Venky’s v Indian Government (a) - 25/3/2025 - Perennially Re-Arranged Challenge Match

[JohnD]

How many members does the"Trust" have? 

[glen9mullan]

25 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

No, we don’t. The board is a small number of volunteers who commit varying levels of their free time. Were always on the lookout for more help from individuals with time and appropriate skillsets.

It’s a long time since anything at Rovers was of interest to the main stream media. It’s painfully difficult for the Trust to get anything in the local press or radio Lancashire most of the time.

Have you reached out to Kamy for alternative main stream media contacts?

Always found the likes of David Conn , Henry Winter , Jack Gaughan and the independent as better outlets,  than don't rock the boat LET

Edited January 15, 2024 by glen9mullan

[tomphil]

4 hours ago, JHRover said:

I don't understand why they deserve credit in your eyes for taking these steps. Have they had any alternative to doing this and if not why do they deserve credit for doing something they have no realistic choice on?

I am told that the reason they are under restrictions is due to them being under investigation by the Indian authorities. If there was no investigation there would be no restrictions and no need to go to Court for permission to fund the Club.

They've said it themselves in their submission to the Court. If the Court refused permission the club fails to meet its obligations, gets served with a HMRC winding up petition and goes bust. Their reputation is in tatters and 'investment' down the drain.

I'd substitute credit with 'bare minimum' required to keep the lights on. No different to Joe Bloggs being forced to find the cash to pay his mortgage, rent, council tax and utility bills. Don't pay them the lights go off and you lose your property.

Billionaire owners of multi million pound turnover famous business get 'credit' for paying their employees and the tax bill to prevent the 149 year old institution from being wound up.

Well i never !

[K-Hod]

I’m never going to give the owners credit for doing the bare minimum and the bare minimum alone. They’ve ruined this club since the moment they darkened our door, have brought shame on us and I can’t wait for them to clear off. Absolute dicks, that family.

[broadsword]

And clear off they presumably will at some point, because you can't run the club like this, it's not a feasible proposition.

Either that or the club goes out of business?

Is this another false dawn or is the nightmare beginning to end?

[sharpysharps86]

Just now, broadsword said:

And clear off they presumably will at some point, because you can't run the club like this, it's not a feasible proposition.

Either that or the club goes out of business?

Is this another false dawn or is the nightmare beginning to end?

I really hope it is the latter and that we're in the endgame now.

With each passing year it becomes less and less viable for Venkys to own Blackburn Rovers. It was time for them to go after 12 months, never mind 12 years. SURELY at some point they will get out of our club and we can look to rebuild.

I'm so thankful that I got to witness 1994/95, promotion with Jansen, Dunn, Duff, etc. and then a League Cup win, because Venkys have ensured that any moments like that are a distant memory.

[jim mk2]

4 minutes ago, broadsword said:

And clear off they presumably will at some point, because you can't run the club like this, it's not a feasible proposition.

Either that or the club goes out of business?

Is this another false dawn or is the nightmare beginning to end?

They're billionaires (apparently). We're nothing to them, except a minor item at the bottom of the balance sheet. They could just stick Rovers in the metaphorical bottom drawer as a bad investment gone wrong, to be forgotten about and allowed to wither on the vine. 

We could slip down the divisions and into non-league and still they might not bother. There's very little that is easily apparent that would ever force them to go away

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

57 minutes ago, J*B said:

Can you explain to me very clearly why the following clubs where all bought by what appear to be good owners, yet nobody would be interested in buying Blackburn Rovers - especially if the club was either put up for sale or put into administration and could be bought cheaper:

Birmingham City

Bolton Wanderers

Coventry City 

Hull City

Brighton

Blackpool

Huddersfield

Derby County

Wigan Athletic

Sunderland

Charlton 

Wrexham

I look forward to hearing why we are any different.  

Reminder - before anyone says “nobody has tried to buy us!”

1) Even if they did, it would be under NDA and we wouldn’t know it for sure. 

2) Nobody has made me an offer on my house - the reason for that is there isn’t a for sale sign outside and it’s not registered with an estate agent. 

And the vast majority of those clubs appear to be going in the right direction whilst Blackburn Rovers are slowly dying.

[wilsdenrover]

1 minute ago, jim mk2 said:

They're billionaires (apparently). We're nothing to them, except a minor item at the bottom of the balance sheet. They could just stick Rovers in the metaphorical bottom drawer as a bad investment gone wrong, to be forgotten about and allowed to wither on the vine. 

We could slip down the divisions and into non-league and still they might not bother. There's very little that is easily apparent that would ever force them to go away

Could or have??

[broadsword]

3 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

They're billionaires (apparently). We're nothing to them, except a minor item at the bottom of the balance sheet. They could just stick Rovers in the metaphorical bottom drawer as a bad investment gone wrong, to be forgotten about and allowed to wither on the vine. 

We could slip down the divisions and into non-league and still they might not bother. There's very little that is easily apparent that would ever force them to go away

But how can they keep us alive financially if the courts choke the funding? It's surely an ever present risk?

 

Why they've even wanted to continue to this point, let alone carry on beyond it, is completely beyond me.

 

Maybe I'll just a wishful thinker, because the last thirteen years as a football fan have been absolutely purgatory 

[tomphil]

The main point here is the Indian govt are clearly going after Vs and the like to try and stop them exporting money, that's the core issue.

They've whacked the levy up on overseas cash transfer and found things in the VH accounts that have given them opportunity to go a step further and freeze sending money here without prior clearance.

So even if they were cleared of any wrong doing as just oversights it isn't going to go away. The Indian authorities want it stopped or massively reduced and they want that money invested/taxed over there instead. So there is still a massive ongoing and future problem here.

Can't see how they are going to get around this without special dispensation to send 10/20 million every year forever.

[Miller11]

46 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

I'd have thought it could act as a kind of unofficial mouthpiece for Rovers fans. Trust members are supporters and aware of the mood around Ewood, so in event of a contentious issue (eg, the Cambridge ticket controversy), it could release a statement giving the fans' point of view.

It might provide a comment after one of Tomasson's press conferences, backing (or otherwise) his views on the problems with the squad and the club's difficulties in making signings

There's lots that can be done to get the Trust (and Rovers) more in the media spotlight and yes, I do realise it does depend on people coming forward and putting in the time and effort

We’ve taken more of a proactive approach of late to be honest. Previously the Digital Day announcement would’ve led to us putting out a statement on our platforms, then contacting the Telegraph, Radio Lancs etc and giving them a soundbite which would likely never see the light of day.

More recently the approach has been to contact the club directly and tell them:

a) What the prevailing mood of the fans is

b) Why they feel like that

c) Recommend alternatives/solutions

d) See how we can help implement them 

I’ve made a real point over the last 18 months to not just complain, but to try and provide solutions, and it’s definitely seen some success.

I definitely take your point though, content and Social Media are two areas we would absolutely love a bit more help in.

 

41 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Are the trust any closer to direct contact with the Venkys?

Probably not. Might be able to give a fuller answer later this week.

[Gav]

58 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

Have you reached out to Kamy for alternative main stream media contacts?

Always found the likes of David Conn , Henry Winter , Jack Gaughan and the independent as better outlets,  than don't rock the boat LET

Henry was all over the Reading stuff at the weekend, supporting the fans against another abhorrent owner. He never shyd away from the Venky stuff either, Nick Harris was another.

[jim mk2]

11 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

We’ve taken more of a proactive approach of late to be honest. Previously the Digital Day announcement would’ve led to us putting out a statement on our platforms, then contacting the Telegraph, Radio Lancs etc and giving them a soundbite which would likely never see the light of day.

 

 

Sounds good. Have you spoken to the sports editors and / or news editors of local media asking why they haven't used your stuff? It could be it's not quite what they're looking for, or maybe in the wrong format, or maybe they would prefer to contact the Trust when needed for comments on breaking news stories.

To that end the Trust needs to make itself the media's main contact point for the views of Rovers fans - this of course involves building relationships with individuals and time and effort by Trust members. An appointed Trust spokesman would also need to be comfortable talking to the media. 

 

 

[sharpysharps86]

59 minutes ago, Gav said:

Henry was all over the Reading stuff at the weekend, supporting the fans against another abhorrent owner. He never shyd away from the Venky stuff either, Nick Harris was another.

It felt like Henry Winter and Nick Harris where the only ones in the National press that understood our situation back in the Kean days.

[Mattyblue]

Always had a soft spot for Rovers ever since the Kenny days has Henry.

Edited January 15, 2024 by Mattyblue

[Paul Mellelieu]

Winter wrote a loverly piece for the Torygraph following the League Cup win against Spurs.

[DeeCee]

He's a good journalist.

[Lucimo]

21 hours ago, J*B said:

How was this not reported by press locally?

I'm not seeing anything. It's just blank. Any idea how I see this??🙄

[Waggy76]

So Venkys still here then 😭

One day , they will be gone ..

[SuperBrfc]

1 minute ago, Waggy76 said:

So Venkys still here then 😭

One day , they will be gone ..

The bastards will be gone one day. It feels to me like this is all gearing up towards their exit.

As a side note, their favourite agency officially dissolves in March 2025.

Wishful thinking, maybe. But I don't think GTA 6 is going to be the biggest sale of 2025.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

3 hours ago, tomphil said:

Billionaire owners of multi million pound turnover famous business get 'credit' for paying their employees and the tax bill to prevent the 149 year old institution from being wound up.

Well i never !

I think you do point out one very important fact, for those wanting us to go into administration. As well as all those highly paid footballers - who would be released from their contracts anyway - there are also a number of far less well paid staff who rely on the club for their income. Though it does feel like a death from a thousand cuts - having them keep us out of administration is preferable for me - and just cling to the hope that the stars align and either a new Jack Walker comes along or we get into the Premiership (if Coyle can do it - there is always hope 🙂 )

[simongarnerisgod]

3 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

I think you do point out one very important fact, for those wanting us to go into administration. As well as all those highly paid footballers - who would be released from their contracts anyway - there are also a number of far less well paid staff who rely on the club for their income. Though it does feel like a death from a thousand cuts - having them keep us out of administration is preferable for me - and just cling to the hope that the stars align and either a new Jack Walker comes along or we get into the Premiership (if Coyle can do it - there is always hope 🙂 )

we are never going to reach the promised land with venkys at the helm,if we do have a good season they cut the budget the season after,every time we should have kicked on they have chopped the managers legs off

[booth]

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

we are never going to reach the promised land with venkys at the helm,if we do have a good season they cut the budget the season after,every time we should have kicked on they have chopped the managers legs off

Or even midway through the season.

This time last year we were joint 4th.

[broadsword]

20 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

I think you do point out one very important fact, for those wanting us to go into administration. As well as all those highly paid footballers - who would be released from their contracts anyway - there are also a number of far less well paid staff who rely on the club for their income. Though it does feel like a death from a thousand cuts - having them keep us out of administration is preferable for me - and just cling to the hope that the stars align and either a new Jack Walker comes along or we get into the Premiership (if Coyle can do it - there is always hope 🙂 )

The only counter I can think of to that is , how many business have been affected by our decline over the last thirteen years? How many jobs have already been lost? Would it not be better to go one step back so that we can go two steps forward?

I don't know, I certainly don't have all the answers, and especially in these currently times I don't want people to lose their jobs

 

But I'm very confident we're going nowhere but down should venkys cling onto us.

 

I still don't know why they want to keep us, it completely bamboozles me