Blackburn Rovers Takeover Completed
November 19th 2010 16:02
Link: twitter.com/mattsaltmer
Today, Blackburn Rovers have sold 99.9% of the club's shares to Indian Company, Venky's London Limited. The takeover is reported to have cost in the region of £23 million. This ends BRFC Investments Limited's control of the club, a company which has held the majority shares since the death of former owner, Jack Walker, in 2000.
There is no doubt that a takeover at the club, will have fans dreaming of the same results as last time such an event occurred. Walker took control of the Lancashire club back in 1991, and quickly transformed them into a force in World Football. Kenny Daglish returned to management to take the helm, £20 million was spent reconstructing the stadium, and a huge outlay was spent to bring in new players. Rovers broke the English transfer record twice, first signing Alan Shearer, then Chris Sutton. The accumulation of this investment, was winning the Premier League title, in 1994-95, despite only being in the top flight for three years.
More recent years have seen Blackburn become renowned as a mid-table Premier League side, with current manager Sam Allardyce steadying the ship, after Paul Ince's brief spell as manager nearly cost them relegation. The Premier League has changed a lot since Walker's takeover 19 years ago, and it is unlikely such a transformation of a club could happen again. Roman Abramovic turned Chelsea into Champions inside three years, but they were already a Champions League side. Manchester City were at a similar level to Blackburn when their new owners came in, and in their third season, are currently fourth. But the City owners also have some of the deepest pockets in the world.
At this time it is unclear how much Allardyce will be able to spend to strengthen the club. But after financial troubles of late, Rovers fans will first and foremost, be glad the club's long term future is now secure. Question marks will now be raised all around the club. Will the new owners be happy for Allardyce to continue as manager? How much money will be invested? And what are the new owner's expectations? Given the league's current climate, turning Blackburn Rovers into a Europa League side within the next three years will surely be a realistic target. As for further achievements, I suppose that will just depend on how much money there is.
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