A New Year's treat from Red Rose Rover. There is a certain inevitability at the turn of a new year, that thoughts stray to the past as well as to making resolutions regarding our future selves. Previous New Year’s Eve revelries are recalled; many times with warmth and affection for friendships lost or enduring, sometimes with occasional embarrassment; we were all young and foolish once after all. Some of us remain foolish even if youth is viewed firmly in the rear-view mirror ! As you get older, the cliché definitely holds true that policemen look younger and New Year’s Eves arrive with alarming frequency. The Millennium Bug and all the concerns that entailed seem like yesterday. In writing this column, I’ve just realised that the only time I have ever done the “London at New Year’s Eve” thing was now over 30 years ago. Alarming isn’t the word, believe me; grab it with both hands kids - this isn’t a rehearsal. Over the years, I have made so many resolutions, only to cast them aside with the enthusiasm of an angler on steroids. Fitness, weight-loss, learn an instrument, learn a language…just some of the things that I will doubtless revisit in 2018…again. However, this year, what about setting some football-related ones – much easier to keep, much more convenient to pursue, none involving fitness or diets. You’re in I presume ? Here we go then in a handy Buzzfeed* type list… (I’ll apologise now though for the lack of an accompanying gallery of tangentially related photographs which seemingly is de-rigeur for this kind of “journalism”, I use the term journalism quite incorrectly) :- 1. Visit (more of) the 92 league grounds I’ve been a football fan almost all of my life and have often thought that visiting the 92 league grounds seems like an achievable and enjoyable aspiration. I’ve been stuck round about the fifty mark of current league grounds for some time. That needs to improve, so in 2018, I plan to make it a focus of attention. In my defence, my score has been affected adversely by the fact that many of the grounds that I visited in my (relative) youth no longer exist – Burnden Park, Leeds Road, the Dell, Highfield Road just some examples. Even Morecambe have shifted grounds since I once watched a pre-season friendly at Christie Park as a teenager. Some of the teams have since dropped out of the league – Wrexham (remember Duncan McKenzie on the railings ?) Halifax Town (Easter 1974 for me), Chester City even dropped out of the league and changed grounds – but at least I did see a young Ian Rush in his only season at the club. This season has provided the opportunity to add some new ones to the portfolio – clouds, silver-linings and all that I suppose. I’ve even added one (Chesterfield’s new ground) by virtue of attending an Accrington Stanley away game, you take ‘em where you can ! 2. Watch a Scottish League Two game (preferably in a stadium not able to host international football) I tried the first part of this a few years back whilst visiting Glasgow, but then failed on the second aspect and subsequently decided it didn’t really count. The mighty Celtic were at home but perversely I decided instead to watch Queens Park take on Berwick Rangers as I thought it was likely to be a more “authentic” experience. It also meant that I could watch in relative comfort at Hampden Park after visiting the Scottish National Football Museum; which is deep in the bowels of the main stand, with a number of Rovers-related artefacts, highly recommended should you be in the area. However, I recognise that watching a fourth tier game at Hampden is far from “authentic”, so watch out Stirling Albion et al…you are on my list, why not put it on yours ? 3. Watch the 2018 World Cup without betting on an England victory I love the World Cup. The chance to see nations from the different confederations competing against each other throws up some terrific combinations - Cameroon v Argentina (1990); South Korea v Italy (2002); Germany v Brazil (2014) for instance. The only thing that takes the edge off the whole thing for me is the hype that surrounds England in the run up to a tournament. It usually lasts until the opening game and then the cries for the return of capital punishment for under-performing footballers begin. In 2014 I had the good fortune to be between jobs and thus was able to gorge myself on every single game, that’s right…the lot. It was fantastic, except for the England games, they were interminable. On the cusp of 2018, who knows what will unfold for our heroes, but whatever happens, we could resolve to take it in our strides, meeting triumph &/or disaster just the same. Or we could call for Mowbray to be sacked. Either way, have a very Happy New Year & let’s keep our fingers crossed that this time next year we can resolve to attend more Championship matches at Ewood. RED ROSE ROVER *apparently this is journalistic clickbait which entices in readers…I’m definitely old. View full article

It is pitches like the one at MCG that will kill test cricket. No problems with a pitch assisting batsmen on days 1-3 but day 4 and day 5 it needs to start to offer assistance to the bowlers. That pitch did not offer anything to the bowlers despite them trying absolutely everything.

Broad and Moeen have had one really bad series no need to panic and completely drop them. Ditto Cook. I am not excusing the performances in the Ashes as they have been pathetic but you cannot just drop everyone and start all over again. We have struggled in Australian conditions previously so this is no major surprise.

Roverseas Match Review:

Roverseas Peterborough United match preview. If you enjoy the previews please like and subscribe to his channel: Peterborough Match Preview View full article

At BRFCs we want to expand our writing pool to include people who can write about wider football issue, with that in mind we are delighted to welcome Stuart Grimshaw to our writing team, he will be focusing on Grassroots Football. Even before the gentlemen of Sheffield FC laid down the rules of soccer that we know today, there has been grassroots football. Whether it was Shrovetide football, kids in the street with jumpers for goalposts or one of the larger local clubs with a team or two for each age group, a committee and hundreds of volunteers. People have always gathered to kick, carry or throw a ball at a goal, and even though the opportunities to play are becoming fewer, it remains the most popular activity in many countries. "Football is for everyone and can be played anywhere and everywhere. Football is a school of life that is also fun. Let the kids be kids." No, not a Guardiola, Mourinho or even Allardyce quote, this irony-free statement comes from the fine, upstanding citizens of FIFA. Considering they say it can be played anywhere, their videos of techniques being demonstrated are all filmed on finely manicured grass, by kids in kits that don't have holes in and with footballs that haven't been chewed by that dog that invaded the pitch that time. Grassroots football has always been the poor relation to professional football, it's never basked in the warm glow of sponsorship, sugar daddies and TV money like its older brother Premier League which has more money than it knows what to do with (Don't believe me? What about Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35m ... Robinho to Man City for €42.5m?) it feels worse than ever. The closest a grass roots club gets to a sugar daddy is when one of the players dad's stumps up £300 from his building firm to buy a new kit. Austerity has councils under huge pressure to slash budgets; Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's budget for Leisure, Culture & Young People was cut by £2m from 2015/16 to 16/7. They don't have funds to maintain pitches, even basic maintenance such as cutting the grass as often as is needed, or marking out the lines; never mind proper maintenance like renewing the grass over the summer or improving drainage so the pitches can be used more during the winter. It's not unusual to turn up to play with one of the crossbars, much like Rovers’ back four under Owen Coyle, hideously bent out of shape. Schools have long since sold off their pitches to cover short term gaps in funding, and those that are lucky to have a new 4G pitch as part of their redevelopment are hugely overpriced or hugely oversubscribed, sometimes both. There's no money to buy new land for pitches, there's no money to buy new equipment for the pitches, there's no money to pay for improvements to pitches. What little funding is available is so sparse that very often only 1 or 2 teams actually benefit. How many times have you seen your nephew's posting on Facebook or Twitter asking you to vote for their club to win part of some company's community fund? Like greasy Lords of the Manor handing out alms to the poor as if it absolves them of any blame for the fact poor people exist at all. I haven't even touched on the fact that kids don't (can’t...won’t?) play in the street any more, and any patch of grass worthy of the name, will have a "No Ball Games" sign planted in the middle. What are we to do when one end of the football spectrum has never had it so good and the other hand has never had it so bad? First we need to understand what grassroots football is and what it's for. It's not for finding the next £10m player, it's not Darwen FC or Padiham FC, non-league football is as far from grassroots as it is from the Premier League. Grassroots football is 15 kids kicking a ball in their local park, the game ends when the kid who owns the ball has to go home. It's clubs like Blackburn Eagles, Clitheroe Wolves, Lammack Juniors & Wilpshire Wanderers, Saturday and Sunday morning football for kids under 16. It's weekend football for your local pub team (if they even have one any more) or local village side. It's booking a 7-a-side pitch after work every week and playing against your friends. Each one of these different types of football faces its own pressure, but they all boil down to money and not enough of it making its way down the football ladder. The answer is clear. Professional football needs to support grassroots football. It's not a government problem, FIFA quite rightly says that football associations should be apolitical. Professional clubs need to do more than send an injured player, shuffling at the front of the class with his hands in his pockets like a naughty child and say that they contribute to their community. The community football they run often costs a fortune, their academies and development squads are often treated like profit centres charging a small fortune for players to go and get coaching, all the time softly cooing to parents about how their child might make it. Look at any British player in any team around the world, but especially playing for British clubs and they will have started out age 8 or 9 for a grassroots club, none of them went straight into an academy. I would say it's in their interests to support grass roots because that's where they get their players from. There's currently a petition urging the government to put pressure on the Premier League to honour its commitment to spend £1 billion of the 2016-19 TV revenues deal on grassroots facilities. Most of the money goes on "solidarity" payments to the lower leagues though. If little Jonny or Gemma plays any kind of grassroots sport, I urge you to sign the petition. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200094 In my next article, I’ll run you through the life of a grass roots football coach. View full article

If you have Netflix then i recommend "The Good Place".

We are delighted to introduce BRFCS brand new columnist Red Rose Rover who will be doing regular blogs and opinion pieces. Community in the Football Over recent years, the concept of a football club participating actively in its local community has become routine. It is no longer a differentiator of a big club; it is quite simply an expected function. Clubs are affiliated to their community trusts, who in turn use the power innate in the partnership to organise initiatives and events that mutually benefit the local causes. Even the Charity Shield was renamed to the Community Shield reflecting the prevailing mood. However, it is the community spirit that can be found amongst football supporters within football grounds that never ceases to amaze me. At various times over recent years when I have questioned my sanity in returning to Ewood Park every season, my motivation for attending has slowly, surreptitiously yet significantly changed. On the field diminished, in the stands highlighted. As the results worsened, the social interaction became the main reason for returning; an overwhelming sense of not wanting to let anyone down. Season ticket holders, who occupy the same seat, season after season, typically find themselves surrounded by familiar faces. Pre-match, half-time and post-match conversations lead to shared opinions, discussions, debates and fortnightly updates on events ranging from international geo-political turmoil, dropping all the way down to family news such as christenings and weddings. Some of those stadium neighbours transition from being merely fortnightly acquaintances to firm friends. Like any neighbourhood, you don’t get on with everyone, but some personalities resonate more strongly than others. Some make you laugh. Some challenge your established world view. Some just have the happy knack of making you feel better for the encounter. At the beginning of every season you look around and see who has renewed. There are little nods, smiles and waves of acknowledgement. The gang is reassembling. Just occasionally, a seat is unfilled and remains so for a couple of games. You hope it’s just a late, poorly timed holiday, but then eventually word filters through of a recent funeral and everyone in the vicinity shares the loss. A good few years ago now, it was those people around my chosen seat that helped to keep me going whilst I was undergoing a course of treatment for a serious illness. I missed a batch of home games and when I returned, the polite enquiries as to my health were every bit as genuine as those I received from close family. In fact I joked on more than one occasion that the poor chap who sat next to me knew more about my life than my own mother. But then Venky’s arrived and after the divisive and poisonous Steve Kean reign, my little group started to fragment; one or two at first drifting away but eventually resulting in that community withering on the vine. I missed the rituals. Arrive in the seat at 2:30pm to allow plenty of time to catch up. “Did you see the game on Wednesday ?” “Have you heard about who we’re trying to sign ?’ “Did I tell you my nephew’s just been signed up by the Rovers Academy ?” “Here’s a quiz question for you…who was the last….” Come 5pm; “See you in a fortnight…” I wonder whether some of those long absent neighbours are still with us and please God they are, whether they miss it or not after so long away. However, I see a few signs of the spirit that I have missed for seven or eight years slowly starting to return. Performances on the field make a big difference. Watching a winning side is naturally a lot easier. But in my experience, it may also be in part due to the increased power and reach of social media. Over the last two or three years, thanks largely to Twitter, I have enjoyed sharing the experiences of a cluster of Rovers fans internationally and in turn having my whimsy indulged by them. It fostered a virtual community that has in some instances led to the creation of a real-life community. I have been cajoled in to attending away matches again. I meet up with interesting, enthusiastic people who all seem to be doing interesting and in some instances, extraordinary things with their lives; tremendous physical challenges raising astonishing sums of money for great causes. I’ve moved on, but membership of this virtual community has helped to make watching football an enjoyable experience again. Football does a great deal of positive work in the community, but the community spirit engendered within a football ground by football supporters can in my experience be a powerful change agent for good, in us all. RED ROSE ROVER View full article

The ever brilliant Roverseas review of the Blackpool game. If you enjoy these then please like and subscribe to his channel: Blackpool v Rovers Match Review View full article

At his pre-match press conference Tony Mowbray has heaped praise on the performances of the under 23's this season and is set to give them a chance in the Checkatrade Trophy match tonight at Rochdale. The under 23's have been in fantastic form this season, Damien Johnson's side have lost just once this season. Mowbray said “I love watching our Under-23s, I think they’re a great football team with great camaraderie among themselves and I have no questions over their desire and heart, If they keep doing that then I do like to blood young players but we have to win football matches and to ask them to do that is difficult. But to drop one in every now and then it’s good and if they can grab their chance like Nuttall has then they will stay there. “Let’s wait and see, I do feel that sometimes it’s a man’s game and needs a man to do the job and it can be difficult to ask an 18 or 19-year-old to get the job done but there’s a lot of quality at this club bubbling underneath." Mowbray added: “I would like to play a lot of the Under-23s who have shown some scintillating football when I have been and watched them. Can they reproduce it against men and the pressure of playing against experienced pros? I won’t throw them all in, you can’t with the competition rules, but we would like to dip some in. We want to go to Rochdale and win but I will sit down with my staff and pick a team that we feel can be competitive and get a result.” View full article

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray is relishing the visit to Wigan on Saturday. At his pre-match press conference Mowbray said “I think based on the results Wigan have produced at home, it suggests it’s going to be pretty tough, They play as a team and they’re good with the ball. They’re controlled and ask questions of you. Wigan have some exceptional individual talent at this level, so it’s a game we have to really focus on. Let’s go there and enjoy it. We want to test ourselves. We have to play our game and let the match unfold in front of us, really. It’s difficult to predict how it’s going to be." Mowbray added “We’ll make sure we carry a goal threat, make sure we know where the space is on the pitch and exploit it. If think they have very good technical players who can keep the ball well. They have a lot of quality in their team, but hopefully we have more athleticism. I think it will be a pretty tactical game, a good game with a lot of good players on the pitch. Let’s see how it goes. It would be nice to get the three points, however we might get them. Let’s go there and be positive and try to take the game to them if we can." Mowbray also talked about the huge turnover of players at the club and the need for stability “The away game at Wigan last season, only Danny Graham started that game so that shows the turnover of players there has been at this club, We have had a huge turnover of players since then. I’m conscious that people think these are excuses but I genuinely think that on the training ground the players are still bedding in and the players are understanding the way that we play." The Rovers boss is hoping to change the mentality at the club going forward "Those that have been here a while have to get out of the mentality of expecting another defeat and we have to change the mentality to a winning one rather than one of it being another tough game. It’s not easy to do, it will take time. You can’t just sprinkle magic dust on a team and they start winning, there’s a process you have to go through. Hopefully as quick as we can we can become a team that expects to win every week and we demand high standards of each other and you don’t play if you don’t reach it.” View full article

I have been playing Stardew Valley on the Switch, brilliant game. Fantastic to see indies thriving on the Switch.

Rovers have announced that Elliott Bennett has signed a contract extension which will keep him at the club until 2020. The popular midfielder has been one of the standout players in the early part of the season. Talking to the club's official website Bennett said "We've been speaking about it for a little bit now and I'm just delighted that it's finally signed and I can commit my future to the club. "Once I sat down with the gaffer and we had a chat, it was never my intention to leave at the end of the season. "I was part of the bad season we had last year and I want to be part of a great season this year, which hopefully culminates in us getting promoted". View full article

There are few positives following a relegation to League 1, but if you are to search for some small consolation, then the prospect of an away day in this attractive Shropshire market town is perhaps one of them. Albeit, the old town centre Gay Meadow ground is now a stylish, modern housing estate, replaced some 10 years ago, by another of those purpose-built out of town, next to a retail park, 10,000 seat stadiums. The last time Rovers visited Shrewsbury, was 1993, in what turned out to be an epic League Cup tie, eventually culminating in a 4-3 extra-time win for Kenny Dalglish’s embryonic Premier League side, the winner coming from a fine goal from a recently signed centre back, who took the field in a shirt with neither a name nor number, one Ian Pearce. This version of Rovers found themselves cast as underdogs. Shrewsbury were riding high at kick off, on the back of 7 (SEVEN) wins and a draw. Older Rovers fans will recognise the SEVEN reference, (thanks largely to Town legend Alf Wood !). This start to a season is exactly what many Rovers fans expected their team to deliver, but the reality has proved somewhat different. A decent run of four wins on the bounce was rudely interrupted by last week’s shock home defeat by AFC Wimbledon and this game presented a chance to restore confidence, both in the team and on the terraces. Here was a chance to right a wrong, to make a statement to the rest of the division that last week was merely a blip and that Blackburn Rovers were ready to impose themselves. The team sheet revealed returns to the starting line-up for Bradley Dack and Danny Graham at the expense of the injured Craig Conway and dropped Marcus Antonsson. There was some trepidation in the crowd as to the “strength and stability” (thanks Theresa) of the back four but equally, some anticipation of creativity and guile up front. Shrewsbury have a simple game plan, one that should resonate with Rovers fans of a certain vintage; namely, play on the floor where possible, attack directly, lay the ball off to the flanks as quickly as possible and create chances in the opposition penalty area for a strong centre forward. Their most impressive performer being Shaun Whalley, a pacy right winger who had a loan, then permanent spell at Accrington Stanley in 2007-8. It’s a game plan they executed very efficiently. Rovers so often passing sideways and backwards; slowly, deliberately, patiently but unthreateningly; would lose possession only to see their opponents with three swift, incisive passes create a dangerous shooting opportunity. Rovers rode their luck a little in the first half. An early Samuel header apart, there was not a great deal to get excited about. The Rovers back four still looks fragile. Ward & Raya seem now to compete almost on a weekly basis for their own “Mishap of the Month” competition. Here they combined on one memorable occasion to create a threatening free kick for Shrewsbury on the edge of the area out of a situation that had barely homeopathic levels of danger. The warning signs were there and the inevitable happened after 57 minutes, a Raya flap at a cross leading to a scrambled close range effort. Disconcertingly, for almost 15 minutes, it seemed that Mowbray had no idea how to react. The Plan A had failed for over an hour but no substitutes were even warming up. The frustration reached the fans who chanted for Mowbray to “Sort it out”, the very least that should be expected. A triple substitution, the sort made usually only when playing “Championship Manager” (or if you are Birmingham City era Barry Fry), transformed the Rovers’ approach. Harry Chapman introduced himself to his full back by racing past him twice in short order. Dack restored to a central role, now seemed keen to influence proceedings. He had looked nothing like as effective wide left. Dack is something of an enigma. He clearly has talent & technique but allied to a fondness for over-elaboration and a reluctance to do defensive chores. When he doesn’t create or score, he naturally looks like a luxury we can ill afford. Here though, he eventually came good, following another rapid thrust from Chapman. The cross was attacked and defended with vigour with Dack eventually stabbing it home for an equaliser. Rovers had therefore given themselves only 5 minutes to win the game and many observers around me expressed delight at parity, but also frustration that for the preceding 80 odd minutes, Rovers had seemed one-paced, pedestrian and lacking any guile or imagination. Listening undercover to Shrewsbury fans on my walk back to the car park, they seemed genuinely concerned that they were going to lose in that last period, but they too were frustrated that when on top, they couldn’t find what would surely have been a killer second goal. A fair result ? Perhaps not if you are Salopian but at least Rovers came back at the unbeaten league leaders on their own patch and rescued something. Consecutive defeats whilst not terminal, would surely have raised the stakes. This at least bought some breathing space. If Rovers are the “Ikea team” that I have previously suggested – all the parts but no assembly instructions – the evidence of this encounter suggests that a vital nut & bolt or dowel might actually be missing. That or we need to learn how to use the Allen key properly to tighten things up. Raya, whilst an excellent shot-stopper with fine reflexes repeatedly seems prone to a costly error and is vulnerable to crosses. The defence lacks pace on its flanks and with Elliott Ward in the middle makes the heart flutter at least once or twice a game. The balance of the midfield remains elusive for Mowbray. Smallwood probably the one real success doesn’t seem to bring out the best in Evans, who frankly should be bossing games at this level. The lack of “proper” wingers when Conway is out and a lack of genuine pace (Chapman excepted) means opposition defenders can push forward with little concern from a ball over the top. Mowbray seems uncertain as to the best combination of forwards. He has choice in abundance but as one seems to find form, a change in partner or an absence of a partner undermines the promise. This is the sort of dilemma that ought to have been resolved with pre-season friendlies against tough opponents. Tell me again what we learned in stuffing York City ? The bright spot is that when the three subs were thrown on, we seized the initiative and could conceivably have stolen the 3 points. Chapman is a real prospect. He is so effective coming off the bench against tiring full backs. Can he keep that up as a starter ? Can he be trusted to treat possession with respect when we are under the cosh ? Will he do his share of helping the full back ? Well, I guess there’s a really good way to find out… With two upcoming home games that are eminently winnable, this is a crucial week in Mowbray’s tenure. By next Saturday at 5pm, we will have played 10 league games – P8 W4 D1 L3 could become P10 W6 D1 L3 in other words, only just shy of the “2 point a game” average that would surely see automatic promotion (extrapolated over the season of course). At time of writing, Rotherham are above us in the league table, a victory would overhaul them. Gillingham now shorn of the services of Bradley Dack are in the relegation spots. This is a crucial week. It’s an opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the division. Much like today’s game was. “Carpe diem” Rovers. Old Blackburnian. View full article

From what I have seen he initially tried to change his approach to the way he bats and that backfired and he totally lost form. Recent weeks he has gone back to what he was doing previously, occupying the crease and slowly building his innings (perfect for test cricket in my opinion) and has looked better. The injury might be a blessing in disguise, given his up and down form this year probably better that he doesn't go on Ashes tour where the pressure and scrutiny will be intense. Instead he can spend the time fully recovering from this latest injury and then work on his game/go and play some domestic cricket in Australia/South Africa or even India as he has done previously and get ready for next season with Lancs/England.

In this episode, the panel of Linz Lewis, Michael Taylor, Scott Sumner & host, Ian Herbert dissect the fortunes of their favourite football team, celebrate the return of a Rovers' institution "4000 Holes" and wonder whether modern football is really made for 50-somethings...(it is, don't panic). They also have to reflect on another game that was played recently but they really didn't want to, trust me: http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-09-06_brfcs_podcast_episode_83.mp3 View full article

In this final part, Jim Wilkinson brings the story of Howard Kendall's second season at Ewood to its painful conclusion. A side that exceeded all expectations tried gainfully to pull one last effort out of the fire but financial constraints left the team just too light on creativity at the crucial point. Eventually, both HK & Rovers would of course taste glory, Rovers having to wait 10 years longer than Howard, but without his intervention in 1979-81; would the Rovers' fairytale of 1995 have been possible? http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-08-20_on_the_march_with_howards_army_-_part_4.mp3 View full article

Welcome to Episode 82b of the BRFCS podcast. This is an unscheduled edition, rushed out due to ...er...popular (?) demand; well at least 4 of you asked. Hosted by Ian Herbert, the panel has Josh Boswell, Linz Lewis making a return appearance and of course, our very own Kamy. One fool thinks that the Burnley game is going to be OK, the rest are less sanguine, there is widespread confusion regarding formation & tactics and some discussion of great & some not so great starts to previous seasons... We hope you enjoy it...! http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-08-15_brfcs_podcast_82b.mp3 View full article

Thanks Jim. Amended. Shows my indepth knowledge of league 1!

Rovers have confirmed that Swedish striker Marcus Antonsson has signed from Leeds United on a season long loan deal. The Swedish international moved to Leeds last summer for a reported £2 million fee. Antonsson has signed in time to be available for the game against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow and Rovers have been given permission by Leeds to play in all the cup competitions that the club participates in this season. There is also speculation that Rovers will sign Celtic midfielder Liam Henderson on a season long loan deal later today. View full article

Rovers are back in Division 2 & Howard soon has the team believing that greater glories are possible. In this podcast, we learn how the first half of the 1980/81 season unfolds and sets the scene for the pursuit to come later that season: http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-08-09_howard_kendall_part_3.mp3 View full article

Rovers have announced that they signed highly rated youngster Harry Chapman on a season long loan from Middlesbrough and he becomes the club's eight signing of the summer. Chapman was part of the England under 20''s squad during the summer which won the world cup in South Korea. View full article

Howard Kendall turns Rovers into a winning machine and promotion becomes a reality THAT night at Gigg Lane. Written by Jim Wilkinson and. narrated by Ian Herbert http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-08-02_howard_kendall_-_part_two.mp3 View full article

Rovers have announced that they have completed the signing of Jayson Leutwiller. The Canadian international signs from Shrewsbury for an undisclosed fee and has signed a 2 year deal. Leutwiller has previously worked with Rovers boss Mowbray at Middlesbrough and becomes the club's seventh signing of what is proving to be a busy summer for Rovers. View full article

Rovers will start this campaign on August 5th in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1979. In 1979, the board decided to try something new by appointing a player-manager in the hope that the chosen one could turn round the club’s fortunes. That man was Howard Kendall & the appointment proved to be a masterstroke…but it didn’t look that way during the opening half of the 1979/80 season. In today’s cutthroat football landscape, how long would he have lasted ? Upon Howard’s untimely passing in October 2015, Jim Wilkinson was moved to write a marvellous four-part blog charting the Kendall years at Ewood Park & we have transformed this into a podcast series for your pleasure ! “On The March With Howard’s Army” pays a fitting tribute to a fine footballer, a great manager & a Rovers legend. Part One – The Beginning - http://brfcs-podcast.brfcs.com/?name=2017-07-29_howard_kendall_part_one.mp3 View full article