As promised Mark and I met with the CEO and this is a brief run down of discussions. 1. Bridging loan - Taken out by Venkys against the training ground, using a long standing relationship with UK based businessman. The plan is this to be short term and they intend clearing it as soon as there is a relaxing of funds from India. They had to put up Parent company guarantees, but the liability of the loan remains with Venkys and won't appear as in the club accounts. The funds were made available to aid cash flow and ensure priority bills were paid. 2. Cash flow - although challenging the club has paid all priority bills, or renegotiated terms during the period up until and including the cash injection earlier this month, this includes all bonuses. No wages or bonuses have been deferred by anyone at the club. 3. Cash injection - the club are relieved with the 11 million or so which had been sanctioned by the Indian courts. Its a less than ideal situation as substantiation must be provided with each application and only bills, operating costs will be sanctioned. The money cannot be diverted to transfer funds and will be auditable on future applications. This money was to see the club until December 2023. 4. What's the plan for funds for the rest of the season? The club has once again put together a list of bills which will need to be paid, this will again go to the courts for authority to pay, the club are confident this will also be sanctioned. 5. Does that mean no transfer funds? If there is not a relaxation in India, then funds will need to be generated via player trading 6. Venkys sponsorship - Club taken 3 years payment of the 5 year deal in advance to cover cash flow. 7. DOF/CEO model, who decided this? This was Venkys Idea after seeing other clubs use this approach. 8. Have you taken paycut to fund a second person doing something you previously did on your own? No 9. We have had a good record previous to a DOF of buying players with a good sell on value, is it fair to say that most of our playing assets are now from the academy, who have a genuine decent value? CEO acknowledged that our assets are from within rather than those purchased. It was noted that Hyam, Smodzics etc were scouted prior to the new Management set up and have been a success in terms of purchase price, but also the previous recruitment team. 10. Are you on a rolling contract/fixed contract? Notice period from either side required to terminate. 11. Season tickets - Club recommended a much lower price to India, in particular on the early bird, however this was not acceptable and they set a higher opening early bird offer. It was acknowledged that the early bird offer didn't help low income families with the short duration and the club needs to learn from this. It was also acknowledged that the price was a stumbling block and something they will be looking at. However a large drop in price would have much wider implications if the club needed to later increase these year upon year, with the rises being much steeper for the club to remain viable in terms of minimum revenue required to operate within FFP. 12. Shirt launch - How do we launch a shirt and sell out within 2 hours? The club ordered 15000 shirts, and he feels the launch was great success, obviously we need to sell all stock as 15000 was big commitment, however the limited opening batch was out of the clubs control with all shirts ordered in good time. The lack of shirts was not related to the clubs funding issues. 13. Closing the Blackburn End - the club received a number of complaints and hindsight is a wonderful thing. With cash flow a major issue at this time, the club attempted to try and limit match day costs. As CEO, he needed to look through a wider lense if funds were not forthcoming. Being responsible for the lights being able to be turned on was the priority during a challenging period and the decision was not taken lightly. 14. Shaw will be remembered for a fax machine, and you for a coach you didn't buy but said you did? After a debate it was agreed the coach was a lease and we asked him to admit saying otherwise has become a standing joke with JDT. He stated they wanted to put some positive PR out as the coach is state of the art. We told him, that the demographic he is preaching to, some can't afford a holiday or the basics and it was a poor effort to appease the fans. 15. We asked what he feels is his achievements to date as CEO? He said stabilising the Club during the bad press. We challenged had he stabled the club or have those more vocal given him time and patience to rebuild? We pointed out crowd's have continued to dwindle, and season ticket holder retention should be one of his main priorities l. It's no good selling 800 new season ticket holders, if you are losing a 1000 existing ones. We pointed out that they have not left their offices, gone out to the masses in and around the area, surrounding areas , put pop-ups up or to date given supporters a reason to return. 16. Is there any redundancies planned as part of the cut-backs? Not at this time, some have left employment for other reasons and these won't be replaced. 17. Supporter consultation meetings, why have they ceased , we do not believe meeting the FF in isolation instead of an open forum ticks the leagues mandate following consultation with the league ? He disputed this, but was happy to be corrected if that's the case. They stopped because of covid, but would be open to them restarting instead of multiple meetings, if there is genuine interest from supporters to attend a more open forum. 18. New Indian Based Commercial Director - He is cc'd on emails as a director however to date, has not got involved with Ewood and is not on the pay role. The other Indian based directors are also not paid by Rovers, though Gupta does attend meetings and in particular surrounding finance. He plays a more active role, than is forseen with this new appointment which is more of a tick box exercise. 19. JDT contract - it is a 3 year deal with no talks of a new contract planned at this stage, he is ambitious. We asked why JDT thinks he was sold a pup? He reiterated that its the same job as its always been with no pressure on league position. Its always been about developing and trading regardless of financial restrictions this summer. 20. Did we adopt quantity over quality this summer ? It was acknowledged that not all signings have worked out yet, either this season or last. We've had to take more chances , but some players take longer than others to settle. 21. Have the EFL or football league asked questions or taken closer look at Rovers since the investigations India? He stated he talks weekly with both parties and at no point had their been any discussions or contact either formally or informally. The club are completely compliant. 22. Given the fans found out the bad news from the press, as it appears he does, is he aware of any more bombshells from India, that have yet to hit print? He said he was not aware of anything and Mr Desai has repeatedly reiterated the owners commitment to providing funds. 23. When does he think we wil be clear, so funds can be provided normally? He does not know beyond the short term facility in place. He is confident that although substantiation is required to get funds signed off, that there should be no blockers to prevent these funds being transferred. He again reiterated the owners long term commitment. 24. Have they considered partnering with a credit union or endorsing one to offer supporters a facility to save for season tickets, given not all appear yo even pass the strict finance criteria by the clubs credit provider? He was interested on how this could work and would be open to looking at various options to aid affordability over a period of time, providing the club were not responsible/liable for the savings. 25. Large agent fees - We asked why the agent fees were so big? He stated some are historical and on long payment terms, so this is not just recent spend, it's cumulative of a number of seasons. 26. Loan from league during covid - Its been a bit of a noose but the final repayment will be made in January. Above is just brief and I will happily have a chat off line with anyone who wants me to elaborate

Sorry, just not had chance yet (some personal things controlling much of daily life). Will try and get an update on before end of week

Mark and I did finally did have our catch up with Waggott last night for a couple of hours. (I believe he has also held meetings this week with the FF, the trust and some other supporters). We will gather our thoughts, and report on those discussions at some point over the next couple of days

Further turmoil , wonder what fabricated statement the club will put out now, now that VH London are under investigation https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ed-seizes-immovable-properties-worth-over-rs-24-cr-of-venkateshwara-hatcheries-under-fema-provisions20231009204844/ https://www.easterneye.biz/india-to-seize-hatchery-firms-assets-over-forex-rule-violation/

The sinister side of me, thinks this smells of trying to get a income boost now, rather than a drip feed, between now and Christmas, to aid cash flow. Makes little sense, to offset walk ons which brings more income between now and Xmas for a club starving and requiring cut backs unless they need a cash boost now to pay pending bills. Obviously I can't substantiate this, but will certainly be posing this question

I find these numbers fascinating, when considering our board back then, to the board now, especially given the walkers Trust investment was not that great back then

Was reading @1864roverite on another thread and also decided to rewatch the documentary from 2013, 10 years on, and the fight goes on. Out of interest has anyone plotted our last 20 years income, expenditure, losses and crowds? Be interesting to see how the curve looks from before venkys to present day, when we are considering the current boards performance.

Strangely once they decided it was feed the whole club with a couple of loaf's and bottle of wine, his job became impossible. Trying to bring 7 or 8 players in with less than a million quid is asking the impossible, if you then expect those players to be better than what left, then disappointment awaits. I was not overly impressed with last summer, but he has already said he used the previous coaches/scouting lists to sign players. January hook line and sunk, its GBS Fault, we missed out on the play offs by goal difference, and those deals that fell through were far more than just "We will learn from it". However this window, he has been fooooooked over like the rest of us, and I cannot apportion the blame at his door. So on the whole, I'd say circumstances have intervened more than they should of during his tenure, and he needs to be given a chance.

Took quite a while to warm to JDT, I struggled first half of last season to understand the plan, and the football in the main was dire. Fast forward 12 months, and the football is genuinely nice to watch from an attacking perspective, and I cannot deny certain players have really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of their general skill level. I've always believed that a defence gains its confidence from having a top goalkeeper behind them. David Dunn said during the Friedel days, they knew he would dig them out of the shit more times than drop us in it, when he played. Players need to be persuaded that their future is at Rovers and they can fulfil their aspirations at the club. I think with Kaminski it was more a case of the club trying to cash in to generate funds, more than him banging the door down for a transfer, We have a record of just deciding to sell players, Tom Cairney comes to mind when we just sold him to bag a few quid. SWAG and co's cost cutting leaves us with a second choice goalkeeper as number 1, and the back up we've brought in, the jury will be out until he gets a run of games. Defensively wise, Carter has made a number of mistakes which we've been punished for. Central midfield looks a big issue the way we play, the gaps and space we leave for the opposition when play is turned over is shocking. I'm losing count the amount of times we give the ball away and the opposing players runs 30 yards with the ball at his feet., This needs to be addressed. As much as I'm a fan of Adam Wharton, he needs to work harder off the ball, as the defensive side of the job, is very much being carried by Travis. However most of the above is a symptom of spending nothing, depending on young lads who are trying to learn on the job. Many have raw talent, however the experience JDT Pleaded for, has not happened and the buck really does lie with the boardroom and the Owners. I genuinely think JDT Is getting 15% more than he should out of the personnel available, especially with the growing injury list too. I believe he is the right man for the job, though I doubt if he still feels that Rovers are the right club for him. They let him down this summer, and its those who need to go before the manager, sadly I think it will be the other way around

Be before then

The guy has had a free ride since the day he walked in. He is seen as the man who ended discontent in his own eyes, when the truth is, the supporters just took the their foot off the peddle to give him every chance to succeed. The decline under Waggott is far greater than those before him, and most of them that came before were bent. It's one fiasco after another, masked by no pressure from supporters or the owners. Waggott's reign will be remembered for cut backs, It will be remembered for seeing assets leave for free. It will be remembered as a time where supporters don't matter and continual losses are acceptable. Marketing is sub-standard. Season tickets prices are not enticing and bums on seats do not matter. Engagement more than 2 miles away is none existent. The financial woe has been on the horizon since the day we stopped getting fees for players. I'm struggling to see bar the ground what we can sell next to stay afloat. 8 years in , holding the top job at Rovers, and still can't put together a sustainable business plan which can generate funds, to aid coming away from being reliant on the others. For me it's not about working with him, it's about holding the board accountable, and ultimately having them removed, as they have had long enough.

Was a decent championship game, with both sides having moments of quality and then not so. More positives than negatives, and at ths stage of the season I think Boro have more issues than us, particularly at the back where they were closed down quickly, and the mistakes crept in. Pears must be on borrowed time, looked suspect on a number of occasions and it's rather when than if, before we see the new boy. Brittain put some superb balls into the box that both Dolan and Gallagher wasted, though creating chances does not appear to be our issue. Sammy, getting two is critical, we need to share goals out and he was very sharp today. Carter continues to improve and JRC was crucial change at right time and did excellent when coming on. Jury out on new boys, but far too early to judge them. It's a big 3 points and a wins a win

Certainly appears his understanding of the 3rd player is not the story we were given yesterday. I still don't get the feeling that he is content with the moving goalposts of this summer, and don't know the odds, but it must be short that he won't see out the season.

I read something the other day which basically said, In a 100 years we will all be dead. How many of us genuinely remember our great grandparents? Our graves will probably be overgrown, and in most cases unvisited. There won't really be pictures of us hanging on the walls. Conversations about us will be minimal if not at all. It made me think of Rovers and 12/13 years of Venkys. So many have walked away and don't even look at the results. We have a large % of supporters now who only know life under Venkys, they don't remember the Jack Walker days or those days before Jack. They don't understand the animosity towards Venkys and would see the good if they sold the ground. They don't know the history of the corruption which Venkys were certainly not innocent by standers, christ they gave the most hated Manager in the clubs history a new contract despite thousands protesting for his removal. They, and they alone removed each employee who had an ounce of spirit or skill to run our club. Even today they have their man on the ground who brokered the deal with Anderson to buy the club, he is so proud of this, that he lists this as one of his LinkedIn achievements. This ownership has been toxic from day one, continues to be so. We have chancers in the boardroom who are perfect for them as they don't rock the boat. Somewhere along this journey we have lost the fight and continue to be poked in the eye by the incompetent, and those who don't give one flying **** about our town, our club, its heritage or its history. Blackburn Rovers will never truly be in safe waters whilst they remain, and all efforts for their exit along with their cronies in the board room must at some point start, or things will get much worse.

Given no cash, I think its difficult to judge this lot he got. Last seasons signings is a little more tangible, some hits/some misses. None of this window falls with Ewood or the Manager. It's the loons in Pune who are fully responsible for leaving us up shit creak a few weeks before the season started .

JDT Feels differently though, he feels we are short of experience, Thanks for sharing though, as it's helpful to know he attended the forum

Listening to interviews, and reading LET articles points to note. 1. Budget was slashed by 15% and £5 million was needed to aid cash flow (this was exactly as I posted , and denied by others. 2. He suggest Buckley exit was to play games, which is the opposite to what JDT said. JDT stated it was to free up wages for another signing and he wanted to keep him. (So one ain't telling the facts?) 3. He mentions the Raya money but suggest the club was not reliant on it, so why mention it? That £5million now would of had big baring imo. The suggestion is now we will see it over 3 years when deal goes through. 4. Phillips was always going, and got the best they could. They could of got more if he had played more and that conversation happened, but agreed collectively to play the best 11 rather than play Phillips. 5. Final transfer was a loan but budget wouldn't stretch to it. 6. No knowledge of if/when the Venkys financial/government issues will come to an end, but expects it all to come out publically in the wash. 7. He is happy with window given constraints and feels although it slowed down, they met their objectives. On the whole, he did the best be could with both hands and feet tied and fair play for sticking around to do so. It can't have been easy to change horses mid June, and regardless of Vs issues at home. They seriously let this club down this summer and those holding the Fort.

Possibly an appointment to shadow Cheston, before he exits? Continuity planning? Or an indication of getting their own man in before possible investment from elsewhere? (A new investor/part owner). Or it could be a simple case of having a mother ship Venkys employee as a listed Director to give a comfort blanket to those currently in situ, given under UK law, the Directors carry the can. The other names Gupta etc, do they actually work for Venkys the business? I'm not sure they do. Another salary we could do without tbh unless someone is going to exit? Will it be full time, or additional duties to his existing role? Certainly some questions to pose as anything more than a paper exercise is certainly not a vote "in confidence" to those currently there, and a question for Waggott, when I see him

Thanks Duncan

It's an annual subscription

Thanks guys, just had news letter. Though have a question. The club has always done consultation meetings as per the EFL guidelines, and I see you are planning one with SW and GB. However unless you are a paid up trust member you must pay £10 to attend? Why is something that has always been free to supporters now going to cost supporters £10 unless they join the trust? Given membership is a few hundred on the trust (a low % of the supporter base) this is not the best way to gain additional traction and should be reconsidered.

It's not my narrative, it's their own quarter reporting. https://in.investing.com/news/venkys-plummets-16-on-poor-q1-show-profit-falls-61-profit-margins-affected-3759071

The reports definition and wording is what I've quoted "plummeted" is the word used. Shares Plummets 16.34% net profit down 60.6% All this has been provided in their first quarter report. Always wanted to use this line. "You can't handle the truth " lol 11% drop in last month. With the size of venkys, that's not chicken feed.

Their own first quarter report, issued in August which I've already posted the link confirms this, not sure why you'd suggest it's a myth given its public record

https://in.investing.com/news/venkys-plummets-16-on-poor-q1-show-profit-falls-61-profit-margins-affected-3759071