SuperBrfc

Tugay's thoughts on PNE 😂

60. Junior Hoilett

59. Gael Givet

Welcome, The Dutch Couch. Pleased to see you here. I've been watching your channel for a while and enjoy the range of football topics you cover. Keep up the good work. Thanks for making this video on our situation. The more the football community brings the spotlight onto those who run clubs abysmally, the better, in my view. It's exactly as you have said in your video regarding this hideous ownership. They have dragged an established Premier League Club down, they have lowered the standards, they have killed fan expectation, they have shown no remorse and not made one attempt in the past 12 years to return Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League. Even to this very day, they are displaying that they have learnt nothing. You may be aware...that we finished 7th last season, only just missing out on the play offs. You'd think we'd be in a good position to kick on from that, bring in a few additions to strengthen that side and try to go up, right? Well, they have only gone and ok'd the dismantling of that side, which has seen a load of experience from that team leave the building and be replaced by cheap, foreign punts instead. Why would anybody take such a risk? All overseen by their chief yes man on the ground here, who has been a constant presence throughout the decline, making key decisions at the club when he has zero footballing background and knowledge. Mention him in the press though and you're out, just like Jon Dahl Tomasson did (he was too good for these bastards anyway, he could walk away though...we can't) They've got their latest mouthpiece now telling the local press that "we're in transition, it's going to take time, we need to build foundations to reach the Premier League" and that those who are being negative are just a small group of fans trying to cause division. Are they having a f£$king laugh or what? We've been waiting 13 years mate, 10,000 fans walked away in disgust at the way relegation occurred in 2012 and due to the people the owners had advising them. Fan protests were ignored despite on pitch events showing the world we were right to complain. We were made out to be the villains as a fanbase by the press and an attempt was made to paint us out as being racist by a scum element. Many more fans have walked away in the years since due to how the club is ran. As you have displayed, it is no surprise to proper football fans and football people as to why Rovers fans want these owners gone. Anything other than us wanting our club back and wanting to see people who care about it in charge of it, is nothing but agenda driven garbage. We had Tony Mowbray in 2018 tell us "we need to slowly build towards promotion and put the foundations in place first". We had a Director of Football, Gregg Broughton, tell us in 2022 that we "need to put foundations in place for promotion and that it takes time". We've now got Rudy Gestede saying the same in 2025! You couldn't make this shit up. I'm reminded of Thierry Henry's response when he was asked about Arteta building something at Arsenal, just a few weeks back on The Overlap. He said "Whoa whoa, hang on, that must be a pretty big building by now, it must be pretty big, right?". Same applies here. This 'building' lark is, IMO, claptrap to buy time and just like Thierry, just like yourself, me and a lot of Rovers fans on here...we see through the crap. It's arse covering for shit owners and managers in reality. We were supposed to be building in 2018 as per Mowbray, so why now in 2025 are we still needing to put foundations in place for promotion? It's a load of hogwash, in my view. It has been an awful last 15 years for many of us seeing this unfold at our club. We have watched our club become a shell of what it once was, an impostor. This is Blackburn Rovers in name only and has been for a long time. The likes of Rudy Gestede have no idea about the true Blackburn Rovers. He played here during the Venky shit show and thinks we are unhappy with the owners because we want to see a repeat of 1995 and want massive money being spent! He had the nerve to say being mid table in the Championship is "not that down", when a journalist asked him about how far down Blackburn had fallen under Venky's. From being mid table in the Premier League in 2010 to mid table in the Championship today and being a right state. All under Venky's watch and it's "not that down" apparently. Piss off. Talk about clueless. Talk about naive. These are the people running our club. You're spot on in saying that the heart and soul of the club has gone. We are hoping something can turn around, but we know deep down it is a forlorn hope under this lot...nothing is changing for the better until we are rid of Venky's and their minions. Sad to say though, there are plenty in the fanbase suffering from Stockholm Syndrome...who say nonsense like "where would we be without Venky's" (Ha, I'll let you answer that one) and "be grateful they pay the bills, it could be a lot worse, look at Bury, Wigan and Bolton". They have forgotten who they support and what this club was before Venky's. The club's identity has been lost. Just as you put it. Very sad to witness and hear. A change of ownership here would be massive for anybody who has any feeling for the club, for the whole town, for the surrounding local areas. We desperately need it as a club. We have been numb for a very long time as followers of this football club, with plenty putting on a brave face and trying to find positivity wherever they can. That positivity has never been rewarded, but I don't blame those fans for that. It's not their fault what has happened since 2010. Oh and just on Eustace...spot on again. You, as a neutral, can see that him leaving for relegation zone Derby speaks volumes as to the issues here. Unfortunately, said fans above have turned on Eustace for leaving, labelling him a 'snake' a 'greedy bastard' and more. They even took inflatable snakes to Derby to goad him and will be doing so again this season when Derby come to Ewood and we play them at their place. I don't like to say it, but for me, the game has gone for now at this club, mate. Acting like a development club and being happy to let players move on is not what football is about. The game is about winning. We should be doing everything possible to go up. This club and our fanbase sparks back into life the minute Venky's and their hangers on depart. I cannot wait for that day. Thanks, once again.

Glen, I recall there being an important point revealed at number two on the first letter. Could you please put that part on here too? I think it would be helpful to remind people. It mentioned there being a contract between Venky's and Crescendo Sports Ltd of Brunei, as well as the contract with Kentaro in point 1. Crescendo would also provide "consultancy services" on the takeover, not too dissimilar to Kentaro. There was a comment in there about the Venky's-Crescendo agreement coming to an end as soon as the takeover completed. However, there is nothing solid to say this agreement has ended in reality. I don't know if anybody has ever chased this up or if the Authorities ever had confirmation of the Crescendo agreement ending. I think this could be a key part in the whole sorry tale. To summarise, we are supposed to believe that: 1) Venky's-Kentaro fell out with one another, settled out of court and that arrangement subsequently came to an end. 2) The Venky's-Crescendo agreement came to an end as soon as the takeover was completed in November 2010. I am not so sure on both counts, but that's just my opinion. Kean leaves the club in 2012 and immediately heads for Brunei? Some coincidence, that. We could do with those two points being put to the shadow man for clarification. Now that's the kind of transparency I want to see from those at the club.

I think what the past month has shown me/us, is that Waggott was the last senior person in the building who could make a normal footballing decision. He brought in those experienced players for Eustace. He was the one trying to appease managers when the other knobhead had some other agenda or plan in mind. Waggott had his faults and was a part of the problem. I feel no sadness about his departure, but what he has left behind is far worse. This is more about the latter than it is the former. This lot are an absolute joke. If you wanted to buy relegation for yourself, this is how you would go about it.

An unrelated side note...Hickman shares the same agency as our manager, Val. A couple of agents within that agency have also represented a number of our former players over the last decade. Such as Alex Baptiste, Bennett, Dack, Graham and Ryan Giles. If he can perform anywhere near as well as any of those players, I'll be pleased.

"Keep an eye out for Boro, Hibs, Charlton, Coventry, Birmingham and Sunderland" (a few months back) *Looks at the state of play* I'm quite excited about the lad from Birmingham. He's versatile. Could be a shrewd addition. Well done to the recruitment team, if they can get this over the line, that is.

Beating Grimsby...it's not for everybody 😎

That podcast perfectly demonstrates how we wasted five seasons under Mowbray, IMO. He had no winning mentality and was happy with his lot. Happy to develop players, spread nice vibes around the place and plod along. If promotion happened, brilliant. If not...no problem. He said himself in that interview, that he "wished he was nastier, a winner". He says he wished he could have woke up one morning angry and decided to ring the owners and tell them "we need more money to do x, y and z and go for promotion". However, to do this would go against his nature and principles. 1) Firstly...how the heck does having a desire to win equate to nastiness? Are all people who want to win 'nasty' or 'bullies'? Remember, the following were also his words just before his exit from the club: "I hope they don't appoint a bully next, who just wants to win all the time" Broughton also espoused similar when he talked about needing to weigh up a 'win at all costs' mentality with mental health of the staff and players. These guys are in the wrong business. This game is all about trying to win, or at least it is supposed to be. This, 'let's all be nice', sounds great over tea and biscuits, but it doesn't cut it in reality. It's one of the reasons why our club has been like this for the last 15 years. It's one of the reasons why England haven't won't anything since 1966. Nice guys and mediocrity being embraced like a comfort blanket. 2) Secondly...why would he need to wake up 'angry' one morning in order to ask the owners what was required regards extra funding? What's anger got to do with this? It's quite simple...and this isn't me being a smart arse online. If I'm sat in Mowbray or Pasha's position and I genuinely want promotion, it takes one phone call to Balaji to politely state the case to him for extra funds and to explain the promotion picture. He's either saying yes or no to the request. End of. What is disrespectful or against principles or against Indian culture about such a question? You're trying to get them a £150m jackpot whilst returning the club to where it belongs. Big Sam was also clearly of the same view as me, as he basically couldn't believe Mowbray didn't ask out of principle. He says to Mowbray "you'd only be asking the question, not demanding...if you don't ask, you don't get". To which Mowbray mumbles "maybe it was a failing on my part". It seems to me as though a few freeze when they see and experience the pomp and grandeur in Pune towers. I think it then becomes a case of gratefulness for the invite, for the hospitality and for everything they do for Rovers. We couldn't possibly ask you for more. It would be disrespectful. This same attitude has been displayed by Pasha, Waggott and Mowbray. Bollocks. They own the club. They relegated the club from the Premier League and it is their duty to put this right. We're still waiting. The idea that asking them for extra funds would be disrespectful, is bloody ludicrous. What a joke. Mowbray played a big part in holding us back in this Division. A nice guy, probably. Good for Rovers? No. I don't compare him with Kean and Coyle. That's no barometer. Let's compare him with Souey and Hughes to get a true picture. He's nowhere near.

I agree, this is what JDT and Broughton were trying to do. I think this is also what Luke Griffin and the rest of the newly formed recruitment team was trying to do at the time. It seems as though they and the head honcho couldn't agree on matters, hence what we saw play out. It feels different this time as the trio seem to be on board with the current strategy. The real test of this will come in January, if we find ourselves in or around the top six by that point. I think Val and Rudy will fancy it and will want to push on. Not so sure about the other fella right now, but let's hope we are in a position to find out.

The way deals are happening without much or anything leaking, Morishita being the latest example of that, is what makes this a potentially exciting end to the window. No sarcasm when I say that. We don't know what might be lined up and despite Rudy's words on the budget being unaffected, it's obvious they have raised quite a bit of money from sales. A percentage of this being added to the pot isn't a wild thought. I agree with Duncan's view that Rudy has more of an understanding with Pasha than any other before him. This could be to our benefit. It appears they are all together as it stands and that they are trying to improve the team by meeting what the manager wants. The encouraging sign for me is the creativity being shown and most of the new signings clearly having something about them. We can't call them successes yet, but these aren't in the same mould as the likes of Paul Taylor (who?), Varney, Brown, Fode Koita, Edun, Mola, Telalovic etc where you're thinking 'wtf!' (even after seeing them play). Personally, I can't wait to see Baradji driving forward from midfield and our Japanese attack linking up. I think Baradji is going to be one of those where we go 'wow'. Sentiment aside regarding Academy and English players, I particularly like the ruthless way 'wooden' players are being moved on. This needed to happen years ago. JRC and Buckley, despite given chance after chance, have demonstrated, IMO, that they are not good enough to play for us. In Buckley's case he has gone backwards as a player. I wish them well at their new clubs and this isn't personal. We need better. It looks like Rudy and Ismael actively want better too and I'm pleased about that. I also wouldn't blink in moving Leonard, Pears and one or two more out too if we have the opportunity to replace them. "But they are Academy lads". Yeah, and? We've been out of the Premier League for 13 years now. This game is about winning and trying to win. Only my opinion, but sentiment shouldn't come into this. These guys aren't good enough for where we need to get to. If we can bring in better, move them on. You won't hear Newcastle fans saying "Aargh, I wish we had kept Longstaff, I wish we had kept Elliot Anderson...they were Academy lads" when they can do a lot better and ARE doing a lot better. Even with these owners and Pasha being here, we can do better than those we are allowing to leave.

Superb performance. We were composed, dominant and cut through them at will. Some excellent passing moves on show. It really could and should have been 6-0. Todd Cantwell. What a display. That is the Cantwell many of us expected when he first came in. A heck of a player when he is on it and it looks like being the captain might bring that player out. I think he thrives on being the main man. He looked like a quicker Tugay at times today to me. Let's hope he can find some consistency. It's early days, but Alebiosu looks like he may be an upgrade on Brittain. Quick, strong, loves to attack. A good signing. McLoughlin is a class act who has slotted straight in. We aren't missing Batth as much due to this addition. Fair play to Hedges too. Solid performance, he should have come away with a brace. That chance he was presented from Axel's pull back was like something you see from Barcelona. Difference being, they bury it! It would have been some goal. Hedges is a decent squad option to have around. We could do better, but he isn't crap IMO. Only one game, I know, but there are a lot of positives to take from that. Need to build on this now and hope they can bring three or four more in over the next week. Val said he's not a fan of loans, but I think we will end up bringing two or three in.

A dominant performance so far. Looking dangerous on the break. This is exactly what we want to see. Cantwell is buzzing. His best display in a Rovers shirt? Time to get a couple more goals yet. The signs are there, with us getting close over the years despite the clown show upstairs. Get rid of the poison and we will be back in the Premier League in no time.

If I remember rightly, there was a horse manure operation in Brunei which had Swiss, Italian and English noble men at its helm. There was supposed to be a documentary on it where they showed how they collected and shovelled huge piles of shit, but it didn't happen for some reason. Sorry, I digress. The talk of Switzerland and Italy from earlier on bought that memory back to mind. Back on topic, I wish we would sign more players from that region. It is an untapped market with potential gems to be found. We've seen how they have done with Schar, Rodriguez, Xhaka, Embolo in the not too distant past. I guess there's still time for Rudy to surprise us over the next week as the window reaches a crescendo. To be fair, he is right. This is when it really gets exciting. In the final week of the window. Sad as it is, but I will be glued to this forum until the window shuts. I just know it. Bring on deadline day! I like the look of Baradji, he has ability. However, I would have been happier if he was being added to what we already had. Not as a Travis replacement. That is taking a risk. On a side note, Baradji and Mafoumbi have the same agent. Not that it matters, but this probably made it easier to sort out the ESC slot situation, I guess.

The "overachieving" against clubs with more "financial muscle" from him looks like the usual spiel. It doesn't help, as many will run with it. However, I think he has put his real feelings across here in a subtle way here: "In order to be successful, you need to keep hold of these (Szmodics) type of players" "I pray they get back to some stability and get a benefactor who wants to spend some money and give them a chance to get back to the promised lands in the Premier League". I think he knows these bastards don't want to spend. They don't give us a chance to go up, but he can't be as blunt as that.

It's up to us fans to put the scrutiny and spotlight on him. He's already rattled and things haven't even got started yet. He is reaching Steve Kean territory for me with the way he is behaving. The irony and coincidence being, both of them having the same agency connections. In my opinion, it's somebody's project, with him being the face of it. He knows f@#k all about the game. See his latest nonsense comment about "nobody knew Adam Wharton would be a good player". No chance is he going to implement a Brighton or Brentford model and oversee such a thing here, especially when he thinks spending doesn't guarantee anything. There is no Brighton or Brentford model here anyway, never has been. It's just fluff that buys a bit of time with those still sleeping. The thing that I always come back to is this...if I'm the sole owner of a business, what I say, goes. There are no power struggles. There are no conflicting ideas. There are no opposing camps. I decide what's happening, as the owner. You piss about, you're out. You lose me money, you're out. So why are we not seeing such authority?

That's right. No thought for reinvestment. No thought for improving the team. No thought for promotion. He also arrogantly said "I'm not going to ask them for £15m-20m, it's not sustainable". The context to this...he stated in a previous meeting that he was going to ask the owners for a bigger budget for this summer. When questioned on this by Glen at the fans forum meeting, the above was his retort. Pasha also stressed that the budget will not be affected at all by player sales. Even in the hypothetical scenario that Gueye was sold for £20m, the budget does not increase. It remains fixed as it is. So lets get this straight: 1) Pasha has never asked the owners about using a percentage of transfer fees received to reinvest into the squad. 2) Transfer fees received do not impact on the budget at all. It will not increase. 3) Pasha believes spending more doesn't guarantee a jump in League position (apply the same wisdom to the idea of promotion) 4) Pasha did not ask the owners for a bigger budget and won't ask for £15m-20m as it's not sustainable. On the latter...he seems to be deciding off his own back what is, and what isn't, sustainable. Why doesn't he let them decide that? Also, how many times over the last 10 years has he had this thought and therefore refrained from asking the owners for money? I wonder... He's on £500k a year and has been here for 10 years. Why is he here and for what purpose? He isn't advising the owners on promotion, so what advice is he giving? There's something not adding up here. Without any doubt, our fanbase must unite to drive this obstacle out. The podcast with Glen is a great starting point to educate people on what we are dealing with. There's no way Pasha is on our side here, for me. He isn't Rovers. His arrogance, his dismissive answers and his disdain for Rovers fans attending a meeting shows that. He needs booting out.

Available on a free. Boro connections backstage. Maybe one to keep an eye out for. This could be one of those last minute signings, when other targets fall by the wayside. Thing is, he's probably still better than anything we currently have upfront, so would be an improvement on a free. I'm sure we were linked with him a good few years back too, but he was priced at £15m at the time.

This is our club ❤️ You can f#@k off, Pasha. When Arsenal met Benni McCarthy:

Yeah, that's fair enough. There is definitely a contradiction in what Gestede has said. In a couple of interviews he said what I mentioned, about the plan being to reinvest. Later though, he has clearly said something else i.e sales don't affect our transfer budget. That was the last thing he said on the matter, so presumably that is the current situation. It could be a language barrier thing and him being put on the spot. Or it could be a changing of the goalposts from somebody above him. We have heard rumours of the latter before. If paragraph 2 above is what was told to Ismael at the start in good faith, but then the situation changed, as per para 3, then you begin to see why there are some theories that he has been sold a dream and that this has a similar feel to JDT and Eustace. Theories, though. All we can do is see how it plays out.

Obviously, we're speculating so can't say definitively either way, but I'm seeing it differently. I don't think he is in on anything. I could be wrong, but I think the carrot of Premier League football in the near future is dangled before players and managers to get them in the building. I think this might have happened with Ismael too. He is here expecting us to make a push for Premier League football at some point. I don't believe he has come here just to develop players and stay in the League. He'll have known we don't have the budget of others, but I think the sell was: our aim is to become a trading club, sell players on and reinvest to become a Premier League club. This is what Gestede has been spouting in numerous interviews as being "the plan". Somebody has likely told Gestede this is the plan, in my view. Gestede might genuinely believe the aim is to become a Premier League club again, if indeed that is what he has been told. However, Broughton also believed this to be the case. JDT also believed this. Both were repeatedly saying "sustainable Premier League club", for a reason. Look at the recent minutes though. Pasha initially stated face to face to the fans that the owners' aim was to have a "sustainable club". He did not mention "Premier League". However, in the edited version that was amended, somebody added on "with the aspiration to become a Premier League club" to that comment. Are these token words? If you truly believe in something and have it as a genuine aim, it rolls off the tongue when somebody asks you. Right? So why did "Premier League club" not roll off Pasha's tongue before the fans forum? Is Pasha really interested in reaching the Premier League? I think the last few years give us some indication on that. The new players who have come in are all talking about the Premier League and how they want to play in it, in their interviews with Rovers TV. It's likely they are of the belief, just like Gestede and Ismael, that the aim is to become a Premier League club again soon Not a big budget, but clever recruitment and management on the pitch can take us up. I think this has appealed to Ismael. He is probably frustrated with how things are going transfer wise, but it looks like he believes this is a transition period and that things will ease up. He said shortly after a few of the experienced players left something along the lines of "we've moved into the transition stage quicker than expected, but we'll get on with it...". I hate to break it to you, Val... I don't think he is happy with the lack of activity. IMO, 'transition' might be what is standing in the way of him doing a JDT/Eustace for the time being.

It isn't the market that is very strange or difficult, Val. I'd argue it is the ownership that makes it appear strange and difficult. I'd argue it is the man overseeing recruitment (who knows nothing about football) that is making it look strange and difficult. Other clubs appear to be doing just fine.

I wish I could just focus on the football and forget the off field stuff. That's what most 'normal' fans of every other club do. I have not been able to do that for 15 years and truly miss the feeling. If you are able to do so, then fair play, I'm not knocking it. You save yourself a lot of anger and frustration. However, that doesn't mask the reality. It isn't possible to just focus on the football here, IMO, because we are all constantly being let down by an off field circus. A repeating pattern. A pattern which always leads us back to square one. A pattern which keeps on pointing towards one camp. We all feel the effects of it, even if you just want to watch the football. Until this problem is fixed by removal, it is impossible to be a 'normal' fan again, personally speaking. Rightly or wrongly, I view every appointment made here with caution because of what walked into the doors with these owners at the outset. Has that issue gone away entirely? There are indicators even up to this summer that suggest possibly not. I don't want Gestede to fail. If you look back on my posts, you'll see me frequently say Gestede isn't the issue as I believe him to be a convenient shield for the real issue. However, since then, info has been shared which suggests he has fully embraced becoming the stooge of the real issue and is throwing his weight around. Therefore, he has to go along with his superior. If I believed Gestede and Ismael could get us into the top 6 or deliver what we've all wanted, I'd be fine with seeing how it goes. Two problems though, IMO. Firstly, how likely does that look based on current events? It's not looking good. It's looking worse than ever, to be honest. Secondly, any time we get near the top six and have a chance, whether it is incompetence or whatever above the manager, that opportunity is always squandered. I don't expect this to change until we have new owners and a new Board in place. I know you mention alignment often and I wish it was genuinely a thing here. The last time we had real alignment was under John Williams. Sadly, any notion of alignment under this joke regime is nothing but an illusion. There was said to be alignment under JDT/Broughton and with Eustace/Waggott. Look how that went both times. IMO, what I think we have seen recently is 'alignment' to a point, until managers have wanted to go for the play off opportunity before them (like any normal manager would), and then somebody in the camp has turned at that crunch moment. Almost 'snake' like? Maybe. That's just my theory, but the end result is alignment is out the window and chaos ensues. We need to find out what throws this so called alignment off track. I admit the Eustace point, as I was one of few who wanted him out based on his early press comments. I took his comments to be a dig at JDT and thought he was a Waggott yes man. I was wrong on both counts. What happened with Eustace and the way he left, showed us what the real issue is at this club. Which is exactly why I want these people out. When I say people, I don't include the manager in that. Under normal ownership that cared about going up, I think Eustace and Waggott could have taken us up. I say that because those experienced players who did well for us last season were Waggott signings. He apparently forced the issue with Pune to get them in to prevent Eustace from walking. He had it in him to do the right thing, but likely did not have complete control on the ground here and that leads us back to the real issue. The guy who has control looks set to oversee another relegation. Just as he did in 2016/17. I'm no fan of Waggott's, but wonder if he could have done more had the shadow man not been beside him having the final say most times. The bit in bold reads like you think the fans who want x, y and z out are being irrational or unreasonable and will never be happy. I disagree. We have been consistent in wanting those people out because all of them have shown no intent to kick this club on. All of them have been happy to play the development game in this Division and just avoid relegation. Even when presented with golden opportunities to change this (JDT, Eustace). All of them have lowered the standards and expectations at this club. All have been doing the bidding of Pasha and can rightly piss off. None of this is acceptable and nor should anybody EVER defend it under some fake notion of positivity and super fandom. People define success differently, I agree. To some fans a mid table Championship finish is success, as they think this is us 'punching' (I will never subscribe to this). To the hideous regime, 'success' is reducing costs for the owners, increasing player value and avoiding relegation. For me and others who have never lost sight of the truth, success is returning Rovers back to the Premier League. Where these owners found us. Promotion. Nothing less will do. Nothing else is acceptable. Pasha out. Venky's out.

It's another one of those strange situations. A strange circumstance that doesn't tally up with having wealthy owners. An ownership of this wealth, who apparently wanted to make 'Blackburn India's premier club', has done zilch in 15 years to bring Indian brands on board for sponsorship. Why not? They surely have plenty of contacts over there. Some might say they don't have a clue what they are doing football wise. No disputing that...but this is very odd.