It sometimes amazes me to think about time, but not necessarily about time itself but about the speed it passes and the changes that take place within it. I saw a tweet a while ago talking about on this day Yakubu’s famous double footed overhead kick attempt against Norwich back in 2012 and its amazing because I really do remember that game as though it was yesterday. Mauro Formica and a trademark Hoilett curler gave us the win that day I even remember a piece of control by one of the Norwich players just outside the area that was so impressive that’s its stuck with me ever since. Anyway I thought to myself if I could go back and ask 13 year old me where I thought we’d be in 5 years what would I have said? I know for a fact I would have never said league 1 that’s a fact because I remember always thinking how lucky I was to support a premier league team. I used to think there are 92 league teams all over the country, along with hundreds of local no league teams and I just happened to support one of the 20 best in the country. I used to say to myself “it’s amazing supporting a premier league team all you ever hear the news talking about is about the teams and players in that league, it must be so weird to support a team in league 1 or 2” I used to say. Well now my words have come back to haunt me because now I know.
About a year and a half ago I wrote a piece very similar to this actually on the similarities between ourselves, Bolton and Blackpool I produced this table:
About a year and a half ago I wrote a piece very similar to this actually on the similarities between ourselves, Bolton and Blackpool I produced this table:
Obviously I didn’t get the future predictions for Blackpool and Bolton correct but I did get ours rights, so maybe it’s time that I add to the table that I started over 13 months ago and see if I can but in a better prediction for the next year...
*predictions made off current league standings as of 5/2/18
My point of this table was that the three teams were all very tightly connected. Whenever one got relegated the other two followed suit within the next two seasons. The only thing that has changed since I originally made this table is how Blackpool and Bolton have both been promoted since and on both occasions came straight after a relegation. So if all goes to plan we should absolutely be promoted weather it is like Blackpool via the playoffs (I really hope not) or via automatic promotion like Bolton who finished 2nd (Which I really hope we do).
But here’s what I think may follow in the next few years. We get promotion this year after a long few months. I imagine that the squad will change quite a lot. I think there are a lot of players that have stayed with the club because they feel responsible for relegation, players like Conway, Bennet, Mulgrew, Graham and Evans and I think promotion bacl to the championship could see them move on actually out of the 5 I only really expect Graham to stay and probably see out his last few years at Rovers. Conway, Bennet and Evans I think will move on in the hope for more regular game time especially Conway and Evans. Mulgrew may potentially stay but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got taken up by a promotion chasing championship team.
Then we have the new boys the likes of Smallwood, Dack, Samuel, Gladwin, Caddis and Whittingham. I imagine Gladwin, Caddis and Wittingham all to leave for sure. I think Smallwood will stay I think Samuel will stay mainly because no-one will come to buy him and we will need the strikers. Dack is a hard one there’s a lot of rumours and unfortunately I don’t think their false. If a big cash offer comes in from a championship team expect him to go but there is the chance that he may stay with Rovers but if he performs don’t expect him to stay into 2019.
As for transfers in, it’s always hard to say. Mowbray and his recruitment team have been for the most part very good, their transfer have been the saving grace of the season so far I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard similar names pop up like Chapman and Oztumer but I imagine whatever we get to at least do the job.
I wouldn’t expect sparks to fly next season, on the odd occasion a promoted team sometimes uses their promotion as a slingshot which propels them onto another good year but honestly I can’t see that happening. We are having a good season not a brilliant one we are still dropping points at crucial times and even though we went 18 games unbeaten there still wasn’t consistency it wasn’t 6 wins followed by 1 draw and then 6 wins again in fact our run went something like this: DWDDWWWWWWDWDDWWDW so actually we only had one occasion where we won more than 2 games in a row, good run of 6 but surely you can see why it still isn’t good enough.
But I think the next 2 years will be definitive in the history of this club because I genuinely believe that the Venky’s time has come. For me all the signs of them selling the club imminently are there. At the start of the season the Venky’s launched an overview into the club when they brought in accountancy giants KPMG and Deloitte the announcement was made following our relegation that they would come and look at all aspects of the club over a 4 week period. Then 62 people left their jobs soon after all of the roles where then promptly replaced. At the time Mike Cheston said that many of the recommendations were in line with those made by the club themselves. They knew cuts would have to be made; they knew people would lose their jobs money would have to be saved, but then something peculiar started to happen. We spent over £2,750,000 in the summer and then brought spending over 3 million in January, that’s more than the past 4 years combined! (Two years of transfer embargo) Does that not seem strange to you? Why would owners who have shown no sign of interest in investment whilst in the second tier suddenly want to spend more than ever in the 3rd? Everything they have done, every action that they have taken that I remember has been part of money making. The announcement of there eagerness to buy Beckham and Ronaldiniho ect…
I think that KPMG and Deloitte have made them aware that in the modern footballing world a club like Blackburn with the facilities that we have could actually cost as much in the championship now as we did in the premier league 7 years ago. But they’ll have to invest to get them back to the championship. So I think that the vVenkys have put in more money than ever because they want the club to be in the most marketable position it can be when they sell up however I fear the consequences of what may happen if we don’t get promoted. Put it this way I can’t see the Venkys at the club beyond 2020, which I think will be something to be excited for.
What do you think?
Where do you think we will be in the next few years?
Are the Venkys on the verge of leaving?
Thanks for reading!
But here’s what I think may follow in the next few years. We get promotion this year after a long few months. I imagine that the squad will change quite a lot. I think there are a lot of players that have stayed with the club because they feel responsible for relegation, players like Conway, Bennet, Mulgrew, Graham and Evans and I think promotion bacl to the championship could see them move on actually out of the 5 I only really expect Graham to stay and probably see out his last few years at Rovers. Conway, Bennet and Evans I think will move on in the hope for more regular game time especially Conway and Evans. Mulgrew may potentially stay but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got taken up by a promotion chasing championship team.
Then we have the new boys the likes of Smallwood, Dack, Samuel, Gladwin, Caddis and Whittingham. I imagine Gladwin, Caddis and Wittingham all to leave for sure. I think Smallwood will stay I think Samuel will stay mainly because no-one will come to buy him and we will need the strikers. Dack is a hard one there’s a lot of rumours and unfortunately I don’t think their false. If a big cash offer comes in from a championship team expect him to go but there is the chance that he may stay with Rovers but if he performs don’t expect him to stay into 2019.
As for transfers in, it’s always hard to say. Mowbray and his recruitment team have been for the most part very good, their transfer have been the saving grace of the season so far I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard similar names pop up like Chapman and Oztumer but I imagine whatever we get to at least do the job.
I wouldn’t expect sparks to fly next season, on the odd occasion a promoted team sometimes uses their promotion as a slingshot which propels them onto another good year but honestly I can’t see that happening. We are having a good season not a brilliant one we are still dropping points at crucial times and even though we went 18 games unbeaten there still wasn’t consistency it wasn’t 6 wins followed by 1 draw and then 6 wins again in fact our run went something like this: DWDDWWWWWWDWDDWWDW so actually we only had one occasion where we won more than 2 games in a row, good run of 6 but surely you can see why it still isn’t good enough.
But I think the next 2 years will be definitive in the history of this club because I genuinely believe that the Venky’s time has come. For me all the signs of them selling the club imminently are there. At the start of the season the Venky’s launched an overview into the club when they brought in accountancy giants KPMG and Deloitte the announcement was made following our relegation that they would come and look at all aspects of the club over a 4 week period. Then 62 people left their jobs soon after all of the roles where then promptly replaced. At the time Mike Cheston said that many of the recommendations were in line with those made by the club themselves. They knew cuts would have to be made; they knew people would lose their jobs money would have to be saved, but then something peculiar started to happen. We spent over £2,750,000 in the summer and then brought spending over 3 million in January, that’s more than the past 4 years combined! (Two years of transfer embargo) Does that not seem strange to you? Why would owners who have shown no sign of interest in investment whilst in the second tier suddenly want to spend more than ever in the 3rd? Everything they have done, every action that they have taken that I remember has been part of money making. The announcement of there eagerness to buy Beckham and Ronaldiniho ect…
I think that KPMG and Deloitte have made them aware that in the modern footballing world a club like Blackburn with the facilities that we have could actually cost as much in the championship now as we did in the premier league 7 years ago. But they’ll have to invest to get them back to the championship. So I think that the vVenkys have put in more money than ever because they want the club to be in the most marketable position it can be when they sell up however I fear the consequences of what may happen if we don’t get promoted. Put it this way I can’t see the Venkys at the club beyond 2020, which I think will be something to be excited for.
What do you think?
Where do you think we will be in the next few years?
Are the Venkys on the verge of leaving?
Thanks for reading!
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