Here is a round-up of Rovers-related news.

 

PHILLIPS PLAYS

Ash Phillips captained England Under-18s, and played 78 minutes, in their opening Lisbon International Tournament game.

A second half strike from Millwall's Romain Esse and injury time equaliser from Tottenham's Rio Kyerematen helped the Young Lions rescue a 2-2 draw against Norway in their opening fixture.

England are next in action when they face Australia on Sunday before rounding off the competition against hosts Portugal next Tuesday.

Phillips has featured regularly for his country, at both Under-18s and Under-19s level, while the 17-year-old was also on standby for last month’s Under-20s World Cup.

 

DEFENSIVE PAIR REUNITED

Shane Duffy and Grant Hanley look set to resume their central defensive partnership after seven years.

Duffy has joined Norwich City on a three-year deal following his release by Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Irishman spent seven years with the Seagulls having left Rovers in the summer of 2016.

In the same window, Hanley also left Ewood Park for Newcastle United before moving to the Canaries in 2017 where he has since played 183 times.

He will be joined at Carrow Road by fellow 31-year-old Duffy who played only seven times during a loan spell at Fulham last season.

Duffy, who played 69 times for Rovers during a two-year stay, left for Brighton in 2016 and went on to be a key figure for the club, but has spent the last two seasons out on loan.

He has now found a permanent home with Norwich, who backed up the signings of Ashley Barnes and Jack Stacey with the signing of the Duffy.

Canaries boss David Wagner will hope the trio can help his side build on a disappointing 13th-placed finish last season.

Duffy, capped 55 times by Ireland and with 150 Brighton appearances to his name, said of the move: "As soon as I first heard about it, I've been excited. I spoke with the head coach, and some people at the club, and they've really made me excited about this opportunity.

"I'm ready for a new chapter in my career. And I'm excited to help the team get back to the Premier League."

 

CAIRNEY TO LEAVE THE COTTAGE?

Former Rovers midfielder Tom Cairney could find himself back in the Championship next season.

Cairney featured in 33 of Fulham’s 38 Premier League games, but only six of those came from the start.

With one year left on his contract at Craven Cottage, the 32-year-old looks set to be free to leave should a suitable offer be forthcoming.

Leicester City, relegated from the Premier League last month, are first to have been linked with a move for the Scotland international who left Ewood Park for Fulham in 2015.

Cairney played 85 times for Rovers, scoring nine goals and contributing 16 assists, before being allowed to leave for Fulham where he has since become a key figure in the club’s yo-yoing between division.

The left-footed technician has played 283 times for the Cottagers, scoring 43 times and adding 32 assists, as well as captaining the side in recent seasons.

With Fulham having backed up their promotion in 2021/22 with a top-half finish last season, Marco Silva’s side are looking to build ahead of a second successive Premier League campaign.

And that could set to be without Cairney who left Rovers in a deal said to be worth £3m.

They are unlikely to benefit from any sale however, with any fee unlikely to exceed that amount which would be needed to trigger a sell-on clause.

 

ATTENDANCE HIGH

Over 10m supporters attended a Championship fixture in 2022/23, making it the fifth highest-attended division in Europe behind the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A.   

The 10m barrier was broken for the first time since 2018/19 and only the 11th time that that has happened in tier two football.   

The EFL has revealed that over 21.7m supporter passed through the turnstiles in 2022/23, the highest cumulative attendances recorded for league matches since 1953/14.

Of that total, 19.8, attended a fixture in the Championship, League One or League Two and the end of season EFL Play-Offs, ranking the season in the top 10 highest regular EFL season attendances of all time. 

All three divisions featured in the top 20 best attended leagues across Europe in 2022/23, while a record 443,765 fans attended the 15 Sky Bet EFL Play-Offs, the most since the format was introduced in 1987.   

A 15% rise in season ticket sales from 2020/21 helped contribute to the growth in attendances and represents the highest number of season tickets sold from any EFL season in the 21st century.