Blackburn Rovers fans groups join together in support
10:41am Wednesday 26th September 2012 in Sport
By Steve Tinniswood, Sports reporter
TWO Blackburn Rovers supporters groups have joined forces in an ambitious attempt to buy the club.
Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust and Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust (BRST) have united to form Rovers Trust – its aim to own the Ewood Park club in whole or part.
The Rovers Trust has the full approval of Supporters Direct, the independent Government body set up to advise football fans on taking a stake in their club.
The two groups have spent the summer formulating their merger plans, setting up the new trust as a Community Benefit Society and making sure all the relevant legal and financial structures are in place.
The new membership drive for the Rovers Trust has been launched in a bid to sign up Rovers fans for a £10 annual membership fee to give the group credibility.
The membership push will then be followed by a share-raising plan modelled on the ‘pledge scheme’ first launched by BRSIT earlier this year. That pledge scheme, first launched by BRSIT, earlier this year, has seen almost £3m pledged by supporters wanting to buy a £1,000 share in a new ownership model.
An initial target of £10m has been set by the Trust’s co-chairmen – BRST founder Oliver Jones and Wayne Wild, one of the co-founders of BRSIT – to help ensure the club’s future is in the hands of fans and the community.
“We have brought together a talented team of fans who have spent many months working on the structure of the trust to ensure it is legally watertight and financially ready to gain an ownership interest in Blackburn Rovers,” said Jones.
“Our principal objective is to obtain full or part ownership of Blackburn Rovers and its assets on behalf of fellow supporters in order to represent supporters’ views whilst protecting the club’s short and long term future..”
The fans fight to buy the club already has some high profile fans including Rovers legend Simon Garner and MPs Jack Straw, Jake Berry and Graham Jones.
Wild believes the move demonstrates to the club’s current owners Venky’s how series the Trust is in buying the club.
He said: “By uniting we can concentrate on our two main aims: Making as many supporters as possible members of Rovers Trust and persuading as many supporters as possible to buy one or more shares in the Community Benefit Society.”
Comments(22)
londonrover
says...
11:12am Wed 26 Sep 12
the_iconoclast
says...
11:34am Wed 26 Sep 12
the_iconoclast
says...
11:35am Wed 26 Sep 12
the_iconoclast wrote:* Change city for village.
This lot might have the money to buy Burnley (the city) or a pie shop but they'll never have the money to buy Rovers.
PaulRK
says...
12:20pm Wed 26 Sep 12
eddie the eagle
says...
12:40pm Wed 26 Sep 12
PaulRK wrote:You could well be right.
Not sure if this is anything more than an ego trip for some involved.
Captain Dreckley
says...
1:17pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Is Eckersley playing?
says...
1:19pm Wed 26 Sep 12
A Rover 45 years and over
says...
1:46pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Better with the right type of big financial backer if one could be found. Having a percentage of supporter owned shares might be a good idea in order to give supporters some sort of representation etc. Or if the Club went into administration then maybe a supporters trust would be best to pick up the pieces. I would always be wary that the businessmen on the supporters trust might feather their own nests by buying the ground for peanuts and renting it back to the club like they did at Burnley.
baz58
says...
1:55pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Captain Dreckley wrote:I totally agree, at least they are trying to do something instead of sitting around moaning, i will join when i know how. Good luck lads!!!!
At least these guys are doing something rather than wallowing in self pity. Venkys are obviously concerned at reduction in revenue due to reduced gates because of no supporter confidence in Kean yet still he stays in place. This position is not sustainable and venkys will either cut their losses and sell or the club will plunge into administration. The answer is simple, give Kean the sack and get 10,000 back. If they persist with their current course the club will need s supporters trust to pick up the pieces. How do you join?
xrayspex77
says...
2:06pm Wed 26 Sep 12
ponyton wrote:That would obviously include Gael Givet wouldn't it?
OT WITH DRUNK DRIVERS ,LIARS AND ROBBERS OF OLD PEOPLES LIFE SAVINGS, AND IN WITH DECENCY HONESTY AND GETTING OUR FOOTBALL CLUB BACK FROM THESE UNDESIRABLES.
Miller11
says...
2:32pm Wed 26 Sep 12
www.roverstrust.co.u
k
The-Jerome-and-Steve-Show
says...
3:22pm Wed 26 Sep 12
It would be losing the Indians to be run by Cowboys.
RUinsane
says...
3:36pm Wed 26 Sep 12
PaulRK wrote:Thats my feeling on it also.
Not sure if this is anything more than an ego trip for some involved.
forever-a-blue-jean
says...
3:42pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Irish knowledge
says...
3:46pm Wed 26 Sep 12
Oakdale blue
says...
5:06pm Wed 26 Sep 12
I haven't supported some of the actions that have been called for to date but the news that these two parties are now one can only mean their voice is stronger and more vocal and if, in time, that buys a voice within the club (small or large) then their mission and vision will have been a success.
Good luck to them, count me in. I look forward to hearing more details.
Whatever happened to the official supporters club of old ?
Ivan hard 1
says...
5:12pm Wed 26 Sep 12
SilverFox424
says...
6:12pm Wed 26 Sep 12
The idea is crazy !!
Daniel Louis Grabko
says...
7:43pm Wed 26 Sep 12
A Rover 45 years and over wrote:Rovers Trust is a Community Benefit Society owned by its members and fully accountable to them. It will be required by its own rules, that it is legally bound to abide by, to conduct full and open elections within 6 months of opening for membership officially. That day was yesterday, meaning that elections for every position on the committee are up for election at the very latest 24/03/2013.
This would be a step back to the old days with local busness men running the club with no money until Jack came along. We would have to be a selling club to survive and it wouldn't be the Blackurn Rovers we have become used to.
Better with the right type of big financial backer if one could be found. Having a percentage of supporter owned shares might be a good idea in order to give supporters some sort of representation etc. Or if the Club went into administration then maybe a supporters trust would be best to pick up the pieces. I would always be wary that the businessmen on the supporters trust might feather their own nests by buying the ground for peanuts and renting it back to the club like they did at Burnley.
An official launch event is being planned for late November, with a date yet to be finalized. It will be very similar in format to BRSIT's KGH event last May. An open forum where you can ask your questions and get real answers. In the meantime, you can read about Rovers Trust, its Mission Statement, a complete disclosure of the members of the temporary working party until full elections can take place, membership details, and how Rovers Trust plan to go about achieving the ambitious goal of obtaining an ownership stake in the Club we all love.
Rovers Trust hopes you can join in the only positive movement out there to trying to bring Rovers back to the Community.
www.roverstrust.co.u
k
Mr Perfekt
says...
7:59pm Wed 26 Sep 12
jackmetickler
says...
10:59am Thu 27 Sep 12
RUinsane wrote:They wouldnt have the nouse to do it unless there was some ego involved... that provides the drive to see these things through.
PaulRK wrote: Not sure if this is anything more than an ego trip for some involved.Thats my feeling on it also.
However they are proper fans and its is a fans consortium which lets face it although never perfect it is the best way for us ordinary mortals to have some clout at the club.
Lets be honest..... I cant think of anything worse than the current regime!
ponyton says...
10:53am Wed 26 Sep 12
AND IN WITH DECENCY HONESTY AND GETTING OUR FOOTBALL CLUB BACK FROM THESE UNDESIRABLES.