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Hello all, I’ve started this thread to discuss protest ideas so those in support can start taking positive action against the current state of the club and owners Venky’s & CEO Steve Waggott. Their short sighted and non-sensical business decisions are slowly killing BRFC from the inside out and it cannot be allowed to go on. As fans we’re the only ones with the best interests of Blackburn Rovers Football Club at heart 💙🤍🌹 Aims of the Protest Movement 1. The ultimate aim is for Venky’s to sell the club to new owners who are present, communicate with the fans and have the best interests of the club & fans at heart AND the community it is part of. 2. The initial aim is to voice the growing frustration of the fan base & for the current CEO Steve Waggott to start communicating with us and to be open & transparent about the ongoing financial issues and resultant inability to recruit the quality & number of players we need to progress as a club. 3. If there is no response from the club to the initial aims, the protest will enter its next stage, ideas below: Ideas Further ideas would be welcomed on how to take this forward. There were the first rumblings in the Blackburn End v Huddersfield with the “Venky’s Out” chant but we need more co-ordinated action for the owners & CEO to really sit up and listen. They’ve had a far too easy ride up until now. Some ideas I’ve had already: 1. Protest with banners/sign reveal and singing on 18 & 75 minutes during a league game. This could be as simple as downloading the below image onto your phone or iPad & holding it up as well as home made banners, signs and the like for those who want to. 2. A Reading style pitch invasion and sit down protest during a game. This would be a last resort currently. 3. Printing of t-shirts and a full on march style protest ending up at the Jack Walker statue before a League home game Any further and even more innovative ideas would be welcomed…. Venky’s & Waggott…were comin’ for you!

In this thread, please feel free to post any TV, YouTube clips of Rovers in days gone by...if anyone has any old VHS tapes but doesn't know how to convert them to digital...DM me, I might be able to assist...

Their terrible decisions have put us in a relegation battle, it’s their fault. So because they put us in this position let’s keep funding the club to keep them here .. what an idea! not. It’s one game to get change we are dying for.. we don’t want we need them removing.. BRFC is dying.

They'll be crazy if they don't sign Baradji to be honest even if they do flog him again in summer. Good business by the middlemen to be fair but crap for fans and team building if he's only passing through in the agents vehicle BRFC. We better enjoy him whilst we can.

The posts on this are both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. Peoples feelings are completely understandable, and I have gone through periods of malaise to down right disinterest myself, and right now feel the negativity as well. I would never tell anybody how they should act and feel, but the one thing to bear in mind is this isnt forever. BRFC is more than the Venkys, its more than Ewood, its more than the town itself. It lives in every one of us like a member of our family. Remembering the early days of this forum - where members used to meet up, some of us played football together, and remembering these members both who no longer visit, or those who have passed (heres to you Wozaup) - we were united by one thing. That thing is still here, it always will be, and we owe it to both ourselves and them to keep the memory of BRFC alive. You dont have to support the regime, but hopefully brighter days will return and you will always be welcomed back.

It probably needs to be reminded to a few that football is unlike any other business. The owners can’t simply “wind the club down”. This isn’t a retail store The owners could, if they wanted, place the club in to administration and the league will penalise us - usually points deduction. However the league then mandates the sale of the club and appoints an administrator The idea that BRFC could cease to exist at the whim of Venkys is wrong What could be said, is that by not going you accelerate that process. It is harmful in the short term but again, the end result is something that we all want - an end to Venkys I have stopped using Twitter but I always had Jim Wilkinson down as a bit of a rage baiter who has a strange obsession with cats. It strikes me as pretty normal thing for him to find offence at the use of Jack Walker One thing we can all agree on is that Jack Walker would not abide by the standard of ownership that Venkys have produced. Say what you want about paying the bills, the financial struggles of EFL clubs or who may be a potential new owner but the amateur way that Venkys control this club and the contempt they show the fans and the town is a total reversal from what Jack wanted here. I don’t think he would object with his image used - why would he? Afterall, 135 years of pride and 15 years of shame. That statement resonates with every single fan of this club

Let’s hope so, personally I’d just see them using it as an excuse to further cut costs and mothball/sell off the infrastructure we have left. A Wigan-esque lower league club. We’ll find out either way as BRFC will end up in League 1 sooner rather than later and ST sales will continue to decline.

Hi - I'm Adam Dinsmore from the MMU Institute of Sport in Manchester. We've just launched an ESRC-funded project on the sociology of football in the North of England in partnership with the Football Supporters Association (FSA). We spoke last month with Glen Mullan, who you may know as Chair of The BRFC Action Group. Glen advised that BRFCS was the ideal place to reach Rovers supporters who might be interested in contributing to the project. In a nutshell, we'd like to speak with as many Blackburn Rovers supporters as possible about the role that the club has played in their life story. The project is run by fans for fans, and we hope to contribute to public discourse around the new Independent Football Regulator. Particularly, the IFR's legal duty to protect the heritage of English football. Your experiences and perspectives will directly inform policy recommendations on what heritage protection should mean for supporters and their communities. What's involved: Participants will sit for a one-on-one interview conducted online or in-person. The interview will focus on your relationship with Blackburn Rovers and how the club and town have changed over time. We expect interviews to last 60–90 minutes. All data will be anonymised and stored securely in accordance with university ethical guidelines and GDPR. All participants receive a £50 Amazon voucher for their time and invitations to a series of events on the sociology of football where we will share our findings (planned late 2026/early 2027). You can withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Who we're looking for: We're seeking Rovers supporters of all ages and backgrounds. You don't need to be a season ticket holder or attend every match - we're interested in hearing from anyone who identifies as a Blackburn Rovers fan, regardless of how you follow the club. If you are interested in being interviewed, you can sign-up at Beacons.ai/BRFCStudy or contact Dr Adam Dinsmore directly at a.dinsmore@mmu.ac.uk. I’ve attached a flyer (below) with a QR code that can be forwarded to anyone who may be interested. We’ll be handing them out near Roverstore before the Derby game on Saturday if anyone wants to discuss the project there.

Pre player trading loss £21.6 million, post player trading loss £7.7 million. It’s been asked a million times but why won’t they sell? As an aside, staff costs up £1.7 million…

Evidently not. But what’s the overall point you’re making - that everything is futile and nobody should try? If that’s your angle, then it’s a sad angle. It is a view of defeatism. Resigning yourself to the thought that Venkys will never be impacted enough to sell must be tough. You have seen first hand what 15 years has done to Rovers. Now imagine another 15. It is not outside of the realms of possibility that Rovers cease to be a Championship club at that point. We may be in this position, but in League 1. The general trajectory of BRFC tells you that is where we are heading

I don't care 'what type' of owner we get, as long as it isn't Venkys there's a very strong chance the club will benefit from it. 'Proper checks' - those being the same that allowed Venkys to get hold of this institution and destroy it in the first place and ever since has offered no protection whatsoever despite continued neglect and ruin? Checks such as allowing us to operate without a board of directors, without a Chief Executive, relying on silent Bob to provide a façade of normality, allowing shadowy characters to run the club from the background? Checks are a waste of time and guarantee nothing. This is a club with a serious and probably terminal illness. It needs urgent surgery/medication to remove the cause of that illness. That's the point we are at. Failure to address the illness will probably mean the death of BRFC. We can worry about what comes next when it actually arrives. And if the next lot are awful too then we'll deal with that issue when it comes. Would you turn down live saving surgery on the basis you weren't sure how you would feel afterwards? Because that's the equivalent here. Stick with Venkys and enjoy the ride to oblivion because you 'aren't sure' 'what sort' of owner 'might' replace them. There are two issues. Getting the club wreckers out asap, and then worrying about what comes next. The first part is non-negotiable as far as I and most sensible people are concerned - it has to happen and as soon as possible whilst there is still some semblance of a club left to recover. Part two is something that can only happen and be worried about once part one has happened.

Two guests in this episode - one an author the other a curator. LISTEN HERE In Part 1, host Ian Herbert chats with Peter Morris about his book "Puddy - The Life & Times of Syd Puddefoot" a fascinating story about a player who represented West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers and amazingly, for Falkirk after a world record transfer fee was paid. https://www.legendspublishing.net/product/puddy/ In Part 2 the guest is Scott Mason who has brought to life an amazing resource for all Blackburn Rovers fans the BRFC Archive. Learn what it is, how it is structured & how it can be used to settle those pub quiz discussions! https://brfc-archive.com/ Commercial Corner:- Sponsor - The Terrace - Code BRFCS at checkout The BRFCS Online Shop - support the site with our exclusive merch Classic Football Shirts - affiliate link - Code BRFCS10 at checkout NordVPN special offer

Maybe there is a better way to communicate to the wider football community the scale of resentment and apathy at the club. There's a few news articles, local and national that acknowledge "attendances are down". That's not the same as saying "when Venkys bought the club, gates were 24,000, now sometimes they're below 7,000 and the club are publishing official attendances which are way higher. During the period of their ownership almost every club in England has seen a rise in average attendance and BRFC buck this trend."

Merry Christmas to all at the BRFC forum.

I get that it is personal choice. The coalition are appealing to that personal choice Nobody is insinuating there’s going to be some miners strike style “scab” assaults if you do decide to buy a pint. It is an appeal It would make it less likely Sodexo continue with their pisspoor operations at Ewood if they don’t meet their margin It will probably work like that. Sodexo will make get cost back, and then make a fee on top and have a share deal with the club for the rest. It will be open book. If they don’t make their margin, I suspect Rovers will have to pay Sodexo up so it covers staff, food, transport costs etc and then fee Not buying in the ground will absolutely impact BRFC commercially

I am a die hard (like us all) had a season ticket since I was a young lad, both my sons also have season tickets and the idea of stepping foot in Ewood at the moment gives me great anxiety. I can't believe the state of the club, the 15 year decline and I also can't stand how some fans are still insisting on having a glass half full mentality towards the circus that was once our world renowned and respected club. We are a complete and utter shadow of what we used to be, there isnt even a single grain remaining of what we used to be (other than a cob web ridden trophy cabinet and a stadium that is no longer fit for standard), we are simply a laughing stock in comparison. Once a very proud town club that achieved the unthinkable, been done by barely any teams since (outside of the normally expected "big clubs"). How any fan can sit and be happy about the current state of affairs is beyond my understanding, to even give Venkys a shred of appreciation is even further... The only thing that will promote a positive fanbase reaction is for the owners to sell up and the full board being replaced, anyone that thinks otherwise is a complete and utter fool. Have the owners provided money? ... Yes, have they done it simply to keep the lights on? You can't argue... Is that good enough? No... There is no ambition even from a simple marketing campaign, nevermind with the club. I am sick to the stomach of seeing idiots who believe they have a MSc in Business arguing the toss about the potential in BRFC like they themselves know how to handle such a big business. Fact of the matter is, we are still a club with potential... A decent buyer would snap the hands off to buy our club providing they had the money to burn to rectify all of Venkys mistakes, they would instantly become the messiahs of Ewood if they had even a minor shred of capability/credibility. Some of the fanbase needs to get their heads out of the sand.

Some of this, I think, comes back to the strange obsession some people have with the period of say 1975-1989. A 15 -20 year block of our history (similar to the Venky era) yet for some reason, perhaps because it immediately preceded the Walker revolution, some people fixate on this spell as being representative of what Blackburn Rovers is and can expect to be as a club. You rarely, if ever, get people referring back to what the club was in the 40s,50s, 60s and often these people are keen to remind us that it isn't the 90s or 00s anymore, that we've no right to rely on that 20 year block as a benchmark or standard as it isn't 'normal'. But why is 1975-1989 'normal' but the 50s, 60s, 90s, 00s not normal? A lot of it of course is because people can clearly remember the 70s and 80s and consider what is happening now to be simply a return to that. But by the same token I could refer them to the decades before then. Sadly I think a few are still in this 'I was there before it was good' mentality - that because they followed Rovers before the Walker glory days that this gives them more perspective, knowledge, understanding of what BRFC really is than those who decided to or were of an age to start supporting the club when the times were good in the 90s and 00s. Well the same people ought to know that taking our history as a whole it is certainly more than being a struggling second division club with 4-figure crowds. Because aside from the Venky created sham we have now and a period when English football was on its knees in terms of crowds and stadia that just isn't accurate as a reflection. But with the willingness to accept it and convince themselves it is the best we can expect it is little wonder the club drifted in the wilderness for the best part of 30 years rarely getting anywhere. Whatever the truth of it nothing and nobody will tell me that I should accept something that clearly isn't good enough. The disgrace of a regime and ownership that occupies the club today certainly isn't good enough and need to be reminded of that on a regular basis.

Its a combined supporter coalition which consist of. BRFCS WATR BRFC Action Group Proud Rovers Disabled Supporters group. EWMC All Rovers Therovers Norwegian supporters group BRFC indian supporters Group

BRFC Indian supporters the one the Raos pushed to start, has also added their signature to the letter by their own request

I wonder how many of the 'signatories' to that counter-letter will be renewing when the club slides into League One. Not many I would bet. They like to portray themselves as true supporters but like most others will have a limit to what they can stomach. Some call it a boycott, others will come up with other names for it and reasons, end result will be the same, and the source of it is the same. I hope it helps them sleep at night telling themselves that they are the majority and that they are 'true supporters'. It certainly won't make a shred of difference to the future of BRFC as it is gutted and dismantled before our eyes.

Can people who are more active on social media share what the sentiment is in response to this call from fan groups for a boycott? Obviously there will be some club plants and the usual Venky lovers who spring to their defence, but can people try and capture the general mood of the response and share here? I haven't used Facebook for over a year and got rid of twitter last year too. I'll boycott on Saturday. I'll probably go Sheff Weds away and Hull in the cup out of guilt, but that's paying their owners not ours. Or is this a call to boycott ALL BRFC fixtures?

To follow up on James post, the coalition is a stronger place by WATR being part of it. Individual groups have their own mandates, members etc. I'm co chair of one (WATR) and chair of another the BRFC action group. Approaches are certainly different and action is voted by the Boards/Committees of either of these groups. Action Group for example have boycotted the FF and have voted a complete vote of no confidence in the mechanism and wont attend under its current format. The minutes are not true and to be completely honest 85% of the panel remain silent and aint batting for the fans. Where WATR go with the FF i'm unsure as its not been decided but my own thoughts are that of the AG. If its not democratic, voted in by the fans, then it dont represent us. WATR have quite a few balls in the air, the website is probmatic and is being addressed (a problem i inherited when joining the board). We need to push an update out, as its important we feed things to the members of whats occurring with the EFL, Regulator, Owners, Membership and many other things. The coalition are desperate for meaningful action and were hit with a police/council bill before the derby game. It called a halt to that protest as we have no money, and i cant personally fund it again. There was a suggestion WATR should fund/front a movement but that would need unaminous board buy in and a membership vote, this was explained at the time, that i cant just say, yep trust will fund it. (Notably the trust has funded some 135/15 leaflets). One of the biggest issues as @J*B has correctly pointed out, an individual or individuals need to put their name to things. When its not me, there aint any hands going up from others. We will be pushing on calling for a full scale boycott, NAPM, it be down to each fan then to decide if they go or dont. I wont be drawn into the politics or pissing competition, especially from those who aint the credits in the bank. I know there is lots in the coalition trying their best, against at times a back drop of ridicule. Its either we move together or give up

That is the scale of incompetence at this club Tomphil They have put in over £200m; they have wrote off around £60m. The remainder sits as a debt owed to Venky's. It will not be outside of their commercial mind that, should the club ever go under (only possible if they pull their funding commitments), then the minimum they can expect to recover is 25% of 140m - around £35m. That is assuming I am understanding the 25p in the pound rule by the FA. And herein lies the issue with our 'model'. The more money the Venkys put in simply to offset losses, the more they saddle the club in debt (albeit, 'friendly debt'), and ultimately the more they get returned on sale. Very, very, very little of the £200m debt saddled to this club has been invested. It is just dead operating losses. Our (BRFC) accounts show a net asset of -£118m. We are insolvent. VLL show a +£27m of assets. Assume this is the club. We are still a positive on their overall Venky's group accounts. Player trading - profit. Revenue - down. Wages - down. Everything is in the favour of Venky's except still, after all of this time, requiring £15 - 20m per year "investment"...it makes no sense. Now, we can talk about Pasha's talk of "benevolence". In pure accounting terms, it is true. In all 15 years VLL has never took a single penny out of the club in fees, dividends, rent or interest. But is that a big deal? And what does he mean by that model now being over? Does he mean that Venky's are now intending to take a return; hence the increase rents for the community trust, or do BRFC now need to pay the holding company for the training ground? I don't know. But this is the only part of Venky's ownership which so far has been good and their man on the ground is telling us that is over. WTF. Just in general downbeat with the whole thing. This drainage is just another fiasco: fax machines, western unions, family threats, crumbling infrastructure. Venky's came here to increase their reputation. They have certainly done that but for all the wrong reasons.

The silence befits this awful iteration of BRFC.

BRFC - Blackburn Rovers Farcical Chancers