Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean has been on the receiving end of fans protests for months now. Recently however, they have grown in number, in volume, and in aggression.
Rovers fans cannot be blamed for venting their anger at a manager who is simply not up to the job. In his 12 months in charge Kean has failed to make any progress on the pitch, and his comical, ever positive public persona has infuriated fans and seem him become the butt of many jokes, comparing him to a range of people from TV characters, to Iraq’s Comical Ali.
Kean has not done himself any favours either, he hasn’t made any attempt to bring the fans on side; initially saying he was unaware of any protests, then that he was ignoring them.
More recently, the local MP, Jack Straw has spoken out against Kean, as has the local paper and the clubs only major sponsor, Wayne Wild of the WEC Group. Players, ex-players, pundits and the media have also been calling for his head. Yet Kean remains defiant and cites support from top managers in his defence.
His persona has turned from ignorant, to arrogant and, certainly since the Bolton game, to one where fans have started to call into question his mental wellbeing.
The best thing that Kean could do right now, for himself as much as the club, would be to walk away. The protests are griping louder and louder at every game, and it’s no longer constrained to matchdays. The media have been all over it this last week; the Lancashire Telegraph have had him on the front page twice so far, and the situation is only likely to get more intense.
Christmas
One important thing that all Rovers fans must now remember. Is that no matter how bad Kean may be for the club, he is still a living, breathing, person – with feelings.
He can deny that the protests are affecting him all he wants, but seriously, how would you feel in his shoes.
The football world has recently lost Garry Speed, who took his own life for reasons that we do not know. Kean, no matter what he says public ally, must have been affected by what has happened, and the cracks are showing each time he faces the cameras.
It’s Christmas weekend and we have some massive games coming up. I’m calling on all Rovers fans to raise the volume of their protests and make them heard in India, but at this time of year more than any, those protests must be directed at Venky’s. Let the manager enjoy his Christmas with his family. Remember he isn’t as indestructible as he keeps telling us and at the end of it all, no club is as big as any mans life.
Let’s show some compassion for Steve Kean the person, vent your anger at the owners this weekend. The last thing any of us want is to see news of another footballing personality taking their own life, or their family having their Christmas/life ruined. We all know what the media think about Rovers, let’s not give them any more ammunition, let’s allow the Kean family to have as normal a Christmas as possible, and let’s hope that when all this is over, he can walk away from Rovers with at least his health intact.