Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has accused Arsene Wenger of trying to use the media to influence referees and make Arsenal players untouchable.
The Gunners boss again hit out at heavy tackles on his players after Abou Diaby was injured against Bolton on Saturday.
Allardyce said: “He’s a very clever man in terms of influencing referees, officials and everybody in football.
Sam Allardyce
“In saying people are trying to injure players he’s trying, through the media, to influence referees.”
Allardyce and Wenger have often clashed over their teams’ style of play.
Arsene Wenger
The Frenchman accused Allardyce’s players of targeting his goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski at set-pieces during a 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park towards the end of last season.
In other Rovers news:
THE Indian businessman interested in taking over Blackburn has had his “period of exclusivity” extended.
Ahsan Ali Syed’s firm Western Gulf Advisory’s (WGA) agreement with Rovers means no other potential buyer can take over the club while the company continues to explore options.
A statement from WGA said: “Western Gulf Advisory announces that the period of exclusivity it was granted in order to conduct due diligence on Blackburn Rovers Football Club has been extended.
Ahsan Ali Syed
“This enables WGA to continue to explore the financial situation of the club while ensuring that no other bidder can buy it or look into its books.
“Although the due diligence process is taking longer than originally envisaged WGA remains committed to pursuing the opportunity to acquire such a prestigious club.”
WGA is based in Bahrain and Switzerland, though chances of a takeover appeared to have receded after allegations about Syed’s finances were made in a BBC documentary.
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PAUL Robinson has hit back at former team mate Danny Murphy as Blackburn Rovers moved to defend themselves against the midfielder’s verbal assault.
The Fulham playmaker last week accused manager Sam Allardyce of sending out a team of ‘brainless footballers’ with the sole intention of rattling their opposition with dangerous tackles, but Robinson has slammed the allegations as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘untrue’.
Allardyce himself has also called for Murphy to be ‘man enough’ to apologise as the club, furious at Murphy’s slight on their reputation, produced the disciplinary facts on a hand out to further undermine the midfielder’s argument.
Rovers goalkeeper Robinson played with Murphy for Spurs and, ahead of Monday’s Premier League visit of Sunderland,admitted he was surprised by his outburst.
He said: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion but to make a personal attack towards players and a team is very disappointing.
Sam Allardyce has challenged Danny Murphy to be “man enough” to publicly apologise for his claims that players are being injured because certain managers are sending their teams out too fired up.
Fulham skipper Murphy singled out Blackburn, Stoke and Wolves – a move that has provoked fury among players and management at Ewood Park – and said some players had “no brains” in the challenges they were making.
The Blackburn manager called on Murphy to apologise, insisting: “If he’s man enough, that’s what he should do.”
Blackburn have produced a raft of statistics to prove they are not a dirty side – they currently have the fourth-best disciplinary record in the Premier League with 11 cautions and no red cards this season, better than both Fulham and Arsenal.
Rovers have only had one player sent off all year, no players were suspended for five or more bookings last season, and their disciplinary record has improved hugely since Allardyce took over.
He added: “The allegation made by Danny Murphy was totally and utterly wrong as you can see by the facts we have given out.
“We are not dirty and we never go out to injure a player; I never send a player out to injure a player on the opposite side, we are too professional for that.
“In the disciplinary league table we are fourth, that’s how good we are. People like Danny Murphy are giving a perception that’s not true and I hate perception. There is far too much of it in the game, we should stick to reality.
“I was very, very angry indeed when I saw it. The players are very angry – was it brainless or mindless he said? An outrageous statement to make. They are very angry about that.
“We don’t want any backlash from those suggestions, from people’s perception that we are a dirty side.”
BLACKBURN Rovers would be entering into a ‘high-risk lottery’ if they sold the club to foreign owners, warns a leading football finance expert.
As takeover talks rumble on behind the scenes at Ewood Park, with several foreign suitors still in the race to become Rovers’ new owners, the game’s leading light when it comes to money matters believes recent cases should send out an ominous warning.
Professor Tom Cannon, from Liverpool University, is quick to insist there can be exceptions but believes football’s recent history of foreign ownership does not make for good reading.
He accepts if the club needs new investment then Rovers’ owners may be left with little choice but to sell to overseas – but warns coming under foreign control would represent a gamble.
He said: “It is the same situation facing any Premier League club outside the top half. It is an incredibly high risk lottery looking at foreign buyers.
“The reality is if you look beyond the few, the risks are enormous for anyone considering buying a Premier League club or even a Football League club.
“Everyone at Portsmouth kept saying they were about to be transformed into the best thing in the world but it never worked that way.
“Although we get very excited about what has happened at Chelsea and Manchester City, City haven’t actually won anything yet.
“You look at the other foreign owners and their track record is not that good.
“Look at Liverpool, Sunderland, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Portsmouth. All these guys have talked long and delivered short.
“When you compare clubs now with clubs prior to their foreign ownership in terms of performance on the field, with the exception of Chelsea and possibly Manchester City, most you would find are in debit.”
Ahsan Ali Syed’s representatives yesterday told the Lancashire Telegraph the Indian tycoon was still in discussions about buying Rovers, while sources close to the club again stated there is still more than one party interested.
As well as Mr Ali, Mumbai businessman Saurin Shah, among others, is still interested in buying the club with the potential of capitalising on the Premier League’s Asian market known to be a draw.
On the day Liverpool head to the High Court as their own American takeover continues to shroud the club in uncertainty, though, Cannon warns making money from football clubs is easier said than done.
Cannon said: “People look at Premier League clubs having millions of supporters in Asia and the US etc, and most think there must be a way of capitalising on it.
“The facts are though some very bright people, the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, haven’t found a way yet. It is easy from the outside.”
Several other foreign groups have been linked with a potential bid for Rovers in recent weeks but Cannon believes fans and clubs should remain wary until firm action is taken.
He added: “When something happens believe it.
“At the moment it is one of the easiest ways to get cheap publicity to say you are going to buy a Premier League football club.”
EWOOD Park legend Bryan Douglas has blasted Danny Murphy’s ‘disrespectful’ attack on Blackburn Rovers and has called for the midfielder to be ‘hauled over the coals’ by the game’s chiefs.
The Fulham midfielder launched a verbal assault towards Rovers boss Sam Allardyce, claiming he was responsible for a ‘brainless’ physical approach of his side that was kicking players off the pitch.
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy and Stoke City manager Tony Pulis were also targeted in Murphy’s extraordinary rant but Douglas, still a regular at Ewood, has dismissed his accusations as nonsense.
Douglas said: “He is talking rubbish and he should be embarrassed by what he has come out with.
“Any manager worth their salt wants their players to compete. But we are no thugs.
“Of course we compete on the field but you look through our team and I can’t think of one player you would consider a hard man.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/8442992.Blackburn_Rovers_legend_slams_Murphy_s__disgraceful__outburst/?ref=mr
FULHAM captain Danny Murphy has taken a swipe at Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce’s tactics.
The ex-England player accused Allardyce, Wolves manager Mick McCarthy and Stoke City’s Tony Pulis of ‘pumping up’ their teams too much and of stopping the opposition playing.
Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge, Murphy said: “They can say it’s effective and they have got to win games.
“But the fact is the managers are sending out their players so pumped up there are inevitably going to be problems.
“Your manager dictates what your players do and how you behave.”
“Every ship has a captain and that’s the manager who is in charge.
“You get managers who are sending their teams out to stop other teams playing, which is happening more and more – the Stokes, Blackburns, Wolves.”
THE man who fell victim to Blackburn Rovers’ last takeover has warned fans ‘be careful what you wish for’ as the search goes on for new owners.
Rovers’ immediate future continues to be shrouded in uncertainty with several parties understood to be jostling for position in the race to buy the club, but Don Mackay has urged the Ewood faithful ‘don’t underestimate your current lot in life’.
Mackay was axed as Rovers boss in 1991 in favour of Kenny Dalglish, soon after local steel magnate Jack Walker seized control to change the East Lancashire outfit’s history forever.
The Scot is the first to admit Walker’s arrival was the best thing that could have happened to the club but warns a change of ownership does not guarantee a success story.
He said: “The big difference is Jack Walker was Blackburn Rovers through and through. He did not buy the club as an investment, he bought the club because he wanted to move them forward.
“At the time though, I remember the chairman Bill Fox was worried and uncertain.
“He didn’t know what Jack Walker wanted and there were fears what would happen in he walked away and left the club in debt.
“That all proved to be immaterial and Jack was obviously a great thing for the club. It doesn’t mean the next takeover will be though as you would have to be extremely fortunate to find another Jack Walker.
“I understand Rovers would love a bit more money but if you look at the big picture things aren’t too bad as they are they? They are an established Premier League club and fans only to have to think back 20 years or so to see how far they have come.
“It wasn’t too long ago that Bill felt he needed to modernise the stadium a little bit by putting a roof on the toilets. That is how far the club have come.
“I can understand the desire for new owners but it doesn’t always work out the way you want it. Look at Liverpool and Portsmouth. Money doesn’t guarantee success.”
On the day crisis club Liverpool took a step closer to being sold again, with their initial buyers landing the club in millions of pounds worth of debt, Mackay has welcomed Rovers’ ‘no-rush policy’ in the takeover process.
While some supporters start to grow impatient at the seemingly never-ending process, Mackay believes the more checks taken to guarantee the club’s future the better.
Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed and Saurin Shah are two known rival bidders, with an unnamed bidder also believed to be well advanced in his efforts, as activity continues behind the scenes.
Mackay said: “The thing about Jack Walker was the club was in a healthy position before he took over. He wasn’t buying into debts like new owners are nowadays. That is where the danger lies.
“You have to look seriously at what are they doing it for? If that is why this process seems to be going on a long time, then Rovers are very much doing the right thing.
“Are these people doing it for the benefit of Blackburn Rovers or are they doing it for themselves and for investment?
“They talk about bringing extra fans to the ground but that is very difficult.
“Bill Fox always said the club would never have the fan base to rival that of the bigger clubs in the area. I’m not sure some of these potential investors understand that.”
While cautious about a change of ownership, Mackay knows it could yet prove a success but believes the cornerstone of Rovers’ future has to be their youth set-up.
“People didn’t believe Jack Walker would achieve his vision but he did.
“I realised at the time I probably would not have been a big enough name for him.
“But in that team it wasn’t just money. There were players who had been brought through from Jim Furnell’s youth team. The likes of David May and Jason Wilcox came through.
“That is what worries me about the game now, are there these players coming through.
“Whatever happens with the takeover, for Rovers to be a success they need to get their youth development right.”
SAM Allardyce fears controversial winger El-Hadji Diouf has become a marked man by Premier League refereees.
The Rovers boss revealed he withdrew Diouf early in the second half to protect him from a second yellow card after claiming referee Howard Webb was out to get him.
The Senegalese midfielder was one of the Rovers’ main threats in the opening half of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke but, after receiving a harsh yellow card for dissent, Allardyce felt he was left with no choice.
Allardyce said: “It wasn’t a difficult decision to take him off, it was about protecting him in case he committed another foul that got him sent off. I don’t know what Dioufy did that wrong at all.
“It doesn’t look like he is one of Howard’s favourite players does he? He sent him off at Villa last year, and he was often more intent on what Dioufy was doing than what was actually happening on the field of play.
“It was the right thing to do because we have to protect our players and we have protect our situation and make sure we stay 11 v 11 on the field.”
While Diouf did look a constant menace, a mixture of a hostile Britannia Stadium welcome and the frustration of the afternoon seemed to be getting to him.
“He was obviously getting frustrated so we made sure we didn’t give Howard Webb the opportunity to send him off and change it,” said Allardyce.
“It had to be the case today unfortunately, the situation was where if El-Hadji may have committed another foul Howard Webb may have decided to give him two yellows and send him off.
“So it was better to keep eleven men on the field. We lost the game here last year because the referee made a really poor decision sending Chris Samba off in the first half, so we didn’t want to do that again.
“It is difficult at Stoke, they are very good at home and if you are down to 10 men then wherever you are then you are going to be lucky to get anything out of the game.
“So I made sure we kept eleven on the field.
“He was fine when I took him off. He was fine because he knew we didn’t want to go down to ten men.”
AHSAN Ali Syed’s bid to purchase Blackburn Rovers is growing in uncertainty with time running out for the Indian tycoon to conclude a deal.
While Ali’s representatives insist everything is still on track, the Lancashire Telegraph understands the prospect of him taking control is growing increasingly unlikely.
Correspondence between Rovers and Syed’s group continues but, with no sign of a solution to several outstanding issues, the sellers are believed to be seriously considering other options.
Talks are also continuing between Rothschilds and an unnamed bidder this week and, while their identity remains a closely guarded secret, it is understood they are ready to move ahead in the takeover process.
Sources over the weekend suggested Indian industrial conglomerate The Mahindra Group could be the ‘mystery bidder’ but the Lancashire Telegraph now understand this to be false.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/8429549.Doubts_growing_over_Syed_s_Blackburn_Rovers_bid/?ref=mr
SAM Allardyce insists Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is no more ‘advanced’ in terms of coaching than him.
The Blackburn manager refuses to back down in his spat with Wenger, who has been a big critic of Allardyce’s style of play.
But Big Sam says he feels that the perception of him is the only thing separating him from somebody like Wenger.
“There is a problem with perception. Arsene is seen as a sophisticated Frenchman while I’m just a rugged English centre-half from the Midlands with an accent to match, but is Arsene more advanced than me in terms of coaching? Not a chance,” said Allardyce.
“Does he use live fitness data on his players during games? Does he study sports psychology every day? Does he use sports science to the extent that I do? I doubt it.
“None of all this affects my view of Wenger. I have total respect for the way he changed his philosophy in recent years when the £400million move to the Emirates Stadium reduced his spending power in the transfer market.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/8401549.Big_Sam__I_am_every_bit_as_good_as_Arsenal_boss/
INDIAN Tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed remains determined to buy Blackburn Rovers after revealing his period of exclusivity has been extended.
An official statement from WGA’s PR company, said: “Western Gulf Advisory (“WGA”) announces that the period of exclusivity it was granted in order to conduct due diligence on Blackburn Rovers Football Club has been extended.
“This enables WGA to continue to explore the financial situation of the club while ensuring that no other bidder can buy it or look into its books. “Although the due diligence process is taking longer than originally envisaged WGA remains committed to pursuing the opportunity to acquire such a prestigious club.”