The Rovers Return

- Rovers add Winterburn to coaching staff Official site

- Friedel speculation mounts Mail on Sunday

- Bentley swap deal with Spurs could see Robinson replace Friedel? Metro

- Derbyshire (click) and Fowler desperate to impress Sky Sports

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has linked up with the Rovers squad ahead of the pre season campaign. A player of immense quality; pace, vision, skill and a superb finish.

The above describes Robbie Fowler at his peak, around ten years ago. Now he is an unfit, past it Championship quality striker who mustn’t be able to believe his luck.

Having gone down to Championship level with last seasons FA Cup finalists Cardiff City, it appeared as if Fowler’s Premiership career was coming to an end. He, like so many others, would move down the divisions as his age caught up with him. But no.

Paul Ince’s first ’signing’ (he hasn’t been offered a contract yet) doesn’t show a great deal of ambition. Yes, he will be on a free, but I can all but guarantee he will get an excellent wage. His addition to the payroll is just unnecessary!

A new manager was supposed to see us trying to improve on last season. Even if we were to consolidate our 7th place finish, it would surely get us a European spot next season. But if players of Fowler’s calibre are the ones on Ince’s radar I can see us struggling.

The Guvnor has made a right back his priority, so who is he going to look at to fill this role? Dennis Irwin is still a free agent I believe…

- Backroom team taking shape Blackburn Citizen

- Rovers rule out Friedel exit Eat Sleep Sport

- Santa Cruz misses training - to recuperate Vital Football

- Ladies to take on Rotherham at home in cup first round Official site

- Players keen to impress new guvnor at first training session Lancashire Telegraph

- Brand new Rovers store to open on Saturday, kit launch delayed Official site

Home

Away

Looks like we are going to need a third strip, can’t have two blue kits. Although I really like this new away one.

The Jack Walker trustees are to put their £3 million into Blackburn Rovers again this season giving Paul Ince a welcome extra bit of transfer money.

The news comes as a relief after the trustees withdrew their funding last year as the club became self sufficient because of the TV money now available.

When Uncle Jack passed away in 2000, he left the trustees with strict instructions to continue the investment for the foreseeable future, to continue the short term prosperity of the club. Read the rest of this entry »

As I continue the development of this Rovers blog, a new feature will be a list of links to what people are saying about the mighty Rovers.

Tonights inaugral post of this nature is all about transfers!

- Youth player given loan move to local side Accy Stanley Sky Sports

- Hughes wants to take Friedel to City Sunday Mirror

- Lennon not to be used by Spurs in offer for Bentley Sky Sports

- Rovers in for McFadden Blue Blog

- Fulham’s Davis on his way to Ewood? Fans Online

- Samba set to stay Sky Sports

- Championship defender Orr linked to Rovers Telegraph

After a short hiatus (I have now left university to return home in the hunt of a ‘proper job’ instead of slaving away at Asda’) I am back to continue my ramblings about the greatest football club that the world Blackburn has ever seen!

So Paul Ince has been named as Mark Hughes successor in the Rovers hotseat. Another Alex Ferguson protege and, as the media so often reminds me, the Premiership’s first black British manager… Because that really matters, you know!

I can’t offer my verdict on Ince at the moment. Without a proven track record at the top level I am unsure how this one will go, it is very similar to the situation when Hughes joined, having only managed the Welsh national team. Obviously I will remain ridiculously optimistic as I always do and fingers crossed we can get into Europe next season having hung on to Roque Santa Cruz. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a clip from Rovers v Aston Villa dating all the way back to 1904.

After a while panicking over crap managers like Allardyce or McLaren, the two are now officially out of the running!

McLaren has landed a job at Dutch ‘giants’ FC Twente (Accrington Stanley, who are they? Exactly!) while Allardyce has seen the iceberg and pulled out of the race to succeed Mark Hughes.

I reckon the Facebook group had something to do with it. Who wants to walk into a job knowing 95% of the fans at the club didn’t want you? Would definitely have put me off I know that much! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve rated Andre Ooijer for a while, and felt that last season he put in some solid performances at the back without ever being given a fair crack of the whip.

Hughesy often preferred his Nelsen/Samba partnership, even when the two went through indifferent spells, and Ooijer was always considered something of a back up to those two.

Granted, the Dutchman has suffered some injury troubles which hasn’t helped his cause. Read the rest of this entry »