This week, our Rovers' Jury debate Balaji Rao's visit to Ewood Park last weekend.
Ryan Hildred
The one thing we can all agree on is that it was a huge surprise to see Balaji Rao at Ewood Park last Saturday.
Especially after it seemed that Tony Mowbray's trip to Switzerland looked wasted following the conclusion of the transfer window. We were quickly told their appearance was to reaffirm their commitment to the club.
Ultimately, I will judge whether I believe that based on their actions. At the moment, I don't believe any of it, especially when they only watched 20 minutes or so of football.
It's felt like Groundhog Day as far as the owners go over the last few seasons. No one can answer the question about why they own us or what's in it for them. We're told we should be grateful that they write the cheques. Of course, nobody wants to be the next Sheffield Wednesday, but that's the least they should do after this mess of their own making.
An engaged ownership, who understand the fan base and put the measures in place to succeed, is positive, whoever they are.
Venky's have failed on all three of those fronts to date, and it will take a lot for bridges to be repaired with most - for many, they won't return until they're gone.
If they truly have reaffirmed their commitment to the club, then turning up more could start an unlikely repair job. It won't be easy.
There will be inevitable stick at games, and it will take a lot for me personally to believe if they have reaffirmed their commitment.
One thing I do know is we're on a crash course for League One if we carry on the way we are. Sometimes it's better the devil you know. But I'm not holding my breath just yet.
Mark Hitchen
I’ve gone back and forth on how I feel about Venky’s returning to Ewood.
The time for Venky’s to sell Rovers came a long time ago. Too much has happened over the last 15 years for one visit to change that, and I still believe new ownership is needed.
However, they’ve shown no indication that they intend to sell. If they’re staying, I actually want them to come more often.
The only thing worse than hating the decisions being made by the people who own your football club is wondering whether they understand, care about, or even know what those decisions are and how the club is actually doing.
That’s why being at Ewood matters. See the empty seats, hear the frustration and feel the mood. But also experience a win, the atmosphere and what this club still means to its supporters.
I also don’t think it’s insignificant that Mowbray is back, has met with the owners in Switzerland and that this visit has followed. Hopefully they’ve come to take a proper look under the bonnet, understand how the club is being run and identify what needs to improve.
My position remains that they should sell. But if they aren’t going anywhere, then be present. Come more often, ask questions and understand what is actually happening at the football club you own.
Ultimately, you want to believe Rovers matters to the people making the decisions, because it certainly matters to us.
Rory Larmer
November 2010. Sir Alex Ferguson still had almost three seasons left at Manchester United. Lionel Messi was 23. Since then, we have lived through a global pandemic, Brexit, seven Prime Ministers and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence.
Blackburn Rovers had Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Dunn and an 18-year-old Phil Jones in the squad. Jones has since retired. Tom Atcheson was just three years old. A generation has passed since the ink dried on the Rao family’s purchase of Blackburn Rovers.
The Raos promised to protect Jack Walker’s legacy, retain the existing management and board, and expand the club’s fanbase. Sam Allardyce was gone within a month and the board followed soon afterwards.
I do not trust the Rao family. They have failed Blackburn Rovers, its supporters and the legacy Jack Walker left behind. A decade and a half has been lost to mismanagement. Balaji Rao turning up at Ewood Park does not suddenly make this a well-run football club.
If there is one positive to take from his visit, it is Mowbray. I do not believe Balaji would have been at Ewood without him as manager. If the owners are prepared to listen to anyone at the club, Mowbray surely has a better chance of getting through to them than the current management team.
On Saturday, Balaji also witnessed the level of discontent first-hand. After everything that has happened since his last visit to Ewood Park, he can be under no illusions about how supporters feel. For that reason, I want to see them at Ewood Park as much as possible.
Mike Delap
As much as it seems like the outcome we all want, and Venky's motives for owning the club remain completely unclear at this point, the Rovers owners don't appear to have any intention of going anywhere.
I wouldn't spend a few million quid on a new pitch if I was planning to leave anytime soon.
So my answer this week, is written with that in mind.
At this stage we get two versions of the owners - the ones who hide away or the ones who start coming to games and showing some interest.
Personally, I'd go with the latter and encourage them to come more. At surface level, it allows them to look more involved; it would also expose them to more of the general sentiment and the reality of what damage has been done to the club, rather than the potentially filtered version they receive from elsewhere.
I don't think there's any coming back from this in the minds of our fanbase, but having them here on matchdays and with their finger closer to the pulse could be the first step in showing Balaji and his hangers-on that there is, in fact, no way of coming back from this.
You can listen to Ryan on Lancashire Telegraph's Arte et Labore, find Mark on The Blackburn End and hear Rory on BRFCS' 4000 holes. Available on all podcast platforms.
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