The ‘Terrace Talk’ series from Football League World features the views of our FLW Fan Pundits on a variety of topics, including teams, players, managers, potential signings, breaking news, and more.
It is anticipated that Blackburn Rovers will remain a long way from perhaps earning a Premier League return until a concrete solution to their continuous ownership problems is found.
Ewood Park is currently surrounded by a refreshing and comparatively upbeat atmosphere as Blackburn has concluded a successful summer transfer window, despite losing Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics to Ipswich Town.
But after Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Oshahi left, John Eustace had cash in hand, so he signed loan agreements for Owen Beck and Amario Cozier-Duberry and was able to bring in players like Balasz Toth and Todd Cantwell late in the transfer window.
Blackburn is one of just five Championship teams that has not lost after four games this season. They have started the season in outstanding fashion and are now ranked fifth in the league table going into the international break.
However, the club’s purse ties have tightened due to the difficulty to handle the necessary cash from Rovers’ contentious ownership group, the Venky’s, due to ongoing legal issues back in India, making it difficult to envision an end to their long-term absence from the top-flight anytime soon.
Blackburn Rovers ownership verdict given
Toby Wilding, a resident Rovers supporter on Football League World, claims that Blackburn are in a scenario where they must sell financial assets in order to survive, which means a Premier League return is unlikely until the ownership crisis is resolved.
“I think we’ve seen this summer with Sammie Szmodics that as soon as a player has a season of that level, that interest is going to come from the Premier League,” Toby stated to Football League World.
Given the current state of affairs with the owners, who still need to go through Indian courts in order to transfer money into the club, Blackburn isn’t in a position financially to reject those offers.
“Keeping the club going in terms of signing new players to keep them at this level and also to just keep the club running as a business as well, makes it absolutely vital that players like Szmodics and Adam Wharton, looking back to January, are sold.”
Therefore, I believe that this club is very much positioned for mid-table in the Championship until the owners’ situation back in India is resolved.
Even before these problems arose for the owners, I believe that Blackburn’s spending was restricted and that it didn’t really reach to the stage where the team could field a competitive Premier League team.
Thus, I would be quite astonished if Blackburn were to return to the Premier League at this time, without a change in the financial condition (and perhaps even the ownership situation).
Blackburn Rovers are getting by without big investment
Blackburn, despite losing Szmodics to the Premier League, did not overspend on any of their summer arrivals.
Although their window did not represent a team with promotion prospects either, they do deserve recognition for their resourcefulness in making some intriguing additions to the squad while working with a very tight budget.
Toby is right when he says that the current situation with the Venky’s makes them unfit to plan a Premier League comeback, but considering their current situation, they could have done much worse.
