Blackburn Rovers - Back To The Promised Land

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In 1995, Blackburn Rovers shook English Football by winning the Premier League trophy. With a squad containing players such as Tim Sherwood, Graeme Le Saux, Chris Sutton, and of course, legend of the game Alan Shearer, the title was won by a single point despite losing the final game of the season away at Liverpool. With Jack Walker's money and Kenny Dalglish at the helm, this looked to be the beginning of a new era of football.

Unfortunately for Rovers fans, this turned out to be the only time they have won the title. Managerial changes, and new owners have seen the club slide down the league, being relegated twice. The last relegation took place in 2012, and the club have so far been unable to return to the top flight.

Until now?

The aim of the save: Return Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League, and attempt to win the title.​

 

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Gone are the days of Damien Duff, David Dunn & Roque Santa Cruz. New heroes need to rise.

Squad

The First Team itself is in my view quite decent, with a strong British core to work with. The biggest issue at the moment is injuries, with the following important players currently out:
Scott Wharton - 3-4 Months - Damaged Achilles Tendon
Bradley Dack - 8-9 months - Damaged Cruciate Ligaments

Other players have knocks, but I don't see them as integral to the squad.

Players I will be depending on:
1. Lewis Travis - Quite possibly my favourite player on FM, the term 'Ruthless Aggression' comes to mind. Will surely collect a few yellow and red cards over the season, but will be absolutely vital as the Ball Winning Midfielder.

2. Ben Brereton Diaz - Yes, the Chilean superstar will be attempting to tear up the Championship, and with Sam Gallagher out at the beginning of the season, he will have to be the main goal threat for the team.

3. Harry Pickering - Massively improved on the game since his Crewe days, will be expected to provide the chances for the attackers. High ratings for Crossing, Passing & Vision should see him rack up quite a few assists this season.

4. Joe Rothwell - A class player who can play as a CM, AM and on the left wing. Unfortunately, he wants £40kpw to sign a new contract, which would put him on £25kpw more than the next highest earner... I don't think so!

Formation wise, I will be starting with a 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress, hoping to outwork the other teams.

 

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July & August

Pre Season
A nice calm pre season as we win all 6 games, scoring 21 goals and conceding 0. A good start, but the real challenge will begin at home against Swansea on the first day of the season.

As i have set up the game with No Opening Transfer Window, there have been no movements, though I have been able to recall centre back Hayden Carter from his loan at Portsmouth to add some depth at the back.

Time for the season to start!

August

Swansea (H)

From pure elation to unspeakable anger as we throw away a 2 goal lead and draw. Brereton Diaz also missed a penalty in the 79th minute which would have seen us win the game. A lack of depth on the bench told as we couldn't keep up the pace.

Barnsley (A) Carabao Cup 1st Round

Much better as we hold onto the the 2 goal lead this time. The early goals see us through to the next round with no issues. We will face Shrewsbury at home in the next round.

Millwall (A)

Tyrhyr Dolan saves our skin with a late goal to secure his hat trick. Millwall is always a tough game, and as expected, both goals against us came from set pieces. We went counter attacking at the end of the game to try and shore up defensively

Nottingham Forest (A)

A poor performance from the team, as none of our attacking players turn up. Sam Gallagher has returned from injury, and we will be hoping he can score some goals as Brereton Diaz has failed to show up so far.

Before our next game, I have decided to change up our tactics. Sam Gallagher isn't adept at playing the pressing forward role, and if I am being honest, the players are tiring out too quickly in games which is not ideal in a 46 game season. So, as the English do, I am going to move to a more familiar wing play 4-4-2 with the wingers playing further up. Hopefully this will relieve the pressure on Brereton Diaz, and allow Gallagher to use his ability as a target man to make a nuisance of himself.

West Brom (H)

Now that is a big result! Vindication for my formation change as we beat one of the teams tipped to go up this year, with both Gallagher & Brereton Diaz on the scoresheet.

Shrewsbury (H) Carabao Cup 2nd Round

Smashed them. The team from the division below were no match for us as we put 5 past them. 2 penalties from Brereton Diaz make up for his miss against Swansea, as we go strong to ensure we get through to the next round, whilst also training the new formation. The draw places us away against Luton in the next round.

Middlesbrough (A)

Final game of the month and we win comfortably against Chris Wilder's side. Sam Gallagher scored 2 goals to continue his find run of form since his return from injury. Long may it continue.


A Reasonable start in the league, as we sit nicely placed in the Play Off zone that we hope to make our own as the season progresses. QPR the form team, sit unbeaten at the top of the table with 5 wins from 5.

Player of the Month
Joe Rothwell beats out Tyrhys Dolan to the award in the first month of the season. 4 assists and 1 goal in all competitions has me wondering what to regarding his contract issue, but there is alot of the season to go before that becomes an issue.

 

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September

5 league games and a Carabao Cup 3rd round fixture this month as we take on Luton twice. The International break has ended, with Ben Brereton Diaz representing Chile, and Darragh Lenihan being called up as a replacement for John Egan with the Republic Of Ireland.

Luton (H)

The league game comes first against The Hatters, and we put down a marker by knocking 4 past them. Harry Pickering scored from a free kick that floated over the head of everyone and into the bottom far corner. A first clean sheet in the league is a welcome sight, though I was worried about the number of times we hit the woodwork before scoring.

Hull (H)

The Brereton Diaz & Gallagher partnership strikes again, as they combine to score all 3 goals that see us continue our good form. There were a few tired legs, but with a few days until our next game, there will be rest time.

Barnsley (A)

3 goals scored and a clean sheet should leave me smiling, but it was a very average performance from us until the first goal went in. The fact that it was an own goal as well demoralised Barnsley, allowing us to go ahead and make the score line harsher than it should have been. 2 assists for Brereton Diaz as he sets up both of Gallagher's goals, the new Sutton & Shearer?

Luton (A) Carabao Cup 3rd Round

Thank f*** there is no extra time in this competition. We go straight to penalties and convert all 5 as Luton miss early on. Not the best performance, but through we are. Our reward, an away tie at Newcastle United. The only downside is Lewis Travis was booked, meaning he will be suspended for the game, a shame as he has been great for us.

Cardiff (H)

What a result! Cardiff were 5th when they rocked up to Ewood Park, but they have been sent packing. Harry Pickering with 2 brilliantly taken free kicks and an assist was immense. I must again praise Sam Gallagher, as it can't be understated how important he has been since he returned from injury, making me fall in love with target men again.

The board have allowed me to study for my Continental A License.

Huddersfield (A)

Well we aren't going to win any Fair Play awards this season. Not only did we draw the game, but when Huddersfield's Levi Colwill pulled his calf muscle when coming out of defence, instead of kicking the ball out Brereton Diaz started the move that saw him score. Unsure how i feel about this when a player is clearly injured in this way.

League Table
Disappointing at the end of the month, as we would have been top with a win against Huddersfield. We are however only 1 point behind the top 2, and with goals coming from all players, I am confident we can at least have a go at attempting to get automatic promotion.

Player Of The Month
Has to be Sam Gallagher. Harry Pickering has been excellent, but Gallagher brings it all with his great hold up play, assists and goals scored. He has been a nightmare for defences and a joy for me to manage.

 

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October
Our Carabao Cup adventure continues as we head to Newcastle at the end of the month, with a league game against high flying QPR the other big match.

Blackpool (A)

A bore draw as tiredness catches up with the players. Very few chances for both sides as the international break comes at the perfect time to regroup.

Coventry (H)

Now that is more like it! Sure Coventry are struggling, but a clean sheet and a hat trick from Brereton Diaz is not to be sniffed at. We are looking strong this season, and we have returning players such as Scott Wharton allowing us the depth we require. I think the January window will probably be used to sign a back up striker, probably on loan in case of injuries.

QPR (A)

Another fine win, and another 2 goals for Brereton Diaz, proving his worth after a slow start. A big game, especially against another team in the promotion hunt.

Reading (H)

A rotated side saw off Reading who really didn't put up a fight at all. Ryan Giles has managed to play his way into the side, and has performed well when called upon.

Newcastle (A) Carabao Cup 4th Round

A good effort from the boys against a rotated Newcastle side that still included Miguel Almiron & Ryan Fraser. Proof that we can compete with teams in the division above, but probably need to improve still.

Derby (A)

A cup hangover as we struggle to a draw against a Derby side on a 4 match unbeaten run. We were lucky to hold them to a draw as they were dominating us at the set pieces.

League Table
We have cemented ourselves in 3rd place, a good 7 points above QPR after the same amount of games. I think we should be looking up for sure, as we are only a few points behind the top two.

Player of the Month
I'm going to give it to the keeper Thomas Kaminski. 3 of his 5 clean sheets this season in the league came this month, and he was excellent to keep Derby from scoring any more.

 

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November

Fulham (H)

A close game after Fulham went down to 10 men early on, we didn't take advantage and were left to draw after Travis got his first red card of the season.

Sheff Utd (H)

Fatigue is taking hold of our team, as i am forced to rotate the squad due to fitness worries leading to a toothless loss. Players will be sent on holiday and training reduced during the 2 week international break, and I don't want to dwell on the loss too much.

Bristol City (A)

We are wobbling a bit here. Though coming back from 2-0 down to get a draw isn't a terrible result, Bristol City are near the bottom of the table and I would have hoped for more.

Peterborough (H)

Another draw, again against in the bottom half of the league. The defence seem to have forgotten how to play, and we can't depend on the strikers in every game!

Stoke (A)

EMERGENCY! An absolute p*** poor performance from us, and we have gone the entire month without a win. Tired strikers and a lack of attacking rotation options means we drop more points to the top 2.

League Table

At the beginning of the season I would have taken 4th place coming into December, but with our form before this month being amazing, I am absolutely gutted. 10 points separate us and the automatic promotion places, and I feel December is going to be about damage limitation before trying to find reinforcements in January.

Play of the Month

I'm going to go with Tyrhys Dolan. He has scored and assisted a couple of goals this month, and despite playing in a number of positions, seems to work hard and perform consistently.​