Jon Holt

Blackburn Rovers... amongst other stuff...!!

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@_ElliottJackson Threw his hat in to the ring with that answer!!!

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@GiallorossiBlue Completely agree. 👍

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@henrywinter @Rovers Well said @henrywinter - good to have a balanced view from outside of the club. Hope this helps…. It’s seems @Rovers are the basket case of the league.

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@_ElliottJackson Talk about shouting yourself in the foot. The club are clueless and what a bad bit of PR. Always found the reporting by Elliott balanced and fair - and always worth a read. Our club just looking more and more foolish. 🤯

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@retrofootballnw @Rovers @Argyle @mcavannagh1 - we were there!!! What a horrible bus ride home after that 🤢🤯🤬😡

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

The situation at Blackburn Rovers is heart-breaking for their fans specifically but it’s also a story that carries deep concerns for many in English football. It is a story about issues with ownership, spending, recruitment and communication. It's a story about a famous, historic English club, a founding member of the Football League, which should be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Premier League title and 150th anniversary of its foundation. But instead finds itself drifting, given brief hope by a good manager, and then crushing disappointment when he quits.

There could be a myriad reasons behind John Eustace’s departure from Rovers to Derby County: whether he couldn’t work with the Venky’s structure; the owners were too distant in every sense; signings were insufficient quality to replace the quality sold; he wanted to return to Derby, the club where he finished his playing career in 2015; and/or family reasons. Whatever the reasons, it’s an indictment of the situation that Eustace would rather be at a club fighting relegation from the Championship than a club in the play-off position. It’s fact that Venky’s have lost another capable head coach (after Jon Dahl Tomasson). And the fans lose out.

It’s also fact that Venky’s, a combination of naïve and inept, have lost a lot of money on Rovers (between £150m and £200m according to reports). Maybe they are simply holding on to the dream of returning to the Premier League.

At the very least, Rovers supporters deserve proper explanation of the situation by the board and also clarification of the owners’ ambitions, if any. There have been previous protests against the Venky’s, whose main business in India is poultry. A chicken was released on the Ewood pitch during a crunch game with Wigan Athletic in 2012 and again versus Burnley in 2014 (it’s not known whether it was the same chicken). At the very least, there are bound to be critical chants heard at The Hawthorns where Rovers play tomorrow, and particularly at Ewood against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

“We’re not a protest group,” says Katie Hull of @RoversTrust affiliated to the @WeAreTheFSA. “But from looking at social media, I wouldn't be surprised if there were protests on Saturday, even banners. We’ve had 14 years of this. We just can't sit back and allow things to get any worse.”

She has a message for the Venky’s. “You haven’t been to the club in 10 years now. Why do you still have us? You are causing more heartache to us. Do the right thing and sell the club. Think about the fans, they want change, they can’t cope with it any more. Think of Jack (Walker, fan and owner who passed away in 2000). Jack would be absolutely heartbroken if he’d seen what’s happened to the club he loved.”

Only 15,141 turned up for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Wolves, who brought their sold-out allocation of 4,200. “We get a lot of stick about attendance,” Hull adds. “That is primarily down to 14 years that people don't want to attend because of the ownership.

“We are actively trying to get the club sold. People have enquired. It's not going to be an easy process. First of all they’ve got to agree to sell it.” The Trust even fears their club could die if the Venky’s don’t sell. “There is that real possibility," Hull says. "They are living on transfer sales (Adam Wharton and Sammie Szmodics for £27m last year). Look at other clubs in our league (with ownership issues), even Derby went through it in the past. Sheffield Wednesday are currently going through it.

“We’ve had so many years of doom and gloom and this year marks a massive year for Rovers: 30 years from the Premier League title, 150 years since we were founded, and we are continually watching our club going on a downward spiral. Sammie Szmodics kept us up last year.”

And yet Eustace’s good management kept them challenging for promotion this season. Rovers Trust also has a message to Eustace. “Be open to the fans,” Hull pleads. “I’m not expecting him to tell everything, because he won’t be able to for legal reasons. The fans deserve something even if it's a statement. It's hit people like a ton of bricks. The fans have supported him from day one. Fans are frustrated because when he came to the club, fans had that bit of hope. We felt he was a really good appointment. He talked about togetherness. We tried to come together and support the lads through thick and thin, and he’s simply departed with no explanation. It’s turned very sour.”

Yet Hull understands that internal club issues must have made life difficult for Eustace. “100% understand. It’s not a nice environment to be at.” Blackburn’s board points to “significant investment” in the squad but they’ve not replaced quality with quality.

The Trust also has a message for the EFL. “Do something about it. Don’t sit back and make no statement. Get someone involved. How can the EFL allow families or ownership to exist and ruin football clubs. Because it has ruined us.” Rovers aren’t ruined but clearly the ownership model and structure is failing the club. It’s another reason why so many fans are supportive of the Independent Regulator arriving later this year. “The Football (Governance) Bill is going to be amazing, a great thing when it comes in. But for us that will be too late.”

It depends who Blackburn bring in to succeed Eustace. The sadness is they have lost a good head coach – again. And a famous club continues to drift. “Supporting Rovers comes with a health hazard,” Hull sighs. #Rovers

[Chris Lord @chrislord]

@AndyLUFC_ https://t.co/yj9Xyx2VGi

[Blackburn Rovers @Rovers]

🏆 𝟗𝟒/𝟗𝟓 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

⏪ To celebrate the 30th anniversary of our historic title-winning campaign, we're taking a look back at the complete journey #OnThisDay - kicking off with the 1-1 draw in our season opener at Southampton.

#Rovers 🔵⚪️

[90s Football @90sfootball]

On this day in 1992, Alan Shearer joined Blackburn Rovers ⚽️

[Rovers Latest @LatestRovers]

🚨COMPETITION GIVEAWAY🚨

To celebrate Rovers’ Final Day Survival, we’ve teamed up with @MezzalaDesigns to giveaway any Rovers Print of our Campaign🔵🏆

To enter, all you need to do is:
🔁Retweet this post
🤝Follow @LatestRovers & @MezzalaDesigns

#Rovers

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@markhitch 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Football Remind ⚽️ @FootballRemind]

Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers, Premier League Record

1992/93 21 appearances 16 goals
1993/94 40 appearances 31 goals
1994/95 42 appearances 34 goals
1995/96 35 appearances 31 goals
Total 138 appearances 112 goals

Exceptional numbers 🙋‍♂️⚽️ #BRFC

[Bite-Sized Nostalgia @landofthe80s]

"Some Kind of Wonderful", written by John Hughes was released in theatres today back in 1987. #80s #80smovies #1980s

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

What a view. Not an Everton fan but I think this sums up that @Everton is a local club. Hope you like it!!!

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@_ElliottJackson That’s the most positive I have heard from a Rovers manager in a long time. Good to hear initially and it hopefully will transmit to performances on the pitch. God luck to the manager and the team. COYB.

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

What a great night with @alanshearer - too many fantastic memories of those days!!! @PeteGravesTV @Rovers

[Blackburn Rovers @Rovers]

🤝 We are delighted to confirm the appointment of John Eustace as the club’s new Head Coach.

The 44-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal and arrives on the back of a successful spell at Birmingham City.

Welcome, John!

#Rovers 🔵⚪️

[Chorley FC @chorleyfc]

Enjoy the full interview from the @BBCBreakfast Show with @mikebreakfast, who spoke all things Chorley FC and Boyzone with our chairman @jamievermiglio earlier - well worth a listen 💥

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@jonathanrog68 Well put!!

[Jon Holt @JonHolt17]

@reluctantnicko Completely agree. The squad is under preforming. Yes related to the other issues. But a change in manager can improve the league position considerably.