This game is the end for Chris Hughton’s spell as caretaker manager at Newcastle United, and the last game before a certain Joe Kinnear is handed the reigns at St. James’ Park as an interim manager until the Mike Ashley soap opera reach its end at Tyneside and new owners with new ideas and a new system takes over. On the other hand though, Blackburn have before the season been said to be a team to struggle because of the sale of influential players like David Bentley to Tottenham and some, according to football “experts”, uninspired buys in the transfer window. But new Rovers manager Paul Ince does seem to be working his magic at Blackburn, just as he did at MK Dons, and Blackburn look to make the pre-season bets by the “experts” go wide off the mark. Though, will Chris Hughton end his reign as Newcastle manager with nothing but defeats, or will he hand over the reigns to Joe Kinnear going out with a win? Or will Paul Ince and his men continue their decent run in the Premier League this season by heaping even more sorrow onto the Tyneside outfit from the North East? We’ll see tomorrow. Though, then again…

(Article and Key Players by SpinS, graphics and Introduction by Kaizero.)

Blackburn Rovers are one of the oldest clubs in England, being one of the football league founder clubs in 1875. Rovers play at Ewood Park, which has been their home since 1880, and have a passionate fan base.

Pre-war the club were ever present in division one, until they were relegated in 1936. From here, Rovers returned to division one in 1958, and participated in the 1960 FA cup final, losing to Wolves, after losing one of their players to a broken leg in times before substitutions were allowed. This led to relegation in 1966, and a 26 year absence from the top division.

In 1991/92 season Blackburn received financial backing from Jack Walker, who funded the acquisition of players, and brought in Kenny Dalglish as the clubs manager. After spending a large part of the season at the top of division two promotion looked a certainty, but rovers lost six on the bounce, leaving them to take a playoff spot. Blackburn triumphed in the final, against Leicester, thanks to a Mike Newall penalty.

In 1992, Blackburn made the headlines, for a then record signing of Alan Shearer, and then added to the squad with the addition of Le Saux, Ripley, and Kevin Gallacher. This resulted in a top 4 finish, and allowed them to attract David Batty and Tim Flowers. These signings became pivotal players in the 1994 season, leading the side to second. What soon followed was the signing of Chris Sutton, and a strike force which would fire Rovers to the title in 1995, after Manchester United could only manage a draw away to West Ham. From here Dalglish moved upstairs, leaving his assistant to tend to the club, but he was unable to replicate similar success, managing 7th in the following season. By October 1997 Blackburn had sunk to the bottom of the division, and set about rebuilding the squad.

From success came heartbreak, with both Hodgson and Kidd unable to turn the club around, leading to relegation in 1999. This lead to the appointment of Souness, who promptly set about rebuilding the club. In 2000, the clubs influential chairman Jack Walker passed away, and Blackburn gained promotion that season, thanks to Friedel, Duff, Dunn, and Jansen. Upon promotion back to the top flight Blackburn brought in Andy Cole, Tugay and Neil, all players who featured prominently in the 2002 Carling cup win. In the following pre-season Matt Jansen was in a serious motorbike crash, which had large implications for his career. Souness brought in Dwight Yorke, who forged a solid partnership with Cole. By 2004 Souness had lost the plot, selling Duff and Dunn and bringing in expensive flop Barry Ferguson. Blackburn were saved from relegation, finishing 15th, thanks to goals by John Stead. Souness departed the club in 2004, to demolish Newcastle United.

From here we have the Blackburn we have today, containing some quality players brought in for very little output, thanks to the management of Mark Hughes. Names such as McCarthy, Samba, Warnock and Santa Cruz highlight Blackburns’ successful recruitment policy post Souness, and the good work done by Mark Hughes, who turned the clubs fortunes around, and helped cement them as a top ten side. In 2008 Hughes was poached by the new premiership superpower Manchester City, and highly rated Paul Ince was his replacement. Blackburn sold influential goalkeeper Brad Friedel, replacing him with England international Paul Robinson. Blackburn have got off to a solid start, and with Newcastle in turmoil, will look to make the most of the opportunity to push on for a European spot.

Key Players

Paul Robinson

The experienced ex-England international was signed for £3.5m this summer, and will be looking forward to a fresh start, after a couple of disastrous seasons for both Spurs and England. He has obvious quality, but has been let down by silly mistakes, and a few weaknesses which have been exposed. On his game he is a quality keeper, but will he iron out the mistakes at his new club? Will he ever fill the boots of Brad Friedel?

Christopher Samba

He is a monster, big, powerful, and consistent. An astute signing for only 400k, Samba has become a mainstay in the Blackburn side thanks to some impressive performances. He has all the qualities a center back needs and is a big player for Rovers.

Roque Santa Cruz

Another impressive signing Santa Cruz adapted fantastically well to premiership football, knocking in an impressive 19 goals, and attracting the attention of some European giants. Blackburn moved fast to keep hold of the striker, resulting in a new four year contract signed this August.