In Podcast 66 BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu asks Paul of the Rovers Trust to explain the Trust's recent application to register Ewood Park as an asset of community value with the local council. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 66 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 66 topic. View full article

In Podcast 73 Glenn and Ste B, BRFCS admin for over twelve years, discuss their decision to stand down from the adminstration of the BRFCS website and hand over the task to BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu. Glenn and Ste look back on a decade and a half of involvement in BRFCS and talk about the history of the site, the people and the events, and their views on community. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 73 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 73 topic and you can join in the discussion with Glenn and Ste on the main messageboard here. View full article

After collapsing with heart failure during Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, where he required emergency life-saving treatment on the pitch, Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, 23, is reported to have regained consciousness and to have uttered his first words since his collapse. He is still in a critical condition, however, and is continuing to have treatment and receive medical support in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital. Bolton's Premier League fixture against Aston Villa, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed as the players and the club as a whole are still coming to terms with the tragic events that were witnessed on the pitch on Saturday. This weekend's Premier League fixture at the Reebok Stadium between Bolton and the Rovers, due to be played on Saturday, is to be confirmed later in the week. It is shocking that a young man like Fabrice is in such a condition and the thoughts of all at BRFCS are with Fabrice and his family at this difficult time. BRFCS also extends its support to all connected with Bolton Wanderers Football Club in hoping that Fabrice is able to pull through and make a full recovery. View full article

Published at the end of August through Grosvenor House Publishing, Agents, Rovers and Cricket Loving Owners is the culmination of some nine months of research and writing by author Michael Blackburn.[caption id=attachment_5089" align="alignright" width="300] Image courtesy of Michael Blackburn[/caption] Driven by a desire to challenge the account of events portrayed by influential sections of the media with regard to the ownership and running of Blackburn Rovers, the author set out to inform football fans of what is actually happening at Ewood Park. The result is a thoroughly readable account of the first twenty months of the ownership of the Rovers by the Indian poultry giants Venky's, which serves as a record of the calamitous and reckless mismanagement of our football club by the Rao family, led by Madam Desai, and their associates. A full book review by BRFCS match reporter Parsonblue is now available and to hear about his motivations and how he went about writing his book, listen to his interview with BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu in Podcast 41. The book is available for purchase at £7.99 via the book website, www.rovertaken.co.uk, and also from the BRFC Action Group market stall in Blackburn town centre. Later in September it will also be available through Amazon at £12.99, although the markup in price and most of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Amazon rather than the author. For further details, please visit the Rovertaken website and for discussion of the book, please visit the book's thread in the BRFCS forum. View full article

Rovers have finally announced that Roque Santa Cruz has returned to the club on a six-month loan deal from Manchester City. Talking to the press Roque said, "I feel like I am coming home. This has been the easiest decision of my career. I want to get playing and scoring goals again and this is a real chance for me to prove myself after a frustrating period. Everyone knows what Blackburn Rovers means to me." Manager Steve Kean was also delighted to have Roque back at the club: "When he was here first time he had a fantastic time and showed his quality. I think he feels he has got a little bit of business to finish. Hopefully he will go and do that until the end of the season. He has got an infectious personality and was very popular here first time around. I'm sure he will be this time. He's coming back to a place that was special to him and I am sure he is going to deliver as good if not better." Roque could be the first of a number of signings. Sources have revealed to BRFCS that Rovers are closing in on a further three players. Discuss View full article

[caption id=attachment_829" align="alignright" width="300" caption=" Image courtesy of cn174 ][/caption]Rovers midfielder Keith Andrews, currently on loan to Ipswich Town, appears to be ready to make the move permanent and is being quoted on Skysports.com as saying: "I know I've got 18 months left on my contract there [at Blackburn] but I really don't want to be there. I've come here (Ipswich) and had a new lease of life here. I'm sure something will get done in January." View full article

BRFCS chief reporter Kamy has a short write-up in Metro Sport giving his views and predictions for the January transfer window. Read about it on the Metro's Blackburn transfer news, rumours and speculation page. View full article

In the 18th BRFCS podcast, produced by J*B, Wen Y Hu is joined by chief reporter Kamy and assistant editor Eddie to discuss the recent Board meeting and Barclays Bank involvement, the transfer budget and Steve Kean's position, the Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion games and a number of other items. The podcast is available on the following link: Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes, but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link. A direct link to listen to and discuss the Podcast is available through the Podcast 18 topic. View full article

[caption id=attachment_2130" align="alignright" width="229" caption="Image courtesy of cn174][/caption] Rovers captain Chris Samba will be out of action for the next few weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea. View full article

Following on from his interview with national daily The Independent last week, Ian Battersby talks to BRFCS about club ownership issues. One of very few Rovers fans to have spoken with Venky's chairperson Mrs Desai, financier Battersby discusses his views on the Venky's ownership of the club and the wider implications this has for the health of the game in this country. "Be under no illusions, our club is dying," says Rovers fan Ian Battersby. "137 years of football heritage has been decimated inside 12 months. It's like watching a slow motion car crash." It's a view echoed by many of Rovers' supporters. Through his business involvement in football, Battersby knows the inner workings of the game from the inside and says Blackburn's current troubles should send a warning shot across the bow of every professional football club. "It might be easy to ignore our plight on a national scale, but with current levels of debt at most clubs reaching unsustainable levels, everyone seeks the holy grail of wealthy foreign owners coming to the rescue," says Battersby. He points to other North West clubs such as Bolton and Wigan, who, like the Rovers under Jack Walker, have been bankrolled by local businessmen with a deep connection to their hometown clubs. "The point will come when either they have to write off this debt or seek foreign money to move forward. It can't go on ad infinitum." Battersby believes the Premier League are culpable in allowing the current trend of foreign ownership to continue without suitable safeguards. He has witnessed first-hand with Venky's ownership of the Rovers just how little prospective owners need to know about the modern game of football, and how weak the fit and proper test actually is. "We hear an awful lot about the sham that is 'fit and proper'. Evidence of cash in an account on a given day hardly cuts the mustard. This is a major industry we are talking about here — it's worth billions globally and there has to be something akin to licensing of owners. How can someone wing their way into the UK, take ownership of a club and within 12 months destroy a community? The warnings of Portsmouth, Notts County and now Blackburn have to be heeded. If the same had happened at Jaguar or similar, there would have been outrage in the House of Commons and yet we sit and watch this happening. In essence, the Premier League are watching one of their member clubs get savaged and haven't batted an eyelid. It is nonsense." Battersby and business partner Ian Currie met with the Rao family in Pune in India in October. There they delivered a few home truths about the issues and responsibilities which faced owners — specifically those relating to the Rovers. It was advice that was subsequently ignored. Even the notion of conducting their business almost exclusively from Pune didn't sit well with Battersby. "It's a farce to expect our manager to travel to Pune and back inside a day for what amounts to a three-hour meeting. Apart from the fact that he needs to be concentrating his efforts on running and preparing the team, the absentee landlord operation is a joke. That's the board's job. They should have their relationship with the manager and then work with the owners to implement the agreed strategy for the club. But we have no board as such and no strategy, so it doesn't look overly promising, does it?" "Nobody in Blackburn is empowered to do anything and unless you have delegated authority from India, the whole thing grinds to a shuddering halt. There is no appreciation of how dynamic running a Premier League club is. Things can change many times within a day that need decisive action." However, Battersby says the warning signs were there. "It was quite clear then, and it is ever more clear now, that they have little concept as to what running a Premiership football club entails." Further, he questions whether the deal to sell Rovers to the Venky's Group by the Walker Trust was in the best interests of the club. "It seems to me that 12 months ago everybody sat in a room with all parties wanting the deal to happen for their own reasons. In that scenario maybe many of the 'what ifs' were conveniently overlooked." He also says the Venky's did not fully comprehend what they were buying into. "I think they thought the initial down-payment of £25m plus responsibility for existing bank debt of £18m to buy the club was essentially 'job done' and, with an annual working capital injection of £3m to £5m alongside astute player trading, they thought they could get on and expand the Venky's brand over here. It's an incredibly naive view." Blackburn Rovers Football Club is just one of 170 subsidiaries in the Venky's Group. Each has a business head who reports directly to the Venky's board; in Rovers' case, that appears to be Steve Kean. "The notion of a board executing the owners' plans on a day-to-day basis is a complete anathema to them and many of our problems flow from that," states Battersby, pointing out that much of the antipathy the fans have for the new regime is down to the "wall of silence" which has been erected around the club. The misguided response of Venky's was to appoint Vineeth Rao as their UK "middleman", but he has little knowledge of football and even less connection with Blackburn. "We have a sporting director who nobody would know if they were sat next to him and that's a high-profile job allegedly responsible for player recruitment. We have a deputy chief executive — but no chief executive — whose effectiveness is, in the circumstances in which he operates, negligible. The August window was a real opportunity to get the club on an even keel again after the trauma of Wolves, but when problems with the bank surfaced and a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal failed to materialise, the budget was very badly impacted and these were the first signs of the extent of the cash call on Venky's, something that appears not yet to have been addressed. As fans saw a raft of sub-standard acquisitions – most of which it is now believed were not instigated by the manager – and poor performances, they rounded on the only visible target of the new regime, Steve Kean." "The last few months have been horrendous. Steve Kean has borne the brunt of everything, in my opinion somewhat unfairly," says Battersby. "As Roy Hodgson said after the home defeat to West Brom, the problems of a club are rarely the fault of one man." However, Battersby says that Rovers' fans are justifiably angry and frustrated. "We are having to sit and watch our club being torn apart by ineptitude, failed promises and a continuation of nothing happening. Generations of fans are distressed that their heritage is disappearing whilst Venky's sit quietly in India. I understand fellow managers and the LMA uniting behind Kean – you would expect that – but they are passing comment on our club without any real appreciation of what our fans are living through. I bet they barely give it a moment's thought afterwards, because it doesn't mean anything to them." "The problem is not about individuals anyway, it's about the abject management of the club by the owners. It's all very well Mark Lawrenson et al. throwing out their smug comments, but little old Blackburn means nothing to these people. We are a small-town club and the impact of all this on our community is devastating. The media have the temerity to ask why people like Jack Straw are getting involved. Behave! He is the local MP and he can see immediately where this is heading. This is a much wider problem than merely a football club. This is a whole community and the football club is a central influence on much that happens economically in the area." Tired of inaction, Battersby e-mailed Mrs Desai again on Christmas Eve and laid out what he saw as the three options available to her: (1) Commit the required £20m or so to the January window. (2) Accept you don't have the infrastructure in place now to be able to take that risk and accept that relegation could therefore become reality and plan your assault from the Championship with a proper structure and budget in place. (3) Plan an orderly exit. To date, there has been no response. "Venky's, for everyone's sake including their own, need to come forward and explain all that has happened: own up to their mistakes, implicate other parties if necessary so that we can all understand where and how we have ended up here. It will create a storm without doubt, but at least fans can get some sort of handle and appreciation. At the same time, communicate your plan and how you intend to deliver it. All we seek is some openness and honesty." "What concerns me now, though, is that they seem intent on selling rather than buying and if it ends up involving our best playing assets in January, then they will have us relegated whilst neutralizing their own cash position," says Battersby. "At which point they could throw the keys in and let someone wade through the wreckage. In that scenario, starting life in the Championship with your assets gone and cash flow down the pan, you could really see us continuing our free-fall through the divisions. I don't think asset-stripping was ever their intention, but in the light of the events of the last few months it isn't that far-fetched anymore. Certainly the cash now required to save Blackburn is at a level they never contemplated and you can easily envisage family disunity at having to gamble £20m or more on one subsidiary in a corner of north-west England. With local opinion so much against them now, would you be rushing to write a cheque?" "Nobody knows with any certainty in which direction the Venky's will eventually decide to take the club, but you would have to be a supreme optimist to think it will be in a positive direction. So if you are a football fan hoping your club finds a wealthy foreign owner to cure your problems, just beware – because if you happen to be located north of Watford, when it all goes wrong nobody will want to listen." Venky's management of the Rovers has raised a number of broader issues with regard to the corporate governance of Premier League clubs. Battersby suggests that a much more robust approach to ownership needs to be taken by the Premier League. He believes the Premier League need to assess potential applicants as they would a large corporate entity applying for a substantial bank loan, but in his proposed arrangement this assessment would be to obtain a licence. Such assessment would cover the following areas of prospective owners' performance: Financial strength and track record Quality and strength of the management team Experience of delivery in the sector Feasibility of business plan and strategy Corporate governance Accordingly, there would need to be provision for the submission of quarterly or half-yearly accounts in addition to the annual accounts. Thus, the Premier League would meet quarterly or half-yearly to review adherence to an approved business plan and the terms of continuing approval would be against set covenants. If these were not being met, then the licence would be withdrawn. "In the case of Premier League ownership," says Battersby, "you would envisage being granted a licence to operate initially, assuming you passed the process of in-depth analysis, and this would be renewed annually against 'performance behaviour' or, if there were any cracks appearing, you could have quarterly or half-yearly monitoring. There would have to be powers of withdrawal that owners sign up to at the initial granting of the licence. They might even have the power to impose their own interim administrators if things were going badly wrong." Whilst this would not be a panacea for the many potential problems involved in owning a professional football club, Battersby believes that having a recognised process and structure in place is a fundamental necessity. Moreover, it would also ensure that well-meaning but ultimately naive owners such as the Venky's would never get far enough down the line of acquiring ownership because they would fail the robust tests put in place. 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Filmed in the summer of 2012, Venky's — The Fall of Blackburn Rovers looks into how the former Premier League champions have declined so rapidly under Venky's ownership. The documentary highlights such issues as manager selection, ignorance in the owners' communication with the club and community, and the naivety and lack of footballing knowledge of the Venky's when seeking management advice. It is to be released this coming Monday via the Squashed Fox production company's YouTube channel. Documentary director and producer Rishi Sikka, himself a Rovers fan, sought the views of a wide range of people on Venky's catastrophic management of the club and has interviewed members of the professional football world, the media, local and national government, and Blackburn Rovers fan groups. Former Rovers stars Derek Fazackerley and Simon Garner, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, journalists Nick Harris and Alan Nixon, and Rovers global advisor Shebby Singh are among those interviewed. The Rao family, Blackburn Rovers' owners, were given every opportunity to take part in the documentary to give their side of the story, but they refused all offers. Venky's running of the Rovers from India has proven disastrous for the football club, yet the financial implications of their ruinous tenure is only one aspect of the story. The documentary reveals how their incompetence has wrecked the close-knit community that the club revolves around and has affected community–club relations, in some respects beyond repair. With the continuing uncertainty surrounding the club, the man behind the project Rishi Sikka has decided it is time to release the documentary via the Internet to give the club's plight the broadest platform he feels it deserves: "If Venky's have any sense at all, they will watch this documentary, and if they have hearts, they should at least feel something." The documentary is to be released on the Internet at 8pm on Monday, 27 May 2013, via the Squashed Fox production company's YouTube channel. A trailer is already available. Check out the links below. Venky's - The Fall of Blackburn Rovers Launch date: Monday, 27 May 2013, 8pm Squashed Fox YouTube channel: http:///www.youtube.com/SquashedFoxLtd Trailer: Join in the discussion on the forum here. View full article

In BRFCS Podcast 43 the BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu interviewed Oliver Jones and Wayne Wild, the co-chairs of the Rovers Trust, which launched last week on Monday, 27 September. In a separate interview below, they have been good enough to answer many similar questions to provide us with more details on the trust. Can you clarify the overall aims of the Rovers Trust in terms of ownership of Blackburn Rovers Football Club? Put simply, we want to bring the club into community ownership. What does this mean? Well, we want to be ready for the opportunity to make an offer for the club (however it presents itself — either a sale or, God forbid, something worse like Portsmouth). If we can't raise enough to buy it outright, then we want to co-invest with any new owner so the fans have a substantial stake and rights to protect the history, future and reputation of the club. This model is already successful at Premier League clubs like Swansea, so it is achievable. If the worst happens, we don't want to be in a position like Pompey Supporters Trust, where they are under really tight timescales and have struggled — we want to make sure we are ready. In terms of how achievable outright ownership is — we've always said it depends on the price, but community funding is becoming more and more common and a realistic alternative to traditional investors — all we are doing here is putting it on a bigger stage to allow 10,000-plus fans to take a stake in the future of their club. Our role as Rovers Trust is to put the structure in place, which is what we are doing and we have some of the best experts in the country helping us. After that, it is up to the supporters to choose if that is ultimately what they want — if it is, then we all need to do whatever it takes to make it a reality. Can you account for the activity that has gone on behind the scenes to create this umbrella organisation? As you can imagine, bringing together two groups, at different stages of development, with different people involved has taken a little bit of time and discussion to understand and clarify the parameters of a merger. This was greatly aided by the fact that both groups are essentially fans that want the best for the club and believe that to be a future where some or all of the ownership resides in the supporter base and local community to protect from the current situation from ever happening again. We have agreed that the best way for us all to achieve our aims is joining together and hope that we can reinforce this message among the supporters. Many believe that we are trying for the impossible, but we had 20,000 regular attendees at Ewood before the current ownership came along, and somewhere around 100,000 global fans. If every one of these joined in, we would have no problem raising the money. Together we can, but we need people to believe with us. Over the last two months we held four or five meetings to firstly understand where each other stood on various key points, what the rules and regulations were in each of the groups, and ultimately what the aims were. This has led to a Memorandum of Understanding being produced by Richard Speak at Pall Mall Capital (our London-based corporate finance specialist) and Khurshid Valli at Gateley (our Manchester-based commercial lawyers). This is now agreed and to formalise it we are having a little signing ceremony on the morning after our Sportsman's Dinner (which is on Friday, 12th October, by the way — tickets still available at £50 for corporates and £35 for supporters). What is the legal status of the different bodies within the Rovers Trust organisation? There are currently four legal entities under the Rovers Trust Group umbrella. These are the original BRST Industrial and Provident Society (BRSS Ltd IPS), the original BRSIT Community Benefit Society (BRSIT CBS), the BRSIT Limited Company (BRSIT Ltd) and the BRSIT Community Amateur Sports Club (BRSIT CASC). BRSS Ltd IPS, and the more recently formed BRSIT CBS, are the Financial Services Authority approved corporate entities that are designed for social or community fundraising. (The FSA is the public body that regulates financial services, fundraisings and to some extent charities.) These two entities have a number of pre-set rules and regulations that are focussed on the preservation of capital and assets in the entity, not least of which is something called an asset lock. The asset lock means that any money put into the CBS as an investment in shares must be carefully protected and cannot be distributed without the members' approval. So, for example, if Rovers Trust is successful in buying the club, the assets therein such as Ewood Park, Brockhall, etc. could not be sold off or put at risk by securing debt on them without the members having to vote on it. This is obviously hugely beneficial to the fans and to the community, as no vulture investors could try to sell down the assets to make profits. Given the two original groups, there are currently two societies, but going forward we intend for the BRSIT CBS to be the membership vehicle. This is due to the fact that the CBS legal form has more protections for the community built in to it and also has a specific provision above a normal IPS in that it has to have as one of its main charters to benefit not only its members but the greater community it operates in. In BRSIT CBS' case, this is the greater Blackburn and Darwen community. The BRSS Ltd IPS entity will be dormant unless it is required in the future. More detailed information on the legal form of a CBS can be found on the Business Link website. The Limited Company was first established by BRSIT as a normal commercial trading company in order to be able to get a bank account and get the scheme off the ground. The founders of BRSIT currently own it (Dan Grabko, Wayne Wild and Neil Thornton). However, under the Memorandum of Understanding, BRSIT CBS will take 100% ownership of this entity so the members will ultimately own it as well. The Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) is the newest entity in the Group. This is the Rovers Trust Sports Club. Over the next year you will see us launch programmes in the community backed by the members, particularly focussing on junior football as well as something for the older generations. We hope to be able to have a visible presence in Blackburn for members and potential members to come and find out firsthand what the Rovers Trust aims and ambitions are not only regarding ownership of the club, but also what Rovers Trust and its members can do for the local community. We hope that we can go some way to filling the gap left by the reduced funding the official BRFC Community Trust has seen over the last two years. The CASC also qualifies for benefits and tax reliefs that we hope to be able to capitalise on for the membership proposition. More information on CASCs can be found at www.cascinfo.co.uk. As we develop, it may be that more entities are introduced, but this should not distract people — we are Rovers Trust, and any entity created will be owned by the members. What is the current status of the board, the members and voting rights? The boards of each group have been merged with myself and Ozz leading this first phase as co-chairmen. The full board is up on our website and every officer can be contacted directly. Each officer has a specific role and we expect that this enlarged group is going to be able to focus on more new and exciting strategies while having as its core purpose the structuring of fundraising to enable community ownership in the club. In the week since our launch, we have had 100 members sign up and we haven't even begun marketing yet. BRSIT Ltd itself had around 3,000 interested parties, so we hope to able to sign these up as members as soon as possible and we are reaching out through all of the other fans groups and forums to encourage people to join up. We also hope to be able to have a big membership launch meeting in November, where we will be able to give full details of not only the membership offer but also the next major stage — starting to raise the money required to show the owners we are serious. It is too early in the planning to say any more on that, but we hope it will be exciting and compelling for the fans. It is one member one vote, so regardless of whether you can afford to invest in a community share, this really will give you a voice in the future direction of your club if you are a member and we are successful. Initially, members will be voting on the likes of the make-up of the Rovers Trust board, subscription rates and packages, etc., but in time with the successful acquisition of an ownership stake in the club, we hope that our members will be able to have a direct influence on critical, but general, strategic matters within the club such as transfer budgets, long-term investment plans, etc. What is the relationship between the BRST and BRSIT? In all honesty, as of our launch, there is only Rovers Trust. The original entities obviously still exist legally, but there is no culture of a BRST faction or BRSIT faction on the board. Nobody is vying to retain the old identities or voting against each other. It is just a board making decisions about what is deemed the best way forward for Rovers Trust. The past has been left behind to make way for a unified future. What does it mean to be a member of the Rovers Trust or one of the Trust bodies? As explained above, membership in Rovers Trust from a purely legal perspective means that you are a member of BRSIT CBS. It also means that as a member, you are a partial owner of BRSS Ltd IPS, BRSIT Ltd, and BRSIT CASC, because BRSIT CBS owns all of these entities. All junior members (under 16s) are members of BRSIT CASC, and are not members of BRSIT CBS and do not hold a voting right in that entity. This is in compliance with FSA regulations, stating that all full members of a CBS must be at least 16 years old. How does membership of BRSIT and the pledging of funds under the fans ownership initiative relate to Rovers Trust? The BRSIT pledges were expressions of interest — there was no cash exchanged and no contractual obligation to execute a transaction. Rovers Trust will be contacting each and every pledger to ask them to be a member in Rovers Trust and, when we are ready, to commit to us their original pledged amount on a risk-free basis. We are still developing the pre-share documentation and process, so it is too early to go into details, but we intend to protect our members to the best of our abilities. Any other donations and funds donated to BRSIT or raised through sales of the BRSIT wristbands, etc., that have not already been expended towards the running costs of BRSIT Ltd will be used for Rovers Trust. If we are contacted by a supporter who wishes to have their donation back now that BRSIT has been merged into Rovers Trust, we will of course return it — but we want to stress our aims are the same, our Board includes all of the old BRSIT Board on it, we remain advised by the same people that advised BRSIT and, if anything, this merger has increased our chances of achieving the original aims BRSIT set forth, not diminished them. Can you explain your relationship with supporters organisations such as the Fans Forum and BRFC Action Group and clarify the respective roles of the various groups as you see it from the perspective of the Rovers Trust? Rovers Trust is independent from all fans groups. At the same time we are heavily dependent on each and every one of them. Rovers Trust needs all of the fans groups' members to become our members as well to help achieve the aim of ownership. We believe that any member of any fans group can also be a member of Rovers Trust. We won't be offering travel or pre-match meet-ups, we will not have a home pub, and we certainly won't be competing with any fans group. Rovers Trust will be seeking to achieve influence and ownership on behalf of all of our members, which in turn means all of the fans groups out there. If that is attractive to the individuals in the various fans groups out there, then they should join us. We won't be commenting on any individual fans group, in the same way we won't be commenting on footballing matters at the club. Until Rovers Trust attains an ownership stake in the club, it is not our job to take stances on whether the team performed well, who the next manager should be, or who the club should sign. Likewise, we won't be supporting nor condemning actions by any particular fans group. It is up to each group and its members to voice their concerns or not, and act on them however they see fit. However, if they want to have fans ownership at Blackburn Rovers, then they should join us as that is what we will be campaigning, lobbying, asking and demanding over the next months and even years if that is what it takes. We believe the best owners for our club would be the fans and the community, making decisions with only the club's welfare at heart. What is your view on the resignation of Steve Kean and potential candidates for the vacant manager's position? Obviously the resignation is good news for Blackburn Rovers on many levels. The fans that have stayed away may now return and hopefully the finances of the club will become more stable. Rovers Trust is keen to see this stability remain for the long term, but with the current owners' record we can't count on this to be the case. We would urge fans not to think that this is a resolution. This is only the very first step in what would be required to implement the necessary changes at the club to restore it to its well-run reputation. While Steve Kean's departure is excellent news, it has obviously made our job a little bit harder as it will make some forget that the manager situation was just one of the most visible symptoms of the larger problems at the club. We will of course continue to pursue our aims regardless of who the next manager is. Rovers Trust hope that, for the good of the club, it will be someone with the experience and skill to bring together the squad and lead the club back to the Premier League where we belong. Thanks to Oliver (Ozz) and Wayne for the interview and also to Rovers Trust finance officer Daniel Grabko for his help with the background work for the interview. For further information about the Rovers Trust, including details of how to become a member, visit the Rovers Trust website. View full article

A major new documentary is set to be aired early next month which will examine Venky's ownership of Blackburn Rovers. The documentary entitled Venky's — The Fall of Blackburn Rovers charts how under Venky's Rovers have fallen from a stable Premier League club to a club fighting for survival in the Championship with the management structure appearing to have failed. The documentary was the brainchild of Rovers fan Rishi Sikka, who through his company Squashed Fox decided last year to embark upon making this documentary. It has taken Rishi and his team nearly a year to get the documentary finished. It will look at the mistakes that Venky's have made from the moment they sacked Sam Allardyce and replaced him with Steve Kean. Through interviews with Rovers fans it will show how the club has been separated from the local community and demonstrate how Venky's have consistently listened to the wrong advice. The documentary will also reveal some contents of a dossier which has been ignored by football authorities, whilst also examining the role of global advisor Shebby Singh over the last twelve months. Talking to BRFCS Rishi said: "Hopefully the documentary will help demonstrate how far the community has been driven away from their football club through pure ignorance. If the Venky's have any sense, they will watch this." Rishi has been invited onto a forthcoming podcast and further coverage of the documentary will be provided once it is aired. For those wanting a sneak peak of the documentary, see the . View full article

Rovers have confirmed that Mauro Formica has signed for Rovers. The highly-rated Argentinian has signed a four-year contract, but the transfer fee has not been disclosed. Manager Steve Kean, speaking to the official site (www.rovers.co.uk), said: "Mauro is a fantastic talent, an attacking player who has been in great demand. He has great technical ability and is a typical Argentinian with a bit of fight and a bit of devilment in him. He's an exciting talent and I must say that this transfer window has progressed really well for us." View full article

In Podcast 67 BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu is joined by assistant editor Eddie to discuss the Burnley, Leicester and Huddersfield games. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 67 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 67 topic. View full article

In Podcast 65 BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu is joined by chief reporter Kamy to talk about the 4-1 victory over Bolton and reflect on the transfer window. Games * Bolton Wanderers Transfers * Outs * Ins * Loan window Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 65 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 65 topic. View full article

In Podcast 61 BRFCS chief reporter Kamy discusses the main events since the end of last season with BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu, looking at the departure of former operations director Paul Agnew, the position of Gary Bowyer as Rovers manager, the movements on the transfer front, and other bits of pre-season news. Club managment * Agnew dismissal and Shaw * Karen Silk, Shebby and new executive structure Transfers out * Nuno Gomes, Danny Murphy, Martin Olsson * Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina Transfers in * Luke Murphy, Jay Spearing, Dave Jones * Todd Kane, Chris Taylor, Alan Judge, Simon Eastwood, Matt Kilgallon, Alex Marrow, DJ Campbell * Other movements Games * Wrexham * Other fixtures Legends game * BRFCS coverage of the Legends Match Backroom staff * Craig Short appointment as first-team coach Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 61 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 61 topic. View full article

In Podcast 60 BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu, chief reporter Kamy and news editor Paul pay tribute to the late Kelvin Metcalfe (Kelbo) after discussing the recent matches and the battle against relegation, the latest visit to Pune and the High Court case over Henning Berg's compensation, the financial state of the club and its possible sale, and the Rovers Trust elections and activities. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 60 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 60 topic. View full article

Details have emerged today regarding a letter sent last month to Mrs Desai, the chair of Blackburn Rovers owners Venky's of India, by the Rovers Trust. The letter, dated 8 March 2013 and signed by the trust co-chairs Wayne Wild and Ozz Jones, is an invitation to Mrs Desai to engage in dialogue with the group for the mutual benefit of the owners and the Rovers Trust and, ultimately, Blackburn Rovers Football Club and its wider community of supporters. It is understood that the letter was circulated to members of the trust earlier today. Below is the full text of the letter. DATE: Friday March 8, 2013 RE: THE ROVERS TRUST Dear Mrs Desai First of all we want to thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. And we hope very much that you and your family are well and flourishing in your endeavours. We look forward to seeing you again soon at Ewood Park and would respectfully ask that, should you have the time before, during or after a game, we might meet in person to welcome you and to formally introduce ourselves. Since we launched the Rovers Trust in November, as the only official supporters trust for Blackburn Rovers to be recognised by our Government’s Supporters Direct body, we have attracted many hundreds of members. But, at heart, we have a small executive team made up of local business people and life-long supporters of Blackburn Rovers. Several members of the Rovers Trust steering group own and run family businesses both large and small, including WEC Group and Blackburn Chemicals, two Lancashire-based companies with international footprints. Another executive officer is the director of a highly successful media and public relations company, which works internationally, including in India. We understand what it is like to deal successfully with different countries and cultures and so we know how it must be for you to bring your values and beliefs to a football club in the North West of England. Right from the start, we would like to say: We are here to help you. And we hope when you’ve finished reading about the Rovers Trust you will have a better understanding of who we are and what our goals are. We also hope you will conclude that a working relationship with the Rovers Trust would be mutually beneficial to both parties and you would wish to open a dialogue with us, either personally or through your appointed representatives at Ewood Park. What is the Rovers Trust about? PUTTING SOMETHING IN — Our main aim is to become a shareholder in Blackburn Rovers Football Club. The shareholding can be large or small, but significant enough so that the fan-base can have their opinions heard and listened to and whoever owns the club can ensure they are taking into account the opinions and ideas of the very lifeblood of the club: the fans. The Rovers Trust has the official support of Supporters Direct which is the organisation supported by the UK Government to promote the value of supporter community ownership and influence of sports clubs in the UK. PUTTING SOMETHING BACK — into the community in and around Blackburn. Blackburn Rovers Football Club, as you are aware, is a very big part of people’s lives in the Blackburn area. Largely because of Government cutbacks, community initiatives have either had their funding pulled completely or cut back significantly. The Rovers Trust wants to help put something back through support of community initiatives and local grass roots football clubs. Through involvement particularly with the youth element of the local community, the benefit to Blackburn Rovers would be the engagement of youngsters with the football club from a very early age which would in turn help build the relationship between them and the club and ensure new fans and grow the next generation for the fan-base. What’s in it for you? The Rovers Trust wants to work with you the owners, not against you, with the very best interests of Blackburn Rovers at the heart of everything we do. There are a number of simple initiatives that can immediately and directly benefit you and the club through positive public relations, reaching out to the supporter base, the wider community and the business world of East Lancashire. POSITIVE PR Bringing the Rovers Trust in at this juncture or in the near future would create an enormous wave of positive PR in newspaper articles and on radio and television programmes both locally and nationally and very possibly internationally. Previously clubs who have engaged with their fans through a Trust have had to hit rock bottom first (Swansea City for example). But, a club that is able to understand the vital role the fans and the community play in the life and ultimate success of a football club would be recognised as the shining example for all other clubs to follow. You will be seen to be taking the initiative to officially recognise Rovers Trust allowing us the opportunity to buy a share in the club, without there needing to be the threat of financial failure hanging over the club. The owners of the club who have the foresight and initiative to do this first would be seen as the benchmark for how clubs should be run (with the model of the German Bundesliga as the working example in a different country). This would not be a one off piece of positive PR, this would continue indefinitely with Blackburn Rovers Football Club being the model for others to follow, not only in this country, but around the world. ENGAGEMENT The engagement with the fans and the positive PR this would generate would bring old fans back and new fans to the club, which would in turn increase the revenue channels throughout Blackburn Rovers whether it be ticket sales, merchandise, hospitality or corporate sponsorship. BUSINESS The monies earned through the sponsorship and hospitality strands have noticeably and significantly diminished over the past 18 months. Because of our dual status as both business people in our own right and as executives of Rovers Trust, we are in a unique position to greatly influence the corporate success of the club. Bringing the Rovers Trust on board would encourage more businesses both locally and nationally to want to become involved with the club through sponsorship and taking up of hospitality places. The positive PR created by taking this stand would mean businesses would want to be seen to be involved with the brand that is Blackburn Rovers Football Club. A JOINT NETWORKING EVENT The Rovers Trust would like to propose a joint networking event held at Ewood Park which would be run as a collaborative event between the club and the Rovers Trust to start building these relationships as soon as possible. This would enable us to get to know and begin to work positively with your top team of directors and begin to help them to rebuild the commercial revenues of the club. In Summary You can see just from this short introduction what the Rovers Trust stands for and the benefits positive engagement with the Trust will bring to Blackburn Rovers Football Club and its owners. There are no negatives to bringing the Rovers Trust on board in an officially recognised role, only positives. The sooner we can set the ball rolling to help, the better. Actions We sincerely request we can begin a dialogue with you to make this happen as soon as possible and to start organising the first joint initiative which would be the networking event. If there are any questions you would like to raise about the Rovers Trust or ideas you yourself may have, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forwarding to hearing your thoughts. With our very best regards, the Rovers Trust Steering Group Wayne Wild — Co-Chairman Ozz Jones — Co-Chairman View full article

In Podcast 58 BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu is joined by chief reporter Kamy and assistant editor Eddie to talk about the recent league and FA Cup matches, team and player form, new staff both on and off the field, Michael Appleton's progress and other Rovers-related chat including tantric dance routines and a tribute to Andy Cryer of the Lancashire Telegraph. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 58 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 58 topic. View full article

In Podcast 57 former Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Sir Bill Taylor talks to BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu, assistant editor Eddie and SteB from BRFCS admin about the Blackburn Rovers united fans initiative, his forty-year association with Blackburn, the town's football club and the local community as well as his thoughts on new manager Michael Appleton and the administration of the club. Sir Bill Taylor chairs the united fans initiative, an umbrella group of Rovers fans, groups, trusts, forums, fanzines and websites who were brought together in the spring of 2012 following the publication of the united statement by Blackburn Rovers fans in January 2012. Sir Bill has written to the Venky's on a number of occasions in an attempt to engage the owners in fruitful dialogue and has recently given presentations to global advisor Shebby Singh and issued an open statement. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 57 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 57 topic. View full article

Position Details BRFCS is seeking a volunteer trainee journalist to join its news team. The position is for an initial six-month period with the possibility to extend for one year until the end of the 2013-14 season. Applications from candidates who intend to embark on a career in journalism are especially welcome. BRFCS is the longest running and largest online community of Blackburn Rovers fans from around the globe. It serves its community through the BRFCS.com website and also engages in local community activities. BRFCS has as its motto "By the fans, For the fans" and has been run as a not-for-profit community project since 1996 by fans working on an entirely voluntary basis. Although the site is run on a voluntary basis, BRFCS is fortunate to be able to draw on professional expertise to maintain its own servers, develop and run a high-traffic messageboard and create original, high-quality content for publication via its front page. The new volunteer trainee journalist will have the support of this network and will benefit from the expertise and the opportunity to get real-world experience of sports journalism at the cutting edge. In principle, no remuneration or costs will be provided for this position. Benefits As a BRFCS volunteer trainee journalist, you will learn from a respected and accredited investigative sports journalist learn from an experienced editor work with a team with many years' experience in online publishing, media and advertising work with our extensive network of contacts in the media world and gain professional experience build a recognised portfolio of published sports journalism work on BRFCS get help towards getting such things as full press accreditation. Qualities The volunteer trainee journalist is expected to have solid writing skills and be familiar with social networking media and online media. Moreover, in order to take full advantage of the support available, it would be a distinct advantage to be resident in the Blackburn area. This will allow you to attend interviews, press conferences, etc., at short notice. Suitable personal qualities are essential to working in an environment that requires initiative, a sense of purpose and an appreciation of the importance of fostering and maintaining good working relationships. The successful candidate should have the ability to work independently have the appetite to learn and develop professionally have good morals be reliable, trustworthy and discreet. Application To apply for this opening, please send the following to editors@brfcs.com by no later than Friday, 25 January 2013. CV A cover letter, stating how your contribution would fit into your career plans A sample article of around 500 words appropriate for the news section of the website on a Rovers-related topic of your choice (match preview, player profile, history piece, opinion piece, etc.) The names and contact details of up to two referees Interviews will be carried out shortly after the application deadline. For further details, please see the messageboard forum here. View full article

Sir Bill Taylor, chair of the umbrella group of fans, groups, trusts, forums, fanzines and websites who support the Rovers, today issued this statement. After the departure of Henning Berg, Eric Black et al.: Where now for Blackburn Rovers Football Club? The departure of the recent coaching staff quartet marks another saddening chapter in the recent story of the once proud Blackburn Rovers Football Club. We the fans want to see the ownership, backroom and playing management strong and on an even keel. The owners, the Rao family, have no track record and palpably no instinct for running an English football league team, especially one rooted in the culture and traditions of the East Lancashire former cotton towns. They have turned to people they have learned to like and thought they could trust to successfully guide the club through this transitional period. But things have gone rapidly downhill. The replacement of the playing staff management team is clearly the preeminent priority. It is the job of a steady and sound club management team to hire and fire the best possible coaching staff. We urge that the replacements have the following qualities: proven track record, an understanding of local affiliation, bottle, skill, hardworking, down to earth, respected, honourable. We urge that this process of replacement is done quickly but not rushed. All the fans' groups are united in having the best interests of the club very much at heart. Our town and beyond love our football club. We see it as our football club, belonging to and representing our communities, neighbourhoods, families and friends. We are hardworking, proud and determined. Our football club acts as both a rallying point and an escape from our daily lives and their circumstances. We will not be "picked off" by diversionary token gestures by the owners' local representatives. After the right team has been recruited, we urge the Raos to engage with the right people right across the different communities of East Lancashire. They cannot begin to understand the complexities and subtleties of these communities from afar and should begin again the process of engagement with these key groups. Sir Bill Taylor, Chair Join in the discussion on the forum here. View full article

In Podcast 53 chief reporter Kamy talks to BRFCS editor Wen Y Hu about the cancellation of the Brighton match, the goings-on behind the scenes relating to Henning Berg, the administration of the club and Paul Robinson's future at the club. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 53 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 53 topic. View full article

In BRFCS Podcast 51 news editor Paul joins editor Wen Y Hu to discuss the Blackpool match, global advisor Shebby Singh's appearance on BBC Radio Lancashire last Wednesday in a Q&A session with Rovers' fans, and the latest on the Rovers Trust. Subscribe to it in iTunes here. Don't forget to rate us in iTunes and add a review. If you are unable to subscribe to iTunes but would like to download the podcast, then you can do so through this link: Podcast 51 A direct link to listen to and discuss the podcast is available through the Podcast 51 topic. View full article