For the
attention of: Mrs Anuradha Desai and Messrs Balaji and Venkatesh Rao.
It has taken
me some weeks to crystallise my thoughts and so I must start this letter by
apologising for its tardiness. Of course
this apology is largely symbolic, mainly because you are very unlikely to read
this and secondly because if by chance you do, I do sincerely hope it will
humble you into make an apology of your own.
Whether you are able to admit or not, YOU do owe an apology to the fans
of Blackburn Rovers FC and to the town of Blackburn and all its inhabitants,
football fans or not.
It is
difficult to imagine how you could have done a better job of mismanaging Rovers
in the way that you have. In fact
there’s something quite impressive in just how bad a job you have done! I’ve quietly suspected that you may even be
closet Burnley fans (I suspect this reference
is lost on you), but even a Dingle would have deemed your disastrous tenure a
far-fetched fantasy when you took over 20 months ago.
When you
bought my beloved club in November 2010, did you know of its proud history and
tradition? That we were a well-run
football club, with the best chairmen in the Premier League who you forced out
(John Williams, remember him? He has
since been appointed
to a senior role at Manchester
City
I haven’t
even mentioned Steve Kean yet! You
promoted Kean, the previous manager’s no. 3 in command and have never really
explained why. His record speaks for
itself, 13 wins from 60 odd games is AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL! What hold does he have over you? Does he have compromising pictures of you in
an incestuous love sandwich? What other
reasons can there be for his continuing employment?
Below is a very
brief summary of why Steve Kean should be sacked:
·
The
unscrupulous way in which he got the job.
All Rovers fans are aware that Kean is a client of Kentaro. Kentaro were your principal football advisors
when you took charge of the club. It is
not a coincidence that after meeting with Kean (with Kentaro in tow), he was
given the job a week later. I’m sure
you’re aware of this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you weren’t, that Sam
Allardyce won promotion with his new team, West Ham, and so will be in the
Premier League next year, whilst Rovers will not be… Seems like he’s had the last laugh!
·
His
contempt of the fans. Kean has time and
time again shown utter contempt for the fans thought his ludicrous comments
over the course of the season. Why
wasn’t he told to shut up? He was
talking up a top-10 finish as late as December this past season, at a point
when we were really up to our necks in chicken shit! He has a smugness to him that emanates after
every post-match interview, blaming everything but his own utter incompetence.
·
He
was convicted of drink-driving last year and lied in court to try and cover his
tracks.
·
The
fans hate him. The mixture of poor
results, smug statements and lies have meant that the fans have absolutely
turned on him, to the point that it would be kinder to grind him up into feed
and give him to your flock of battery-farmed chickens.
·
The
YouTube video, which
showed him to be the man he really his.
Hugely disrespectful to the man who gave him his job as coach in the
first place and making empty smug promises to the fans.
The man is a
snake and a fool. Who else would admit
to forfeiting a
game?
Another fear
for Rovers fans is the apparent financial mismanagement at the club. There are real fears that you are going to
asset-strip the club and hang us out to dry.
Paul Hunt’s letter
after the Bolton game aired some real concerns
and it is a shame you dismissed someone who seemed like he knew what he was
doing, but kept on Steve Kean? Your
decisions make no sense!
There is real
anger amongst Rovers fans and yet all is not lost. You only have to look at the example of Mike
Ashley, owner of Newcastle Newcastle were relegated two seasons ago (also after
prematurely sacking Sam Allardyce!) and the whole of Newcastle
turned on Mike Ashley, much in the same way that Blackburn
has turned on you. However, he has
managed to turn it around and Newcastle
are now doing very well. There is a
difference however, Ashley has always shown a passion for football, he always
attends games and is on hand to make decisions himself.
YOU NEED A
PRESENCE IN BLACKBURN . Get off your fat asses and come to Blackburn and take control, if not from a footballing
sense, then from a business sense at least!
There is a
lot more I wanted to say here, but I didn’t want to burden you with more than
you can take. You’re obviously busy
people and I’m hoping that you see fit to read this letter in the 5 minutes a
month you spend on dealing with Rovers issues.
Just to
summarise:
·
Sack
Steve Kean and remove him from the club and also appoint a strong, sensible CEO,
based in Blackburn who can make good
footballing decisions in your absence.
·
Communicate
with the fans. Take responsibility for the
disaster so far, show some humility, apologise and start again. You say you are in this for the long-term,
well please tell us what your plans are?!
·
Invest
and do what is necessary to ensure we don’t slide further into obscurity. If you are not able, then please sell us to
someone who is willing to do so.
Blackburn
Rovers means so much to me and thousands of others. Please
don’t take your responsibilities lightly.
Football is a means of escapism for so many, especially in these tough
economic times, we find solace in our heroes, however, you are making this
unnecessarily hard for us. Thousands
have not renewed their season tickets and thousands have refused to purchase
the new replica shirts, and will continue to refuse until we have a clear indication
of what the plan is for next season.
I am but a
humble comedian, yet try as I might, I could never write a joke better than what you
are turning my club
into.
Regards,
- Tez Ilyas
Stand-up
comedian and Blackburn Rovers fan
Nicely put Tez, keep up the pressure.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Frank Butterworth