Crisis at Blackburn Rovers ahead of Stoke City six pointer as boss reveals he offered to quit
News from across the Championship as Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City prepare to go head to head
Blackburn Rovers have been plunged into crisis on and off the pitch as a chaotic end to the transfer window combines with dropping into the Championship relegation fight.
An angry mood is simmering at Ewood Park after a 2-1 home defeat to fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers left them with only one win from the last 11 matches. It is a run that has seen them slowly dragged towards the bottom of the table to now sit only five points above QPR and the final place in the drop zone. They are one point better off than Stoke City, who they host next weekend in what will be a tense and potentially pivotal afternoon for both clubs.
Rovers banned manager Jon Dahl Tomasson from talking to the media at a scheduled pre-match press conference on Friday as it emerged that a deadline day move to sign United States striker Duncan McGuire hung in the balance. Reports suggest Blackburn made an error in registering the player from Orlando City – having initially, and abruptly, pulled out of the deal on Wednesday before thinking they had completed it on Thursday.
For supporters it is all too reminiscent of the transfer saga 12 months earlier when they agreed a loan deal with Nottingham Forest for midfielder Lewis O’Brien but didn’t file the paperwork in time. It left the player in limbo for the rest of the season.
Tomasson, when he was allowed to speak publicly yesterday, revealed he had offered to walk away from Blackburn last summer when the transfer budget was cut and owners Venky’s were put under investigation by the Indian government.
He told the local press: “Things changed in the summer. It was like a hand grenade, the budget changed. I told the club that it wasn’t the project I signed up for. I told them that it was a different situation, and I asked if they wanted to find another head coach for this project. We can terminate my contract, no problem, I don’t want any money. This was in the summer, I said that to the club.
“They said no. I have been committed and working a lot of hours in a very difficult situation. This can’t come as a surprise, a team that lost proven goal-scorers, experience and numbers at this level.”
It all means there are dark skies over Lancashire at the moment.
“Blackburn Rovers fans are completely disillusioned with the hierarchy at the club,” report the Lancashire Telegraph. “Tomasson still has some credit in the bank, though that is waning, but the chants at Ewood Park made clear where supporters are laying the blame for this malaise. The club is trapped in a loveless marriage. (Owners) Venky’s have always paid the bills but now they simply may not be able to. Their reliance on the goodwill of overseas High Courts is unsustainable.
