That you have and fair play for doing so. I particularly liked seeing the piece in The Athletic where you talked about the need to raise standards, us currently being a "nothing club" and the explanation provided regarding the Court situation. It summed up a lot of our thoughts, I felt. Let's hope some of those that you spoke with are waiting to see what happens in August before putting more out there. The point I was getting at was, that at present, if anybody was to type any variant of "Venky's investigation" or "Venky's properties seized" etc into Google, they would find no UK tabloid source that comes up with a story about it. Such a story, imo, should have had more press attention in the UK than it has at present. That isn't a slight on your efforts in any way though.

Agree with everything said and have highlighted this as it is this lazy narrative that infuriates me. Never mind the regression on the pitch. Never mind the lack of investment in the transfer market. Never mind having to make do with kids in the squad. Never mind the mess in the Boardroom. The bills are being paid. Is that what the game has come to? Let's wheel out the 'we've paid the bills trophy' and have Waggott's smiley mug on the website. That's about this lot's level. It is the bit in bold along with things like 'but look at Bury' which has caused a lot of damage in our fanbase, imo. Constant repetition of 'but but who else will buy us' and 'but but £20m'. The people who use this (agenda driven outsiders can piss off) and those who accept this as a defence of the ownership have, imo, lost sight of what the game is about and what made them fall in love with football and Rovers in the first place. This has been said before, but since when is billionaires carrying out a legal duty in paying the bills for a club they own, something to be commended and made a massive deal out of? It's their flaming duty to pay the bills, no matter the amount. It comes with the territory. Where else do we hear this sort of praise in top level football? Can't pay, too much to pay? Leave. It's not for you. Sell to somebody else. We aren't dealing with near paupers here facing a difficult choice whether to fund the club or not, who heroically and out of the kindness of their hearts manage to find the money to keep the club going. Yet the PR would have us believe that's the case. These are the only owners being praised for paying the bills and when considering the state they have the club in now, from where they picked it up, it's pathetic.

It also highlights the state of journalism these days. Somebody said it on here yesterday and was spot on, it is in the main, PR and brainwashing. This lot have had properties seized in India, are under Court investigation over there and seemingly require Court permission to send funds over, yet not one of the national newspapers in this country has reported on any of this. Why not? The reports and links that many of us have seen in this regard have come from India or other sources abroad. The argument that they (the nationals) aren't interested in Rovers has some truth to it, but the owners of an English Football Club being investigated abroad and having properties seized is surely a newsworthy story? No? It's a real possibility that without the fans discovering this, none of us may have been any the wiser. Instead of such reporting, we are treated to, imo, disgusting PR around these tossers. The local paper running a headline a couple of weeks ago about how Rovers could be worse off without Venky's. We've seen that podcast prick and his agent buddy trotting out how fantastic and loyal Venky's are. Then we've got knobheads on twitter spouting the 'Venky's are the best owners in the UK' tripe, whilst blaming everything on the long suffering fans. Am I living in some sort of alternate reality? WTF is going on here? There's no better example of fiction being better than reality than the absolute bullshit around Venky's and Rovers. They've near enough destroyed our club and reduced it to this state. Drove away 10,000 fans. Lowered the standards every year. Done nothing to put things right and have now turned us into a development club, scrambling around for any kids we can get on loan. From a solid Premier League club to a development club that is on the verge of L1 again. Reality. "Without Venky's Rovers would be in trouble. Fantastic owners. They don't get the respect they deserve. Best owners in the UK. They have been so generous, we need to give them something back. The owners really want promotion, they had it tough during the pandemic but still kept up with funds, they are fantastic. Oh, the court hearing, it's just a minor misunderstanding, it will be cleared up soon and doesn't affect Rovers". Fiction. For the outsiders looking on...it's quite simple. Where were Blackburn Rovers in October 2010 before these owners arrived and where are they today? Fantastic owners? What a load of shit! We see through the PR.

Classic Morten:

Bentley. Pedersen. Santa Cruz. Quality.

A fantastic team goal:

32. Graeme Le Saux

Bit of a naive question imo, Chaddy, if you don't mind me saying. Putting the strong likelihood of Sky not being interested in it aside for a minute. If an agent reveals such before a national audience, especially via Sky Sports News, then he/she risks their name becoming mud in the agent world. Which club or owner is then going to want to deal with such an agent? It is not in the agent's interest to openly disclose this to the world by putting their name to it. However, if the post is true, I am of the view that it has been shared on that page out of disbelief at just what a mess we are as a club. The idea behind it possibly being to let the fans know. It seems as though people underestimate or in some cases, have no idea about how much of a joke setup we have under these owners. When they do realise it or experience it for themselves, it comes as a big shock to them. Hence, a likely explanation for that Facebook post being "the fans need to know" (JDT had that realisation too). I have previously shared the story of a former club owner getting in touch with somebody I know fuming and asking "who the eff do I speak to at your club, who is running the place?" after he couldn't get through to anybody senior at the club to deal with him. After said ex owner managed to sort whatever it was, he (the ex owner) spoke again with the person I know. The words "shambles" and "jokers" were uttered by him regarding our setup. He also expressed his sympathy for the Rovers fans. We aren't viewed seriously in football circles and haven't been for years, imo, due to these owners and the people they have/had in senior positions. Remember the story about an agent or a coach advising Dwight McNeil to opt for Burnley ahead of us as we were a mess at the time. The nonsense over the past couple of years with the transfer cock ups, spelling mistakes, the save/send crap, McGuire being sent back etc only adds to that view. That FB post might be somebody playing at being ITK, it happens around this time of year. However, I think it could be genuine based on what has gone on recently, our need to raise money and the people in position. It's a travesty that a club as famous, as historic and as big as this has people like Venky's, Waggott and the rest associating themselves with it and making it look like this. An absolute travesty.

Just thought I'd see how Rudy's playing career ended, as I didn't know where he went after leaving Boro. Bit of a surprise to see Rudy played under Steve Kean at Melbourne Victory in the 2020/21 season. Here is the rat bigging Rudy up. Article is from three years ago: "Steve Kean has urged his side to make better use of former English Premier League striker Rudy Gestede" https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/aleague-victory-urged-to-make-the-most-of-former-english-premier-league-marksman-rudy-gestede/news-story/24d3ee63ff5a760159e55454a06059c7 I agree with you though, the past is the past. Let's be positive!

Followed by uncontrollable laughter as the pair agree "that's a good one actually, let's go with that". "Will they buy it, Steve?". "Well, I know Chaddy definitely will and those morons on the Facebook page will fall for anything". "Ah. Nice". Phone rings... "Hey, Elliott, I have sent you a transfer update, but please leave out the bit about Fleck being like Zurg from Toy Story with his metal leg. That part was meant for Jagdish only, not for print". Anybody trying to justify signing Fleck on a longer deal or finding a positive in such a deal needs to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.

31. Craig Hignett

We lost the game, but look at the intent. No fear football against a side containing a few elite level players. Arsenal away 2005:

You might be right and it does feel as though we are stuck with them. However, I feel that this Court issue could be the thing that many of us have been waiting for. A turning point, maybe. For the first time in 14 years we are hearing murmurs of them being forced to sell the club, if they can't send funds over. Then there's the Insider account saying that the family are considering selling for the first time and that two thirds of them are in agreement, with one undecided. The Court's verdict being key. Some might say that's bullshit and not to believe a twitter account. I can understand that, but that account has got a few other things spot on recently. There is also a beloved agency officially dissolving early into next year. It might be wishful thinking, but I'm looking at the way things are unfolding and seeing it as leading to them selling up soon.

A few of the press reports say they are looking at League 1/2 clubs, but I heard it mentioned on a couple of Arsenal fan streams last week that it is a Championship club they are after. There was a tweet from a journo which they were discussing on the stream and it mentioned Championship clubs as their point of interest. Obviously, I'm not saying they are in for us. Yet. Just that it could be a possibility if this lot are forced into a sale. No matter what parts of our fan base would have people believe, we are a big deal at this level and a better proposition than any League 1/2 club they could be in for. Bergkamp knows what we're about from his playing days. As did JDT. The true football people know, and they know that we're in this mess and situation for one reason only. Just because this shit has gone on for 14 years, it does not mean that this is our level and that we should just accept this. No chance. The issue is getting these bastards gone so that we can start to recover. We need the Indian High Court to do the business.

Top drawer player. I remember he made his debut for Chelsea at Ewood in 1996. We have seen some players at Ewood over the years. Not only in the Rovers sides, but amongst the opposition too. Zola, Cantona, Henry, and more. Great to see us go into battle against some of the best and come out on top a few times too. I think the last 14 years have caused some people to forget what the game is about and what Rovers are about. It is not this weak, cowardly iteration that these owners have brought about. Never. The club is currently a reflection of them and their lapdogs. Their PR machine and their agent buddies can try and spin it all they like about how "generous" they are and how they "don't get the respect they deserve". Absolute agenda driven bullshit that is. Taking a club from 10th place in the Premier League to this deserves no respect. Zero.

True. Though they still had some very handy players in Zola, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen and Lampard out there. We did scare Jose's Chelsea a couple of times too. I remember Mourinho saying that their 1-0 win at Ewood in Feb 2005 was their most important one that season. His celebration at the end said it all. They had to scrap like mad that night to beat us. Bellamy scoring twice at the Bridge in 2005 to level the game from 2-0 down worried them for a bit too, before their quality told in the end. My point is more about the mentality, despite us losing some of those games. Both Souey and Hughes had that intent and I loved how they instilled that 'no fear' attitude in our sides. It certainly wound up the likes of Wenger, Rafa and a few more. Something that sticks in my mind is hearing Hughes speak a day before Rovers went to Old Trafford. At that time almost every away side that visited OT, apart from a couple of the title contenders, would go 4-5-1 there and just hope for a point. This was Hughes before the game: "They (Utd) are a fantastic side, but we have quality too and we want to give them something to worry about. We'll be going there to attack and to try and win the game". 24 hours later - Having gone 4-4-2, playing Tugay and Savage in CM, Bellamy and Dickov upfront: Man Utd 1-2 Rovers - MGP brace. First win there in 43 years. Mentality. A manager who wants to win, a manager who isn't scared and who transmits that to his players. We'll find one of those managers again when all of these tossers have departed.

We could have taken the game to anybody back then. It was all about intent and it started from the top. John Williams wanted to win, which is why he bought winners to the club in Souness and Hughes. Everybody was on the same page and Rovers were a reflection of both of those managers whilst they were in the hot seat. Not afraid of anybody and we would go with a no fear approach against the big clubs. Yeah, we would lose against those sides sometimes due to their extra quality, but we'd almost always give them a fright. We had Samba telling us that Drogba and Anelka didn't like coming to Ewood because it was always a tough fight for them. That speaks volumes. Mowbray worrying about an Oldham right back and Eustace bricking it against Millwall, Plymouth and the like is absolute rubbish, not befitting of this football club. It has only become a thing due to these owners and that slime ball of a CEO. That's how far we have fallen under these tossers. Yet some still say 'be careful what you wish for'. Those people need to find some bloody shame and ask themselves where their standards have gone. Anyway, take a look at the clip below. Going to Stamford Bridge as a newly promoted club and showing no fear. We should have had two penalties and won the game as a result:

A couple of memories from that Fulham game that was being discussed yesterday:

I can still see it, Matty. Belting sunny day, ground packed, Blackburn End looking fantastic. I was sat in the Riverside. Coley sliding in on Maik Taylor to score a tap in. Duffer rampaging through for the second. Then Cole twisting the Fulham defence inside out for the third. As I sit here, only two questions come to mind: 1) Where have 22 years gone? 2) What have these bastards done to our club?

Got a feeling the JDT and Rovers chapter isn't over yet. He's clearly still around the area, was said to have visited Brockhall a couple of times since his departure and his son is now part of our Academy. I wonder, just wonder, if he has heard something about a possible sale of the club. We've had that Rovers Insider account suggest that they are thinking about selling up, with one of the family still hesitant, wanting to do the 'honourable thing'. Message for that Venky family member. Get lost, you will never, ever, get this club promoted to the Premier League. The only honourable thing you can do, is piss off. You've turned a solid Premier League outfit into this embarrassing mess and you expect me and thousands of others to be grateful? What for? Who the eff do you think you are? We have standards and will never lower them. Sell the club and piss off. There is talk that a consortium including Dennis Bergkamp, Ronald Koeman and others is looking at buying a Championship club. I don't know if Rovers are on the radar but if these tossers are forced into a sale, which looks a possibility, you never know what could happen. JDT plays their type of football, but of course, I don't want to start getting too carried away. How good would it feel to have proper football people at Rovers again though? Bergkamp is a winner. There are plenty of winners in football, but the likes of Waggott are an absolute joke. Every one of those in the upper levels of the club at this moment in time, IMO, are sitting way above their station and are out of their depths. Nothing lasts forever though and I think the end isn't far away for this shit regime.

30. Corrado Grabbi

I remember the shouts of "skin him" from the Riverside, whenever he was on the ball. An exciting winger who always tried to beat his man. He would be lost in today's game, like many of the old school wingers, as that type of flair appears to be coached out of players these days. Could have been so much more, Gillespie, if it wasn't for the off field issues.

I find it amazing that he was initially a right footed player, but he then worked tirelessly on improving his left foot. So much so that his left became stronger than his right. Most neutrals seeing his goals would assume he was naturally left footed. There's hours and hours of work behind that though. Fantastic. Some excellent goals with both feet in that video. The Norwich one where he flicks a header over the defender is top class.

An assistant from a place that the king rat recently had a spell at. I could just stop there. Tell me nothing has changed, without telling me nothing has changed. A nothing appointment, in my view. I recall people similarly hyping up Broughton due to his qualifications. It's not difficult to find people better qualified than the clowns that inhabit the upper corridors at Ewood. Clubs like Newcastle, Brighton and even Man Utd might have these fancy technical directors and recruitment setups, there's a slight difference though. Those are serious football clubs with real operators who want their clubs to succeed. They are also in the business of finding quality footballers. When they sell their best players, they go out and find others. Like proper clubs do. What we have, is an absolute shitshow led by people with super agent connections. Why is it that no matter what happens, no matter how many years pass by, all roads STILL seemingly lead back to the same place? Those fancy positions mean nothing here under these owners and only act as a shield for the car salesman, the shadow man and their buddies. Yet the gullible will fall for it. We've just had Kimberly overseeing recruitment here, plus Broughton and a whole new recruitment team and what have they managed to come up with? A lot of that might not be their fault due to budget cuts and the clowns changing like the wind, but they serve as examples of these appointments being a waste of time. You have to wonder why a club, that has no ambition, no care for promotion and does not want to spend on signings, needs so many Directors. Imo, it's window dressing bullshit, to make it look like there is a plan. There is no plan. There is no project. They are winging it. The only plan this club should ever have in this Division, is how to get back into the Premier League. Funny how, the only two people at the club who spoke about Rovers becoming a Premier League club again have recently been removed. I was far from a Broughton fan, I didn't agree with his "pathways" philosophy, nor am I fussed about his departure. However, I do believe he was being genuine when he spoke about Rovers and the aim to become a sustainable Premier League club. When has that bastard Waggott ever said anything about promotion? From day one his aim has been to save the owners from having to spend. They've been so generous haven't they, Steve? We have to "give them something back" eh, Steve? Strange how a £150m jackpot for promotion doesn't seem appealing. Surely that would be the best way for us to "give something back" to these "generous" owners, Steve? A technical director coming in means little to me and changes nothing. Waggott out.

On a related theme, Vinjay, I'm finding myself becoming increasingly peed off seeing Wilcox sat amongst the United bigwigs. I didn't think it would bother me all that much, but it does. The camera panned to him looking glum during one game (before they won the Cup, think it was the Palace battering) and it just hit me. Since then, I've been hearing talkSPORT and various people online trot out their "well, they've got Wilcox there, he'll sort them out" spiel. I have to turn that crap off. I can only imagine how you feel about it! Obviously, he can work for whoever he wants. That lot though, just doesn't sit right. He could very well have been our DOF had we remained as a normal Club with decent owners.