2010-11 EPL Preview: Blackburn Rovers

The English Premier League (suck it, Barclays!) season is just around the corner, so we here at UF are giving you everything you need to know about all 20 teams with our award-winning analysis. And no, we haven’t really won any awards, but neither has Arsenal in five years and people still seem to care about them.

Official Name: Blackburn Rovers Football Club

Nickname: Rovers, The Blue and White, The Riversiders

Home Colors: Blue and white

Trophy Case: 1995 Premier League Champions; 1912, 1914 First Division Champions (EPL equivalent); 1884-86, 1890-1, 1928 FA Cup winners, 2002 League Cup winners, 1939 League Division Two Champions (Colaship equivalent); 1975 League Division Two Champions (League One equivalent)

Ewood Park – a goddamn fortress!

2009-10 League Finish: a sterling run at the end resulted in a 10th place finish.

2009-10 Average Home Attendance: 25,428 (13th in the league) (Capacity: 31,367)

Team Legends: Fergus Suter, Derek Fazackerley, Tony Parkes, Simon Garner, Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Tim Sherwood, Tugay, Roque Santa Cruz

Gaffer: Dr. Sam Allardyce (received honorary doctorate from Univ. of Bolton)

Transfers In: Hugo Fernandez (Union Deportiva Cornella, paella for two)

Transfers Out: Michael Hall (Accrington Stanley, free), Andrew Howarth (Bury, free), Marcus Marshall (Rotherham United, free), Steven Reid (West Bromwich Albion, free), Jordan Bowen (released), Josh Swann (released)

Key Players:
Nikola Kalinic—they need goals, can the big Croat deliver consistently?

David Dunn—has to stay healthy, played just 23 league games last season

Morten Gamst Pedersen—remember when he was a hot transfer commodity?

Christopher Samba & Ryan Nelsen—central defense must be strong, as it’s been, because goals will be in short supply

Paul Robinson—perhaps one of those dramatic leaps will actually yield a save now that he’s retired from the grind of international football…

Rising Stars:
Hugo Fernandez is a promising young talent. Michel Salgado apparently helped to lure him to Ewood Park, which is nice since the former Madrid man can’t do much else these days.

Another defender, the 18 year old Phil Jones has already proved his worth in central defense, deputizing for then playing in the place of an injured Nelsen and suspended Samba last season. Allardyce, under no illusions about Jones’s place in the future of the club, says the young Englishman will earn his transfer on the field—not in the tabs.

Same goes for holding midfielder Steven N’Zonzi. Just 21 years old, the Frenchman and, naturally, Wenger target, has played his way into what should be the opening day first XI.

On the opposite flank from Pedersen is the dazzling young Swede Martin Olsson, who could round out into proper stardom this campaign.

Going a bit deeper into the club, there’s even a Norf American, the Canadian David “Junior” Hoilett, a small (5′ 8″) winger who scored six times to help lead German side St. Pauli Girls to Bundesliga promotion last term. He recently re-upped with Blackburn and could fight for a place in their spotty attack.

Stadium: Ewood Park

Drama: Zzzzzz. And that should be welcome after what I’m sure most Riversiders would call a far-too-dramatic 2009-10. This is a mature team that’s made almost no changes from the end of last season. Blessed with good health and discipline (Samba!), they should find themselves comfortably ensconced in the middle of the table. Judging by the clubs around them—Fulham, Bongo, Stoke, Bolton, Sunderland, Villa, Everton maybe—Blackburn should figure to be in the thick of a fight for the Europa League.

Good chin for contesting headers

Tactics!: Allardyce has his detractors, but that conservative defend-and-counter, with a bruising central defense, crowded midfield, and lone proper striker seems perfectly suited to the players at his disposal.

As we’ve noted at every turn, Blackburn will not be shredding opponents’ nets, so expect either a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. Pedersen doesn’t threaten like he used to up the flank, but he’s still creative when given some time and space. Dunn was a revelation (again) last year, and the attack will hinge on his playing in whomever they trot out to lead the line. Pascal Chimbonda can get forward, but can Kalinic provide a consistent target?

The Tactics! themselves are simple, then. Shut ‘em out, squeeze one out…

Question Marks: Oh goals, where art thou coming from? Blackburn will rely on their stout defense and crowded midfield to keep it close, then hope for something on the counter. But since the days of (in-form and healthy) Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy, their attack has suffered. Can a rotation of Kalinic, El Hadji Diouf, Jason Roberts, with Dunn in support and Pedersen and Olsson on the wings be a consistent source of goals? I’d say no.

Best 11:
Kalinic

Dunn

Pedersen – Andrews – N’Zonzi – Olsson

Givet – Kiwi Hero Nelsen – Samba – Chimbonda

Robinson

(The whole first team is here)

Rooting Interest: What a difference 15 years makes. If Blackburn were Chelsea before Chelsea were Chelski, “buying” themselves a title in ’95, along with all the controversy and bloviating that inspired, they could be this year’s blandest flavor. And with Burnley back in lower league exile, Les Bleus et Blanc don’t even have a proper hateful derby (the loudest cheer from the Blackburn traveling section during their trip last year to White Hart Lane—I was there—came after Burnley went down a goal. There’s no away scoreboard at WHL, these people were obviously following that tie on their own).

Doc Sam and his beloved/reviled headset

Big Dr. Sam Allardyce has always created a bit of stir with his chatty personality and silly-looking headset, but you must admire the consistently class work he’s done with blah sides like Blackburn and Bolton before that (‘Jesus but with a team sheet’ couldn’t have saved Newcastle).

Lo’ and behold, he came into town last year and dragged a team that was in relegation territory to a top half of the table finish.

Important Fixtures: I’ll be original and go with their first five. After last season’s early season Ince-pired debacle, it’ll be important for Sam’s boys to get off to a more prosperous start.

Not that it will be easy. With the exception of Fulham, who were busy traipsing about Europe, each of their first month’s opponents either qualified for or came within a few points of Europe last season. Everton (H), Birmingham (A), Arsenal (H), Manchester City (A), Fulham (H)

Prediction: 9th—If Blackburn can take 6 (DDDLW) points from the first five games I think the belief will grow and when the schedule eases up a bit, their discipline and fantastic home form (only 3 losses at Ewood Park last season) should propel them into a European race. Ultimately though, I think Villa will just manage to hold on to that eighth spot as Everton finishes a runaway seventh.

Dunn inspires wallpaper like this