[Archived] Podcast 24

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

In BRFCS Podcast 24, Paul, Kamy and Eddie discuss the transfer window, the Newcastle United and Arsenal games and the Open Supporters Meeting.

Transfer window round-up

* Incoming transfers

* Outgoing transfers

* Other transfer matters

Footy

* Newcastle match

* Arsenal match

Club issues

* Open Supporters Meeting

* Ian Battersby

Our thanks to podcast producer J*B (Josh) and to Glenn for preparing this podcast.

To listen to the podcast, go to the article on the front page here. You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or download it by right-clicking on the Download link and saving it to your hard disk. The direct link for the file is as follows:

http://brfcspod.brfcsltd.netdna-cdn.com/BRFCS-24.mp3

[chaddyrovers]

really good podcast.

agree with most of the comments made by Paul, Kamy and Eddie.

I'm pleased that we got rid of the deadwood of Roberts, Salgado and ndrews have leave. Very sad that Nelsen has left. He was a great player and servant for the club. always thought he work carry on working at the Youth team coaching and giving them his experience and knowledge. Always thought he could be possible manager at rovers in 5 or 6 years time depending where we are.

Can I also says thankyou for recording the podcast and taking time of your day to do this podcast!

Also Tim Payne has just come on for the Rovers academy team playing tonight about Stoke City in Youth cup.

[G Somerset Rover]

Really good podcast. Only thing I would say though is it was slightly dissapointing to hear Kamy and Eddie put it down as a bad day at the office for Rovers against Arsenal. Trust me if you were there it was much much worse than that.

I can take a hiding as much as the next Rovers fan but when the players can't even be arsed it's beyond infuriating. Then to hear Kean say we were in the game until Givet's red just rubs further salt into the wounds. We were still getting murdered at 3-1.

I was sat with the Arsenal fans but every other Rover who went on Saturday should have been refunded. If the players can't be bothered to put a stint in why should we?

[chaddyrovers]

it was mention in the podcast that Rovers have to find 10 million pounds to pay the bank in the summer. It was mention that the owners have pay 2 million pounds in to pay part of the 10 million pounds.

Would the Phil Jones 2nd installment of the transfer money from Man Utd not pay the rest which I believe will be 8 million pounds???

[Paul]

I believe the plan is the reduction in the wage bill plus incoming transfer fees will cover the £8m required. Venkys approach is to fund the remaining £8m out of cost savings and funds generated by the club rather than an "investment" of their own funds.

Probably £100,000 saved per week on Andrews, Roberts, Nelsen equals £400k / month and £1.6m by May. Possibly add Salgado in the near future and Formica sold for £3.5m plus wage saving and you get + / - £8m

So that's our future direction?

[Eddie]

Really good podcast. Only thing I would say though is it was slightly dissapointing to hear Kamy and Eddie put it down as a bad day at the office for Rovers against Arsenal. Trust me if you were there it was much much worse than that.

I can take a hiding as much as the next Rovers fan but when the players can't even be arsed it's beyond infuriating. Then to hear Kean say we were in the game until Givet's red just rubs further salt into the wounds. We were still getting murdered at 3-1.

I was sat with the Arsenal fans but every other Rover who went on Saturday should have been refunded. If the players can't be bothered to put a stint in why should we?

It wasn't so much to say that I simply dismissed it as a bad day at the office, but rather that there isn't too much that can be read into a game against an Arsenal side that were at their best, particularly when you consider the fact that we played a significant portion of the game with ten men. We weren't at the races, our effort was unacceptable, passing was atrocious and our defending was amateurish, but it was a game that I expected us to lose, so I found it far less disappointing than the defeat against Newcastle.

[EwoodDawn]

I believe the plan is the reduction in the wage bill plus incoming transfer fees will cover the £8m required. Venkys approach is to fund the remaining £8m out of cost savings and funds generated by the club rather than an "investment" of their own funds.

Probably £100,000 saved per week on Andrews, Roberts, Nelsen equals £400k / month and £1.6m by May. Possibly add Salgado in the near future and Formica sold for £3.5m plus wage saving and you get + / - £8m

So that's our future direction?

Paul, I'm clueless re. big money finance but am I right in thinking that whilst the figure needed might be 8m now, aren't we accruing interest all the time, so the figure might end up significantly more than that?

[Paul]

You're correct interest will be accruing all the time but my understanding is the bank were / are looking for a one-off payment of £10m to reduce the level of borrowing.

It's been said Venkys have paid £2m directly and the remaining £8m is to be funded by end of May along the lines I suggested above.

[OhmiBRFC]

I saw Tim Payne on Monday night!

[Daniel Louis Grabko (Dan)]

<br>Paul, I'm clueless re. big money finance but am I right in thinking that whilst the figure needed might be 8m now, aren't we accruing interest all the time, so the figure might end up significantly more than that?<br>

<br><br>Everyone who wants to gain real insight into what Blackburn Rovers accounts and financial strategy have been up until just before the Venkys bought the club should read <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.com/search/label/Blackburn%20Rovers" class="bbc_url" title="">this</a>.  It is an excellent read if you do want to know the ins and outs of what is the backdrop to what has been going on at the Club in the last year and a half.<br><br>Unless it has been renegotiated, the Club's Barclays' debt facility carries interest at LIBOR plus 3.25%. LIBOR has been averaging around 1% the last twelve months, meaning that if the debt is the same size, (£21m according the June 30, 2011 statement of accounts) and the debt hasn't been paid down significantly, as is being reported, then it is gathering interest at £893,500 per year.  So it all depends on in what context you mean "significant".  In the context of the debt as a whole it isn't that significant.  In the context of a self-imposed cash-strapped owner trying to run the Club on a self-sustaining basis without putting more cash into it, it is pretty significant.  They can save over a half million by paying up the £10m being reported as being Barclays' demand.<br><br>If they have made the "good faith" payment (good will is just the wrong phrase on so many levels) of £2m as is being reported, and tried to use the January Window to gather up the rest through saved wages and transfer fees, then the debt could be halved, as apparently demanded by Barclays, by the end of the season, and depending on the timing of the payments, could save the club anywhere from £200-400k in cash on interest payments.<br><br>It is clear though, that after a bad first 10 or so months in charge, Mrs. D is grabbing the club with an iron fist.  Its really ****ing sad that the Club was dragged down into a shambles and made into a complete debacle before this was done. Recurring costs have skyrocketed while at the same time commercial and match day revenues have decreased.  We became super-bloated due directly to our ridiculous January 2011 activity that saw stupid player contract renewals agreed to by the Club among other things - stuff that is not sustainable unless you have an owner that will bankroll it, and Venkys will never ever get my forgiveness for allowing it to happen and then refusing to take responsibility and put in their own money to cover their mistakes.  Instead they have treated players and Club legends of the last 10 years like garbage, not to mention lifetime supporters and loyal, local sponsorship.<br><br>If it weren't for the fact that Venkys have not done anything to try to increase revenues from commercial/sponsorship and other sources to help the Club become viable through increased turnover instead of just decreased expenses, and have instead scorned opportunities to do so, and for the fact that they have consistently lied to supporters and commercial partners alike through whatever the preferred mouthpiece at the moment, usually Steve Kean - one might be able to argue for sympathy to the current attempt to bring the finances back in line.  But instead they refuse to put their hands up and come clean, take responsibility for their inept business dealings by reinjecting the club with the money that they threw away, or even come out and say, "Sorry, our bad, we'll try to do better."<br><br>While I understand that there has to be a relatively measured tone on the podcasts, it just seems like you guys can't possibly really be that pragmatic about the situation.  All this talk of certain organizations like the Fans Forum trying to earn the trust of the owners? What for?  The silence is almost preferable to the stuff we actually did get out of them before.  Is it really a reconcilable position that either the supporters and the ownership are in?  How many of could really forgive them for what they have done?  It would take a massive reinvestment on their part, a rebuilding of a proper Board of Directors as well as agreeing to be an inactive owner in the sense that they would leave the Board to do its job and run the Club, only intervening in extreme matters.  It is all requirements that they will never ever be prepared to meet.  Rovers will be crippled by this regime, and the only way to save the Club as we know it is to find a way to force it out. That is where people should be channeling their focus and energy - a dialogue is just another way for them to lie to us, IMHO.

[Daniel Louis Grabko (Dan)]

Paul, I'm clueless re. big money finance but am I right in thinking that whilst the figure needed might be 8m now, aren't we accruing interest all the time, so the figure might end up significantly more than that?

Everyone who wants to gain real insight into what Blackburn Rovers accounts and financial strategy have been up until just before the Venkys bought the club should read this. It is an excellent read if you do want to know the ins and outs of what is the backdrop to what has been going on at the Club in the last year and a half.

Unless it has been renegotiated, the Club's Barclays' debt facility carries interest at LIBOR plus 3.25%. LIBOR has been averaging around 1% the last twelve months, meaning that if the debt is the same size, (£21m according the June 30, 2011 statement of accounts) and the debt hasn't been paid down significantly, as is being reported, then it is gathering interest at £893,500 per year. So it all depends on in what context you mean "significant". In the context of the debt as a whole it isn't that significant. In the context of a self-imposed cash-strapped owner trying to run the Club on a self-sustaining basis without putting more cash into it, it is pretty significant. They can save over a half million by paying up the £10m being reported as being Barclays' demand.

If they have made the "good faith" payment (good will is just the wrong phrase on so many levels) of £2m as is being reported, and tried to use the January Window to gather up the rest through saved wages and transfer fees, then the debt could be halved, as apparently demanded by Barclays, by the end of the season, and depending on the timing of the payments, could save the club anywhere from £200-400k in cash on interest payments.

It is clear though, that after a bad first 10 or so months in charge, Mrs. D is grabbing the club with an iron fist. Its really ****ing sad that the Club was dragged down into a shambles and made into a complete debacle before this was done. Recurring costs have skyrocketed while at the same time commercial and match day revenues have decreased. We became super-bloated due directly to our ridiculous January 2011 activity that saw stupid player contract renewals agreed to by the Club among other things - stuff that is not sustainable unless you have an owner that will bankroll it, and Venkys will never ever get my forgiveness for allowing it to happen and then refusing to take responsibility and put in their own money to cover their mistakes. Instead they have treated players and Club legends of the last 10 years like garbage, not to mention lifetime supporters and loyal, local sponsorship.

If it weren't for the fact that Venkys have not done anything to try to increase revenues from commercial/sponsorship and other sources to help the Club become viable through increased turnover instead of just decreased expenses, and have instead scorned opportunities to do so, and for the fact that they have consistently lied to supporters and commercial partners alike through whatever the preferred mouthpiece at the moment, usually Steve Kean - one might be able to argue for sympathy to the current attempt to bring the finances back in line. But instead they refuse to put their hands up and come clean, take responsibility for their inept business dealings by reinjecting the club with the money that they threw away, or even come out and say, "Sorry, our bad, we'll try to do better."

While I understand that there has to be a relatively measured tone on the podcasts, it just seems like you guys can't possibly really be that pragmatic about the situation. All this talk of certain organizations like the Fans Forum trying to earn the trust of the owners? What for? The silence is almost preferable to the stuff we actually did get out of them before. Is it really a reconcilable position that either the supporters and the ownership are in? How many of us could really forgive them for what they have done? It would take a massive reinvestment on their part, a rebuilding of a proper Board of Directors as well as agreeing to be an inactive owner in the sense that they would leave the Board to do its job and run the Club, only intervening in extreme matters. These are all requirements that they will never ever be prepared to meet. Rovers will be crippled by this regime, and the only way to save the Club as we know it is to find a way to force it out. That is where people should be channeling their focus and energy - a dialogue is just another way for them to lie to us, IMHO.

[john.leigh]

Hard to disagree with any of that. IMO the 'Kean Out' campaign was a last ditch attempt to get the owners to listen and to commence some form of reconciliation. Obviously they have refused this and as Dan says to turn this aroujd now would require a massive shift in venkys thinking.