I thought I'd have a bit of fun with what could have happened " down the road " ...... Warning: Those of a sensitive disposition may wish to look away now !!
VENKY'S ACCLAIMED " MODEL OWNERS " IN LANDMARK DECADE FOR BLACKBURN ROVERS !!
Brothers Balaji and Ventatesh Rao seem plainly at ease as they sign the Autograph books and shirts of young supporters, in the shadow of the state of the art " Tony Parkes " Stand, completed in 2018, replacing the aging Riverside Stand. Far away from their home town of Pune, India, the brothers have become accustomed to the warmest of Lancashire welcomes since their takeover of this famous old Club in November 2010. This period has been the most successful in Rover's history since Victorian times, with a Premier League title, a FA Cup, two League Cups and a Europa League triumph.
Sitting in the beautifully appointed Boardroom an hour later, the brothers sat down and explained their formula for success and how they'd won the hearts of this East Lancashire Mill town. " When we took over in November 2010, we already knew that whilst we had a thriving business in India, we had no experience of professional football, and decided to keep the existing managerial structures in place. From John Williams as Chairman, and Sam Allardyce as Manager, we saw we had experienced top level professionals on the payroll. "
Nodding as his brother speaks, Balaji added, " The 2012-13 season was a landmark, when we decided to sign Gareth Bale, Tony Klose and Danny Blind. Whilst the initial outlay was huge, it was their goals that propelled us to the title and our League Cup success the following season. The one disappointment was Tony's injury, without which I think we'd have won that Champion's League semi-final in 2013. After the 2014 World Cup, Tony and Danny moved on and our £60,000,000 profit enabled us to re-invest, and those new players, Wilfred Zaha, Kevin DeBruyn and Mo Salah ensured Champions League football for the next three seasons, and paved the way for our 2017 FA Cup triumph and the Europa League win last season ".
The brothers are particularly proud of how the Club has grown off the field. Regular sellout crowds of 44,000 now include regular supporters trips from India, where the Club is known as " India's Team ". That huge market has led to the biggest sponsorship deal in UK Sports history for the Rovers from Tata Steel, and the Merchandising profits from the sub-continent now dwarf the revenues from Match day attendances, and the Club's annual pre-season visits to India see their players feted like " Bollywood " Stars. The Venky's poultry business has gone from strength to strength, after taking over all the UK's " Kentucky Fried Chicken " outlets after all American owned firms were nationalised by Mr Corbyn and the incoming Labour Government in 2017.
When asked about their biggest challenge, Ventatesh cited the retirement of Sam Allardyce in June 2017. " We asked Sam to recruit his own successor, and he chose our former defense Coach, Sean Dyche, which of course, met with our approval. We were lucky to recruit Sean when he missed out on the Burnley Manager's job in 2012, ( The now-defunct Clarets appointing Michael Appleton instead ).
The 10 year Anniversary of the Venky's take-over is to be marked by the awarding of the " Freedom of the Borough " to the Rao brothers, at a sell out ceremony to be held at Ewood Park, where they will also greet H.R.H. Prince Charles, who will bestow honorary O.B.E's on the pair. The Prince is in East Lancashire to open Europe's biggest " High-Bay " warehouse, built by BooHoo on the site of the former home of Burnley Football Club, Turf Moor.
( Lancashire Telegraph 13th November 2020 )
