Crimpshrine

From supporters consultation meeting 2017 Andy Bayes: Quick question form the floor. Paul Keogh: I think most people in this room or most supporters at home will be pleased to hear that we’re no longer linked to SEM and Kentaro. Does that also mean that Suhail Pasha no longer works for Kentaro? Because he did previously. Paul Senior: Well I can’t comment on what he previously did but I do know that at this moment in time he’s not employed by those organisations; he’s employed by the owners. He looks after a number of the, or has a relationship with a number of the owners’ portfolios, including this Football Club - working in other countries as well. I have not been aware of any link or relationships between a professional at that level. He’s employed by the owners, by the club. James: What’s his real name, Mike? Obviously on Linked in, he’s called Suhail Sheikh. Every news article I read – Lancashire Evening Telegraph, even yourself referred to him as Suhail Pasha. So what’s his name: Suhail Sheikh or Pasha? Mike Cheston: I only know him as just Suhail. Paul Keogh: My question is to Mike. It’s regarding Suhail: you’ve just confirmed that he is employed by the club. Does he have a title for the club at all? Mike Cheston: Yes he does have a title. Paul Keogh: Which is…? Mike Cheston: Errrrrr errrrrrm Something like ‘Management Consultant’. I can’t remember the exact title. Paul Keogh: And do you not find it a little bit concerning from your point of view, Mike, that Paul has come along tonight and confirmed that he can openly pick up the phone and speak to Belaji or Venkatesh over in India? You’ve been here for how long now? Mike Cheston: Three years. Paul Keogh: Three years and you still have to go through Suhail? Mike Cheston: I don’t have to… Paul Keogh: Well why is he here, then? If you can open dialogue with the owners freely, why are we wasting money, under the current financial position that we’re in, and paying a Director or ‘Management Consultant’ to jet between India and England? Is that not a drain on our resources? Mike Cheston: I’ll confirm his exact title. I just can’t remember at the moment.

And there is Adam Owen who joined Rovers from Hibs and now works closely with Gestede.

A novice with friends in low places. He was originally snuck in unannounced under the guise of doing a favour to an ex-player and giving him some work experience. Who invited him ? Certainly not Waggott who was CEO at the time. Now he is running the gaff. It makes no sense unless you look into Pasha's past. Then it does.

It's not as simple as that is it? If we went 1 nil up just before half time, the second half could have been totally different to the way it played out with us being 1 nil down.

The meetings used to be run by Steve Waggott who was very skilled at keeping everything very civil and taking control of the dialogue in a calm manner. Now that Pasha is under direct scrutiny he is being exposed. He gets rattled very easily and doesn't have the people skills that Waggott had. My guess is that he will let Lynsey Talbot run any future meetings - if there are any.

This is exactly right. At the last WATR MoU meeting with the club in November 2024, the club committed to reinstating the fan consultation meetings and set target dates for February/March 2025. WATR were to help facilitate the meetings. Dates and venues were to be confirmed by the club in due course. From that point onwards, the club turned their back on WATR and their own Fan Engagement Plan entirely. Steve Waggott would answer emails but with delaying tactics and prevarication. Pasha and Lynsey Talbot stopped acknowledging emails altogether. The club have ignored all requests for further meetings . The latest FEP seems to confirm the intention to reduce fan engagement and control it via the FF - which as Matty correctly explains - is not the right vehicle. This is all down to Pasha doing things his way for his benefit. Luckily, he gets rattled easily - this is a battle we can win.

The pattern is always there because Pasha is always there. The links to the very earliest days of Venky's reign are still there. How is it that Gestede turned up from nowhere to shadow Waggott with a view to taking a senior role - with no previous experience? It's the same pattern. to quote Michel Salgado "‘I’m not surprised because the things that are happening are totally outside of football,’ said Salgado. ‘The decisions are made in a different way to any other club in the world."

Please, please get up early and watch so that we can have a trustworthy report - otherwise we may have to wait a month for the minutes and they won't be accurate anyway.

Not BS at all. Pasha, Gestede, Owen all have the same connections to people that have been running the club down for 15 years. There is nobody at the club who actually cares about Blackburn Rovers FC. All decisions are taken for the benefit of others.

The share price has always been volatile. Glad to see it dropping but it is still quite a lot higher than it was when they first bought the club. They benefitted massively from the beef ban in India a few years ago and their shares sky rocketed by about 400% so they are still in a fairly good position I would think. Sadly

I doubt there is an SLA. If there was they wouldn't stick to it anyway. There is a documented agreement between the club and WATR in the form of the MoU which states that there should be a minimum of 4 meetings a year. The club signed this agreement (on the pitch at Ewood) , tried to take all the credit for it, based their Fan Engagement Plan on it, won the EFL fan engagement award .because of it and yet there have been no meetings in the whole of 2025. Pasha has no interest in what fans have to say. He has hit his season ticket revenue targets and that is all he really cares about.

If a young, poorly paid, player does really well but knows the intention is to sell him, and there is interest from other clubs, is he likely to sign a new contract ? There will be exceptions like AW who loves the club and was happy to sign but, in general, a flawed policy.

Probably trying to sell him so they don't have to spend

Thanks, You usually have the answers. Is it possible that to declare the funds as shareholder loans they have to state in the accounts that they want to get the money back - otherwise it would be just making use of better tax terms ie false accounting - surely they would never do that !!!

OK, fair enough in that respect - I know you have a better knowledge of all this than I do, but declaring shareholder loans rather than equity investment is really just for the tax advantages I would guess?. In reality I don't think the owners are expecting this money back or treating it as a debt. It's just money that was needed for running costs.. The club has no loan repayment plans as far as I know.

I am not debating the fact that Venky's fund the club and it has cost them a fortune but the accounts don't mention anything about debt. Just profit and loss.

Are you referring to the share allotments? There is no loan agreement saying anything needs to be paid back

The club has no debt to the owners. The only money the club needs to pay to the owners ( via a subsidiary) is rent on the training ground. The money they have spent over the last 15 years are simply running costs, not investments.

Good business for Venky's - money straight into their pockets. Good business for Pasha, Gestede and Owen - bonuses on the way. Good business for the team ? - Absolutely not

Why you deleted that I don't know. The most incisive post on here for a long time.

Exactly, Venky's continued ownership makes no sense whatsoever on the face of it. The fact that an (ex)Kentaro employee is running the club is suspicious enough in itself. With all the hassle of the court cases and seized assets in India why wouldn't they sell ? There are a number of people coming to the same conclusions.

I acknowledge that the owners are negligent. They let agents run the club for them.

I think so. Gestede's last playing stint was for Steve Kean in Australia. Adam Owen is very much involved in the cost cutting and his last job was with Steve Kean at Hibs. Pasha worked for Kentaro/SEM who installed Kean in the first place. I am convinced the same network of agents are still running the club. Pasha, Owen, Gestede are all there to save money for Venky's and make money for agents. Don't ask me what Venky's get out of it, it's a mystery. How did Gestede turn up from nowhere and suddenly get to be the main man ?

If the owners took an interest, invested in new players when the FFP position was/is favourable ( last season / now ), when the chance of the playoffs was there ( January ) and actually showed some ambition then the fans would come back, turnover increase. We could get promoted and that would pay the wages. It's not going to happen but you asked for an answer. How do other clubs pay wages without selling all their best players ? Answers on a postcard.

Exactly. The lack of contract negotiations is a conscious decision to make other clubs aware that players are available. Anyone worth a bob or two is being put in the situation where they are effectively being encouraged to look elsewhere. It's the current model - sell and replace with cheaper options. The only remit Pasha has these days is to save Venky's money.