Even at third-round tie between Birmingham and Blackburn few wanted to watch, it was still possible to find a little joyMost match days, you can barely squeeze into the bar of the Royal George Hotel at the north-eastern corner of St Andrew’s. An hour before Birmingham play Blackburn, however, there are still plenty of chairs and tables available. A short distance away, in front of the Tilton Road Stand, a lone steward stands solemn guard in front of a bank of silent turnstiles. The magic of the FA Cup is still very much in evidence, it seems – but these days it tends to be more of a vanishing act.It’s a similar story inside the stadium, where only one of...
Nketiah shows rich promise, Chelsea may rue Fàbregas’s exit, things about to hot up for Solskjær and what next for Carroll? Related: FA Cup third round serves up shocks as Barnet, Oldham and Newport shine Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best FA Cup photos Continue reading...
Big-spending Nottingham Forest will hope they can do a Wolves but the English second tier remains unpredictable Related: League One 2018-19 preview| Ben Fisher Related: League Two 2018-19 season preview | Ben Fisher Related: Number of clubs sponsored by betting firms is ‘disturbing’, say campaigners Related: Football League 2018-19: 20 things to watch out for this season | Jacob Steinberg Continue reading...
Rovers’ manager secured a return to the Championship and will ask for money this summer to make the club competitiveSo Blackburn Rovers, the scrambled remains of the Jack Walker-funded club which once won the Premier League, have been promoted to the Championship, reversing the precipitous slide since they were bought in 2010 by Venky’s, the egg and chicken conglomerate of India.After the recent 3-1 home victory against Peterborough United their manager, Tony Mowbray, told the Guardian he would travel to Pune this summer to talk to the Venky family and ask them to invest more of their money to give his team a chance next season. He did the same last summer after relegation and they released £1.5m, of which...
New season, new league and new players but same old defeats for Blackburn as the malaise at Ewood Park under the Venky’s ownership continuesLeague football returned to Ewood Park as if it had never been away. But Blackburn Rovers, Premier League champions of 1995, found themselves in the unusual surroundings of League One on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Doncaster Rovers, who came in by the other door. After two degrees of separation the only familiarity for Blackburn was defeat.Three months ago, in their last five games, at least they were mixing it with Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Aston Villa, beating two and drawing with Wolves in a vain attempt to avoid the drop. Now they continue their struggles in the...