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Blackburn fan group announce protest plans against the board and the Venky’s for Cardiff fixture

A Blackburn fan group announce fresh protest plans against the board and the Venky’s for next month’s home fixture against Cardiff.

For the recent game against Millwall, the fanbase were asked not to spend money inside Ewood Park, and on that day, a chant of “Venky’s out” was heard with the owners in attendance for the first time since 2018.

They took a stand, vented anger and frustration with a ‘woeful’ summer transfer window, and a couple of injuries has led to a thin squad, seeing Rovers pick up 1pt out of 12 up until the Millwall game.

Blackburn beat Millwall 3-1, then have drawn 2-2 against Portsmouth, leaving Mowbray’s side sitting 16th in the Championship table with 9 points from their opening 8 games.

Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition said it would be the first of many protests, and another one has just been announced, as per their latest statement.

Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition said before the Millwall game: “Summer 26/27 transfer window. Yet again, the club’s board has failed in another transfer window.

“Tony Mowbray had to fly out to Switzerland to plead with the owners. To back us after a season where we just stayed up.

“After signing Fevrier and Morsy, Mowbray was on record saying he expected 4 more signings to join the club after an encouraging start to the season. He got 1. A backup right back.

“This is down to Rudy Gestede’s incompetence; he has shown since the summer of 2024 that he lacks the experience to hold such a position at such a historic club. A man with no experience in such a position, but we hired him anyway; a man elevated far above his station.

“If reports are to be believed, two more players were due to join Blackburn Rovers yesterday, but Derby took Cashin, and Burnley took Hatate off us.

“Once again, business was left till the 11th hour; lessons not learnt from a myriad of mistakes from seasons gone by.

“There has been a catalogue of failures in transfer windows now dating.

“Back to the 22/23 season and the fans have had enough.

“25/26 summer business: €2 million on Tavares, €860k on Henrikson, €750k on De Neve.

“The club chose not to utilise the loan market in the summer.

“Departures of numerous experienced championship players were.

“Replaced with inexperienced foreign players, which meant we stayed up due to Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion having points deductions.

“Departures: Travis, Brittain, Hyam (on deadline day), Dolan, Leonard, Weimann, Buckley, Rankin-Costello, Batth.

24/25 January business: too many players in the 25-man squad resulted in Arnor Sigurdsson being forced into being released for free before his contract was up; Eustace was on record saying he wanted him to stay, as did Arnor.

“Incomings to help eustace maintain playoff status: Karbo, Dennis, Woodrow

“As a result of the shockingly poor window, Eustace walked, leaving us for relegation scrapping Derby County, which resulted in Rudy and Adam Owen appointing Valerian Ismael and bottling the play-offs again.

“24/25 summer: after selling Wharton for €21.1 million in January and Szmodics for €10.6 million, along with Gallagher and Wahlstedt totalling €34.5 million, we spent €4 million in the summer €1.8 million of that was spent on Makhtar Gueye

“23/24 January: after announcing we had signed him and flown him over fromAamerica, the Duncan McGuire deal fell through at the last second due to Greg Broughton and his team

“An error that could have seen us relegated if it weren’t for Sam Szmodics heroics

23/24 summer: Tomasson was promised to be backed in the summer window. But was on record saying a “hand grenade” was chucked into the dressing room when the money promised was no longer available.

“The club paid fees for two players that summer: Telalovic and Wahlstedt, totalling less than €2 million.

“22/23 January: we once again found ourselves in the play offs under Tomasson; the manager needed reinforcements in the January window

“We were due to sign Lewis O’Brien and Ethan Brierley.

“Due to administrative errors again by Greg Broughton and his team, we missed out on the two signings because the deals were submitted after the deadline.

“We dropped out of the play-offs again!

“We have also let numerous key experienced Championship players wind down their contracts over the past 5 years and leave the club for nothing; Tronstad, Dolan, Brereton Diaz, Rothwell, Lenihan, Nyambe.

“A record that is extremely worrying when you consider we have thirteen players with contracts up next summer, some of which are key players to this squad: Cantwell, Toth, Mcloughlin, Ohashi, Forshaw, Pickering, Morsy, Afolayan, Pears, Carter and Ribeiro

“The BRFC Coalition are calling on Steve Curwood to sack Rudy Gestede. His position is simply untenable after the catalogue of transfer mistakes and blunders in the two years he has held the position of head of football operations.

“As part of this statement, we also think it is time we once again show our dismay to the board and the owners with how appallingly the club is being run.

“We are being asset-stripped year on year and are in a state of managed decline, a club on life support, having to play 2 games now with 2/3RDS of its bench lads from the under 21s.

“Our message to the Venkys is “If you won’t spend, neither will we”!

“We are encouraging fans without season tickets to stay away from the club vs millwall on Saturday the 12th of September and not hand over your hard-earned cash to a club with no ambition.

“Fans who have season tickets, we are encouraging you to please not spend in the club shop or on the concourse.

“Hit the club only where it takes notice in its pocket; send a message as a fanbase that we will not tolerate this anymore.

“Multiple key players have left and stated that they left due to the club’s lack of ambition, making sideways moves to other championship clubs: Travis, Hyam and Brittain.

“Most recently, Sondre Tronstad was on record and said, ‘The club lacked ambition’

“We are only going one way with the current state of the squad and transfer business, and that isn’t back to the Premier League.”

Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition have now said: “On the 10th of October, vs Cardiff, bring anything chicken-related to the game #Rovers fans! 🐔

“The Venky’s have finally shown their faces, we must ACT NOW whilst we have their attention

“On the 16th minute we are also encouraging all fans to participate in a VENKYS OUT chant 🍗

Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition said: “Now that the owners have finally attended a game after
8 years away, we must act fast as a fanbase.

“They can see and hear us for the first time in nearly a decade; we can’t be ignored!

“The owners have once again “Promised” funds to be available in January; the same promises were made to Mowbray when he travelled to Switzerland this summer.

“Any normal club wouldn’t require their head coach to grovel for backing in the transfer market nor have to be promised he will receive funds in January to fix a depleted squad.

“It is clear that many rovers fans are either staying away or, as shown vs Millwall, are prepared to make their feelings known at the ground.

“We are encouraging all rovers fans vs Cardiff at home on the 10th of October to bring to the game rubber
chickens, chicken masks/costumes, absolutely anything chicken-related as a symbol of our stand against the ownership group. If you are a fan who’s stayed away for months, years, even over a decade, come join us in our stand against the owners!

“On the 16th minute of the game, we are also proposing that all 3 home stands chant “We want venkys out” for 1 minute straight to symbolise the frustration of 16 years of venky’s ownership of our club.

“Both the players and our head coach have said that any atmosphere encourages them, so nobody can say this will affect the playing standards.

“Stand up against the board and the Venkys. Protect the Jack Walker legacy.

“Let’s make our voices heard, enough is enough!”

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