Letter exposes Blackburn concerns

Former chairman John Williams was among three senior figures at Blackburn Rovers to question owners Venky’s two months after their takeover.

Williams, along with then managing director Tom Finn and finance director Martin Goodman, both of whom have since left the club, wrote co-owner Anuradha Desai on January 4, 2011 asking for clarification about decisions made early in their reign at Rovers.

The Indian owners sacked manager Sam Allardyce in December 2010, just a month after completing the takeover.

They appointed assistant coach Steve Kean as his replacement, and outlined their ambitions for the club to qualify for the Champions League, despite acknowledging their limited resources.

The letter, obtained by Sportingintelligence.com, said: “We now find … that the board are not even being consulted on some of the most fundamental decisions this or any other football club ever makes.”

“This includes the termination of the manager’s employment and the appointment of a new manager.”

“We have had no input into the terms of this appointment and presumably discussions are taking place with Steve Kean concerning additional staff appointments, again without an input from the board.”

The letter went on to question why the owners had told Kean that he did not need to discuss transfers with the board.

It said: “In addition, and of greatest concern, as we enter the transfer window, is your instruction that the manager is to no longer report to the board on transfer matters.”

“The board’s role seems to be merely one of processing the transfers as opposed to delivering a strategy based on discussions with you as owners and working to pre agreed financial budgets.”

Blackburn supporters staged a protest against the ownership of the club ahead of their 3-1 win over Fulham on Saturday.

The victory saw the team move out of the English Premier League relegation zone on goal difference.