Pundit fires damning Venky's claim as worrying Blackburn Rovers prediction made | OneFootball

Venky's have come under fire from EFL pundit and expert Ali Maxwell amid a worrying prediction being made on Blackburn Rovers in the Championship...

EFL pundit Ali Maxwell has revealed his thoughts on Blackburn Rovers' chances of survival in the 2026/27 Championship season amid a damning Venky's claim being made.

Blackburn Rovers were taken over by Venky’s in 2010 with the club still established in the Premier League, but the years that followed brought a dramatic decline. Rovers were relegated in 2012, suffered years of managerial upheaval, transfer problems, and growing fan unrest before dropping into League One in 2017.

They immediately bounced back to the Championship under the tutelage of Tony Mowbray, but have spent the years since trying to rediscover the stability and ambition that characterised the club before Venky’s arrived 16 years ago.

EFL expert Ali Maxwell provides Blackburn Rovers survival verdict

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Ali Maxwell of Not The Top 20 has revealed his thoughts on the battle to survive, having played eight games so far. Speaking in their latest podcast episode on YouTube, he said: "I've got Blackburn going down with Preston [North End]. So they're the other ones that, pre-season, I was worried about, and I still am.

"If you look at individual games across eight, you'll find some good stuff to say about Blackburn Rovers. For example, that Wolves game on opening night, they performed well.

"But I think Mowbray looks so anguished by this job, which, you know, it was meant to be a good vibes appointment and I wouldn't say the good vibes have lasted more than about a month.

"And if that was meant to be a really positive reason for appointing Mowbray to try and develop that strong bond between him and the club, I think the reality of the situation, and particularly the club's lack of ability to build a sturdy, deep squad for him, seems to have caused problems early on.

"And yeah, it is that quality and depth of the squad that I have a problem with for them long-term. But it's also just I have to admit the general sense of malaise around the place.

"I really feel like negative energy, not to sound like a yogi here, but negative energy, I think, can have a real impact on a team's performance on the pitch and what's coming from the stands can have the same. And I blame everything on those running the club, to be very clear.

"But I just think that the scenario that they have created through their, as I see it, poor ownership of the club will take this club back down to League One — where it has been in their ownership before."

Why Venky's could be about to repeat history with Blackburn Rovers

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Truth be told, Venky’s tenure has been dogged by accusations of poor decision-making and a lack of understanding of English football. For example, they immediately sacked Sam Allardyce after taking over, replaced him with Steve Kean and then watched Blackburn fall out of the Premier League in 2012.

The subsequent years brought a revolving door of managers, controversial appointments, and increasingly strained relations with supporters, while the club's debts continued to rise. By 2017, Rovers had suffered a second relegation into League One, which sums up those early years.

There were also serious concerns over the way footballing decisions were being made, with former directors claiming the board was bypassed on major appointments and transfers, as per The Guardian.

Even after promotion back to the Championship, the BBC reported Blackburn had a £16.8 million loss in 2017/18, while Venky’s were owed £108 million in loans. There are plenty of reasons to remain concerned, with the circling of the relegation drain not something that can be put off forever.

The case for Blackburn Rovers achieving survival this season

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Blackburn's opening eight games have produced a mixed set of results, with wins against Middlesbrough and Millwall, a solid draw at Portsmouth, and another point earned away to Lincoln City despite playing with 10 men.

They were also denied victory in unfortunate fashion at Wolves, while defeats to Sheffield United and Preston came despite Blackburn arguably being the better side. Their loss to QPR was a relatively even contest against a strong side.

The squad is undoubtedly lacking depth for a 46-game Championship campaign currently, although injuries have already tested that, with Blackburn going three games without a recognised striker, Sam Morsy playing at centre-back, and with Aynsley Pears in goal.

Relegation is a reasonable concern given the squad and recent history, but based on the opening eight matches, it could be argued Blackburn have shown enough to suggest they could be competitive. Despite off-field concerns, it would perhaps be a bit of a surprise if they were relegated.