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What a difference a week can make

There was something different in the air around Ewood Park on Friday night. The atmosphere felt unfamiliar; fans walking down Bolton Road had a cautious confidence, and Blues Bar was buzzing. Fans were excited. Harry Pickering came into the starting eleven to replace Dapo Afolayan, the only change from the win away at QPR last weekend. Preston had the better of the first half without really threatening the Blackburn goal. But the Blackburn End was alive. The “Pride of Lancashire” flag surfed across the crowd just before kick-off and there was a huge sense of positivity among the fans. So much so that the 6,000 Preston supporters could rarely be heard over the noise coming from the Rovers faithful. Rovers huffed and puffed in the second half and it looked like they had missed their chance as Moussa Baradji and Yuki Ohashi both somehow missed the ball from Mathias Jorgensen’s low cross. But then, deep into stoppage time, Eiran Cashin’s looped cross found the head of Ohashi and he sent Ew...
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Au revoir

It might be too late, but the writing had been on the wall for a while. Valérien Ismaël has left Blackburn Rovers by mutual consent. After a run of one win in fourteen games, the Rovers hierarchy didn’t have much choice but to part ways with Ismaël. The Frenchman had been in charge for almost a year but struggled to win over the Rovers faithful. It took Ismaël eight games to get his first win as Rovers boss last season — a run that ultimately cost the club a play-off spot. Add that to a summer in which Rovers lost a number of key players and a poor start to the season, especially at home, and Ismaël was on the back foot from the get-go. The home win against Millwall before Christmas was Rovers’ last victory and only their second win of the season at Ewood Park. There is no doubt that injuries have hampered the team over the last couple of months, but football is a results business and Ismaël did not get anywhere near enough. He leaves the club 22nd in the table, ahead of a huge game ag...
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Who is running Blackburn Rovers?

In the last two years, just one senior Rovers player has signed a contract extension. Scott Wharton signed a new deal in October 2025, running until 2028, with the option of a further year. Prior to that, you would have to go back to late 2023, when Adam Wharton and Sammie Szmodics both signed new deals. Adam Wharton was one of the brightest young players in the EFL and has since gone on to become a standout performer for Crystal Palace, while also earning a handful of England caps. Szmodics was the league’s top scorer, ending that season with 33 goals in all competitions, and almost single-handedly kept Rovers in the division before being sold to Ipswich for over £10 million. With Jon Dahl Tomasson as head coach and Gregg Broughton as director of football, Rovers were acting like a proper football club — tying down their best-performing assets and ensuring that, if the club were to sell, they would command a better price with players on longer contracts. With only local boy Scott Whar...
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Rovers v Watford

The wait for a win continues, but there were more promising signs as Rovers returned to Ewood Park. Rovers welcomed five players back into the squad: Todd Cantwell, Lewis Miller and Ryoya Morishita all started, while Ryan Alebiosu and Hayden Carter were named on the bench. Rovers were on the back foot for the opening 20 minutes and were caught out by another set piece. Edo Kayembe struck the opener from a Watford corner, firing in at the near post. Rovers didn’t waste any time in finding an equaliser, striking back from a set piece of their own just two minutes later. Todd Cantwell’s near-post corner was brilliantly turned in by Lewis Miller for his second goal of the season. Rovers were marginally the better side for the remainder of the game after the equaliser but struggled to create clear-cut opportunities. The one golden chance of the match fell to Yuki Ohashi. A deflected shot from Søndre Tronstad landed at the feet of the Japanese forward, who could only fire straight at Watford...
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Soldiers and Artists and the Lack of

Tony Mowbray initially coined the phrase “soldiers and artists” during his time at Rovers. Soldiers such as Richie Smallwood do the dirty work so that artists like Bradley Dack can create the moments that win games. It goes hand in hand with the Rovers motto “arte et labore” — skill and hard work. Has the club ever been further away from this? After defeat at Swansea, Rovers lie 21st in the Championship, with just one win in their last thirteen games. Even the most optimistic of fans struggle to see where the next win could come from. The lack of both soldiers and artists is a telling sign of why the club appears to have fallen so far over the last 12 months. Rovers do have players who will work hard and run themselves into the ground — Ryan Hedges and Yuki Ohashi, for example. They also have players who are tidy on the ball and can make things happen, with Todd Cantwell being the one who has done so most consistently for Rovers. But the club is missing some key player profiles. A Lewi...
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Swansea vs Rovers

Rovers whimpered to yet another defeat as they were comfortably beaten 3–1 by Swansea City. There were four full debuts for Rovers, with Brandon Powell, Aodhan Doherty, Connor O’Riordan and Mathias Jorgensen all making their first starts for the club. However, recent set-piece struggles continued as Swansea striker Zan Vipotnik slotted home after a loose defensive header to give the hosts the lead. Rovers gained some control of the game after the half-hour mark and found an equaliser through new signing Jorgensen, the Dane sliding in at the back post after good work from Brandon Powell. Rovers ended the half strongly, with Yuki Ohashi seeing his effort deflected wide. But Rovers again shot themselves in the foot early in the second half as Eom Ji-Sung’s cross was turned into his own net by O’Riordan. Things then went from bad to worse, with Vipotnik bagging his second of the game from another corner, the Slovenian striker heading in at the near post to seal all three points for Swansea...
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Ipswich vs Rovers

Rovers were well beaten in Suffolk as their usual problems caught them out once again. The hosts took the lead with their first attack inside three minutes, as Jaden Philogene’s cross was diverted into his own net by Eiran Cashin. Things went from bad to worse for Rovers when Jack Taylor reacted quickest to stab home from close range after they made a mess of defending a corner. The second half saw a debut for Rovers, with new signing Mathias Jorgensen coming on at the break to replace Axel Henriksson. Rovers huffed and puffed and felt they should have had a penalty when Yuki Ohashi was pushed to the ground by Darnell Furlong, but nothing was given. Ipswich went on to seal the three points through former Rover Sammie Szmodics, the former Championship top scorer converting at the back post to end a miserable afternoon for Rovers. Positives Rovers welcomed Adam Forshaw back to the squad and are set to have Ryoya Morishita and Andri Gudjohnsen available again in the next couple of weeks. ...
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