PLANS announced today to bring Blackburn Rovers into community ownership are a long way from being realised.

But the fact that they have actually been carefully drafted with the help of leading business people, lawyers and accountants graphically illustrates the enormous frustration felt by loyal fans at the plight of their beloved club.

Support for the project from such high-profile figures as three East Lancashire MPs and Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Kate Hollern is also a measure of how upset large numbers of people have become at what another backer, Sir Bill Taylor, describes as the “disconnect” between owners Venky’s and the fan base.

The idea of Blackburn Rovers being owned by the supporters through a trust like Barcelona FC will no doubt seem very attractive to thousands of Ewood Park regulars.

But there is a long road ahead and an awful lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ to be sorted out before today’s vision could ever be turned into reality.

Hopefully, the fact that this plan is waiting in the wings will prompt Venky’s to first take radical action to put Rovers back on an upward path.