The BRSIT. Proof that someone, somewhere is doing something

For far too long now we've had a football club that has been mistreat in every way you can think possible. Financially, structurally and morally Blackburn Rovers have been on a steep spiral down the metaphorical footballing gutter and for their part the footballing authorities have largely stood by and done the square root of a number less than one.

Of course, there is no proper evidence to suggest that anything illegal has taken place but Blackburn Rovers is an organisation who the Premier League and FA governing bodies are responsible for and the means they have implemented to make sure one of footballs' oldest clubs is treat with care have been about as much use as the "fit and proper persons test".

Something needs to change because if the current modus operandi over on planet Venky's continues then the damage caused will all be inflicted on the future of our football club whilst our Indian owners can remove themselves from this theatre of conflict with only small scratches to show for their troubles.

Step forward the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust, or the BRSIT for short.

The BRSIT is a supporters group led by Darwen End sponsor and commercial partner of the club Wayne Wild which is set up with the idea of giving the football club back to the community. It is a financial operation devised and modified by Swedish financial expert and Rovers fan Daniel Grabko.

The plan is to build up funds by issuing shares to the fan base at £1,000 a pop and to sell (initially) 10,000 of them.

The idea behind the thinking is that any other group who buys Rovers in the future may have similar motives to that of the self serving Venky's and that fan ownership, which actually happens at clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, most of the teams in Germany and the mighty Ebbsfleet, would ensure that the club is ran without the primary goal of making a profit.

A romantic idea and one that should be supported, but not one without problems and potentially massive obstacles.

For starters, the current inhabitants and controllers of the club for some unknown reason aren't keen on selling. Despite the masses of loss, debt problems and slump in on-pitch fortunes during their tenure they still want to keep hold of their "baby". They've proven to most keen observers that they are unethical in their practices and the breaker of promises but still they refuse to sell.

Recent reports have even suggested that the Rao family have ignored attempted contact from potential buyers, which suggests an arrogance of the highest order.

Furthermore the plan to raise the type of money needed to make the Investment Trust active looks an uphill struggle... £1,000 each from that many people looks a big ask for an area that traditionally has a low/middling income range and from a town with a population that just about exceeds 100,000.

Add into this that the investment plan itself is reliant on the club being relegated for the plan to become viable and the odds look stacked against the idea.

Having said all that the BRSIT deserves 100% backing and support because it is allowing the fans to at least imagine a future free of despair and turmoil - a future that edges ever closer to a reality with each passing month under the failed ownership of Venky's.

Yes, it may very well fall flat on it's backside but at least someone, somewhere is going out on a limb and trying to do something to save something that we all love.

And that deserves the highest level of respect.

The problem with Paul Robinson

Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson has come a long way since Spurs decided to send a rather plump, out of shape and confidence shot wreck our way back in 2008.

When he rolled up to Ewood Park it became apparent very quickly that the raw materials were still there in a keeper who was at one stage the best in the country, but he had lost his way after his now infamous Croatian air kick (amazingly that's still used against him now) and public execution of sorts at media darling Tottenham Hotspur.

So a move to a lower profile club that the media rarely bother with outside of the odd protest report was needed to try and rebuild the man who rather unfortunately shares a name with that thuggish left back from down the road at Bolton.

Nearly four years on the move has been a critical success. Robinson has certainly regained that swagger and passion that deserted him during the low points of his career and Rovers themselves have benefited from having another steady pair of hands between the sticks... He was never going to eclipse his predecessor Brad Friedel at Ewood Park, no-one could. Heck we could have bought a large impenetrable forcefield to replace the big American and that would have still struggled for his consistency.

But for as good as his reflexes are and as assuring as his commanding of crosses/the penalty area is he has always had something of a vice, a common complaint about Robbo that by and large looked to have been eradicated from his game.

Even from his early days when he was standing in goal between two jumpers in a park on the outskirts of Humberside he has always struggled with shots coming at him from outside the area. It was noticeable in the most physical evidence Rovers fan had during his early days at the club and for some unexplained reason he has always been alarmingly wayward given the extra amount of time that a goalie is afforded with an effort from a longer distance.

Examples that spring to mind - His rather comedic dive over a tame Xabi Alonso effort against Liverpool at Ewood Park back in 2008, his sluggish flap to his right allowing Craig Gardner to score for Birmingham at St Andrews early last season and somehow allowing a powerful yet easily avoidable Jamie O'Hara goal squeeze under him from 30 yards when O'Hara was a Portsmouth player.

Even this season a quick peek at the statistics for goalkeepers show that the problem, although not glaring this season, shows that Robinson is still the "best" at letting goals fly in from all angles...

It's a difficult one to explain. Let's be totally fair to the very affable and committed Rovers Number 1 - he had some monstrously sloppy defences to play behind this season and the unsettled nature of the back four and the lack of protection afforded from midfield at times has hardly helped the cause.

But it's a problem that dates back long before Rovers defensive shambles under Steve Kean and one that seems all the more puzzling giving his ability to pull off some super stops from closer range.

It perhaps points to a player who is better using his instincts than having time to "over think" his movement or even a goalkeeper that loses the flight of these tricky customer modern balls in mid air - but it does seem to have been forever a concern and one that seems to have no viable explanation outside of the man himself turning up in front of the Sky Sports News interview team and baring all.

Something to work on in training?

* Thank you to sports journalist and footballer blogger Barries View for help with this entry - you can follow Barrie on twitter at @BarriesView and visit his own website - Barries View