From Rovers to Cosmos, Owners Are Foolish To Ignore Fans

It would be easy to dismiss the concerns of Blackburn Rovers fans. And I did, until the New York Rovers – the Blackburn Rovers Supporters NYC – shared with me their concerns, which are detailed below.

Blackburn fans have been calling for the sacking of the club’s manager, Steve Kean, since early this season. I assumed it was yet another case of fans blaming the manager for their side’s poor performance on the pitch and the club’s bad management decisions. And that sort of thing really grinds my gears. When a team is facing difficulties, the easiest and obvious thing to do is fire the manager, though that rarely corrects the problem (unless his name is Gasperini). In fact, I’m sitting on an article I’ve written that basically ass-rapes those who demanded Bradley’s head and praised the appointment of Klinsmann to manage the US men’s national team. But that’s another story for another day.

Back to Blackburn. For those unfamiliar with the woes of Ewood Park, Kean had taken over the job from Sam Allerdyce back in December 2010, following his sacking. So let’s have a look to see if Kean is the real problem, or if it’s something harder to correct.

A Tale of Two Managers
As Rovers fans note, Kean has had a record of 8 wins, 13 draws, and 21 losses over 42 EPL matches. If you look at Allerdyce’s last 42 fixtures at the helm of Blackburn, he had a record of 14 wins, 13 draws, and 15 losses. Better, yes, but hardly damning of Kean.

Troubled Blackburn manager Steve Kean. (image source: answers.bettor.com)

Allerdyce averaged 1.30 points per game over that span, which – with Blackburn’s 20 games to date – would move them up to somewhere between 12th & 14th place in the table, with 23 points. And in fairness to Kean, his average of 0.88 points per game would bump the squad up to 16th or 17th place, just above the relegation zone with 17.6 points. Unfortunately, this season has been weighing down Kean’s average, as Blackburn sit at the bottom of the table with a mere 14 points.

Along those lines, it should be noted that 17 of the 27 players on last season’s roster returned this season, giving Kean a fairly similar side to work with. Some of the more notable departures (Mame Diouf and Roque Santa Cruz, along with Jermaine Jones) were due to loan spells ending. Two others were sent out on loan. And of the other five departures, only one – Phil Jones, arguably their greatest loss – is still playing top-level soccer. Kean added 14 players to the roster this season, but with the exception of Yakubu, the Nigerian striker who has netted 12 goals in 15 appearances, the rest have had little impact – hardly surprising given that their average age is only 22.

Now, in fairness to all, the aforementioned commentary about how the side under Allerdyce is similar to or different than what Kean has to work with is superficial as best. I haven’t been following the club. But it does appear, at least from looking at rosters online, that the only real loss – besides the loans – was Phil Jones. And Yakubu seems to have made up for the loss of any attacking players.

So, what I’m trying to say is that Kean may not be the root of Blackburn’s problems. Despite their past glories, they are – like many in the league – facing an increasingly competitive field. The clubs that can afford to (and are willing to) step-up their investment will likely prosper while those who don’t will continue to suffer. Of course there are always exceptions, and there seem to be more than usual this season.

Numbers on the Scoreboard vs. Numbers in the Stands
But I didn’t write this piece to try to persuade Rovers fans to give up the calls for Kean’s head. No, on the contrary, I think Blackburn should sack him. It’s a simple business decision. If your customers expressed dissatisfaction with a key figure in your organization, who had been performing below expectations, of course you’d replace him.

The real problem – and the impetus for this rambling article – is the way the club is being run. And Rovers fans, in making their case for changes, articulate this well. Reading their public complaint below, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the dysfunction in Blackburn and what we’ve seen here in New York with the Cosmos, who appear to have flamed-out on the proverbial launchpad.

Under the new Venky’s ownership, several key staffers were dismissed from Blackburn – including the club’s chairman – and those positions remain vacant. This has only exasperated a pitiful lack of communication, with the owners keeping fans in the dark – and at a distance.

While the new New York Cosmos weren’t always forthcoming with information under the Kemsley regime, it’s been a virtual blackout (like their much-celebrated fashion line) since Sela Sport took over. And, following the world’s slowest corporate house-cleaning, the new new New York Cosmos (henceforth to be known as CosmoSela) have failed to replace anyone.

As much as I loathe the tinkering owners like Roman Abramovich, Venky’s and Sela are even more infuriating with their absenteeism. It’s as if the folks at Venky’s have acquired a new chicken processing plant and are trying to reduce expenses to increase profitability. Though I’ve never embarked on either enterprise, I think it’s safe to say that making deep-fried clumps of chicken scraps is not the same as running a soccer club. Soccer customers are far more fickle – and vocal. And, as Venky’s may soon learn, the money they save on management expenses won’t cover their loss in revenue as fans stop going to games and purchasing merchandise. Not to mention the drop-off in revenue resulting from relegation. Indeed, I doubt the nuggetmeisters will be too “Kean” on that.

A United Statement By Blackburn Rovers Fans

Recently, Blackburn Rovers fans have been the subject of attention in the national media and we as a body feel that our situation has been misrepresented and that our stance has been grossly misunderstood. The major representative websites of Blackburn Rovers fans have combined to clarify our stance with regard to our current plight in the statement below.

Blackburn Rovers fans are not an unrealistically ambitious, over-expecting group of supporters and are not noted by any means for their militance. The large majority would generally be content with a mid-table finish and a good cup run and would be delighted with European qualification, as we have been fortunate enough to experience on a number of occasions in our recent history. We understand that the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, and more recently Manchester City, have budgets that are quite beyond us, and we do not expect to be able to compete with them financially. What we do expect, however, is for our club to live up to its motto, “Arte et Labore”, and by skill and labour do justice to its 136 years of history while respecting its fan base, which has always been the heartbeat of the club.

The vast majority of fans are desperately disappointed by the direction that has been shown by the club since the change in ownership a little over twelve months ago when Venky’s bought the club from the Walker Trust, who provided stability and modest success for a club of our stature. On the field, we believe Steve Kean has had sufficient time to prove himself capable of managing a Premier League club. During his tenure as manager of Blackburn Rovers, Kean has been in charge of 42 Premier League fixtures and has presided over a record of 8 wins, 13 draws and 21 losses. Over the course of a season, this equates to a dismal 33.5 points. Having taken the club to the brink of relegation last season, a continuation of his record thus far this season will guarantee relegation in May. His predecessor Sam Allardyce, an experienced and highly competent Premier League manager, was dismissed with a far superior points per game ratio, which makes it difficult to understand why the former team coach Steve Kean is still in his position as manager and continues to enjoy the backing of the owners, no matter how ignorant they are of footballing matters. Only one team in Premier League history has survived relegation having been bottom at Christmas and there is no sign that we look like becoming the second to do so.

Off the field, Blackburn Rovers supporters are also frustrated by the pitiful lack of communication between club and fans. We feel that it is essential for owners Venky’s to build a stronger relationship with the stakeholders, the fans. The club’s public relations are sadly lacking. Steve Kean regularly appears in the media, representing the owners’ plans, detailing how much funding Rovers have and expounding the current goals of the club. Many fans feel this is beyond the remit of a team manager and believe that a chief executive or chairman should be charged with such a brief and that such information should be conveyed with a degree of discretion that is absent under the current ownership. Regrettably the owners see fit not to employ people capable of discharging such duties quintessential to the running of a modern football club, having dispensed with the services of John Williams and Tom Finn, who were widely regarded as most able administrators among the Premier League fraternity. The fact that they have not been replaced is of considerable concern to Blackburn Rovers fans and should be of concern, we believe, to all football fans who have the welfare of the game at the heart of their thinking. We believe that the owners’ apparent attempt to run the club from India while using Steve Kean as their mouthpiece is unacceptable.

Bigger clubs than ours have been relegated from the Premier League before and indeed we have suffered that particular fate before, but that is not our issue here. Our club is not only in jeopardy of losing its Premier League status, it is in danger of disappearing into oblivion under the stewardship of an absent and reckless owner whose public front is a manager who shows little sign of possessing the acumen to manage a team at the highest level and who has singlehandedly managed to drive a wedge between club and fans that has never before been witnessed at our football club, where a perfectly well-functioning community is being systematically dismantled before our very eyes.

As the first steps in the restitution of our football club, we, as concerned fans of Blackburn Rovers, seek the appointment of a respected manager who has the requisite experience to preside over our proud club and who can rebuild the bonds between club and fans, and we further seek the establishment of an administrative structure that is becoming of a modern institution such as a Premier League football club.

The Editors of BRFCS, Vital Blackburn, RoversTalk, RoversFans, RoversMad, BRFC Fans, The Norwegian Blackburn Rovers Supporters Club, NYC Rovers, The Wild Blackburn Rover, & Rovers Revisited