[Archived] Shebby Singh

[Paul]

.

I watched the video and that pretty much sums up what happened.

Oh..and the guy who was filming it didn't come out of this smelling of roses either. The club may be a shambles and Shebby may be a joke but for a grown man (who was filming it) to sit there and blurt out the things he was saying was bloody embarrassing.

If the Rovers Trust are serious about taking over the club then I think some members need to seriously look at their own conduct in public as well.

No one could argue with that

[EgyptianPete]

Apparently the word sarcasm doesn't exist in your vocabulary. That, and humor.

Your third and fourth sentences were exactly what I was trying to say. God forbid I actually think he looks pretty, but I meant he's succeeded in getting everyone to laugh at us.

Well, do take note that the stuff in the diner wasn't a serious Q and A and more of a joke session, so he was giving joke answers to some of the questions. And if you didn't get his joke about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as being a dig at the owners' attempts for Ronaldhino and David Beckham when they first came in, I guess British humor is way, way different from Asian humor. Add to that, the guy was grinning and laughing when he gave some of the answers - a sign in body language that you're not supposed to take his answers seriously.

To sum it up for the people who didn't watch the video, here are the questions and answers (from what I can recall because I have a horrible memory)

First question, cut off in the middle, something about the Premier League, and he replied, "We're no longer in the Premier League."

Second question: "Do you think we have to spend big, big money to get promoted back to the Premier League?" and he joked, "we'll spend the money when we get there."

Third question: "Jordan Rhodes was a good signing, why didn't we sign more players of his caliber? Why sign all those Portuguese players that never make the team?"

Reply: "When we brought in players, we brought in some for the short, immediate term, and others for the long term. They may not seem like it right now, but they are being developed in the academy for the long term." Or something like that.

Fourth question, repeating the third, "What about players of Jordan Rhodes's caliber? Don't you think we need more players like him in order to get back to the Premier League? How much do you think these players will cost? (Or something like that, something to do with what he thinks the cost is)"

Reply: "Oh yes, we're going to need players that cost 10 to 15 million each, so that will be a total of 30 to 45 million. We might even need players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (laughing and grinning when he says this)," Or something like that.

Fifth (or further down, I can't remember if there are any questions in between) question: "There are reports that you and Shaw and Agnew are pulling in different directions, that you guys are in a conflict, has that been resolved, or are you still pulling in different directions?"

Reply: "No, that's speculation, I can't answer questions based on speculation. We have always been united and pulling in the same direction. There is no conflict or disharmony, please don't listen to all that speculation."

Sixth (or as above, can't remember if I missed out any questions in between): "There are bad debts in the club, and the club is losing 2 million a month, there's a danger we'll go into adminstration (or something along the lines of that, maybe he said go bust) if we don't get into the Premier League immediately."

Reply: "No, we're managing finances well. Okay, I'll admit that I am not a financial expert and I don't understand anything about accountancy at all, but I can assure you that there are no debts, and while I don't know where you got the figure of 2 million from, quite bluntly, that's...absolute bo llocks."

Seventh: "Do you think we are going to make it back to the Premier League this time? Or is that still the goal?"

Reply: "Well, as with every businesses, we're going to have unforseen circumstances and we will need to revise our targets. I must admit that it is very difficult for us to get back up at the moment. However, as of now the goal has not changed. If we do not make it back up, we'll revise the target then."

Eight: "Why did it take 2 years to sack Kean but only 2 months to sack Berg?"

Reply: "I don't know what went on during the 2 years when Kean was around, so I can't say for then. I would have sacked him long ago, yes. However, with Henning, as it turns out results were horrible, so we had to cut our losses and let him go. It was really unfortunate what happened to Henning, but we had set targets, and he was not meeting it."

Ninth: "What do you think about the new manager, Michael Appleton? Do you think he'll be successful?"

Shebby Singh: "we'll find out after six games." (That's exactly what Steve Kean's Hypnopad and the others are saying on the Appleton thread!)

Tenth: "What does a global advisor do, seriously? Can you explain to us your role at the club?"

Reply: "To look pretty and make people laugh."

All right, he had a serious reply for that one. "In all seriousness, just take away the global, and you'll basically understand my job. I'm just here to advise. That's all. Sometimes I give good advice, sometimes I give bad advice. I just have to make sure I give more good advice than the bad advice, though making mistakes is inevitable."

I think that was a question that went along the lines of "are you a venker?" and he said, "no, I'm not going to answer that."

I can't remember anything else, please if anyone can recall any question and answer that I've missed, please add them. Thanks.

And take note that my memory is so bad I could have distorted and warped the questions and answers, so please raise anything if you think I've remembered them wrongly, and please do not hesitate to correct me. Thanks.

Well looking at what is here why are you all calling Shebby a joke, a clown etc, it was obviously a dinner and then a bit of a laugh, i haven't seen the Video so can't comment, but come on take it for what it is a bit of fun, i said it before and I'll say it again some on here just want to complain at anything and everything, don't know when things are tongue in cheek or heaven forbid fun. None of the above is defamatory to Blackburn Rovers.

[OJRovers]

To pick up his point about the Portugese players "being developed in the Academy", its total nonsense, they are too old for the Academy and if anything are hindering the progress of much more promising players from the academy.

[rovers_rob]

Well looking at what is here why are you all calling Shebby a joke, a clown etc, it was obviously a dinner and then a bit of a laugh, i haven't seen the Video so can't comment, but come on take it for what it is a bit of fun, i said it before and I'll say it again some on here just want to complain at anything and everything, don't know when things are tongue in cheek or heaven forbid fun. None of the above is defamatory to Blackburn Rovers.

I understand what you are saying but whatever Shebbys title is or whoever pays his wages he is (or was) the voice of the club.

If he wasn't anything to do with the club then fair enough.

Can you imagine this happening 3 years ago ? Can you imagine John Williams standing in front of a crowd of heckling fans swearing and talking about the club like it is some sort of joke ?

I want the club to be run by professorial respected people who are calm and considered in what they say whether they are in public or not.

That might sound boring but I think we need a bit of boring after the last 2 years.

[Black Burn]

Well looking at what is here why are you all calling Shebby a joke, a clown etc, it was obviously a dinner and then a bit of a laugh, i haven't seen the Video so can't comment, but come on take it for what it is a bit of fun, i said it before and I'll say it again some on here just want to complain at anything and everything, don't know when things are tongue in cheek or heaven forbid fun. None of the above is defamatory to Blackburn Rovers.

I'm not calling Shebby Singh a joke or a clown, and I was the one who said that the stuff he said are tongue in cheek. However, he did succeed in making people laugh, whether it's other fans laughing at us, or us laughing at him. I have no complains about Shebby Singh, which is why Abbey is so mad at me.

To pick up his point about the Portugese players "being developed in the Academy", its total nonsense, they are too old for the Academy and if anything are hindering the progress of much more promising players from the academy.

I think I might have mis-remembered on this one. It was probably developed for long term rather than in the academy. Sorry about that, as I said, my memory is not perfect.

[Tom]

Well looking at what is here why are you all calling Shebby a joke, a clown etc, it was obviously a dinner and then a bit of a laugh, i haven't seen the Video so can't comment, but come on take it for what it is a bit of fun, i said it before and I'll say it again some on here just want to complain at anything and everything, don't know when things are tongue in cheek or heaven forbid fun. None of the above is defamatory to Blackburn Rovers.

He shouldn't be saying stuff tongue in cheek though he's not a two bit naff pundit anymore he's meant to have responsibility and should carry himself in a professional manner, or preferably be sacked

[Black Burn]

He shouldn't be saying stuff tongue in cheek though he's not a two bit naff pundit anymore he's meant to have responsibility and should carry himself in a professional manner, or preferably be sacked

It depends on the time and place as well. I think it's a little harsh to say he should be banned from joking when he's in an informal event at a local diner. Then again, I'm a laid-back guy with no sense of responsibility or professionalism, so I could be wrong on this one.

[Ste B]

It depends on the time and place as well. I think it's a little harsh to say he should be banned from joking when he's in an informal event at a local diner. Then again, I'm a laid-back guy with no sense of responsibility or professionalism, so I could be wrong on this one.

At the end of the day, he was filmed at a sportsmans dinner after quite a bit of wine had been supped. This led to both the subject and the person filming saying things that they might not say otherwise. Theres little difference really between that and the infamous Kean Hong Kong Video.

IMHO it shouldnt have been posted publically, as you expect these things to stay in the room. Rightly it was removed.

[Black Burn]

At the end of the day, he was filmed at a sportsmans dinner after quite a bit of wine had been supped. This led to both the subject and the person filming saying things that they might not say otherwise. Theres little difference really between that and the infamous Kean Hong Kong Video.

IMHO it shouldnt have been posted publically, as you expect these things to stay in the room. Rightly it was removed.

At least Shebby Singh wasn't calling Kean or Henning Berg a criminal and swearing uncontrollably.

[thenodrog]

At the end of the day, he was filmed at a sportsmans dinner after quite a bit of wine had been supped. This led to both the subject and the person filming saying things that they might not say otherwise. Theres little difference really between that and the infamous Kean Hong Kong Video.

IMHO it shouldnt have been posted publically, as you expect these things to stay in the room. Rightly it was removed.

C'mon Steve. I haven't seen the video but if Black Burn's account is accurate there is as massive a difference between that and Keans HK outburst as there is between the Hazard ball boy incident and the Cantona / Simmonds incident!

Also in this day and age of hand held communication devices the old fashioned values that you suggest in the final line haved been consigned to the history books. Wrong and immoral of course but once the genie is out of the bottle it's impossible to get the stopper back in.

btw you may decry 'leaks' but did you record this at the 100 club also? I only ask cos I noticed that you were recording/tweeting or whatever on your phone the whole time that SS was speaking at KGH. Rather a case of kettles and pots isn't it?

Tom you might want a CEO of BRFc to behave secretively and with reservation and responsibility but many would say that is not what they want and that SS is at least approachable and open with the supporters. I reserve judgement cos my instinct suggests that he is a loose cannon but he is certainly likeable and I feel (as yet) of good intent.

[Ste B]

C'mon Steve. I haven't seen the video but if Black Burn's account is accurate there is as massive a difference between that and Keans HK outburst as there is between the Hazard ball boy incident and the Cantona / Simmonds incident!

Also in this day and age of hand held communication devices the old fashioned values that you suggest in the final line haved been consigned to the history books. Wrong and immoral of course but once the genie is out of the bottle it's impossible to get the stopper back in.

btw you may decry 'leaks' but did you record this at the 100 club also? I only ask cos I noticed that you were recording/tweeting or whatever on your phone the whole time that SS was speaking at KGH. Rather a case of kettles and pots isn't it?

The SS KGH meeting was filmed for Sky Sports News, and also recorded, so that was going to be released anyway. It was an open meeting, so anything coming out was already in the public domain.

At the start of the video in question here, something along the lines of dont put this on Twitter / the internet was said.

[EgyptianPete]

I understand what you are saying but whatever Shebbys title is or whoever pays his wages he is (or was) the voice of the club.

If he wasn't anything to do with the club then fair enough.

Can you imagine this happening 3 years ago ? Can you imagine John Williams standing in front of a crowd of heckling fans swearing and talking about the club like it is some sort of joke ?

I want the club to be run by professorial respected people who are calm and considered in what they say whether they are in public or not.

That might sound boring but I think we need a bit of boring after the last 2 years.

Dont disagree with your last sentence at all, and anyway JW would i imagine never do or i don't think he even has done a Q&A at a Rovers sportsman's dinner, still that's what happens at these do's isn't it, thats why people pay and turn up, but unfortunately for us Shebby likes an audience to play too, and in the right context should be for what it is.

[Amo]

Tom you might want a CEO of BRFc to behave secretively and with reservation and responsibility but many would say that is not what they want and that SS is at least approachable and open with the supporters. I reserve judgement cos my instinct suggests that he is a loose cannon but he is certainly likeable and I feel (as yet) of good intent.

How strange, Drog. For someone who professes not to suffer fools gladly, you sure do have a high tolerance for this gibbering buffoon who's done nothing but make an even bigger mockery of the club - oh wait, he 'got rid of Kean' (I seem to remember it was Kean's decision but hey ho). I take it you were one of the clapping sheeple at the Fans Forum won over by his one-man act?

[Baz]

Thanks to Black burn for the mini transcript.

From what was in there the content isnt that bad, but is totally unprofessional. After KGH, radio phone ins on 5 live and radio lancs, you would have thought he would have learned a lesson by now. For all "secret filming", he did say these things in front of Rovers fans. I do not beleive john williams would say the same things in public.

[Ricky]

The secretary of the trust does seem to let himself down occasionally. Rest seem very professional but afraid he doesn't seem to be of quite the same calibre in my opinion.

[Amo]

I do not beleive john williams would say the same things in public.

There's the understatement of the year.

[Ewoodbhappy]

I have not seen the video, so my opinion is based on the posts of others who have.

I keep saying - you can only judge someone / something on previous actions.

To keep making the same mistakes time & time again show's Shebby to be stupid.

Even if this was a relaxed social event - he should have known to be guarded & keep his gob shut.

mmmm? Just thought - being a Q&A session he may have looked more of an oddball keeping his gob shut - I'll stick with being more guarded!

[J*B]

Whoever video'd it embarrassed themselves.

Shebby embarrassed himself.

Whoever uploaded the video embarrassed the club.

The whole thing is embarassing.

[thenodrog]

How strange, Drog. For someone who professes not to suffer fools gladly, you sure do have a high tolerance for this gibbering buffoon who's done nothing but make an even bigger mockery of the club - oh wait, he 'got rid of Kean' (I seem to remember it was Kean's decision but hey ho).

I know. I'm prob cutting him a little too much slack. Not entirely sure why except that an enemy of my enemy becomes by definition my friend.

[jw_]

IMO Singh will continue to surface at inopportune moments to embarrass both himself and the club with his inane comments. I for one have no idea why he is still hanging around in the background after apparently having been relieved of his duties. He's a loose cannon and should be shipped back to wherever he came from instead of lurking around the place.

[OJRovers]

One thing's for sure; Shebby is not going to be walking round the training ground with his "SS" tracksuit on whilst Appleton's new coaching team are about. That can only be a good thing. I suspect the withdrawal of Shebby has been partly to credit for the players' seemingly uplifted spirits.

[DE.]

One thing's for sure; Shebby is not going to be walking round the training ground with his "SS" tracksuit on whilst Appleton's new coaching team are about. That can only be a good thing. I suspect the withdrawal of Shebby has been partly to credit for the players' seemingly uplifted spirits.

No doubt about that. I have no doubt that Shebby's presence on the training pitch during Berg's tenure also contributed to the players' total lack of respect for Henning and their clear lack of faith in him as a leader.

[Tom]

To avoid another thread going further off topic I just wondered what people's thoughts are about Shebby these days?

For me he's been a mixed bag but I'm much happier now he isn't popping up here there and everywhere.

Positives

Engaged with the fans

Pushed for the signing of Rhodes

Made life uncomfy for Kean and part of the reason he left

Negatives

Engaged with the fans too much

Targeted quite a few duds

Didn't target a midfielder

At least partly responsible for taking 5 weeks to hire a manager

Partly or wholly responsible for hiring a manager worse than Kean

Embarassed the club on a regular basis

Bad moustache

Do the 2 good things he contributed to level out all the bad?

I'm not sure but I think I'm glad he came because if not then Kean may still be here (although I think he was looking for a saving face exit plan) and that's not something that anybody wanted.

Like I said as long as he keeps away from the radio or tv then no problem, if he embarrasses us again he should be fired into the sun

[Stuart]

Scraping the barrel to extend your list of negatives there Tom.

Venkys should get the credit for signing Rhodes but Singh takes the blame for all the duds and no CM - even though Appy hasn't addressed CM either?

Berg wasn't worse than Kean - all things considered and there were rumours of anti-Singh politics being against poor Henning.

Obviously you jest with the mo comments - it's a beaut.

The only one I'll agree wholeheartedly with is that he embarrassed the club - but so did Shagnew.

They are all to blame for the farce and should all be replaced. Venkys have employed an advisor but the club employed Shagnew.

[roversfan99]

You can categorize those IMO:

- Transfers should be left to the manager and the scouts should help find targets. A Director of Football would need plenty of footballing experience, even then it's risky, and Shebby was a pundit, no more, so he shouldn't be deciding.

We spent alot of money, IF we are assuming he was in control last summer, Rhodes was a great player to bring in but the numerous signings have left us in the bottom half, with a bloated squad with no balance. We have many gaps in the squad and the proof is in the league table, our only solace is the Rhodes deal.

- Managers, he didn't sack Kean, we don't know why he left but it seems it was to maximize the money he would get in court. Shebby admitted he was in charge of the Berg appointment and seemed insistent on getting an ex-player, despite the fact another big risk was unnecessary. The appointment has potentially curtailed a flickering promotion push.

Things like media/PR, where he has embarassed himself and the club on numerous occassions, are really an aside issue compared to the 2 key facets above. The same with communication.

Now we have the 15th best squad in the league according to the table, which based on the money spent is woefully short of expectations. The managerial situation has been dealt with awfully, both the Berg appointment which Singh took sole responsibility for, and the general way that the process was done.

This for me shows that Shebby Singh has overall, made more of a negative impact than a positive one. His lack of experience and nous at this level has been obvious and removing him would not in my opinion even require a replacement as such. I have noticed that those who feel Shebby is a bigger problem still agree that Shaw and Agnew should go, whereas the ones who see Shaw and Agnew as the main issue seem to like Shebby. I do feel that Shaw and Agnew also need to go and to be replaced by competent footballing people. We need a structure but I do not expect one to be installed of any note, therefore these problems will consist to hinder the club.