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OOH DEAR – Put’s our position into perspective really.
Blackburn Rovers’ owners are under pressure from Barclays Bank to reduce the club’s debts, Telegraph Sport can reveal.
The club owe at least £21 million to Barclays, and it is understood that Venky’s – which is owned by the Rao family – agreed to reduce the debt when they took control at Ewood Park. A year later that has not happened though, prompting the bank to demand more security against its loans as the club face possible relegation.
The bank’s position will increase concern among supporters about the financial situation at the club, and raises fresh questions about the owners’ strategy and their readiness to meet the financial demands.
Venky’s paid £23 million to buy the club from the Jack Walker family trust last year, assuming responsibility for £21 million of debt to Barclays that the club were already carrying.
The debt was secured against Ewood Park and all the club’s other property assets, as well as Venky’s’ newly-purchased shares in Blackburn, and it is understood that an undertaking was also given to reduce the size of the debt.
With the club facing possible relegation and no reduction in the size of the debt, Barclays demanded additional security to protect its position. To satisfy Barclays, all the club’s centralised television income for this season and beyond has also been provided as security.
That deal, struck in August, means that all of Blackburn’s assets have been put up as collateral against existing loans. Since then Telegraph Sport understands that Venky’s have taken no steps to reduce the debt.
Barclays’ concern is understandable given the club’s perilous league position and the increasingly risk-averse position of lenders in the current financial climate. Newcastle faced similar pressure from the bank to reduce the size of their overdraft following relegation to the Championship two years ago.
Relegation would massively impact on Blackburn’s ability to reduce the debt further, which explains the bank’s demand for the security of future television income and parachute payments.
Venky’s initially offered the club’s stadium and property assets, as well their shares in Blackburn, as security. The security is detailed in documents filed by the club’s holding company, Venky’s London Ltd, on the day of the takeover, Nov 19 2010.
The additional security was provided by the club in an agreement registered on Aug 25. This season’s broadcast revenue of at least £30 million, and a minimum of £48 million in parachute payments over four years should they be relegated, has been offered as collateral.
Sources have indicated that the club have not been forwarded any money in loans as a result of the latest arrangement with Barclays.
Barclays’ concerns will heighten worries over Venky’s’ stewardship of what was once a stable, if loss-making, club. They have certainly not delivered on the expectation of the club board and the Walker Trust, which agreed to sell this time last year.
In last year’s accounts, completed before the deal was struck, Blackburn’s then chairman John Williams wrote: “If the sale is concluded there is an opportunity to take the club forward, to consolidate our position in the league and look for year-on-year improvement.”
The reality has proved very different. The club have just a league single win this season and manager Steve Kean is under huge pressure from disgruntled supporters unconvinced at his ability to stee the club out of its current predicament.
Venkys did invest £10 million in equity last January for transfers, but despite a welter of promises, the investment in star names never materialised.
Since then they have made a net profit on transfers and the club’s best player, Phil Jones, was sold to Manchester United for what already looks like a bargain £16.5 million.
While Jones went six players came in, two of them on free transfers, with Scott Dann, Yakubu and Jordan Slew signed on deadline day for a total of £10.5 million.
With pressure from the bank to reduce debts, it is unclear what, if any, funding Venky’s are willing to make available to Kean for signings in the forthcoming January transfer window.
They are also likely to come under pressure to sell their remaining valuable players including Christopher Samba, likely to be a target for Tottenham and Arsenal among others.
Resisting offers for Samba will be a further test of the owners’ credibility with supporters.
A spokesman for Venky’s did not respond to a request for comment. A Blackburn Rovers spokesman said the club were unable to respond to questions about the nature of their financial arrangements with Barclays.
It aint just Rovers either,yet again Portsmouth are in limbo due to dodgy owners.As you say it puts our plight into perspective and shows just what a job Dave Whelan is actually doing.He may not be wasting millions on players and he may be unable to stop us being relegated but give me our owner over the Venkys and the shower at Pompey anyday
I expect Brucie will get a job at Blackburn in the next week or two when the slave labour chicken pluckers ‘pluck’ over Steve Keane.
A different angle on it… from a rovers message board
> am very well connected with BRFC and have sat on this info for long enough..you want to know whats going on at Ewood..here it is.
>
> Steve KEAN (Minor 2nd team coach) is connected to a number of pretty serious Glasgow criminals who had a vast amount of money which required laundering. (2-3million)
>
> As an employee of the club KEAN was aware that ROVERS had been for sale for quite some time with very little serious interest from anyone, he knew the price and the money which would be required to purchase it. He approached his Management Company KETARO (owned by ANDERSON) and put to him a business plan for the purchase of the club, this plan would give ANDERSON unofficial control of the club and enable him to ‘legally’ perform the sort of transaction with existing and future players on his books that got West Ham into trouble with the TEVEZ / MASSCARNO saga. (the buying and selling of players being the only way to make money from a Premier League club)
>
> The consortium that KEAN suggested involved himself (representing the the gangster money) being a shareholder and part owner in the little scheme, KENTRO unable to purchase a Premier League club to to league conflict rules, scouted around emerging markets (India / China / Brazil) for a company to come in as the official new ‘owners’ capable of satisfying the fit and proper test laid down by the league. VENKYS loved the idea as they were keen to attack the European market and expand beyond India. The cost to VENKYS for taking part in the venture was half the purchase price of 43million. (This 20 million was set aside anyway for marketing costs in breaking into the European market so net coast to VENKYS being NIL) The remainder of the cost was met by ANDERSON and a number of others in his syndicate (including KEAN) The scheme was sold to all involve as being ‘win win’ as the purchase price was assured of being returned to all members of the syndicate by TV money and in worst ca
> se relegation parachute payment which totaled coincidentally approx 43 million)
>
> KEAN had one condition for his involvement, the removal of BIG SAM and his promotion to Club Manager. The removal of the established management infrastructure was essential in helping the group keep the deal secret, hence JOHN W and the rest were thanked for their services and shown the door. The recent mortgage in Aug 2011 for 43million is assured against the TV money for this year and any subsequent parachute payment from relegation whether that come this year or in the future. This money has been returned to all members of the syndicate to cover their initial stake (hence the secrecy), thus any money made from here on in by way of transfers, TV money, sale of the club being total profit to the group. The Indians are basically passengers on this train and as now they have their money back they are totally uninterested in the future of the club, for them it remains what it always has been, a marketing tool. ANDERSON is keen to continue to use the club as a feeder for his you
> nger less established players, he makes money by legitamatly charging massively inflated agent fees for all players coming in and out, and in the event of a player making a big breakthrough gains millions for the syndicate in the sell on fee. KEAN..well he’s just living the dream, he would never have made a Premier League manager as long as he lived, the best he could aspire to was being someones No 2 and that dream was 5-10years away. The new deal recently signed by KEAN is in recognition and reward from all concerned as the others have all done very well out of the deal to date (he obviously had to be rewarded as well) He is the Manager and he’s going nowhere, not because he’s un-sackable but because he’s delivered what he said and not withstanding HE OWNS PART OF THE CLUB. (albeit via his gangster friends in Glasgow) All of his little trips to INDIA are not about him answering to the INDIANS is about him telling them what to do, when to speak and what to say, all stuff th
> at needs to be said in person at risk of emails or phone calls being recorded. The whole thing would take a financial investigator years to uncover and is more or less impossible to trace as the paper trail all runs though VENKYS in INDIA. They have the club pretty much sawn up. The recent interest from the Middle East is of no interest to the syndicate as they only stand to gain a little over what they paid, the rewards from keeping the club are much more to them than that..If this deal ever came out..people will be going to jail..so don’t expect it to anytime soon.
> ———————————————————————-As conspiracy theories go , that’s pretty good. I’m in !!
No wonder Steve “Kneecap” Kean is asking to meet some of the fans who keep giving him abuse. As the Libyans know , you can’t give the V sign if you have no fingers. :ohmy:
A bit of a premier league stat- (skysports.com)
BEST GAMES FOR GOALS
After seeing another great game between Blackburn and Wigan, it got me thinking do these two teams have the highest goals to games record between two teams in the Premier League? As they drew 3-3 this season played a 4-3 last season and there was the match where Roque Santa Cruz and Marcus Bent both got hat tricks. There can’t be many more teams that have had so many goals in every game they play? Jonny GammonMARTIN SAYS: In the 13 Premier League fixtures between Blackburn and Wigan we have seen 49 goals scored, an average of 3.77 goals per game. There has been at least two goals scored each time these two sides have met.
We asked Opta to look into the highest goals-per-game ratio in Premier League history and if you look at fixtures that have taken place at least 10 times, Blackburn against Wigan would come out fourth on the all-time list.
In fact, Blackburn come out on top of this list anyway – but for their clashes with Nottingham Forest. In the 10 games they have played against Forest in the Premier League a remarkable 40 goals were scored (largely thanks to the 1995/96 season when Blackburn beat Forest 7-0 and 5-1). That ratio of four goals per game is the highest in Premier League history.
The next highest-scoring fixture, in terms of goals per game, is Chelsea and Sunderland. In 21 Premier League meetings, we have seen 80 goals scored (3.81 goals per game). Chelsea have enjoyed scorelines of 6-2 (1996/97), 5-0 (2008/09) and 7-2 (2009/10), although there was a 0-0 draw between the sides in 2001/02. The Blues won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light in September, so expect goals when they meet again on January 14.
Fixtures with the most goals-per-game in Premier League history:
Fixture Games Goals Goals per game
Blackburn-Forest 10 40 4.00
Chelsea-Sunderland 21 80 3.81
Newcastle-Wimbledon 14 53 3.79
Blackburn-Wigan 13 49 3.77
Chelsea-Derby 14 52 3.71
Man Utd-Fores 10 37 3.70
Derby-Middlesbrough 12 43 3.58
Man Utd-Southampton 26 92 3.54I was told something a long those lines by a Blackburn fan who is on the same course as me at university. He also included details of what happened in the deal relating to Phil Jones.
If Anderson is the football agent who is now on the board or is chairman at Blackburn then I heard the allegations of him using the club to put players who are on his books into the club & him benefitting when they are taken on & sold, back in the summer
The Kean allegations I haven’t heard before & if I was the cockney latic admin I’d be a bit wary about allowing them to appear on here!!!! :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:
If Anderson is the football agent who is now on the board or is chairman at Blackburn then I heard the allegations of him using the club to put players who are on his books into the club & him benefitting when they are taken on & sold, back in the summerThe Kean allegations I haven’t heard before & if I was the cockney latic admin I’d be a bit wary about allowing them to appear on here!!!! :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:
Bring em on…..
Blackburn Rovers’ owners……………
copy and paste eh, what a wonderful thing.
Going trotting for grayling on the Dane tomorrow.
Blackburn Rovers’ owners……………copy and paste eh, what a wonderful thing.
Going trotting for grayling on the Dane tomorrow.
make sure you catch the ol’ clap on your travels barker
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