The writing was literally on the wall for Paul Ince after the lackluster display against Wigan. Losing 0-3 away in the local derby against Steve Bruce’s side was the proverbial last straw. It is a shame really, but I fail to see what other options the Rovers board had after that game. Sitting deep down in the relegation mire, action was needed. With the appointment of experienced schemer Sam Allardyce, Blackburn has a fighting chance to change their flailing season around. The upcoming January transfer window will be a welcome sight to Rovers fans and manager alike. An injection of quality and confidence is needed into the Blackburn dressing room:
An alarmingly poor defense, as seen against Wigan, needs to be fixed before Rovers chances of surviving the drop are to leak away. With striker Santa Cruz seemingly unsettled and underperforming, the offense may very well need to be shook up - as well. There are however some quality still present in the team and under the right stewardship the club has some untapped potential to live up to.
It is encouraging to see that the Rovers board acknowledges their own mistake by replacing Ince with Allardyce. Sam clearly has the better experience at Premier League level and should have been appointed manager in the summer; rather than giving it to an unproven force such as Paul Ince. It was a gamble that didn’t pay off in the end.
It may seem harsh words, but the Premier League is a fiercely competitive league and you need every ounce of experience and leadership you can muster just to survive in it. Paul Ince’s time wasn’t quite right. However, he’s a smashing lad and will surely bounce back. Go down a league or two and guide his own team to the Premier League would be the best way to do it. Look at the success stories of Hull and Stoke and their respective managers. They’ve paid their dues the long way around and are now enjoying the fruits of their achievements and labor. When the chance came, they were ready for it.
I don’t think Ince’s failure at Blackburn can completely be written off as inexperience. The guy was clearly unlucky in some important aspects. The injuries and lack of form to key players such as Santa Cruz, is to a certain extent beyond what the manager can do anything about (although tactics obviously make a difference toward how well a certain player might play). The board didn’t help his cause either by selling star players such as Friedel and Bentley, without signing any equally qualified replacements to fill the obvious void left in the ranks.
Hopefully, for the Rovers fans, their new manager can count on better backing from the board this time around…
