Jimmy612

Haha, you’ve missed my point entirely. Although, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if FIFA’s only reason for not considering Russia for a World Cup bid was because they hosted it in 2018…. rather than, for example, their illegal invasion of Ukraine and countless war crimes since.

I don't think it can or even should be as simple as isolating football from other issues, they are inherently linked. It's the global sport and probably the most accessible and inclusive on the planet. I can understand not using football as a political vehicle, but in my opinion that's a very different issue to completely ignoring fundamental human rights when selecting the stage for the biggest tournament in the world. Where next, Russia? If not, why not?

Agreed. There was always a chance/likelihood that Rovers wouldn't survive long term in the prem. We were squeezed financially and despite the increase in Sky money, it's still a hell of a tough job to stay up there. Chairmen like Steve Gibson who I consider to be a good operator, never managed to establish Boro as a regular in the PL, and there are other clubs who have been up and down. But like you, I despair at the lack of ambition and the directionless, inexplicable degradation of every facet of the club. If we as a fanbase genuinely could see a modicum of a plan, communicated to the fans and operated by a competent board of football operators, then I think some of the pressure would be off the owners. What we've seen for 15 years is crisis after crisis, incompetent board after incompetent board, infighting, backbiting, feathering of nests, shadowy agent involvement, embarassing managerial appointments, embarassing managerial departures.... and now, an obvious (and likely unsustainable) ongoing plan to run the club on the lowest budget feasible. And what do we get from them.... an out of touch AI generated letter at the start of each season.

I think it's important to acknowledge the contrast of 'perceived immediate peril' between Rovers' and Sheff Wednesday's situations. When they boycotted the Boro game, drawing national attention and widespread unity, the following had happened in the previous 6 months alone (source is Wikipedia, so may not be 100% accurate). On 3 June, the club and owner Dejphon Chansiri were charged with multiple breaches of EFL Regulations relating to payment obligations by the EFL. On 5 June, the club were placed under a registration embargo. On 18 June, the EFL placed the club under a three-window fee restriction ban after exceeding 30 days of late payments, with the club confirming they would be appealing. On 27 June, the club were placed under a further embargo by the EFL, over amounts owed to HM Revenue and Customs. On 1 July, several players handed in their 15-day notice, following the June wages being delayed. On 3 July, the club were placed in a triple embargo due to money Wednesday owed to Southampton and Norwich City for fees towards players Shea Charles and Akin Famewo. On 14 July, it was revealed money was still owed to Hull City for the transfer of Mallik Wilks. On 30 July, it was revealed that players hadn't been paid for the third month in a row and for the fourth time in five months. On 8 August, had their transfer embargos lifted after paying outstanding debts for players and transfer fees, but remained under a transfer-fee ban and are still bound by a business plan set out by the Club Financial Reporting Unit. On 17 September, Wednesday were placed under two more embargoes for future financial information and secure funding linked to an inability to prove that the club can be funded going forward. On 25 September, the club were placed under a further embargo by the EFL, over amounts owed to HM Revenue and Customs again. On 26 September, the club were placed under a further two emargoes, so five in total, this time for football creditors and amounts due to another club. On 29 September, senior players and staff were told not to expect wages on payday, the fifth time that calendar year. On 4 October, the match against Coventry City was delayed due to a fan protest on the pitch against the owner. On 6 October, the club were hit with their sixth embargo after failure to pay players on time. On 9 October, new chair of the Independent Football Regulator, David Kogan said Sheffield Wednesday's struggles are a "significant problem" and the new football regulator is seeking powers to investigate clubs in such situations. On 9 October, Unite the Union issued a statement against owner Dejphon Chansiri, for his continuous failure to pay non-football staff. On 14 October, it was confirmed that the players and non-playing staff received the rest of their September wages removing one of their six embargoes. On 16 October, it was reported that HMRC are close to issuing a winding-up order due to an unpaid tax bill of around £1m. On 22 October, the fans boycotted the fixture against Middlesbrough. Also worth noting the following happened during Chansiri's reign: 6 Point Deduction and relegation to league one (July 2020) Players salaries capped (attributed to revenue losses during COVID) - November 2020 Delayed Wage Payments (April and May 2021) Chansiri issued a 1,500-word statement on September 29, 2023, vowing to stop funding the club due to “selfish” fans’ criticism and “insults” to his family. HMRC Payment Delay, Wage Risk, and Asking Fans to contribute £2m to cover HMRC bill (October 2023) HMRC Payment Delay (November 2023) HMRC Payment Delay and Embargo (November 2024) Whilst a lot of Rovers fans (Myself included) are extremely angry about the last 15 years, and extremely worried about the short, medium and long term future of the club under the Rao's, our current situation is (on the surface) not really comparable with that of Sheff Wed. Very little of the above has happened at Rovers, save for a transfer embargo in.... 2015? What I'm saying is, whilst wages are paid, whilst there's 11 players in blue and white on the swamp, whilst we maintain Championship status and whilst there is no imminent (or at least publicised) threat to the club, many fans (and importantly the media and powers that be ((FA, EFL)) will turn a blind eye, and as we have witnessed, become quite angry at the prospect of protests, boycotts or otherwise, citing, "where would we be without them". In my opinion, protests won't gather a huge amount of traction until there's a tanginble threat to the future of the club. At the moment, the Rao's, and the board are managing to keep the good ship Rovers out of totally treacherous seas.

So, how did this letter come to light?

Do they have a presence on social media? Be interested to see their content.

I agree with you. Now, how likely do you think it is? I think it would have been great news if the following had signed contracts; Lenihan, BBD, Brittain, Travis, Batth, Dolan. I also think it would be great news if Tronstad was to sign a new deal. Wonder if the Pompey commentator has any insight about that one.

In 15 years we’ve gone from accepting and understanding that players like Duff, Bentley, RSC, Jones, Bellamy, Warnock etc will leave because it’s the football food chain and those players deserve a chance at the top, to now being told to accept with a shrug of the shoulders that it’s wholly unrealistic to prevent the likes of Travis, Brittain, Lenihan, Batth, Weimann, Dolan, and god knows who else from leaving for clubs like Derby, Wrexham, Boro. Thats how far we have fallen since the Rao family bought the club.

Totally agree. It’s widely known that Eustace almost walked last summer, seemingly before Waggott decided we couldn’t afford that to happen and brought in some players that JE wanted. Ismael has been totally aligned with this summer’s business, helping the process along with his media duties and portraying the departures of key players as inevitabilities, not the clubs fault etc. I can’t be arsed going back through the summer articles, but he threw Trav under the bus, and did that internal interview after the Hyam debacle and defended the clubs decision. He’s culpable, and just like the playing squad, is a downgrade on last season. The difference between him and Eustace/JDT is that he’s probably drinking in the last chance saloon managerially, and will be aware he won’t get another job at this level, certainly won’t walk in to one like the previous pair. So, a bit like Coyle he’ll limp on and try to make a silk purse out of the sows ear he was absolutely complicit in purchasing.

Thought that myself. Wonder if there’d be a few willing to take a punt on him. If his agent has anything about him he’ll be a busy lad at the moment.

I highly, highly doubt that. He’ll be way above the self imposed wage cap, and he’ll also know himself that he’d get a move to at least another Championship club in a heartbeat. My money is on him not being here next September, and that’s a bit optimistic given there’s the Jan window to come.

We had one of those about 10 months ago. But of course, he was far too ambitious for this lot.

All you have to do is ask yourself which of our new signings would have been starting games for us 12 months ago. Or, which of these would be starting every single game for us now; Travis, Dolan, Brittain, Hyam, Batth. We’ve downgraded in every single department, with the possible exception of striker, where we only really had Gueye last season (who is awful). Gudjohnsen has at least scored a few goals. We’ve also downgraded in the dugout. 13th December 2024. 5th place, 19 games, 34 points. 13th December 2025. 20th place, 20 games, 22 points.

Haha, be quite funny if they sacked him, but there's no chance. They won't be paying up a 3-year contract.

Absolutely massive 5 games in the next 17 days, including 3 games against teams in the bottom 5. Could be season defining.

I think we all know that £2m is a work of fiction. Maybe if we win the Premier League we might have to pay it.

Haha, we went out of the cup in August, at the first hurdle. Montgomery was played out of position and had a nightmare, Michalski gifted them a goal and is 3rd choice anyway, and Tyjon huffed and puffed and hasn’t been seen since. Maybe we could consider Tavares as one of the U21s. He’s barely been seen since that game either.

Was it in breach? I genuinely don't know, but was there any difference between what Venkys did with Kentaro, and what Fosun International (Wolves) did with super agent, Jorge Mendes. I believe he operated in an advisory role, although in that case, it was more successful. My instinct is Kentaro (and indirectly SEM/Anderson) knew exactly how far they could go in their 'consultancy' capacity, and probably stayed on the right side of legal. Venkys were horrendously naive, ostracised good football people who genuinely cared for BRFC, and got themselves very quickly in to a hot, toxic mess. Ultimately though, they signed off on everything Kentaro recommended. If JA (or Kentaro) were invited by Venkys to control football matters on their behalf, is that illegal? They didn't seemingly have any ownership stakes... By the way, this all unfolded at least 13 years ago. The Rao's have had plenty of time to recover the situation and run the club in an acceptable way. Whether they were badly advised, stupid, naive, spooked or whatever else, they've had a hell of a long time to right any wrongs. Personally, I don't think they have ever got close to repairing the damage. EDIT: I asked AI whether there was any difference between Rovers and Wolves... Yes, there is a significant difference. The Blackburn/Kentaro situation involved explicit contractual agreements giving an agency material influence over club operations and transfers, which breached specific Football Association (FA) and Premier League rules at the time. The Wolves/Jorge Mendes situation was determined by the English Football League (EFL) and FA to be a consultancy and a close working relationship, but without Mendes holding an official role or contractual power to influence club policies, thus complying with regulations. In essence, the Blackburn case involved a formal, legally binding agreement that gave an agent control, which is explicitly banned, while the Wolves case involved a close but informal working relationship that, while raising concerns from rival clubs, was deemed to fall within the bounds of the rules.

Did you not get a sense in 2022 that there was renewed vigour when they appointed Broughton and JDT? If they weren't interested at all, why cut Mowbray off? If they weren't interested, why would they get bored? He was a steady eddie, never rocked the boat, never asked for more money as he admitted himself. Why risk that if there was no interest, or no intent? JDT was far more volatile than TM, and I seem to remember Broughton coming in ruffled Suhail and Waggott's feathers. In fact, the rumours were there was a total split in the camp, Broughton and JDT vs Waggott and Suhail. That complete change of approach came from somewhere. I'm not saying it originated in Pune, but I also don't think it would have come from the cosy corridors of Ewood.

I've seen this mentioned before, and I'm not sure I buy it. £20m a year is not insignificant (not to mention the headache that it's causing with the Indian authorities). A quick google shows Venky's (India) Limited's annual turnover in March 2024 to be approx £360m. Now, I'm not sure whether that is only a part of their empire, or whether that is the bulk of it (suspect they have other enterprises that aren't required to publically reveal financials). But, I'm pretty sure that they will be aware (and frequently made aware) of the millstone around their neck that is Rovers. So, why carry on? Seemingly uninterested and totally disconnected (bar an occasional AI generated statement). There can't be anything in it for them any more. I bet they rue the day they ever made contact with Jerome Anderson.

Agreed. And I continually arc back to the age old question, why do they continue to do it? Even IF their intentions are good, were they/are they so frozen in fear and damaged by that first 2 years that they trust no-one outside of their own circle i.e. Suhail? Okay, he wheels in the odd CEO or DOF like Waggott or Gestede, but ultimately he's their man. Are they so naive that they genuinely believe the current modus operandi will eventually lead to success/promotion? I actually reflect on what I perceived to be a chink of light at the time, the Broughton/JDT summer. It seemed to be a change of tack, maybe a novel approach of actually appointing football people. Broughton's CV was an improvement on most other historical, senior appointments (albeit an incredibly low bar). Lo and behold 18 months later, they're in a legal battle with Indian authorities, the plan is in tatters and they have since appeared to retreat further than ever in to their shell.

Some stuff I'd never seen. Kean's contract, which started at £1m per year, rising to £2m by the 2015/16 season if still in the prem. Letters from Anderson's legal team to Nick Harris / Associated Newspapers (i.e. Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail), distancing him from any wrongdoing. Shebby Singh's formal job offer - £400,000.00 per year, £3k housing allowance, company car etc. Venky's legal letter to Kentaro threatening action. Ultimately, it's all dated between 2010 and 2012. To anyone outside of Rovers supporters, it's probably just an amusing and extraordinary chapter and another example of the ridiculousness of football ownership. The FA or any regulatory bodies probably can't or won't do/prove anything. Most people I speak to who aren't Rovers fans say, 'are you still owned by the chicken people?'. It's only us, 15 years on who continue to see the damage it's done to our club. And even then, there's plenty of Rovers fans who either never knew or have forgotten the whole saga, and now see Venky's as our life support. Interesting last sentence by the way... "The Rao family still own Blackburn. I know from people still close to them that ultimately they want to return Blackburn to the position they were in when they took over, and feel honour-bound to do so." If that is the case, how simple could it be to appoint a competent, stable, knowledgeable CEO and invest sensibly and properly. Just a modicum of clarity and professionalism in the boardroom would go such a long way to repair 15 years of complete torment and disconnect. Someone who can engage with the fanbase and project a feeling of unity and ultimate progression. Chaos follows this club around, and it's ultimately the responsibility of the owners who just seem to bounce from one disaster to the next.

I feel really sorry for the former Rovers players that will have travelled for what is going to be an absolute non-event. There’s some great servants to the club in there, and I’m afraid they’ll be playing in front of about 1,000 people, perhaps max! I just don’t think the day will feel like a celebration at all, which is such a huge shame. But, the club have brought it on themselves. Rovers fans can’t just turn off 15-years off disdain for the ownership. I just cannot see people hanging around for an hour to watch a 40-min game against Old Etonians. It’s not gonna happen.

A disaster if that’s the case. Forshaw and TGH starting on Saturday 😮‍💨

Loads of Labore in that second half, not much Arte! But, this group are really fighting, and after the summer we had, it’s what we needed from them. Bristol were diabolically bad, particularly in the first half, but we can’t keep focussing on how poor the opposition is. The fact is, we look comfortable as a unit in a 3-5-2, we look solid defensively, and we seem to be able to nick a goal here and there. Injuries becoming a huge concern, which I hope won’t be our downfall. Asking too much of Wharton, and perhaps we’ve overdone him. Desperately need a CB or two in January. 14-days since the capitulation vs Sheff United, what a response!