The Rise and Fall of Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers

Mention Blackburn Rovers and we mindset Jack Walker’s rose the steel magnet who resurrected the club in the late 1980’s, the rose of Blackburn ‘Labour and Skill’ depicted on the club’s badge in Latin terms. Walker the last of the originals, made of steel delivered with steel money, made in Blackburn the local town boy came good who lived the dream of all supporters alike to own their football club, a wonderful ride to glory, the lifting of the Premiership crown.

Unfashionable Blackburn Rovers the 1994-95 English champions, a miracle awoken for this proud Lancashire industrial town. In the club’s formative years, the Rovers were the fashion on the block, champions of England in 1912 and 1940 with three successive FA cup triumphs between 1883 and 1887, two more were added in 1890 and 1891, Blackburn rovers 5 time FA Cup winners. The new 2024-25 season is about to dawn, thirty years ago the Rovers were the kings on the block, should we forget, no, this is a reminder, nothing is set in stone in football it’s a revolving door, Manchester City fighting relegation in that pivotal year, how times have changed.

The boom boom years of the Premier League’s inception in 1992 on a new wave of mega bucks commercialism, it was to become football’s wild wild west, time to upset the status quo. The arrival of Blackburn Rovers with Jack Walker splashing the cash, the surreal arrival of Kenny Dalgleish as the club’s manager became a further catalyst, the red rose of Lancashire from toiling in obscurity in the early doors 1980’s to becoming the major players with the Blackburn dream. The honour call of players came with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, the aptly named SAS who pummelled 49 goals with their awesome strike partnership on the way to the title, let’s not forget captain Tim Sherwood who stood in the way of the great Zidane arriving for those Lancashire hot pots, but Zidane was just a name then with visions of greatness, it did prevail. Wingers Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox supplied the crosses for the SAS goalkeeper Tim Flowers, Colin Hendry were rocks in the backline alongside Graeme Le Saux and Henning Berg. Back up players of Mike Newall, Jeff Kenna, Robbie Slater, Mark Atkins, David Batty to name a few, kept the selected eleven on their game in pursuit of the title.

As only football’s fixture shootouts can churn out the Rovers heading to the before revered home of Kenny Dalgliesh at Anfield for Blackburn’s final game of the season with two points separating Rovers from Manchester United. Prior to arriving on Merseyside, the Rovers had suffered from an alarming loss of form with two losses and a draw allowing Manchester United a chance to sneak the title, their solace came with Alan Shearer involved in 59% of all the Rovers goals. That record kept on the update with another SAS goal, but they crashed down 2-1 to Liverpool. News filtered through that United could only draw at Westham United, the champagne corks were spray gunned into oblivion the team that Jack built were the champions of England, tears of joy, an emotional coaster ride, the juggernauts of English football Manchester United were knocked off their perch by a Liverpool Ken Dalgliesh but twinned with Blackburn Rovers, moments in time that will not be forgotten.

Rovers never hit the same heights again, finishing seventh in the Premier League the following season, the club never continued with the same ambition, a mass exodus of players led to the club’s decline with relegation from the top flight in 1999, Jack Walker sadly passed away but Jack had set up a club trust fund to safeguard the club’s future, Walker had pumped over 100 million pounds into the club. The trust became disbanded with the club being sold to the Indian owners, the Venky’s who failed to connect with the club’s supporters. Former glories smoulder away in the towns industrial landscape, Rovers an established championship club is now the offering, the statue of Jack Walker towers over the stadium and to the town’s folk, memories to be cherished. Jack Walker is the rose of Lancashire, never to be forgotten, RIP Jack.

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