Blackburn Rovers sack Appleton, their third manager this season

Struggling English Championship side Blackburn Rovers yesterday fired 37 year old manager Michael Appleton after only 15 matches and 67 days in-charge at Ewood Park, making him the third casualty at the club this season.

Reserve team coach Gary Bowyer has now been named manager until the end of the season with the club in 18th position and just four points above the relegation zone with another battle against relegation looking likely.

A statement on the Blackburn Rovers website read, "Blackburn Rovers FC can confirm that Michael Appleton has been relieved of his duties as manager along with assistant manager Ashley Westwood, first team coach Darren Moore and head of senior recruitment Luke Dowling."

The Indian owners of the Lancashire club, the Venky's, have come in for continued criticism since their takeover of the former English Premier League champions and their handling of the day to day affairs at the club.

The club had started the season under Scotsman Steve Kean, an unpopular manager, but at the time Rovers were sixth in the Championship. After a spell under first interim manager Eric Black in came former Blackburn legend Norwegian Henning Berg but he was out of the job after only 10 matches and 57 days before another caretaker manager in Reserve team coach Gary Bowyer and then came in Appleton, who also didn't last until the end of the season.

For Appleton Blackburn had been his third club of the season after having started with League One strugglers FC Portsmouth, then joining FC Blackpool before coming to Blackburn Rovers in January.

VIDEO: Edinho Junior arrives at Shillong Lajong FC

Former Portuguese junior international Edinho Jr arrived last week in Shillong to join his new club Shillong Lajong FC on loan from English Championship side Blackburn Rovers. Here his first interview to SLFC TV!

Lajong FC's on loan signing Edinho Junior arrives in Shillong

Former Portuguese junior international Edinho Jr arrived in Shillong today to join his new club Shillong Lajong FC on loan from English Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

Edinho was welcomed in Shillong by SLFC General Secretary Larsing Ming Sawyan and club coach Thangboi Singto.

Edinho is the son of former Brazilian international footballer Edon do Amaral Neto and he only moved to Blackburn Rovers last year from Portuguese side Olhanense SC. He has been part of the Rovers Reserve side, but hopes to get more playing time with Lajong FC.

The signing of Edinho is the first ever loan move of a footballer from a big international club to an Indian side.

Over the next few days Edinho will train with his new team mates and he could play his first I-League match against Pune FC on March 24 with the match being aired live on Ten Action at 7pm.

Blackburn's Edinho joins Shillong Lajong FC on loan

I-League side Shillong Lajong FC have taken Brazilian born, Portuguese footballer Edon Júnior Viegas do Amaral (popularly known as Edinho Júnior) on loan from the English Championship side Blackburn Rovers FC and he will be donning the red of Shillong Lajong.

Edinho will be joining the Shillong-based club on a short-term loan beginning February 16, 2013. He is a Portuguese national of Brazilian origin who moved to Blackburn Rovers from Olhanense SC. The talented 18 year old plays centre-forward and is the son of a former Brazilian international footballer, Edon do Amaral Neto.

Lajong hope the signing of Edinho will add impetus to their campaign for the remainder of the 2012/13 season. It will add an edge to the club's striking options.

Lajong's story and place in Indian football is truly historic. It became the first club from North-East India to have qualified for the I-League, India’s premier football league.

Shillong Lajong FC had been the first-ever Indian football club to have had a strategic stake taken by Anglian Holdings. The Meghalaya-based club boasts of an impressive youth system as well. With an eye to aid in the development of Indian football, Anglian Holdings has also invested in Danish second tier club FC
Vestsjaelland to provide a platform for fledgling Indian football talent to ply their trade in Europe.

Much in the same vein, India-based VH Group, took charge at then English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, now in the Championship, to announce the arrival of the Indian football story on the world stage. The loan move for Edinho signals a consolidated effort to provide a powerful push for the sport in India.

Commenting on this development Balaji Rao, Managing Director of Venky's, says, "We are pleased to be associated with Shillong Lajong FC through the loan of young Edinho. We look forward to opportunities to help develop our players and football in India through strategic partnerships."

Larsing Ming Sawyan, General Secretary Shillong Lajong FC, added, "We are thankful to Blackburn Rovers for providing us with a player of Edinho's quality. He will be an incisive edge to Lajong's forward line and will definitely add to the quality of the game on the field."

Dhruv Ratra, CEO-Sports & Marketing Anglian Holdings, summarized the deal by saying, "This exchange of talent – a first of its kind in Indian football – will set a precedent for future exchanges of knowledge and information which in turn will help drive the game of football forward in India. Edinho is an exciting young player and Indian fans will enjoy his exploits on the field."

VIDEO - ESPN: Blackburn Rovers to promote Indian football!

ESPN football pundit Shebby Singh is a global advisor for the Venky's and is now actively involved at English Championship club Blackburn Rovers. ESPN Sportscenter spoke with Shebby about the club, their Indian owners and their plans to support & promote Indian football.

Blackburn Rovers appoint Shebby Singh Director of Football

Blackburn Rovers owners the Venky's have appointed former Malaysian international defender and television pundit Shebby Singh as the new Director of Football at the English Premier League. Shebby Singh had been an advisor on football matters to the Venky's and now moves into a more day to day job with Blackburn Rovers.

The appointment was made yesterday and the Malaysian of Indian origin is more known as having been a tv pundit on ESPN-Stars Sports on English Premier League coverage rather then being actively involved in the football business.

One of Shebby Singh's tasks will be to act as a go-between for the Venky's and manager Steve Kean, although the manager's future remains uncertain after relegation from the Premiership, the Daily Mail reported from the UK.

The management of Venky's since their club takeover in late 2010 has been criticised openly by the fans and if the appointment of Shebby Singh will cool such criticism will have to be seen.

For Shebby it will be interesting to see, if he can make the transition from the expert/pundit role to the active football business, then being a pundit it is easy to criticise and say what to do better, now Shebby will have to do it himself in such a role.

Venky's Blackburn Rovers in a state of confusion

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News Blackburn Rovers owner Venkatesh Rao (Venky's) admitted the club is in a state of confusion after the relegation from the English Premier League and they needed a few weeks to sort out things before being ready for life in the English Championship.

"Still everything is in confusion so I would say in the next month we will have a proper situation to talk about," he told Sky Sports News.

"In the next month let us see what happens. We are talking about various things, so many, about the manager, about the players, about staff, about the club."

Venkatesh added, "Nothing will be said right away so I would say kindly bear with us for some time and then the whole picture will be clear."


Here the Sky Sports News video of the interview with Venkatesh Rao

Doubts behind Indian Investments in European football Clubs

In recent months I have been asked numerous times if investments by Indian businessmen and corporate houses or by Persons of Indian Origin into European football clubs are really working out besides it being beneficial for Indian football. To be honest there is no definite answer to these difficult questions as it depends on the different reasons why such an investment is made.

Some might see it as a chance to grow their business in Europe and other markets too, some are genuinely interested in the sport of football, some even have business ambitions within India but rather take the foreign sporting route to achieve their goals.

The reasons for such investments in a professional sports team can differ, but often they will surely not be about the development of Indian football or football in India, then otherwise the money could have easily been invested directly into Indian football.

But as the current examples of Blackburn Rovers and Racing Santander show, investment alone will not do. One will have to have the deep pockets to pump further money into the team to buy quality players and develop the club overall, but also have the right management in place with the necessary knowledge to run a football team.

In Europe a lot of people are questioning the knowledge and capabilities of Indian football club owners after the terrible mismanagement by the Venky's and Ahsan Ali Syed at their respective clubs; who bought these clubs, made false promises which in the end led to relegation and an unsure future of the once respected clubs.

But there is also a positive counter model, the Mittal Family as minority stakeholders at Queens Park Rangers FC, who last season ensured that QPR would win the Championship and now ensured their Premiership status; but with the two above very negative examples many in football are saying they don't want Indian investment in the sport which displays Indian businesses and Indian football in a very bad light. Which is a very sad fact.

Other positive examples of Indian minority shareholding are FC Midtjylland by the Dempo Group and FC Vestsjælland by Anglian Holding, both in the Danish leagues. Both are inter-linked with India and the development of the game in India besides also allowing the clubs to develop themselves.

And the question will be who would now want to invest in European football in such a climate of distrust, though Indian money through sponsorship and other forms surely would surely be welcome.

Blackburn Rover relegated, blame squarely on Venky's

Former English Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were relegated on Monday evening after conceeding a late goal against fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic. The relegation to the Championship completes 18 months of big talk, high expectations but no delivery from the Venky's and their advisor's plus management.

The blame of the relegation is being square put on the clubs Indian owners - the Rao family, who own the Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group and are better known as the Venky's. Since their takeover of the club November 2010 things have gone from bad to worse and with relegation it proves that the Venky's have not been able to understand how football works or have banked on advice which hasn't brought the results.

Now the name of India and ownership of football clubs is linked to the poultry group from Pune, which is an embarrassment for any genuine football fan in India then Venky's have done everything wrong possible over the last 18 months which have led to relegation this week.

They bought the club in November 2010 for 43 million Pounds under much fanfare and hype. The aim was build on what Blackburn Rovers was a solid Premiership club, but a month into their reign manager Sam Allardyce was fired and then in the January 2011 transfer window the owners wanted to first buy Ronaldinho and then David Beckham but none of them came as their so-called UEFA Champions League ambitions proved to be hot air.

Manager Steve Kean who took over from Allardyce has remained in-charge since then but was often criticised and under pressure from fans. In the end he did not deliver and it proved the fans right that he wasn't the man to take Blackburn Rovers ahead though he had the trust of the owners.

Even in far-away India no one seems to care though over the last 18 months the Venky's and Blackburn Rovers have received extensive coverage in the Indian media, which has been really impressive though it often was bad press.

The AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta told Reuters, "Venky's has not invested in Indian football... Apart from one exhibition match between Pune FC and the club, Blackburn Rovers has in no way contributed for Indian football. So we are not bothered about their relegation."

"I don't think they have served our purpose or even their purpose. Being a Pune-based company, I would have been happy if they would have invested in Pune FC rather than Blackburn Rovers," Subrata Dutta added.

This seems to sum up the mood both in Lancashire and India. In Blackburn people are heartbroken by the Rovers relegation, while in India which was supposed to be a potential market they don't really care. While the connect at home was lost, the new one in India was never made.

VIDEO: EPL Chicken Chase at Blackburn's Ewood Park

This is one of the funniest things I have seen in recent times, but it comes on a sad day for Blackburn Rovers and their Indian owners. On Monday evening Blackburn Rovers were taking on Wigan Athletic in a English Premier League relegation battle at Ewood Park. Only minutes into the game the match has to be halted then a chicken was on the pitch and it wasn't in a mood to leave the pitch. In a joint effort Blackburn striker Yakubu and Wigan keeper Al-Habsi catch the animal and then hand it over to security. In the end Blackburn were relegated.

The chicken stands for Blackburn Rovers India owners the Venky's, the poultry giants from Pune.

Blackburn Rovers for sale, the Venky's deny

Former English Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers are staring at relegation with the club three points behind the first non-relegation spot with a worse goal difference after a terrible season for the club so far.

The blame is being square put on the clubs Indian owners - the Rao family, who own the Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group and better known as the Venky's. Since their takeover of the club November 2010 things have gone from bad to worse and if relegated it would prove that the Venky's have not been able to understand how football works.

Yesterday there were renewed rumours in the English media that the Venky's could be on the verge of selling the club which was denied vehemently by Blackburn Rovers director Vineeth Rao.

"It is not true, none of that. We have no plans to sell Blackburn Rovers, none at all. Even if the club got relegated, which is not in our thoughts, we are not planning to sell," Rao told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on Monday.

The reports went to the extend to suggest that Venky's had even contacted investment banking firm Goldman Sachs to broker a deal for the club.

But after the formal denial one can only wait and watch to see what happens next between Blackburn Rovers and the Venky's.

Are Blackburn Rovers in serious financial trouble?

This is what English media has reported over the weekend and that has caused a major stir at the club and around it, then besides fighting relegation the ownership of the Venky's has been criticised severely since the takeover in November 2010.

Venky's many say have done a lot wrong with criticism from fans, pundits and even sponsors; which has put the club in trouble. Now the troubles seem to have reached a new level with the club having to pay back a 10 Million Pound loan without which salaries from February onwards cannot be guaranteed.

But in a statement the club has vehemently denied this. The statement from Finance Director Karen Silk says

There was a report in "Mail Online" and the Mail on Sunday newspaper last weekend that Blackburn Rovers is heading for a financial crisis and facing a financial meltdown - and that the players and staff wages are in danger.

We strongly refute this story. There is no financial crisis, and, there is absolutely no danger to the players' and staff wages.

Amongst all professional football clubs, finances are regularly assessed and reassessed during the season based on performance, income and costs, and at Blackburn Rovers this is no different.

Barclays Bank and Blackburn Rovers have enjoyed a long relationship over many years and are currently in constructive dialogue about how the bank, along with the owners, can support the club for many years to come.

Could Venky's be selling Blackburn Rovers?

Just a year back the Venky's (Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group) from Pune bought English Premier League club Blacburn Rovers. Now rumours out of England are saying that the Rao family is considering to sell the club to Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamed Al-Thani, who himself is scouting to buy an EPL club.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamed Al-Thani has been trying to buy his favourite team Manchester United from the American Glazer family, but he has failed in the attempt and has now switched his focus on clubs he can buy. Interestingly Blackburn Rovers, under Indian ownership, and FC Everton, recently in talks with an Indian Group, are said to be his top targets.

For Venky's and the Rao family Blackburn Rovers has meant that they have come into the public attention after being a rather unknown Indian family owned company. But their management of the Rovers has often come under criticism due to lack of football knowledge and the wrong people said to advice them. But the amount of media coverage they have received especially in India is unparalleled.

Now Sheikh Tamim bin Hamed Al-Thani has shown interest in Blackburn Rovers, but the Rao family is said to be split about what to do. Turn down the offer or accept. While Balaji Rao is said to want to continue to manage Rovers, other family members are considering to sell if a serious offer does come in.

One will have to wait and see what happens...

VIDEO: Pre-Match feature on Blackburn Rovers in India

Indian news channel CNN-IBN did a pre-match feature on the visit of Blackburn Rovers to Pune, looking at the visit and the match against Pune FC. The match was played yesterday, but still I feel something you should all see...

Friendly: Pune FC 0-3 Blackburn Rovers FC

English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers FC have won the historic first international friendly by an EPL side on Indian soil 3-0 against Pune FC at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi-Mhalunge in Pune.

From the start Rovers put pressure on PFC who missed the services of India No.1 Subrata Pal and striker Mandjou Keita with especially Subrata's replacement young Shahinlal Meloly giving a good account of himself. Rovers coach Steven Kean meanwhile fielded some of their stars like defenders Christopher Samba and Gaël Givet plus strikers Jason Roberts and Aiyegbeni Yakubu with other players missing due to international engagements

Initially it was only a question of time when PFC would concede, but Shahinlal Meloly along with his defence did a good job with Anes Edathodika making things more difficult as he as send-off with a double booking within the first quarter. Thereafter rains in Pune slowed down proceedings but then in the 35th minute Rovers took a deserving lead through a Jason Roberts shot. It remained this way until the breather.

After the break the 10 men PFC fought on but another great strike, this time from young Spanish striker Rubén Rochina in the 50th minute made it 2-0 for Blackburn Rovers. The experienced Jason Roberts made it 3-0 in the 74th minute to seal a one-sided game as PFC fought on to deny Rovers any further goals in the remaining minutes of the match, which ended 3-0 in favour of Blackburn Rovers but PFC will surely have won some hearts and new fans tonight.


MATCH STATS

Pune FC 0-3 Blackburn Rovers FC

Goals: 0-1,0-3 Jason Roberts (35',74'), 0-2 Rubén Rochina (50')

Pune FC
Shahinlal Meloly; Othallo Tabia (Rollingson Hungyo), Caitano Costa, Chika Wali, Gurjinder Kumar Singh; Shanmugam Venkatesh (Singam Subash Singh), Anes Edathodika, Baldeep Singh, Izumi Arata (Ramu Srikanth), Douhou Sey Djidja Pierre (Lester Mark Fernandez), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Paresh Shivalkar)

Blackburn Rovers
13-Mark Bunn; 32-Bruno Ribeiro, 37-Zac Aley, 4-Christopher Samba, 5-Gaël Givet; 23-Junior Hoilett, 15-Steven N'Zonzi, 10-Mauro Formica, 30-Jason Roberts, 20-Rubén Rochina, 24-Aiyegbeni Yakubu

Confirmed! Blackburn Rovers to face Pune FC on October 7

It is confirmed! I-League side Pune FC will face English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers on Friday, October 7 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi-Mhalunge in Pune. The match was originally planed to be played on July 22, but due to the Mumbai bomb blasts on July 13 the match was postponed due to security reasons.

It will be the first-ever trip of the first team of an English Premier League club to India. The Rovers have since November 2010 been under the ownership of the Pune-based Venky's (Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group) and the Rao family has since then stated that their club would come to their Indian home city to showcase their talent.

Venky's director Balaji Rao said in a statement on Monday, "Security is paramount but so is our commitment to bringing Blackburn Rovers to India. And perhaps the visit now could not have been better timed. The club is riding on a high after its big win over Arsenal, and the players are eager to share the glory with their Indian fans."

For young Pune FC, only founded in 2007 and one of India's most professionally run clubs, it is a big honour to face such tough European opposition. For the Derrick Pereira coached I-League side it will be a real test ahead of the start of the I-League on October 22.

Pune FC Director Nandan Piramal said, "We are very happy to host them (Blackburn Rovers). The opportunity is great for the fans and on Pune FC's behalf I am happy to share this moment with the fans."

The visit of Blackburn Rovers at this time of the year is only possible due to the break for international fixtures in the club football calendar, but this also means that Rovers would miss their international players who will be on duty for their respective national teams.

The kick-off timing for match will be officially announced later.

Venky's want inputs from Rovers fans, to bring them to India?

About 10 Months ago the Pune-based Venky's (Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group) owned by the Rao family bought the English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Things on and off the field have not been really smooth for the new owners since then, but they are trying to make things better while also getting to know and understand the business of football better.

On Saturday Blackburn Rovers did beat FC Arsenal 4-3 in a sensational game to score their first win of this English Premier League campaign, but Scottish manager Steve Kean is not really a fans favourite with the Rao family's popularity going down along with that of the manager.

The Venky's realise or have been made to realise that they need the Rovers fans to run a successful football club. Now there is a unique idea on the table to invite a hand-picked set of fans to India at the Rao family's expense to try and understand what long-standing fans thing of their running of the club and decisions they have taken since the takeover.

The interaction trip could happen in October during the next international break. If it will change the fortunes of Blackburn Rovers will have to be seen, but such interaction would surely help the Rao's understand the local sentiments better.

Blackburn Rovers to sport charity logo on shirt

Indian owned English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers have signed shirt deal with charity organisation Prince's Trust. This means Rovers have not replaced their contract with Crown Paints which ended at the end of last season with a lucrative new sponsorship deal, but they will rather display the logo of the Prince's Trust charity for free and also support the trust through a number of initiatives throughout the season.



Since 2005 Blackburn Rovers have been running Prince's Trust programmes for disadvantaged young people in and around Blackburn and the club hopes to raise the awareness of the Prince's Trust through the shirt partnership.



Through its partnership with the Premier League and Professional Footballers Association The Trust has helped over 15,000 young people through football since 1997, working with over 60 Premier League and Football League Clubs to deliver a range of programmes that have helped three in four young people in to work, training or education.



Blackburn Rovers is one of few clubs around the world to have done such a shirt deal. The best was that of Spanish giants FC Barcelona with UNICEF which had ended at the end of last season.



Venky's MD Balaji Rao said, "We are absolutely delighted to be able to support The Prince's Trust in such a visible way, particularly at this challenging time for young people in terms of unemployment and limited opportunities. Helping young people is very much at the forefront of our community work in India and this partnership is a perfect way for us to support charities and worthy causes through football over here."



Marketing Director of The Prince's Trust Paul Brown said, "The Prince's Trust is really pleased to have been selected as Blackburn Rovers Charity of the Year in a move which will build on our considerable experience of working with young people through football. We see this as a brilliant opportunity to reach out, engage and motivate the most disadvantaged young people in the community and help us change even more young lives."



A great move by the Venky's and Blackburn Rovers especially at this time with all these riots across England. And I congratulate them on the same!

VIDEO: Blackburn Rovers ad for Venky's

English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers are owned by the Indian company Venky's, who are a major producer of chicken products. Now this has been brought together by the Venky's in an ad which I find really funny. Watch & enjoy!

Here the link to the advert

Blackburn Rovers trip to India postponed

English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers have postponed their planned trip to India. The club from Lancashire were supposed to be in India later this week, but due to last Wednesday's triple blasts in Mumbai the club and their Indian owners took this decision.

The club and their owners after consultations and on advise by security advisor's/agencies have decided to postpone their trip. It is also been said that some players were against the trip after the deaths in Mumbai last week.

The board and the owners have agreed to reschedule the trip until such time as further risk assessments and appraisals have been undertaken. The trip could be held sometime in autumn likely during a FIFA international match date in September or October.

During the trip Blackburn Rovers where supposed to play Pune FC on Friday, July 22 at the Balewadi Sports Complex, while also being involved in some promotional work and youth development.


A joint statement from the club and the owners reads

Safety is always our top priority and after detailed discussions with our security and legal advisors we have been left with no option other than to postpone. While everyone is obviously disappointed, we all accept the circumstances and the reasoning. We are now looking forward to the trip to India in a few weeks time.