When Brad Friedel announced he wished to leave Rovers, the club identified Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson as the preferred replacement. Robinson rebuilt his reputation at Rovers under Sam Allardyce, winning player of the season in 2011. In this episode we look at how Robinson bounced back at Rovers, and how to view his time at the club given it…

Robbie Savage signed for Rovers to join his former international manager Mark Hughes, and quickly became the engine of the Rovers midfield. A player fans of other clubs love to hate, Savage enjoyed success at Rovers and played some of the best football of his career in a top six side, with a European run the following year. In this episode we look …

David Bentley joined Rovers initially on loan from Arsenal with a view to inject much needed flair and creativity into the side. He soon found a natural home on the right wing and established a reputation for his set-piece and crossing abilities. In this episode we look at Bentley’s Rovers career, discuss Bentley’s own reflections on the rise and f…

Brad Friedel is a true Rovers legend in every sense of the word. Described once as a Superman by an opposing manager, Friedel enjoyed a decorated career for Rovers and the US men’s national side. In this episode we discuss Friedel’s best moments, what he meant to the team, and put his career in a wider Premier League context. Friedel vs Manchester …

Jon Stead may have only scored 8 goals for Rovers but the return on those goals was almost unrivalled during this era, as Stead helped fire Rovers to safety in the 2003-04 season. Despite his initial success, Stead struggled to recapture the form from that season and eventually departed when Mark Hughes was manager. Stead’s meteoric rise from the l…

In December 2001 Rovers signed Andrew Cole for £8m from Manchester United in a move that manager Graeme Souness described as a “monster transfer’. The ‘Cole effect’ saw Rovers win the League Cup a couple of months later, followed by a top 6 finish the following season. In this episode, we look at the impact Cole had during his time at Ewood Park, h…

Following years of struggles both on and off the pitch, Rovers seek to address their slide with a successful campaign in League One. With Mowbray agreeing to stay on as manager, and some exciting new signings, the mood around Ewood Park is optimistic for the first time in a number of years.

Rovers unexpectedly appoint ex-Burnley manager Owen Coyle as manager who leads the club to an awful start to the season. Devoid of resources to invest in the squad, and despite the best efforts of Tony Mowbray, who was appointed following the sacking of Coyle, Rovers succumb to a second relegation in five years, slipping down to League One.…

After failing to return to the Premier League in quick order, the financial reality of the Championship begins to bite as the parachute payments run out and the club finds itself in selling mode, ultimately falling victim to a transfer embargo. Simon and Paul discuss the impact the embargo had on the club in the context of Paul Lambert’s spell as m…

Gary Bowyer was appointed manager to steady the ship and was seen as a trusted pair of hands who had established a good reputation at the club. He also oversaw the best performing team of this period in the Championship, which was littered with future Premier League players. Simon and Paul discuss the success and failure of Bowyer’s stint, and whet…

In the summer of 2012 Venky’s appointed Shebby Singh as a Global Advisor to the club. With no experience of English football, Shebby was never far from the headlines and was at the centre of bitter rows over control of the club during the first season in the Championship. Simon and Paul remember the wildest Shebby moments along with the remaining m…

Steve Kean steered the club to relegation and was rewarded with continued support from the Venky’s to assemble a squad capable of an immediate return, which quickly evaporated and led to the appointment of Henning Berg as manager. Simon and Paul discuss the increasing concerns on display over the running of the club, with the club even describing i…

We are BACK for season two of the Rovers Returned podcast! Picking up immediately where we left things at the end of season one, Simon and Paul reflect on the 2012-17 era for Blackburn Rovers, charting what happened next after the club suffered relegation from the Premier League. In this episode Simon and Paul look at the period as a whole and try …

In this bonus episode we go through questions from our listeners about the series and answer questions as wide ranging as who would make a Blackburn Rovers best XI from the 2001-12 period to which player would win a Royal Rumble style wrestling contest?

Venky's, the new owners of Blackburn, take swift action in firing Allardyce and appointing Steve Kean as interim then full-time manager. With promises of attracting world class talent and opening up the vast Indian market, Venky's have big ambitions, but do they have what it takes to transfer their business knowledge to the world of the Premier Lea…

With Ince lasting less than half a season in charge as manager, Blackburn turn to a man with a reputation of guaranteeing Premier League survival, Sam Allardyce. Meanwhile, off the pitch the club struggles with the increased financial pressures of competing in the league, leading to a foreign takeover and end to the Walker era.…

Paul Ince, otherwise known as the Guv'nor, had a distinguished career as a player and a growing reputation as an up and coming English manager in the lower leagues. With the departure of Mark Hughes to Manchester City, on paper it looked like Blackburn had found the perfect replacement. Or had they?

Former Blackburn player Mark Hughes took over as manager in 2004, in what became a second period of success for the club during this spell in the Premier League. Hughes took over at a difficult time yet managed to build a somewhat enigma of a side, one capable of playing exciting attacking football yet also employing brute force when necessary.…

After two successful seasons Blackburn's fortune takes a turn for the worst with a relegation battle in 2003-04. With the likes of Duff and Dunn no longer at the club, Blackburn struggles to transition into this next phase despite a number of high profile signings.

This episode charts the first two seasons back in the Premier League for Blackburn from 2001-03. Simon and Paul discuss why life felt so promising for Blackburn, the young exciting talent driving the team forward, and whether a friendly against Barcelona was actually the best bit of all.

Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were relegated in 1999, before regaining their place in the league two years later in 2001. This podcast series examines what happened when 'Rovers Returned' in the subsequent 11 years until the club's second relegation in 2012. In this episode Simon and Paul look at the period as a whole and try to …

Welcome to the Rovers Returned podcast which tells the story of Blackburn Rovers second spell in the Premier League, 2001-2012. All seven episodes will be released on 7 May 2022, the ten year anniversary since Blackburn's relegation.