Not much cause for optimism for our resident Blackburn fan Ian Herbert as he tries to sum up the mood and situation at Ewood Park ahead of Saturday’s league meeting.

Assess Blackburn's season for us so far...

IH: Pre-season served to structure our expectations beautifully with the appointment of the hapless Owen Coyle…more on him later. Any optimism that even the most fervent Rovers fan might have had was rudely extinguished at this juncture.

Some got excited at the signing of Anthony Stokes; local Elvis impersonators went into hiding mind…(Google Stokes Elvis Court Case !)

Opening day saw us rudely disassembled in our own backyard by a Norwich City side that following the game, many Rovers cognoscenti proclaimed were a shoo-in to win the league and therefore it didn’t represent a fair benchmark. As it’s transpired a 4-1 home caning told us significantly more about our fortunes than Norwich’s.

Our first victory came in September against Rotherham, one of the very few sides that might struggle to overhaul us in the relegation dogfight, though there’s plenty of time left yet.

Our sole consistency is our inconsistency; capable somehow of beating Derby away (with a goal from a 27 pass move that would have graced Barca), Newcastle twice (yes, against the run of play both times but still…who can’t warm to the sight of a tearful Geordie ?) and losing to Wigan, Cardiff & Preston. The Preston one hurting especially due to an old school friend who delights in reminding me at regular intervals.



Coyle wasn't a popular choice but it can't be an easy job, how's he done?

IH: In an era where being inadequate, incompetent, racist and possibly borderline psychopathic seems to be a license to waltz into top jobs in world politics; it seems a little churlish to quibble at Owen Coyle’s appointment at a football club…but I’ll give it a go.

He should not have come within a country mile of the job. Let’s be clear here, not because of his Burnley connections — if Sean Dyche wants the job, I’d welcome him with open arms — no, simply because of his record, it’s abysmal.

His time at Burnley stands out like an HB pencil crammed into a pack of cocktail sticks. Everywhere else he has been, he has crashed nd burned horribly. He is continuing his inexorable decline at Ewood and it is painful to endure the post-match platitudes week-in, week-out. Like Steve Kean did before him and in a similar accent, he has assured us that we are not going to be relegated. So I’m not entirely sure what I’m worried about?

Working for Venky’s must be a Sisyphean task (why yes, I did do Ancient History at school, why do you ask ) deserving of some sympathy; but his complete failure to get the basics right — transfer policy, team selection, tactics, substitutions, promoting youth talent, not lambasting your own fans in the local paper (yes, really...) means that any trace elements of lingering hope and empathy have long since ebbed away.

An underwhelming appointment described by our financial director (we still have one apparently) as the “outstanding candidate” — the only thing outstanding should be his wages.

Current ownership situation dare we ask?

IH: It sums Rovers up that we are currently so inept, we can’t even win a “Worst Owners Award”; Roland Duchatelet at Charlton taking the honours ahead of a photo finish between runners-up Venky’s and Sisu in a recent nationwide fans’ poll.

I never understood what was in it for Venky’s originally, there were no obvious synergies at any level. I fail to see why any prudent business would keep a diverse, foreign-based subsidiary ticking over for a cost of £20m+ p.a. I wish I had the kind of money that renders a £20m annual loss the equivalent of my losing 50p down the back of the sofa.

It truly has been death of a thousand cuts stuff and to be frank I just want it to stop — even at the cost of administration/phoenix club.

The whole fiasco has split the fanbase quite horribly. When the irregular protests are held, the atmosphere becomes quite toxic and one of our departing “stars” Ben Marshall has been quoted as saying that it affects the players. I’m sure it does, matchdays are akin to a remembrance service.
Older fans like myself remember the Third Division and don’t fear it perhaps quite as much as many of the younger fans, reared on a Premier League diet. The big difference back in the 1970’s was that you knew everyone at the club was pulling in the same direction & doing their utmost to improve matters. Whereas now…?

I’d be amazed if we made a mention during the AOB at Venky’s AGM…and if we did, I doubt they even remember that they own us.

Any sort of light at the end of the tunnel after a horrible few years?

IH: No.


Stand out players and weak links?

IH: Any stand out players are immediately sold and replaced by inferior versions. In just the last couple of years we have lost Rhodes, Gestede, Olsson and King to Premier League suitors and Hanley, Cairney & Duffy to our Championship rivals. Strangely, winning promotion has therefore proved to be a tad more difficult as a result.

The acid test these days, is that when asked “who is your favourite player ?”; you have to take a good, long think and Google the squad to check who is still on loan with us.

My personal favourite is probably Danny Graham, a latter-day Mike Newell style forward; albeit with an alarming tendency to fall over in the vicinity of a centre back in an attempt to claim a free kick.
Our best footballer is the versatile Charlie Mulgrew, signed from Celtic. He is a fine footballer with a lovely left-foot, but with a career blighted by an injury record that has seen him miss roughly 80 games since 2014. We gave him a three year deal of course. Charlie Mulgrew is 31 years old in a month’s time. Beggars belief.

We have a goalkeeper, Jason Steele, who is a fine shot-stopper but who then often does some really daft things, usually in the same game, which almost always seem to cost us points.

In the centre of defence we recently paraded two central midfielders, obviously; such is the paucity of our squad cover. At right full back we use a combination of midfielders and wingers — it’s not sporting to use specialists at left AND right back seemingly.

Midfield is even worse. A series of has beens and never will bes wearing the shirts once graced by Tugay, Bentley and…er, Savage.

Up front ? Well we have Graham and a fine, young, loan prospect from Southampton in Sam Gallagher. I can only presume that his agent doesn’t like him if this is the best deal he can get his client.

Oh yes, Anthony Stokes as well, assuming he isn’t having a long weekend in Dublin, might be on the bench. A little less conversation, a little more action, from him would be nice.

January transfer activity?

IH: We have left it late, doing some business on deadline day as I write, to bring back Marvin Emnes on loan from Swansea and Lucas Joao from Sheffield Wednesday. Two forwards when we are crying out for defenders and midfielders.

Emnes is a sometimes tricky player with occasional decent touches, but not sure that he is what is needed. Joao has been described by a Wednesday fan as, “having all the right tools in his toolbox, but he’s lost the key to the padlock”. Sounds like he’ll fit right in.

At time of writing Ben Marshall seems to be on his way to Wolves to reunite with Paul “I had a shocking time at Villa, did I ever tell you about it ?” Lambert. Mind you, that deal has been at this stage since about October so who knows ?

Our shopping in January therefore seems to have been completed by that bloke from the Fast Show…
“Did you get the bread & milk dear…?”

“Even better than that…I got a Black & Decker sander and a Spanish phrasebook…”


Will you stay up and what happens if you don't?

Back in August I pinned a tweet at the top of my timeline, which based on the odds for the Championship title, placed Rovers as fourth favourites. Sorry, fourth favourite to finish bottom — did I not make myself clear ?

The three teams predicted to be even worse than us were Rotherham, Burton and Barnsley. Well Barnsley aren’t playing ball but Burton are still in the neighbourhood and if Wigan and Bristol City carry on as they are we might yet escape. If we do, you suspect it will be the failings of others rather than the bold actions of our team.

We’re two-thirds of the way through the campaign and we are where we are on merit, but the daft thing is, string together three decent results and you’re catapulted up the league. There’s a mini league of six teams down there and we aren’t cut adrift…yet.

My prediction is that we will go down following a defeat at Wolves in late April and Paul Lambert will once again seize the opportunity to share his thoughts with all in earshot on just how difficult it was for him to manage a club in such difficult circumstances and how unfair it all was for him…until a reporter reminds him that the question posed was about Blackburn Rovers’ plight not Aston Villa’s.

The Third Division…(it will always be the Third Division for me) would of course present further financial challenges; even lower gates, miniscule TV money and inevitable downsizing…of hopes, ambitions and squads. Whether this would finally break Venky’s stubborn streak is hard to say but I can’t see anyone prepared to buy unless it’s from an administrator for a pound.

My biggest concern is that it won’t be the last relegation I see in my lifetime. It might not even be the last this decade.

That said, I’m going for us to win 4-0 ;-)

The Twitter @ianherbert, @loftforwords

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Antti_Heinola added 14:10 - Feb 3 Once again, an interview that screams 3 points for Blackburn! Would be classic Rangers out of the three games this week to only get a point at the Newcastle one.
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YorkRanger added 19:37 - Feb 3 Dark humour and general misery, never out of place on Loft For Words
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TacticalR added 23:46 - Feb 3 Thanks to Ian for a very amusing account of Blackburn's woes. Sounds like another miserable season, although beating Newcastle twice is impressive.
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