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3 hours ago
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The biggest question surrounding John Eustace’s departure from promotion-chasing Blackburn to struggling Derby is: why?
The manager’s tenure at Rovers was indisputably a success. Parachuted in after the messy exit of Jon Dahl Tomasson almost exactly one year ago, Eustace guided Blackburn to safety and this season the team, despite being tipped as relegation candidates, have been in the top six for much of the time. After Wednesday’s 2-0 win at West Brom – without Eustace – Rovers are fifth with 14 games remaining. A return to the Premier League after 13 years remains a tantalising prospect.
Many were bemused at his decision to speak to Derby, not least at Ewood Park. Rovers said they were “extremely disappointed by Eustace’s request to hold discussions with another club at such a crucial stage of the season, but this has now been reluctantly granted”. In a statement on Thursday morning confirming their parting of ways, Rovers did not conceal their disdain for Derby’s approach, failing to mention the rival club by name.
One of the biggest reasons for his move is simple: to be closer to his family in the Midlands. It is not difficult to see why Derby is appealing in that respect, particularly as Eustace has a connection to the club where he finished his playing career in 2015.
Some may question Eustace’s commitment and loyalty, qualities the 45-year-old has demanded from his players since his appointment on a two-and-a-half year contract. That Eustace has spent the past year living in a Blackburn hotel suggests he never envisaged staying long term, and no doubt made a potential return to the family home all the more inviting.
Yet it seems bizarre that Rovers’ entire season could be derailed by Derby’s activation of the coach’s £500,000 release clause. Even in the Championship, players are hard to sign and sell but managers remain relatively cheap to sack and hire, something Eustace knows too well after he was inexplicably replaced by Wayne Rooney at Birmingham in October 2023.
Questions remain over the Rovers board and Venky’s, the club’s controversial owner, that has not been to Ewood Park in more than a decade and remains under financial scrutiny in India with ongoing court battles. In September 2023 the Indian government seized assets worth £7.3m relating to the parent company of Venky’s purchase of a large house in Lancashire.
Much has been made of Venky’s lack of spending on the first team, and a lack of transfer funds was another critical reason for Eustace’s departure. The manager spoke to the Blackburn board before opening talks with Derby, reportedly demanding guarantees over summer transfer budgets, and his move suggests no agreement was made. Investment has long been a problem at Rovers. Managers and fans have grown frustrated, particularly as money from significant player sales has been used to plug recent annual losses (more than £20m in 2023).
Of the 48 clubs to play Championship football in the past 10 years, Blackburn are 45th in terms of expenditure on permanent transfers (and costs relating to free transfers), according to Transfermarkt. During that period, only Swansea have made more profit on selling players, with the figure close to £100m. Blackburn’s sales include Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace for £18m (a boyhood fan born in Blackburn), Adam Armstrong to Southampton for £15m, Sammie Szmodics to Ipswich for £10m (last season’s Championship top scorer), Jordan Rhodes to Middlesbrough for £9m, Rudy Gestede to Aston Villa for £6m, Grant Hanley to Newcastle for £5.5m, Shane Duffy to Brighton for £4m, the academy product David Raya to Brentford for £3m (and a subsequent £3m sell-on clause when Raya joined Arsenal), Tom Cairney to Fulham for £3m and the Belgium international Thomas Kaminski to Luton for £2.5m.
The only players Rovers have signed for more than £1.5m in that period are Sam Gallagher (sold in a cut-price deal to Stoke last summer), Ben Brereton Díaz (who joined Villarreal in 2023 on a free transfer), Armstrong and Szmodics.
after newsletter promotion
Díaz is one of a number of big names lost after bungled contract negotiations. Joe Rothwell (to Bournemouth), the then club captain Darragh Lenihan (to Middlesbrough) and Amari’i Bell (to Luton) have left for nothing in recent years. Rovers have not renewed a first-team contract since 2023 and regardless of whether they are promoted, this will be another summer of uncertainty. Thirteen of the 26 first-team players are out of contract or due to return to parent clubs.
Along with contract debacles, there have been other embarrassing incidents. The Orlando City and US forward Duncan McGuire’s transfer to Rovers last year broke down owing to an “administrative error” in which the club pressed the wrong button as they attempted to submit paperwork to the EFL’s transfer system.
After promotion-chasing seasons tailed off in recent years, Blackburn made six signings in January – a “significant investment”, according to the board (although three are loans and two deals until the end of the season). The captures of Augustus Kargbo from Cesana and Emmanuel Dennis on loan from Nottingham Forest appear astute business.
For all the furore over Eustace’s departure, Rovers’ squad is well-stocked, largely injury-free and seems motivated to perform (if Wednesday at West Brom is anything to go by). “I’ve just spoken to Danny Batth, who I had at Sunderland, and he was talking about how the [Blackburn] team were galvanised by what has happened this week,” said West Brom’s coach, Tony Mowbray, who managed Blackburn from 2017-22. “Danny said it made the players really stick together and that they were really up for the game.”
The dream of the Premier League is tangible, and regardless of Blackburn’s problems, their league position should attract a high calibre of candidate. Steve Cooper, Gary O’Neil, Rob Edwards and the former Rovers players Lee Carsley and Damien Duff – who would be a gamble despite guiding Shelbourne to a historic League of Ireland title last year – have been heavily linked. All eyes are on the Blackburn board. Their next appointment is a big one.
