Blackburn Rovers blog: Hunt can be the crucial addition

12:39pm Thursday 11th August 2011 in Andy Cryer's Blackburn Rovers blog Photograph of the Author By Andy Cryer, Blackburn Rovers reporter

Blackburn Rovers blog: Hunt can be the crucial addition Blackburn Rovers blog: Hunt can be the crucial addition

IF you listened to most of the football pundits this summer then Blackburn Rovers may as well not even bother to turn up this season.

They are doomed to Championship football and then the abyss.

At least three national newspapers have condemned Rovers to finishing rock bottom, while the likes of Robbie – loves his own voice – Savage, and Mark Lawrenson have already written Steve Kean’s men off.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of strange things happening at the club and two or three new players are still needed to add to the squad if they going to realistically challenge for a top 10 finish.

But why on earth does anyone think this is a squad that has no chance of comfortably surviving in the Premier League?

There were worse teams last year and no-one can honestly think Norwich, Swansea and QPR are going to set the league on fire this time around.

The loss of Phil Jones is a blow but David Goodwillie and Radosav Petrovic will prove good signings, while Junior Hoilett, Martin Olsson, Mauro Formica and Ruben Rochina will be much improved players this time around.

There are signs that things are improving off the field now as well – something that has long been needed at a club for too long surrounded by chaos and confusion.

The name Simon Hunt probably does not ring many bells for the majority of Blackburn Rovers fans but make no mistake about it, he could prove the biggest signing of the summer.

If, as expected, Hunt is announced as Rovers’ new sporting director, then Venky’s have finally delivered what everyone has else has seen has been missing for ages and that is someone to ease Kean’s workload.

Ever since the departure of chairman John Williams and man-aging director Tom Finn, the club has been like a ship without a rudder.

With the owners Venky’s pred-ominantly in India and Ewood Park resembling the Marie Celeste, it was no wonder decisions seemed to be taking ages and transfer dealings appeared to be dragging.

Suddenly though the picture is looking a lot brighter.

A quick glance at Hunt’s background shows he is a football man through and through and will be a help to both Kean and Venky’s.

He will join fellow new boys Paul Hunt, deputy chief executive, and Anthony Bloch, secretary, as the numbers around Ewood start to build once more.

Venky’s now have a team in England until August 31, the close of the transfer window, to help Rovers’ recruitment process and that has to be better than trying to conduct deals from India.

Slowly but surely a new order of power is being created in the corridors of Ewood. The way it has been done has not been good and Rovers have lost some very good people over the last few months.

But at least now, there appears to be some structure slowly coming back to the club and long may that continue.

See today’s Lancashire Telegraph newspaper for Andy Cryer’s views on Keith Treacy and Phil Jones, plus the jury on how Rovers should line up on Saturday.

Comments (14)

12:46pm Thu 11 Aug 11

ragodley1987 says...

I agree with the article. Hopefully this would be another building block in the recovery of the club.

On another note, that was a bit cheeky about Robbie Savage. Say what you want, but he's one of my favourite players of all time. Was delighted when he signed for Rovers :-p
I agree with the article. Hopefully this would be another building block in the recovery of the club. On another note, that was a bit cheeky about Robbie Savage. Say what you want, but he's one of my favourite players of all time. Was delighted when he signed for Rovers :-p ragodley1987

12:57pm Thu 11 Aug 11

lusorover says...

Good to see Venkys getting 'their' men in place.

.

How's that swan looking Woody?
Good to see Venkys getting 'their' men in place. . How's that swan looking Woody? lusorover

2:34pm Thu 11 Aug 11

ROVERSPAL1 says...

Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..
Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds.. ROVERSPAL1

3:18pm Thu 11 Aug 11

rhodie110961 says...

ROVERSPAL1 wrote:
Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..
How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.
[quote][p][bold]ROVERSPAL1[/bold] wrote: Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..[/p][/quote]How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas. rhodie110961

5:06pm Thu 11 Aug 11

MJ Rover says...

rhodie110961 wrote:
ROVERSPAL1 wrote:
Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..
How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.
Exactly. You can make the numbers say anything you like. The only players we have lost who had an impact on the first team were J Jones, P Jones, and maybe Santa Cruz (though that's debatable). The rest were bit-part players, if they featured at all. Yes, we need players to come in and fill the squad out, but that is what our young players are for. We can't afford to carry players in our reserves on 15-20k (or more) a week like Andrews, Diouf, Linganzi, Goulon, etc. who don't even get on the bench for the first team.
*
This is what our academy is for - and exactly the reason Jack paid for it to be built. It was his dream that, by bringing up our own players, getting them in the first team, and selling them on, we would become self-sufficient. Hopefully more Damien Duffs and Phil Joneses will get the chance to get first-team football here instead of getting stuck behind the deadwood in the reserves sitting on big fat contracts.
[quote][p][bold]rhodie110961[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]ROVERSPAL1[/bold] wrote: Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..[/p][/quote]How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.[/p][/quote]Exactly. You can make the numbers say anything you like. The only players we have lost who had an impact on the first team were J Jones, P Jones, and maybe Santa Cruz (though that's debatable). The rest were bit-part players, if they featured at all. Yes, we need players to come in and fill the squad out, but that is what our young players are for. We can't afford to carry players in our reserves on 15-20k (or more) a week like Andrews, Diouf, Linganzi, Goulon, etc. who don't even get on the bench for the first team. * This is what our academy is for - and exactly the reason Jack paid for it to be built. It was his dream that, by bringing up our own players, getting them in the first team, and selling them on, we would become self-sufficient. Hopefully more Damien Duffs and Phil Joneses will get the chance to get first-team football here instead of getting stuck behind the deadwood in the reserves sitting on big fat contracts. MJ Rover

7:22pm Thu 11 Aug 11

lobby says...

rhodie110961 wrote:
ROVERSPAL1 wrote:
Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..
How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.
phil jones and jermaine jones prity much the spine of the side. weve brought in goodwille who we will be lucky if he scores double figures. then we have roberts...well that speaks for its self.and petrovic we dont know yet.im not saying they wont be good signings but lets just say the premiership wont be quaking in its boots will it we are going onto the season with a weaker squad than last season and we only just stayed up.we where promised cash would be splashed to strengthen and we havent even spent what we got for kalinic our strike power is very weak to say the least and our defence is lighter and will be alot slower too with nelson and salgado another year older so yeah i can see why people think we are going to struggle because we will with the thin very weak looking squad we have at the minute i think its a disgrace going into the season with this squad
[quote][p][bold]rhodie110961[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]ROVERSPAL1[/bold] wrote: Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..[/p][/quote]How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.[/p][/quote]phil jones and jermaine jones prity much the spine of the side. weve brought in goodwille who we will be lucky if he scores double figures. then we have roberts...well that speaks for its self.and petrovic we dont know yet.im not saying they wont be good signings but lets just say the premiership wont be quaking in its boots will it we are going onto the season with a weaker squad than last season and we only just stayed up.we where promised cash would be splashed to strengthen and we havent even spent what we got for kalinic our strike power is very weak to say the least and our defence is lighter and will be alot slower too with nelson and salgado another year older so yeah i can see why people think we are going to struggle because we will with the thin very weak looking squad we have at the minute i think its a disgrace going into the season with this squad lobby

8:13pm Thu 11 Aug 11

Kerimoglu says...

Lawrenson's a 'Nobber', always has been...always will be. Now THERE is a Club in turmoil!!!!
Lawrenson's a 'Nobber', always has been...always will be. Now THERE is a Club in turmoil!!!! Kerimoglu

8:34pm Thu 11 Aug 11

rhodie110961 says...

lobby wrote:
rhodie110961 wrote:
ROVERSPAL1 wrote:
Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..
How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.
phil jones and jermaine jones prity much the spine of the side. weve brought in goodwille who we will be lucky if he scores double figures. then we have roberts...well that speaks for its self.and petrovic we dont know yet.im not saying they wont be good signings but lets just say the premiership wont be quaking in its boots will it we are going onto the season with a weaker squad than last season and we only just stayed up.we where promised cash would be splashed to strengthen and we havent even spent what we got for kalinic our strike power is very weak to say the least and our defence is lighter and will be alot slower too with nelson and salgado another year older so yeah i can see why people think we are going to struggle because we will with the thin very weak looking squad we have at the minute i think its a disgrace going into the season with this squad
Both Jones`es only played half a season for us ,one because of injury and one only joined us in Jan, they are the only two that will be missed .I hear everyone singing the praises of the new serbian lad ,Apparently a better player at a better price so that cancels out the one Jones loss, the club are still actively looking to find a replacement for Judas and we still have to bear in mind that we have Ribeiro,Roschina ,Formico and Goodwille all ready now for the first team . I should imagine we will be able to shore up any cracks whilst looking for the remaining neccessary additions.The thing is even though the owners havent spent a fortune so far the players they have bought seem, on paper to be good deals.I don`t understand the logic behind ..Oh you`ve sold twenty mill worth of players therefore you have to spend twenty mill on incomings,you have to admit if we can sell high and buy lower priced players that are of higher quality our club is far better off. I truly believe our Rovers are going to surprise a great deal of doubters this season.
[quote][p][bold]lobby[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]rhodie110961[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]ROVERSPAL1[/bold] wrote: Savage has realised we have allowed seven players to leave and bought in two... He wants us to do well but he also wants to be realistic,, get a good striker and winger and they will all change their minds..[/p][/quote]How many of those seven were regular first team players.I think if you look through the names they were either dead wood or anti Ewood ( :) see what I did there ) with the exception of Jones who was just a Judas.[/p][/quote]phil jones and jermaine jones prity much the spine of the side. weve brought in goodwille who we will be lucky if he scores double figures. then we have roberts...well that speaks for its self.and petrovic we dont know yet.im not saying they wont be good signings but lets just say the premiership wont be quaking in its boots will it we are going onto the season with a weaker squad than last season and we only just stayed up.we where promised cash would be splashed to strengthen and we havent even spent what we got for kalinic our strike power is very weak to say the least and our defence is lighter and will be alot slower too with nelson and salgado another year older so yeah i can see why people think we are going to struggle because we will with the thin very weak looking squad we have at the minute i think its a disgrace going into the season with this squad[/p][/quote]Both Jones`es only played half a season for us ,one because of injury and one only joined us in Jan, they are the only two that will be missed .I hear everyone singing the praises of the new serbian lad ,Apparently a better player at a better price so that cancels out the one Jones loss, the club are still actively looking to find a replacement for Judas and we still have to bear in mind that we have Ribeiro,Roschina ,Formico and Goodwille all ready now for the first team . I should imagine we will be able to shore up any cracks whilst looking for the remaining neccessary additions.The thing is even though the owners havent spent a fortune so far the players they have bought seem, on paper to be good deals.I don`t understand the logic behind ..Oh you`ve sold twenty mill worth of players therefore you have to spend twenty mill on incomings,you have to admit if we can sell high and buy lower priced players that are of higher quality our club is far better off. I truly believe our Rovers are going to surprise a great deal of doubters this season. rhodie110961

8:27am Fri 12 Aug 11

paolowhite says...

if Paul Hunt is the deputy chief exec, who is actually the official chief executive?
if Paul Hunt is the deputy chief exec, who is actually the official chief executive? paolowhite

9:36am Fri 12 Aug 11

bburnrover says...

The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin.
The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin. bburnrover

10:21am Fri 12 Aug 11

Tonyceewildrover says...

bburnrover wrote:
The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin.
Got to agree with you. I'm happy with the signings of Goodwillie and Petrovic but can they be expected to be thrown to the lions straight away? We have for many years struggled for a top class striker and only Santa Cruz (1st time) and Bellamy were a class on their own - something we need NOW! Spend the money Venkys on someone proven - Crouch, Defoe, Keane. Lets face it even Kenny Miller or 38 year old Kevin Phillips would have scored more goals for us than Jason Roberts who for all his efforts can't hit a barndoor. Goals win games - simples...
Kean and Kentaro out!
[quote][p][bold]bburnrover[/bold] wrote: The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin.[/p][/quote]Got to agree with you. I'm happy with the signings of Goodwillie and Petrovic but can they be expected to be thrown to the lions straight away? We have for many years struggled for a top class striker and only Santa Cruz (1st time) and Bellamy were a class on their own - something we need NOW! Spend the money Venkys on someone proven - Crouch, Defoe, Keane. Lets face it even Kenny Miller or 38 year old Kevin Phillips would have scored more goals for us than Jason Roberts who for all his efforts can't hit a barndoor. Goals win games - simples... Kean and Kentaro out! Tonyceewildrover

11:08am Fri 12 Aug 11

badref says...

So Jones was a Judas was he? Grow up.

He was given the opportunity to join of the world's top clubs, enhance his international prospects, and guaranteee lifelong financial security for himself and his family. How many of you could genuinely say you would not have done likewise?

It's like a young bloke stacking shelves at a corner shop on Leamington Road being given an executive position at Tesco headquarters and in the process quadrupling his salary.

It's about time football fans realised YOU love your club but the players don't. It is their job and no amount of badge kissing should ever obscure that fact.
So Jones was a Judas was he? Grow up. He was given the opportunity to join of the world's top clubs, enhance his international prospects, and guaranteee lifelong financial security for himself and his family. How many of you could genuinely say you would not have done likewise? It's like a young bloke stacking shelves at a corner shop on Leamington Road being given an executive position at Tesco headquarters and in the process quadrupling his salary. It's about time football fans realised YOU love your club but the players don't. It is their job and no amount of badge kissing should ever obscure that fact. badref

12:47pm Fri 12 Aug 11

smellthecoffee says...

Bookies rarely get it wrong and it looks like we're facing a hard battle to avoid relegation. This time last year we were far more optimistic wih possible European football in our sights. Venkys have systematically destroyed the club - ripping the heart and soul out of it. The poor run of form since sacking Big Sam is evidence of what is likely to happen.
Bookies rarely get it wrong and it looks like we're facing a hard battle to avoid relegation. This time last year we were far more optimistic wih possible European football in our sights. Venkys have systematically destroyed the club - ripping the heart and soul out of it. The poor run of form since sacking Big Sam is evidence of what is likely to happen. smellthecoffee

12:49pm Fri 12 Aug 11

smellthecoffee says...

Tonyceewildrover wrote:
bburnrover wrote:
The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin.
Got to agree with you. I'm happy with the signings of Goodwillie and Petrovic but can they be expected to be thrown to the lions straight away? We have for many years struggled for a top class striker and only Santa Cruz (1st time) and Bellamy were a class on their own - something we need NOW! Spend the money Venkys on someone proven - Crouch, Defoe, Keane. Lets face it even Kenny Miller or 38 year old Kevin Phillips would have scored more goals for us than Jason Roberts who for all his efforts can't hit a barndoor. Goals win games - simples...
Kean and Kentaro out!
Full agreement.
[quote][p][bold]Tonyceewildrover[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]bburnrover[/bold] wrote: The only saving grace for the Venkey's in my eyes would be a top class striker like J Defoe otherwise I will continue to disbelieve all their spin.[/p][/quote]Got to agree with you. I'm happy with the signings of Goodwillie and Petrovic but can they be expected to be thrown to the lions straight away? We have for many years struggled for a top class striker and only Santa Cruz (1st time) and Bellamy were a class on their own - something we need NOW! Spend the money Venkys on someone proven - Crouch, Defoe, Keane. Lets face it even Kenny Miller or 38 year old Kevin Phillips would have scored more goals for us than Jason Roberts who for all his efforts can't hit a barndoor. Goals win games - simples... Kean and Kentaro out![/p][/quote]Full agreement. smellthecoffee

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