Is a new act set to star in Venky’s Ewood Park circus?

Ladies and gentlemen, for our next act, may I introduce, Shebby Singh!

Formerly an Asian footballer turned TV Pundit for ESPN Star Sports network, Shebby Singh is now working for Venky’s at Blackburn Rovers – some report as the club’s Director of Football, others as their Global Advisor. Either way the fans have already seen right through Venky’s latest farcical move to supposedly get Rovers back where they belong.

Asian football pundit, Shebby Singh, is Blackburn Rovers new ‘Global Advisor’

In his column for a Singapore newspaper on May 9, under the headline ‘Kean must go’, Singh wrote: “Steve Kean is obviously not the man to lead Blackburn Rovers back to the Premiership. They were tactically naive with a lightweight team that were too easily brushed aside at times. Then, there were a number of players who were past their prime.”

In his first press statement for the club on Wednesday 20 June, a little over a month later, Singh is singing a different song: “Steve Kean will remain Blackburn manager.”

Singh also shockingly stated: “”Steve has been in this sort of situation before in the Championship when he was at Fulham and he got them promoted.”

I think you will find, Mr Singh, it was Jean Tigana who got Fulham promoted!

Singh also said that Kean is under more pressure to get Rovers back to the Premier League that he was to keep Rovers in the Premier League – this seems a rather counterproductive, non-sensical statement to me from a man who is perhaps caught up in the lies and PR spin he is being instructed to communicate.

It is clear to me that Singh, a TV personality for many years, has been appointed to be the spokesperson that Venky’s have been lacking since their takeover of the club. However, it is already clear that Singh will be acting on Venky’s instructions – no matter how stupid it makes him look – and will work to protect Venky’s brand rather than that of Blackburn Rovers. After all, with a famous Asian football TV pundit as the new face of Rovers, I’m sure Venky’s new Asian fans will be pleased.

It won’t please the hard-core, loyal and lifelong fans from the rest of the world though, who are already aware that Singh’s views a month ago were that Kean should go and they have been quick to point out the ‘lies’ Singh has been telling about Kean being responsible for Fulham’s promotion from the Championship. These real fans are already tarnishing Singh with the same brush as fellow ‘yes men’, Kean and Agnew.

Kean’s contract is set to expire in 2013. Is keeping him on another cost-cutting measure to avoid paying him compensation? Are the conspiracy theories that Kean part-owns the club true? Will Singh take over as manager after Kean’s contract expires? Who knows what will happen next!

One thing is for sure though; Singh’s appointment, like every Venky’s decision, has simply gone to further anger fans who rightly want Venky’s to do something for the good of the club rather than their business and brand.

As the circus continues, so will the conspiracy theories over who really owns Rovers, fan group investigations and protests will  intensify and with Shebby set to star centre stage in the ring, even more fans will be asking for their money back.

A Welshman’s view on why England could go all the way

England has gone further than the group stages of the European Championships just twice in their history. This is an astonishing fact considering the over-confident build up and huge expectation that is usually hung on every England team at major tournaments.

England’s only success, World Cup ’66

“Of course we feel the weight of history,” said Hodgson. “As a top nation we haven’t won as many tournaments as we should or done as well as we should. We all feel that weight and there’s nothing we can do to take it off our shoulders except make certain we embrace the tournament, that we are not afraid of it and that we believe in ourselves.”

This weight and expectation of course comes from the media. It has done ever since that one solitary tournament success back in ‘66 and this arrogance is humoured, flirted with and encouraged by competing countries, who can clearly see that it contributes to the England national teams downfall, every time. So just why, especially being a Welshman, do I think this tournament will be different for England?

Taking the weight, lowering the expectation

Despite the above quote from Hodgson, both he and the FA has already moved mountains in terms of taking the weight off the player’s shoulders at this years tournament.

With the appointment of Hodgson, instead of media favourite ‘Arry, the FA has made its best political play for decades. The media – who feel it is their God-given right to pick manager, squad and team – are furious with the appointment, crucifying Hodgson before he even held his first press conference and are waiting in the wings for him to fail. This all means that England go into a tournament with low expectations rather than the usual, ‘we have already won it’ media hype, for the first time in decades.

Hodgson appointed instead of media favourite ‘Arry

This strategy was something that I believe the FA planned, got Hodgson on board with and is one of the reasons I believe England may go all the way in Euro 2012.

Hodgson is also doing his bit, happily taking criticism from the media, and inviting it in some cases, particularly with the exclusion of Ferdinand. As long as the spot light stays off his players, he’ll be happy to continue to take it in the neck.

Further, Hodgson has stated that he is already planning for the World Cup with his squad selection. This is only working to further lower the expectations of the media, and in turn the nation. This means there is no failure of fear in Hodgson’s squad and players are free to express themselves and enjoy the tournament. This will pay off for England.

A dose of realism, a degree of intelligence

Many England teams of the past have believed the media hype that they can beat anyone and win tournaments simply because they ‘deserve it’. Hodgson however has used his intelligence and instilled a dose of reality into his team. They are quietly confident in their own abilities; they believe they can complete in the tournament; but they will not be shouting from the rooftops that they will walk into the final.

Will Oxlade-Chamberlain star at Euro 2012?

Therefore, England will be set out to defend well, they’ll be organised and hard-working and they will play on the counter attack rather than naively taking the game to other team as England teams gone by often have, believing the media hype that they can win any game at a canter.

Hodgson’s team will almost be underdog’s for the majority of the tournament and this label will only become more prominent and more of a weapon the further England progress.Hodgson has selected a blend of new, young and inexperienced players with an eye on the next World Cup and mixed them in a squad with experienced, senior players. It is a shrewd, bold and intelligently selected squad for the future and it will be exciting to see the likes of promising young talents such as Welbeck, Young and Oxlade-Chamberlain playing in amongst the old heads of Terry, Gerrard and Rooney.

It is also worth noting the new manager’s international pedigree. He guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996. Switzerland had not qualified for a major tournament before this since the 1960s.

Will the media be grovelling to ‘Woy’ on 1 July?

Can England get their hands on the cup?

Roy is an experienced, well qualified, level-headed man. He is modest, calm, hard-working and intelligent. In my opinion – following the likes of Capello, McClaren, Erickson, Keegan

and Hoddle – Roy is a breath of fresh air and perhaps the FA has finally got something right.With the media for once not expecting success, I believe England can flourish, starting tonight against the French.The media’s change in attitude and their double standards in attacking a manager before his team had even kicked a ball may, ironically, be the making of England’s success. But after such shameful smears on such a well-respected man in the game, will the media come grovelling at Roy’s feet if he does lead England to glory?

No chance. They will remain arrogant until the end and will never admit their reporting has had a detrimental influence on England football team’s failures of years past.

“Your club needs you”, says Blackburn Rovers legend Garner

Blackburn Rovers legend and all time top goal scorer, Simon Garner, is now spokesperson for the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust (BRSIT), an organisation looking to work with fans to buy the club back from its confused, clueless and controversial Indian owners, Venky’s. And Garner had one vital, shout it from the rooftops, war time-like message for Rovers fans: ‘Your club needs you’.

Garner expressed his feelings on the future of the one-time Premier League champions, BRSIT’s success so far in their efforts and his opinions about Venky’s in an exclusive interview with Andrew Howells.

‘Without the fans there will be no football club’

Rovers all time top goalscorer, Simon Garner

“I got involved with the Trust as I am worried about the football club, the direction it’s going in and I believe like many fans we could be the next Bradford and fall through the leagues,” said Garner.

“The Trust has the best interest of Blackburn Rovers at heart and we want as many fans as possible to get behind us. I would say to the fans: ‘Your club needs you’”.

BRSIT is rallying Rovers fan base, asking fans to pledge £1,000 each to purchase a share in their club – on which they will get a return on their investment – in order to raise enough money to make a bid before the season starts. The Trust’s sole aim is to bring ownership of the club back into the community and away from the current owners.

Blackburn had 16,000 season ticket holders last season. If every one of them pledged to buy one £1,000 share, the Trust would have £16 million in pledges, which would put them in a strong position to make a bid.

However, true to form, Garner says that Venky’s has refused every invitation to communicate with the Trust over the past six months. They have even refused to communicate with the Trust’s Managing Director, Wayne Wild, when he has asked to speak with them regarding the sponsorship deal his company, WEC Group Limited, has with Rovers.

Speaking about the potential outcome of any bid, Garner said: “At the end of the day, it’s down to the Venky’s. If they don’t want to sell club then they must begin to communicate with the fans and explain what they want to do with the club, otherwise it will get worse. The fans are the most important stakeholder. Without the fans there will be no football club.”

Confusing the confusion

Venky’s recently released a video in which they stated they were ‘confused’ about what to do next regarding the club and current manager Steve Kean, following relegation from the Premier League. The owners even went as far as to say they would need a month to sort it out. Garner believes they were just buying time and their message seems to have only made the fans angrier.

Former Rovers captain, Colin Hendry

Indeed, commenting on recent reports that Steve Kean has offered former Rovers captain, Colin Hendry a coaching role, Garner said: “How can Venky’s say they are going to wait a month to make a decision about the manager and then the manager turns around and says he’s offering a coaching role to someone. It just makes you think that the Venky’s are sitting on the fence, hoping things will die down over the next month while they leave Steve Kean in charge.

“Half way through last season I felt sorry for him [Kean] as he got no voice from board, was being the spokesperson as well as managing club, but at end of the day 99% of football clubs would have sacked him by now following his poor performances.

“Because he has lost the fans, there is no way back for him now. There will be hardly anyone watching us if Kean is say still in charge six games into next season and we haven’t won a game.”

Garner on Venky’s and why fans should support BRSIT

Garner believes that Venky’s infrequently and poor communication with its biggest assets, its fans, is indicative of their attitudes in putting their ruthless business plan before the best interests of the club.

On Venky’s, Garner commented: “They don’t communicate with the fans and they haven’t done since the day they took over. They are too far away and have taken too long to realise what football is all about. Their eyes were not wide open and they don’t realise how passionate our fans are. The Trust is our way, the fans way, of being able to do something about the situation the club is currently in.

Premier League winning days at Rovers

“I’m sure if Venky’s had decisions to make concerning their business in India, they wouldn’t wait a month to do it and I can’t understand why they are saying they want to wait a month now. They need to act now as a month is a long time in football. Whoever is manager is going to need to get a squad together to get Rovers back into the Premier League and that’s why I think they don’t understand.

“It seems like they are hiding in India. It seems to me they have got a business plan, they are out for themselves and they are putting that above the best interests of the club and the fans.

“This is why I am urging fans to support BRSIT. As I said, we have the best interests of the fans at heart, I believe we have proven that with the proposal we are offering and Wayne Wild is very open to any individual or groups who wish to get involved.”

With the clubs recent decision to appoint former Press Officer and Kean’s only ally, Paul Agnew as General Manager, many fans took to Twitter stating ‘the game is now up’, ‘Venkys Out’ and ‘I will definitely be asking for a refund on my season ticket now’.

Garner said: “We need the fans to pledge. The fans have all the power and we can save our football club”

You can find out more about the Trust and how to pledge to buy shares with BRSIT on their website, at www.brsit.co.uk.

The curious case of Venky’s: Astute Indian business people or ‘confused’ cowboys?

Venky’s have broken their perceived policy of not communicating with fans to let them all know that they are ‘confused’ about the future of Blackburn Rovers, leaving the club in limbo, turmoil and exacerbating the uncertainty that already beleaguers the home of the once Premier League champions.

Cowboys and Indians banner

Venky’s could have taken a step towards reconciliation with angry fans by making the decision to sack Steve Kean, by bringing in an experience manager as well as an experienced chairman to set plans into motion to help Rovers bounce right back from the Championship. Instead, Kean, labelled by Venky’s as ‘unsackable’, is seemingly set for a stay, with Venky’s set to continue running the club themselves.

As the owners march on, making puzzling, baffling and incomprehensible decisions, are they really successful, intelligent business people or simply plain ‘confused’?

The case for astute business people

The finances of Venky’s business conglomerate in India are in good health. Their companies made a combined turnover of £1 billion in 2010, with a group profit of £100 million. That sounds undeniably astute.

Taking note of the changes in India’s sporting landscape to become the first Indian group to own a team playing in the world’s richest sporting league also seems an astute business strategy. Expanding overseas was the next move for Venky’s successful businesses and what better way to do this than purchase a club that was one of only four teams – at the time – to have ever won the world’s most watched football competition, the Premier League.

Upon their takeover, Venky’s also cleared £20 million of debts and then investing another £10 million into the club, further strengthen their case for being smart business people. So how has it gone so wrong?

The case for confused

Venky’s chairperson Anuradha Desai said she knew little about football. Despite this, Venky’s choose not to listen to a board that had successfully run the club for years and instead forced out respected Chairman of over a decade, John Williams. Venky’s it seems preferred to run the club themselves, undeterred by their lack of prior knowledge or experience. This does not seem like a smart move.

Former chairman John Williams did not see eye-to-eye with Venky’s

Venky’s companies in India may be making a massive profit, but the opposite is true at Rovers, who have seen a drop in season ticket sales, an increase in pre-tax loss and a rise in club debt. This is only going to get worse as they prepare to live without a £40 million a season payment of TV revenue they would have received had they still been in the Premier League.

Appointing novice Kean, now officially Rovers second worse manager in their history, as caretaker boss after sacking Big Sam who had just guided the club to 10^th place finish, does not seem to make too much sense either – especially if Kean’s poor performance warrants board backing. Publically promising a top four finish, Maradonna as manager and big name signings such as Ronaldinho, Raul and Beckham, but instead selling the big name players they did have, like Jones, Samba and Nelson and freezing out experienced players like former Real Madrid defender, Salgado, thereby forcing inexperienced players to play out of position, was a quick way to lose football matches.

Giving Kean a pay rise, despite the fact Rovers were in the relegation zone and Kean had the worse points per game ratio in the Premier League, is another decision that boggles, bewilders and bamboozles the brain – and had fans up in arms.

And finally, there is the fact Venky’s took advice from football agent Jerome Anderson on not only their takeover, but also their transfer policy. This saw Anderson’s client Kean appointed as manager and the club sign Anderson’s son, Myles, who has yet to make a senior team appearance. Perhaps the argument lean’s more to the confused side of the proverbial fence?

Clueless, arrogant and cold-hearted

It seems to me that Venky’s, as suggested by Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan, are ‘clueless’ more than confused or astute at the business of football, as in 19 months of their ownership they have failed – and continue to fail – to set out a clear strategy for the club.

Fans accusing Venky’s of bleeding club dry

By not listening and learning from the board, they have shown an arrogance that has been their downfall; by selling off players, freezing out others so their contracts are not renewed and sacking staff such as Deputy CEO Paul Hunt, they are cold-heartedly cost-cutting and bleeding the club dry; and by failing to listen to and communicate with the club’s biggest asset, the fans, they are driving away business.

The deeper into trouble Venky’s plunge the club, the bigger, better and bolder the action taken by fans is becoming. 56% of fans said they will not be renewing season tickets for the forthcoming season, many in protest at Kean and Venky’s; the Blackburn Rovers Action Group has set up a meeting with the Premier League for later this month to raise their concerns; and the Blackburn Rovers Investment Supporters Trust (BRSIT) continues to rally pledges from fans in an attempt to try to raise money to buy the club back into community ownership – this week they wrote an open invitation to Venky’s, inviting the owners to come and meet with them.

This was Venky’s last chance to reconcile with the fans, to take a step back in the right direction and to begin to turn around the clubs fortunes – they choose not to take it, instead fobbing off the very people they need to keep the club alive with a pathetic attempt at trying to play the victim.

Leaders are not confused: They are clear of mind, sharp of thought and driven to succeed.

Where’s the FA while Rovers are being robbed, ruined and relegated?

Football agent, Jerome Anderson, is head of the sports management company SEM, which advised Venky’s, Blackburn Rovers owners, on their takeover. Shockingly, Anderson counts among his clients, Blackburn’s current manager, Steve Kean, who was brought in by the Venky’s, along with a number of Anderson-connected players, including the agents own son.

So, with a football agent exerting such power, influence and control over a football club – effectively ruling the roost at Ewood – where are the FA on what is without doubt unethical, improper and rotten abuse that has seen the Pune poultry pushers plague, pillage and pulverise a founding member of our fantastic game it into the ground, in just 18 months.

Jerome Anderson’s influence

Jerome Anderson

David Conn, football writer for The Guardian, commented in his blog: “A substantial, unexpected degree of influence has clearly been entrusted at Ewood Park to the football agent Jerome Anderson, whose company, SEM, which is merged with the Swiss sports rights agency Kentaro, was advising Venky’s before they bought Rovers.”

After former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce was sensationally sacked in December 2010 and replaced by Anderson’s client, Kean, Rovers were forced to deny the dismissal had been based on a brouhaha relating to the club’s transfer policy being set by Kentaro.”Kentaro are our main consultants but Sam had the final call,” said Venky’s chairwoman, Anuradha Desai.

It seems Allardyce’s suspicious about Anderson’s involvement in transfers was correct, as along with the big name sales of key players Samba and Jones, and the freezing out of experience players – to prevent appearance related contact extension clauses being activated – came the cheap, half-witted, unintelligent Anderson influenced signings of Ruben Rochina, Mauro Formica and even his own son, Myles Anderson – unbelievable.

Myles Anderson

The transfer of Formica in January 2011 was initially disallowed by the Premier League on ‘technical grounds’, reportedly due to the fact the deal involved a ‘third party ownership element’ that the Premier League was not happy with.

Blackburn also signed Ruben Rochina in the same month for €450,000 from Barcelona in a deal where Rochina’s agent, Manuel Salamanca Ferrer, received a £1.65m fee – over three times as much as the actually transfer fee! Anderson claimed to not have made any money from this.

He was involved in both transfers though, commenting on Sky TV: “I basically slept at the training ground for the month of January and helped the club in so many areas. First and foremost trying to bring in players. We were very, very successful in that area.” Formica and Rochina went on to make one league appearance during the remainder of the 2010/11 season, between them.

In March 2011, when it was announced that Anderson’s 21-year-old footballer son, Myles, had signed a pre-contract agreement with Blackburn, sources close to the agent insisted he had no day-to-day involvement at the club. Yet a month earlier, when John Williams left Blackburn Rovers in February 2011, after 14 years as chairman, Anuradha Desai explained that the departure was in part due to the fact that John had “struggled to accept Jerome’s role at the club.”

Before Williams left, he wrote a letter to Mrs Desai – that has since been leaked – the last paragraph of which read: “Finally, our football secretary has, this morning, been instructed by SEM to issue a mandate to a third party without any reference or approval from the board. We are not familiar with the player concerned nor is he one that has been mentioned to us by the manager. Could you please, therefore, clarify the role of SEM in our transfer policy.”

It is clear that Anderson had a cunning, controlling and controversially influential role at the club. Is the FA not supposed to govern against this sort of unethical behaviour?

The ‘governing body’ of English football

The FA was founded in 1863 as the governing body of the game in England. This means it is supposed to look after its members, the many clubs at all levels that are English football – including Blackburn Rovers. In its Memorandum, the FA states one of its main objects as:

…to govern the game of association football with integrity and in doing so will seek to: (i) …preventing infringements of the rules and regulations of The Association and Laws of the Game, or other improper methods of practices in such game, and for protecting it from abuses…

I would interpret this to mean, among many things, that the FA will ensure that football agents, who represent players and managers in the game, are not in a position to have an influence over a club – this would surely be an ‘improper practice’ and breach of the ‘integrity’ of the game.

Further, if an agent did have such influence and was involved in a takeover of a football club at which this agent has clients – who could benefit from this influence – this would surely be ‘abuse’.

It seems I am wrong in my interpretations.

The FA has done nothing to prevent Rovers uncommunicative, ruthless and disconnected owners taking advice from and instilling control of a Premier League club (for one more game) to a football agent. But why have the FA not intervened?

Where is the FA?

Daily Mirror journalist, David Anderson, said: “Indian owners wanted the Champions League on a budget but ended up turning a stable mid-table club into a laughing stock”. There is no doubt the ruin of Rovers is down to the bad advice the Venky’s have taken and continue to take on football matters.

Just look at how they dealt with the recent leak of former deputy CEO, Paul Hunt’s letter, that he sent to Mrs Desai in December 2010, expressing his concerns about Kean and pleading with them to see sense to save the club from relegation – they sacked him. Kean’s still in a job though. Hunt of course, was not a client of Jerome Anderson.

Imagine for a moment that you are a football agent and you have just advised a wealthy business person on their takeover of Manchester United for example. As a further client, you also have a complete novice wannabe manager, as well as connections to a striker no one has heard of and your own son. You advise the new owner that they should sack Sir Alex and replace him with the novice wannabe manager, replace Wayne Rooney with the unknown striker and put your son on the books.

That scenario could actually happen; it has actually happened at Rovers (!); and it is apparently legally allowed to happen, because the FA, football’s governing body, is seemingly willing to let it happen.

Blackburn chicken

You would think the FA would have got involved to curtail the calamitous circus that has been circling Ewood Park this season, but alas, none of their extortionately remunerated executives seemed to manage to move from the plush luxury of their indulgently decorated not-for-profit offices in central London.

If Venky’s have not tarnished the English game by so foully abusing a prestigious member of its governing body, then I’ll release a chicken onto the pitch at the next Rovers game.

To the FA, I say: where are you? It’s time you stood up to those who want to do our game harm, those who want to ruin our clubs and those who are so blatantly taking money off loyal fans to simply line their own pockets. Stop being so cowardly, and act.

Steve Kean: fully aware or wilfully blind?

Media mogul Rupert Murdock was this week found by a government committee to be, ‘either fully informed about the phone hacking scandal or wilfully blind to what was going on in his companies’. The committee concluded that whichever the case may be, Murdock, ‘is not a fit and proper person’ to be in the position he occupies.

Fully aware or wilfully blind to the situation he’s led Blackburn into?

Let’s liken lofty Mr Murdock’s situation to Steve Kean’s: if you will for a moment allow yourself to imagine that an equally certified, competent and capable committee are to put judgement on Kean regarding whether he is a fit and proper person to manage Blackburn Rovers Football Club. Is he fully aware of his pathetically poor performance’s as manager, the sorry state of affairs at the club and the desperately downbeat fan’s views about him, or is he wishfully and wickedly wilfully blind to it all?

The case for fully aware

Fan protests of ‘Kean out’ have been a more frequent fixture at Ewood Park during the course of the current campaign than Rovers picking up points, playing well or seeing a sell out stadium. Fans have carried out ‘human banner’ protests outside the ground before games, organised methodical, miasmic marches and even gone to the lengths of procuring a plane to wing, whizz and whoosh over the ground during a game with a ‘Kean out’ banner trailing in its windy wake.

Lets add the ‘Kean out’ chants, often overpowering commentators during live games, the suggestion that his biggest supporter, the media, has now started to turn on him and the necessity to have his own burley bodyguard to personally protect him from devastated, disgruntled fans into the mix. Surely he must be aware of the backlash aimed at him? Indeed, commenting on the appointment of his bodyguard – a Kevin Costner to his Whitney Houston – Kean said: “I was advised that it would be in my interest to have somebody with me at all times.”

Then there are his tactics and the attitude of his players– who simply don’t look like they want to play for him – to be questioned. In a recent defeat to Spurs, Blackburn failed to take a single shot at goal, causing critics to comment that they had thrown in the towel on their scrap for survival.

The Daily Mirror stated, “For a side supposedly battling against relegation, Rovers were an embarrassment. And the news that filtered through afterwards – that defender Gael Givet had swapped shirts with Emmanuel Adebayor at HALF-TIME – was simply remarkable.”

Surely Kean is fully aware that he is out of his depth, unqualified and not wanted – results and league table positions do not lie. Any honourable man would have recognised his faults by now and stepped aside so someone more suitably qualified and experienced could take the club forward. Not Steve Kean though – he seems to prefer to put his own personal career interests ahead of the well being of the club that so many people love.

The case for wilfully blind

The Guardian’s, The Sport Blog, recently stated: “Should Rovers go down Kean will be a strong candidate for fibber of the season, what with attempting to talk his way out of a drink-driving charge and explain away all the various unscheduled absences of Blackburn players that have bedevilled their attempts to climb away from trouble.”

Kean needs a bodyguard to protect him from angry fans

Indeed, ‘Mr Positive’, does seem to – almost at default – sadly spin everything into something it’s not. Adding fuel to the fire regarding the bodyguard news, Kean further said: “It is a bit strange having him around, but there are some good things too. He is bloody interesting to talk to, for a start. I also think most of the Blackburn fans are behind me.”

Kean in recent weeks has also denied reports of training ground bust ups with players and attacks on him by fans. Kean can often be said to be living in a dream land, disconnected from every sane human beings view of the same events. It is therefore difficult to respect his opinion, take it as what he truly believes or even listen anymore.

With two matches left to play and having lost seven of his last eight games, Kean may have already relegated Blackburn before they play their next game against Wigan, this Monday night. Despite this, Kean still believes they can survive – and push for Europe in future seasons!

There are so many examples of Kean’s behaviour that suggest he is happy to be wilfully blind to what is going on. His delusions, until recently, have also been stupidly supported by some sections of the press, many of whom have had the audacity to strangely suggest he is a commonsense candidate for manager of the season. Maybe they are just as wilfully blind as Kean himself.

The judgement

If you are someone who refuses to recognise when things go wrong, unable or unwilling to investigate why and analyse these situations, you will never be someone who learns, develops and puts the wrongs right.

If I was not good at my own job – despite training, support and help – then I would stand down and let someone who is, take over. I would do this as it is the best decision for the stakeholders of the organisation I work for.

Whether Steve Kean is fully aware of his situation or whether he chooses to be wilfully blind to it, there is no questioning the judgment, much like the government committees judgement on Murdock, has to be that Kean is not a fit and proper person to be managing Blackburn Rovers Football Club.

The MP, Graham Jones, even brought the topic of Kean and Blackburn Rovers situation into UK Parliament in February 2012. However, unfortunately for Rovers fans, the equivalent of that government committee, Blackburn’s owners, the Venky’s, seem to care about the wellbeing of the club just as little as Kean does.

Three reasons why Guardiola should take his sabbatical at Old Trafford

Well respected football writer, Oliver Holt, believes that Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola has stuck faithfully to a philosophy of playing beautiful football at Barcelona, stands for something more than simply triumph and because of this, is wanted by every football club in the world.

Ferguson and Guardiola

I disagree, and in my opinion, Guardiola still has a lot to learn to be a legitimately world-class leader. So, let’s examine the reasons why Pep should spend his sabbatical season, if he does take one, under the strong stewardship of the sublime, Sir Fergie.

Reason one: the three year cycle

Jonathan Wills, in his blog, quotes the great Hungarian coach, Bela Guttmann, as once saying: “The third year is fatal. If a manager stays at a club more than that, his players tend to become bored and complacent and opponents start to work out counter-strategies. There are occasional exceptions, especially in weaker leagues, but at the highest level it seems to hold true that great teams last a maximum of three years.”

Jonathan states that Guttmann’s solution was to keep moving, collecting bigger and bigger signing-on bonuses, never hanging around long enough for entropy to set in – a sort of Mourinho of his day. Another solution of course, is for the manager to stay put and for the players to change, which is the sustainably superior strategy Sir Alex Ferguson has endlessly employed extremely successfully, time and time again, in his 25 years at Manchester United.

Guardiola is a lovingly loyal man and not someone who would want to continually change clubs every three years. Pep has chosen to move on from Barca, but it is clear he is not motivated by signing on bonuses – he is simply keen to learn and develop as a manager, and is looking to do this over the course of next season.

One skill then that he must acquire: to recognise when there is a need to re-build and find the ruthless streak, strength and staying power to do it. This will enable him to emulate Ferguson’s loyalty, leadership and long-term success – and who better to learn these skills from than the great man himself.

Defeat to Chelsea and Madrid has exposed Barca's lack of a plan B

Reason two: always have a back-up plan

Fergie’s teams, as well as playing attacking, attractive football, would take a win playing badly over playing pretty football and losing; Fergie is never afraid to change his tactics if he needs to in order to win; and he always has a plan B. These are traits that, arguably, as David Pleat points out in his blog, Barca lack under Guardiola.

A directness and sense of urgency is what was lacking from Barca’s recent performances against Madrid and Chelsea, and it was evident in all these big games that they did not benefit from stubbornly sticking to playing to Guardiola’s ideal of beautiful football – just look how Torres rubbed it in!

Fergie can show Pep that he can play his beautiful brand of brilliant football, but that to be a top manager, he needs to compromise at times on his principles.

During United famous 2-1 Champions League win over Munich in 1999, Ferguson threw the kitchen sink at Bayern – United abandoned their passing style for long balls into the box – and it worked. Pep in contrast, with his team needing a goal to go through to the final against Chelsea, in Camp Nou, decided to continue his passing football. As a consequence of trying to pass it into the net until the end, Barca failed to do so and crashed out.

Will the Theatre of Dreams be the next stop for Pep?

David Pleat, summarises perfectly: “Having the ball for 70% of the game is a futile statistic if you lose sight of your purpose in the last 40 yards.”

Fergie will be able to teach Guardiola that some situations call for only one football principle – winning by any means, way or style of play.

Reason three: mutual benefits

If the ‘noisy neighbours’ win the title then Ferguson will not walk away from the game – and even if United do retain their status as the superior side in English football, there’s still this season’s failings in Europe to address. This is why Guardiola coming to United, not as manager, but as Sir Alex’s assistant, to be groomed to be his replacement for the 2013/14 season, makes supreme sense.

It would give Fergie another experienced coach to bounce ideas off, particularly when it came to Europe – an area United have not looked as assured in since Carlos Queiroz left.

Further, if United do end the season trophy-less, they will need to attract big names on and off the pitch in order to keep the likes of Rooney, who threatened to leave in the summer, at the club.

And for Guardiola, a culture man who likes to study and learn, it would provide a great platform to get to know the club, team and Premier League. Remember that before becoming Barcelona’s manager, Pep coached their B team for a year, learning about many of the players he has now brought through to the first team, and he was also a player at Barca and knew the set up, the history and ethos of the club well.

Sir Alex realises that at the age of 70, he needs to plan for United’s future, and what better way than replacing himself with someone who could potentially become the best coach on the planet, as well as allowing himself one final swan song.

Conclusion: the ultimate manager?

With the added ingredients of being able to win at any cost, the ability to re-build a team and the experience of spending a year getting to know the United set-up, Pep would surely not only become the ultimate manager, but ensure United remain the ultimate team for another 25 years. What do you think?