Traditional club remaining part of conversation
OLD BLACKBURNIAN
AS the old gag has it, “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be...” and for various reasons this last week, my mind has wandered to times gone by, evoking many different emotions and memories, let me explain...
Over a weekend that saw the final test cricket of an epic summer being unfurled, it was cricket, albeit of a somewhat lower standard, that prevented me from attending Ewood in person last weekend. I found myself “doing my bit for the (cricket) club” by standing as an umpire in a match that was part of the centenary celebrations of the bank’s sports ground in Beckenham, at which I had first played in my halcyon days shall we say.
The afternoon of sport was opened by a former bank clerk and World Cup winning captain in yet another sport, 2003 hero Martin Johnson, still looking outrageously fit and healthy, whose entertaining and eloquent reflections on his career in and out of rugby set the tone nicely.
“Sport is about bringing people together....” was Johnson’s main message, whether that is as teammates, opponents, spectators or even match officials. That said, his second main point appeared to be that if you worked for a bank in the 1980s, playing international rugby was a cracking way to obtain extra holidays and don’t worry too much if your till didn’t balance at close of business.
Whilst travelling, I had been passing time on the train by browsing through my digital photos, recalling my cricket from ten years previously and that set me off on one of those Google rabbit holes, as my mind inevitably turned to events at Ewood ten years previously.
Who were we playing? What team was selected? How did we fare? How were we feeling?
Well, full marks to anyone who can answer without reference to Google, but I shall reveal all.
It was of course the last full season before the infamous sale of the club to Venky’s and the ninth consecutive top-flight one being enjoyed at Ewood. Rovers had started relatively poorly under Sam Allardyce, taking one point from the first three games and scoring just one goal. Wolves were due up next and were despatched 3-1 with goals from Diouf, Roberts and Dunn. How much has changed since then?
Well clearly, quite a lot; Rovers are in a different division, the attendance that day against Wolves was a healthy 24,845 and the squad that season included Champions League winning Michel Salgado (making his debut as a late substitute that day against Wolves), a midfielder who in 2018 would go on to win a World Cup for France, namely Stephen N’zonzi and a promising young English defender, discovered and nurtured by Steve Kean (!), one Phil Jones...whatever happened to him and all those add-on bonuses we were sure to earn from his transfer?
Fast forward to September 2019 and it’s now Millwall that are the visitors in front of 11,873 spectators. Tony Mowbray elected to shuffle his pack, employing a new formation and giving John Buckley his first League start.
Mowbray has tinkered with three centre backs before but chose to combine it here with Armstrong up front. The cost was that Graham, Gallagher and Travis all started on the bench.
It surprised many Rovers fans and seemed to have a similar impact on Millwall boss Neil Harris.
I’m not sure why this match was chosen for such an experiment and whilst in recent weeks I have queried the seeming lack of chemistry in central midfield between Travis & Johnson, it was quite a surprise to learn that Travis was the sacrificial lamb to accommodate Buckley, especially as it was Johnson who was hooked at half time against WBA. Buckley would be the half time change this time and Travis wouldn’t feature until the death, replacing the impressive Stuart Downing.
I suspect that Derek Williams is not the player that many would have identified pre-season as being the prime candidate to take over the Charlie Mulgrew mantle of “key goal-scoring defender”, but hot on the heels of his winner at Hull he opened the scoring here with what could rightfully be described as a scorcher. If I were Williams I would consider practising free kicks and penalties and affecting a Scottish accent.
Last season, Sheffield United’s overlapping centre backs were the wonder of the age but the second Rovers goal could have been straight out of the Chris Wilder playbook; Lenihan crosses, Williams desperate to add to his tally slides in at the back post but narrowly fails to connect, leaving the lively Dack to slot home.
It’s perhaps just as well that the goals are being shared around, as Gallagher and Armstrong are still to open their league accounts, Danny Graham is seemingly being courted by Western Sydney Wanderers and Brereton is recovering from knee surgery.
Dack is currently carrying the lion’s share of the scoring burden and must be grateful for any assistance from whatever source. Four clean sheets in five, (the WBA aberration apart) is definitely welcome news whether it will prove to be three or four at the back that endures.
Ten years on, Rovers find themselves still seemingly in transition. Their plan for a Premier return still undergoing recalibration. Rather than being right at the heart of the promotion conversation, Rovers remain in earshot, but no matter what the transfer activity in the previous window, Rovers seem to be perennially consigned to being a couple of players short of a genuine promotion push. What are the chances that the next two inbound transfers will be a former Real Madrid favourite and a future World Cup winner?
Reading away next up and that falls into the category of one of those fixtures that a serious promotion candidate will look to win. They have lost their last two at home to Charlton and away at Middlesbrough but looked very impressive as they dismantled Cardiff City earlier in August. They do however, boast “Pele” and “Puscas” in their ranks so perhaps deserve some respect.
CRICKET CHRIS OSTICK
LANCASHIRE are back in county cricket’s top flight after securing promotion with a huge win over Derbyshire - and now they want to go up as Division Two champions.
A year on from relegation, the Red Rose are heading back to Division One after an innings-and-45-run victory at Old Trafford.
Promotion has been achieved with two games to spare and, given they remain unbeaten, few will argue it is not deserved.
But to top it off, head coach Glen Chapple has set his troops another mission.
“We have achieved our main aim but obviously we want to win the division and that remains the target,” he said.
“We spoke before this game about making sure we were fully committed and we didn’t want to take our foot off the gas because we’ve played so well for so long despite suffering disappointments in the knock out competitions.
“It was important we reinforced how well the lads have played this year by finishing well.
“The cricket we’ve played in our opinion has been of a high standard and the commitment the lads have shown throughout the season has been great - it is something we are looking to build on season after season