The Rovers side in 1892 that had finished ninth. The biggest disappointment was the inability to match the three-in-a-row mid-eighties side.

This image is (c) Cottontown and is used with permission

It wasn’t that the year after the fifth cup win was poor, just that Rovers had been used to winning trophies so often that the local public tended to think of it more as a right than as a spectacular achievement. They wouldn’t be the last fans to take winning for granted but they could well have been the first.

Notable departures after the cup win included the physical Scottish right back Tommy Brandon (who would return after two seasons with Sheffield Wednesday) and goalkeeper John Gow whose abysmal performance in the 7-1 thrashing by Notts County in the cup final warm-up game led to him being allowed to leave for Northwich Victoria. To take his place, Rovers brought back Herbie Arthur to place between the sticks. England international Arthur had been the keeper in the three cup wins in the 1880s but was no longer at the height of his powers. This seemed proved when Rovers finished ninth out of the fourteen sides and only two local sides conceded more than their 65 goals against; Accrington and the hapless Darwen side.

A performance by Arthur would go down in folklore and is still often trotted out whenever the Blackburn-Burnley rivalry is mentioned. In December 1891 the two sides met at Turf Moor in some of the most appalling weather conditions there could be for a football match. The first half was played during a snowstorm, with a blizzard becoming so severe that the half blinded and half frozen Rovers side all left the field and refused to return for the second half. All except Arthur, who went to play Burnley all on his lonesome. The clarets kicked off and immediately attacked. Arthur immediately appealed for offside and the referee blew his whistle. Arthur then took so long over taking the free kick that an exasperated referee decided to abandon the game. This match became legendary, as it must be a rare sight to see one man face eleven and outwit them all. Despite this happy occurrence, there were two unhappy firsts for Rovers that season. They lost to Burnley for the first time and finished below in the league, unfortunately the first and not the last time. Preston doing the league double over them didn’t help much either.

There was some small comfort against their eldest rivals, Darwen. After three years out in the cold, Darwen had been welcomed into the First Division of the Football League although it would not be for long, as they finished bottom of the league and conceded 112 goals in just 26 games. An average of almost 4.5 goals a game. They had received no help from their Blackburnian neighbours, as Rovers won a thriller 5-3 in front of over 10,000 at Barley Bank and then easily disposed of them 4-0 at Ewood. Accrington may have finished below them but in that season they won their one and only league game against Rovers, 1-0 near the end of the season. Ninth wasn’t an especially poor result but when mixed with an unhappy cup run, it led to a disappointing season. New players were drafted in, such as John Murray, who arrived from league champions Sunderland, left half Henry Marshall, centre forward Bill Sawers and left winger Jack Bowdler. Bowdler was the only one of the four who was not Scottish. Scottish players both dominated the team and the Rovers side for the early years and were playing in the English game in vast numbers until well into the twentieth century.

After a special performance from Jack Southworth in the first round when he got all the Rovers goals against Derby County in a 4-3 win, Rovers met West Brom away in the second round, crashing 3-1. It was their first FA Cup defeat of the decade; not bad seeing as it was now into the third year of it!

There would be an improvement in the cup form if not the league form in 1892/93. Sunderland would win the league for the second season in succession and together with Aston Villa would dominate the league for the next decade. Rovers had to be content with ninth place again, although this was a teensy bit more impressive as the league was expanded to 16 clubs this year. Their games against Burnley were more fun though, resulting in a win and a draw, although they again would not beat Preston. On a slightly sadder note, their two draws against Accrington were not enough for the Owd Reds to survive, as they finished second from bottom and lost their test matches (forerunners of the modern playoffs), meaning relegation. They would not stay around much longer and Accrington remains the only founding members to leave the league and certainly the only ones to no longer exist. The town of Accrington would again have a league team in time but their days of trying to match the big boys were over. In a last twist in the tale, the only side they finished ahead of that season had been Newton Heath, now better known as Manchester United. Manchester United?!? Who are they?!?

The cup run saw Rovers take on Newton Heath (they wouldn’t change their name to Manchester United until 1902) and Rovers sent them packing with a 4-0 hammering resounding in their ears. They hit another four in the next round, conceding just once to eliminate Northwich Victoria. This set up the awesome prospect of a home game against the champions Sunderland, who were also on their way to their second title. Earlier on in the season, Rovers had lost 5-0 when they had travelled to Wearside yet this didn’t put off the home fans. Over 26,000 made the journey to Ewood, making it easily the best attendance they had ever had, some eight thousand more than had turned up for the visit of Preston North End the year before. They weren’t to be disappointed as a Jack Southworth double was added to late on by Bowdler in a shock 3-0 win. Once again their opponents were to be Wolverhampton Wanderers, the fourth time in five years they would meet in the cup.

The game was played at the Nottingham which today is home to Nottingham Forest although is now named the City Ground. Of their three recent meetings in the cup, Rovers had won two and lost one. This was when Wolves evened the core. The right winger William Taylor scored for Rovers (one of his few goals in his short time playing for Blackburn) but the All-Gold side ran out 2-1 winners. Wolves went on to beat Everton 1-0 in the final for their first major trophy. It certainly wasn’t to be the last great cup run for Rovers but it would be a long time before they negotiated the hurdle of the semi finals.

The next season would be an improvement but it would be without their greatest player. Jack Southworth decided that he wished for a change after six years with Rovers and moved to Everton for £400. The goals the England international constantly provided would be much missed. After scoring 36 goals in 31 league games for Everton his career was ruined by a persistent knee injury. Despite leaving, Southworth was one of the greatest players Rovers would ever have. However, time waits for no man and Rovers would just have to carry on without him…