IN FOCUS: BLACKBURN ROVERS

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Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-06-27T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: BLACKBURN ROVERS

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-06-27T08:00:00.000Z

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

Blackburn Rovers Football Club was established in 1875, with their first game coming on 11th December of that year.

They became one of the 12 founding members of the Football League alongside Burnley three years later and our East Lancastrian neighbours were successful in the top flight in their early years, suffering relegation from the First Division for the first time in 1936.

After World War I had ended they were again demoted in 1947/48, spending ten years as a Second Division club.

The 1970s saw Blackburn bounce between the Second and Third Divisions, before success came after Jack Walker’s takeover in 1991. Within four years they went from a struggling Second Division side to Premier League winners, pipping Manchester United to the title by a point.

1995/96 saw them compete in Europe for the first time, playing in the UEFA Champions League but not progressing further than the group stages.

Blackburn recovered after relegation in 1999 to make it back to the top flight and win the League Cup in 2004. There was limited UEFA Cup success in the mid-2000s, but from then on, a slide began.

Last a Premier League outfit 12 years ago, our local rivals have gone on to spend time in League One and although now back in the second tier, have spent a lot of time in the middle reaches of the table.

After a failed Play-Off push in 2021/22 Tony Mowbray was relieved of his managerial duties and replaced by John Dahl Tomasson, who also fell agonisingly short of a top-six finish.

Current boss John Eustace was appointed in February and took 18 Championship points from a possible 51.

Stadium: Ewood Park (31,367) – 194 Velvet Street, Blackburn, BB2 4JF

Nickname(s): Rovers

Manager: John Eustace

2023/24 Finishing Position: 19th in Sky Bet Championship

2023/24 Top Scorer: Sammie Szmodics (33)

Played for both:

Andy Cole – Cole began his career as a youth player at Arsenal, eventually singing for Bristol City permanently having been on the books of the Londoners for three years. A 12-goal Championship season with the Robins earned him a move to Newcastle and it was here that Cole started to make his name, netting 34 goals and winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award in his first Premier League season. That earned him a move to Manchester United, where he spent six years and was part of the treble winning side of 1999. Cole joined Blackburn in 2001, spending three seasons in East Lancashire and scoring 37 goals in 100 appearances. The striker later scored six Championship goals in a three-month loan spell with the Clarets, including a hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers.

David Jones – A Manchester United youth product, Jones was unable to make a league appearance for the Red Devils and moved away permanently in 2007, joining Derby County. Their relegation to the Championship didn’t hinder his trajectory and he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he spent three years in the top flight before switching to Wigan Athletic. It was here that Jones featured for Blackburn, making 12 loan appearances in 2013 before joining Burnley on a free transfer having impressed on trial. Jones’ first league goal for the Clarets came in a 2-0 victory over Derby County in March 2014 and the central midfielder won the Championship title in 2015/16 before moving on to Sheffield Wednesday, after 131 appearances, in 2016.

Michael Keane – Keane had spells with ourselves and Blackburn in 2015 while on the books of his boyhood club Manchester United. The centre-back joined Blackburn in a temporary switch in March 2014 and his Rovers debut came in a 2-1 East Lancashire derby defeat at Ewood Park. After returning to United to make his one and only league appearance for the Red Devils, Keane joined Burnley on loan at the start of the 2014/15 season, His form was enough for the move to be made permanent in January 2015, with the defender signing a three-and-a-half-year deal. He was part of the promotion winning squad in his first full season before being shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in 2017. That summer, Keane signed for Premier League rivals Everton where he remains to this day.