JHRover

We know how this goes by now despite some people's best efforts to delude themselves into the old 'grass isn't greener' routine. That one used to wash in the Walker Trust days when we spoke of people like Santa Cruz and Bentley moving away and struggling but under the existing rotten regime more often than not the grass is greener. I can't be bothered listing all the names but there are a lot who have walked out of here and gone on to better things whilst this club flounders. Dolan most certainly won't get a PL move. That was never realistically on the cards and I doubt he seriously thinks it was. What is on the cards is a 3-4 year Championship level contract at a Derby, Stoke, Coventry, Middlesbrough etc. together with a juicy signing on fee. This is purely because the people running this club have decided we aren't in the business of offering Championship level deals these days. Which is hard to fathom given our losses continue to, allegedly, reach £20 million a year.

On Saturday a number of people around me reacted with horror/confusion/outrage when people in the BBE started singing anti-Venky chants whilst we were 4-1 up. It seemed to me that the prevailing view of those people was that there was no reason or justification for such chants because the team was doing well and that it was inappropriate to be singing such things whilst we were hammering the opposition. I struggled to understand the thought process there. I understand if you don't agree with anti-Venky chanting or noise full stop but I'm not sure why anyone would base their view on how the team is performing at any given time. The whole point to this is that the owners need to go and that applies regardless of how the team is doing. Linking it to team performance is exactly what they want to happen so they can brush it off as anger about results and not the existential crisis they have placed the club in.

Maybe we can, maybe we can't. Suppose that depends on how badly they need income from tickets and how willing / able they are to plug the gap with money from other sources. I agree, probably irrelevant to them what supporters do and how many buy tickets. My hope was and remains that the Indian legal system and authorities can force them to sell.

They still have this archaic and frankly weird personal trust thing, where they don't trust anyone other than a select few individuals who are usually underqualified or unqualified for the job but get it because they are nice people or Venkys trust them. We saw it with the Kean and Anderson shenanigans at the start, we've seen it with Bowyer and Mowbray getting into their good books and being trusted to get on with it for a while. We've seen it with the curtain twitcher and Waggott trusted to look after it for a while. They'll never go into the world market and headhunt or identify a proven operator. Two reasons. One is that such a person would expect certain things - strategy, direction, autonomy - none of which they are willing to provide - another reason is that they aren't actually looking for a CEO and never have - they are looking for a yes man, box ticker, puppet. Someone who will be grateful for the position, prawn sandwiches and pretending to be a CEO, but in practice just carrying out the shadow man's directions and playing the Venky game whilst providing a facade to the media and fans that there is some normality here. So what we are seeing with Gestede is the old 'trust building' process whereby they ensure that he is the sort they like and then they can plonk him into position in the directors box wearing his fancy suit and talking a good game and that's all there is to it.

Why can't we just operate like a normal football club / organisation? At any other operation of this size there would not be some drawn out succession / apprenticeship where Waggott creeps towards retirement and then by the time he goes Gestede has been groomed to take over from him. You'd just go out into the big wide world and recruit a proven operator qualified to drive the club forwards. In 15 years these owners have never wanted or taken seriously the need for a proper executive, and that obviously remains the case today. Nobody will persuade me otherwise that the only reason Waggott turned up and got the job was because Uncle Tony knew him from Coventry and recommended/supported his appointment to the head honchos. Too much of a coincidence otherwise. Even if you ignore Waggott's dismal track record and performance at the club it has been obvious for years that his time must be limited - he's 71 soon - the club has had years to plan for his departure / replacement and they are unsurprisingly going to respond to it by appointing Rudy work experience Gestede to the top job so that he can work in tandem with the curtain twitcher. You wouldn't get such shenanigans at non-league clubs. I hope people remember this when they start attempting to convince themselves and others that Venkys have learned hard lessons and were once badly advised but are now doing things correctly. Absolutely laughable.

Fortunately for the stooges Ismael is only approaching his first transfer window with them, so they can string him along like they did with JDT and Eustace - vague promises of jam tomorrow, good budgets, reinvestment - he will only realise come September that they are liars and bullshitters - just like JDT and Eustace came to realise after 1-2 transfer windows - they won't care by September as they'll have banked the transfer and season ticket cash and won't need to worry about spending anything until January. Another year on the gravy train complete.

Serious organisations let their actions do the talking. Here of course there is a distinct lack of action and not much by way of talking, although when we do hear from them it is all excuses and future plans/intentions nothing more than that. The last thing most of us want to see or hear is any of the revolting stooges or their employers. I'd rather never see or hear from any of them ever again, but whilst they occupy positions of power at this Club they need to act appropriately, which they certainly aren't doing. That failure to act properly is the source of the anger and trouble, not their failure to communicate.

Here's how it goes. We are operated by charlatans and snake oil salesmen who are rewarded based on how much cash they save the Indians. The idea of rewarding players with improved or extended contracts where those players receive higher wages, signing on fees, improved terms, when those players ultimately remain under contract (for now) is the very antithesis of what these people are all about. To them it isn't a problem that needs sorting. They are under contract, and these people see no reason to increase costs by offering them new ones now (or many months ago). A slippery character like Waggott, lower than a snake's belly, and whoever else is involved in these things behind the scenes, are not interested in medium to long term consequences of their actions/inactions - if you doubt this then just look at our ticketing and commercial policies over the last few years. It is all about the here and now and immediate cash flow. They'll screw the hardy few fans for every penny, including via blackmail schemes (1875 club, more on that below) and the players get similar treatment, the only benefit they get is they are paid for their part in this fiasco and can simply walk off elsewhere at the end of their terms. I also reckon they like to play a game of brinkmanship with the players - making a point - forcing them to wait - and expecting the player/agent to cave in later on and accept whatever garbage terms the club are offering. Some will, usually the academy graduates grateful for a shot at Championship football, those who are coming to the end of their careers and are grateful to keep playing in the Championship. But prime years of career people like Travis, Tronstad, Carter, Brittain? No chance, their agents will know there's far better out there than being mucked around here. Oh yeah, the 1875 club perks. These are the benefits for your £25 fee: 1x 10% off Roverstore goods (excluding Macron products) - general tat aside from the Macron kits and training gear Discount on selected match tickets - any spring to mind? Discount on selected women's matches 10% discount on all matchday hospitality (excluding Jack's kitchen) - not much use to your average fan 10% discount on 'non matchday club events' - how many of these have there been? Exclusive competitions - can't remember seeing any? Monthly newsletter - don't remember seeing anything since last year Once they've got your money they fail to deliver their side of things, we've seen that throughout.

"I really like to play here. I like the players and fans, the club in general, and the league. I would like to stay." Tronstad on pre-match media duty today. Good news, if we were a functioning club worthy of the name. Bad news for Gestede and co, because there goes the excuse they were hoping to rely on that Tronstad has family and roots abroad and that he's set on a move back to the continent. It was obvious in the 3 stooges' interview that they were starting to prepare for that being trotted out as the excuse for him 'refusing' to sign a new deal. Looks like they'll just have to resort to the old 'greedy player/agent' one instead.

We know for sure that over the last few years there has been a significant cut in the amount of money coming out of India to fund the club. Now that might be because the owners simply would rather not send it, it might be that they are unable to send as much as the once did, it might be that the stooges are advising them they don't need to send as much because they can get the club washing its own face and in return get hefty bonuses and perks from the savings they achieve. End result is the same - less cash moving from India to Rovers. They've got away with it the last few years by demolishing the squad and selling off the family silver. Low hanging fruit stuff. You don't need to have a particular set of skills to flog an Adam Wharton or Sammie Szmodics off the back of JDT's outstanding work in nurturing them. You just need to ride on the coat-tails of the coaching staff work, sell them, get a pat on the back from the money men. That little party is coming to an end now, because best case, and it probably relegates us to League One, is they sell off the remaining few assets for a combined few million. However you view buying or not buying a season ticket, or whether you consider it significant in the scheme of things, it all comes back to the same source - Venkys and their ability/willingness to keep funding this. The music is slowing and pretty soon someone is going to be left holding a time-bomb. At best they can stave it off by going to India cap in hand for more money. Maybe the morons in India will simply cough up and keep the party going, maybe they can't/won't any more, and then this wretched monstrous regime comes crashing down for good.

He wants to play 'at the highest level' and of course knows that isn't going to be possible staying here. Says it all given the positions we have been in the last 3 Januarys. When he rocks up at a Stoke or Derby some people at Rovers might consider that to be vindication that he 'wasn't much good anyway' but I'd argue a lad established at this club who would rather join a rival Championship side is the most concerning thing here. Plus we know that whoever we get to replace him will likely be inferior or not our player.

Struggling to think of any other industry or business in the world where paying customers are expected to hand over hundreds of pounds of their money every year to witness that business be deliberately or negligently run into the ground and provide an ever deteriorating product. Where the ownership and management of that business give not a single solitary toss about the views of any of these paying customers and will not shift their approach in the slightest to try and improve, grow, advance the business, quite the opposite infact, they'll do just about everything they can to hinder and restrict it. The regime owning and running this organisation would long ago have delivered total collapse or destruction in any other industry. Yet in football it just starts again in the summer for another year of more. Where everyone, from employees, players, down to fans are treated with nothing but disrespect and contempt, yet come renewal time it's over to those people to come up with the cash so that bonuses can be collected next time around. 'No brainer' seems like a good description of this to me but probably for very different reasons.

Only a few years ago the favourite 'go to' clubs for the naysayers were Derby and Bolton 'Look what we could become if we changed ownership, we'd go the same way as them' They've had to give up on those now that both clubs are in better financial and structural health than us, are getting far better crowds every week, know how to renew contracts and aren't having their coaching staff poached off teams below them in the table. Fortunately the Bury example can still be trotted out although worth noting they are still in existence and they are upwardly mobile - set to clinch another promotion this weekend and expecting over 7000 fans on Gigg Lane to witness it. Their gates are better than times in the Football League and I'd wager they'll be back in the Football League before we are rid of Venkys or see the top division again.

We know one thing - the longer the heat is on Venkys / the stooges the higher the chances of something daft like this happening. It is project distract/divert. They will do whatever they can to turn the gaze away from India and the directors box and if that means sacrificing a manager or making a rogue appointment or two so be it, that grazy train needs keeping on track at all costs and another re-shuffle in the dugout is well worth the price if it gets them another 6-12 months of focus elsewhere. Will this happen? Probably not unless there's serious trouble behind the scenes with Ismael or some sort of renewal clause in the summer that the club are easily able to let slip and him leave. I don't think they want a high turnover in managers really because it draws attention and costs to hire and fire unless you get the very desperate. But I'm sure they will use every weapon in the armoury if the pressure on them and their season ticket targets is high enough.

So today they've released a 'Message from the Captain' about season tickets and 'look forward to writing the next chapter of our story together' I'm at a point now where I'm questioning whether they are deliberately attempting to wind people up or they just have absolutely no idea how ridiculous they are. In his last interview the captain admitted that nobody from the club had so much as mentioned a new contract which expires in 1 years' time. Most of his team-mates are gone either this summer or at the same time and none have been offered new deals either. So I'm not sure how they are expecting to 'write the next chapter together' given such a negligent and reckless approach to contracts and squad building. But I think they are so totally short on ideas and deluded they don't think people will pick up on this.

Isn't it remarkable how just after the big time pressure of the last couple of weeks and fiasco of an interview delivered by the three stooges that all of a sudden we are getting transfer tittle tattle and then Talkshite running with this. Like someone somewhere has pressed a switch and all of a sudden all the talk is back onto players, signings, contracts and managers and not the owners or stooges. Also a coincidence that these stories are being spread by Talkshite and Nixon given their previous alliances and activities where Venky Rovers are concerned. Quite a few of the Arsenal / Glasgow / agency mob have been through the doors at Talksport towers over the years....

Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich will all be dominant in the Championship next season unless they get things very wrong in the summer. The days of relegated Premier League clubs imploding and spiralling down the divisions in chaos seem to be well and truly over, as they are mostly now structured to cope with a relegation and be pretty stable for at least a few seasons to allow them to bounce back. Even those that you might expect to struggle horrifically after failing to bounce back - West Brom, Stoke, Swansea, Norwich - have been fine because they've been able to rely on substantial support from their owners or have been taken over just as things were about to get nasty The only semi-outlier to that has been Luton if they go down this season but I'd argue they were always an anomaly in their promotion and set up and financially are probably set for years once they get their new stadium built.

Two of our directors are Ganhi Babu and Sreenivasa Rao. I'd love to know the grand total of times those two have ever visited Ewood Park, yet I expect both will be on the payroll and won't be on peanuts.

Are those 'Venkys Indian problems' the same ones that according to you aren't anything to do with Rovers and to which Waggott and Suhail have both said aren't preventing the owners sending money over?

If we won our next 3 and by some fortuitous turn of events had a slight chance of the play-offs come the last day I am sure that the 'powers that be' would come up with a way of ensuring we didn't get there. The club don't want the play-offs remember. Waggott confirmed this in his interview in 2023, JDT learned this, so did Eustace.

That's likely still the case yes, Rovers will be still the most supported club in such places (as it bloody well should be ahead of such other clubs) But that's down to location and history and not any efforts the club has made in the last 15 years. And it doesn't excuse the club not lifting a finger in all those years to try and retain or grow the numbers.

All of what you say is true and all of what you say has been self inflicted by the owners and board. It didn't need to be this way yet they have created this mess that is going to take a miracle to navigate through and avoid anything other than a prolonged struggle. I hope everyone remembers this when the shit hits the fan big time, rather than hiding behind nonsensical claims about FFP, parachute payments, low gates etc.

Why is that 'the market we are' and how does that stack up with signings like Ohashi, Weimann, Batth and McFadzean?

Just think, two out of Coventry, Bristol City, West Brom, Middlesbrough and yes Millwall are going to end up in the top 6. Had we shown even average form in recent weeks during a kind run of fixtures we would be right in there and probably in the driving seat for it. Had we kept hold of Eustace I would be pretty confident of being able to overcome any of those sides in a play-off contest, then you have a Sheff Utd side self-destructing, losing to sides like Plymouth and Oxford recently, and a Sunderland side in the strange situation of having nothing really to do for weeks on end as they wait for the play-offs to start - could take their momentum away as we saw yesterday. Another gaping, glorious opportunity squandered and now we get to watch on as dingles get automatic promotion and the likes of Coventry, Bristol City etc, clubs with no advantage over us, get a shot at the Premier League. And our CEO is busy telling us how hard it is and hiding behind 'trampoline payments' The anger and contempt I have towards these people is hard to put into words.

They have decided, or have convinced themselves in a desperate bid to find an excuse to justify their non-efforts, that areas outside of Blackburn with Darwen are 'off limits' due to some supposed rule of the League that we can't market our club in other rival clubs towns. Yes it's that crazy, it is nonsense, even if it was true, which it isn't, it would probably break numerous laws, yet the executive at Rovers hide behind it because it is an easy and ready made excuse to throw out there to cover for their laziness and small minded approach. That way they can just focus everything on BWD, makes everything so much easier. Which is why we have the ludicrous situation of Accy Stanley going into schools and marketing themselves in places like Rishton and Ossy, and nothing at all from Rovers.