Premier League Preview 2011-12: Blackburn Rovers

Best title odds: 7500/1 - Coral
Best relegation odds: 7/2 - totesport
Last season: 15th
Manager: Steve Kean

Good news:

Well, the chicken burgers must be good at Ewood Park. A few months ago Sam Allardyce was manager, and now he works in the Championship - and it’s not with Blackburn. The £16.5m recouped for defender Phil Jones is an excellent return on a 19-year-old youth team product who only played 35 league games for Rovers. The best news for Steve Kean is the length of his contract which will compensate handsomely if/when the worst happens.

Bad news:

A few months ago the Venky’s Group outlined their demands for the club. The chairman said: “We want good football and Blackburn to be fourth or fifth in the league,” adding “or even better,” just in case people started to doubt the ambition. As a statement of intent the £16.5m recouped on Jones has so far been re-invested on David Goodwillie for £2.8m from Dundee Utd and Myles Anderson on a free from Aberdeen. Come on Steve, you’ve got no excuses now.

Remember when:

Multi-million pound conglomerates bought football clubs and didn’t expect success on a shoe-string budget?

Verdict:

What’s that coming over the hill…it’s relegation. The Premier League is far too tough these days to run a football club so ineptly and get away with it. Ludicrous expectations, an increasingly mediocre squad, and a novice manager are a cocktail of despair for the long-suffering fans who must see the writing on the wall. If Kean is shown the door promptly, what manager worth his salt will want that job?

Prediction: 19th