ROVERS’ relegation from the Championship means next season will be the first in 37 years that they have operated in the third tier of English football. But where did it go wrong during a miserable campaign?

PREPARATION

SIGNING players is no exact science, but with so much resting on it, it’s vitally important you get more decisions right than you do wrong.

In all, Rovers brought in 14 players, seven on loan.

There were plus points, Danny Graham ended up as top scorer, Sam Gallagher showed plenty of promise, Derrick Williams was named player of the year while Charlie Mulgrew looked a class act.

But sadly, there were more misses than hits. Loanees Stephen Hendrie, Jack Byrne and Martin Samuelsen struggled to add anything to the squad, with the latter only seeming to stifle the development of Connor Mahoney.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Marvin Emnes often flattered to deceive, Lucas Joao showed glimpses, and the three-year deal handed to Anthony Stokes will rank as one of the club’s poorest decisions for some time. The January transfer window was almost a wash-out, not helped by the disastrous way in which the departure of Ben Marshall was handled, something which somewhat summed up their season.

Rovers approached the campaign with a paper-thin squad.

By the time Rovers finally boosted their squad they had chalked up just one point from their opening five Championship games, already playing catch-up, and looking increasingly disorganised.

INJURIES

ROVERS were masters of their own downfall, but there can be some sympathy in certain aspects. Their points tally of 51 from 46 games would have seen them safe in seven of the last eight seasons and to miss out by two goals was somewhat cruel.

And the only luck they had with injuries was bad luck. Danny Graham missed the whole of October through injury, but had still scored 11 goals by the middle of January.

However, he would score just twice more having been hampered by niggling injuries during the second half of the season, and who knows where they might have been had he been able to start more than the 28 league games he did.

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The same goes for Charlie Mulgrew, who missed 15 games through different injuries, while Corry Evans’ ongoing groin problem saw him start just 16 of Rovers’ 46 league fixtures.

In fact, Mulgrew, Evans and Graham, arguably Rovers’ best players in their respective positions through the spine of the team, started just five games together – winning two, drawing two, and losing just once.

MANGERIAL DECISIONS

TONY Mowbray certainly breathed life in to Rovers on his arrival at the club, but not even his haul of 22 points from 15 games could lift them out of the dropzone.

Coyle picked up just 29 points from his 31 games in charge and for many people the change of manager should have come much earlier.

Indeed, many fans were left questioning the decision to appoint Coyle at all, given his recent managerial record and connections with rivals Burnley, with a seven-game winless start to the season certainly not aiding his chances of building a relationship with those sceptical supporters.

Lancashire Telegraph:

The January transfer window had been hailed as something of a saviour for Rovers, but after the appointment of Paul Senior, Coyle was left visibly frustrated by the lack of incomings.

Mowbray may well have found the same difficulties to attract players as Coyle in January, but those extra seven games before making the change, in which Rovers took eight points, could have been pivotal.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

CLOSING the goal difference gap to Nottingham Forest on the final day for Rovers was always going to be difficult.

They hadn’t won by two clear goals in the league all season, or scored three goals away from home. They achieved both at Griffin Park, but it still wasn’t enough. Since August, there have been just three games in which Rovers have been beaten by more than one goal. 

An incredible 16 points have been lost in the final 12 minutes of matches, and 11 thrown away from the 86th minute or later.

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Conceding an equaliser to 10 man Norwich in March, a 96th minute against Preston in the same month, failing to make the most of dominance in away matches at Burton and Rotherham, and the agonising defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in February in which they saw two legitimate goals chalked off.

By such fine margins are games won and lost, and in Rovers’ case, seasons.

OWNERS

IT WAS clear at the final whistle at Brentford, after the club’s relegation, where the blame lay for most of the 1,600 fans in the away end at Griffin Park.

There were loud calls against the Venky’s, and the second relegation under their watch once again brought in to question their aims for the club.

Many are now left questioning what they are gaining from being in charge of the club which will next season operate two leagues below where they were when the owners took charge back in November 2010.

This season saw plenty of frustrations on the recruitment front, with every transfer decision seemingly a battle.

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And the way the outgoing transfer of Ben Marshall dragged out in January certainly didn’t help matters.

Investment on the playing front of just £250,000, compared to the £12million recouped, was always likely to see Rovers in trouble.

Relegation felt so unnecessary and avoidable for Rovers, a team which has been in decline for much of the past six seasons.