Statement

Please find below a statement from the Supporters Trust on recent developments at Ewood Park.

On January 3rd, the WATR board sent the following communication to Steve Waggott:

“We are writing on the eve of one of the most important games in recent times. Rovers haven’t beaten our arch-rivals in 14 years, and the fortunes of our respective clubs have taken polar opposite paths during the time Venky’s have been our owners. Ewood Park will be full of passionate Rovers fans for the first time in many years due in no small part to the belief and togetherness that has been driven by John Eustace so far this season. Aside from being a hugely important league game this fixture could also prove to be a watershed in reconnecting the fanbase with the club.

Whatever the result, there are encouraging signs that things are improving, and the club must proactively step up its efforts in fan engagement to capitalise on this. Despite this we do have some major concerns. While we hope these prove to be unfounded, we believe it is necessary to outline our current position.

Failure to adequately invest in the playing squad during this window would make it necessary for us to change our outlook and public stance. We remain committed to supporting the team on the pitch, and to working with the staff at Ewood to ensure supporters are represented. However, it would mean that we would have to publicly call for the owners to sell the club.

To reiterate what we have said many times before, the last 2 January windows have been nothing short of farcical, and damaged the credibility of our club,owners and senior staff. Last year also seriously jeopardised our Championship status. Furthermore, the nature of our failings have led to supporters questioning the competence and motives of the owners and those within their employment. We simply cannot have another similar situation, and there are people within the club who must understand and acknowledge this. A repeat ofJanuary 2023 or 2024 will not only decimate the good work that has been done but would also likely lead to turbulence and protests against you and the owners.

Given our strong P&S/FFP position, our current league position, and the overall strength (or otherwise) of the division there are no excuses as to why we shouldn’t be signing players to give the manager and squad the best chance of success. The entire point of a football club is to compete and strive to be better. We are constantly told that the owners are committed to returning Rovers to the Premier League, and now is the time for them to back up their words with actions. For the third time in four seasons, we have a realistic chance to make at least the play offs, thanks to an impressive first half ofthe season. But this can only be achieved with investment in strengthening the playing squad. A third failure to do so during the January transfer window while nicely poised would render the relationship between the owners and the supporters untenable.

John Eustace is on record as saying the squad needs investment. You have also stated publicly that transfer funds are required and have been requested from the owners via Suhail. If funds are not forthcoming, we can only conclude that the aspirations of the owners and their representative for the football club do not match those of the management, board, players and fanbase. We believe in the club, and think that John Eustace can bring us success, but neither you nor he can succeed with one hand tied behind your backs.

Given our well documented struggles to keep within P&S limits for years,this is an opportunity which may not come around again for many years. Players that command a fee like Adam Wharton are exceptions. The legacy of that sale must be the progression of the squad to promotion challengers, it can’t be to maintain mid table mediocrity in the second tier.

We do not think decent investment in the playing side is a big ask, particularly given the transfer fees we have recouped in the last 12 months. It is a necessary expense in football, and the duty of our owners to make the team as strong as possible. The owners must understand how privileged they are to be involved in our football club. We are confident that if any of our members had their financial wherewithal they would do everything in their power to ensure Rovers were a success, and we expect the same from the Rao family. This window represents a real opportunity for them to turn the club into an asset rather than the burden they seem to currently view it as.”

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While the club managed to bring in 6 signings, 5 of them are contracted only until the end of this season, and the short term nature of them does nothing toallay our long term concerns for the wellbeing of our club.

Evidently John Eustace is of a similar opinion. To lose a manager who has done so much good work to restore some pride and hope to our club is heartbreaking. To lose him from a playoff position to a team currently in the relegation zone is a damning indictment of everything that is wrong with our club.

There is a massive amount of completely justified anger from our fanbase at present, and fan unrest has been a near constant for the entirety of Venky’s ownership. This is hardly surprising considering the catalogue of disasters we have experienced over the last 14 years.

It’s irrelevant who is employed as a director of the club: Karen Silk, Derek Shaw, Alan Myers, Simon Hunt, Paul Hunt, Mahesh Gupta, Vineeth Errabelly, Mike Cheston, Rohan Bhagwat, Paul Agnew, Ian Silvester, have all come and gone since Venky’s took over, and none of their departures brought about change. What M Sreenivasa Rao and Gandhi Babu do is anyone’s guess. It is apparent that Steve Waggott is expected to run elements of the club without the required autonomy or backing to do so.

The one constant throughout the Venky’s tenure has been Suhail Pasha. While his title has changed in that time, his role as advisor/conduit/owners representative has remained broadly the same. With the Rao family remaining absent for over a decade he appears to hold a lot of power despite having no prior experience in football.

We feel that the only acceptable advice for Suhail to pass on to the Rao family is to finally do the right thing and sell the club. New owners who care for the club and will treat Rovers and its supporters with the respect we deserve are long overdue.

Sent on behalf of the Board of We Are The Rovers Supporters Trust