Blackburn Rovers Column: Rovers still look to the unknown (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Blackburn Rovers Column: Rovers still look to the unknown
7:28am Thursday 9th August 2012 in Sport
By Andy Cryer, Blackburn Rovers reporter
BLACKBURN Rovers were rightly criticised last season for their shambolic transfer market activity, this summer it is as though they have been pursuing two very different strategies.
On the one hand they have stuck with bringing in inexperienced exports, this time from Portugal, while on the other they have finally landed some tried and trusted players who know the English game.
If the likes of Dickson Etuhu, Danny Murphy, Leon Best and Jordan Rhodes had been targeted last season, as opposed to a list of players we hardly saw, Rovers could undoubtedly still be in the Premier League.
So to see experience brought in is a welcome sight, although their insistence to bring in unknown players from abroad has not gone away.
It has to be said there is nothing wrong with bringing in young players from overseas if they really do have potential. We won’t know that until we see them play for a while.
The fear is we have already seen so many players brought to the club that simply should not have been and you can’t help but feel Rovers are still paying for that lack of judgement.
It is great to see so many new signings made but you just worry about exactly what the club are getting themselves into financially – with so few players offloaded this summer.
So, while a host of additions have been made, there will still be the same unwanted players clogging up the wage bill who were last season. There does not seem too much concern about balancing the books.
If Venky’s are prepared to bankroll this then that is up to them but the last thing anyone wants is for their Premier League charge to be paid for by debt. I’m told that won’t happen, but until the accounts are seen it is difficult to know.
I know some feel Venky’s can afford to spend big because of the funds received from sales and from parachute payments. That still doesn’t make up for the financial black hole that relegation has caused.
If Rovers go up this season then it will have worked. The decision to pay players big money will be a success. If they don’t, Venky’s have to be prepared to cover the losses that will be inevitable.
Players are being signed on big money on long contracts and that causes problems if Rovers are in the Championship for any significant length of time.
We have already seen how hard it is offload players that are not wanted anymore.
Comments are closed on this article.

Comments (49)
7:44am Thu 9 Aug 12
1riversider says...
Talk about the blind leading the blind! It simply reeks of total mismanagement by Walter Mitty and the Three Stooges, not to mention Venky's!
SHYSTERS GET OUT OF OUR CLUB
7:45am Thu 9 Aug 12
MatthewCA says...
Kean IN , Game ON
7:55am Thu 9 Aug 12
dallydally says...
ise etc has been decimated by relegation. If its their own money they are throwing at it fine but - if so - that is a fundamental change from their strategy to date and I for one am cynical about that. There's a real danger we go the way of Portsmouth, the mighty Rangers and others if this doesn't work i.e. we get back to the Premiership. IDIOTS!
8:02am Thu 9 Aug 12
jackmetickler says...
Andersons Out
Shabby Out
Kean; shoot the craw; ya boabie
8:04am Thu 9 Aug 12
dallydally says...
8:16am Thu 9 Aug 12
Whittle Wilky says...
BFS may not have played pretty football, but he at least understood the key to winning a game was not to concede goals. So come on baldy, buy some decent defence.
I know the Venky strategy after they saw the Phil Jones transfer was develop young cheap talent and sell on for a profit. I take it that talented schoolboys with potential have told our academy to go do one. Therefore a pool of desperate Portuguese players is now the potential money pot to further bankroll Venky's vanity football project.
8:33am Thu 9 Aug 12
MatthewCA says...
t well soon
8:46am Thu 9 Aug 12
1riversider says...
8:52am Thu 9 Aug 12
bburnrover says...
Mark Hughes seemed to buy unkown players or players faltering in their careers and 90% of them turned into top professionals he didm't go for a lot of kids from one country so why is the present regime doing this? I totally agree the contracts far outweigh what we go in for Samba etc so financially last years loss of 18 million will be much worse unless we get promotion and that is why Kean's days are definately numbered.
9:07am Thu 9 Aug 12
RoversSwiss says...
The signings this summer do seem better than last year, definitely better than the terrible signings they made in the Xmas transfer window.
After watching England's pitiful attack in the European Championship, good strikers are clearly difficult to find. However, I would have thought that signing good defenders would have been our priority, unfortunately still no defenders signed so it seems like many of the same mistakes are being made as last year.
9:34am Thu 9 Aug 12
penemo says...
10:04am Thu 9 Aug 12
My name is earl says...
10:17am Thu 9 Aug 12
Angry Bob says...
dswick Town away on Boxing day !!!!!
10:27am Thu 9 Aug 12
MatthewCA says...
10:34am Thu 9 Aug 12
MatthewCA says...
Who is there for next season First team. How many more we need to win the Championship......?
Goal Keeper
Paul Robinson(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Mark Bunn(injury)
Jake Kean(Loan or not - need to confirm)
====================
==========
Center Back
Gael Givet
Scott Dann(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Grant Hanley
====================
==========
Full Back Left
Martin Olsson(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Adam Henley
====================
==========
Full back Right
Jason Lowe
Bradley Orr
Bruno Ribeiro
====================
==========
Defensive Midfield
Dickson Etuhu
Radosav Petrovic(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Steven N'Zonzi(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Amine Linganzi(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
====================
==========
Central Midfield
Danny Murphy
Paulo Jorge
====================
==========
Midfield Left
Marcus Olsson
Morten Gamst Pedersen(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Fabio Nunes
Josh Morris
====================
==========
Attacking Midfield
David Dunn
Mauro Formica
Simon Vukcevic
====================
==========
Forward/Strikers
Nuno Gomes
Ruben Rochina
David Goodwillie
Leon Best(injury)
Nick Blackman(For sale/loan/transfer - not confirm)
Jordan Slew(loan deal done - confirm)
Good Luck and best wishes for Blackburn Rovers Club.
10:36am Thu 9 Aug 12
bluefadingfast says...
10:37am Thu 9 Aug 12
bluefadingfast says...
10:38am Thu 9 Aug 12
bluefadingfast says...
10:39am Thu 9 Aug 12
bburnrover says...
10:55am Thu 9 Aug 12
buzzinfly says...
They have bought into a culture in which they have no knowledge to promote their business. It has backfired tremendously for them. Through their lack of understanding of the beast and the ill advisement of their mentors, Blackburn Rovers and all that it stood for was sacrificed in what became a money merry go round for everyone involved. The good name of the Club, its tradition, its connection with its fans where left floating eddy downstream whilst people rubbed their hands together in the prospect of milking what they could out of a Club that founded the very game we all love. Venkys have been taken advantage of and they themselves have taken advantage of the bright lights and trappings of the Premier League.
Now ,we as fans are divided. Yes the Club is the foremost important thing in this issue, but can we really trust and support the very people that ripped the heart out of the Club, the fans and the history. The answer is NO. The trust and communication with the fans has gone. The enjoyment and matchday buzz has gone. I feel we've had two fingers stuck up in front of our faces why should we support that. They say the Club is bigger than anyone, well we we have STEVE KEAN who clearly thinks he is bigger than the club.
11:05am Thu 9 Aug 12
flyingv1 says...
11:31am Thu 9 Aug 12
Steve BB2 says...
I dont know the answer but maybe someone out there does !
11:37am Thu 9 Aug 12
the_iconoclast says...
12:13pm Thu 9 Aug 12
1rover says...
12:13pm Thu 9 Aug 12
RUinsane says...
So the clown that is Steve Kean gets 6 midfielders in and says they can play in defence when needed.
This guy is a fool, he is heading for another relegation scrap. Jeez even Bumley have a balanced squad. This nutter is devoid of any football knowledge at all. Has anyone checked to see if his pro coaching license is a fake?
I wanna see his license published online. The guys a faker.A proven liar, a chancer, a corner cutter, a liability and a complete and utter fruitcake. Is he on medication? If not he needs to be and he needs to be somewhere with welded shut windows and a nice view.
FAKE
12:14pm Thu 9 Aug 12
Port Vale 1 Rovers 4 says...
the agents must take a share of the blame also , venkys could have done better to ask the fans FREE of charge , i would have advised them ,get a good manager ( oneil ) would have done , give the guy a budget ,sit back then watch and learn how a football club should be managed , BUT NOOOO
Why oh why did they give kean the job ,This is a very simple straight forward
question that needs to be asked of the venkys .
Im sure we will never know , Listen to good advise venkys ,SACK STEVE KEAN TODAY .
12:16pm Thu 9 Aug 12
Keen O to Get Kean Out says...
12:30pm Thu 9 Aug 12
DanBlackburn says...
Raj - you are fooling nobody. How many rupees is agnew paying you to post this Kean In nonsense?
1:18pm Thu 9 Aug 12
maltese blue n white says...
As the "alleged" Blackburn Rovers reporter, you should know that last year Blackburn Rovers had a squad of players far superior than the likes of "Dickson Etuhu, Danny Murphy and Leon Best" Unfortunately the better players we had were sold off, driven out, not played, or refused to play under Keans management. Given the team Kean inherited from BFS I believe any half decent manager could and would have kept us in the premiership, however, Kean would have to improve 1000% to even be called "half decent".
I find the type of reporting from the LT to be an insult to the intelligence of the fans, do you really believe that we have forgotten the events of last season? or the season Kean took over?
The LT just rehashes whatever sh1te Kean spews out, and seems to have lost all connection with the fans... As was proved last year when all comments were removed on multiple occasions as the LT bowed to pressure from Keans agent...
If a local paper cannot air the views of it readers but merely "sits on the fence" then I genuinely struggle to see what right you have to use the title "reporter"
1:35pm Thu 9 Aug 12
carlmc1 says...
1:40pm Thu 9 Aug 12
buzzinfly says...
1:44pm Thu 9 Aug 12
ronnie clayton says...
1:46pm Thu 9 Aug 12
blueblooded says...
I dont buy into the asset stripping theories but do believe it was a "rich daddy bought me a fooball ground to play championship manager in" deal.
2:23pm Thu 9 Aug 12
Tuo Neak says...
If we added another defender of reasonable quality for the division I would believe in automatic promotion. When you factor all of this in and add in the bonus of Steve Kean as manager, I predict we will finish 8th with a squad capable of so much more. The nightmare scenario as we will win enough for certain individuals to continue the lets give him 6 more games nonsense, but lose enough matches to keep protests, unhappiness and ultimately miss out on a Premier League return.
2:45pm Thu 9 Aug 12
RTID says...
But, still I've got my Ipswich tickets. Bring on the new season!
2:56pm Thu 9 Aug 12
plymouthrover says...
3:15pm Thu 9 Aug 12
A Darener says...
3:41pm Thu 9 Aug 12
OnePostThenTheOther says...
3:56pm Thu 9 Aug 12
blueblooded says...
3:58pm Thu 9 Aug 12
blueblooded says...
4:56pm Thu 9 Aug 12
maltese blue n white says...
5:37pm Thu 9 Aug 12
Sam-the-Man says...
Kean Out Matthew In!
5:53pm Thu 9 Aug 12
Coeur de Lion says...
7:01pm Thu 9 Aug 12
merlinrabbit says...
7:11pm Thu 9 Aug 12
shadmum says...
So for relatively little investment, considering the income from previous sales, there is a massive treasure chest awaiting the clubs that are promoted. Therefore with the clubs current squad plus recent signings they will have been advised they have a very good chance of promotion and the pot of gold.
Unfortunately the man who will have advised them of this, so wasn't sacked, may just be the weak link in the whole chain. None of the purchases are for the greater good of BRFC, but for the investment return, as in all non-fan owned football clubs/businesses.
9:09pm Thu 9 Aug 12
aaman1 says...
20@ntlworld.com.
thanks.
8:19am Fri 10 Aug 12
bburnrover says...
8:39am Fri 10 Aug 12
Sam-the-Man says...
Add a zero mate and multiply by 5.
1:03pm Wed 5 Sep 12
handyamBRFC says...
BRFC have been through a period of misfortune and the blame does not lie with the current owners. Lets look at it BRFC carefully and you will understand.
By comparison BRFC are a small town club who have been elevated to the premier league due to Jack Walker and his money. Without him BRFC would be languishing in the lower leagues.
For the last 2 decades Blackburn have secured their status as a premier league club. They are an established club with premier written all over. They deserve to be up there. Their record speaks for itself over the last 20 years.
Unfortunately, a few teams have to go down every year and this time round it was BRFC.
Fortunately, BRFC will be head and shoulders better than the others in the championship and should come up sooner rather than later. With the playing staff at their disposal it should be a formality.
Also..........
The problems did not start with Venkeys taking over, rather the issues were that the Walker family did not want to back BRFC in the manner that 'Our Jack Walker' did.
The demise began from when the family of Jack walker were not prepared to back BRFC in the manner that OUR Jack Walker would have expected.
The family had been trying to sell BRFC secretly just after the death of Jack Walker.
The problems of BRFC started from that point onwards.
BRFC waited for many months / years to find some buyers but to no avail.
It seemed no one wanted to buy the club. Eventually Venkeys bought the club.
Actually BRFC were fortunate that Venkeys did buy as there did not seem to be any other interest at all.
BRFC had no choice as the family of Jack Walker wanted to get rid of the (BRFC) family jewels.
We need to get used to the idea that foreigners own our football clubs,
If the people of Blackburn were so interested why did we not come up with a plan for the club together with the Jack Walker foundation and family.
Unfortunately, the Walker family were not interested in selling to the people as they would have not got much money from the people of Blackburn.
And the Walker family sold as they knew it was time to stop bank rolling BRFC and get as much as they possibly could , which they did and have now disappeared. away from BRFC.
Finally, Real football fans are those who stick through Good and bad times.
I ask ...you BRFC supporters...Are you a real BRFC fan...???
You can’t always be winners
And compared to some premier teams we are really small
Let’s be positive and get on with our job as supporters
Let’s get behind the team and playing staff and BRFC
And this should lead us to GLORY and the premiership.....SIMP
LE