With the Christmas period often billed “a make or break”
time of the season, it was no different for Rovers. An inspired Mark Bunn
performance at Anfield bagged Rovers an unlikely point, but this was bettered
on New Year’s Eve with a famous 3-2 away win at Manchester United.
Rovers went into the half time break 1-0 up after a Yakubu
Penalty. 6 minutes into the second half Yakubu doubled Rovers lead, and a shock
result was looking on the cards. However United kicked into gear and a quick
fire double from Berbatov set up a grand stand finish. Grant Hanley bagged an
80th minute winner as Rovers Christmas points tally was a very
respectable four from six. Going into the New Year this looked like it could be
the turning point of what had been a very disappointing season to date.
Jerome Anderson and Steve Kean could not let this moment
slip them by, as Steve Kean was passed from media outlet to media outlet, like
the Olympic torch, giving as many interviews as possible to show he was the
victim and the supporters had it all wrong. With the press now firmly on Kean’s
side and other Kentaro clients, in particular the SKY Soccer Saturday Panel,
blasting the actions of the supporters, you would think this would of dampened
the supporter’s spirits. Although it was a blow in terms of the message, and
the supporters wish for Kean to be removed, you have to remember getting 3
points on a Saturday is what supporters live for. I must admit I had heard a few
supporters hoping we would lose games, if it meant Kean was removed. However personally
I always want my team to win, as there is no better kick and adrenalin rush
than seeing those boys in blue and white grab the points.
Going into the New Year, another lifelong supporter Gareth
Jones approached Simon and me, to gauge our opinion of boycotting the FA Cup third
round game, in favour of getting as many supporters as possible to go and watch
Chorley FC, Who were managed by former Rovers favourites Matt Jansen and Gary
Flitcroft. Chorley was struggling financially and had recently been broken
into, so needed extra revenue. Gareth thought this would get positive media
coverage to combat the negative stuff which was now being planted by
professional media gurus. We put it out
there to the protest movement and the idea appealed to many.
Gareth did most of the media work on this project, whilst
Chorley FC was fantastic throughout. As predicted by Gareth come match day, it
was picked up by the National media and it was great day out. A couple of hundred
supporters made their way over to Victory Park, with their yellow and black,
Kean out, Venkys out scarves and T-Shirts. It was great atmosphere in the
ground and lots of extra revenue went through the turnstiles for Chorley FC,
Which was a win win all around. Gary Flitcroft and Matt Jansen came into the
club house after the game and spent a good hour with the Rovers supporters and
were really grateful that not only had the supporters come to the game, but
they had got behind Chorley too.
Meanwhile the attempt to form a democratic supporters group
from the protest movement was now firmly underway. Supporters had to be put
forward by other supporters to be able to stand for the BRFC Action Group’s
first democratically elected committee, and around 17 names were put forward. A
vote which all supporters were allowed to participate in was done online via
the website, via email and in person. The results were counted up and verified by
an independent adjudicator from the Brown Cow Public Inn at Livesey Branch, in
a results evening which was very well attended by supporters.
The following supporters were voted in:
Glen Mullan – Chairman
Mark Fish – Secretary
Simon Littler – Treasurer
Rob Crabtree
Paul Keogh
Carl Hatch
Phil Thompson
Graham Reid
Michelle Green
Andy Woods
The group was now officially born, and after much
deliberation the name the BRFC Action Group which was the name Simon and I had
used since he came on board after the first protest was retained.
How this was going to work, we were un-sure, being part of
the organising was becoming a full time job. I’m pretty sure, 95% did not have
an inclination of how difficult it would be at the front end. It was agreed
committee meetings needed to be weekly and via SKYPE due to peoples locations.
These were usually held on a Sunday and I don’t think there was one meeting
were everyone took part.
Although I was proud to see one of my Key aims come to
fruition, and I’m proud that the group I formed from my Kitchen 5 months
earlier is still going strong today, it was very difficult to get everyone
singing from the same hymn sheet, It was obvious there was major personality
clashes and feuds going on, long before the election. Why people could just not
get along I do not know, but this theme was a recurring theme, as members of
the committee and also members of the group had issues with those who were not
protesting, whilst they also had issues with other groups, in particular the
Fans Forum, the Original Rovers Trust and the Ewood Blues.
It was not one way
traffic I must add, as all those groups did their fair share of mud-slinging,
but at a time we needed to be united, it was never going to happen at that
stage. I found this one of the most difficult things to manage, because
personally I had no issues with any of the other groups. I had always encouraged Duncan Miller of the
Trust, whilst my knowledge of the Fans Forum and the Ewood Blues was limited.
With committee members at each other’s throats too and members also having
issues with committee members, it was not long before the numbers on the
committee dwindled, for various reasons, some stated unless someone else quit,
they would quit themselves, some left because they just couldn’t put any time
in, whilst the biggest loss personally was losing Simon Littler.
Mark Fish and
Simon never really saw eye to eye and I would take calls from both of them,
pretty much wanting the other to go. At times I felt I was being put in an
impossible position, as the club was burning down around our ankles, and the
supporters were more bothered having a p***ing contest. There was far too much
going on, in terms of protest being organised, an investigation to carry out,
meetings up and down the country, whilst having a personal life had now
disappeared. Simon and Mark had words a number of times, before Simon resigned.
The BRFC Action Group would never have been possible without Simon. I was on my
own at the beginning of this journey, it was Simon who came to the rescue and
we made a good team. However after his departure we needed to move on.
Following Simon's departure, Mark and I spent hours and hours every day, trying to pick
the group up and hatch the next plan, whilst it’s fair to say others left us to
do the thinking. There were many times the group was up against the ropes and
appeared to have been backed into a corner, but after doing one of our weekly
all nighters, we would come up with the way forward. Many times we would fall
asleep on Skype as we talked, as this whole process was really taking its toll
on us. Funds were also a constant issue, as it was free to become a member of
the BRFC Action Group, however organising protest, paying for investigative information
and marketing was not free. We were dipping into our own pockets to keep the
whole thing afloat, with no external funding or help.
The investigation into the running of the club was mainly
carried out by Mark and me , with me always giving Mark the information for him
to put in a dossier we was building. We didn’t share what we found or what we had with any of
the other committee members, as we did not want it leaking out, before we had
all we needed. This meant the committee had to trust us, in fairness to them,
they never questioned this approach. The first part of the dossier was put
together by us scanning the internet for information. Believe it or not, so
much is out there in the public domain via the internet if you search hard
enough. For the investigation we needed to go back to around the time the club
was being bought and who was involved. Much of the early work was centred on
Jerome Anderson, Huber and SEM Kentaro. We researched all their director appointments,
other people who were linked to them through business, their accounts and their
full history. We was building profiles of these people to try and see what was
the ultimate link was and why Blackburn Rovers appeared to be tied to these
people and their associates. In the meantime we were being pressured from the
members and other supporters to spill anything we had found and sink these
people. I don’t think anyone understood the complexity of trying to put an
investigation together; it was never going to be a 2 minute job, whilst it was
also very expensive to get information. You have to know, where to look, keep
your eyes out for people sending you on wild goose changes, but more
importantly good at highlighting where each piece fits, which was one of my biggest
strengths. We spoke to many investigative Journalists like Nick Harris, David
Conn, who were very helpful in chasing up leads, or verifying information as
factual or incorrect.
People coming
forwards giving information was always going to be difficult to record in a
dossier, as these were spoken words, eye witness accounts, but always came
without anything like a piece of paper to support their claims. Believe me,
there was some really wild claims, which were difficult to ignore but appeared
to be so far-fetched, but as I write this blog today, I promise I’m going to
revisit some of those claims, as what I know 5 years later, makes me actually
wonder if they were far-fetched at all, as subsequent things have come out that
suggest the things claimed are more than possible to have occurred.
One of the main reasons I’m writing this blog is to remember
back then and see if there is something crucial I have missed. There are plenty
of people out there who take every opportunity possible to hear the sound of
their own voice and try and give the impression they are important. They would
have you believe they have worked very hard on the Rovers situation, but I know
and they know, they have actually done very little and only appear on the scene
when others have done the leg work.
Try
doing 5 or 6 hours as a minimum every day for 5 years solid and dedicating all
your spare time in trying to save a club you love. Many times I would go 5 days
solid not going to bed, and then going to work, come home, no sleep and so on.
It’s now 3.50 am and I’m here writing my blog, as the situation at Rovers is
something I will not put down, until I know this club is once again in safe
hands. However it’s not about who has done the most or who has done nothing,
everyone can play their part as this battle is not yet won. This is about
one thing which is bigger than any person, this is about Blackburn Rovers.
If
this upsets people, then I’m sorry, but I’m not about to let a 141 year
institution disappear, and give up by calling a halt on my efforts and those
efforts of others who have shared this journey with me. I won’t get the last 5
years back, but what I started I will finish as I promised those who I met at
the Havelock on day one, I would.
Some of you readers may be asking and wondering? Why is he
bringing up the past? Its important people understand how fragmented the
supporter base was back then and how difficult it was to combat the issues at
the club, when the biggest threat to actually coming out the other side was the
supporter base being at logger heads. This dates back to four and half years
ago and this is my view and eye witness account, it may upset some people but
one thing I will always be, is honest and say things exactly how I see them. I
know over the years I have had a lot of people put their faith and support in
me, and continue to do so, without them, this journey would have ended for me a
long time ago. They want the same as
everyone, a well run club!!
With me not being part of a group nowadays, this has not
seen that support dry up, if anything the support has grown, as have the offers
from people to help me continue this fight. I have also made much greater
progress on finding the truth by not being tied to a group as I can act more on
my instinct, rather than what is dictated by vote, Whatever the future holds,
as long as people want me to continue this fight, I will continue, even if
there are elements out there currently trying there hardest to keep me out of
the loop.
I’m a firm believer, people will choose who they follow,
hence why I formed the BRFC Action Group, so supporters had a democratic voice
to fight their corner. Without democracy, there can never be progress.
At present the Unity being shown by the every-day supporter
is off the scale, it’s my duty and the duty of like-minded supporters to
embrace that unity and take this forward and not waste the opportunity, so our
club can start to see the break in the clouds which we all seek. It’s been a privilege
to fight the corner of supporters who have asked me to, this is something I
have not and will not take for granted. We are very quickly running out of
options, but there are options, there are ways of bringing this all together,
there are a number of parties interested in purchasing Rovers, there are ways
of getting the Rao’s to the table, there are many things going on in the
background which have been on-going for the last 12 months.
Blackburn Rovers has a future and each and every one of us
is part of that future, the badge is what brings us all together and although
things look bleak at present, we will stabilise and come out the other side
In my next blog, I will cover the more of the investigation,
Rovers slide towards relegation and the birth of BRSIT
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