Do they really care

Another abysmal performance by Blackburn yesterday which saw Rovers drop back into the bottom three. The false dawn of a victory over Arsenal last week has seen Steve Kean go on a media frenzy appearing on the radio and TV as he lapped up Rovers first Victory of the season in the league. I was half expecting to see a picture of Steve Kean on the Milk which was delivered yesterday in recognition of his 4-3 Victory over a shakey Gunners.

The victory was welcomed by all supporters and even had many changing their opinion of the great one. I listened to caller after caller on talk shows ringing to congratulate Steve Kean on the marvelous job he has done in turning a top 10 team into relegation favourites in just 10 months. Whilst on the TV his constant licking of his lips like a cat got the cream he purred with confidence as he spoke about the idiotic 1% of fans who wanted him out. I was amazed by the statistic, but as only 700 Marched last Saturday, I had no defence to the statistics Steve was playing. Nothing to throw back him to suggest that figure false, only a few online polls, and tweets from people wanting him gone.

He ridiculed the Rovers supporters who marched whilst alienating them as the 1% who did not get behind him and the team. I'm proud that I marched shoulder to shoulder with all the individuals who met with me at 11.am on a cold wet Saturday morning. Age, Race religion proved no barrier for us as we united as one to stand up and fight for the future of our club. I had never been to a protest before and did not know what quite to suspect, However what I saw was faces of desperation, passion and a group of people who was willing to do anything just to be heard.

Leading upto the March and after the March the fans who turned up have had insults thrown at them, been laughed at, been called an embarrasement to the club and supporters, and I have also had insults thrown my way on message boards and though my twitter account. We was told we have egg on our faces and should drift away into the night and never raise our pathetic voices again.

One week on and now the calls for the Managers removal are getting louder, What can we do as supporters? Every idea is shot down by a section of the supporters, yet they offer no other solution. Do we just take it on the chin? Do we let Venkys and Steve Kean take us so far down that we once again become that club which was struggling in the lower divisions before Jack Walker came along. I remember those days, because I was one of those fans who went on the games when we had nothing, Do I want to see Jacks Legacy finally ended by people who have no real concern for the club?
As fans we will always be here, Players, Managers ect can find new clubs. Owners can take their ball home and sell up, But until the day I die I will always bleed blue and white. There is no getting away from it, No changing of colours, No quick fix. Fans are the football team, and if we stand together we can achieve great things.

There is only so far down this ladder we can go before we hit rock bottom, Do we want to stand around and let that happen? As supporters of the club you can either approach this as, What will be will be, Or you can be pro-active and fight for it. Surely our club is worth fighting for? If you don't think it is then maybe we have already lost the battle, Maybe I'm just too passionate about my club, and others don't share the same hurt and pain.

All I do know is I will never stop fighting for something I believe in and although my voice may not be heard i'd rather try and fail, than not bother trying at all!!

Peas at Half-time

Rovers Revisited is pleased to post another article done in humour from our guest writer Perth-Blue
Its all tongue in cheek and part one of the journey to Pune. I really hope you all enjoy it?

As I am luckily enough to be one of the chosen 9 Rovers supporters to visit the land of the clubs owners , I thought I would detail the visit in a blog

PEAS AT HALF TIME

Day 1 - THE FLIGHT

Arrived at airport and we were welcomed into the exclusive golden VIP waiting area , complementary drinks and snacks and a wall of 52 inch plasma screens, I don't think these screens were working correctly  because all they did was keep flashing up images really quickly. I recorded one of the screens on my video camera and played it back slowly, every three seconds a picture flashed up first of Steve Kean , then it said love Kean, then a picture of Balaji  which said love  Balaji  then the same with his brother and sister and finally the venkys logo which said love venkys, then it went back to the beginning.

Anyway as I said think they were faulty because i didn't understand that, but had an overwhelming desire for a chicken leg, luckily there was plenty on offer.

With chatting to the other supporters and listening to the gentle womb like celestial music with whispering in the background coming from the Walkmans that venkys had kindly supplied to us, time flew and we were ready to board the plane.

Transfer flight to London was pretty uneventful, good job really as Balaji had put some of his bollywood movies on the in flight video system.

Imagine our surprise when we boarded the India bound plane and all the players were sat there, the 9 of us were directed to a section in 5 rows of two seats, with instruction that every half hour somebody else had to sit on their own, unfortunately every time somebody new sat alone this bald drunk bloke staggered up and sat beside them and started rabbiting on about the grass not being wet enough and stuff like that, didn't really make much sense until you gazed at his eyes then everything seemed clearer.

After he had spent what seemed to be a lifetime talking at everyone twice , he went over and sat next to Michel Salgado, luckily I overheard some of the conversation, Salgado was explaining the importance of having cover as a right back, but the bald bloke wasnt interested and was chatting to his friend Jeremy? jeromey ? or something like that ,on the phone think they might be in business together because all I heard was "how's it going" "yeah can't believe we've got away with it this long" "how much" then burst out laughing

A long flight but the monotony was broken by Jason Roberts, he got the songs going, "Steve Kean's blue and white army" " we love you keano we do"  and an hilarious version of the the spitting image chicken song before doing a touching rendition of "the wing beneath my wings" whilst kneeling in front of the bald bloke.

I was impressed by Dunny he can really turn on the charm when he wants to, while all of us got one bag of nuts,  Dunny got two ,a bag of nik naks, and a wagon wheel, sure that air hostess in the yellow and blue chicken suit with the words eat me on it, fancied him.

I saw Yakubu looking over at Dunny , don't think he was impressed but he got his own back by slying off to the catering deck and eating everybody's Wild Salmon & Spinach Fish Cake and Chive Mayonnaise starters. Never mind feed the Yak and he will score, after that lot it was feed the yak and he will sleep

Don't think Samba likes flying, he was sat there in a 1971 Arsenal cup winners shirt  looking grumpy all flight and only laughed once when Vince got up to get something from the overhead locker and pulled a muscle in his back. Because Chris is such a dominating figure all the rest of the lads were too scared to ask him could they have a go on FIFA 2011 that he was playing on the in flight entertainment centre.

I didn't know, but think Venkys had run a competition for somebody to spend some time with professional footballers, the lucky winner was a lad called Myles, think he had learning difficulties because the bald bloke seemed to like him and kept saying he was a late developer. He arranged for Myles to put on the captains hat and visit the cockpit, lucky sod.

It was all merry until the red wine ran out and the  bald bloke had to drink Budweiser, by the end of the flight there must have been 20 half full bottles around the plane , and he was going round to everyone shouting, "what have you put in this" before finishing them off, must admit I got a bit scared when he pulled the pilot off his seat and tried to fly the plane whilst singing Gloria Gayners "I will survive"..

Think Venky's have sorted this trip on the cheap, the air stewardess came round with a dreadful wine a Chateau Mouton Rothschild think it was called, must be one of those bulk job lot wines because don't recall ever seeing it in Bargain Booze

The rest of the players were having a game of throw the peanut at Robinson, Paul was diving all over his seat flipping the peanuts all over the place, Unfortunately Jason spoilt the fun by wanting a go , he didn't get one peanut within 10 feet of robbo, rest of the players looked away in embarrassment. Stick to singing Jason!

After this Hoilett and Olsson started a race down the aisle it was supposed to be there and back , but once they ran forward they didn't seem as interested in coming back, Hoilett's a funny lad he was convinced he wanted to sit in seat number 6 but then stated if somebody offered him number 15 he would move, don't know what that was about.

Poor Ryan  as club captain one of his duties involves looking after the creche on away trips so it was him who dealt with the constant shouts of "are we there yet" and "I wanna go toilet" which started 10 minutes after take off, once he stopped Junior and Martin running around the plane he arranged a game of pass the parcel with the rest of the young guns, it went well until the parcel got to Rochina and he wouldn't pass it on and opened it himself..Nzonzi not happy he didnt get his turn jumped up and started break dancing, then spinning on his head, not to be outdone Formica started some Latino moves down the aisle. at this point Ryan shouted over to Big Chris , Samba got up from his seat walked over to the creche and slammed a copy of the London property guide 2011 on the back of a seat and glared at the young uns who all rushed back to their seats , I did notice Jason Lowe giggling behind his hand and when samba turned his back pulling his tongue out.

The stewardess called that lunch was being served , the Yak and Dunny suddenly woke up, as the yak had eaten all the starters we had a choice of standard main course fair of Herb Crusted Rump of Lamb Thyme & Red Wine reduction with Scallion Crushed New Season Potatoes or Roasted Cod on a bed of Creamed Garlic Mash With Saffron Cream & Wilted Young Spinach, Goodwillie was not happy he wanted chips, I chose the herb crusted lamb, it was nice but if Venky's are trying to curry favour with us , they had better up their game. Choice of desserts was nice and a good touch for the lads in the creche is that they could put their own hundred's and thousands on their Ice cream. All of a sudden the creche erupted into giggles apparently young Slew had arranged his hundreds and thousands into the shape of a man's bits and was shouting "Im a goodwillie" in a scottish accent.  Ryan had had enough and sent all the creche to bed.

By this time everybody was feeling a bit tired so the lights dimmed and as I was getting settled looked over at the seat across the aisle and saw Jason placing a blanket over the bald man , and softly singing a lullaby to him , he Lent down to kiss him on the forehead but missed and banged his nose on the seat headrest, I closed my eyes quickly put my in flight headphones on and pretended to be asleep. Funny it was the same smoothing music as on the walk man's that Venky's had supplied .

When I woke up , the plane was descending at the airport a sense of excitement in the air, before entering immigration imagine our surprise to be met by Anuradha and Venkatesh, I managed to capture this on my video camera.

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Latter Day Kean

My Blog has always been a place where I put my views and report on things as I see it, However after going through the forum posts on BRFCS today I came across a very interesting post that made me chuckle, which had been wrote with humour and was representative of how fans can change their minds. It's will publicised I organised the Protest March on Saturday for the removal of Steve Kean as Blackburn Rovers due to his poor points to game ratio, but this post has been done by someone who supported the Kean out campaign

PERTHBLUE02 : A BRFCS site member

After recently finding out I'm not a supporter of BRFC firstly because I didn't support Kean and now finding out that Venky's see supporters as UK based season ticket holders only (I do have a season ticket now at Perth Glory does that count? wouldn't class myself as a Glory supporter though ) despite attending games since I was 6 -1972 until I moved away 2008 and a couple when I could get back home) I have now seen the wrong of my ways and become a disciple in the Church of latter day Kean, let me tell you my story

Kean 3.16

On the Seventeenth day of the ninth month in the  year 2011 (Old Calendar system, please refer to the Keanian calendar currently year 0 day 20, but is reset often to year 0 day 0) a miracle occurred which brought new followers and myself to the church of Latter day Kean

At Ewood Park now renamed the Temple of  Sacred Miracle of the Saviour and witnessed by 700 (1%) non believers and 63,300 (99%) believers and a worldwide audience via television the great one Kean turned a run of the mill football team into an ensemble of Brazillianeseque proportions and only after two  games into his reign which now sees us lead the official table and not the one run by dark forces of evil the premier league which says we have played 4 games but as we now know it is only 2 games played ever under the Lord Kean..

As a non believer I viewed and was not convinced until I watched the lord saviour's after match sermon and coming on this message board  his flock inspired by the miracle and sermon  had grown in numbers and convinced me it was only the year zero day 17 of our Lord Kean's reign, previously an impostor tainted by the anti Christ allardyceabob has been parading as the lord.

It was this impostor that had lied and bluffed his way through the previous 8 months (old year system) and forced the true lord to take the devils brew whilst breaking the law. But the Lord Kean helped by the Guardian Angel Anderson overcame the impostor and increased the funds to fight evil and rid the team of allardyebob and now it is told that Lord Kean is sending his own army, his team (except Robinson, Salgado, Olsson, Samba, Givet, Nelsen , Dunn, Grella , Pedersen, Bunn, N'Zonzi, Hoilett, Roberts etc) onto the battlefield and the new world begins

The non believers were berated by the growing believers , but yet the non believers remain.

The Lord Kean's most dedicated followers from the Temple of the Chicken in India are now welcoming only true followers of the 136 year old institution  to train and send back to spread the Lords word. Would be missionaries will be bestowed gifts and  allowed to question the Venkian order of the Chicken Temple  regarding the warmth of pies and the fizziness of soft drinks in match day kiosks , before being granted a mass meeting with the Lord Kean who will work his hypnotic charm so that they can spread the word of unicorns, fluffy clouds, brilliant rainbows and European football

Excuse any typos I am currently sending this via my phone whilst going through my Baptism into the Lord of our Kean cult which involves shaving my head after drinking two glasses of red wine and a bottle of Budweiser (which i left unattended as instructed) and driving down the motorway at 90mph whilst on my mobile.

Praise The Kean

I've seen the light will you ? You get this free t-shirt

Blackburn Rovers sponsor WEC Group Interview

In 2008 local Engineering company WEC teamed up with Blackburn Rovers to become one of the clubs main sponsors. This including the sponsorship of the Darwen End Stand which was renamed the WEC stand. WEC has been trading for over 30 years and has grown beyond all recognition to become a multi million pound enterprise.

Group Director Mr Wayne Wilde kindly agreed to do a question and answers session with me for the BRFCS Supporters site, to give fans an insight into off the field events which ultimately have an effect on the field, with extra revenue which these types of partnerships can generate for the club

1. Who are WEC and what do they do?
 

Family owned Metal Fabrication company. 32 years old. Mainly based in Darwen but also a factory in Knowsley and a new factory in Sherburn-in-Elmet.

Approx £30m turnover with >300 employees.

2. It's well documented that you are a avid Blackburn Rovers supporter, could you explain how you came to support Rovers?

Local lad, born at Queens Park Hospital, went to Shadsworth School and supported Blackburn from very early on along with my dad.

3.In 2008 WEC signed a two year deal to sponsor the club and as part of the sponsorship deal the Darwen End was renamed the WEC stand, How proud a moment was it for you to incorporate your business with your passion as a supporter of the club?

Exceptionally proud moment for me personally. The Board of Directors at WEC are not generally football fans so its mainly driven through me so to see the naming of the Stand was a very proud time, and still is.

4. Has the extra exposure WEC gets worldwide had a positive impact on the companies profile?

It has been a very good branding building exercise locally to increase our profile. In terms of further a field it doesn’t really give much exposure.

5. Sponsorship is a two way street, how has this partnership worked for WEC?, and what support has the club been able to give you and the other directors in return? i.e. guest speakers ect

We have an apprentice of the year awards evening every year and BRFC has sent a guest awards presenter to each event which has gone done exceptionally well with the apprentices. We have had Andre Ooijer, Sam Allardyce and Ryan Nelson presenting so far.

6.The club was took over in December 2010, which spelled the end of the Walkers Era by Venkys. What are your first impressions of the new owners vision for the club?

In order to move forward we had to get new owners who would invest money in the club. The jury is out current as we have not seen this investment in the playing squad other than through trading. Hopefully once all the dust has settled and lessons are learnt from some of the PR mistakes made we can build a positive future.

7. Supporters were delighted that WEC signed a new deal to continue their sponsorship with the club this summer as it was great for continuity, and great for the town that a local company was playing an important role for the growth of the club. How long does this deal last? Has this deal got the potential to open up new avenue's for WEC due to the new marketing strategy the club wishes to explore with worldwide brand awareness?

The new deal is only a 1 year extension. 98% of our business is UK based so I don’t feel there is a great deal of potential for exports but you never know !

8.2006 saw the brith of WEC's Training Academy which has been given the personal seal of approval from the Prime Minister David Cameron. Can you explain how the academy works and potential opportunities for young people who are looking for a career in Engineering?

We introduce 10 new apprentices every year onto out training program onto a 5 year scheme. They are fully taught all aspects of welding and metalworking by our full time in house trainer and also receive off site training. Applications for a position are accepted annually and we would prefer local people to be accepted first for obvious reasons.

9.Does WEC have an executive box at Ewood Park? If so has WEC been able to utilise this to entertain both potential New customers and Existing clients within the companies portfolio?

We have 2 tables in the Premier Suite where we entertain customers. This is used to thank our customers for their business and to build relationships with them away from the work environment.

10. The growth of WEC has been phenomenal, What other projects are the company involved with, and what sort of things are we likely to see during the next 12 months?

We are currently building a replacement Dome for Darwen Tower and a 18 foot stainless steel sculpture of a Spitfire that will be erected in Darwen Town Centre. Both made in the Apprentice Training School and donated free of charge.

11. Finally what are your hopes for the season both on and off the pitch?

Large scale investment to help us compete at the top table, as has been promised ! Currently its to stay in the Premier League and build on stability with all the new staff and players that have arrived at the club recently.

A Big thank you to Wayne Wilde and the WEC Group for kindly giving their valuable time to share their experiences with the fans

No Excuses

The Transfer window has closed, Steve Kean has picked his 22 Man squad and in the Managers own words “Now is the time to judge”

Its been a roller-coaster summer in the transfer market with everyman and his dog being linked with a move to Ewood Park, but as the window closes as fans its time to reflect.

Despite the sale of Phil Jones, Blackburn have managed to retain the other key element’s of the squad. The hawks have been circling Ewood Park all summer, as the club braced itself for bids for Captain Chris Samba, whilst young guns, Olsson and N’Zonzi were also linked with moves away. However as we go into the International break with the window firmly shut instead of us having a depleted squad we have retained these players and added, plenty of promise and experience.

The season could not of got off any worse, As Rovers have suffered their worst start in 60 years with three straight results. The pressure from the terraces is mounting on Manager Steve Kean as 90% of fans now want the club owners Venkys to act and replace the Rookie Manager. To date despite the unrest from the fans the owners have remained 100% behind the Manager. A week from now Rover’s travel to Fulham in search of their first points of the season and the general feeling and mood amongst the Ewood faithful is nothing but a win will do. Even a point at this stage will have the fans galvanised behind their call’s for “Taxi for Kean” Literally as the Manager also suffered the discrace of being convicted for drink driving other the summer which saw the role model for fans given an 18 months driving ban at Macclesfield Magistrate Court.

Last season Steve Kean could point to the fact that the squad he had at his disposal was inherited from previous Manager Sam Allardyce, and despite the previous Manager getting a better tune from the players Steve Kean successfully kept the club in the Premier league.

Over the summer the squad has had serious surgery no fewer than eight player have arrived through the doors at Ewood adding to the two Kean added in January. This is now the Managers team, and he has no excuses. He has publically stated that he highlighted the targets and is thrilled with Rovers summer business.

Now is the time for all talk to stop and Rovers to deliver on the pitch, We don’t want to hear the weekly “What could of been”. When Venkys took the decision to remove Sam Allardyce as Manager of the club, they took a mighty gamble. Allardyce’s style of football was not to everyone’s liking but its a points mean prizes business and one thing no-one can take away from the former Rovers Manager’s CV is his ability to deliver the points on the board. This is an art Steve Kean has yet to master as his record since being at the helm of our proud club is one of the worst in the clubs history.

Off the field communication between the owners and the fans has been non-existant, So much for keeping the family club mentality?

Steve Kean is currently on his monthly trip to Pune, and as a worried fan, I sincerely hope the message of “Last chance saloon” is being delivered in no-uncertain terms by the owners to Steve Kean. The club are happy to take our money each season through ticket and merchandise payments, but in return all we ask for is our investment is being used in the best interest of the club. Alienating fans or customers dependant on the business model the club is now adopting is not sustainable. We hear the call’s for patience and the glass half full mentality, however many fans Glasses appear to have sprung a leak and quite rightfully so.

My message to the owners and Steve Kean is in reply to your message, “You will be judged, the slate won’t be wiped clean, and its upto you to get the fans back on side. If you can deliver both on and off the pitch then happy days, However is you risk the clubs very future it won’t just be the poll’s for the Manager’s exit which will stand at 90%”