The Curious Case of Blackburn Rovers

Put bluntly, Blackburn Rovers is a circus. A gruesome circus where in the early days the audience yelped but nobody listened.  The critics derided the fans but ignored the ringmasters. For over two years the Ewood Park outfit has seen more twists and turns than Eastenders and most would suggest that Peggy Mitchell could do a better job than 'Global Advisor', Shebby Singh.

Now I like fried chicken as much as the next person but chicken farmers should not be running a football club. They took over Rovers promising the Champions League and David Beckham but fans ended up with the Championship and David Goodwillie. The nightmare began with the nonsensical  sacking of Sam Allardyce. A manager that had the respect of the players and fans, regarded as one of the safest pair of hands to keep a club in the Premier League. Why sack such a manager and why replace him with the first team coach, Steve Kean?

Kean came in and found moderate success in the early stages. Sadly, John Williams, Tom Finn and several others of the highly respected staff members left the club. Dangerously, these people have never been properly replaced.  Despite later press reports fans got behind the manager but as the season came to crunch time, Rovers found themselves in a relegation battle. The signs were worrying but the Lancashire club managed to stay up thanks largely to the points amassed earlier in the season under Allardyce.

The nightmare really kicked in the following season and Kean remained in charge. The Scot compared various signings to top quality players: David Goodwillie was a young Wayne Rooney, Bruno Ribeiro was Dennis Irwin and Myles Anderson (now playing for Exeter) was the next Chris Smalling. Anderson had previously played just once for Aberdeen and in the end never played for Rovers. Fans could only laugh at Kean's comparisons but it didn't end there. The season started badly yet the Venkys couldn't see the need to replace the struggling Kean. A routine appeared where the team would lose several games and then a win would come along papering over the cracks. Fans could see what was happening, they shouted and no one listened. There was only one way Rovers were going. They protested and many in the media laughed. It wasn't until the Bolton game in December that the frustrations of Rovers fans bubbled over perhaps too much when Kean was barraged with abuse. Finally, the media took notice. They ignored the ridiculous owners and the hapless Kean, they chastised the fans. Kean became the victim and Blackburn fans the villains. Other Premier League managers rallied around Kean, berating the fans.

This was a nightmare where you shout for help but nobody can hear you. It seemed everyone was against the fans because of that one game.  A few national journalists could see the fans' plight. Admirably, the Lancashire Telegraph, made the bold move to call for Kean's sacking on their front page. They stood up for the fans, they could see what was happening. It was clear those who followed Rovers closely could see disaster unfolding but too many on Sky Sports and in the national press cherry picked incidents to criticise Rovers' fans but ignore the bigger picture of Venkys and Kean. Arguably, by sympathising with Kean it kept him in a job and contributed to Rovers relegation in May 2012. One interview in January 2012 Kean suggested he was getting 500 letters a day of support, had the support of other managers and told the concerned MP, Jack Straw, to focus on gritting the roads. He blindly chose to ignore the fans, a community. He was commended for his dignity but the dignified thing would have been to resign.

Blackburn aren't a fashionable club and they certainly aren't media darlings. For many of these fans, football is their lives, their hard earned wages go on season tickets and travel to away games. Kean was termed 'unsackable', fans felt helpless, hopeless and tired. They had spent so long shouting about the threat of relegation and their fears' were realised. On a rainy evening at Ewood Park, the former Premier League winners lost to Wigan and dropped into the Championship. Kean stood on the touchline, a lonely figure who had brunted both protests against him and his bosses. Could it get much worse?

Shebby Singh, a Malaysian pundit,  arrived in the summer after a relegation under the title 'Global Advisor'. He wasn't a fan of Steve Kean and this was most prominent in a Q & A with Rovers' fans. One fan joked:

'I'm a liar. I'm a suck up. I know nothing about football and I'm half Scottish. Can I have a job?' 

Singh replied,

'I'm very sorry that position has been filled.'

He clearly wanted to become popular with the fans and achieved this to an extent with the ousting of Kean and the signing of Jordan Rhodes. Nonetheless, these two positives are completely overshadowed with Singh's ineptitude. His interviews are embarrassing, his opinion of himself is inflated and the way he has disposed of the many managers has been cowardly and tactless.  You then have to combine his relationship with  two other board members, Derek Shaw and Paul Agnew. The latter has been a firm feature since the Indian takeover, the man that oversaw many PR disasters and an ally of Kean, was also weirdly promoted to board level. A boardroom battle: Shebby versus Shaw and Agnew has contributed significantly to the chaos at the Ewood circus. It seems like a pathetic competition between the two sides on who can win the affection of the Venkys.

This infighting has lead to the chop for several managers and has seen Rovers plummet into a second successive relegation fight. It now looks likely that they will stay up but three years ago Rovers' fans would never have imagined they'd be celebrating just missing the drop into League One. The club needs a complete clear out from top to bottom. Singh, Shaw and Agnew need to leave and experienced football administrators need put at the top to run the club. Is this really likely to happen though? Very few decisions Venkys have made make sense.  The best thing for Blackburn Rovers, a football league founder, would be to rid themselves of Venkys completely.

Fans are fighting for their club with the action group working hard to reveal the real truth behind the madness. This is a time for fans to be unified, to come together to save Blackburn Rovers. Fan ownership is one option with the creation of the Rovers Trust. The question that begs to be answered is will Venkys ever listen and will they want to sell? Singh stupidly suggested that those interested in purchasing the club couldn't even run a bar never mind a football club.  Another silly comment.

There are so many stories regarding Rovers that I haven't touched on including agents, transfers, players and also the role of the FA. Is the fit and proper persons test purely financial? Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that I wouldn't wish the disaster at Rovers on any football club. When will the circus leave town?

Mike Wazowkski, Mary Poppins and Star Wars: The Future of Disney

It may have all started with a mouse but the next couple of years see monsters, a snow queen, wookies and even Walt himself come to the big screen. When looking back at Disney's output over the last twenty years you don't have to look very hard to find quality. Since teaming up with Pixar back in 1995 for Toy Story, the animation powerhouse have never looked back and their ambition has only grown further. Titles such as Up, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc have become iconic, quotable films that appeal to both children and grown-ups.

Over the next couple of years Walt Disney Pictures have some of the most exciting films to hit the box office. Animation magic, live action adventures and even a biopic,  pepper an exciting release schedule that every moviegoer will be relishing. So pop on your Mickey ears, grab your lightsaber and take your spoonful of sugar as we explore the future of Disney's releases.

Monsters University

It's 12 years since Monsters Inc was released and so its prequel is anticipated with excitement by various ages. Billy Crystal and John Goodman return as Mike and Sully in Monsters University, a look into the college antics of the Monster world and the formation of Hollywood's greatest monster friendship. Some may argue that Disney are being lazy by doing a prequel but can you honestly blame them? Fans fell in love with Monsters Inc and the demand for more is certainly there. Will Monsters University replicate the success of the Toy Story series or will it be a disappointment like Cars 2?

Image: collider.com

The Lone Ranger

In the last couple of years Walt Disney Pictures have produced two huge flops in John Carter and Tron: Legacy but they'll be hoping The Lone Ranger won't see tumbleweed in the cinema foyer. Director of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Gore Verbinski takes on the challenge of bringing the 1950's Western TV series to the big screen.  Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Armie Hammer lead a strong cast and the trailer suggests this is a jam packed action film with explosions aplenty. Perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean in the Wild West?

Image: filmofilia

Frozen

A few weeks ago Disney announced their decision to cease making hand drawn animations that made the studio so iconic. It seems the CGI route is the way forward. In 2010 viewers were treated to the  Rapunzel adaptation, Tangled and in late 2013 Frozen will be released. A comedy much like Tangled, it will be based around the classic story of the Snow Queen filled with music written by Book of Mormon lyricist, Robert Lopez.

Image: Disney Wiki

Saving Mr Banks

This film, to use a well know phrase, sounds supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. A PG-13 live action feature that I am  incredibly excited about. Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney in a true story that follows his efforts to persuade Mary Poppin's author, P.L. Travers, to allow him to take the story to Hollywood. Emma Thompson stars as the Poppin's author as Disney travels across the globe in a ten year pursuit against stubborn Travers. This is the first time Walt Disney has been properly portrayed in cinema and with huge acting heavyweights behind it this is one of the most interesting and intriguing films to come out of the studio in a long time.

The Muppets...Again

"It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights..."After the success of The Muppet Movie they're back again and this time with an even better cast. Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Christoph Waltz,  and many more are teaming up with the classic Henson creations. James Bobin returns to direct and in even better news Bret McKenzie is back again to write the songs.

 Image: Digital Spy

Star Wars

A huge gamble for Disney as they take on one the most popular and loved franchises ever. JJ Abrams has been given the task to direct Star Wars VII, a direct sequel to George Lucas' original trilogy. Big name original stars are set to return including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Due for release in 2015 many will apprehensive of Star Wars getting the Disney treatment but so far all the signs are positive. With plans to release a new Star Wars film from 2015 onwards, lets just hope Donald Duck and co don't make an appearance.

Image: Independent.co.uk

Inside Out

Inside Out was officially titled at Cinemacon last week with Up and Monsters Inc director, Pete Docter taking the reigns. Set for US release on 19th June 2015, according to Pixar, "the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind." This sounds like another ambitious project from Disney Pixar that they believe will be unlike anything we've ever seen.

Image: hypable.com

Tomorrowland

Disney isn't holding back on its Science Fiction with a project inspired by Tomorrowland, an area of their theme parks. Ratatouille and The Incredibles director, Brad Bird, is behind the lens in this mysterious picture with George Clooney and Hugh Laurie confirmed to star. Clooney is rumoured to be playing an inventor who creates a girl robot played by rising star Raffey Cassidy.

Image: sciencefiction.com

The Good Dinosaur

Another Pixar release for the next couple of years is The Good Dinosaur, a story about herbivore dinosaurs.  Disney's last venture into the Pre-historic world was the 2000 movie, Dinosaur, but John Lasseter suggests it's going to be very different. "It's a very funny story about a certain way of life that a young dinosaur has trouble fitting into and he ends up going on a quest. He kind of messes up and he has to put everything right by going on this quest and on that quest he meets our character that is an outcast from society too and so the two of them form this bond and it becomes this unique kind of story..." 

Image- therotoscopers.com

Finding Dory

Eventually after years of begging by Ellen DeGenres, Finding Nemo is getting a sequel. The film titled, Finding Dory will follow the forgetful fish voiced by DeGeneres:

"I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time," "I'm not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating `Toy Story 16.' But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It's got a lot of heart, it's really funny, and the best part is -- it's got a lot more Dory."

Like Monsters University, this is a film that will have a huge audience. I'm not bemoaning the fact that its another sequel, I like many are excited to see the characters return and Dory get the screen time she deserves. 

Image: news.com.au

Walt Disney Pictures are showing a lot of ambition with a diverse range of styles, stories and new ventures.  So which Disney project are you most excited about. Why not leave a comment below or vote in the poll? 

Anyone for a trailer?

The very best film trailers seduce moviegoers, leave them begging for more, ensuring that a trip to the cinema is a must. Film distributors have jumped on this even further with the recent dominance of teaser trailers before the full length trailer. It often seems that you've seen half the film before it's even hit the cinema.

These past few weeks have seen trailers released for some of 2013's biggest and most anticipated films. So lets look towards the summer as we mingle with Jay Gatsby, Clark Kent, Mike Wazowski and a guy named Alan.

The Great Gatsby

"Gatsby, he had an extraordinary sense of hope but I had the uneasy feeling that he was guarding secrets."

Visually and musically this is one of the best trailers I've ever seen. Director, Baz Luhrmann teases us with a tantalising tour of West and East Egg and the bright lights of Manhattan.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire lead a stellar cast to what must be one of the hottest soundtracks going. Frank Ocean, Florence Welch, Beyonce and of course the ubiquitous Emeli Sande are just a few of the big names that can be heard on what promises to be one of the most stylish films of 2013.

Release date: 16th May

Man of Steel

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Not it's another reboot of the Superman franchise. Nonetheless, the Man of Steel trailer does look pretty good. The new franchise is in good hands with Zack Snyder (300 and Watchmen) in the director's chair and Christopher Nolan involved in both the story and production. Iconic images with Henry Cavill adopting the Superman pose combined with appearances from Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Russell Crowe (Jor-El) and Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent) has got many buzzing so lets hope it lives up to the hype. 

Release date: 14th June

The Hangover: Part lll

The first Hangover instalment took us all by surprise, a fresh, laugh out loud original comedy with various scene stealing performances from Alan played by Zack Galifianakis. Sadly the sequel copied the same premise of the first film but moved it to Bangkok and it's success wasn't replicated. Nonetheless, the trailer for the final chapter ignores the concepts used in the first two films and looks to be packed with hilarious moments. Alan and Mr Chow take centre stage with scenes that involve gliding over Vegas and the decapitation of a giraffe. 

"My names's Alan and I bought a giraffe!"

Release date: 24th May

Catching Fire

"Every revolution begins with a spark."

The Hunger Games became a phenomenon in 2012 gaining both critical and commercial success and thus Catching Fire is one of the most anticipated films of 2013.  The snapshot the teaser trailer provides looks like it it could well match up to the first film. Academy Award winner, Jennifer Lawrence returns in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen as do all other principal actors with exciting additions including, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who wants to see it? I volunteer!

Release date: 22nd November

Lone Ranger

From the team that brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise comes Disney's The Lone Ranger. Armie Hammer stars as title character and Johnny Depp as Tonto in this adaptation of the classic 1950's television series. The trailer paints a vivid picture of the Wild West with cowboys, saloons, trains and like most Johnny Depp films, Helena Bonham Carter. Fingers crossed it isn't a flop like Disney's 2012 release, John Carter. 

"Never take off the mask."

Release date: 9th August

The Conjuring

Director of Insidious, James Wan, brings us what looks to be the horror film of 2013 in The Conjuring. Based on the case files of paranormal investigators, Frank and Lorraine Warren, this film looks at one of their most disturbing cases. Creepy music boxes, eerie clapping hands and of course an old American house provide what looks to be one the jumpiest movies of the year. It isn't just about the frights though as this looks like a classy piece of film-making with great 1970s authenticity, an eye-catching poster that requires a double take and a cast lead by the exceptional, Vera Farmiga.

Release date: 19th July

Star Trek Into Darkness

Another franchise but in a good way not in a Scary Movie way, sees J J Abrams take on the worshipped Star Trek series. Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Zoe Zaldana and, what looks to be a brilliant baddy, in Benedict Cumberbatch, appear in what looks to be one of the biggest films of the year.

Release date: 2nd May

What trailer caught your eye the most? Let me know by leaving a comment below. 

There are some really exciting films coming out in 2013 including, The Bling Ring, The Counsellor, The World's End, Pacific Rim and Don Jon. I'll take a look at some of these films and also a in depth look at various future releases from Walt Disney Pictures in future blog posts so make sure to visit again.