Vital Statistics
Founded: 1872
Owners: Venky's
Last Season: Championship - 22nd (Relegated)
Nicknames: Rovers
Rivals: Burnley, Bolton Wanderers
Major Honours
League Champions: 1912, 1914, 1995
FA Cup: 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891, 1928
League Cup: 2002
Scheduled Matches
Portsmouth vs Blackburn: Tuesday, February 13th (7:45pm)
Blackburn vs Portsmouth: Saturday, October 21st (3pm)
Blackburn Rovers: A brief history
Formed following a meeting at Leger Hotel in 1875, Blackburn's early history is marked with its success in the F.A. Cup, winning the trophy five times before the turn of the 20th century. The early 1900's would see Rovers claim another F.A. Cup and two league titles.
The following years would see Blackburn struggle to make a name for themselves in English football as they yo-yo'ed between the divisions. That all changed when lifelong supporter Jack Walker bought the club with his millions and established Rovers as title challengers, having brought the likes of Alan Shearer to the club, the won the Premier League in 1995 under Kenny Dalglish.
That momentum couldn't be sustained as Dalglish moved upstairs, his replacements couldn't replicate his success and Blackburn were relegated in 1999. Walker died soon after but his club were promoted back to the top flight after two years under Graeme Souness who also won the League Cup under his management.
Managers came and left but Blackburn were seen as a stable club until Venky's took over. Disastrous management decisions saw Rovers relegated to the Championship in 2012 and then five years later, drop another division to League One with more and more fans disillusioned with the owners.
The Manager: Tony Mowbray
The 53-year-old spent the majority of his playing career with local team Middlesbrough before moving onto Celtic and then Ipswich before hanging up his boots in the year 2000.
Mowbray's first proper foray into management was at Hibernian and his success there brought him to West Brom, where he won the Championship title and took the Baggies to the 2008 F.A. Cup semi-final where they were beaten by Pompey.
After a season in the Premier League, Mowbray moved to Celtic but was sacked soon after. He then returned to his boyhood club Middlesbrough but couldn't win promotion from the Championship before leaving. He then took the Coventry job but soon left as things got worse for the Sky Blues and then last season took on Blackburn but failed to keep them in the Championship.
The Ground: Ewood Park (Capacity: 31,367 - Away: 4,000)
My photos of Ewood Park have been lost but I shall attempt to find them! For those who haven't been, The Darwen End which will house the Pompey fans is arguably the best in the league with the lower section having a quality bar. The nearby Fernhurst pub is also a decent drinking establishment.
There won't be many home fans in attendance in League One and the atmosphere at Ewood Park has never been great. However, the Pompey fans should be able to make plenty of noise in the large away end and it's an away day not to be missed if you fancy the journey to Lancashire.