An Indian summer in English Football

So we are all towards the end of an enthralling Premier League Season with Manchester United becoming nation’s most successful football club. And also other exciting events with mathematical headache are the relegation battle. But this article is not about decoding United’s success or guessing the teams going to relegation zone. The article here is about 3 clubs Blackburn Rovers, Cardiff city and Queens Park Rangers and their very strong Indian connection and why it has been an Indian summer in English Football.

We start with Blackburn Rovers.Venkateshwara Hatcheries or Venky’s we popularly known it bought the Lancashire based Club not only surprising the English people but more than that Indian people that how a chicken company brought a Premier League Club. But the hatcheries bought the club for £47 million-£53 million and on 21^st November Venkatesh and Balaji Rao greeting the fans, the fans that were well a little bit apprehensive about Indian Owners. It’s like an IPL team being bought by an American! Though the financial experts backed Venky’s on their Forbes stats of 67the best small company in the world it were the football experts who wanted to see how the club’s ‘Indian’ Owners do with the competitive of football world that is managerial sackings and transfer funding. But the owners stuck to Big Sam and about the transfer funding well, what to say about that the yes/no has postponed the transfer funding to the off season window. More importantly the club saved from relegation in the season which could be dubbed as the most competitive league till date where one or the other club was fighting badly for one or the other thing is it prides, expectations, fans. It will be interesting to see the next season on how Venky’s react, their ambition to the club their approach to the management, players and fans and I hope they just don’t do mess like Calcutta clubs management.

The second story is about Queens Park Rangers. This London based club is high profile in terms of Location, Popularity and Ownership. Location in posh West London’s Loftus Road. Popularity has seen its support from the famous punk metal band the The Clash, in the BBC series Bottom’s featured character Edward Hitler and even support from Australia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Serbia, St Lucia and the United States of America. QPR has also attracted significant support from the Irish community since the 1960s owing to Loftus Road being the nearest league ground to the Irish enclaves of West and North-West London. And the club is owned by very high profile and our very own Indian Laxmi Mittal with Flavio Briatorie and F1 supremo Bernie Eccestone also being part of the board.So the Indian summer here connects to the owner Laxmi Mittal and also the club’s chairman Ishan Saxena.But let first congratulate the club to a promotion to BPL with a decent margin over a second Norwich but also the club also under danger of points deduction due to a third party involment in a player(The Carlos Tevez saga).But there will be no points deduction and the promise now has to fulfilled by their Indian Owner Laxmi Mittal. The steal magnate said that if the club wins promotion it will be provided money in the transfer market. Though he will not give money like the Eastland’s Manchester City nor like neighbours Chelsea but it will be interesting to see an Indian influence and much to cheer about a healthy Indian presence in the world of English Football.

The third Indian connection is about a person who does what many Indians are not good at and is contrary to the people mentioned above. He’s called Michael Chopra.Fastest goal scored by a substitute in the premier league and also the first British Asian to score in the premier league when he was playing for Newcastle United. He’s been Cardiff city for the past 3 seasons and when Cardiff city are on the brink of qualifying for the premier league subjected to a playoff match they are expected to win against Reading. In an injury season in the latter stages he has scored 11 goals and the Welsh city is enjoying its Indian export. As far as Chopra is concerned he is happy and certainly will be happier when he scores at against Reading. As far as Manager Dave Jones he is happy what Chopra is given. And when the club is promoted to BPL he is considered to play a crucial role in survival among the big boys.