Blackburn Rovers abandonment a sorry embarrassment Sheffield Wednesday fans can sympathise with
The day painted a picture of life at Blackburn Rovers long before the match was abandoned - and felt eerily familiar to those of a Sheffield Wednesday persuasion.
The pictures that adorn the corridors behind the scenes at Ewood Park are a call-back to happier times, when Blackburn was one of the top tier forces of English football and when the stadium would have been rocking week-on-week. As is the case at Hillsborough, the images are almost ghostly, the state of the club they reflect having long since been a costume of what it was.
Staff at the club are friendly and committed but are quietly self-deprecating as to the modern way of the Rovers. The stadium itself holds some of the charm of traditional grounds past but stands tired and shabby, devoid of a suitable injection of life. Repeat visits in the last seasons have shown the fan base to be equally tired - and dwindling in numbers. Protest chants against the club’s absent ownership are only ever a moment away, but even those feel laboured. It’s a familiar reality no Wednesday-nosed figure will take any joy in.
The rain came down heavy all day and on a pitch that saw an abandonment dominate the Championship conversation for some weeks, the danger of the same fate falling again became more real as the match went on. At the toot of the half-time whistle, Pierce Charles gathered the attention of the officials and bounced a ball on his penalty spot - to no avail. As the second half kicked off things looked worse and every passing minute delivered more concern.
As the likelihood of an abandonment dawned on those present, Blackburn supporters rose in protest against a trudging Venkys ownership that has taken them from the Premier League to Championship survival via a season in League One. As was the case for Wednesday under Chansiri, the gripes are consistent; a lack of investment in the correct areas, infrastructure failings, absenteeism, botched communication and bizarre goings-on. Good managers and players leave as a course of routine.
The pitch at Ewood Park has seen three abandonments in 15 months. There are long-standing issues to remedy, locals have explained. The club’s groundsman, a popular Rovers die-hard who has worked there for over four decades, recently explained that the Ipswich abandonment was not due to issues pertaining to drainage to the river Darwen and that the volume of rain had simply got the better of the pitch.
Covering a club in mire over recent seasons leaves you wise to the danger of attaching blame to hard-working employees and any semblance of blame placed on the ground staff feels misplaced despite the question many are asking is; why weren’t ground staff instructed to make use of equipment designed to remove excess water during the break?
It seems a moot and sideshow point. On an afternoon that saw Accrington Stanley complete 90 minutes and injury time in the FA Cup less than six miles away, you’ve got to wonder about the infrastructure for a club of Blackburn’s stature. Though running repairs and some improvements have been undertaken, we’re told the pitch was installed at the outset of Jack Walker’s ownership of the club, before even Alan Shearer and Premiership titles and glory.
A great deal was made of a re-stitching procedure on the Ewood Park pitch in 2023, we’re told. But with Tuesday evening’s home clash with Oxford United now looking vulnerable, it would appear more hardcore solutions are so badly needed. EFL sanctions are to be considered and manager Valérien Ismaël looked furious. The body language of the players spoke volumes and apologies were made to their Owls counterparts on behalf of the club.
Word from conversations had around the club is that this is an investment issue and it’s a sad reminder that football has an ownership problem. Ironically, Dejphon Chansiri will leave the club with the Hillsborough pitch in good nick, but the creaking failures of his reign has left a club equally shy of proper care.
Both fan bases deserve better from the custodians of their club. The tunnel ends soon from Wednesday’s perspective, Rovers’ future is less clear.