Venky's Bluffs : From Ronaldinho to Relegation

Foreign owners have had a great effect on the Premier League clubs : From Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, guiding to their first ever Barclays Premier League title after 50 years, to Sheikh Mansour earning them their first ever title after 44 years. But that hasn’t been the case with a certain Ewood park – the owners of Blackburn Rovers – Venky’s. However, as long as the Venky’s cash flow continues, Blackburn seem to be stuck with the poultry business responsible for the inexplicable decisions that have inevitably resulted in the club’s relegation.

“Blackburn Rovers fans will be delighted to add to the family a huge Indian and Asian fan base.” -Director of Venkys, Balaji Rao sends a message to BRFC fans after their takeover

The early signs of their doomsday was quite explainable when the owners dispensed the current West Ham manager Sam Allardyce on 13th December 2010. Venky’s New Chairman Anuradha Desai promised to transform the club into bringing good football, good players and targeted “fourth or fifth in the league or even better … It is nothing against Sam but we have a different vision looking forward and we want the club to grow” – was what the fans were promised to.Upon a reality check, it seems probable that Allardyce was actually sacked because of his refusal to cooperate with the sports management agency Kentaro, whom Venky’s had employed to help with the acquisition of new players and essentially run the footballing side of the club on their behalf. Following the sack, Anuradha Desai’s quotes :

“We want good football and Blackburn to be fourth of fifth in the league or even better. The fans should trust us because this is in the best interests of the club.”

Steve Kean then replaced Allardyce, initially as caretaker manager, as the owners looked for a permanent manager but ultimately agreed a deal until the end of the season. But consequently in a sudden spurn of events, just two weeks later, Desai confirmed that Kean would be offered a longer contract and, by the end of the January transfer window, he had extended his deal until 2013.

But then came the event that fans were never to forget about - The failed pursuit of Ronaldinho and David Beckham. Desai went very public declaring that Rovers had made a sensational offer for the Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho worth £20 million over three seasons before the two-time World Player of the Year sensibly opted to steer clear of the Venky’s nets and return to his home country to sign for Flamengo club.

“We are committed to see that BRFC turns a corner and becomes a top performer in the near future.” -Balaji Rao quoted in “Blue and White” in January 2011 issue commenting on the ambitions of Ewood Park

Kean sounded prudent at the time when he spoke of the need to lay down solid foundations even if Rovers were suddenly able to fork out significant fees for “a little bit of magic”. Scott Dann was then signed for £6m in the summer transfer last year but has endured an underwhelming season and it is hard to argue that Blackburn’s defensive core has got stronger, despite the admirable efforts of the talented Grant Hanley, given the departures of Ryan Nelsen and Christopher Samba, who reportedly were dissatisfied with the club policies.

The only positive element was Yakubu, a £1.5 million signing from Everton. He did his best to delay the inevitable for as long as possible with 16 Premier League goals this season. But Rovers’ have had a majority of sloppy additions going by the name of Simon Vukcevic, Mauro Formica and Radosav Petrovic, reek of outside involvement given how sporadically they have been employed by Kean. Of the trio, only Formica has made more than 20 league appearances in 2011-12. Yet, he was still given the thumbs up for his job.

In the midst of all that, on a very busy Premier League season, the owners decided to bring the club to India to play against Pune FC in a midweek right after which they were scheduled to play against Spurs in the weekend.

“We are going to sit this weekend and we are going to have a very big discussion over this.” - Venkatesh Rao’s quote when BRFC visited India. At that time, they were 19^th in the league, fresh off a 4-0 hammering by Manchester City

He also further said : “We promise the fans that we will deliver results by hook or by crook.”

was what was quoted by him after the Pune match in India. With a bumping ride throughout the season – wins against Manchester United and Arsenal ( the somewhat positive note) and not being able to get a single shot on or off target against Tottenham Hotspur (a big factor to worry about), Blackburn were in a must-win situation against Wigan Athletic who were also relegation threatened. But Wigan won the match 1-0 which ended the fans’ hopes of playing in the Premier League next season.

Seeing the club in 19th position Rao told the fans : “The team is in the relegation zone right now, but it is going to come up I am sure of that.”

Apparently not deterred by the protests that have accompanied the club’s home games this season, director Vineeth Rao firmly denied any reports suggesting that Venky’s were looking to sell the club in April. Kean, meanwhile, was quick in the aftermath of the Wigan to defeat to reiterate his determination to stay on as manager next season. Their nightmare seems not to be over after all. Reinforcements are heavily needed else the club may get demoted to further lower divisions as well.

Game after game, week after week, fans were frustrated with the owners and the manager. Their disappointment was evident because of their response when they released a chicken into the pitch.

Though at the beginning of taking ownership, fans were promised Ronaldinho, but a reality check saw them go down to the 2nd division to play in the Championship. Where, the club’s fate lies in the latter stages of the next season, is still something to debate about. Nevertheless, the 2011 season has been a fatal one for them as well as for the fans.