The Blackburn Rovers season preview 2023/24 highlights plenty of change at Ewood Park, with multiple key players departing the club, though there are still plenty of reasons for optimism.
Despite missing out on the play-offs on the final day last season, Blackburn have recruited shrewdly to replace the likes of Bradley Dack and Ben Brereton Diaz, and could once again surprise a few teams in the Championship.
The Championship is rightly regarded as one of the most difficult divisions in world football, though, and Rovers will have to be on top form all season if they are to have a shot at returning to the Premier League.
Blackburn Rovers season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Mike Delap (@MikeyDelap)
Last season was a mix of encouraging and disappointing. The team did well to punch above our weight, but we couldn’t buy a win when it mattered and missed out on the play-offs.
This season will be different because we’ve no Bradley Dack, Daniel Ayala nor Ben Brereton Diaz. In a side light on experience, that’s a big gap to plug.
I won’t be happy unless the club’s recruitment department learns to complete transfer forms. We don’t need another Lewis O’Brien situation.
Our key player will be Adam Wharton. The younger brother of Scott broke through last season, and what a midfield talent – mobile, composed and with an AI-level field of vision.
Our most underrated player is Harry Pickering – not the flashiest, but a world of consistency at left-back.
Fans think our owners are rich souls with lots of stoicism, but no common sense when it comes to running a football club. Yep, it’s still the Venky’s.
The opposition player I’d love here is Bristol City’s Alex Scott. The odds of Rovers being able to afford him? There’s more chance of me bagging a date with Alexandra Daddario...
The opposition player who grinds my gears is Norwich’s Ashley Barnes. Other than his Burnley past, he never seems to get any comeuppance for his antics, which sounds petty – and is!
The player I’d happily drive to another club is Sam Gallagher. He has served his purpose, but I really don’t want to sit through another season of him being two seconds behind every passage of play.
The one change I’d make would be for CEO Steve Waggott to no longer be in charge. He’s out of touch with fans, season tickets are overpriced and the marketing spilling out of the club is so unimaginative my head hurts.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is generally good. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s slow-burner modern style improved as the campaign rumbled on. But clubs in the Netherlands are keen and he is seen as replaceable, with a sore point being his rigid belief in Plan A when a match needs a different approach.
We’ll finish 9th, having been in the top six for 45 games and 87 minutes.
Season previews for the Premier League, League One and League Two are all available HERE
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