Blackburn Rovers
Rovers boss Mark Hughes
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Tuesday, 01, Aug 2006 04:41
There are exciting times brewing at Ewood Park.
In less than two years, Mark Hughes has transformed the club from relegation candidates into potential Champions League contenders.
While the efforts of media darlings Mourinho and Redknapp are well documented, the job Sparky has done has largely gone unnoticed given Blackburn is his first job in club management. Plus, he has shed his team's image of using rough tactics to keep the opposition at bay.
After admitting his team had a disciplinary problem, Hughes has restrained tough tacklers like Savage and Neil and his team are now renowned for playing fluent football with playmakers Tugay and Pedersen often providing strikes worthy of any goal of the month competition.
Hughes has also achieved something which few bosses have been capable of - getting the best out of hot-head Craig Bellamy, although how Rovers deal with the departure of the Welshman will determine whether they progress this season.
Fans are used to the roller coaster-type season having experienced the highs of winning the Premiership and the lows of relegation four years later. Gone are the days when Rovers were the 'original Chelsea' and relied on their owners' riches for success, but supporters have got European football and spectacular goals to look forward to this season.
Facts
Formed: 1875
Home: Ewood Park, capacity 31,367
Nickname: Rovers
Adult 2006/07 season ticket prices: £270-£595
Pedigree
League champions: 1 - 1995
FA Cup winners: 6 - 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891, 1928
League Cup winners: 1 - 2002
Community shield: 1 - 1912
People
Chairman: Robert Coar
Chief executive: John Williams
Head coach: Mark Hughes
Assistant coach: Mark Bowen
Team captain: Andy Todd
Last season
Premiership: 6th - P 38 W 19 D 6 L 13 GF 51 GA 42 GD +9 PTS 63
FA Cup: fourth round - lost 4-2 to West Ham
League Cup: semi finalists - lost 3-2 on aggregate to Manchester United
Major summer ins
Benni McCarthy - from Porto - undisclosed
Jason Roberts - from Wigan Athletic - £3 million
Francis Jeffers - from Charlton Athletic - free transfer
Jason Brown - from Gillingham - free transfer
Shabandi Nonda - from Roma - season loan
Major summer outs
Craig Bellamy - to Liverpool - £6 million
Paul Dickov - to Manchester City - free transfer
Lorenzo Amoruso - released
Vratislav Gresko - released
Jonathan Douglas - to Leeds - undisclosed
Shefki Kuqi - to Crystal Palace - £2.5 million
Unheralded stars
Brad Friedel or Ryan Nelsen.
Like all good teams, Rovers' progress has been built on a solid defence. Friedel has been ever-present between the sticks since his free transfer from Liverpool in 2000.
Ask Manchester United fans who their biggest nuisance is when they play Rovers, and the answer will probably be the American goalkeeper. He often saves his best for Sir Alex's team - Rovers took six points off United last season.
He even has a Premiership goal to his name thanks to a last-gasp equaliser against Charlton in 2004. He may not make acrobatic saves for the cameras but he is a consistent performer especially when it comes to saving penalties - the ultimate safe pair of hands.
Friedel's job has been made easier by Ryan Nelsen, who has been a revelation since being plucked from obscurity on a free transfer in January 2005. The 28-year-old was awarded a new three year-contract after just six months at the club such was his impact at centre-half.
He is a consistent, solid tackler but rarely ventures forward and therefore is not mentioned in the same vein as your Rio Ferdinands and John Terrys. The New Zealander has been a mainstay in Hughes' team and will need to be again this term.
Starlets
David Bentley or Morten Gamst Pedersen.
This season is now or never for the former Arsenal teenage prodigy. He undoubtedly has the talent having represented England at under-18 and under-21 level, and was once hailed by Arsene Wenger as a future Dennis Bergkamp.
But Bentley is now 21 and the Premiership has seen only glimpses of his potential. Last season's goal tally sums up his career so far - three goals, all scored in one game against Manchester United, becoming the first player to score a hat trick against United in the Premiership.
He prefers to play in the hole off a striker and if he can string a run of consistent performances together he could be a wildcard for Steve McClaren's England squad.
A good role model would be Morten Gamst Pedersen who was a late developer after being hailed as the next best thing as a teenager.
Now 24, the Norway international has been more than an adequate replacement for Damien Duff following the winger's departure to Chelsea in 2003.
He is two-footed but renowned for having a lethal left-foot, scoring eight goals last season, including two thunderbolts against Manchester United. And he is a dead-ball specialist. Expect him to be a handful for defences next season.
Predictions
League position: 7th.
Defensively solid but difficult to see them improving without Bellamy.
Chances of managerial change: Possible.
Hughes is unlikely to be sacked but the chance of a reunion at Old Trafford as Sir Alex's successor could be tempting.
Top scorer: Jason Roberts.
Not as sprightly as Bellamy, but knows where the goal is, scoring 14 times for Wigan last season. Shefki Kuqi. Has failed to transfer his goal-scoring form in the Championship to the top division. Netted nine times last season but has the potential to score more.
Player most likely to rock the boat: Robbie Savage.
The lovable blond-haired scamp has managed to fall out with his share fair of opponents and teammates in his career and has yet to patch things up with Welsh national manager Jon Toshack. So the laws of probability suggest it is only a matter of time when we read of a training ground bust-up between Savage and Hughes, although given Sparky's reputation as a player, there would only be one winner.
Nadeem Badshah.