands to the gate, but any solution offered that involves expenditure or price reduction has been dismissed out of hand.

 

Furthermore, we have continued to highlight the importance of improved communication and engagement with the wider fanbase. While Steve Waggott has been open and approachable and agreed readily to meet and discuss all matters with WATR as an entity, the club has failed to extend this to the fanbase with initiatives we suggested, such as reinstating some form of open consultation meetings ignored. This appears to be a directive from above the level of CEO. Presently we are concerned that the club are completely unprepared for upcoming changes to Fan Engagement rules that form part of the Football Governance Bill, and threats to cease engagement with us, contrary to the terms of our MOU, due to perceived criticism of their running of the club would be in direct conflict with Government recommendations and EFL rules.

 

As an organisation formed by and for the benefit of Supporters, we can only echo the collective fan statement dated 28th of March as regards Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. Our experience leads us to believe his input is detrimental to the desires of Rovers fans and to the success of our club.

 

To reiterate our previous stance, the one constant throughout the Venky’s tenure has been Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. While his title has changed in that time, his role as advisor/conduit/owners representative has remained broadly the same. With the Rao family remaining absent for over a decade he appears to hold a lot of power.

 

We feel that the only acceptable advice for Suhail to pass on to the Rao family is to finally do the right thing and sell the club. New owners who care for the club and will treat Rovers and its supporters with the respect we deserve are long overdue.

 

The WATR agenda items provided in advance to the Club are as follows:

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

2. Fan Engagement

3. First Team Performance

4. Ticketing and attendances

5. Finances

 

In order to be open and up front we list below the questions we will asking under each of the above discussion headings. We stress our request for direct dialogue with the owners.

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

 

- What are the owners aspirations for the club?

 

- Have you advised the owners that the best thing they could do is put the club up for sale?

 

- Where do YOU think Blackburn Rovers ought to be?

 

 

2.  Fan engagement

 

- Do you realise you are in real danger of going into a historic anniversary year against a backdrop of protests? And what are you doing to try and prevent this?

 

3.  First team performance 

 

- Ordinarily we wouldn’t want to discuss on pitch matters, however it is evident that off field happenings are impacting upon the team’s success.

 

- What was the hiring process for Valerien Ismael? Who had the final say?

 

- It is well publicised that several player contracts will be expiring in the summer. Are discussions underway currently, and who is responsible for negotiating new deals?

 

- The sale of key playing assets has put us in an enviable position in terms of P&S rules, however, this only gives us a finite window to reinvest in the squad and make a genuine push for promotion. Why didn’t this happen in the last 2 windows? What assurances can you give supporters the summer window will be any different?

 

4.  Ticketing and attendances

 

- What is the rationale around season ticket pricing? Given the disappointing number of adult tickets sold last year, how do you feel increasing prices will impact this?

 

- Who is responsible for setting ticket prices, and is their only success measure based on revenue, or are numbers a consideration?

 

We also want to bring to your attention the following report on an excellent recent initiative at League 2 Bradford City.  If this can be done at Bradford it can be replicated at Ewood.  Initiatives such as this are key to building the longer term health and wealth of our Club.  Do you have the resources to support such an initiative linked to our 150th Anniversary this coming November?

 

[Bradford City link: https://widthofapost.com/2025/03/24/what-place-could-saturdays-superb-win-over-colchester-take-in-bradford-city-folklore/ ]

 

 5.  Finances

 

- Can you explain when Venky’s last remitted any money?

 

- Can you provide an update on plans to bring the training ground back under club ownership?’

 

 

[Upside Down]

28 minutes ago, We Are The Rovers said:

April 2025 Newsletter

 

We have 2 important items in this latest membership Newsletter.  Our AGM and a statement about the Club; in this statement for call for a change in ownership of Our Club.

 

AGM:

The AGM of We Are The Rovers, the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust will take place as follows:

7pm Prompt
Wednesday 25th June
At Blackburn Library (upstairs), entrance via Northgate, Blackburn.

Non-members are welcome to attend.  However you must be a paying member to be nominated for our Board and to vote on any issues (Join via www.roverstrust.co.uk)

We will be holding a free raffle for all attendees on the night.

We are looking for additional Board members. Meetings are hybrid Zoom and in person. This is unpaid and is voluntary.  We are looking to extend and diversify our board and encourage nominations from fans of all ages and backgrounds. We are particularly in need of adding skills in marketing and social mediamanagement.  Please advise if you wish to be nominated by emailing peterridehalgh@talktalk.net with the email subject ‘WATR Board Nomination’ before 15th June at the very latest.

We look forward to seeing you on 25th June.

Mike Graham
Chair 

 

 

WATR STATEMENT re BLACKBURN ROVERS:

On 3rd January 2025 we wrote to the club to advise them we believed the Rao family’s continued ownership of Blackburn Rovers had become untenable and called for them to sell the club.

 

Due to our Memorandum of Understanding with the club, we have since been attempting to arrange one of our overdue mandated meetings as a matter of urgency. We allowed leeway during this time while the club sought to appoint a managerial replacement, and after us chasing up this request numerous times we were granted a meeting with senior club executives on Tuesday 1st April. Our agenda items and questions provided to the Club are listed at the end of this Statement; however, the ultimate reason for our meeting was to press for a face-to-face meeting with the Club Owners. Sadly, the key attendee the Club’s Chief Operating Officer Suhail Pasha/Sheikh who had earlier confirmed his attendance was instead making media appearances to defend the Club’s ownership before going “travelling”.

 

Despite assurances of his attendance, and our willingness to accommodate his diary, COO Suhail Pasha/Sheikh failed to attend. This wasn’t the first time he has done so and indeed has always appeared reluctant to engage despite the best efforts of the WATR board and other club officials.  We have instead been offered a meeting with the Chief Executive Steve Waggott prior to the Middleborough game this Friday evening.

 

Prior to the release of 2024/25 season tickets, We Are The Rovers met regularly with club staff to discuss our proposals for them.

 

After a tumultuous season we were encouraged that some of our ideas had been taken on board. We would have liked them to have gone a lot further and committed to a strategy designed around 3 core activities: Recruitment, Retention and Re-engagement. We were however hopeful that the modest reduction in the early bird phase, and significant savings across concessionary tickets would mitigate the inevitable drop off due to events that occurred during the season.

 

In a previous meeting with the Rovers executive team, Suhail Pasha/Sheikh told us that: 

 

“The biggest mistake we (Venky’s) ever made was listening to Steve (Waggott) and Fraser (Read) and reducing season tickets by £30. What do you want next year, a reduction of £150?”

 

Fraser Read had left the club by this point with his ticketing duties assumed by Yasir Sufi, and Suhail has taken all responsibility for ticketing matters away from Steve Waggott.

 

When we pointed out that an extraordinarily high number (26%) of season ticket holder had opted not to renew due to incredibly poor performances on the pitch and chaotic events behind the scenes, we were told we can’t keep using transfer window failures as an excuse, and that the core support of Blackburn Rovers is only around 6,000 fans.

 

Yasir Sufi also told us to forget about re-engagement with lapsed fans, and that getting the new generation of support in was where their priorities lay.

 

This season there has been very little engagement from the club regarding our proposals. We have been asked how we think we can add thousands to the gate, but any solution offered that involves expenditure or price reduction has been dismissed out of hand.

 

Furthermore, we have continued to highlight the importance of improved communication and engagement with the wider fanbase. While Steve Waggott has been open and approachable and agreed readily to meet and discuss all matters with WATR as an entity, the club has failed to extend this to the fanbase with initiatives we suggested, such as reinstating some form of open consultation meetings ignored. This appears to be a directive from above the level of CEO. Presently we are concerned that the club are completely unprepared for upcoming changes to Fan Engagement rules that form part of the Football Governance Bill, and threats to cease engagement with us, contrary to the terms of our MOU, due to perceived criticism of their running of the club would be in direct conflict with Government recommendations and EFL rules.

 

As an organisation formed by and for the benefit of Supporters, we can only echo the collective fan statement dated 28th of March as regards Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. Our experience leads us to believe his input is detrimental to the desires of Rovers fans and to the success of our club.

 

To reiterate our previous stance, the one constant throughout the Venky’s tenure has been Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. While his title has changed in that time, his role as advisor/conduit/owners representative has remained broadly the same. With the Rao family remaining absent for over a decade he appears to hold a lot of power.

 

We feel that the only acceptable advice for Suhail to pass on to the Rao family is to finally do the right thing and sell the club. New owners who care for the club and will treat Rovers and its supporters with the respect we deserve are long overdue.

 

The WATR agenda items provided in advance to the Club are as follows:

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

2. Fan Engagement

3. First Team Performance

4. Ticketing and attendances

5. Finances

 

In order to be open and up front we list below the questions we will asking under each of the above discussion headings. We stress our request for direct dialogue with the owners.

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

 

- What are the owners aspirations for the club?

 

- Have you advised the owners that the best thing they could do is put the club up for sale?

 

- Where do YOU think Blackburn Rovers ought to be?

 

 

2.  Fan engagement

 

- Do you realise you are in real danger of going into a historic anniversary year against a backdrop of protests? And what are you doing to try and prevent this?

 

3.  First team performance 

 

- Ordinarily we wouldn’t want to discuss on pitch matters, however it is evident that off field happenings are impacting upon the team’s success.

 

- What was the hiring process for Valerien Ismael? Who had the final say?

 

- It is well publicised that several player contracts will be expiring in the summer. Are discussions underway currently, and who is responsible for negotiating new deals?

 

- The sale of key playing assets has put us in an enviable position in terms of P&S rules, however, this only gives us a finite window to reinvest in the squad and make a genuine push for promotion. Why didn’t this happen in the last 2 windows? What assurances can you give supporters the summer window will be any different?

 

4.  Ticketing and attendances

 

- What is the rationale around season ticket pricing? Given the disappointing number of adult tickets sold last year, how do you feel increasing prices will impact this?

 

- Who is responsible for setting ticket prices, and is their only success measure based on revenue, or are numbers a consideration?

 

We also want to bring to your attention the following report on an excellent recent initiative at League 2 Bradford City.  If this can be done at Bradford it can be replicated at Ewood.  Initiatives such as this are key to building the longer term health and wealth of our Club.  Do you have the resources to support such an initiative linked to our 150th Anniversary this coming November?

 

[Bradford City link: https://widthofapost.com/2025/03/24/what-place-could-saturdays-superb-win-over-colchester-take-in-bradford-city-folklore/ ]

 

 5.  Finances

 

- Can you explain when Venky’s last remitted any money?

 

- Can you provide an update on plans to bring the training ground back under club ownership?’

 

 

It's pretty clear that trying to work with these people is not ever going to happen.

Time for WATR to do the right thing and join the rest of the fan groups in working towards ousting these people from the club.

They need to sell. If they won't do it voluntarily then we need to force their hand.

It's time for the trust to stand with the rest of us. Get involved and play your part.

[Forever Blue]

5 hours ago, We Are The Rovers said:

April 2025 Newsletter

 

We have 2 important items in this latest membership Newsletter.  Our AGM and a statement about the Club; in this statement for call for a change in ownership of Our Club.

 

AGM:

The AGM of We Are The Rovers, the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust will take place as follows:

7pm Prompt
Wednesday 25th June
At Blackburn Library (upstairs), entrance via Northgate, Blackburn.

Non-members are welcome to attend.  However you must be a paying member to be nominated for our Board and to vote on any issues (Join via www.roverstrust.co.uk)

We will be holding a free raffle for all attendees on the night.

We are looking for additional Board members. Meetings are hybrid Zoom and in person. This is unpaid and is voluntary.  We are looking to extend and diversify our board and encourage nominations from fans of all ages and backgrounds. We are particularly in need of adding skills in marketing and social mediamanagement.  Please advise if you wish to be nominated by emailing peterridehalgh@talktalk.net with the email subject ‘WATR Board Nomination’ before 15th June at the very latest.

We look forward to seeing you on 25th June.

Mike Graham
Chair 

 

 

WATR STATEMENT re BLACKBURN ROVERS:

On 3rd January 2025 we wrote to the club to advise them we believed the Rao family’s continued ownership of Blackburn Rovers had become untenable and called for them to sell the club.

 

Due to our Memorandum of Understanding with the club, we have since been attempting to arrange one of our overdue mandated meetings as a matter of urgency. We allowed leeway during this time while the club sought to appoint a managerial replacement, and after us chasing up this request numerous times we were granted a meeting with senior club executives on Tuesday 1st April. Our agenda items and questions provided to the Club are listed at the end of this Statement; however, the ultimate reason for our meeting was to press for a face-to-face meeting with the Club Owners. Sadly, the key attendee the Club’s Chief Operating Officer Suhail Pasha/Sheikh who had earlier confirmed his attendance was instead making media appearances to defend the Club’s ownership before going “travelling”.

 

Despite assurances of his attendance, and our willingness to accommodate his diary, COO Suhail Pasha/Sheikh failed to attend. This wasn’t the first time he has done so and indeed has always appeared reluctant to engage despite the best efforts of the WATR board and other club officials.  We have instead been offered a meeting with the Chief Executive Steve Waggott prior to the Middleborough game this Friday evening.

 

Prior to the release of 2024/25 season tickets, We Are The Rovers met regularly with club staff to discuss our proposals for them.

 

After a tumultuous season we were encouraged that some of our ideas had been taken on board. We would have liked them to have gone a lot further and committed to a strategy designed around 3 core activities: Recruitment, Retention and Re-engagement. We were however hopeful that the modest reduction in the early bird phase, and significant savings across concessionary tickets would mitigate the inevitable drop off due to events that occurred during the season.

 

In a previous meeting with the Rovers executive team, Suhail Pasha/Sheikh told us that: 

 

“The biggest mistake we (Venky’s) ever made was listening to Steve (Waggott) and Fraser (Read) and reducing season tickets by £30. What do you want next year, a reduction of £150?”

 

Fraser Read had left the club by this point with his ticketing duties assumed by Yasir Sufi, and Suhail has taken all responsibility for ticketing matters away from Steve Waggott.

 

When we pointed out that an extraordinarily high number (26%) of season ticket holder had opted not to renew due to incredibly poor performances on the pitch and chaotic events behind the scenes, we were told we can’t keep using transfer window failures as an excuse, and that the core support of Blackburn Rovers is only around 6,000 fans.

 

Yasir Sufi also told us to forget about re-engagement with lapsed fans, and that getting the new generation of support in was where their priorities lay.

 

This season there has been very little engagement from the club regarding our proposals. We have been asked how we think we can add thousands to the gate, but any solution offered that involves expenditure or price reduction has been dismissed out of hand.

 

Furthermore, we have continued to highlight the importance of improved communication and engagement with the wider fanbase. While Steve Waggott has been open and approachable and agreed readily to meet and discuss all matters with WATR as an entity, the club has failed to extend this to the fanbase with initiatives we suggested, such as reinstating some form of open consultation meetings ignored. This appears to be a directive from above the level of CEO. Presently we are concerned that the club are completely unprepared for upcoming changes to Fan Engagement rules that form part of the Football Governance Bill, and threats to cease engagement with us, contrary to the terms of our MOU, due to perceived criticism of their running of the club would be in direct conflict with Government recommendations and EFL rules.

 

As an organisation formed by and for the benefit of Supporters, we can only echo the collective fan statement dated 28th of March as regards Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. Our experience leads us to believe his input is detrimental to the desires of Rovers fans and to the success of our club.

 

To reiterate our previous stance, the one constant throughout the Venky’s tenure has been Suhail Pasha/Sheikh. While his title has changed in that time, his role as advisor/conduit/owners representative has remained broadly the same. With the Rao family remaining absent for over a decade he appears to hold a lot of power.

 

We feel that the only acceptable advice for Suhail to pass on to the Rao family is to finally do the right thing and sell the club. New owners who care for the club and will treat Rovers and its supporters with the respect we deserve are long overdue.

 

The WATR agenda items provided in advance to the Club are as follows:

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

2. Fan Engagement

3. First Team Performance

4. Ticketing and attendances

5. Finances

 

In order to be open and up front we list below the questions we will asking under each of the above discussion headings. We stress our request for direct dialogue with the owners.

 

1. Club and Owner aspirations

 

- What are the owners aspirations for the club?

 

- Have you advised the owners that the best thing they could do is put the club up for sale?

 

- Where do YOU think Blackburn Rovers ought to be?

 

 

2.  Fan engagement

 

- Do you realise you are in real danger of going into a historic anniversary year against a backdrop of protests? And what are you doing to try and prevent this?

 

3.  First team performance 

 

- Ordinarily we wouldn’t want to discuss on pitch matters, however it is evident that off field happenings are impacting upon the team’s success.

 

- What was the hiring process for Valerien Ismael? Who had the final say?

 

- It is well publicised that several player contracts will be expiring in the summer. Are discussions underway currently, and who is responsible for negotiating new deals?

 

- The sale of key playing assets has put us in an enviable position in terms of P&S rules, however, this only gives us a finite window to reinvest in the squad and make a genuine push for promotion. Why didn’t this happen in the last 2 windows? What assurances can you give supporters the summer window will be any different?

 

4.  Ticketing and attendances

 

- What is the rationale around season ticket pricing? Given the disappointing number of adult tickets sold last year, how do you feel increasing prices will impact this?

 

- Who is responsible for setting ticket prices, and is their only success measure based on revenue, or are numbers a consideration?

 

We also want to bring to your attention the following report on an excellent recent initiative at League 2 Bradford City.  If this can be done at Bradford it can be replicated at Ewood.  Initiatives such as this are key to building the longer term health and wealth of our Club.  Do you have the resources to support such an initiative linked to our 150th Anniversary this coming November?

 

[Bradford City link: https://widthofapost.com/2025/03/24/what-place-could-saturdays-superb-win-over-colchester-take-in-bradford-city-folklore/ ]

 

 5.  Finances

 

- Can you explain when Venky’s last remitted any money?

 

- Can you provide an update on plans to bring the training ground back under club ownership?’

 

 

This just highlights the contempt with which Pasha, and by extension Venkys, hold the fan base. The fallout and quotes around the £30 reduction in season tickets are very telling.