Monday, May 07, 2012

WANTED - For The Death of Jack Walker's Dream

There are plenty of football club owners who have tasted bitter disappointment - many lose millions, many reduce a large fortune to a small fortune out of a big one. There are plenty too who have seen once proud clubs being destroyed - look at Glasgow Rangers. But few can have had their proud legacy so wantonly destroyed as Jack Walker's has been.

Blackburn Rovers will probably be relegated tonight. I'll be there to witness it and the anger will be high. Much of it will be directed to Steve Kean and his role in managing a failing team. I haven't been part of the protests - not out of support for Kean - but because he isn't the main problem.

Those responsible include the clueless Venky's and their false promises, the manipulative Kentaro boss Jerome Anderson and Steve Kean too for his poor decision making and tactical ineptitude. He isn't going to quit - he wants a pay off like Big Sam got - three year's money and the sympathy vote from his pals in the media and his fellow managers. Always the victim, never his fault.

The current board of Blackburn Rovers have been pretty noticable by their abscence. Apart from a seat on a board of FA blazers, what is Bob Coar for?

Let us not forget too the betrayal of Jack's dream by his trustees. Professional hangers-on who had a duty to uphold a great man's legacy, but who failed in exercising a proper duty of care to supporters and staff at Blackburn Rovers.

When Venky's have stripped the club of its assets, ripped out the parachute payments and shared the spoils with whichever shady partners they have worked on in this "project" to market their chicken, there will still be a football club in a proud town. They are finished as a brand in the UK, forever tainted by association.

The glory days may never come back in an era of oligarchs and petro Sheikhs owning clubs, but if we're honest it's been a great ride that had to end sometime. The challenge now is not to scrabble around for another rich man, but to take the club off these awful people. A club owned by its fans can create loyalty and passion as a sporting totem for a community. Premier League football at Ewood Park may die tonight, but that dream must live on. We owe it to Jack Walker.

POST SCRIPT - I've just got home from the inevitable defeat and relegation at Ewood Park. Everything above is correct and still stands. It is sad, but it's also only football. The thing that most surprised me about tonight was the half hearted nature of much of the protests. It could have been much worse, they could have been more vociferous, but then Blackburn Rovers fans never had much of a violent edge. As far talk of "bouncing back" from the manager, I just shake my head in disbelief. 

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I understand they intend to launch a Venky's XPRS in London this July. No doubt they will get a welcome they won't forget if they are daft enough to try.

Babak Golriz said...

Heart-felt and that's all we can do right now.

Nick Morrell said...

I really hope you get a result tonight Michael. As you know I've always had a soft spot for Rovers. Thought you'd escaped in March, but then it went wrong again. I'll be cheering t'Rovers on tonight.

Nick Morrell said...

Really hope you get a result tonight Michael. As you know, I've always had a soft spot for Rovers and we'll be cheering them on tonight.

Veevs said...

Had to post as I enjoy your bloggs, you put the trustees in a very bad light in this but you have to remember the decisions of many outway the few.. Maybe not all the trustees wanted to sell and frankly Kentaro and Rothchilds are the ones who sorted the sale in the first place... they would of checked the bank balances and got the assurances and as the infamous sales document shows Venkys did not live up to one of their assurances/promises.. I will stand by the likes of Linda Walker/Matthewman in memory of Jack and ask you do not tar them all with the same brush.

Veevs said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wez said...

I am an active member of BRSIT. Do you know about the trust?
We have our first public meeting KGH 26/05/2012.
Arte et Labore