Blackburn Rovers set for a cheap Indian takeaway
Blackburn Rovers are all set to become the first Premier League football club to fall into Indian hands, but supporters expecting the new owners to spend big will be in for a disappointment.
Venkateshwara Hatcheries – more commonly known as Venky’s – are Asia’s biggest poultry supplying firm, and supply chicken to major fast food outlets in India such as McDonald’s and KFC, as well as other interests, but they don’t see their purchase of Blackburn from the late Jack Walker’s family as a quick fix to restore Rovers to their title-winning heights of 15 years ago.
The £46million deal to buy the club and clear its debts is expected to be completed in the next fortnight, but the group have earmarked just £5million for boss Sam Allardyce to spend on new players, and are remaining realistic about the club’s chances under their stewardship.
“We will pump in whatever is needed but the main thing is to get the club back into good shape,” said Venky’s chairperson Anuradha J Desai.
“This is an investment and it will grow on its own strength. We won't need to buy expensive players, we can always lease [loan] them.
“We don't expect to be in the top five of the Premier League. We will be happy to be in the top 10 or 12.”
Boss Allardyce is wary of the new owners, and having been bitten by previous experience in his old job, he hopes that Venky’s will satisfy his and Rovers’ hunger for success.
“It is very important for the whole club and particularly important for me to know where the club is going,” he said.
“If you are getting new owners you want to know what they want to do and how they want to progress as a football club, which is important for me and the players here. That can cause a little bit of uncertainty, certainly from my point of view because I’ve experienced it before.
“I was at Newcastle and fell foul to a takeover [by Mike Ashley] by losing my job. If the club are to be sold then I would prefer it was sold as quickly as possible.”
Venky’s would too, with joint managing director Venkatesh Rao expecting the deal to go through soon, and reportedly keen to tap into both Blackburn’s large Asian population and the prospect of negotiating television deals with the continent’s Premier League-obsessed fans.
“It is very much confirmed,” he said. “It’s a £46m deal. I wouldn’t say that is cheap or expensive but we will have to pump in some more money later on.
“In the next 10 days we will be announcing it formally. We are not here to compare with anybody.
"It's one of the very prestigious, oldest and very well-run clubs. We are looking very positively. Don't forget, this is an Indian first company. It is a prestigious moment for everybody and we should cherish this moment.”
Should the Rovers deal be completed, it would mean that exactly half of the Premier League’s 20 clubs are in foreign hands.
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