APRIL NEWS LINKS 2013
(latest stories at the top)
Also see - news archive 2012 PLUS news archive 2013 for more recent stories, ALSO news-archive for March 2013
ROVERS APPOINT MICHAEL APPLETON (11th January 2013)
ROVERS SACK MICHAEL APPLETON 19th March 2013
Full list of Championship fixtures 2012-2013
via rovers.co.uk AND bbc.co.uk
Berg gets full payout
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- £2.25 million |
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Rovers lose case in High Court
HENNING BERG
Henning Berg was only Blackburn Rovers Manager for 57 days earlier this season, but today in the High Court in Manchester the club were ordered to pay £2.25 million in compensation after his sacking in December. The hearing revealed many surprises and confirmed the infighting at Ewood Park between Derek Shaw and Venky's. The clubs own lawyers admitted in court that the ongoing power struggle was a "shambles".
Richard Bevin - the Chief of the League Manager's Association said "It is unacceptable for a Football League club to allow the state of affairs to arise whereby its own case before the High Court is that its managing director is 'out of control' and operating outside the authority of the owners." In a statement via the association Berg said: "
Being appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers was a great opportunity for me. The club has always had (and continues to have) a special place in my heart.
When the club refused to honour its obligations I had no option but to take legal action."
There still seem to many questions to be answered, and with the season ending on Saturday for the Championship, the owners will want to sort things out and put in place a structure able to run the club in the future. So far there has been comment from Blackburn Rovers or the owners in India (29th April 2013)
There still seem to many questions to be answered, and with the season ending on Saturday for the Championship, the owners will want to sort things out and put in place a structure able to run the club in the future. So far there has been comment from Blackburn Rovers or the owners in India (29th April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (full story)
Blackburn Rovers 1
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- 1 Crystal Palace |
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Almost there! Another valuable point in final home game
JORDAN RHODES
Ahead of the final fixture at Ewood for this season, Jordan Rhodes was names as the 'Player of the Season' - David Dunn - the 'goal of the season' (v Burnley). Dunny was out injured - Rhodes was selected to start! Crystal Palace are hoping for a play off place - and to hold on top it they were desperate for all the points. Rovers still not safe - needed at least a point. And it was the visitors who struck first when Stephen Dobbie beat Sandomierski in the 28th minute. Rovers had to come from behind on Tuesday night at Millwall - and now they needed to repeat the trick to get anything from the game. Just before the break - 'Player of the Season' Jordan Rhodes found the back of the net with one of his best and it was all square. An end to end second half provided some tense moments at both ends - and when the final whistle went there was a sense of relief as well as subdued celebration as the team walked around Ewood to say thanks to the second biggest crowd of the season. Gary Bowyer told RADIO ROVERS :- "I thought today we've shown against a team that is in the play-offs how we can compete against them. In the second half we passed it well and had long spells in their half at times, we just needed a little bit more care in their final third.
It was a great effort from the lads following the physical output that they gave on Tuesday night.
It is a strange feeling in the changing rooms, we're happy to be in this league next season, but we feel that with what has gone off this season it is mixed emotions really.
At the start of the season we'd have been looking to get promoted and bounce back to the Premier League but it hasn't worked out like that this season. That is a disappointment.
I've said all along that it is a good club, there are some good people at this club, we've just got to make sure that we never have another season like this." With the other results - Rovers are still not mathematically safe - but are 'Almost there'. So it's on to the final day of the season at Birmingham City and a nervous few hours before the summer break and you suspect even more changes behind the scenes and to the team for next season. (27th April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (report & reaction) ALSO rovers.co.uk (report & reaction) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Millwall 1
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- 2 Blackburn Rovers |
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Great win at the Den - Rovers come from behind & up to 15th!
JORDAN RHODES - DAVIOD JONES
Rovers game in hand looked like being another London loss after the trip to Watford. Millwall took an early lead when Karleigh Osborne claimed the opener within the first quarter of an hour. Moments later Colin Kazim-Richards went down injured (shoulder) and had to be replaced by David Goodwillie. Rovers created few chances and needed a good half time team talk - which it appears they got! Josh King replaced Markus Olsson and after just ten minutes David Jones took an inswinging corner which found the back of the net. 1-1 and all to play for ... Plenty of bookings and some bad tempered play before Grant Hanley started a great run right in to the penalty area and was fouled by Danny Shittu winning a spot kick. Calm as ever Jordan Rhodes stepped up to take it and sent the Millwall keeper the wrong way to make it 1-2. Possibly one of the most important goals he's scored all season. What should have been a night of celebration at the New Den was marred when David Dunn was taken off on a stretcher in injury time - but it couldn't spoil a great night for Blackburn. The 3 points moved them up above Blackpool and Burnley into 15th place with a 5 point gap to the drop zone and 6 points to play for. Surely it should be enough to secure Championship football next season at Ewood Park.
Join RADIO ROVERS live from 11:00 on Saturday morning for the final home game of the season, and a review of what's been an extraordinary season. (23rd April 2013)
Join RADIO ROVERS live from 11:00 on Saturday morning for the final home game of the season, and a review of what's been an extraordinary season. (23rd April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (report & reaction) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Watford 4
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- 0 Blackburn Rovers |
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Really 'bad day at the office' - in a game of two halves
LEON BEST
Leon Best won't play again for Rovers this season after he saw red deep into injury time. The first half had ended with a level playing field and Rovers very much in the tie, but 4 second half goals saw the promotion hunting Londoners dominate and collect the points they deserved. Two goals from Troy Deeney, then Almen Abdi and
Matthew Briggs finished things off. The Rovers Manager had hoped for much more after back to back home wins and couldn't have expected such a big defeat which also hurt Rovers goal difference. He told the BBC "I thought we did well first half, the first goal was always going to be crucial after the backlog of games. I'm disappointed in the manner we conceded but you've got to give credit to the lad who took his goals well. It was probably a big game too many for us today but we've got to regroup quickly, we've remained positive and calm throughout and that's exactly the message we've said to them again. We've always known we had a game in hand, we always said it might come to goal difference, we've just got to go game by game again but at 0-0 I couldn't see that coming in the second half."
Rovers stay in London for the game in hand against Millwall on Tuesday night - and remain just two points outside the drop zone (20th April 2013)
Rovers stay in London for the game in hand against Millwall on Tuesday night - and remain just two points outside the drop zone (20th April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (report & reaction) ALSO rovers.co.uk (report) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Blackburn Rovers 1
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- 0 Huddersfield Town |
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One more win closer to safety
JORDAN RHODES
Rovers followed up their important win at home to Derby County with three more points against Hudderfield Town. And it was probably destiny for Jordan Rhodes to score the only goal in the game against his former side. The big money signing had already two goals to his name before he left the Yorkshire side, and said he wouldn't celebrate if he was on the scoresheet against them. It took the seasons top scorer 36 minutes to find the back of the net, and ease the pressure on Rovers who moved further away from the drop zone. Gary Bowyer was rightly delighted with the result, He told reporters "It was a fantastic effort from everybody. We've been attacked in the press all season for reasons that the fans and the players can't control so we've developed a siege mentality over the last couple of weeks and we asked the fans to be part of that. It's been a team effort but we aren't going to get carried away. We've just got to stay calm, we've got to stay positive because there's a lot more football to be played. You saw why West Ham and other Premier League teams are linked with Jordan Rhodes and long may they continue to be linked in the press from now until the end of the season. I've seen it [the goal] on the laptop and I don't know how he puts it in, but he does." (16th April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (report & reaction) ALSO rovers.co.uk (report) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Blackburn Rovers 2
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- 0 Derby County |
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Blackburn back in winning ways - and out of the drop zone
JORDAN RHODES & SCOTT DANN
Rovers last league win at Ewood Park was back in early February against Ipswich Town - and there was a determination about their game in the spring sunshine as they knew only three points would do today. Having fallen into the drop zone last weekend, Gary Bowyer returned from India committed to keeping his team in the Championship, and couldn't wait to unleash his squad on Derby County this afternoon. Jordan Rhodes was fouled in the area and converted his own spot kick to make it 1-0 inside 8 minutes. It looked like 2-0 a little later - but goal line technology hasn't arrived at Ewood yet! The 4th official signaled just one minute of added time - but with two already gone David Jones took a corner and Scott Dann headed home with the last action of the half to make it 2-0. Sandomierski had to make some key saves but after 90 minutes he'd avoided conceding and the three points were Rovers. The only down side being yellow cards for Kaz and Hanley - who will now both miss the next two games having collected ten each.
Gary Bowyer told reporters "The situation that we're in now, if we're fourth from bottom on May 4, there will be a lot of happy people. Not for the reasons we should be happy, but because we've stayed in this division. We can't look any further than Tuesday when Huddersfield visit Ewood Park. As much as we want to enjoy this win, we've got to refocus."
And there were wins for Town who beat Wolves and Peterborough who beat Watford - both joined Blackburn outside the bottom three. The Hudderfield Town game kicks off at Ewood at 19:45 BST on Tuesday Night. (13th April 2013)
Gary Bowyer told reporters "The situation that we're in now, if we're fourth from bottom on May 4, there will be a lot of happy people. Not for the reasons we should be happy, but because we've stayed in this division. We can't look any further than Tuesday when Huddersfield visit Ewood Park. As much as we want to enjoy this win, we've got to refocus."
And there were wins for Town who beat Wolves and Peterborough who beat Watford - both joined Blackburn outside the bottom three. The Hudderfield Town game kicks off at Ewood at 19:45 BST on Tuesday Night. (13th April 2013)
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (report & reaction) ALSO rovers.co.uk (report) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Sheffield Wed 3
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- 2 Blackburn Rovers |
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Rover fall in to drop zone
GARY BOWYER
Blackburn last won away in the league at Barnsley at the end of December. 2013 has been a very poor year for the team on and off the park. At Sheffield Wednesday things looked like they might be different when Jordan Rhodes scored from the spot in the first 12 minutes to give the visitors an early lead. But it didn't last long, and Jermaine Johnson had leveled the scored 8 minutes later. A very questionable penalty decision against Josh Morris then gave Leroy Lita the chance to make it 2-1 and he beat Sandomierski to make it 2-1 before the break. Blackburn had more determination in the second half and were deservedly rewarded when Scott Dann leveled the scores heading home in the 70th. But the game wasn't over, and Johnson claimed his 2nd and Wednesdays 3rd less than ten minutes later. With other results and Blackburn stuck on 47 points - Rovers are now in the drop zone in 22nd place. Gary Bowyer told the club's website: "The penalty settled us down and I thought we rightly took the lead.
Then we weren't competitive enough with their first one and then I think the referee has evened it up a little bit with theirs as we think it is a bit soft but it is avoidable.
I thought we totally dominated the game second half. We were camped in their half so not to come away with anything is a blow.
I think you can take a lot of positives out of the game with the way we played, the way we closed down and when it went 2-2. We were done by a wonder goal, you've got to give credit to the lad.
We can take positives from how the lads have gone their business today, especially with the way we performed in the second half.
We leave here disappointed because we haven't picked up the points we deserved because of how we played."
So next Saturday it's back to Ewood Park and a tough tie with 10th place Derby County.
So next Saturday it's back to Ewood Park and a tough tie with 10th place Derby County.
LINKS: bbc.co.uk (full report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction ) PLUS t&t1213 AND goals1213
Cardiff City 3
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- 0 Blackburn Rovers |
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First defeat for Team GB - Blackburn drop in to real trouble
GARY BOWYER
In his 6th game in charge of Blackburn Rovers, Gary Bowyer's suffers a 3-0 win at table topping Cardiff City. The boss made 5 changes from the side who drew at home on Good Friday. Leaving both David Dunn and Jordan Rhodes on the bench, other changes were said to be because of illness in the camp. The home side dominate much of the first half, and as the interval approached
Fraizer Campbell scored from a Craig Bellamy corner. To make things even worse, Jake Kean was stretchered off to give an English Football debut to Grzegorz Sandomiersk with 50 minutes gone. It took the change of Dunn for Bentley on the hour mark before Rovers seemed to show much urgency, but despite creating a few more chances, Joe Mason made it 2-0 for Cardiff with five minutes of normal time left to play. And to rub salt into the wounds Peter Whittingham made it 3 from the spot with the five minutes of injury time already played. A bad day in Wales for the former English Champions. Staying on 47 points they are now level with Huddersfield Town who top the bottom three and are due at Ewood Park in a few weeks time. (1st April 2013)
PLUS news-archive for March 2013 - all the stories from last month
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(c) MMXIII
(c) MMXIII