Steve Kean Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager To End Of Season
Kean Takes Temporary Charge
Blackburn Rovers have appointed Steve Kean as manager until the end of the season.
Kean took temporary charge of the club after they sacked Sam Allardyce last week but after talks with the club’s owners, Venky’s, in India this week the club has announced on its website that “Venkys London Limited – Blackburn Rovers – has decided to continue with Mr. Steve Kean as Manager, until the end of the season, June 2011.”
After a playing career with Celtic, Swansea and Portugese side Academica Coimbra Kean worked as a coach at Reading, Fulham, Real Sociedad and Coventry City before being appointed first-team coach at Blackburn in 2009.
Yesterday Venky’s chair Anuradha Desai told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: “Steve will still be doing the job January.
“He will have control over the signings in January and, although he will have to discuss things with the board, he will have the final say.”
However, it now appears that Kean will remain as team manager until the end of the season though in the absence of a bigger name some Rovers supporters may well wonder why Allardyce wasn’t kept on.
Kean is expected to have a transfer budget of around £5 million.
Blackburn Rovers Transfer News and Rumours, Wednesday 22 December
Samba In Blackburn Quit Threat
Blackburn Rovers defender Christopher Samba is ready to quit the club following the sacking of Sam Allardyce.
The Blackburn skipper is upset over the sacking of Allardyce and has told The Sun: “If this is the way the club’s going to be run from now on, I don’t want to be part of it and I want to leave.
“As captain it’s very difficult to say this but I’ve thought long and hard about it. Nobody in football understands the decision to sack Sam.”
Samba praised Allardyce for the job he did last season taking Rovers to 10th position in the Premier League having taken over a side in the relegation zone at the end of 2008.
“Sam saved the club, so how can he be treated like this now?”
He added: “The players and fans need answers about the club’s future. Unless we commit to who the manager is, how can we attract big players in January?
The 26-year-old Congo international was signed for Blackburn by Mark Hughes at the beginning of 2007 in a £450,000 deal from Hertha Berlin and has since made 150 appearances for the club.
There has been widespread criticism over the sacking of Allardyce and the role of football agency Kentaro-SEM in his dismissal. It is believed that Allardyce put forward a list of transfer targets to Rovers’ new owners, the Venky’s group, and that Kentaro-SEM put forward another list. At that stage Venky’s decided to part company with their manager.
Allardyce’s former coach, Steve Kean, himself a Kentaro-SEM client, is in temporary charge at the club and the Lancashire Evening Telegraph suggests that he may be given until March to prove himself. Venky’s are believed to be ready to give Kean a transfer kitty and the opportunity to prove that he’s the man for the job.
Venky’s chair Anuradha Desai told the paper: “Steve will still be doing the job January.
“He will have control over the signings in January and, although he will have to discuss things with the board, he will have the final say.
“There is more than £5million available to him. I would rather not say how much, I will say that when the time is right, but I can say there will be a lot more than £5m.
“We are looking at options for January but please give us some time.”
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Kean Could Be In Charge ‘Until The End Of The Season’
Blackburn Rovers’ new Indian owners the Venky’s Group have admitted holding talks with Diego Maradona about taking over as manager at Ewood Park.
The 50-year-old Argentine legend has been out of work since taking his country to the World Cup quarter-finals in the summer but he is keen to get into club management and Venky’s chairwoman Anuradha Desai admitted that Maradona has been considered as Rovers’ new boss.
“We thought about Maradona as a coach after we took over,” said Mrs Desai.
“Talks were at the initial stage then, but there is no development on that front yet.”
Whether Maradona could make a good fist of a club management job is questionable. He attempted to work as a coach alongside former Argentinos Juniors team mate Carlos Fren at Argentine clubs Mandiyú (1994) and Racing Club (1995), but with little success. He then remained out of management until succeeding Alfio Basile as boss of Argentina in 2008, barely scraping through to the World Cup Finals in South Africa.
Blackburn sacked manager Sam Allardyce on Monday and Mrs Desai suggested yesterday that ideally they would be looking for a British manager although she admitted at the time that Blackburn would be interested in someone who proved to be “an outstanding candidate: someone who would be really, really good for the club.”
Mrs Desai said today that caretaker-boss Steve Kean may well be in charge for a good while longer than the two months she suggested yesterday.
“For now, the current coach will be the manager until the end of the season,” Mrs Desai said today. “There is no question of signing anyone for such a short time.”
She added: “Kean is well connected with the game and the players as well.” He’s also a client of Kentaro, the agency brought in by Venky’s to advise on targets in the January transfer window.
Mrs Desai also scotched rumours of the impending departure of chairman John Williams, who was known to be close to Allardyce.
“He is very much with us and he has not expressed any willingness to quit. His position in the team is safe.”
Blackburn Rovers Owners Reveal Why Sam Allardyce Was Sacked
Allardyce ‘Not Right Man For Top Four Slot’
Blackburn Rovers’ new chief executive has said that the club sacked Sam Allardyce because its new owners did not think he was the right man to take them to a place in the top four or five in the Premier League.
Rovers sacked Allardyce yesterday evening just weeks after Indian poultry firm Venky’s took over the club in a £45 million deal.
Venky’s chairman Anuradha Desai told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that she wanted a team that entertained and that would finish higher than the 10th place it managed last season.
“We want good football and Blackburn to be fourth or fifth in the league or even better,” she said.
“The fans should trust us because this is in the best interests of the club.”
Rovers have appointed Steve Kean as caretaker manager and Mrs Desai says the former Coventry assistant boss could remain in charge of the side for as long as two months while the new owners decide on a replacement.
Former Spurs and Ajax boss Martin Jol was installed as early favourite by bookmakers but Mrs Desai suggested that the permanent appointment would ideally be a British manager, though she added “We are open if there is an outstanding candidate: someone who would be really, really good for the club.”
Some of this morning’s papers have suggested that Allardyce’s relationship with Venky’s hit stony ground after it emerged that the new owners were talking to agents Kentaro about January transfer targets rather than Allardyce himself. Allardyce was keen to sign Kris Boyd from Middlesbrough and former Hull and Manchester City striker Geovanni. However, the club appear to be working closely with Kentaro’s Jerome Anderson who worked with Sven-Goran Eriksson at Manchester City bringing in Martin Petrov, Vedran Corluka, Elano and Geovanni.
Mrs Desai said: “It is nothing against Sam but we have a different vision looking forward and we want the club to grow.
“We had been talking to Sam in the past few weeks but he did not fit in with our vision for the club’s future.
“We wanted good football, wanted the games to be interesting and of course wanted to win and to have good players.
“We needed to do some changes and Sam going is, of course, the main change. This is a major step but it was needed. We thought: Why delay?”
Martin Jol was still favourite with Ladbrokes on Tuesday lunchtime at 5/2 followed by Martin O’Neill at 5/1 and Alan Curbishley, Alan Shearer and Steve Kean all on 8/1.
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Martin Jol Early Favourite For Blackburn Rovers Job
Jol Favourite After Allardyce Sacking
Former Ajax and Spurs boss Martin Jol has emerged as the early favourite to succeed Sam Allardyce as manager of Blackburn Rovers.
Allardyce was sacked this evening as Rovers manager after just over two years at the club.
Bookmakers have Jol as early favourite at 5/1 with Ladbroke’s and 9/4 with Paddy Power.
Both bookmakers have former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill as second favourite while other names in the frame are Alan Curbishley, Alan Shearer, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Chris Hughton and Steve McLaren.
A statement on Blackburn’s website this evening said:
“The Venky’s Group, owners of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, has today confirmed the departure of manager Sam Allardyce and assistant manager Neil McDonald withimmediate effect.
“First team coaching duties will be taken on by Steve Kean (currently 1st team coach) for the immediate future.
We have taken this decision as part of our wider plans and ambitions for the club. We would like to put on record our thanks to Mr Allardyce for his contribution to Blackburn Rovers Football Club.”
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Blackburn Rovers have sacked manager Sam Allardyce.
A statement on the club’s website this evening said:
“The Venky’s Group, owners of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, has today confirmed the departure of manager Sam Allardyce and assistant manager Neil McDonald withimmediate effect.
“First team coaching duties will be taken on by Steve Kean (currently 1st team coach) for the immediate future.
We have taken this decision as part of our wider plans and ambitions for the club. We would like to put on record our thanks to Mr Allardyce for his contribution to Blackburn Rovers Football Club.”
Venky’s took over the club last month and had promised Allardyce a transfer fund for the coming window which opens next month.
Rovers lost 2-1 to Bolton yesterday despite playing against ten men for the final half hour. It was the club’s second defeat since Venky’s took over.
Martin Jol is favourite to take over as the new manager at 5/1 with Martin O’Neill second favourite at 8/1.
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Blackburn Rovers Transfer News and Rumours, Sunday 12 December
Blackburn Ready To Bid £7m For N’zogbia
Blackburn are keen on Wigan Athletic’sCharles N’Zogbia and could be ready to make a £7 million bid in the New Year.
The 24-year-old winger is regarded as one of the Premier League’s most improved players but is looking to leave the DW Stadium and although he is keen to move back to France with Marseille a move within the Premier League looks more likely.
N’Zogbia was set for a move to Birmingham during the summer but after the two clubs had agreed a £9.5 million fee he was sent on his way by Blues’ boss Alex McLeish after making a last-minute demand of an £10,000 a week in wages.
Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is looking for one big-money signing in the January transfer window and is keen to bring N’Zogbia to Ewood. He is also keen to offload former Wigan frontman Jason Roberts and could offer him to Latics as part of the deal.
Allardyce is looking to pay around £7 million for the Frenchman and Wigan may accept the deal as N’Zobgia’s contract expires in the summer of 2012.
Blackburn Rovers News: Chimbonda Can Leave. Three Back for Wolves Game
Chimbonda Can Leave In January
Blackburn Rovers have told Pascal Chimbonda that he can leave the club in the January transfer window.
The Frenchman joined Rovers in a £2.5 million deal from Spurs in August 2009 and played in all five of Rovers’ league games in November making three starts and two substitute appearances.
However, Chimbonda’s contract expires this summer and boss Sam Allardyce says the club will not be offering him a new deal.
“We are not going to renew his contract,” Allardyce said. “His determination is to find a new contract and we feel for both concerned it is better to let him see what he can get in January.”
Rovers will be hoping to pick up a nominal fee for a player who was rumoured to be close to joining West Ham United during the close season.
Allardyce Guarded Over Santa Cruz Link
Allardyce has yet to sit down with Venky’s, the club’s new Indian owners, to discuss his transfer budget for the January window but was coy about reports linking Rovers with a bid for Manchester City’s Roque Santa Cruz.
“All I said was if Roque was available we would be interested,” Allardyce said on Friday. “There has been no progress on it. In the next seven to 10 days I will speak to the chairman about the way we go forward in January.”
Blackburn Trio Return for Wolves Game
Meanwhile, Rovers welcome back Morten Gamst Pedersen and Gael Givet for Saturday’s game with Wolves while Mame Biram Diouf returns after being ineligible for last Saturday’s clash with Manchester United. However, Steven Nzonzi, Martin Olsson, Vince Grella, Niko Kalinic and Keith Andrews are all out and Allardyce pointed out those are five players who would be picked for the first team each week.
“It is very difficult for us to be coping without those players for a period of time,” he added. “It has not really happened to us before as we’ve generally had two or three players out and we’ve coped but when it gets to having five, six or seven players out then we haven’t got the strength in depth.”
Blackburn Rovers Transfer News and Rumours, Thursday 25 November
Santa Cruz Could Be Set for Rovers Move
Roque Santa Cruz could be in line for a surprise move back to Blackburn Rovers, according to The Sun.
The Paraguayan striker scored 29 goals in 70 games during his two seasons at Ewood Park before a £17.5 million move to Manchester City in 2009. Santa Cruz and his family still live in the East Lancashire area and the newspaper reports that he has told friends he would love to move back to Rovers.
Rovers boss Sam Allardyce has long been looking for a quality striker and Santa Cruz would certainly fit the bill. City would want around £4 million but Allardyce has been promised a transfer kitty by new owners Venky’s and could be set to make a move for the striker in January.
Allardyce Urges Caution Over Signings as Blackburn Takeover Completed
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Indian Group In £43m Deal
Indian group Venky’s have completed the purchase of Blackburn Rovers. The firm become the first Indian owners of a Premier League club and hope to exploit that in trying to market the club to the Indian market.
Venky’s have purchased the club from the trust set up by the club’s late owner Jack Walker and have paid £23 million as well as taking on £20 million worth of debt.
However, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce has warned fans not to expect a slew of signings in January, particularly as he isn’t a fan of the winter transfer window.
“I’ve always said that irrespective of what type of money you’ve got available that January’s a very tricky window. You have to be very careful and select the right player and make sure it’s not a hugely inflated price at that particular time.
“We would always want to strengthen the squad whenever we possibly can but we have to be very careful on what player we select at a club like Blackburn. It also depends what size the finance will be.”
Move On The Cards As Roberts Falls Down The Pecking Order
Blackburn Rovers striker Jason Roberts is itching to move away from Ewood Park.
The 32-year-old was linked with a move back to former club Wigan during the summer and Latics’ boss Roberto Martinez is still said to be ready to do a deal. However, new Leicester boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is keen to make Roberts one of his first permanent signings at the Walkers Stadium.
Roberts has fallen even further down the Ewood Park pecking order with the arrival of Mame Biram Diouf on loan from Manchester United.
“There’s not much I can do – apart from keeping myself as fit as I can,” Roberts told the Daily Mirror. “If I’m called upon I will do the best job I can. If not, maybe we will look to do something in January or at the end of the season.”
Blackburn Rovers Transfer Rumours, Tuesday 28 September
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Blackburn Set To Sign ‘New Viera’
Blackburn Rovers look set to sign former Middlesbrough midfielder Herold Goulon.
The 22-year-old, who is a free agent having been without a club since being released by Le Mans during the summer, was hailed as ‘the new Patrick Viera’ while at Lyon and joined Middlesbrough in 2006. However, the youngster failed to make a first-team appearance for Boro and was sold to Le Mans on the last day of the transfer window at the start of 2009.
Goulon then made 37 appearances for Le Mans but turned down the offer of a new contract this summer in the hope of making a return to a Premier League side.
Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is said to be keen to sign the player even though he wouldn’t be able to play league games for Blackburn until January as he has not been included in the club’s 25-man squad. Clubs are unable to add to that squad list until the transfer window re-opens.
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Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce admits that the club’s takeover by a Bahrain-based businessman is now in doubt. Ahsan Ali Syed’s proposed takeover of the club is currently at the due diligence stage and Allardyce admitted that he had doubts it would take place at all.
“Whether it does happen seems doubtful, for whatever reason I don’t know. I’m not privy to that information.”
Mr Ali was the subject of a BBC Five Live documentary last week which discovered a trail of unpaid debts. His Western Gulf Advisory company has been ordered to close down its Bahrain operations, though Mr Ali claims the Rovers takeover is being handled by the Swiss arm of WGA’s operations.
Blackburn Rovers Deny Popov Transfer Work Permit Issues
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Rovers Claim Full Complement Of Strikers Despite Short-Handed Squad List
Blackburn Rovers have denied reports that they missed out on Bulgarian striker Ivelin Popov because he was refused a work permit.
Rovers were reported in the Bulgarian media to have agreed a fee of 3 million euros (£2.5 million) for the Bulgarian international with his club Litex Lovech. However, reports in today’s Daily Star and Daily Mirror suggest that the Home Office refused a work permit for the 22-year-old on the grounds that he had not played in enough internationals for his country over the past 12 months. Popov has played 15 times for his country since making his debut in 2007.
Litex Lovech posted on their website two weeks ago that Popov would be joining Blackburn, though at the time Rovers insisted that he was only on trial at Ewood Park. Now, chairman John Williams says that Popov was only going to join the club had Jason Roberts secured a move on transfer deadline day. “It just isn’t true,” Williams said in response to the reports that Popov’s transfer failed because of work permit issues. However, Williams claims with Roberts staying at the club, boss Sam Allardyce has his full complement of strikers. Nevertheless, Rovers have only named a 21-man squad to the Premier League rather than the full 25.
Popov himself has now joined Turkish side Gaziantepespor after also being linked with newly-promoted Spanish side Hercules. The Alicante outfit refused to pay the 3 million euro fee, however it is reported that Gaziantepespor have reportedly paid only 1.5 million euros for Popov, who is expected to play for Bulgaria in their Euro 2012 qualifier with England on Friday.
Blackburn Rovers have named their squad for the first part of the Premier League season.
Although each club can name a squad of 25 players Blackburn have named only 21, though players at the club who are under the age of 21 do not have to be named in the squad and can be played regardless.
The squad is:
Paul Robinson,
Martin Olsson,
Chris Samba,
Gael Givet,
Ryan Nelsen,
Brett Emerton,
David Dunn,
Nikola Kalinic,
El-Hadji Diouf,
Vince Grella,
Morten Gamst Pedersen,
Mark Bunn,
Steven Nzonzi,
Keith Andrews,
Michel Salgado,
Jason Brown,
Frank Fielding,
Pascal Chimbonda,
Mame Biram Diouf,
Jason Roberts,
Benjani.
West Ham hope that their loan signing of Blackburn full-back Lars Jacobsen has been accepted by the Premier League. The 30-year-old was the subject of a last-minute bid by the Hammers and they are waiting to see if the documents arrived in time at the Premier League.
Wigan are expected to make a £1 million bid to bring Blackburn striker Jason Roberts back to the club.
Roberts had a successful two-year spell at Latics before joining Rovers in 2008; however, the 32-year-old is surplus to requirements at Ewood Park and has been told he can look for another club.
A company run by the man behind a takeover bid for Blackburn Rovers has been told to cease trading, according to the BBC.
Bahrain-based Western Gulf Advisory has been told to cease trading by the country’s central bank after it fell foul of the Middle Eastern nation’s regulatory authorities. The authorities in Bahrain made the demand to cease trading two weeks ago for “violating the laws and regulations of Bahrain.” WGA attempted to obtain a stay of execution but was told it would receive “not a minute more” by the Bahrain authorities. The decision was said to have been taken amidst reports that WGA was acting for a ‘hidden investor.’
The company is run by Ahsan Ali Syed, a 36-year-old businessman who is currently carrying out due diligence at the club. Mr Ali has claimed to be ready to put £300 million into Rovers and to provide boss Sam Allardyce with a transfer fund estimated to be between £80 and 100 million. He has now told the BBC that his takeover of Blackburn is being handled by a Swiss company, Western Gulf Advisory AG, based in Zug.
Although Mr Ali’s personal wealth is said to be between £3 and 8 billion, the source of this wealth is something of a mystery. Mr Ali claims to take over ailing companies and turn them into profitable enterprises but when pressed by the BBC he said he preferred to keep this information private to protect his investors.
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Blackburn have signed former Manchester City and Portsmouth striker Benjani.
The 31-year-old Zimbabwean international is a free agent and has been training with Rovers for the past few weeks and boss Sam Allardyce has decided to take a chance on him.
“He has shown us that we think he will be okay to play for us in the Premier League,” Allardyce said yesterday.
Benjani has signed a one-year deal with Rovers but the paperwork wasn’t done in time for him to be considered for today’s game with Arsenal.
Paddy Power
