Blackburn Rovers at a Crossroads
30 Years After Premier League Triumph, Can They Avoid Relegation?
Written by: Eirik Aase (Follow me on Twitter)
Last season was a real rollercoaster ride for Blackburn Rovers fans. The season started brightly with some strong results in August and September, and by mid-December, they were firmly in the playoff hunt. They achieved this with some scintillating attacking football under Jon Dahl Tomasson's leadership. However, the second half of the season was a different story altogether, with a combination of poor results and off-field issues leading to a downward spiral. On the pitch, Rovers only managed to win one out of 18 games from mid-December to April, while transfer window troubles in January led to the club and Tomasson parting ways shortly after the window closed.
John Eustace was brought in as a replacement. He switched to a more defensive style of play, making Rovers a tougher team to break down. However, this came at the cost of the exciting attacking football they had played in the first half of the season. Towards the end of the season, relegation to League One seemed a real possibility, but in true Hollywood fashion, there was a happy ending for Rovers fans. Two shock away wins against Leeds United and Leicester City in the final rounds ensured the Lancashire club's survival by the skin of their teeth.
Renewing their Championship contract was crucial for Rovers, but the big questions surrounding the club's financial situation remain unanswered. New tax regulations in India have caused uncertainty and challenges for the club that won the Premier League back in 1995. The owners, Venkys, have become embroiled in a tax dispute in their home country, preventing them from sending money to the club as they used to. They are currently involved in legal proceedings in India to resolve the issues, but in the meantime, Rovers have barely spent any money in the transfer market over the past year. This is despite selling players for significant sums and cutting their wage budget considerably.
At the time of writing, it's unclear how long it will take to resolve these financial challenges, but several media outlets are reporting a court case in August that could be decisive. Until then, Rovers may still have to sell players without spending much on replacements. It's a strategy that often ends in tears and relegation, and in the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to John Eustace leaving the club, just like Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Gaffer
After spells as a player in the Championship with both Watford and Derby County, John Eustace has made a name for himself as a manager in this league in recent seasons. Two years ago, he was appointed as Birmingham City manager, but he was surprisingly sacked last autumn. This happened after he had delivered good results over time with the Blues, and at that point, Birmingham was in a playoff position. Wayne Rooney took over, and the rest, as they say, is history. Before his time at Birmingham, Eustace had worked as a manager for Kidderminster Harriers and as a coach for Ireland and Queens Park Rangers.
In February of this year, Eustace replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson at Ewood Park. In the spring, he steered Rovers towards a more defensive and direct style of play. He has alternated between a back four and a back five since taking over as Rovers manager. The results haven't been the best, but he managed to secure the club's Championship status thanks to a couple of impressive away wins against the league's top teams in the final rounds.
The Squad
In goal, Leo Wahlstedt is no longer at the club. The former Odd goalkeeper was sold this summer after a nightmare season in the Rovers jersey. This means that Aynsley Pears is currently the clear first choice between the sticks. He has had plenty of game time over the past two seasons for the Lancashire club but has yet to convince most of the supporters. The 26-year-old has a few blunders on his CV, but at the moment, he has no competition in the squad. Joe Hilton is still around but doesn't seem to be close to getting any game time. Additionally, Jack Barrett has arrived from Everton this summer, but he has virtually no experience at the senior level.
In the Rovers defense, the average age is currently very low. Dominic Hyam is almost a veteran at the back at 28 years old, and he will undoubtedly be a crucial player for this Rovers team this season. Last season, he wore the captain's armband and has also been capped by the Scottish national team. Hyam was immense in his first season for Rovers after joining from Coventry City, but he struggled more last season. Alongside Hyam, academy products Hayden Carter and Scott Wharton will be important. Unfortunately, the latter is out with a long-term injury, while Carter is likely to be a nailed-on starter. In January, Connor O'Riordan was brought in from Crewe Alexandra. He didn't get a chance to showcase his skills in the spring but has played a bit in this summer's pre-season. Perhaps this will be a breakthrough season for O'Riordan at this level.
At right-back, Callum Brittain is a certainty, but academy youngster Leo Duru has emerged as a possible alternative if Brittain is injured or unavailable. However, he hasn't played at the senior level yet and is therefore an unknown quantity. Hayden Carter or Joe Rankin-Costello are others who can be used on the right side of the defense. On the left, Harry Pickering is a reliable option, and he is entering his fourth season as the first-choice left-back at Ewood Park. Behind Pickering, 19-year-old Jake Batty and 20-year-old Georgie Gent are exciting prospects from the club's academy, but they also lack experience in senior football.
In central midfield, we find Sondre Tronstad. The Norwegian arrived from Vitesse last summer and had a brilliant debut season in Lancashire. Tronstad did an important job in midfield and was considered by many to be the second-best player on the Rovers team last season. This season, he will be joined by Lewis Travis, John Buckley, Joe Rankin-Costello, and Jake Garrett in central midfield. Travis is back from a loan spell at Ipswich Town, while Buckley was on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in the first half of last season. Rankin-Costello is the attacking option in midfield and is a player who likes to find good positions inside the opponent's penalty area. He can play in most roles, both at full-back and in midfield.
Further up the pitch, Sammie Szmodics is the big question mark. Before the start of last season, probably no one realistically believed he would end up as the top scorer in the Championship. Incredibly, he managed to achieve that feat, finishing with 27 goals in the league. He also scored six goals in the FA Cup, becoming the top scorer in that tournament as well. He achieved this through a kind of free attacking role between midfield and striker, while also contributing with very strong pressing and tremendous work rate. This summer, he has been linked with Premier League and other Championship clubs, and it seems likely that he will leave the club before the season starts.
Other attacking players who can play different roles in the Rovers attack include Tyrhys Dolan, Arnor Sigurdsson, Sam Gallagher, Dilan Markanday, Zak Gilsenan, and Ryan Hedges. All of them have been used in various positions up front in recent years and could well do the same again. Dolan and Gallagher have only one year left on their contracts with the club, and Rovers may have to consider selling them this summer if a good offer comes in for these two players. At the time of writing, it seems that Gallagher is the most likely to leave the club before the season starts. Harry Leonard and Jack Vale are out-and-out strikers but haven't yet proven themselves at Championship level. However, it should be noted that Leonard showed glimpses of promise last season before suffering an injury that kept him out for the spring season.
What do I think?
Just over a year ago, only goal difference kept Rovers out of the playoffs. Six months ago, Rovers were still in the playoff hunt last season. Today, there is very little to suggest that the Lancashire club will have anything to do with that end of the table. The last six months have been a continuous uphill battle for the historic club from Ewood Park, and I don't think it will get any better anytime soon.
In the second half of last season, Rovers only won four out of 23 games. Only the doomed bottom club Rotherham United had a worse points tally in the same period. So far this summer, the club hasn't strengthened the team but is instead left with a thinner and weaker squad than they had at the end of the season. Add to that the uncertainty surrounding the team's key attacking players in Sammie Szmodics, Sam Gallagher, and Tyrhys Dolan, and it's hard to be optimistic about Rovers.
The biggest challenge, however, is the major off-field problems with uncertainty surrounding how much the club's owners, Venkys, can invest to ensure a competitive team going forward. Without these problems, I would be more positive that Rovers could assemble a strong squad later in the transfer window. Now, it seems that Rovers will have to recruit players from a lower level than all the other teams in the league, and that's a difficult strategy to succeed with.
The only thing that makes me believe Rovers can avoid a relegation battle this season is John Eustace. The talented manager showed at Birmingham City in the 2022/23 season that he knows exactly how to steer a ship safely to shore, even when the ship is taking on water from all sides. With a thin and relatively weak squad, Eustace's defensive and hardworking football is exactly what's needed to stay up.