KentExile

Its all on his linkedin, which I linked, coaching various community trust teams etc from the late 90s from 2011 - 9 years youth coaching at Accrington, Blackpool & Preston. a year of being a "Spillerutvikler" (something to do with youth development) at Bodo Glimt (I don't speak Norwegian so relying on google translate for that) - from the dates, I guess Gregg Broughton took him on there and then he has been at Rovers since 2021 doing various things in the academy set up, strangely, he joined Rovers about a year before Broughton did, so I assume that Stuart Jones was involved in his initial appointment In terms of qualifications, various things including a coaching BA & Academy management qualifications

I think we should all take Chris Lindrops post as confirmation that you should never, ever, under any circumstances, try to argue with an idiot. They will inevitably drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/may/16/paul-gray-promoted-to-senior-academy-position/ Long story short Paul Gray promoted to Head of Academy John Prince promoted to Head of Academy Coaching Club are also advertising for a Loan manager https://www.rovers.co.uk/club/job-vacancies Looks like 3 positions to replace Stuart Jones who left recently, & Jordan McCann who joined Arsenal in January

There is at least a good 5 inch difference between Duru (5ft 9 or 5ft 10 depending upon source) & Wright (5ft 4) Not to say that Duru wasn't disappointing in the Rochdale game, he was poor that day, as was the rest of the team on that day

Possibly not yet. But given the communication skills of those in charge ar Rovers, its unlikely we will ever find out anyway Edit - Apparently it took 18 months for the Elliott tribunal (I suppose given when this was, it may have been delayed due to covid but I do not know for certain), and 9 months for the Ings decision (those are the 2 that immediately sprang to mind, but I am sure there will be others). So yes, it could be that it has not happened yet

Its like they both want to lose

kind of a hybrid winger/wing back, but very attacking

This game I presume? https://www.premierleague.com/match/123916#! In fact it is still available to view if you sign up for free here Chaddy https://www.nationalleaguetv.com/videos/b1f0cdd8-a09b-4343-b0bb-cd856a6df6bc

in a nutshell, yes

Never been announced, possibly never will be, as it will be based mainly on appearances, etc, and a sell on, it will be drip fed over years anyway Edit - as has been pointed out by BlueBruce, it is possible that the tribunal has not yet taken place. The Harvey Elliott to Liverpool one took 18 months, however this was over the covid period, and Ings to Liverpool a few years before took 9 months

Probably another player that we had on loan a year or so too early, like Morton, Branthwaite etc

(FIFA?) Rules state it can only be open for a total of x days They have opened it early for the Club World Cup Teams So they have split the window in 2 as to not exceed X days in total All very silly, and doesn't stop teams signing people, just prevents them from registering players to play, which as we are not playing anyway (apart from the World Club Cup teams) , doesn't matter a jot

re Phillips - quite possibly, and I would probably agree with you there, but I am sure he is happy enough. re Finneran - again I am sure he is happy enough, 17 years old, is now a regular in their U21s, (started every game since February) and whilst obviously just my prediction, I feel he will get first team minutes somewhere at a decent level next season

Interview with David Dunn about his lad https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/25166374.david-dunn-son-isaacs-great-season-blackburn-rovers/ David Dunn says his son Isaac has had a “great season” in Rovers’ Academy but insists he the youngster must stay grounded through the “ups and downs” of football. “He is a very technical player but, again, he’s still got loads of growth yet. I am looking forward to watching him progress and see where it takes him because we all know that football is a really tough sport. Isaac made his debut for the Under-21 side earlier this season at just 16 years of age and has since been named on the bench for the first team on a handful of occasions. “He is still only 16, he’s a young boy. But for a first-year scholar going into full-time football, I’d say he has had a great season,” his dad told The Football Faithful. “There are going to be ups and downs, that is for sure. It is just about how he manages the negatives and hopefully he can have much more positives.” David is happy to leave the football side to Isaac’s coaches at Rovers but is keen to pass on his experience off the pitch. “I just think it’s important for me to mentor him off the pitch. Hopefully, I can show him what I did wrong,” he joked. “You have to be so dedicated now in football and live your life like an elite athlete should. Football will take care of itself. “You have got to trust the managers and the coaches that they will look after him. You just have to support him and give good advice off the pitch.” Dunn previously coached in Rovers’ Academy and was assistant manager of the Under-21 side at one stage, helping win the Premier League 2 Division Two title. He also had a spell working under Tony Mowbray with the first team squad. “The best job I have ever had on this side of the fence was coaching at Blackburn U21s. It was a brilliant role," he reflected. “I got so much enjoyment out of it. It is my club where I’ve been brought through, and watching players develop and take a similar path was extremely rewarding.” The Academy success has continued this season, with several youngsters making their senior debuts. Elsewhere, Adam Wharton could be involved in the FA Cup final this weekend they Crystal Palace take on Manchester City at Wembley. “I like it when local players are given the opportunity when they come through the ranks,” Dunn added. “I believe Blackburn have 700 consecutive appearances for having a graduate in the side and I think I was the first of those games. You see lads that have been at the club since eight or nine in the first team, which is brilliant. “One great thing about the club is that they have always produced players, so hopefully that can continue for many years to come.”

Every first year scholarship is 2 years. When these can be signed are based on a players "school year", with a scholarship able to be signed once they have left school. So this years intake will all have been born in the 12 month period running up to and including 31/08/2009, last years intake would have all been born in the 12 months up to 31/08/2008, and so on (this is what Tyjon signed last season & also what todays intake signed) A 3 year pro contract can be signed once a player turns 17 (this is what Phillips signed, albeit with a release clause) Higgins turns 17 in January, so we have more than a 6 month wait for that, we have a will he-wont he with Tyjon to keep us "entertained" in the interim period 😉 Once a player turns 18, contracts can be as long as they like Just to emphasise how special/loyal he was, Adam Wharton signed his scholarship, a 3 year pro deal, and also two 5 years contracts, 1 year apart, all without a hint of him going elsewhere until he was pushed out of the door to keep the lights on ps - I've updated my previous post with the details of Finneran leaving

Finneran left before signing a scholarship Finneran has been lured to the North East, rejecting a scholarship offer from Rovers Had he signed one, he would have been named here with the rest of least years 1st year intake The rest of your post is still valid though

yep https://www.leytonorient.com/news/2024/june/29/charlie-kelman-becomes-the-o-s-second-summer-signing/ sorry about the twitter post, that was from his first loan at Orient

May have played a part, apparently been in the academy for 10+ years too Not sure we can say Phillips hasn't got far, probably getting paid more than anyone currently at Rovers, and has played pretty much 1.5 out of 2 years at Championship level since he left https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/stoke-city-hopes-of-tottenham-ashley-phillips-transfer-agreement-played-down/ I would hazard a bet that like Phillips, Finneran will also be playing at a decent level next season, and also is on a wage much higher than he would be getting at Rovers

Higgins, yes apparently he was wanted by Arsenal https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/34302744/arsenal-transfer-strikerharvey-higgins-blackburn/ https://dailycannon.com/2025/04/arsenal-harvey-higgins-blackburn-rovers/ https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/who-is-harvey-higgins-the-blackburn-rovers-starlet-eyed-by-arsenal/

Harvey Higgins signed up, no news about Eze

he is on loan from QPR

erm... yes Not sure my posts ever claimed anything other than that But if as you say, we are to look at Chelsea's track record, it also involves numerous instances of finding ways around PSR/FFP, so I do not think it is a wild assumption to make

Wonderful, thank you 🙂

Thanks for that 🙂 In which case, he may not move on to Chelsea until next summer, probably on loan with an undisclosed option to buy, or similar

On the bench this evening Markanday - drew 1-1 (3-3 on aggregate) won on pens - came on in extra time - Final is on Sunday 25th May Not involved in matchday squad Vale - won 3-0 - currently injured - final game of the season is on Sunday