The Ewood Park shambles

By David Lee Wheatley

What is going on at Rovers?

A once proud Lancashire club, Blackburn Rovers are in turmoil under the ownership of the Venky's organisation after the unexpected sacking of manager Michael Appleton yesterday.

The young boss was the third man to lose the Ewood Park hot-seat in six months following the dismissal of previous incumbents Henning Berg and Steve Kean.

Since Venky's took over the club in late 2010, they've managed to make a mockery of the previously good name of Blackburn Rovers while systematically dismantling the community connection that Rovers had fostered with the fans over many years.

The late Jack Walker, owner from 1991 and through the glory years of the mid-90s, would be horrified at the blatant disregard the current ownership have for the history of the club and its supporters.

Thanks to bad management and instability at all levels, Rovers have found themselves towards the foot of the table with a team overloaded on attacking players and thin in other areas.

Steve Kean was never liked by the fans after he took over from predecessor Sam Alladyce and they voiced their dislike of the man from day one. When he was given his marching orders earlier this season, there was a collective sigh of relief from most supporters that his reign was finally over; maybe Venky's had seen the light? Sadly they hadn't and things have lurched from bad to worse since, the club seemingly lacking any plan or direction from board level.

There's a power struggle ensuing between managing director Derek Shaw and Venky's 'Global Advisor' Shebby Singh, all the while the team are suffering from a complete lack of leadership. The conveyor belt of managers that have risked their reputations by joining Rovers all lie by the wayside as products of the boardroom battle.

Premier League champions in 1995 with probably the best squad they've ever assembled, Rovers are sailing dangerously close to the wind in the Championship and if they stay up it'll be more through luck than design.

It's a sad state of affairs at Ewood Park and begs the questions once more, what does the 'fit-and-proper' ownership test actually mean and what purpose does it serve? Because, as we can clearly see, it doesn't stop organisations such as Venky's from taking over at a football club and completely dismantling the very fabric of all it stands for.


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