Local firm SG aluminium just entered administration and is a company that has been around for a while. I remembered the name as one of the ex-directors of Rovers (Iain Stanners) previously owned the company. Made some money (not 7 figures or anything like that but still on noted in past club accounts) from the stadium rebuilding (not just Ewood actually but some other clubs too) as did Robert Coar and George Root. Speaking of Root he was mentioned in an article on the official site not long ago due to his position as secretary of the Community Trust. Pretty sure Coar is still around though he hasn't threatened to sue any fans lately. http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/16092462.33-jobs-lost-as-blackburn-firm-goes-into-administration/?action=success#comments-feedback-anchor Also saw an article complaining about Blackburn town centre Morrisons. Someone said they haven't been back due to a negative experience shortly after it opened. That was 30 years ago talk about holding a grudge lol. I have nothing on that guy!

I assume you mean bringing him back from Birmingham and not after being shockingly fired by Oldham. Certainly to say it made more sense than Lowe is an understatement but I remember being abused at the time simply for noting he had a poor injury record. Any manager recruiting Lowe may as well hand in a suicide note. As I said once recently he might as well follow his managers around wearing a black hood and carrying a scythe. "Now I am become death, the destroyer of managers". People like that can't be trusted.

I answered your question and didn't miss your point at all. I won't post on this thread again.

Maybe you could question why I clicked on thread in first place (I certainly did prior but simply was tired of seeing the topic) but you can't blame me for responding after reading it. At least this page and the last anyway. I'm sorry but to suggest Accrington adds any relevance whatsoever to Rovers winning promotion this season is as small minded as it gets. Could you add a "hide thread" option possibly for those that are either of no interest, cause annoyance or sometimes both? I don't ignore any posters though and there's certainly a couple I can't abide at all. You aren't one of those and if I recall right admins/mods can't be ignored anyway? I grew up in Blackburn of course (1986 being my year of birth) and that coincided with the 1990's. I didn't know any Boring Name FC or Accrington fans then and I still don't. I always felt kids who supported Man United seemed more arrogant and dislikeable in general. Not to mention the club itself and the people who played/managed there! As for social media I don't really get involved in many conversations with Boring Name FC fans. I also joined this forum shortly before twitter existed but I guess Facebook/Myspace was still around. That hasn't changed anything I still think Man United fans are the most obnoxious around not that I engage in conversation with them either. I don't like it when people mention Boring Name FC fans chanting about Jack obviously but people ought to be more bothered about his family/trustees. Plus I don't believe Jack gave a toss about Boring Name FC anyway. Certainly not while he was owner (can't say the 90's were ruined by the absence of any Boring Name FC fixtures) and the whole "hatred" thing started more in the 1970's when Jack was already in his 40's.

I've made this point before but before Jack died Williams was quoted as saying "we must see ourselves as being Lancashire". Yet after promotion it was constantly "small town this, small town that" even though that's untrue. I know you agree with me on that JH but others have been brainwashed. Recently I mentioned a poll in Bolton with more people saying they would rather be regarded as a town than a city. I can't understand that and what bothered me most was knowing it would be exactly the same here. At least in Bolton more people might know about "City Challenge" which few on here seem to have heard of despite Blackburn entering it. Like yourself JH I still see Hyndburn, etc as a catchment area. Darwen certainly is as well. Back in the Prem I saw the rest of Lancashire as a catchment area. I also regarded parts of West Yorkshire as a catchment area with Leeds perhaps being the main competition. Huddersfield should be competing for that now. I guess Boring Name FC should be too but their name is so dreary and boring I just can't see why anyone outside the town itself would be interested. I do recognise not everyone has my way of thinking but in this case they certainly should. I know people are aware my interest in them isn't as high as others but it hardly helps when the name itself irritates me simply for being so dreary and dull sounding. At least Stenhousemuir and Cowdenbeath are amusingly unmarketable names. I've said before they should add clarets to their name at the very least just to break up the monotony. Even Bradford seems like a better alternative to me for people in that West Yorkshire region. Of course Bradford are like Bristol City/Rovers and Birmingham City proving that club size isn't always dependent on location. In many cases it is but Rovers are a far bigger club than Bradford (and Birmingham) as far as I'm concerned. I'm not saying Blackburn has a divine right to city status but the fact is its been considered for a reason.

No more? What a load of rubbish. Of course there's a chasm between Rovers and Accrington. Back in the PL (at least the 2nd stint) I was treated as mentally subnormal for my hatred of Man United despite them being a regular opponent. Yeah OK their fans are everywhere but the Blackburn public ought to be more hostile towards them than those in Walsall or Gillingham. That's OK but people can't take a bit of teasing from Accrington fans? I would simply ignore them there's absolutely no significance to playing them at all. I certainly don't want to play them but same could be said for most L1 clubs. At least those who have spent most of their history in L1 and L2. The main problem though is this type of fixture brings out the absolute worst in parochial attitudes. Back in the Prem had Rovers drawn Accrington in the League Cup (I can't remember if they had been promoted to football league at that stage but you get the point) it would have been a highlight of the season for some fans even if the game was at Ewood. Ridiculous. The only plus point of being drawn away to them would have been proximity.

Only if you see them as relevant. I regarded fixtures like Rovers v Leeds, Rovers v Newcastle as big fixtures in the Championship especially with all 3 being leading Premier League clubs not too long ago. What relevance are Accrington (in comparison to say Walsall or Gillingham) other than being closer in distance? In L1 this season I considered the biggest fixture to be Wigan but nothing to do with them being in the NW. Guess I'm being arrogant and possibly still stuck in the 90's for not having any interest in Accrington whatsoever.

Yeah I heard a few weeks back that Venkys won't sack Mowbray even without promotion. The exception being if the juggernaut that is Accrington gets promoted because the odds of promotion next year would drop 90%. Seriously the pressure couldn't be higher (or at least shouldn't) than it already is. I don't see Accrington's promotion bid as having any relevance to Rovers whatsoever. How are Darwen doing at the moment?

See that prat Owen got booed even after scoring in a charity game for Liverpool "Legends" today. . Don't know why the fans tolerate his presence or "ambassador" position in first place. Maybe it was intended as a joke but for some reason Phil Babb played. That incident with the goalpost was legendary though! Oldest player in Liverpool's squad was Aldridge so nobody 60 or over. Carragher played and didn't spit on anyone but then again highly unlikely any Man United fans were present.

Yeah that is true. I was just talking to someone earlier today about public houses being a poor investment. Some pretentious ones or those in prime city locations might be exceptions (though even those have probably declined) but otherwise they continue to close all over the place. I also brought up Blockbuster (and the irony considering how many rental stores closed after Blockbuster opened in their neighbourhood) and how their business model had faults. Maybe if they had invested in internet streaming faster they could have stemmed the tide and become what Netflix are but they didn't. Poor business management. Owners can sell what they like as long as its legal. I'm not gonna sneer at West Ham's owners because of their background but you won't see adult XXX sponsorships at football stadiums will you? OK its because the FA won't allow it but hardly prizes for guessing why! Its reminded me of this story actually and there's probably been similar somewhere. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/football-team-sponsored-pornhub-banned-4535745 Back on the chicken subject should point out animal welfare but I can't deny it isn't at the top of my priority list. Its pretty telling that animal welfare hasn't been one of the primary digs for Rovers fans to aim at Venkys. Survival of the fittest and all that at least when it comes to humans v animals. There's no such thing as "humane slaughter" either!

Well he hasn't been convicted yet (has he?) though being charged with importing heroin seems pretty damning. Unless there's some rogue element under his employment its probably completely accurate or a complete setup. I think he was accused of match fixing in Greece before buying the club but like I've said people have to be convicted. Has that happened yet or was there any prior attempt to convict which failed? Legal issues have grey areas not just black and white. Belokon has legal issues in his own country so isn't that double standards? I'm referring to those who sympathise with Blackpool fans (as you probably do K-Hod) but those who think different rules have applied to Forest's owner. Maybe so but the problem is he's an existing owner (who hasn't been convicted) whereas Belokon has been convicted (in absentia) in another country but has never owned Blackpool. I don't think these trafficking charges have been filed outside Greece have they? I'm not saying Belokon's charges are legit as I don't know enough about the case. What I know is he denies them and so does this other guy. Kazakhstan certainly has a reputation for court corruption and Greece probably does as well. They certainly do for owing debt!

Just like they decided they were not going to rebuild the Riverside even though Jack wanted it. Of course he had planned it for 1999 so it was delayed but after promotion it should have happened. Granted its not as important as transfer funds, etc and people might say it wouldn't have been filled (with the club doing a poor job of targeting catchment areas, etc and constantly making small town claims) but Jack wanted it and that's that. Williams said they went against Jack's wishes on this at a fans forum meeting which Revidge attended. Its no wonder I question why Williams, Finn, etc took no issue with this. Guess its easy though when the fans are easily manipulated. I think some on here would hate it if Blackburn becomes a city because they enjoy labelling it a "small town" for some reason. This isn't just some wild theory I saw a poll of the Bolton public and more said they wanted to remain with town status. Bizarre mentality and I believe that's how the Blackburn public would feel. Obviously I'm talking about city status in the modern day not places like Wells and Ripon. As for the 3 million that would have just been the minimum. It might have been dependent on how other companies under the trust fund were performing (those which were supposed to generate funds for beneficiaries, etc) but unless they were really struggling Rovers should have been a beneficiary. Should note once again that they only sold Flybe AFTER offloading the club. Its not a stretch to imagine the Walker family insisted on that so the club wouldn't ask for a handout. Maybe if they had sold Flybe first and the club got nothing who knows? Maybe Rovers fans would have actually complained about it!

Yeah should have mentioned that when referring to bank overdrafts, etc. Anything but funds from the so called trust FUND. Except when they put in 3 million when they felt like it. Probably during brief interludes where the Walker family didn't threaten them with legalities for a couple of days. Or once in a while slightly standing up to them.

What's truly success though? Venkys have claimed they want to get back to the EPL and will do what it takes. Preston and Bristol City aren't role models to follow at this point. The club had those bank debts under the Walker family influenced trust because they wouldn't contribute a damn thing. The bank + Tv money was the only option. I don't know what guarantees were offered (if they borrowed with potential future Tv revenue as collateral) as I doubt they would have paid any of it off. Any remaining debts Jack hadn't already written off (the money spent initially after promotion was probably via the last of his share capital) were not removed out of generosity. The family had given up trying to get those repaid and just wanted to grab what they could (from whoever they could) before inevitably being relegated. They couldn't stand the risk of losing the club for next to nothing in the Championship. They probably wouldn't have wasted money as Venkys did in 2012 but only because costs would have been cut to the minimum or just enough to be mediocre in the Championship. In that case the club might even have ended up in L1 after 3 or 4 seasons of this. Wigan have been relegated to L1 twice and that's with Whelan still subsidising them.

...and general operative costs.

Not indefinitely and the prime example of that is the illusion of stability under the previous owners. Williams being incapable of being relegated has been proven (well close enough) to be nonsense and the club wouldn't have survived under such restraints for ever. If Venkys want to get back to the EPL fast (especially if they might see that as a chance to cut losses though kinda contradicts my argument) then they will almost certainly need to spend something. I've already made an argument for removing Mowbray in the summer whatever happens and a new manager will probably want something more than "limited" funding. He probably won't be fired if promoted anyway and whatever happens the financial backing remains to be seen. If someone can't be trusted to spend a larger budget can they be trusted with something smaller? OK some managers actually seem to work better with smaller budgets (have to put more thought into their decisions, etc) so there's an argument there perhaps. Tan wrote off about 70 million didn't he some time ago? That's hardly nothing. QPR of course have had their FUP problems (and I simply can't say that's right because the damn rules shouldn't exist) and with likes of Preston North End you could argue a bit more investment is what they need to make a final push. They have lost 2 playoff finals so they could have got into PL via that route but a bit more money might have pushed them all the way. Well probably not in 2001 as Rovers and Fulham were clearly the best 2 teams in the league and they couldn't really have bridged that gap. You have to remember too that Hemmings has still subsidised the club to an extent even if he won't break the bank. Which is fine because its his choice not decided by a greedy family influencing a trust fund. Neil still has upside having only been sacked once (though he's one step away from looking like a typical one EPL promotion wonder) so maybe he will take that final step. Granted they have made some bad decisions in the past with likes of Darren Ferguson, Westley (who seems like a nutcase from what I've read) and of course Derek Shaw who shouldn't be allowed inside Darwen AFC never mind a Championship club.

You're forgetting the wonderful FUP though even that wouldn't explain the sheer extent of starvation compared to now. Unless Venkys were briefly hypnotised by a member of the Walker Family Influenced Trust. At least 20 million and some other changes. Won't hold my breath on either though even with Venkys bizarre logic I can't see them spending next to nothing if promoted.

Ewood, Brockhall and the players combined wouldn't remotely approach 147 million. Certainly yes they could call in that debt at any moment and considering their untrustworthy reputation it can't be ruled out. Logically though they aren't likely to get the money back and the best way of recouping anything significant would be via a return to the EPL. Something which they aren't even close to inspiring confidence for. That's why I've said in the summer if they put out a competent budget that they should sack an unconvincing manager. If they don't (and replace him with someone who's achieved multiple EPL promotions OR gamble on an up and comer) then can you really see anything better than a relegation battle or midtable at best? That's if the club even gets promoted this season though my confidence is still good in that regard. Please note I'm not expecting a second consecutive promotion immediately but the sooner the right building blocks are in place the better. There can't be mistakes or hesitation. Of course the other option is to write off the debt and sell the club for a few million at most. You can't predict these people but judging by this season they aren't planning to do that imminently. Of course sometimes there's the likes of Jack who will write off an entire debt with no conditions attached. Can anyone really trust them to do that? The Bank Of India are clearly content with whatever facility (overdraft, etc) is bring provided at the moment and promises made by Venkys. Barclays were not happy hence why they changed to them in the first place. The Bank Of India of course were probably familiar with them already because of their core business. They obviously feel that Venkys can manage the financial situation.

No wrestling at Blackburn Arena next month as the company promoting it has folded. They were supposed to be running Manchester Arena tomorrow night and I was still 50/50 on whether to go last minute. Save the money I suppose. I can't imagine this will encourage Blackburn Arena (or Silver Blades whatever they call it) to put more events besides ice skating/hockey on. Unless WWE ever ask them again they did hold an event there around 93/94. Probably makes far more sense for them to tour the biggest arenas in UK though.

While it seems like there some kind of annual review system could be enforced on new owners some fans just don't understand legal complexities, etc. The comments on Owen Oyston for instance who owned the club prior to 2004 conviction rules, etc. Can you imagine the lawsuit that would have come at them had they tried to ban him? I don't think they were ever popular but at that time they had rebuilt the stadium. etc which was a complete and utter dump beforehand. So they could have brought that up to the Football League. I don't really know why they actually invested that money or how much came from grants, etc. On the other hand such rules could probably be brought up in court by incoming or post 04 owners stating that its unfair and prejudiced against them when older owners don't apply. Criminal acts now though whether by long term, incoming, whatever, etc should be grounds for an imminent ban. For instance what they did to Belokon. Owen Oyston being removed wouldn't have stopped Karl Oyston anyway if they just did some kind of ownership switch. Karl Oyston of course was the chairman though he's recently been replaced and seems to be feuding with his Father now. Of course there's the question of protests with certain owners not working. In this case its obviously down to Belokon (the foreigner GASP!) ultimately. I think Blackpool fans could have done all kinds of things just to make their lifes as inconvenient as possible. Even things like "slipping" on water in the concourse people can fake back injuries pretty easily. Just pile up the litigation on them though of course it depends how many fans would be willing to get involved. Wasn't there a fire or something in the DE a few years ago? Its a shame fans didn't make a big deal of it and file some kind of safety lawsuit against Venkys.

Lets see if that will "Stam" the relegation threat. Get it...stem/stam? Where's my coat?

Speaking of that keeper Rojas he had a liver transplant 3 years ago in a Brazilian hospital of all places. For those unfamiliar with his plot to get Brazil kicked out of Italia 90 for Chile's gain... https://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/04/14/the-sensational-plot-of-roberto-condor-rojas-to-eliminate-brazil-from-world-cup-qualification/ From that site I also noticed a link to this story. Wonder if he gave Souness a call after that Ali Dia incident lol? Titled the "most audacious conman" so initially I thought it was an article about Steve Kean or Jason Lowe until catching the rest of the title. Actually this guy was pretty likable and harmless compared to some of the conmen who make a living from football. https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/carlos-henrique-raposo-footballs-most-audacious-con-man/

I don't know which game it was from (it was from a video called "Fast Football" years back and there was a clip montage of dives, etc) but one player defending a corner pretended to be elbowed in the face. Then there was that keeper who pretended he had been hit by a firework or something and I don't mean the one on "Dream Team". I guess they aren't dives in the more "traditional" sense but anyhow... Not heard much since but it looks like the PAOK owner will be banned from stadiums for 5 years and hit with a heavy fine. While I can't help liking his crazy act I'm surprised either FIFA or UEFA haven't stepped in with a lifetime ban. Apparently he's also been asked to testify wouldn't want to be his lawyer! Then again some will take a cheque to defend anyone.

While the racism probably shouldn't be laughed at (though political correctness goes way too far with stuff like editing "only fools and horses" BBC repeats because of an Asian shop joke) its pretty funny that someone tagged this as "citation needed". From Gimhae FC's (South Korea) Wikipedia page. I had a bet on their game and was trying to find out via their site why it hadn't started at the (UK) time listed. "The Gimhae Round Eyes" are the club's hooligan firm consisting of entirely foreign members. The name "round eyes" stems from the spherical appearance of the group's eyes, which they use to see rival fans during skirmishes."

I was planning on finding a stream (yes its being televised) but this postponement has distracted me!