bob fleming

I'd be tempted to stick with football if I was Wharton.

The balance sheet? To use an accountancy term, they’ve fucked it. They’re not getting that money back.

I think there’s a lot of assumptions in there. I also think they’d have to be utterly clueless to think they’d get anywhere near £100m for the club. What assets? It’s not the playing squad or the infrastructure - both of which have been decimated since they bought Rovers for £23m. What on earth are they basing that apparent valuation on? Also, sorry to be a pain, where has that been said? Relegation fodder, a ground that needs big investment and crowds that will continue to fall. All yours for £100m and £20m loss a season?!?! They’ve tried to make a success of it we are told. They’re absolutely miles off and it’s getting worse. Save face and get gone. Those shareholders surely can’t be happy nor understand the need for these continued losses. Maybe try selling it for a quid.

We don’t know what they want for it. Only one way to find out what they want for it. Put it up for sale. i know, I know, a crazy idea.

That’s quite a shift. Surely they’d go back to those who have expressed an interest over the years? Pride? Surely there’s no pride in being seen as idiots, repeating the same expensive mistake and trusting the wrong people year after year?

Normally contracts aren't paid up like that in football, it's until the end of the season, or perhaps 12 months of which. That's what I thought was the case anyway. Of course with Henning Berg that didn't happen and the club were taught an expensive lesson when they had to pay him in full when they sacked him after just 10 games in charge. You'd have to be a complete and utter negligent moron to allow that to happen again wouldn't you?

Questions... How do you know they won't do offers? Does my friend have to stop for the entire game? Where does he collect his tenner from?

Was lucky enough to see The Roses at Preston Guild Hall Foyer. Not the Guild Hall, the Foyer! This must have been mere weeks before it all went daft for them. My mate John from Darwen said do you fancy coming to see this band, The Stone Roses. I’d never heard of them, was into metal in the main back then, it changed everything for me. They were just fantastic. Also went to the Empress Ballroom gig, what an event. Everyone going mad, everyone, when Sympathy for the Devil was played before hand. Special days.

RIP Mani. Another of the good guys.

Phil Campbell

Possible? The evidence suggests it's entirely probable. How many times have we tailed off after Christmas? How many failed transfers all down to "silly mistakes"? I mentioned it on another post recently but any other owners would be doing their nut about not going up. That's where the big money is after all in the Premier League. Scrimping and saving, reducing the wage bill is a drop in the ocean compared to the riches available in the Prem. We finish 7th, the Rao's allow those running the club to dismantle that team and replace with unknowns with no EPL experience (in the main). Why would you? Promotion has never felt like the goal.

Or was it simply a timely relegation? FA working with Kentaro don't forget, all potentially very embarrassing. "Oh and do yourselves a favour Blackburn Rovers, under your current board room structure, don't hurry back to the Premier League. Neither of us need it."

"Yep, it's true, they had pictures in there of when we won The Premier League, Jack Walker, Alan Shearer, you name it..." "Like a supporters bar? Like at every football club?" "And it had Sky Sports." "It doesn't now? What sort of club is this?" "Crazy isn't it? £20m a season they pour in but can't find a few grand so the fans can watch the games before ours. It's almost as though they don't like the clubs fans!!" "Where does all that money go..." "What am I? The Premier League!? Come on, have a think.... Let's keep running. You won't start kicking football's in April at this rate..."

I really don't know. As they say though, to make sense of it all, follow the money.

Thing is it's been a loss of approx £20m a season for a while now. If we had another 12,000 fans turn up paying £400 for a ST that would still mean a loss of £15m a season. So Why?! Why do they bother? Well, they don't bother at all actually, apart from sending money there is zero involvement and certainly no passion, no love, no care, nothing. It's obvious to anyone even with a limited understanding of the situation that the only possible way you can make money from Blackburn Rovers, and even then it would be a one season clawing back off as much as possible (no way would we stick around up there), would be to get promoted to the Premier League. Yet when we nearly make the play offs it all goes wrong. Managers leave, player signings go wrong at the last minute. The club can't do enough to mess it up. And what happens? Nothing. The same guy who has run the show for 15 years is still here. The same guy who regularly oversees this fall off is allowed to continue in his role. Why is that? Surely there should be some accountability? "Oh well, they missed out on promotion again, I'll just send another 20 million quid". Nah, that can't be it surely? Who benefits from this arrangement that is the ownership of BRFC? It is guaranteed, without question, that someone somewhere is making money out of this. Any sane business whose share price has taken a drop (or even if it hadn't to be honest) would have acted. Why? What is their Why? (Simon Sinek). Promotion? The love of the game? Dragging their brand through the mud for years isn't it either. You'd demand promotion or cut your losses and sell surely? Unless of course it's not just their decision to sell?? And that of course is why there is much panic when we get near those playoffs. Don't get promoted - there's a higher level of scrutiny in the Premier League. They'll want to look at the accounts. Just who is on the wage bill??? Let's get into the detail. Again, someone (or a group of individuals) is / are making a lot of money here. There are too many key characters involved who clearly don't care for the club, the fans, our history, for it not to be the case.