AFTER their fairytale Premier League triumph in May 1995, Blackburn’s squad were looking to push on. But instead things quickly started to unravel for the Lancashire club who were relegated only four years later. Just over a month after that famous day at Anfield, manager Kenny Dalglish announced he was ‘going upstairs’ to become director […]
AFTER their fairytale Premier League triumph in May 1995, Blackburn’s squad were looking to push on.
But instead things quickly started to unravel for the Lancashire club who were relegated only four years later.
Just over a month after that famous day at Anfield, manager Kenny Dalglish announced he was ‘going upstairs’ to become director of football.
Owner Jack Walker and new boss Ray Harford decided to stay loyal to the players who had won them the title — rather than bringing in re-inforcements.
SunSport’s MARTIN BLACKBURN joined the famous ‘SAS’ strikeforce of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton for a virtual get-together this week — and heard their views on where it all went wrong . . .
SHEARER: If you listen to the top managers over the years, certainly Alex Ferguson, what they’ve always done is strengthen while at the top, having a turnover of players.
Bringing in two or three fresh faces into the team, not just the squad. Ray was one of the best coaches I had but looking back he wanted to give the players a chance to go again, to repeat what they’d done. And I think that was key.
We were linked with Zinedine Zidane and Christophe Dugarry to come in and strengthen and we didn’t get them. I think that was the reason we didn’t strengthen while we were at the top.
SUTTON: Did you say you were linked with Zidane?
SHEARER (chuckles): Yeah but it never happened and that’s one of the reasons why we couldn’t repeat it.
SUTTON: Imagine Zidane at Blackburn . . . We bought a couple of players in Matty Holmes and Adam Reed.
But it’s fair to say we were fading towards the end of that title season, but got over the line.
It’s easy to sit here later on and say, ‘We didn’t do this or that’. Jack probably would regret not spending and getting a few fresh faces in. And Ray’s mantra was, ‘If it ain’t broke there’s no need to fix it’.
How big was Dalglish’s decision to hand over managerial duties to his No 2?
SUTTON: Ray was a tremendous coach but we’d lost our figurehead with Kenny as he was such an important part of it. He went to a director of football role and he was still there — but it wasn’t quite the same.
It was an impossible job for Ray, taking over from Kenny. A team which had won the title. First title win in 80 years. For the club to kick on without bringing in fresh faces was a huge ask.
I’m not saying it’s unfair but it was a tall order. I wanted him to stay on so to me it was a big surprise, yeah.
SHEARER: In terms of what Kenny did, he took them from Division Two and up to the top of the Premier League — and then he went upstairs.
I know he was still involved in the football club but it was totally different having him as manager and having him as director of football. Everyone loved him for who he was, what he was and for what he’d done to our dressing room.
He stuck that team together in terms of the team spirit, the togetherness and the ability.
While Rovers fell off the pace in the Premier League, their Champions League experience also turned into a nightmare. The draw they got was underwhelming and Rovers struggled to adapt — culminating in an infamous on-field scrap between Graeme Le Saux and David Batty in Moscow.
Imagine Zidane at Blackburn . . . We bought a couple of players in Matty Holmes and Adam Reed.
Chris Sutton
SHEARER: “I’ll tell you what it was . . . we got Blackburn into the Champions League after winning the league, we were hugely excited.
I remember thinking we were in with the big boys, we ended up with Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw and Rosenborg. And you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, we worked our socks off to get in there and we ended up with that’. It was a disaster from start to finish.
SUTTON: We had a slow start, Europe was a lot of games. The fight on the pitch was not a great moment in Blackburn’s history.
The truth is, you go round most clubs and there are skirmishes all the time. We had a group of players which had some feisty characters in, so these things happen. The second half of the season was pretty strong, we weren’t in the title race. It wasn’t great but seventh wasn’t a disaster.
Worse was to follow though as the following summer — after starring at Euro 96 — Shearer left to join boyhood club Newcastle in a world record £15million deal. Owner Jack Walker tried everything to change the mind of his superstar forward — including an offer to make him player-manager.
SHEARER: Yeah that was talked about. I’d spoken to Jack, he’d said if I wanted to leave he wouldn’t put a clause in any contract. His word was his honour.
I decided to go and see him and say the time has come. The player-manager thing was never going to happen — I was 26 when I left.
SUTTON: Would you have given me a new deal if you had taken over, Alan?
SHEARER: No! You’d have been the first out of the door.
In the end I just decided it was time to move on after four incredible years.
SUTTON: He left us in the . . . (laughs). Seriously though, It was awful when he went. Just look at his numbers.
What he’d done. You talk about the Premier League title. We can sit back and evaluate it — without Alan, Blackburn wouldn’t have won the title. We had other big performers but Alan was the key. It was a huge loss to Blackburn.
He went to Newcastle who weren’t the most successful side, but still scored goals. We lost our main man.
SHEARER: No, it was Kenny really. He started it and put it all together. Then for him to go upstairs, for whatever reason, I think that was the start of it unravelling.
Whatever the reason was, it did unravel — and rapidly. Despite a brief revival under Roy Hodgson, they were relegated in 1999 — four years after winning the title.
Nobody involved will ever forget what they achieved though and a quarter of a century on they can really appreciate it.
SHEARER: I just think now, ‘Thank f*** we won it’. I never won anything else. At least I won one trophy.
Luckily we got over the line. It was a great achievement from everyone. Kenny was the driving force, Jack gave him the finance to sign players he thought could win them the league.
For Blackburn to come in and within four years of taking over the club — which was 19th in the old Division Two — then finish fourth, then second, then win it . . . it was a staggering achievement.
SUTTON: I was at the start of my career, we were all striving to win. At that time I didn’t appreciate what we had done.
But 25 years later, you look back and think what an unbelievable achievement it was. That plan from Jack Walker — taking them from Division Two to the title, to put that into action, to actually achieve it . . . incredible. To put everything in place.
You look at what Blackburn were, the full stadiums every week. I’ve been back numerous times and it’s not the same club.
They gained a generation of fans but now they’ve lost it. That fanbase isn’t there.
But in many ways it shows what we had at that particular time. Being a Rovers fan then was a big deal and people still talk about that success.
But to play a part in it as well, you look back . . . I walked on the pitch with the likes of Alan, other guys . . . I take huge pride in it.
SHEARER: The sad thing is it couldn’t really happen like that again — the way Blackburn did it. You had a wealthy owner, who’d made his money and worked hard, he loved the area and the club. Now he would not be allowed to do that.
SUTTON: Because of what Jack was, there has probably never been a more deserving winner of a Premier League title. He was a Blackburn man through and through. He had money but our title success wasn’t about the money — not for Jack.
It was about making the town happy. That’s rare. Football clubs are big institutions but it’s all about money making. That wasn’t it for Jack.
SHEARER: Sutty makes a good point there about Blackburn. Unfortunately Ray Harford is no longer with us. I spoke to Tony Parkes — for all his issues with Alzheimer’s — and one of the things that lights up his face is when you mention that year, that title. That’s a great thing to look back on for the whole town.
