Are Blackburn Rovers good enough to survive in the Premier League?

Blackburn Rovers have become a laughing stock in the Premier League in recent months. Mostly due to their owners poultry tycoons Venkys.

They have promised so much and delivered little so far in their time at Ewood Park.

Struggled

Rovers have made a poor start to their Premier League campaign, losing both of their top flight games to date.

And if they carry on with their current squad of players and manager Steve Kean they’ll soon find themselves in a heap of trouble.

Blackburn did beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 in the Carling Cup and that victory will mean the club is in slightly better heart going into their next league game at home to Everton on Saturday. A victory over a League One team however will not paper over the cracks in Lancashire.

Promises

Venkys have now made a promise that the Rovers squad will be strengthened before the transfer window shuts next week. Rovers co-owner Venkatesh Rao told the Lancashire Telegraph: “ There has been wrong information and it looks really bad but we are financially very strong. The only issue is we want to spend very carefully.

“If the right player becomes available and we can get a good deal then we are going to grab it. We need to improve in some places and I am sure we are bringing in some players and we are working hard on that.

“This is our baby and we owe it to the fans to get results. Please do not be disappointed. We are very positive we will improve results.”

It seems they didn’t realise that the clubs playing staff was in such a bad state until now. The club has had all summer to act and they finally start to take action when the transfer window is about to shut. That smacks of poor leadership skills to me.

Clueless

I’m really sorry to say this because I like Blackburn but both manager and the owners of Blackburn Rovers are clueless. The owners proved that last season by appointing Kean in the first place and Kean proved it by the poor performances on the pitch.

Signings

For Blackburn fans there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Blackburn are being linked with a number of players in the press including Freiburg striker Papiss Demba Cisse. The Senegal international has been prolific in the German Bundesliga for the past few seasons.

The German side are believed to be demanding £13.5million for the striker and Blackburn have got rivals for his signature. It remains to be seen if this deal will really come off and if Cisse would be interested in joining Rovers. I’m sure Cisse would be a good signing if Rovers did manage to capture his signature.

A more realistic signing is Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic. Blackburn are in talks to sign the Bosnian international according to Hoffenheim general manager Ernst Tanner. A fee hasn’t yet been agreed but a deal in the region of £3.5million is being mooted.

Ibisevic also has a decent record in the German top flight and if Blackburn could get him for £3.5million I’m sure he would prove to be a decent signing.

Strengthen

Blackburn have signed Montenegro playmaker Simon Vukcevic this week. The fee of £2million was a relatively small one for an experienced international but in Europe the jury is still out on the 25 year-old midfielder.

Rovers have also brought in American defender George Johns, who seems to be a completely unknown quantity in Europe. These two signings suggest that Blackburn are doing business at the cheap end of the market.

Threat

The threat of relegation from the Premier League is a very real one for Blackburn Rovers this season. I don’t believe Steve Kean currently has the experience and managerial know how to keep the club in the top flight.

Last season Rovers survived because the club had already accrued enough points under former-boss Sam Allardyce. And without reinforcements to the squad I wouldn’t be surprised to see Blackburn Rovers in the bottom three of the Premier League come May.

Will Blackburn Rovers be relegated from the Premier League this season?