Blackburn Rovers RIP

Although the cold light of day has brought some brief respite the grim reality of relegation has weighed heavily on my shoulders since last night’s crushing defeat at home to Bolton Wanderers. Despite some positive words from mates the truth is that Blackburn are not currently good enough to compete in the top tier of English football.

Unfortunately for me, being a fan, it is a horrible realisation to accept. A club I have followed for almost two decades could be in free fall and I honestly have no idea what to expect now. A few years ago I lived with a mate who is a massive Leeds fan and I was with him when the club was relegated from the Premier League; he was distraught and I found it very difficult to empathise with him. He is a huge fan of the club and has family has connections within the club that made it even harder for him; only a few years later I now understand exactly how he felt.

Quite often people just don’t understand exactly what a football club can mean to those that follow them. I am a poor fan in many senses; I have not been to a home game in a decade and fail to make many of the games in London. That being said Blackburn Rovers are the team I support and always will do. I explained to my girlfriend at the weekend that I could be quite upset in May if we get relegated and she turned round and said ‘but you said that last year and it was ok, at least you’re prepared for it this year.’ As sensible and correct as she was it was not what I wanted to hear.

The day you decide, or inherit a specific club is a monumental day in any supporters’ life as it is a relationship that binds you for life. You stick with it through thick and thin; it is similar to all other interactions we have in our lives in many senses; we have good days/seasons and we have appalling days/seasons. It is generally the tough times that bring you closer and makes the good times even more enjoyable.

Blackburn have of course been relegated from the Premier League once before during my time as a fan. I remember the day we went down and remember feeling unhappy and very uncertain about the clubs future. However, at least it was being run the right way and had some semblance of normality. Since the new owners came in last year the club has been surrounded by uncertainty and this season has almost come as no surprise.

I genuinely felt some level of loss last night whilst sat watching that diabolical performance from my team. I will never change my allegiance to the club I have followed for so many years but the realisation that we may never play Premiership football again is not lost on me. For a small club in the middle of industrial Lancashire the club have done remarkably well over the last few years and I think it is why we have witnessed such a backlash from the fans. It is a family club and one that is a focal point of the community. Observers are criticising the supporters who are protesting but I feel they have every right to do so. The owners should have been at the club last night to back their manager and demonstrate there is some solidarity within.

Hopefully it is not all doom and gloom and the club will recover once the Venky’s have departed. However, the reputation of the club has been tarnished beyond any level I ever considered possible. I was excited about the foreign ownership when it happened but hopefully this will serve as a valuable lesson for any clubs considering such moves in the future. Football clubs are vitally important to many millions of people worldwide and it is not a plaything for the super wealthy.

An open letter to the Venky Group

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to you to express my deep concern over the future of Blackburn Rovers Football club. The season may only be two weeks old and I don’t want to offer too much of a knee-jerk reaction but I already fear for our Premiership status. The takeover last year seemed incredibly promising but is in serious danger of turning into a complete disaster.

Ever since Jack Walker invested his money into the club it has prospered; for a small industrial town in Lancashire to be one of only four clubs to have won the Premier League is remarkable. It was his life’s ambition to witness the club lift the trophy and every fan of the club will always look back and remember the moment when Walker himself lifted the trophy to rapturous applause. He was a quite remarkable man and will be remembered and adored forever.

This is what the club stood for, the values it represents and in all honesty I believe you just cannot comprehend this. I can understand that as a wealthy and successful company it can be lucrative to purchase an English club in the Premier league to further your brand name but you must have some prior football knowledge. I was immensely happy when the purchase went through as I thought it would guarantee our future…how wrong I was.

Our trusted and respected former Chairman John Williams had searched high and low to find suitable investors and his opinion was one I believe every supported respected. Within two months of taking over he resigned. I believe this was when you began to lose the trust of the supporters and when the serious underlying issues surfaced.

The sacking of Sam Allardyce could well prove to be the catalyst in our decline but in all honesty I don’t believe many supporters were overly sad to see him go….at the time. Under his tenure we secured Premiership status and had some very credible results, although the standard of football was not great. The appointment of Steve Kean certainly raised eyebrows within the football world but I for one wanted to see him given a chance. He speaks very well but lacks the necessary experience of managing at the highest level and again this could cost the club in the long run.

However, there are two things that really worry me about the future of the club; one is the influence of Jerome Anderson, the head of Sport, Entertainment and Media group and the other is how you are portraying us over the world.

I have to start with that abomination of an advert that was released a month or so ago. The club has already lost much of the respect and appeal it had built up and releasing an advert portraying the players eating your chicken was just a complete aberration. How could any advisor you have honestly condone that dreadful endorsement? Why would any player in their right mind want to join a club that could enforce you to be part of this?

My second and probably biggest concern is the influence SEM has over the club. Both the manager and his assistant John Jensen are looked after by the company and they were heavily involved in brokering the deal to buy the club in the first place. I do not want to mention names but my opinion of football agents is that they are vermin. They are parasites that feed off the excess money that floats around the Premier league and have far too much power within the game. How can you do business with these crooks in suits? (I am aware there are actually some very respectable, honest agents whose names are tarnished by the others – to those I apologise)

I would appeal to you to think long and hard about what you intend to get out of the relationship you have with Blackburn Rovers. As one of the founder members of the football league the club is steeped in history and tradition and I am incredibly worried you and your group will ruin all of this.

It may be a toy/plaything for you but for all supporters it is our club and it is becoming increasingly difficult to have any faith in the people running it. You are clearly intelligent people who know how to run successful businesses, please, please do not ruin our club!

Phil Jones set for Manchester United

The Premier League Champions have made a real statement of intent today after agreeing a deal with Blackburn Rovers for starlet Phil Jones. The young centre back underwent a medical this afternoon and is set to sign for around £16 million in the coming days.

Jones made an impressive start to his Blackburn career after making his Premier League debut at the end of the 2010 season against Chelsea. He out muscled Didier Drogba and made a real statement of intent. Towards the end of the season he came up against Arsenal and Manchester United and looked at ease against the Premier League’s top sides.

He has been a regular for Rovers this season and has even been deployed as a defensive midfielder under Sam Allardyce. Unfortunately he picked up a serious knee injury halfway through the season that kept him sidelined for four months. However, on his return he slotted back into the defence seamlessly and was outstanding in Blackburn’s relegation fight.

As stated previously on this blog I have felt for some time that Jones was simply too good not to leave Blackburn. “Phil Jones is still only 19 but is fast becoming one of the most exciting English prospects around. After missing much of the season through injury he has slotted straight back into the side effortlessly. Whether Rovers go down or not I think he will be playing for one of the top clubs next season.” I have been a Rovers fan for 17 years and the club have never produced such an exciting talent. It was inevitable that he would leave this summer and I am genuinely pleased that he has chosen United over his other suitors.

It remains to be seen how much first team football he will see at United next season. The club currently has six centre backs; Brown, Evans, Ferdinand, O’Shea, Smalling and Vidic. Jones has partnered Chris Smalling for the England U21 side and the pair have looked a really solid pair and have already developed a good understanding. It certainly appears likely that these two will be United’s defensive rock for years to come.

The deal is definitely good for both clubs and I for one am fascinated to see how he progresses in the coming years. He is certainly a first choice England centre back in the making and possibly a future England captain. Good luck to Phil Jones.