[Archived] BIG SAM GONE

[gumboots]

Guardian article:

Blackburn Rovers' new Indian owners yesterday balanced their abrupt decision to sack Sam Allardyce with airy promises about a top-four finish this season. That is all very well but someone has to finance it.

Quite how Venky's and its chairwoman, Anuradha Desai, will go about it is far from clear. The company's most recently available accounts, to the end of March last year, show it made less than £29m in profit. This contributed to a healthy cash balance of a little over £150m: healthy but hardly breathtaking.

About £46m of the cash has been swallowed up by the purchase of Blackburn. Subsequent quarterly accounts show that by the end of the 2009 calendar year Venky's had added another £6.8m in profit, though how much cash that added is not detailed. So Venky's is neither Roman Abramovich nor Sheikh Mansour. Small wonder they talk about loans not transfers.

She didn't say top 4 this season did she? It was their vision for the club. I'm not excited by what's happened as some are but nor will I join the doom and gloom merchants.

[47er]

She didn't say top 4 this season did she? It was their vision for the club. I'm not excited by what's happened as some are but nor will I join the doom and gloom merchants.

You think they can afford it? I'd have been happy with perpetual tenth but I'd take survival right now.

[Montfort]

I'd have been happy with perpetual tenth but I'd take survival right now.

So would I.

[broadsword]

They have less cash than the Trust, that's correct, isn't it?

Can anyone here who is savvy enough track down the balance sheets and the P&L a/c's and compare? Or is it the case that because most of Venky's is privately owned they don't publish accounts? I really am a doofus when it comes to finance so I've probably said something stupid there.

I really don't think they know what they've gotten themselves in for.

[Bobby G]

Nicko suggests that Sam is flying out to Dubai. I would love the opportunity to see him while he was here.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

They have less cash than the Trust, that's correct, isn't it?

Can anyone here who is savvy enough track down the balance sheets and the P&L a/c's and compare? Or is it the case that because most of Venky's is privately owned they don't publish accounts? I really am a doofus when it comes to finance so I've probably said something stupid there.

I really don't think they know what they've gotten themselves in for.

They're the same numbers that were floating around before we were bought. Its incomprehensible that a business worth £200m would purchase a football club for £50m. Plus firing Sam would cost approx £1/2m. And it seems clear that they're going to invest in January. Their worth according to that guardian article doesnt add up.

[Gav]

Another interview with Sam on Sky

Thought I'd post this, given some people are proclaiming "majority" are glad he got sacked. You can see that on the comments in the above article, MOST neutrals are actually quite shocked by the news as well.

Are these the same neutrals that think we’re called:

Blackburn Wanderers,

The club that Jack Haywood built,

The club that has no Asian season ticket holders,

The club that Alan Shearer ‘never won anything in his career’ played for

Etc etc…….

I listened to Dean Sturridge the other night talking about the sacking, what the hell does Dean Strurridge know about our situation, he openly admitted he’d not seen us play this season.

You’ve got other so called pundits saying they’re mad to sack the manger, yet last week they’re saying the footballs terrible, Alan Smith saying he hates watching us, then asks ‘why have we sacked the manager’

The media in the main know nothing about our plight, full of hypocrisy and distain for a small Lancashire town that has been punching above its weight for the past 20yrs.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

You want something to happen ? How about relegation ? £40 million well spent.

Unbelieveable. My missus says that - and she's a non-competitor too.

TBH Jim settling for the safety of the lower eschelons of the Premierdship is being non competitive in my book.

You can call me naive but look at the sides in the Prem at the moment, even the top 4, they are no where near the quality of previous years. With the right signings and attitude on the pitch a 'less established' club could get a Champ league place within the next couple of years. Not saying it will be us but someone unexpected will break into the top 4 - Sunderland seem to be going on the right lines.

There is a whiff of opportunity around, simply because the big four have not got the quality they had and there's not a great deal of quality out there to buy. Even Chelsea are starting to struggle as their squad is becoming old. There is also a lack of funds (except City).

[Mattyblue]

TBH Jim settling for the safety of the lower eschelons of the Premierdship is being non competitive in my book.

You can call me naive but look at the sides in the Prem at the moment, even the top 4, they are no where near the quality of previous years. With the right signings and attitude on the pitch a 'less established' club could get a Champ league place within the next couple of years. Not saying it will be us but someone unexpected will break into the top 4 - Sunderland seem to be going on the right lines.

There is a whiff of opportunity around, simply because the big four have not got the quality they had and there's not a great deal of quality out there to buy. Even Chelsea are starting to struggle as their squad is becoming old. There is also a lack of funds (except City).

The thing is you are correct, but Venky's seem to be totally going the wrong way around bridging the gap. As a club we were stable and well run but obviously needed more money for transfers. So, to sack a manager mid season, almost drive the senior executives out the door and get into bed with agents when all the club needed, espscially in the short term was more capital investment is kamikaze management.

[nicko]

Nicko suggests that Sam is flying out to Dubai. I would love the opportunity to see him while he was here.

He might be there for some time...

[accyrover]

Sentimental clap trap. Have you been on the booze?

Its not sentimental clap trap, its a sensible post. Sam's style of football is functional but drab, relying on free kicks, long throws and corners. Its the most mundane, boring, unentertaining rubbish you could watch. He plays one up front with no midfield backing the lone man up, has an aversion to wing play or any movement of players at more that a pedestrian pace. I have been a Rovers fan for 30 years and this year is the first season in a long time that I havent bought a season ticket because far from being entertained under Sam, I found myself dreading going to Ewood. Ok, so he saved us from relegation and we then finished 10th, but Sams inflexibility and unwillingness to change his approach has been his undoing. We pay to watch football and be entertained. Sam does not entertain.

My issue however is the timing of his dismissal, and the way it has been done. I understand the reasoning, but to pot him without a Plan B ie: a manager in waiting, is sucicidal and shows just how naive our new owners are. Their lines of communication are awful, garbled, mixed up and contradictory. Kentaro are obviously pulling the strings, and not very well I may add.

The whole thing looks like a farce. I hope its all just a smokescreen and 6 months down the line we'll look back on the last 24 hours and nod our heads sagely. I just hope the Rao's and Kentaro know what they are doing. Unfortunately, I doubt it.

Accyrover

[BuckyRover]

I'm looking forward to seeing a shot from outside the box

Can't wait

[Jackson]

BIG FAT SAMS BLUE&WHITE ARMY

When did anyone last sing that?

Must be deaf or in the wrong stand.

[thenodrog]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/14/avram-grant-sam-allardyce-west-ham

Really depressing article.

"Allardyce's former chairman at Blackburn, John Williams, is expected to remain at the club despite his deep concern at recent events. Williams and the managing director, Tom Finn, held extensive talks with Blackburn's new owners yesterday but, in the interest of short-term stability at Ewood, have decided against resigning from their posts."

Financial inducement if ever I saw one. Reverse Gardening leave even! Play golf in warmer climes most weeks until May and then stroll off into the sunset with loadsamoney. Good on you John and Tom.... I hope and trust that you've pulled their stupid necks right out over this.

"Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted a bleak future for Blackburn as the club's new owners revealed they sacked Allardyce because he was not the man to take them into the Champions League. Venky's chairwoman, Anuradha Desai, claimed that the first-team coach Steve Kean could remain in charge for "a couple of months" as they consider potential replacements."

So in other words a manager that has us fairly comfortable in mid table on a shoe string is replaced by some youth team coach who quite obviously will have no experience, no authority with either the board or the players and will simply conduct training sessions whilst Kentaro pick the team.

imo This was quite simply as close to Summary Dismissal as it gets! If Sam had been caught with his fingers in the till or the Chairman's missus he couldn't have been bounced out any faster!

Never in my worst nightmares could I have envisaged this happening to BRFC. It's an abomination that stinks to high heaven. Even some Radio Lancs interviewer was extracting the urine out of one of the Slumdog brothers this morning. His smirk could be seen on the radio! After the shennanigins last summer Radio Lancs will be loving it.

I have virtually come around to believing that relegation will be a welcome relief if only to rid us of this shower of ..... .

I'm so incredulous that I really don't know if this is all part of the Walker game plan. If it is then it's absolute genius. Cash in on the best players whilst keeping the club in the Prem and saleable, then sell for as much as possible to owners who are complete utterly and totally unsuitable and before the whole Prem bubble bursts. See the club destroyed, the players leave and then steal/buy back in to a ready made stadium and training facilities for a song and start again to rise through the lower divisions with a much more manageable scenario. It would make more sense than anything else that I can think of at the moment.

btw ...... Last night I was pledged a few grand in minutes (sorry in seconds!) as soon as I mentioned FC Lanky Rovers and resurrecting the Anchor Ground. Maybe time to bring it on. My allegiance to the club is wearing mighty thin. It is simply not BRFC anymore. Nothing to do with Blackburn. Nothing to do with us. Nothing to do with football. And in a few months I'd wager nothing to do with the Premier League. If a new local club representing local paople could not attract a good few thousand supporters away from the current abortion then it'd be a poor do.

[slough_rover]

When did anyone last sing that?

Must be deaf or in the wrong stand.

Ha ha. The only song I heard in relation to Sam was 4-4-2 my lord which was hardly complimentary.

[Mattyblue]

When did anyone last sing that?

Must be deaf or in the wrong stand.

'Big Sam's blue n white army' was sang most weeks home ans away, don't re-write history.

[Jackson]

I really don't know if this is all part of the Walker game plan. If it is then it's absolute genius. Sell the best players whilst keeping the club in the Prem and saleable, then sell for as much as possible to owners who are complete utterly and totally unsuitable and before the whole Prem bubble bursts. See the club destroyed, the players leave and then steal/buy back in to a ready made stadium and training facilities for a song and start again to rise through the lower divisions with a much more manageable scenario.

Considering that we were the $h!t on the Walker's shoes, I can confidently say that this will not happen.

[chris]

"Never in my worst nightmares could I have envisaged this happening to BRFC.

you have pretty lame dreams, when I was 5 I dreamt my Mum was a monster and ate me.

Either way if you dreaming of new owners that promise a top 4 or 5 team and have available funds, sack a fairly unpopular manager and promise good times, then I wouldn't call it a nightmare, not yet.

your over reacting without giving them a chance, I am worried but all this worse nightmare stuff, too much.

I'm not sure we can believe everything we read in the press.

If it was so bad at Blackburn why did Sam say he was disappointed to have been sacked and not part of it?

Still hope here.

[thenodrog]

Its not sentimental clap trap, its a sensible post. Sam's style of football is functional but drab, relying on free kicks, long throws and corners. Its the most mundane, boring, unentertaining rubbish you could watch. He plays one up front with no midfield backing the lone man up, has an aversion to wing play or any movement of players at more that a pedestrian pace. I have been a Rovers fan for 30 years and this year is the first season in a long time that I havent bought a season ticket because far from being entertained under Sam, I found myself dreading going to Ewood. Ok, so he saved us from relegation and we then finished 10th, but Sams inflexibility and unwillingness to change his approach has been his undoing. We pay to watch football and be entertained. Sam does not entertain.

My issue however is the timing of his dismissal, and the way it has been done. I understand the reasoning, but to pot him without a Plan B ie: a manager in waiting, is sucicidal and shows just how naive our new owners are. Their lines of communication are awful, garbled, mixed up and contradictory. Kentaro are obviously pulling the strings, and not very well I may add.

The whole thing looks like a farce. I hope its all just a smokescreen and 6 months down the line we'll look back on the last 24 hours and nod our heads sagely. I just hope the Rao's and Kentaro know what they are doing. Unfortunately, I doubt it.

Accyrover

Repeat the above often enough and you might even come to believe it one day I'm sure Accy..... but you'd better be quick, May will likely see us down.

[thenodrog]

you have pretty lame dreams, when I was 5 I dreamt my Mum was a monster and ate me.

Either way if you dreaming of new owners that promise a top 4 or 5 team and have available funds, sack a fairly unpopular manager and promise good times, then I wouldn't call it a nightmare, not yet.

your over reacting without giving them a chance, I am worried but all this worse nightmare stuff, too much.

I'm not sure we can believe everything we read in the press.

If it was so bad at Blackburn why did Sam say he was disappointed to have been sacked and not part of it?

Still hope here.

Revealed this am in interview on radio Lancs that they had invited Maradona to come. He's obviously fuc.. err fkuck... err declined their offer. So after sacking the manager on an impulse it's now Plan B. And guess what? There aint no Plan B! So it's Plan C and some youth team manager till the end... (or at least the end of the season). I could understand this if we were whu are currently but otherwise it's just crass stupidity.

[BuckyRover]

Revealed this am in interview on radio Lancs that they had invited Maradona to come. He's obviously fuc.. err fkuck... err declined their offer. So after sacking the manager on an impulse it's now Plan B. And guess what? There aint no Plan B! So it's Plan C and some youth team manager till the end... (or at least the end of the season). I could understand this if we were whu are currently but otherwise it's just crass stupidity.

If we do ok with Steve Kean, you are going to have to admit you know less about football than an Indian businesswoman.

Should be fun

[SouthAussieRover]

If we do ok with Steve Kean, you are going to have to admit you know less about football than an Indian businesswoman.

Should be fun

If he does,i'll take up smoking what you readily admit to using.

[Craigman]

Latest on new manager

On the departure of Blackburn Rovers team manager, Sam Allardyce, and his deputy, Neil McDonald, Desai said they were looking for a former EPL player. The name will be finalised in 10 days.

“We are looking for a local (Englishman) who had played in the EPL. Steve Kean, who has taken over as manager with immediate

effect, is good,” she added.

[thenodrog]

TBH Jim settling for the safety of the lower eschelons of the Premierdship is being non competitive in my book.

You can call me naive but look at the sides in the Prem at the moment, even the top 4, they are no where near the quality of previous years. With the right signings and attitude on the pitch a 'less established' club could get a Champ league place within the next couple of years. Not saying it will be us but someone unexpected will break into the top 4 - Sunderland seem to be going on the right lines.

There is a whiff of opportunity around, simply because the big four have not got the quality they had and there's not a great deal of quality out there to buy. Even Chelsea are starting to struggle as their squad is becoming old. There is also a lack of funds (except City).

Bass .... Bass..... The plane, The plane.

[broadsword]

So ... Steve Kean will take over for the time being ... for the next two months ... until the end of the season ... for the next two weeks. Honestly, it really is such a mess.