John Williams Leaves Blackburn

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Today is a sad day for Blackburn Rovers.

Chairman John Williams has today resigned from his duties at Ewood Park after 14 years which has seen the club win promotion, the League Cup and secure top flight status.

Perhaps the most successful aspect was him being behind the side during ten consecutive Premier League seasons, despite seeing numerous managerial changes over that time.

John Williams will be remembered for working on a limited budget after the Jack Walker era at Ewood Park but was said to be disappointed to be forced to sack his friend, and the club's manager, Sam Allardyce, in December.





Williams was left shocked by Venky's decision to sack Sam Allardyce, who he had appointed for Premier League stability.

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The Lancashire Evening Telegraph reportedly understood that Williams knew as early as Wednesday, before the Tottenham game, that he had to leave.

The website reads: ''Talks took place as new owners Anurandha, Balaji and Venkatesh Desai travelled to the UK this week to attend the Spurs game.

The outgoing chairman could not be contacted for comment last night but this morning issued a statement through the club confirming his departure.

The Rao family, who are understood to be travelling back to India, were also unavailable for comment.

While the exact details of what led to his departure are not known, it is understood that Mr Williams had been uncomfortable with the sacking of Sam Allardyce, with whom he enjoyed a good working relationship.

There were also concerns over the role of sports agency SEM/Kentaro, which has been working with the owners on transfer policy.''

It is interesting to see that former players and the current manager have paid tribute to the outgoing chairman as times continue to change at Ewood Park.

There has been a lot of unrest between the fans today who are disappointed to see so many changes so quickly since Venky's took over the club in November.




Venky's have made several changes behind the scenes at Ewood.


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The situation at Blackburn is certainly interesting and much different to any takeover the Premier League has seen before, even George Gillette and Tom Hicks at Liverpool, but the news that Christopher Samba signed a new 5 year deal before the midweek game was a massive boost to the squad heading into a crucial period if they are to mount a European challenge.

How will Blackburn do this season? Do you agree with John Williams' decision to leave? Please discuss below.

Santa Cruz's Rovers Return

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I, for one, was surprised to hear that Roque Santa Cruz was leaving City. Not so much that he was leaving, but that he was coming back to Blackburn Rovers.

It's widely understood that Santa Cruz, 29, will return to Ewood Park and become Steve Kean's first signing as Rovers boss but whether or not it's a good signing will have to be seen.

There's a mixture of opinions across Rovers fans, some would like to see him back as our physical centre forward, but I'm not so sure.

If you look at his goalscoring record alone, he has only scored more than 6 goals in a season once, at Blackburn, albeit profiting from some excellent deliveries from the in-form David Bentley.

Considering Santa left Rovers for a side he named a bigger club, I'm surprised he's even considering coming back, especially given that Mark Hughes, who twice signed him, has moved to Fulham.

At the very least, it could be a good bit of business from Blackburn Rovers, who made £14m selling him on, but he's hardly of the mould of Ronaldinho or David Beckham, who the new owners wanted to see wear the club's blue and white.

Rovers failed to sign either of their optimistic targets.




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Maybe the connection with Rovers will see him establish himself in what could be his final chance in England, but it's obvious that he's going to have to stay fit and merit a place in a team where Niko Kalinic, Jason Roberts, Benjani and Mame Biram Diouf are already fighting for what is sometimes a lone striker role.

Santa Cruz has only been away from the club for 18 months after scoring 23 goals in 57 appearances, but hasn't discovered the same form at City, scoring only three goals and taking a side role to Carlos Tevez, and now Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli.

There was a lot of optimism before Kean was appointed that Hughes, who's Fulham side were stuttering, might return and sign Bentley, who has now gone on loan to Birmingham, to supplement Santa Cruz, as he did in the 2007/08 season.







David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz were instrumental in Rovers finishing 7th in 07/08.

If the Paraguayan striker can get anywhere near the form he showed at Rovers first time around, I'm sure the fans and staff will be delighted, but he definitely has a point to prove.

It will be interesting what part he plays in this season with the new owners looking to propel the team well up the league, ideally into the top 4 or 5, as Venky's wished when they took over the club in November.

Whether anyone else comes in might depend on whether the club can keep hold of Christopher Samba, with the owners adamant that they didn't need to spend more than £5m in the January transfer window.

That will remain to be seen, as will whether the transfer is finalised, but Rovers fans should be cautious as to what to expect from the 6'2 hit man second time around.

What do you think of Santa Cruz? Can he hack it in the Premier League? Please discuss below.

What are Venky's Doing to Blackburn Rovers?

These last 10 days have been a hard time to be a Blackburn Rovers fan.

Only last Monday, nine days ago, Rovers new owners, known as Venky's, sacked manager Sam Allardyce after only a month at the North West outfit.

The decision was clearly not made after the 2-1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers the day before; this was Venky's plan.

The strange thing is, Rovers fans were willing a takeover only six weeks ago, after a lack of money from the Walkers trust over the last few seasons, left by long term owner Jack Walker upon his death in 2000.

He would definitely not have approved of the way the new owners have taken to business and to sack both the manager and assistant without the fans hearing the reasons is unacceptable.

The fans, players and staff need to know who Venky's are and why they have sacked one of the most respected managers in the Premier League.

The Indian Chicken farmers stated that Allardyce did not match their long term goals for the club, something which first team coach, Steve Kean, did, despite not having any experience of management at any level.

Steve Kean, left, with the sacked Sam Allardyce and Neil McDonald.

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Kean himself looked blameless at the weekend, despite stating he wanted the job full time, as Rovers slumped to a 1-1 draw against bottom club West Ham United, whilst hardly playing the open, entertaining football that the owners demanded immediately.

The fans will expect better and it's not a club where, like United, they will fill seats whatever the game, whoever the owners. People simply won't turn up and watch the team.

After the weekend and with the current situation, I wouldn't blame them one bit.

Not only that but this morning, Christopher Samba, on-field captain at Ewood Park, said that he does not want to be part of a club where the players don't know what is happening. You can read what he said here in the Press Association release.




Samba has hit out at the owners after a lack of communication with the players.


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The comments add to those of David Dunn and Ryan Nelsen, who both criticised the decision to sack Allardyce, after he guided the club to a 10th place finish last season.

It's slightly worrying that no-one seems to know anything about Venky's. Their website, here, doesn't tell us anything about how they have got the money to put them in their current position, or anything about the individuals.

It's slightly different to when Hicks and Gillette took over at Liverpool, and the situation could end up far worse.

I found another interesting read this morning by Guardian football finance expert David Conn, who came to talk to Sports Journalism students at UCLAN last year.

Rather than grilling Venky's, he has looked more into how a football agent, Jerome Anderson, has guided the company on their takeover through partner company, Kentaro.

You can read the article, which is thoroughly recommended, here, where Conn progresses to say that Steve Kean himself is represented by Mr Anderson.

If that's the case, it would explain how the caretaker manager has reached his current heights without the owners exploring new managers, with the likes of Martin O'Neill currently unemployed.

When you read this article, you realise, that perhaps Venky's have been ill-advised rather than doing wrong themselves.

It seems that all football agents care about is their back pocket, and that's transferring to football in general in a huge way.

I'm one hundred percent sure that Kean would not be the choice of any of the fans, and would almost definitely not have the presence to bring in big name signings, in January or the future.

Venky's had already announced plans to re-name Ewood Park before Allardyce was sacked.




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That might be one thing the Lancashire club needs if Samba, without question Rovers' best defender, leaves, as he says he will.

Losing your best players is never the way to get to the 5th place position that the owners are expecting over the next few years.

Perhaps they don't realise how competitive the English football system is and, if the players aren't informed about what's going on, I could see more than just the big French centre back leaving.

The phrase get out while you can springs to mind.

Maybe that would send the right message to the owners, who were booed when their logo was displayed on the big screen on Saturday.

If only they could come out and say what is happening, then I'm sure they would at least gain the respect of the fans and players, rather than leaving the football club, which I see as little more than a branding franchise, in tatters.

Rovers is not the same club it was when it won the title, but the history is there. The one thing missing at the moment is the future and maybe that should be sorted soon.

Is it time the Premier League stepped in to stop business tycoons buying football clubs?

Should the fit and proper person test be more vigorous?

What will happen to Blackburn Rovers?

Please discuss below.

Sam Allardyce Sacked

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This week has been a turbulent week for Premier League football managers.

Sam Allardyce and his assistant, Neil McDonald, have been sacked by Blackburn Rovers' new owners, Venky's group, only 5 weeks after they bought the Blackburn Rovers for £24million.

Brothers Venkatesh and Balaji Ra, directors of Venky's, have already hit the headlines after considering changing the name of Ewood Park, where Blackburn won the Premier League back in 1994/95

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A statement on the Rovers website, read: 'We have taken this decision as part of our wider plans and ambitions for the club. We would like to put on record our thanks to Mr Allardyce for his contribution to Blackburn Rovers Football Club.'

Allardyce took over the reigns back in December of 2008 after an appalling start to Premier League management for former Liverpool midfielder, Paul Ince.

The former Bolton gaffer, who managed at the Reebok for eight seasons before moving to Newcastle saw his last away win come, ironically, at St James', with the Reebok seeing his last game as Rovers boss.









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Rovers are currently 13th in the Premier League but have lost 3 of their last 5 games, including a humiliating 7-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, but have flourished with the likes of Phil Jones progressing capably from the Academy.

Allardyce, 56, had to take time away from management last season after having a heart operation which has caused him to sit in the stands for the first half of most games since, although he claimed to have a better view of the games. You cannot manage a team away from the touchline.

Despite this, the side reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup last season and finished in the top half, some achievement given Rovers were bottom when Allaryce took over.

You wonder how the Rovers fans will react, given his relative success at the club, and whether they will turn on the new owners already.

So, who next?

The obvious names are Martin O'Neill, who has been out of the game since resigning from the Villa post in August, Chris Hughton, who may prefer more time out of the game, and Alan Shearer, who won his only career trophy with the North-West outfit.






Hands up who wants the Ewood Park job?

Martin O'Neill may be a leading contender after 5 months out of the game.




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One thing seems fairly obvious; Venky's must have someone in mind.

Perhaps that man could be Mark Hughes who, less than five years ago, took Rovers to the UEFA Cup. Maybe the owners are aiming high.

Fulham sit in 17th place in the league and, after rumours that Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley may be returning to the club in January, what chance would there be for a triple move from the Indian tycoons.

Whoever takes the job will see that Blackburn Rovers do have the players to play good football, something which was demanded by the owners immediately.

Ultimately, that may be what has cost Big Sam with Rovers playing 6 defenders (including Martin Olsson and Phil Jones in more advanced roles) in yesterday's defeat at Bolton.



Blackburn had become more defensive under Allardyce and have chosen to offload strikers such as Benni McCarthy.

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Would a result at the Reebok have kept him in a job? I doubt it.

Current first team coach, Steve Kean will take temporary charge of the club, who face West Ham United next weekend in the league.

The move seems harsh on Allardyce, who had no money to spend under former owners, the Walker Foundation, left upon Jack Walker's death.

Maybe the Real Madrid job might better suit his needs after the Premier League witnesses yet another decent manager being sacked for precious little reason.

Could the increasing demands of the owners be ruining football? We will see.