[Archived] Mike Cheston Interview

[Waggy76]

Venkys Out !

[roverstdt]

I think there is a vicious circle in place.

You have fans clinging on to optimism when it comes to Rovers because they want to believe there is something to be excited about next season. Those optimistic fans will consequently be branded as "Venky's" Supporters. On the other side of things you have the unrealistic negative fans who will keep on the attack through pure frustration having seen what has happened to their club.

I am not a Venky's supporter but I think you need to look at the situation by taking a step back. To me it isn't about reaching for the stars of the Premier League or any of those, but I am a firm believer if you spend above your means eventually it comes back to get you. You see in any and every industry which is why the Economies across the world fluctuate. So to create a mentallity to spend within our means makes sense to me, because that is how we ended up with a 100m debt in the first place. Also we just have to look at recent history that spending more with out owners in place definitely does not guarantee success so why increase our debt to them further?

The ironic part of the story is Venky's what to put in place what we already had under John Williams and by the end of it I have the feeling they will try and make us feel grateful for what they have done.

The key thing for me is yes we do have a grade 1 academy so we should be using it and giving our kids a chance. People say why sack Gary Bowyer in the first place if that was the direction we were always going to go, well quite simply because everytime we had a shortage in the squad he would rather go for a loan or a player out of contract than use one of our youngsters. We have a strong pool of talent in there and I think we have a strong generation coming through. With Lowe, Henley, and Hanley recent graduates, we have Lennihan coming through with Mahoney behind him, and a few mentions in Jack Doyle, Costello Rankin, Tomlinson, Ryan Nyambe, and Hyuga Tanner

[ABBEY]

I think there is a vicious circle in place.

You have fans clinging on to optimism when it comes to Rovers because they want to believe there is something to be excited about next season. Those optimistic fans will consequently be branded as "Venky's" Supporters. On the other side of things you have the unrealistic negative fans who will keep on the attack through pure frustration having seen what has happened to their club.

I am not a Venky's supporter but I think you need to look at the situation by taking a step back. To me it isn't about reaching for the stars of the Premier League or any of those, but I am a firm believer if you spend above your means eventually it comes back to get you. You see in any and every industry which is why the Economies across the world fluctuate. So to create a mentallity to spend within our means makes sense to me, because that is how we ended up with a 100m debt in the first place. Also we just have to look at recent history that spending more with out owners in place definitely does not guarantee success so why increase our debt to them further?

The ironic part of the story is Venky's what to put in place what we already had under John Williams and by the end of it I have the feeling they will try and make us feel grateful for what they have done.

The key thing for me is yes we do have a grade 1 academy so we should be using it and giving our kids a chance. People say why sack Gary Bowyer in the first place if that was the direction we were always going to go, well quite simply because everytime we had a shortage in the squad he would rather go for a loan or a player out of contract than use one of our youngsters. We have a strong pool of talent in there and I think we have a strong generation coming through. With Lowe, Henley, and Hanley recent graduates, we have Lennihan coming through with Mahoney behind him, and a few mentions in Jack Doyle, Costello Rankin, Tomlinson, Ryan Nyambe, and Hyuga Tanner

really? unrealistic ? hahahahaha message board gold straight from the venky chicken sausage propaganda factory. This is why im boycotting because the Rovers Fans have traken over the asylum.

[Gav]

Indeed, he sounds like he has been appointed by an Administrator, not that he is an actual board member of the club, with ideas on strategy and future direction.

Absolutely Matty, said the same myself.

The club will 'continue as normal' which can only mean one thing sadly.

Keep your season ticket money in your pockets, they don't deserve your support, it's just another 2 fingered salute to the fans.

[tomphil]

Love the way Cheston says 'that's a 100 free loan, no interest' as if it's an unbelievable gift of something ffs ! Who do they think they are talking to that's the hole the Venkys have created for themselves they didn't donate it 5 years ago just to run the club.

Infact they did everything possible to avoid putting money in at first and were probably more intent and getting their purchase price back. Yes they are paying for mistakes and some like to credit them with that but they didn't have a great deal of option really as it's their name above the door and them directly and indirectly who've made the mess. If I run up 100k on a credit card i'll have to pay it back or go bust it's that simple really so don't anyone ever dress it up any other way.

Worryingly the longer they stay around the more mess they'll continue to create no matter what structure or manger is in place. Reason for this is the club is run from India and you can see interference on every level unlike the trust who did mostly stay in the background and let others get on with it.

5 years from now we'll either still be in exact the same position or worse, you just know it.

[DE.]

Love the way Cheston says 'that's a 100 free loan, no interest' as if it's an unbelievable gift of something ffs !

Indeed. The bloody interest won't matter if/when they decide to try and get their money back. Not that there's much they can do at this juncture in that regard.

[Athlete]

I think there is a vicious circle in place.

You have fans clinging on to optimism when it comes to Rovers because they want to believe there is something to be excited about next season. Those optimistic fans will consequently be branded as "Venky's" Supporters. On the other side of things you have the unrealistic negative fans who will keep on the attack through pure frustration having seen what has happened to their club.

I am not a Venky's supporter but I think you need to look at the situation by taking a step back. To me it isn't about reaching for the stars of the Premier League or any of those, but I am a firm believer if you spend above your means eventually it comes back to get you. You see in any and every industry which is why the Economies across the world fluctuate. So to create a mentallity to spend within our means makes sense to me, because that is how we ended up with a 100m debt in the first place. Also we just have to look at recent history that spending more with out owners in place definitely does not guarantee success so why increase our debt to them further?

The ironic part of the story is Venky's what to put in place what we already had under John Williams and by the end of it I have the feeling they will try and make us feel grateful for what they have done.

The key thing for me is yes we do have a grade 1 academy so we should be using it and giving our kids a chance. People say why sack Gary Bowyer in the first place if that was the direction we were always going to go, well quite simply because everytime we had a shortage in the squad he would rather go for a loan or a player out of contract than use one of our youngsters. We have a strong pool of talent in there and I think we have a strong generation coming through. With Lowe, Henley, and Hanley recent graduates, we have Lennihan coming through with Mahoney behind him, and a few mentions in Jack Doyle, Costello Rankin, Tomlinson, Ryan Nyambe, and Hyuga Tanner

Sounds like this was wrote in the new harbour hospital or institution on the way into Blackpool

[Athlete]

It's not worth my blood pressure reading the comments section of Rovers stories in the LT. It's either dingles on a wind up, or ostriches without a clue.

Anyway, I don't think it could be any more frustrating how soft the questions the LT reporters ask are, I'm sure one of them posted on here at one point. Wheelock just seems unwilling to rock the boat. Anything for an easy life....

As much as Cryer has been a chip on his shoulder goon since leaving, he at least had the spuds to ask the more difficult questions (eventually).

TBH it's getting to the point where even the dingles are feeling sorry for us unfortunately the 1St few comments are from Rovers fans we must have the most stupid fanbase in the country

As for the interview he comes across as if he's already working for administrators not a football club in his defence he's a financial guy at the end of the day but he's done hisself and the club no favours whatsoever with the interview

[onlyonejackwalker]

TBH it's getting to the point where even the dingles are feeling sorry for us unfortunately the 1St few comments are from Rovers fans we must have the most stupid fanbase in the country

As for the interview he comes across as if he's already working for administrators not a football club in his defence he's a financial guy at the end of the day but he's done hisself and the club no favours whatsoever with the interview

What did you expect him to say Athlete?

From his point of view he has probably just told the truth. He can hardly promise untold riches if they do not exist.

We knew from Lambert's recent comments anyway. This guy has simply confirmed what we have learnt this last few weeks from our manager.

[jim mk2]

It seems Rovers want Irvine and his sidekicks to stay - which suggests to me Irvine will be manager next season - though Irvine and his mates are around 50 and that doesn't square with Cheston's wish for a young "Eddie Howe" type manager (good luck with that one - managers like him don't grow on trees).

All in all a pretty depressing interview with a number cruncher with little vision of a brighter future. He's basically saying this season is as good as it gets and there'll be more of the same next year.

[Tom]

An accountant running the club with eyes only on not over spending.

There is only one way this ends.

[jim mk2]

You do wonder why they took the trouble to get rid of Bowyer and all the costs involved when it's clear they never had the money or intended to fund an ambitious manager like Lambert anyway.

[DE.]

You do wonder why they took the trouble to get rid of Bowyer and all the costs involved when it's clear they never had the money or intended to fund an ambitious manager like Lambert anyway.

Only two reasons I can see.

1) They genuinely thought Lambert could get us promoted this season, and rolled the dice. Doesn't explain the Rhodes sale or lack of any proper investment in January though.

2) They panicked at our poor start combined with Pasha assumedly telling them the club was in a poor state, and decided to bring in an experienced manager to ensure survival this season. Judging by their actions since Lambert's hiring, if this is the case then their plan all along was for him to resign at the end of the season and then try to hire a 'better' version of GB.

[LJW]

The guy is simply spelling out the truth - You cannot Keep on buying mercenaries that take the club for a ride - that path has been well and truly trodden and led to the current situation.

Clubs can gamble for a year or and risk financial penalties if they get to the promised land as accounts are always a year or so late to be published - but not year on year - so yes clubs have to then operate within FFP.

There are a couple of issues hidden in this statement that no-one has picked up on yet! - firstly the monies owed to Venkys is now £100m - in the last published accounts the figure was £87m

The club also owed another 18m that was not interest free to other parties, This statement confirms the venkys loan has now grown a further 13m to 100m - I would hazzard a guess the other debts have rose too - even if only to say 20m.

To run the club within its means - realistically is going to mean dramatic cutbacks - last published accounts show turnover was just 22.4m and that included the 6m(or8m as mentioned by another poster) tv monies - since then prices attendances etc has also dropped - so turnover may only now be 15m or so at best.

There are many costs to take into account - wages being the highest which will need not just reducing but to a much lower level than FFP guidelines as your turnover is so low. 15m wages was a figure some poster suggested on here - no way however can the club afford that of 15m turnover - a more realistic figure to aim for is 10m - thus the need to introduce youth into the team.

A 10m wage structure allows say 30 squad members to average 5k per week salaries and leaves 2m or so for other wages(ie directors/managers/c
oaches etc) - this is what operating within the clubs means will result in.

Some things to add on that - player sales will help - and that is what most championship clubs now have to rely on.

The most important thing that will help is the fans - The club need your support now more than ever - the more monies the club can raise itself from commercial activities as well as fans will go directly into funding the club - On the other side to that the less it raises the more cutbacks will be needed.

So stay away fans need to know that by not supporting the club will directly effect the clubs ability to operate.

It may seem like Venkys are stopping putting monies in - but they are not doing that - they are simply not allowed to put as much monies in as the club currently needs running on ts current strategy - so yes somethings have to change. The owners are still supporting you and are not calling in any loans and are in fact putting more money in(as shown by the owners debt now being 100m from 87m)

The more you support the club - the more funds it will generate - simples.

You have a great youth set up right now - there is no better time.

As for anyone wanting administration/liqui
dation and a fresh start - are they aware the club could cease to exist aka Rangers (more locally Accy a good few years ago) - all history rewrote as it would maybe be a new club starting again. At best if the club was kept in current guise (i.e. admin not liquidation) then all of its players would be free to leave and find other clubs including all your youth team prospects.

LT COMMENT

[gumboots]

Why should I waste my money on watching a performance that bores me, frustrates me, angers me and rarely delights me. The club needs its supporters, you say. Then why has it shown such blatant disregard for them for the whole of venkys tenure to the point where nobody feels a connection to the club any more.

You have a great youth set up, you say. Perhaps we do but our players are, on the whole, League one standard.

We should be aware of the financial constraints etc. Yes we are but we also know who is responsible for the financial mess, and it's not us, the supporters. It's like the tax payers having to bail out the country's financial mess caused by the bankers. There we had no choice. Here we have and we don't have to commit to buying season tickets or buying merchandise or whatever. There is no way it's getting better with Venky's as owners so why throw good money away on something that gives nothing back?

[tomphil]

For people like me it's the balance I want to support the club but I don't want to support Venkys, the ones responsible for this mess. I detest them and struggle to be a part of their continuing charade.

All I see next season is a repeat of the season after we came down with a likely revolving door of managers, coaches, players. Most of this down to the fact idiots are running the club day to day from India, that isn't going to change yet in order for the farce to stop that HAS to change.

It's ironic that the club now desperately starts asking for support after the idiots responsible for bringing it to it's knees decide to want it to be self sustaining overnight when it's impossible to do so.

It's their mess they should clear it up, if it means putting in 6 mill to cover the hole then do it, why should we suffer paying to watch another downgrade in players.

[booth]

I did it again, I read the article then continued to read the comments! Arghhhh! It's melting my mind!!!!!! Too much dumb in a morning.

It says a lot when the resident obsessive dingle is making the most sense.

It's a paradox!

[roverstdt]

really? unrealistic ? hahahahaha message board gold straight from the venky chicken sausage propaganda factory. This is why im boycotting because the Rovers Fans have traken over the asylum.

I like how the only thing that you pick is the word "Unrealistic". Please note the I stated from the beginning I am not a Venky's supporter but once again the negative nancy focuses on what he wants to rather than taking the whole context of the message as a whole.

What part of investing more money when we aren't even breaking even makes sense to you? What part of increasing your debt with owners who certainly don't seem to care looks like a viable solution to you? If they ask the club to repay the loan then already I doubt we would be able to afford to do it now, so why increase further when we definitely won't be able to do it.

But your right that is comedy gold and makes no sense....

[Darwen Rover 007]

Can't believe the LET didn't ask the question they have posed in the next article...

Why sack bowyer if this is the approach we are taking??

[mustard]

Fell into the trap of wasting my time trying to reason with the dumb posters on the LT. They have been completely and utterly duped by Venky's yet again and how anyone can feel positive after reading that is beyond me.

A large proportion of our fanbase are either naive, oblivious or utterly stupid.

We are on a one-way train into the mire thanks to Venky's. All this "cut our cloth accordingly" nonsense. @#/? off. The Venky's have torn this club apart. We aren't cutting our cloth accordingly at all. We are tearing it to suit the ragged remains engineered by those shyster's. We are Blackburn Rovers, not just any small-town club. We deserve better. @#/?.

[den]

"We'll cover the debt, but won't put anything else in. If you want to speak to us, then do it through our agent. We have better things to do." That's how I read the situation.

What a place to be in for a fan. If they stay we have to face that, if they leave we might not exist any more. I know Lambert says the club needs help, but WE need help. We need someone to come save us.

[Gav]

Season ticket prices are almost finalised, thats a positive surely

[J*B]

Season ticket prices are almost finalised, thats a positive surely

Odds on there being any changes to the price? It would be classic Rovers to spend this much time 'finalising' them only for them to be exactly the same as this year.

[tomphil]

Season ticket prices are almost finalised, thats a positive surely

A 6 million hole needs plugging (despite 20 mill of sales of course), oh yes and season tickets are nearly ready to be announced.

Be afraid be very afraid

[LDRover]

Season ticket prices are almost finalised, thats a positive surely

Yes, it's brilliant news that Gav, I'm f###ing made up here.