The Fall of Blackburn Rovers

The Fall of Blackburn Rovers

This season I have been to eight Rovers games, travelling around two thousand miles to do so. Towards the end of the 2010/11 season, as a family we saw loads, believing it would be our last chance to see them in the Premier League. We were there on the 22^nd of May when we celebrated with Wolves after our 3-2 win and both teams stayed up. The night before the game, I could not sleep, and I will begin with a quote from half time at that game:

“Alone with five girls last night, and in all my wildest fantasies, I could not have come up with anything as good as 3-0 up at half time”.

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

This 2011/12 season has been terrible. At least if you’re bad, you often try hard, but we haven’t seen that. The players now look lost, uninterested, and completely disassociated from the team. Very few players have put in anything close to acceptable levels of effort, and all will want to forget it. Is it their fault though?

Let’s examine the changes since Venky’s took over:

Players out:

Hoilet telling me to get on the pitch.

Christopher Samba
Ryan Nelsen
Roque Santa Cruz (not signed after his loan spell)
Jermaine Jones (not signed after his loan spell)
Keith Andrews
Michel Salgado
Jason Roberts
Brett Emerton
Phil Jones
Nicola Kalinic
El-Hadji Diouf
Benjani
Mame Biran Diouf (not signed after his loan spell)

Manager out:
Sam Allardyce

Added to the list is the fact that there have been three assistant managers under Steve Kean; Eric Black, Paul Clement and John Jensen. Arsene Wenger talks about making no more than three changes at any given time, or else you will seriously disrupt the harmony of the team. Even behind the scenes, lots of executives and senior members of the board have left or been ostracised, including experienced and well respected chairman, John Williams.

The only constant within the last eighteen months has been Steve Kean. Kean initially came in as temporary cover. We couldn’t understand why Allardyce was sacked, but new owners wanted a new philosophy. They talked about pretty football, signing Beckham, Raul and Ronaldinho, and turning the team into Champions League contenders. If that happens within the next three years, then I will greatly change my opinion of Venky’s, but Beckham, Raul and Ronaldinho are rapidly ageing.

The hero versus Wigan, getting kicked in the head for the cause.

Who was going to be our new manager? When was he going to arrive? The usual names were spouted and every fan had their opinion on who would be better for the job. No one came in, and Venky’s eventually stated that Kean would remain until the end of the season. Okay, though we don’t know who this bloke is and what his credentials are, let’s just solidify our status as a Premier League team and then rebuild for next season. Along the way, Rovers played appallingly. Results went against us and we slipped down the league. Fans were beginning to worry. If we’re not careful, this pleb in a coat is going to take us down. The senior players picked up, and there were some heroic performances along the way against Arsenal, Man Utd, West Ham and Wolves.

Surely Kean can’t still be in charge? He’s a reserve team coach with an awful record. We clearly need someone more experienced. Nope. Unhappy at this, we exclaimed that no new manager and no good signings was not good enough. We’re passionate fans that love our club dearly, and we could see it was not in a healthy state. We were told to give Kean time, let him bring in his own players, let them settle, and let Kean get across his own brand of football. So we did. Perhaps we’re overreacting, right?

The following is what Kean has either brought in or promoted from the youth or reserves:
Yakubu

A heroic performance at Anfield.

Mauro Formica
Rueben Rochina
Grant Hanley
Scot Dann
Marcus Olsson
Bradley Orr
Jason Lowe
Anthony Modeste
David Goodwillie
Radosav Petrovic
Simon Vuckevic
Adam Henley
Bruno Ribeiro
Myles Anderson

As a neutral, which group of players and which manager would you rather have? Are there any from that second group that you would have at your club, even if someone paid you? These are monumental changes made over such a small period of time. Making it even worse for us fans is that we get no answers whatsoever from the owners. Instead, we constantly see Steve Kean at the end of a match reminding us of the positives, and using something completely unrelated as an excuse for the loss.

From the game we didn't want to win.

We can isolate numerous incidences of idiocy from Steve Kean. He can often go weeks at a time without making a substitution. What irked myself and many other travelling fans is his comments before and after the away game to Cardiff in the Carling Cup quarter-final. Before the game, we were going to go for it and do all we can to make the semi-final. After the game, we didn’t want to win anyway because we need to concentrate on our relegation fight. Forget the massive congestion to the fixture list that those two extra games would have added, I would have liked to know that they weren’t going to win the match before I set off on my journey. I don’t really want to go to Wales if I don’t have to. It would have been polite to tell me.

Feel sorry for us. We’ve had to put up with these lifeless performances for a season and a half under this idiot. As the game finishes in front of me right now, the Rovers fans that travelled all the way to White Hart Lane witnessed just one corner. Not even a shot fired all game. The other teams around us have been fighting and pulling off results, but not us. Under Kean Rovers have been breaking Premier League records when it comes to uselessness. In addition to not having a single shot against Spurs, the first team to do that since 2004, we've also set the longest run of games without a clean sheet to twenty seven.

Wouldn’t you protest too if you had to put up with this? If you drove miles and miles, spent tons of money, gave up hours of your free time, to see eleven clueless idiots directed by a pleb in a coat? Although I have never shouted a word in anger at Kean and the players, that’s more to do with my calm nature than it is my feelings of anger and panic. We’ve been much maligned for the protests and the abuse. Can you not see that it might be justified?

This was a sign of things to come.

Currently the Aston Villa fans have been abusing McLeish, but the media is sympathetic to their cause. I mean how could you not be? They’ve lost a couple of games. How about when the Liverpool fans didn’t like their owners and would regularly protest? All we were told is that Liverpool were a massive club with great history and some of the most passionate fans in the world. The same has happened with poor title winning global enterprise Manchester United. These wankers with their Norwich scarves are portrayed as the victim by the media, even though they have won many trophies and bought many top class players during this time.

To date, no Blackburn fans have been arrested during the protests, and no public disorder offences have been committed. But we are a horrible bunch, aren’t we? We don’t have a hooligan group, we do not get in trouble for fighting or disorderly behaviour, but we have been villainised by television, radio, newspapers and other fans. What would you do in this situation? Would you sit back and take it if this idiot was your manager, and these imposters were your players? Let's not forget that Steve Kean is statistically the worst manager the club has ever had.

“But Blackburn are terrible anyway? What can you expect other than just avoiding relegation each year?”

This is where one proves themselves to be eternally clueless about football. Yes it is true that Blackburn is a small town with a low number of fans. It is also true that we have the largest percentage of fans attending our home games in the Premier League. Blackburn’s attendances are in proportion to a quarter of the town’s population. Huge cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham should see their clubs with fair more fans at the game. It is also true that Blackburn Rovers are the most successful team from a town in world football. Every team that is more successful than us is from a city.

Let’s examine how well the Rovers have done since the very first Premier League season in 1992/93:

92/93 – Finished 4^th in the Premier League.
93/94 – Finished 2^nd in the Premier League. Achieved Champions League Football.
94/95 – Finished 1^st in the Premier League. Achieved Champions League Football.
95/96 – Finished 7^th in the Premier League.
96/97 – Finished 13^th in the Premier League.
97/98 – Finished 6^th in the Premier League. Achieved UEFA Cup Football.
98/99 – Finished 19^th in the Premier League.
99/00 – Finished 11^th in the Championship.
00/01 – Finished 2^nd in the Championship.
01/02 – Finished 10^th in the Premier League. Won the League Cup. Achieved UEFA Cup Football.
02/03 – Finished 6^th in the Premier League. Got to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Achieved UEFA Cup Football.
03/04 – Finished 15^th in the Premier League.
04/05 – Finished 15^th in the Premier League. Got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
05/06 – Finished 6^th in the Premier League. Achieved UEFA Cup Football.
06/07 – Finished 10^th in the Premier League. Achieved UEFA Cup Football. Got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
07/08 – Finished 7^th in the Premier League.
08/09 – Finished 15^th in the Premier League.
09/10 – Finished 10^th in the Premier League. Got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
10/11 – Finished 15^th in the Premier League.

Looking at some of the finishes throughout that list, is it fair to say all we can do is just about hope to avoid relegation? Don’t forget that we seem to have quite regularly reached cup semi-finals and achieved a place in European competition. We’re even one of the only four teams to have won the Premier League, and are 9^th on the list of the most points accumulated since the inaugural season. Punching above our weight? I could understand that label being slapped on us if we didn’t ‘over achieve’ so frequently.

Along the way, I’d like to point out we have had our fair share of goalscorers. This season, Yakubu has somehow been banging them in. He’s done incredibly well to score so many goals while playing for such a useless team. We’ve had Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Andy Cole, Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz. Big name players who banged in a lot of goals, despite playing for a team that can’t hope of finishing much higher than the relegation places.

Ex-Rover Bellamy goes for a dive in this dyer Rovers performance.

How about the other players? Brad Friedel, one of the most well respected goalkeepers of the last twenty years, and the only man to save two penalties from open play at a World Cup. Ryan Nelsen, captain of the only team to finish undefeated at the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. UEFA Cup finalist Brett Emerton, Champions League finalist Gael Givet, Mike Newell who held the record for fastest ever Champions League hat-trick, Robbie Savage, Lucas Neill, Tugay, David Bentley, Damien Duff, and the player who has played everywhere and won everything, Mark Hughes. All of a sudden, we don’t seem like such an awful club.

The sacking of Sam Allardyce does not make any sense. It’s not clear what Venky’s are trying to achieve, but one might assume they are trying to cut costs. If that’s the case, why sack the Premier League’s most successful manager? Pound for pound, when it comes to money spent and points gained, Allardyce is the best since John Lyall at the very start of the Premier League.

The owners want Blackburn to play a more attractive brand of football. It’s no secret that the rest of the world hates watching us, and we have been branded as a long ball team that just fouls everyone. How I wish that was still the case. Now, rather than fearing us, they pity and laugh at us. I felt so proud each year as Rovers consistently accrued the most red and yellow cards throughout a season. Players such as Aaron Mokoena were given nicknames attesting to that fact. Mokoena was known as ‘the Axe’. The intimidation had a great effect on our opponents. “This week, you’re going to be marked by the Axe. If you take more than one touch, you’ll be on the floor”.

Most football fans will agree that in order to play the Arsenal, Barcelona or Ajax style of football, you need good players. What brings in good players? Lots of money. That’s not something Rovers have. That is why Allardyce, Hughes, and Souness before him, bought big tough ‘shit-kickers’ as they were known. The classic goal under Allardyce was to boot it forwards, fight the goalkeeper, and kick it into an empty net. There were a number of fans at the time who grew tired and became unhappy with these tactics. They vowed never to return until Allardyce was no longer manager. Would they have him back now?

It didn't look so bad at the start of the season.

Is buying players like David Goodwillie likely to bring this attractive style of football that the owners want? Is banishing committed and hardworking players like Jason Roberts, Michel Salgado and Gael Givet something a wise man would do during a relegation fight? Can you see how moronic Steve Kean is? Can you understand the frustration?

We’ve established the man is an idiot, but it’s not all his fault. We want him to resign, but would you? Most professionals have the belief and self-confidence that they can turn it around. What if you’re an unknown coach that is suddenly earning millions of pounds? Would you leave? He will get a huge payout if he gets sacked, so it makes sense to stay in the job. Either you turn it around and achieve success, or you get sacked and rake in the millions.

Venky’s no longer talk to the fans, and have done very little to win us over. They are hardly seen at games, they often leave early, and apparently they originally did not know teams can be relegated from the Premier League. They did give us food and drink vouchers for the Wolves game last season, which I suppose makes us square. Rumour has it that they got rid of Allardyce to save face. Not long after buying the club, they invented a lot of India’s rich and famous to a party and broadcasted Rovers away to Man Utd. We were spanked that day, and it wasn’t long after that until Big Sam was no longer the man.

Now we’re left watching pathetic performances, while we’re largely ignored by the owners, and fed rubbish about how we didn’t really want to win the game anyway. Would you stand for this if it was happening at your club? It’s insane and completely devoid of logic. Bear in mind, the fans did stop the protests for a long time, as advised by everyone else in football. Give the team a chance. How can they perform with you berating them all the time? Results did not change. The club, Kean, the board etc. have agreed to meet and speak with disgruntled fans on three separate occasions. On three separate occasions the club or Kean has cancelled the meeting.

But we’ve just got to give Steve Kean time, right?