The crazy world of Blackburn Rovers

Steve Kean is said to be on the brink of losing his job at Blackburn

It's easy to see why Blackburn Rovers fans want Steve Kean axed as manager.

He relegated them, promised them Champions League football, caused suspicion over the role of his agent Jerome Anderson, continues to constantly lie, is full of excuses after defeats, is constantly blindly optimistic and refuses to acknowledge the strength of feeling against him.

There is an incredible amount of sympathy for him in the 'football community'.

Managers, pundits and the media are seemingly lining up to back the Scot, despite his disastrous reign in charge of Blackburn.

The mix of Kean and clueless owners Venky's is a toxic one which will only end in tears, although sadly for Rovers fans it seems likely the tears will be theirs.

Kean, while keeping his ridiculously ever-positive public attitude throughout, has presided over a period in which Blackburn have gone from a comfortable mid-table Premier League club to a Championship side in turmoil, and much of the blame lies with him.

Venky's must take a lot of blame too, for their shambolic running of the club and their blind backing of Kean, who has looked hopelessly out of his depth from day one.

The latest damaging week at Ewood Park will not have surprised Rovers fans, who have lived through two years of farcical situations.

The supporters have taken much of the blame for the situation at their club, too, which is simply ridiculous.

Their protests against Kean may have gone too far on occasion and it is true that chants calling for the manager's head during matches may have affected the team's performances, but what would you do if it was your team?

Would you like Steve Kean in charge of your club? More to the point, would you want a combination of Kean and Venky's to be running your club? Thought not.

Fans tried protesting before and after matches at Ewood Park last season, but were ignored by the club who continued to stick with the beleaguered Kean.

Protests during matches did no good, either, and even relegation was not enough to cost Kean his job.

Supporters have simply been ignored and the fact Kean survived last year's horror campaign is nothing short of a disgrace, and only underlines the complete incompetence of everyone in power at the club.

On the face of it, Blackburn have had a decent start this season in their quest to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but scratch beneath the surface and the same old problems have continued to bubble away.

The club cannot begin to recover from the trauma of last season until Kean is removed.

Attendances at Ewood Park are significantly down - just over 13,000 saw last Friday's defeat to Middlesbrough - and protests about the manager and owners have continued, despite the club sitting in third in the Championship table.

Blackburn fans have long protested against Kean and the board

There is a planned boycott from fans for Rovers' next home game, against Wolves in October, and this is probably the only type of protest which could force the club's hand.

Hit the owners in the pocket and they will surely be forced to act.

Kean has lied throughout his tenure in charge at Blackburn and it is not a surprise to see the fans still up in arms.

They are, quite rightly, bewildered that this imposter of a football manager remains in charge of their club.

There have been numerous times during his tenure when his axing has seemed inevitable, but Kean has been bulletproof.

Earlier this week, reports spread that he was to be sacked, but it appears he has survived yet again and is set to take charge of the team against Charlton Athletic this weekend.

The club has become a laughing stock, and that has never been more evident than this week.

Rumours have been allowed to circulate, including one which claimed Kean was sacked last weekend, only to defiantly turn up at the training ground on Monday to take training as normal, which apparently led to the owners having a change of heart and 'reinstating' him.

The aforementioned story appears extremely unlikely, but in the crazy world that is Blackburn Rovers under Venky's and Kean, you can't rule anything out.

Kean has even described the last week as "great", which just shows how out of touch with reality he is.

Last season was an utter farce for Rovers and the only way the situation could in any way have been rectified would have been if Kean was sacked.

Instead, Venky's decided to appoint another clown to work alongside him in the form of Shebby Singh, who is the club's director of football.

He comes across as an utter fool, with particular highlights of the last few weeks including his description of Morten Gamst Pedersen as a "pensioner", his insistence Kean would be sacked if three games in a row were lost and his utterances this week, which have been confusing and inconsistent.

Reportedly, Singh set Kean a target of 16 points from the first seven games, a tally he fell two short of, but there are many other reasons the Scot must go.

Singh has even been linked with taking over from Kean should the Scot be sacked

There is the intense dislike the fans have for him as well as his disastrous management last season and the lies he has told throughout his time in charge.

He even once compared David Goodwillie to Wayne Rooney - enough said.

He also claimed they had some "monumental results last season, including back-to-back clean sheets," despite relegation.

After Kean's side registered no shots on or off target after a match at Tottenham last season, he then claimed they weren't even thinking about the prospect of relegation - despite the fact they were already as good as dead and buried.

A video has also circulated online - which has resulted in a court case - in which he labels former Rovers boss Sam Allardyce as a "crook", but at least 'Big Sam' is no fraud like his successor.

In the past, Kean has also promised exciting times lie ahead at Ewood Park and that Champions League football is on the horizon - the man is laughable.

However, it is Blackburn fans which most of the media - and the country - have been laughing at.

Instead of sympathising with them, they have ridiculed and criticised them, which is baffling.

No set of fans would accept this sort of situation happening at their club and much of the media have been foolish in falling for Kean's spin.

Kean is reportedly still on the brink of being sacked, with Tim Sherwood mooted as a possible successor.

Whether he would want to work with Venky's is debatable, but the players are there at Ewood Park to launch a serious promotion push.

In truth, promotion should be on the cards for this group of players, which includes Jordan Rhodes, Danny Murphy, Paul Robinson and Scott Dann - who could all more than hold their own in the Premier League.

Rhodes has had a promising start to life at Ewood Park

Appointing Sherwood as manager would provide a reminder to fans of better times at Ewood Park, as he is a Blackburn legend who lifted the Premier League trophy as captain in the mid-90s.

Appointing him would be a risk, as he has no first-team management experience, but Blackburn would have a much better chance of going up with him in charge.

Kean will never be accepted at Ewood Park, however well the side do this season. Too much water has gone under the bridge.

Attendances were always going to drop after relegation, but with Kean gone and a new manager in, it is certain the average gates would not have dropped as low as they are now.

If Blackburn fans finally get their wish and Kean is quickly sacked, they will then need to back their team to the hilt.

Misgivings about Venky’s are unlikely to ever go away, but they must be put to one side – at least for the time being.

With the players the new manager will have at his disposal, Blackburn should go back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

All the passion Rovers fans have showed in their displeasure at Kean and Venky’s will need to be redirected.

If they can get Ewood Park packed and turn their passion into positivity, a promotion campaign should be on the cards.

That is unlikely if Kean stays though, so for now, the protests should continue until he is gone.

Kean should not be judged on this season, he should be judged on his entire reign at Ewood Park - which has been disastrous.

It's time for him to be put out of his misery once and for all.