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!

Blackburn’s fate to be decided at Molineux

Blackburn’s Premier League future will be decided one way or the other against Wolves at Molineux next Sunday. After taking an early lead through Brett Emerton they couldn’t quite hold out to take what would have been a crucial three points. With both Blackpool and Wolves winning the pressure will now be immense going into next week’s final game.

The line-up and formation employed by Steve Kean today was spot on. Using Brett Emerton and Martin Olsson as secondary full-backs paid off as Blackburn stopped Nani and Antonio Valencia causing any real damage.

Although Emerton was voted man of the match the stand out players for Blackburn were Jermaine and Phil Jones. The former arrived in January on loan from Schalke and has been an excellent addition to the squad. His energy and work rate have been so important for Rovers in recent weeks, although some of his distribution could certainly improve.

The later, 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.

Next Sunday is going to be awful, there are no two ways about it! If the work rate and effort remains the same next week Blackburn should survive. However, in a season as weird and unpredictable as this one nothing can be taken for granted.

Ronaldinho to Blackburn

This title is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever written; just the idea of it makes me chuckle. Ronaldinho has graced Ewood Park in Pro Evolution and Football manager but seriously in real life??? Not a chance! Football has always been a game of ifs and buts (ask any Arsenal fan) but if this is what the Venky group has in mind for the regeneration of Blackburn Rovers they are deluded.

There is no doubt that Ronaldinho was once the finest player on this planet; his performance in the Santiago Bernebeu to earn a standing ovation from the Madrid fans was one of the finest spectacles ever witnessed. If he had been playing regularly at Milan and playing well I would be incredibly excited about the possibility of him arriving. In reality the once great genius has become a fading force among the footballing elite, the game has evolved and he has been left by the wayside. He will surely return to Gremio where he began his career 12 years ago; he will be the star attraction and will be given free rein to behave how he wants.

It is a statement of intend by the new Blackburn owners but one that is flawed in so many ways. Steve Kean is just starting his managerial career and they want to intrust one of the biggest playboys the game has seen over the last decade, a man who doesn’t train, parties all night and then strolls round the pitch. This is not what Kean needs. If they want to attract big names Rovers need young, hungry and gifted players who can take the club forward. The foreign owners seem to believe that a marque signing makes everything ok when in reality it would turn sour after a couple of weeks.

I am still utterly flabbergasted by what I am seeing at my club. We are sitting in mid table with 25 points so we should survive this season but I am becoming increasingly concerned with the future. Kean seems an impressive man when interviewed, he appears knowledgeable and forthright which is what we need at the moment. However, until we can get a clearer picture of exactly what the Venky’s intentions are I will be a nervous man.