28 Companies, £100 million profits, zero debt, yet no money for Rovers!

Long headline I know, but you will just have to bear with me on that. I was just so frustrated when I read the now famous four page spread in the Economic Times of India and there was so much I wanted to say, but it was very hard to cook down to a few words...

Aaaaany who - this post won't have much to do with football, but will mostly be about some of Venky's financial numbers.

Now, Venky's have been hailed as these brilliant business people (and I'm not saying they aren't), but let's just look at the very few numbers below.

Some of the Venky's empire financial numbers

Their empire embraces 28 companies, which in 2011 had a combined turnover of some £1 billion, zero debt and growth forecast of 15% annually for the next years to come. Now that is all well and good, especially the debt part is very impressive, but keeping in mind that the Indian economy is bursting forward, it's only an average performance at best.

In theory, their 28 companies are averaging a turnover of around £36 million, resulting in an average profit of less than £4 million. It sort of helps painting the picture, of a hardly impressive record, considering India's current financial trend (see BRIC Countries - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC).

If you then take a look at the four graphs concerning Blackburn Rovers, it all looks very positive with three out of four figures going up. However four out of four are moving in the wrong direction. The picture just gets worse and worse by every word.

In one calendar year, debt has risen from £21 mill to £26.3 (almost 25%), wage expenses have risen from £47.4 mill to £49.9 mill (around 5%) and a fall in ticket sales from £6.1 mill to £5.5 mill (just over 5%). These three figures could well be "sold" to someone with no interest in Blackburn Rovers, considering the economic climate that we find ourselves in. However the last figures are very hard to explain (creative accounting would be a good shout) and would put a frown on the face of anyone, with or without interest in Rovers - in a year with no major transfers, except the sale of Phil "Superman" Jones (£16.5 mill + add on), the Pre-tax Loss rose from £1.9 mill to £18.6 mill (just shy of an astonishing 1,000%)!

The British media (let's just say the Sky is the limit here) can call us Rovers Supporters what ever they damn well please, but we know the facts! Yes we might have targeted the wrong man at first, although seven wins in 38 isn't exactly impressive, but we are well within our right to protest against owners like Venky's - compare them to a country's government, like in Greece where there have been riots because of derailed finances, and you get the point pretty quickly.

Totally justifiable comparison by the way...

And just a thank you to Wen Y Hu at http://www.brfcs.co.uk/ for mentioning my blog in their latest podcast. Always good to get a mention ;)

A United Statement By Blackburn Rovers Fans

Recently, Blackburn Rovers fans have been the subject of attention in the national media and we as a body feel that our situation has been misrepresented and that our stance has been grossly misunderstood. The major representative websites of Blackburn Rovers fans have combined to clarify our stance with regard to our current plight in the statement below.

Blackburn Rovers fans are not an unrealistically ambitious, over-expecting group of supporters and are not noted by any means for their militance. The large majority would generally be content with a mid-table finish and a good cup run and would be delighted with European qualification, as we have been fortunate enough to experience on a number of occasions in our recent history. We understand that the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, and more recently Manchester City, have budgets that are quite beyond us, and we do not expect to be able to compete with them financially. What we do expect, however, is for our club to live up to its motto, "Arte et Labore", and by skill and labour do justice to its 136 years of history while respecting its fan base, which has always been the heartbeat of the club.

The vast majority of fans are desperately disappointed by the direction that has been shown by the club since the change in ownership a little over twelve months ago when Venky's bought the club from the Walker Trust, who provided stability and modest success for a club of our stature. On the field, we believe Steve Kean has had sufficient time to prove himself capable of managing a Premier League club. During his tenure as manager of Blackburn Rovers, Kean has been in charge of 42 Premier League fixtures and has presided over a record of 8 wins, 13 draws and 21 losses. Over the course of a season, this equates to a dismal 33.5 points. Having taken the club to the brink of relegation last season, a continuation of his record thus far this season will guarantee relegation in May. His predecessor Sam Allardyce, an experienced and highly competent Premier League manager, was dismissed with a far superior points per game ratio, which makes it difficult to understand why the former team coach Steve Kean is still in his position as manager and continues to enjoy the backing of the owners, no matter how ignorant they are of footballing matters. Only one team in Premier League history has survived relegation having been bottom at Christmas and there is no sign that we look like becoming the second to do so.

Off the field, Blackburn Rovers supporters are also frustrated by the pitiful lack of communication between club and fans. We feel that it is essential for owners Venky's to build a stronger relationship with the stakeholders, the fans. The club's public relations are sadly lacking. Steve Kean regularly appears in the media, representing the owners' plans, detailing how much funding Rovers have and expounding the current goals of the club. Many fans feel this is beyond the remit of a team manager and believe that a chief executive or chairman should be charged with such a brief and that such information should be conveyed with a degree of discretion that is absent under the current ownership. Regrettably the owners see fit not to employ people capable of discharging such duties quintessential to the running of a modern football club, having dispensed with the services of John Williams and Tom Finn, who were widely regarded as most able administrators among the Premier League fraternity. The fact that they have not been replaced is of considerable concern to Blackburn Rovers fans and should be of concern, we believe, to all football fans who have the welfare of the game at the heart of their thinking. We believe that the owners' apparent attempt to run the club from India while using Steve Kean as their mouthpiece is unacceptable.

Bigger clubs than ours have been relegated from the Premier League before and indeed we have suffered that particular fate before, but that is not our issue here. Our club is not only in jeopardy of losing its Premier League status, it is in danger of disappearing into oblivion under the stewardship of an absent and reckless owner whose public front is a manager who shows little sign of possessing the acumen to manage a team at the highest level and who has singlehandedly managed to drive a wedge between club and fans that has never before been witnessed at our football club, where a perfectly well-functioning community is being systematically dismantled before our very eyes.

As the first steps in the restitution of our football club, we, as concerned fans of Blackburn Rovers, seek the appointment of a respected manager who has the requisite experience to preside over our proud club and who can rebuild the bonds between club and fans, and we further seek the establishment of an administrative structure that is becoming of a modern institution such as a Premier League football club.


The Editors of

       BRFCS
       Vital Blackburn
       RoversTalk
       RoversFans
       RoversMad
       BRFC Fans
       The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust
       The Norwegian Blackburn Rovers Supporters Club
       The Wild Blackburn Rover
       Rovers Revisited

Does he deserve it?

As far as I have seen this morning, several papers have reported that Steve Kean has signed a new deal. It hasn't yet been confirmed by the club however, but although this is football and gossip should rarely be taken seriously, there's rarely smoke without a fire (Faroese saying).

A couple of weeks ago, reports started to surface that Venky's were preparing a new deal for Kean. Apparently they were so impressed with the progress shown by the team. It's not a joke, but dear lord it's funny!

As I wrote in my post yesterday, there has been massive improvement over the last few weeks, but surely it doesn't merit anything resembling a new contract. Of course the progress should loosen a couple of nails in the coffin, but a new deal is going a bit overboard with the support.

If and only if Venky's absolutely want to prove to the world of football, that there is such a thing as unconditional support for a manager (which I am all for, by the way) I would advise them to form out a contract. Make sure Kean sees it as a great offer, but only make the offer IF he can lead the team to a minimum of four wins and two draws in the next six games.

That's only my opinion on the matter. What's your?

The Duracell Torch

The Blue and White Halves has been gathering dust for quite a while. Now I have finally decided to take out my imaginary Swiffer (Google it if don’t know it) and dust off the ol' gal'. I will of course mostly focus on the best team in chicken farm, but every now and again, there will be a post on some of the other teams in the EPL, La Liga and possibly even the dodgy UEFA, FIFA or FA.

So where to start? This is the first post since the January transfer window slammed, but all the drama at Ewood Park has been so well documented, that one might think the media doesn't like our little club, boxing out of our weight class. Anyway here's a little recap of the last 10 months - we got some players in on loan, signed two incredible young talents, played some horrible football, barely survived, didn't manage to sign JJ, lost PJ, started the new season horribly, signed some players, played more horrible football, won one match, a lot of people started booing, a airplane flew over Ewood Park and the media chose SK's side.

In all seriousness though, things have been looking horribly bleak and at times the candle at the end of the tunnel has gone out. BUT - thank God for buts - I think our beloved owners just might have found a torch running on Duracell. Although it is very early to be making this call, I can't help but feel, that since Paul Clement arrived, our performances have improved by a gazillion percent (and that is a lot!).

The game against Man City was horrible, weirdly enough resulting in Jensen getting the boot. The one against QPR wasn't that bad but ultimately not good enough. A day after Clement's arrival, the lads put on a great performance against high-flying Spurs, but the lack of ruthlessness meant we were left disappointed. Then came a monstrously good performance against the only unbeaten team in the Football Leagues and an equally good performance against Norwich, in which the ref obviously didn't want us to win. The last game against Chelsea wasn't half bad, but ultimately it didn't give us any points.

But what has changed in the very short time since Jensen's departure? For starters the vastly unfruitful partnership of the Zonz and the Serb, has been tweaked and turned into a very impressive partnership between the Zonz and Gamst. Nzonzi has done the dirty work, tackling and chasing, while Gamst has done the pretty stuff, passing and shooting. Out on the wings Rochina and Hoilett have been tearing up defenders with pace and trickery. Up front we have seen two strikers in the Yak and Gato. At the back - right back to be exact - Lowe has slotted in beautifully, making damn sure we haven't missed Salgado's impeccable lack of pace. But most importantly, the players seem to be playing for each other.

When Kean was appointed, we were promised that the football would be far more pleasing on the eye. What we got however was a circus. We were dropping points as if it was in fashion. Let's just say, that the overnight shift from Big Sam's hoofball to Steve Kean's supposed free-flowing football didn't work out as planned. But now there seems to have been a change in either the players attitude or possibly a change in the instructions they're receiving.

As I said, it might be a little bit to early to make this call, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. From what I've seen in the last couple of weeks, I think Paul Clement just might be the right dose for our insanely optimistic Steve Kean.

Welcome to Ewood Park and thank you for your service!

In recent transfer windows, Blackburn have been among the least active clubs in the league and up until two hours prior to the window closing, that looked to be the case yet again, with only two loan deals. But then something started happening at Ewood Park, with the transfers of Fernando Torres, David Luiz and Andy Carroll taking up all of Sky's air time.

Just as people started getting flashbacks of prior windows with a lot of talk but no action, rovers.co.uk announced the purchase of 19 year old Barca player Ruben Rochina, who can play as a striker and as attacking midfielder. A player who could very possibly be a long term replacement for the creativity at Ewood: David Dunn. The reported value was around £1 mill, although no figures have been made official.

About half an hour later, still behind the scenes, Ewood Park was once again active. The long awaited purchase of 22 year old Argentinian playmaker Mauro Formica, was made official at a reported value of around some £3 mill. The player has been dubbed a young Batistuta by Steve Kean, but surely it wasn't meant in the sense that he's a prolific goalscorer, as his relatively impressive goal tally isn't exactly Batistuta status, at 20 goals in 86 appearances for Old Boys, compared to Batistuta's average of more than a goal every two games. However he is a very talented player, with loads of assists to add to his tally, making him a direct contender for Dunn and Gamst.

Shortly after the Formica deal was announced, a great servant of Rovers, EH Diouf, was loaned out to Glasgow Rangers, with a view to a permanent deal and Dioufy has already expressed his desire to become a Rangers legend. Personally I don't feel that this is a good move for us, as he has that impeccable work rate, decent technique and he really gets under the skin of his opponents. I know a lot of fans are applauding his departure, but I for one will miss him in the blue and white shirt.

All in all, it has been a very turbulent window with jokes about the likes of Ronaldinho and Beckham, endless waiting and some very exciting deadline day transfers.

With this I would just like to welcome two VERY exciting talents, that can rest assure to get a very warm welcome at Ewood Park and a heartfelt thank you to EH Diouf for his great service.

Senior citizens leading by example

In recent years, because of financial handcuffs, our beloved club has had a difficult time of holding on to its better players. With our newfound financial strength though, one would think it would be a whole lot easier. That hasn't been the case however, with our arguably best player, King Samba, expressing a desire to leave for greener pastures.

It was always going to be a difficult task for Steve Kean to keep all our players happy, as most of them were apparently very happy with Big Sam and the way he worked with the players. But it is common knowledge that wisdom is acquired with age and that also seems to be the case at the Brockhall training ground, as both Admiral Nelsen and Commander Salgado have both signed new contracts, thwarting speculation about unrest at the club.

Reports of Spurs coming in for England's true No.1, has reportedly made the club offer him a new contract, both as a way of fending off interest, but also as a way of proving to the fans, that we are no longer a selling club.

The contract extensions signed by our senior players, will also inevitably help the club attract younger players and supposed big name players, as there once again seems to be stability at the club. This is apparently already working, with Formica on the brink of signing, Roniel coming in on trial and so on.

The new signings, both loans and permanent signings, should also inject a feeling of excitement which in turn should motivate players like Samba to stay at the club and help it reach new hights.

Onwards and upwards

After more than a week of pneumonia, I'm back and will be back to full fitness in a couple of days and hopefully the writing will follow suit.

These last couple of games, and the days in between, have shown that sacking Big Sam maybe wasn't such a bad decision after all. Some claimed that having such an unproven manager might make it difficult to attract quality players. Some claimed that we were serious relegation contenders with Kean at the helm. Our current 7th position tells a different story.

Kean promised more attacking football and boy has he delivered. I am a fan of Big Sam's football and I think football is a man's sport. But I must admit we are looking more attractive now than before. With Olsson and Hoilett on the wings, Gamst and Dunn in midfield and a mixed front line, we are looking like a mean attacking force. The players are trying to exchange the long balls for short quick passes and they are adjusting to the new life slowly. This was easy to see against WBA where we lost too many balls because of sloppy passes.

The signings we have made so far are not flashy or big, but from what we saw last night, they are more than adequate. Although he didn't do anything incredible and was lucky not to concede a penalty, Jones ran his socks off, got stuck in and passed the ball well. The thing to remember is that he hasn't played regularly in several months. Roque Santa Cruz worked hard and was involved in several good things. He held up the ball well and set up a couple of good shots from Samba, Dunn and Olsson.

Player of the match could have gone to two players - Hoilett and Olsson. Both were immense! Olsson made several crucial tackles at the back and had a few good runs forward and was unlucky not to score on his long shot. Hoilett was a menace going forward with his blistering pace and good technique. He even helped out at the back. His goal wrapped up a great performance and he gets my vote for man of the match.


With only a week left of the window, I do have two wishes. The first on my list is Samba's new contract. He has shown time and again that he is invaluable to the team and we should do what ever we can to keep hold of him. Other than that, I would just like to see a creative midfielder coming in. It's not crucial and can easily wait till the summer window, but it would be nice to get an exciting talented player in.

Over and out - Onwards and upwards

Return of the 'sewer rat'

First of, I just want to say that I'm very happy with the result today, as QPR are a decent team and our team is being stretched beyond the limit at the moment.

However, there was one very sad incident, which ended with Givet and Mackie being stretchered off. Mackie has unfortunately broken his leg in two places and I sincerely wish the best in his recovery. But the shit really hit the fan, when EH Diouf allegedly went to insult Mackie, while he was still lying on ground hurting. This resulted in Neil Warnock feeling the need to call him 'below a sewer rat'.

I haven't seen the incident myself and until I do, I'll reserve judgement. That being said, I would take Neil's word for much. Now you might ask me why and here's the reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDsjY3uFdE&feature=player_embedded

Oh and one more thing - a little thank you to Diouf, for his assist tonight ;)

Over and out

We hate you, we love you, we hate you, we looove you!

Being manager of the greatest team in the World is never going to be easy. The fans are extremely picky, and rightfully so, the team never gets appreciation for any performances from the media and for some silly reason, the club seems to have a hard time of holding on to it's best players. If you then add all the controversy that has surrounded the appointment of Steve Kean, managing Blackburn Rovers just might be the most difficult job in the World!

From day one everyone has been against our new manager. "He's absolutely useless", "He hasn't got a clue", "He has no experience", "He is actually Spider Pig" and so on were among the comments he got. Well, maybe not the last one, but you get my point. Admittedly I may be the owner of one or two such comments.

After a draw against West Ham and defeat against Stoke, people were screaming for his head and some were even building gallows in their garage. Three days later a rare and very good and spirited away win against West Brum took the pressure of for a little while. People laid down their megaphones and hammers thinking there might be hope for him after all. That didn't last long though, as rumors of unrest in the dressing room appeared and a horrible performance against Sunderland, had people storming back to the garage and timber and nails were once more the most sold items in Lancashire.

Then came the visit of Liverpool. After their last minute win against West Ham, people were fearing another 7-1 defeat. Kean however had other plans. He fielded a very offensive minded 442 formation, with lightning pace on the wings. At half time Rovers were up 2-0 and after Scuba Steve had sent financial aid to Burnley, in the shape of a Premier League ball, Rovers won 3-1. As fans were singing "can we play you ever week", the media a.k.a Alan Hansen & co. said that the result was purely down to a sh*tty Liverpool performance. Unlike Hansen, Lineker had actually watched the game and tried his best to give the Rovers players some credit, although it wasn't nearly as much as they deserved.

Personally I don't really know how I feel about Kean myself, although I do love him for what he did to Liverpool - if only it was the last game of the season and it was the game put Liverpool alongside The Scum in the Campionships. I think we should reserve our judgment until he has had some time to get some new faces in and has put a real stamp on the style of play. After all we gave a much less experienced Mark Hughes a lot more time than Kean has had so far.

Once again the noise of hammers and nails are back to normal, but for how long?

Over and out

The rumor mill goes round round round

The rumor mills are turning faster than ever at Ewood Park and the club's owners are surely doing their part to make sure that it keeps going. Talk of Ronaldinho and Beckham coming to Ewood have been laughed at in most corners of the world, but should we really care about that? This is after all what the fans, including myself, have been wishing for for the last 10 years.

Laughing stock or not, you must admit that these are exciting, although a bit worrying, times for Rovers fans. The owners are showing their ambitions with their £20 million bid for Ronaldinho and the tracking of David Beckham (I'm glad we didn't get Ron though).

I am however looking for more realistic talk and am actually delighted with what I've seen from the paper talk. Four of those that have left us for 'greener pastures' in the past are being heavily linked, along with players like Charlie Adam and even Gabriel Milito. These are all players that could come in and do a good job.

First up is Stephen Warnock who went to Villa, as there was a better chance of winning silverware. Let's just say that that didn't turn out too well. I guess that's been the case for all who left Rovers for bigger and better, except for Henning Berg and Damian Duff (please correct me if I'm wrong). He would be a great signing as he can play at left back and can do a decent job in our depleted midfield.
Then there are David Bentley and Damian Duff who both are players that we could use, as the delivery for our strikers hasn't been very good and our midfield is practically depleted through injuries and international duty.
Santa Cruz might be useful if, and only if, he can stay injury free and is willing to work his ass out of his pants for the club.
Adam would slot right into our midfield for reasons mentioned above.
Then there is Milito. Since he's able to do a decent job for Barcelona when needed, I'm sure he'll be good enough t replace want-a-way Chris Samba.

The players above are probably going to cost us somewhere between £20-25 million, but since the owners were willing to throw £20 million at Ronaldinho and a possible sale of Samba would bring in at least £10-12 million, I don't see it as much of a problem.

All in all, I think we'll be seeing some signings and some of them will be catching quite a lot of attention, like Milito who might go from Barca to 'greener pastures' at Ewood Park.

Over and out

Supporters vs. Fans

Long time no write... Hope you all entered 2011 with a bang, unlike I who was stuck at work. Enough about us, let's talk Rovers - let's talk support.

This will be a short one, but I think it's a very important issue and maybe never more relevant than now.

We all know someone who's a mad Westlife fan, but has anyone ever heard of a Westlife supporter? Someone who turned up to their shows, even if they weren't playing to their best?
My point is that there is a massive difference between a fan and a supporter. The fans come and go in the same rhythm as success, but a supporter turns up when he's needed the most. When the team is down, the supporter will feel that it's partly his responsibility to get it back up.

We all know that all is not well at camp Rovers. If you take a look at the league table, you'll see that if the teams, that have played fewer games than we have, win their games, we are in 18th position. Although it's only possible mathematically, as some of the teams have fixtures against each other, it is still a very scary thought. So what can the fans and the supporters do?

Personally, I think the fans should stay away. I know it sounds stupid, but who is more likely to start booing the players, manager or the owners? It won't be the supporters, that's for sure! I know it's frustrating to see a team that doesn't perform, but booing certainly won't help.

The only thing we can do to help our boys, is to show up at games and give them the same backing as so many of you did at West Brom. Cheer them on and I'm sure we'll see results more often than not. If you aren't fans of Venky's, which no one can blame you for, don't boo them at the games, do it when the game is over.

This is where we separate the wolves from the sheep, This is where we supporters from the fans!

Come on you Rovers!

Once upon a time

I would just like to say that I haven't written today's post myself. It was posted by Craig Haydock on Facebook. After reading all these posts about our beloved club's imminent doom, this post was like a fresh breeze on scourging summer day.

On Thursday, 16th September 2004, Blackburn Rovers appointed Mark Hughes as long-term successor to the departed Graeme Souness. While Sparky was undoubtedly the peoples’ choice having finished his playing career at the club and had achieved relative highs as Wales coach, he was still an unproven prospect with no prior experience at neither coaching or management at club level.

He took on the challenge with Rovers lying 19th in the Premiership and without a win from their opening five games. A late, and by that stage rare, Matt Jansen goal from the subs bench claimed an opening victory in his first match – although Rovers wouldn’t win again under their new boss for two whole months, including 4-0 hidings at Middlesbrough and Chelsea and an embarrassing penalty shoot-out exit at home to Bournemouth in the League Cup.

Despite a plucky start, Hughes was afforded patience to stamp his mark on the side, owed in no small part to the backing of the fans and their obvious affinity for a player who had rolled back the years via the club’s League Cup Final success two years previously, filling in for suspensions and injuries in a holding central midfield role.

From a team that had shipped 29 goals in their opening 14 games, Hughes managed to carve out a disciplined side (they would only concede 14 goals from their next 24 games), unearthed an unknown New Zealand defender from the MLS on a free transfer in Ryan Nelsen and infused the side with the combative qualities of Robbie Savage and Aaron Mokoena, two players who may as well have been cut from the same stone as Hughes himself.

Perhaps Hughes’ greatest legacy to the club that season was to be found in the lost-property box at Ewood, allowing a young Morten Gamst-Pedersen the opportunity to shine and subsequently score for fun in the FA Cup, which would see the club reach the last four of the competition for the first time in 45 years – including the winner over Burnley in the dying stages of a Fifth Round Replay.

Rovers would go on to finish 15th with their top-flight status long-secured; rather disappointingly, they had once peaked at 11th in April only to see a small squad stretched by a long season, petering out without a win from their last five games.

The rest they say, is history. In seasons to come, the club would enjoy 6th, 10th and 7th finished places respectively, including two forays into Europe and a host of impressive and surprisingly economical signings that saw the likes of Craig Bellamy, David Bentley, Stephen Warnock, Chris Samba, Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz pull on the famous blue and white halves.

Given time, patience, ambition, a belief that an inexperienced manager needn’t always be a negative nor a hindrance – and evidence that success can be achieved without excess, the future could be rosy after all. Red rosy, with Arte Et Labore underneath. 

Only One Jack Walker!

This post will not be about Uncle Jack Walker or Venky's. It will be about Saturday's game and the crazy reactions it has received. The title is merely to show how I feel about the current way of our owners.

First of all, I would like to make it as clear as shot of vodka - I am disappointed by the result against West Ham. That being said, I think it is absolutely outrageous how people have reacted to the performance and the result that came with it. The number of times I have read, 'this would never have happened with Big Sam' or 'how can they justify appointing Kean, after a performance like this', is astronomical! People that were screaming for a boot in Sam's rear, are all of a sudden defending him and hoping they can get the boot back, so they can use it on his successor.

These same people have been asking for a quick tempo passing/possession game, instead of Alardyce's direct long ball game. What I am about to say, might come as a shock for these people, but you got what you asked for, the result just didn't follow.

But isn't it a bit much to ask for, when you consider all the details that add up to this utter, ridiculous chaos? I certainly think so!

First of all, Steve Kean, the players and the rest of the staff, had about 3-4 days to overcome the shock of Big Sam's 'out of the blue' dismissal. Furthermore they had to change the game plan almost from top to bottom, to please both fans and owners. Three injuries to key players also meant that Kean wasn't allowed to make any tactical changes in the second half, when West Ham pretty much took control of the game. For all this, I think our players and staff deserve something more the verbal stoning and beating.

The fans, the blood and life of the club, the owners, temporary governors, got what they asked for. They got that illusive, forward aiming, fast paced, short passing, possession football that we have been screaming for. After some 25 minutes our 'soldiers in the trenches' had some 70% of the possession and West Ham hadn't had a  half decent run at our goal.

In the second half, our players looked tired and although the Admiral managed to scramble home a goal, they looked like they were confused, whether they were playing Big Sam football, or the type of football we saw in the first half. This resulted in a lengthy West Ham attacking spell, that eventually made us concede a very good goal by any team's standard. The soldiers in Blue and White, however, took over again and got a solid goal that was dismissed for one reason only - Mike Dean. I have looked at it time and again and I really can't see anything wrong with it. There was a West Ham player that probably thought he saw a penny and dropped to the floor, hoping to have a bit more for the Christmas shoppings, but other than that there wasn't a single thing that could justify the dismissal.

All in all, I am disappointed by the draw. I always am. I expect us to win every single fixture and anyone that is satisfied with a draw, lacks a very fundamental thing in football and life in general - winner mentality. That been said, I'm not disappointed in our boys, or our caretaker for that matter, as they were working under circumstances none of us could ever imagine.

Only One Jack Walker!

Well that was a shock!

The sacking of Big Sam is one of those things, where you remember where you were, what you were doing and what you had just eaten. Kind of like 9/11. Well for me it was anyway.

I was on my way home from school and, as the Facebook addict that I am, checked the 'book for some news. One of my Icelandic friends had posted something resembling this: "Big Sam has taken his stuff and has left Ewood Park. Now what the hell are we supposed to do?" not in those words, it was actually in Icelandic. I literally dropped my jaw and thought "These Indy's are gonna lead us to ruins!"

The following day rumors started flowing about John Williams's imminent resignation and that the Raos didn't have a new manager lined up. Lets just say that it didn't improve my view on the current owners. Making rash decisions without a definite plan isn't very Rovers like. It's more the department of say... Newcastle, West Ham, Pompey and co.

At first I though that maybe the meetings between our owners and JW, might be about who his successor should be. Now I have a sneaky feeling, that the meetings were about JW demanding, that Steve Kean was given a chance at the helm; if only to show that he will not tolerate having these kind of decisions pushed over his head and to prove that he doesn't appoint staff members without reason.

So what can we say about Kean's managerial record then? Zip - squat - absolutely nothing! He's been assistant manager at three clubs - Fulham, Real Sociedad and Coventry. What does that say about his managerial ability? Zip - squat - absolutely nothing! It just might be so, that we have the next Pep Guardiola on our books, but we could also be so unlucky that we have the next Paul Ince. Now that is the stuff of nightmares!

What I'm trying to say is, that we haven't got a clue about what Steve Kean is capable of and therefore we must do what real fans do and more importantly - we have to do what real Rovers do - we must stick by our team, our manager and most of all, we must always stick by our ever so loyal chairman. We show up to the games and show our undying love for our club, no matter how much we dislike the current owners!

Rover and out

I am Sam

Great movie isn't it? I think it's bloody brilliant! Oh well, that's not what this is about. Let's pretend, just for one moment, that I am Big Sam. What will be on my to do list come January?

January 1st, 2011 - 00:00.01. Make new year resolution to lose 20 pounds... again.

Oh well jokes aside. We all know that we are desperately lacking players in two thirds of the field - midfield and attack. After all the papers and fans alike have been telling us for months/years, that we need someone with a touch of class in midfield and someone lethal in attack. I admit, I too was one of those fans, until very very recently.

While at work tonight, playing Football Manager 2011, enjoying massive success with MY Rovers team, I started wondering who could get that fits the so called bill. In midfield there are some players I would gladly welcome. Milijas at Wolves, Kranjcar and Bentley at Spurs to name a few. In attack I think should go abroad. Pavel Pogrebnyak or maybe Jelle Vossen from Belgium, although Vossen is young and upcoming. These are all affordable targets, although Wolves probably won't sell one of their better players to a rival team.

But then I thought, who do we have among our own players that has that touch of class? We have Dunn, Gamst, Emo, Diouf, Hoilett and Olsson. So is that really what we need? I say no. What we need is someone who can play all across the midfield and can actually stay fit. Just an average player, although a world class player is preferable. Our team is by no means short of creative players. It is however a bit short of fit players at the moment.

What I think we desperately need is a left back (don't think I have to explain that one) and that lethal striker. Who knows, maybe Robbie Keane is that striker, but somehow I doubt that he would make a big difference.

Over and out

Correction - Winning IS everything!

Time and again, you'll hear Newcastle fans stating that winning isn't everything in the world of football. Football is about passes and bla bla bla. I can only think of one reason why a football fan would ever say such a ludicrous thing - they haven't experienced winning! And if, by any chance, you are a Toon fan - the Championships don't count! Anyway, this won't be about anything connected to any small club, but only, as usual, one of the true big 4. One of the four teams that have actually won the league!

What made me start on this post, was the re-appearance of Anuradha Desai's comments about football vs. entertainment. The comment really pissed me off to say the least! Now I don't know about you, but to me there's nothing more satisfying than a victory and if it's gained by playing fast, forward play with a few passes and a shot, then you won't hear me complain. Yes I like direct "Sam Alardyce" football! Football with real men, as Salgado put it, that aren't afraid of a challenge and are willing to work their ass to pieces for their club. However, you'll hear me whine like a little girl, if my beloved Rovers manage to stitch some 1,563 passes together, in and around the middle of the park, without being able to score, rolling around on the floor and crying for a free-kick. That to me is not entertainment, but merely a waste of precious time!

What I'm trying to say is, that if we were to sack Sam Alardyce because of fast, direct, effective football and appoint someone like... someone like... Paul Ince who got our players playing this so called"entertaining football", then the Rao family will lose my support!

But until then, all is good at Camp Rovers and I'm looking forward to a very productive December, with at least 12 points.

Over and out

Have... to stay.... positive!

I haven't posted since on Friday, as I didn't want to join the endless convoy of rant wagons, hoping that if I waited long enough, there would be something positive to write about. It might seem like I'm desperately grasping at straws here, BUT I have found some things worthy to write about... I think.

First of all, there were positives with the United game. One of our many bright talents got his first Premier League game and while other players were hanging with there heads, he showed real will and managed to set up our goal, with a magnificent cross. He really grabbed the opportunity with both hands and I actually think that he should be starting against Wolves. Both as recognition for his effort and as a penalty for the other players's woeful appearance.

The following could be seen as a positive and as a negative, but since I have set out to write something positive, I have chosen to see it as such. His absence has proven that Gamst is absolutely invaluable to our team, as we desperately missed his long throws, passings and set-piece ability. Of course it's not a good thing to rely so much on one player, but it proves that he has returned to the form that caught the attention of the entire World. I'm not even joking with that one. If we are to challenge for Europe, which apparently is the goal of the Rao's, he will be a key player.

Just as much as Gamst is a key player, Chimbonda is not! Don't get me wrong, I will always remember him for the goal against Scum and that alone was well worth what we payed for him. BUT he is at most a back up player and I feel that we have seen the best of him. I hope he leaves in January, for our AND his own good. Have I gone negative? Absolutely not. If this wasn't brought to our attention now, we might have relied on him for later games, against teams that are in and around where we want to be. So it's all good ;)

Over and out

Match performances

Let's just get straight to it! It's the usual 10 being the best 0 the worst.

Robbo - 4  - got some saves, one or two were fantastic, but was let down by the defense!

Salgado - 6 - one of three players who gave a damn!

Nelly - 3 - he tried, but that was just too many goals

Samba - 3 - why? One goal can't make up for that horror show!

Chimbonda - 1 - Absolutely outrageously awful, but gets a 1 for showing up.

Jones - 6 - He gave his all, but was let down by his team mates.

Emo - 4 - nothing wrong nothing right.

Dunn - 2 - too slow, too heavy and was just too lazy and just an all round awful performance!

Goulon - 4 - was the victim of a panic subbing, but didn't impress while he was on...

Diouf - 4 - gave too many passes away.

Roberts - 3 - was he there? I didn't notice him, but since he was on the starting sheet, I guess he must get a grade...

Hoilett - 5 - pace, skills and tried to get forward, but nothing really payed off...

Morris - 8 - a fine debut... a definite player for the future. some good crosses and a fine assist! Should absolutely get more time on the field!

Linganzi - 5 - no one deserves a debut like that, but he didn't really show up in the same way as morris did.

To sum it up - I honestly think that if I were a United fan, I would have left early! That's how horrible we were!! But let's end it in a positive way - I can only get better...

1.15 billion Rovers!

This has been a long time in the making, but a dear friend of mine died recently and I haven't really been in the mood for anything. But as they say, life goes on and Blackburn Rovers are thundering forward!

We are now on Indian hands and Big Sam can begin doing what he does so incredibly well - buying the right players! But just how might the takeover affect us, the fans, as Venky's will be trimming and optimizing Rovers in a reach for longterm success?

One of the things that I, as a Rover, am very proud of, is the "family club" tag. It is in fact one of the things that I am most proud of. Being a part of something so small, that has achieved such tremendous success, is very special to me. But will this all change in the next couple of years? Will the prices be reaching new highs, or will the Rao's settle for renaming Ewood instead changing the ticket policies, as people are raging about?

Personally I hold Ewood Park as something of a treasure, although I have never been there. It is among those things on my so called "bucket list", which has been drastically updated of late. Like so many other Rovers, the thought of going to a home game at Cadbury's Fun Park, or what ever it might be, is unbearable. However, I really do think that this whole debate has been blow WAY out of proportion! A very basic question from a reporter (will you be looking at the possibility of changing the stadium's name, to increase the income?), was answered in a direct way (It's something that we might have to look into). This has been turned into: we will be changing the name to whatever brings in most money. To me it's not much more than the same usual lazy journalism, that we associate with Rovers.

Although there are stadiums that have ridiculous names, there are some sponsored stadiums that haven't hurt the club in any way - Newcastle's Sports Direct.com @ St. James's Park - being the prime example. If that were to be the case for our beloved Ewood Park, I say go for it! That way we could change the name at any given time, to the highest bidder. Sound plan me thinks!

The headline: 1.15 billion Indians! What a huge potential for growth!

Over and out

There were positives after all

I won't be jumping on board the bandwagon with all the endless rants today, although our beloved players did cost me some hard earned £10. Yes I did put my money on a 2-0 victory for Rovers, but I'm not too upset by the game, as Spurs aren't amongst the teams that we should demand three points from. Even though we at times looked like the Faroese national team, there were some positives that I think will be more important for us in the long run than three points.

Positive number one: Junior Hoilett. He was a real menace - again! His blistering pace and obvious skills were there for everyone to see, as he took on their defenders and beat them on several occasions. If only Sam can get his final touch just a wee bit better, he will be banging in goals and assists in bucket loads. He does lack a bit of footballing intelligence, but that will only increase as he gets older and gets a couple of games under his belt.

Number two: Nikola Kalinic. He must have been doing something right in training, as he looked really good and full of confidence again. He worked his ass off, held up the ball well, got himself into a great position to score, but just lost his balance as was pushed by both Gallas and Kaboul (it think it was). I still back him to become a key player for us in the near future.

Three: David Dunn and El-Hadji Diouf. After Diouf came on for Salgado, we looked a bit better, both at the back and in the front. When Dunn was brought on, no one could say that we weren't a creative force going forward. The flair was there and, ultimately, so were the goals.

Four: Phil Jones. Yes I know that he had his worst game so far and that he almost gave that Russian a goal, but every young player as good as him, has to be reminded from time to time that they are not unbeatable. He too can make mistakes. I truly believe that he will work even harder to make sure that it won't happen again and since it didn't cost us a goal, it can only be classed a plus.

Five: Three balls were swiped off their line. We could so easily have scored five goals, if just luck was on our side and that is something that we don't see too often nowadays.

Six: Robbo. I don't think I have to explain that one.

So all in all, I'm not too beat up about the game, as I think there were plenty of positives to build on and I feel fully confident that we will be adding points to our tally against Villa and United.

Over and out