kyle smith

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

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