Venky’s will have to end this Blackburn nightmare

As Blackburn Rovers short stint in the Premier League came to an end with their loss to Wigan, ensuring relegation, the club’s Indian owners were at the receiving end of harsh treatment by the UK press. “Blackburn were relegated on Monday night with rain, tennis balls and relentless derision teeming down on their beleaguered manager Steve Kean. Whatever Kean’s limitations, it was a disgrace that Rovers’ owners, the Venky’s, did not turn up for this brutal denouement of the club’s season,” says The Telegraph. [caption id=“attachment_302187” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“New Blackburn Rovers owners Indian brothers Balaji Rao (L) and Venkatesh Rao (R), Directors of Venky’s (India). AFP”]  [/caption] “Steve Kean, Blackburn’s besieged manager, insisted he would not resign his post at Ewood Park despite Rovers’ first relegation for 11 years prompting a torrent of abuse from supporters towards the Scot and the club’s owners, Venky’s,” says The Guardian. “Well, November 19, 2010, will hardly be remembered with great affection by Rovers fans. That was the day the Venky’s took over with promises of top-six finishes. Nobody from the owning family was present last night. Their total disregard for a football club that has been allowed to slowly rot on their watch has been nothing short of disgraceful,” says The Sun. Blackburn’s supporters demonstrated their unhappiness with the relegation and the way the club has been run. “In the strangest of twists the game was paused when a chicken was let loose onto the pitch; a strong visual protest from the Rovers fans to match the chorus of boos,” says Goal.com. The confirmation of the relegation, once they lost at home to Wigan, was the last straw. Unhappiness with the way the club has been run has been continuous, the genesis rooted in Venky’s failing to deliver on their commitments. The new owners failed to retire the club of debt, which they had promised to. Then, in a PR disaster, Venky’s owners failed to reimburse the expenses of die-hard fans who travelled to India to see Blackburn play in Pune – an offer Balaji Rao of Venky’s had unilaterally made . Venky’s began on the wrong foot, showing a complete lack of understanding of the sport – and the sentiments of the fans. Having bought the club, they owned all the assets – including the time of the players, which they leveraged to make this commercial: Players are always an asset that owners will leverage — and Venky’s is no different. They decided to make a television commercial (TVC) for Venky’s, utilizing all that the takeover brought them — the club, the stadium, the players and the name. The problem is that they force-fitted chicken into the commercial. The day the commercial was released, one should have seen the writing on the wall. It was clear, once one had seen it, that Venky’s had no clue what football was about and what fans are about . The dedicated Rovers fan will pick himself up and support the team even as he sees them relegated to the championship. The owners, though, will have a very, very difficult time. This time, no one will cut them slack. The fans will demand a solution, will demand that the club is run by people who understand the game. There’s little doubt that Venky’s will have to cut their loses and end this horrific nightmare.