The Rovers Return

On paper, the form tables are totally in our favour. We’re playing well, winning games and morale is high after we hit the dizzy heights of seventh before Liverpool’s win last night.

Villa have struggled in the league this season. Having been a team on the up in the past couple of seasons, they’ve struggled under the leadership of bulgy-eyed French flop Gerard Houllier.

However, our recent history against Villa, at Villa Park, makes bad reading. We’ve been knocked out of three consecutive cups at their place – although we did get a very good win there at the end of last season.

With the new owners wanting success, the FA Cup – and the Carling Cup for that matter – is something Rovers should really be trying to win.

There’s little enthusiasm for the cups at this early stage, but they do mean a lot to the club. Historically we were once a cup side, shunning the league in its earlier years to concentrate on the FA Cup. But without a win since 1928, Rovers are long overdue a cup triumph.

Must give a mention to last week’s win over West Brom. Another solid performance from the new Rovers using quick attacks to kill off an average side while never really getting into top gear.

Jermaine Jones looks awesome, too. What a bruiser.

West Bromwich Albion supporters will pay a measly £10 (£5 for juniors) to see their team play at Ewood on Saturday.

I’m not sure if anything else needs to be said …

Last season, we played Chelsea and Man Utd on consecutive weekends. I went to both – it cost me £87. That was before I’d got there, had something to eat, God knows how many pints, etc, etc.

I’m lucky I don’t have children or anybody else I have to pay for, but I’ve no idea how families can afford to go to these games.

Rovers, and John Williams, should be commended for the excellent value for money that Blackburn Rovers represents for the fans – both home and visitors.

Wigan should also get special mention for the two for £20 offer they’ve got going for our trip there in a couple of weeks. I’m expecting a good Rovers following at that one.

Football really is the most expensive form of entertainment going.

You wouldn’t pay £35 to watch a movie, but week in and week out, football lovers across the country are ripped off by the very club they have supported all their lives.

Thankfully, we are among a privileged few that are not ripped off by our club. Jealous onlookers will suggest the cheap tickets are simply because we cannot fill our stadium. They are probably right. So what?

One thing I will say though is this, enjoy it while it lasts. Venky’s are still to announce their ticket pricing structure, but an increase of more than a couple of quid will not be warmly received.

NOTE: If you have tried to comment but get an error message saying “Forbidden”, I have not blocked you or anything like that. There is a problem somewhere, I can’t even leave comments myself!

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From Wikipedia: “Jones courted controversy in 2004 for an interview for popular sports magazine Sport-BILD. When asked whether there were gay footballers in the Bundesliga, he said ‘hopefully not.’”

NOTE: If you have tried to comment but get an error message saying “Forbidden”, I have not blocked you or anything like that. There is a problem somewhere, I can’t even leave comments myself!

When Venky’s completed their takeover of Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic plc, they were advised all the way by the merged sports agencies Kentaro and SEM.

Since then, any player not represented by the agency is not welcome at Ewood.

Jerome Anderson, who runs the Sport Entertainment and Media group (SEM), I’m told, is now based at Ewood Park.

Despite the wishes of the chairman, Steve McDonald [edit - whoops, at least Steve McDonald is the landlord of the Rovers Return! Of course, I meant NEIL McDonald], Sam Allardyce’s assistant manager, was not promoted to fill the vacancy left after Big Sam’s sacking. Instead, the SEM-represented Steve Kean – the third in command who had no experience of football management – was promoted to the top job.

He was then permitted to bring in a coach – the former Arsenal and Denmark midfielder, and SEM-represented, John Jensen.

We’ve given Nick Blackman, a player who has hardly kicked a ball as a Rovers player and when he’s played in pre-season friendlies has looked distinctly less than average, a new three-and-a-half year contract. Remember, when a player signs a contract, his agent gets a nice little bonus – Blackman is represented by SEM.

I don’t know, but I would guess that Roque Santa Cruz’s agent works for SEM – can anyone shed light on that?

I assume you’ve spotted a pattern . . .

Mrs Desai and the Rao brothers do not run our football club, Jerome Anderson does . . . And he’s making a tidy profit in the process.

NOTE: If you have tried to comment but get an error message saying “Forbidden”, I have not blocked you or anything like that. There is a problem somewhere, I can’t even leave comments myself

LIVERPOOL

Before Wednesday night, of Steve Kean’s four matches in charge I had been at three, and not one had filled me with confidence. Then, something weird happened.

Tonight, against what has to be said was the worst Liverpool side I have ever seen, Rovers pulled a massive rabbit out of the hat.

Of late, I’ve not been particularly looking forward to going to matches, and have not felt particularly confident ahead of them. This was no different.

You’ll understand my great surprise then when a perfect pass from Mame Diouf released Martin Olsson who slotted the ball through Reina’s legs and sent Rovers into raptures.

Six minutes later, and it was even more unbelievable when Benjani beat Kyriagos and smashed the ball home to make it 2-0.

More of the same in the second half as excellent work by Hoilett saw him beat two defenders before playing the ball across to Benjani who tucked it away from close range. Read more »

Maradona, Ronaldinho, David Beckham … Who next? Sylvester Stallone – he did all right in the nets in Escape To Victory!

Whatever Balaji Rao has been taking recently, it certainly hasn’t hindered his ambition. And it seems apparent that before actually trying to strengthen the squad, he and his Venky’s pals want to bring in a big name to put their firm on the map.

That’s all well and good, but Steve Kean, whether you like it or not, needs decent squad players to strengthen a side that has been hampered by injuries and suspensions in recent weeks.

Venky’s are happy for the national media to associate their name with any international superstar, whether there’s any possibility of Rovers signing them or not, and it just smacks of real unprofessionalism.

These are people who don’t know football. They don’t know how deals are struck in the Premier League and are going about their business extremely naively.

What I will say on a positive note is that Venky’s certainly seem to have money, if they have the funds to back up these wild hopes of bringing in superstars, and these are real statements of intent that they hope to attract big names to the club.

Again, whether that is purely naive or a realistic possibility remains to be seen. Read more »

Sent to me by a Burnley supporting colleague …

Arse + town hall steps = yeah right …

4,000 Holes issue 80

A Happy New Year to all Rovers fans.

I’ve been busy of late on other projects, most notably the Rovers fanzine, 4,000 Holes, which I began designing at the start of this season.

If you haven’t seen or heard of it, 4,000 Holes has been around since 1989 and is now at its 80th issue – with the current issue and the last one having been done by yours truly.

Yes this is a shameless plug, and yes, I’m going to try to sell you one – you can pick one up online here or by finding one of our sellers near the Aqueduct or near the entrance to the ground, near McDonalds.

Despite not blogging, I have been watching on as our club is taken apart, bit by bit, by Venky’s, the Indian chicken cowboys.

They came in saying all the right things. We’ll let the board and manager run the club, give them time, while promoting the club as a brand in India before hopefully expanding our brand to the European market. That’s fine. Give and take.

We get a bit of transfer money. They get a lot of exposure for their company. Win-win. Yes?

Not quite. Within a month they’ve forced our reluctant chairman John Williams into sacking his ally, Sam Allardyce, totally without reason. Read more »