Blackburn Rovers - end-of-season report
Monday, 02 Jun 2008 19:20
Blackburn Rovers - fan's 2007/08 end-of-season report
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2007/08 season.
Some would argue that a seventh place finish in the Premier League represents a solid achievement for a club of modest resources such as Blackburn. But 2007/08 was a season in which generally consistent league form disguised poor performances in the cup competitions which offered our best chance of silverware.
An ignominious Uefa Cup exit to Greek unknowns Larissa in October set the tone for some alarming capitulations in knock-out contests, with the Carling Cup defeat to a second-string Arsenal side and January's FA Cup embarrassment against Coventry City bringing further misery.
Nevertheless, Mark Hughes can take credit for developing an attractive brand of football at Ewood Park this season.
With the basics of his side unchanged from last year, the manager was free to impress a more attacking philosophy on the team, leading to some thrilling displays and several high-scoring encounters.
While a change of hairstyle seemed to signal a complete loss of form in Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Bentley continued to provide impeccable service from the flanks; Steven Reid returned to bolster the midfield; and the club's disciplinary record improved exponentially once Robbie Savage left for Derby County. An honorary mention must also go to the ever-impenetrable Brad Friedel - surely the most consistent goalkeeper in the Premier League.
However, the lack of a single win against any of the 'big four' indicates the gulf in class still to be breached, while several poor results towards the tail end of the season saw chances of a place in Europe evaporate.
With several major clubs poised to prise away our star players this summer, next year could be even harder and 2007/08 may go down in the history books as a season of missed opportunities.
Grade: C
High Point
In a season in which we routinely dispatched sides from the bottom half of the table but toiled against the top ten, April's 1-1 draw with Manchester United was perhaps the year's most exciting game at Ewood.
Leading through Roque Santa Cruz's opportunistic strike after 21 minutes, Rovers faced an onslaught in the second half as the eventual champions threw everything forward in search of an equaliser.
Friedel was finally beaten by Carlos Tevez two minutes from time, but the US stopper again underlined his credentials with a series of wonderful saves to thwart United's superstars.
Low Point
A fifth round FA Cup exit at the hands of Coventry City in January was particularly galling with last season's run to the semi-finals still fresh in the memory.
Worse still was the manner of the defeat - Michael Mifsud scored twice at Ewood Park as Iain Dowie's struggling Championship outfit ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.
Defeat to another west Midlands side by the same scoreline in the final game of the season was equally disappointing, with Birmingham City extinguishing our hopes of European qualification on the day they were relegated.
Big players like Bentley and Santa Cruz could leave the club now the door to Europe has been shut for another year.
The manager
With an eye for a transfer bargain and knack of producing results from limited resources, Mark Hughes has impressed again this year and is almost certain to leave east Lancashire for a bigger club sooner or later.
The capture of Santa Cruz will perhaps go down as the Welshman's greatest achievement this season, but other managerial masterstrokes included injecting some much-needed steel into David Dunn's midfield game and dropping Benni McCarthy for the altogether more willing Jason Roberts in the latter stages of the campaign.
Frequently touted as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United and briefly linked with the thankless task of managing Newcastle United following Sam Allardyce's departure, Hughes may find the challenge of managing a Champions League side too great to resist if Chelsea come calling this summer.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Roque Santa Cruz-
David Bentley's excellent form may have given Blackburn fans something to cheer about during England friendlies this season, but Santa Cruz's 23 goals in his first Premier League season make him a sure bet for player of the year at Ewood Park.
The Paraguayan scored on his league debut at Middlesbrough and proceeded to trouble the toughest of defences with his aerial prowess and instinctive finishing. And all for just £3.5 million.
Needs for Next Season
With Tugay approaching senior citizen status and Dunn still prone to lapses in fitness, the central midfield area appears in urgent need of reinforcement.
Swiss veteran Johann Vogel was brought in at the end of the season to strengthen the position, but a young, energetic player like Steve Sidwell or Scott Parker may do better than a former AC Milan star at the tail end of his career.
Assuming he stays, Hughes is likely to be more preoccupied with holding on to his big names than signing new players, with the notoriously ambitious Bentley and free-scoring Santa Cruz coveted by a number of European clubs.
Matt Duxbury