Monday, September 16, 2019

The Blackburn Rovers and Stability

Way back in 2010, the Blackburn Rovers were a mid-table team in the Premiership under the leadership of venerable manager Sam Allardyce. Allardyce was so respected that he eventually went on to coach 4 other EPL teams, and even the English national team in 2016. Then, Venky's London, an Indian firm that got their start in chicken, bought the team and sacked Allardyce.
Within 5 years, and after 6 (!) managerial changes, the Rovers became the first team ever relegated to the third tier after once holding the Premier League title. Tony Mowbray was given charge of the team, and Blackburn immediately climbed back into the Championship, if not the top league in the country.
The Rovers had a little bit of a slow start this season, losing their first two matches and being assigned a 17% chance of relegation by FiveThirtyEight's soccer predictions. Since that time, the rovers have won 3, lost 1 on and drew with Cardiff. They've moved into 12th place after a dire start to the season, which had many fans ready to give up hope on this team again.
With their hotter stretch as August turned to September, the Rovers seem to be putting together a respectable season. In many sports, but particularly in European soccer, many owners can be quick with the trigger, and are liable to let a manager go after a slow start.
Blackburn has been patient in the last couple of years, finally. And now, in the past couple of seasons, they are moving back up the table and may actually be in a good position to solidify their spot in the Championship, if not the Premiership.
It's a good lesson for fans of not only the English Football system, but any sport, nearly at any level. It takes time to build camaraderie and cohesion on a roster, let alone develop an organizational ethos. It's easy to read into a couple of results and attribute the entire season to the first bit of data. It takes longer than that to build a team, especially when it's been razed just a few years before.

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