PODCAST · sports
Rovers Returned
by Paul Worthington & Simon Burns
Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were relegated in 1999, before regaining their place in the league two years later in 2001. This podcast mini series examines what happened when 'Rovers Returned' in the subsequent 11 years until the club's second relegation in 2012.
Episodes
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Did Man City's finances lead to Rovers' relegation?
Between August 2009 and February 2012, Rovers played Manchester City six times in the Premier League and took one point. Along the way we sold them Roque Santa Cruz and watched them win the title on goal difference. With an independent commission now finding City in breach of Premier League rules...
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Rovers What If...?
What if Venky's had never bought Rovers? What if we'd landed Robert Lewandowski in a world where volcanic eruptions didn't disrupt summer transfer plans? What if we'd spent the parachute payments differently after relegation from the Premier League? In this episode we step away from the history...
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Rovers at the World Cup
There isn't a single current Blackburn Rovers player at the 2026 World Cup. It wasn't always this way. In our latest episode we look back at Rovers' second spell in the Premier League (2001-12) and the players who took their Rovers form all the way to the 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cups, notably...
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Season review watch along: 2009/10
The last “good” season at Blackburn Rovers? Maybe. Let’s see what the season review tells us. Notable shout outs to Nicola Kalinic looking like he’d been imprisoned in east Lancashire, Steve Kean lurking in the background waiting for his moment to seize the crown, and David Dunn oozing quality....
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Season review watch along: 2008/09
Exit Mark Hughes. Enter Paul Ince. A disaster. More interestingly for us, how are the production crew at Blackburn Rovers HQ going to spin this one? After three seasons of success, this is going to be tough. Never fear, the montage format still features heavily. And this time it’s Big Sam up in...
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Season review watch along: 2007/08
Blackburn Rovers are now an established European presence, and this season review is loving every minute of it. And so are we. Come along as we voyage to far flung destinations - Lithuania, Finland and Greece - all covered in granular detail! We also revel in the technical brilliance and…
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Mowbray vs JDT: who was better?
Tony Mowbray is back! In this special episode we decide to mark Mowbray's return to Blackburn Rovers with a debate on who was the better manager during their time at Rovers, Mowbray or his replacement, Jon Dahl Tomasson? We cover the situation each manager inherited, the impact they had on player...
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Season review watch along: 2006/07
Think Blackburn Rovers 2006/07 and images of Benni McCarthy, David Bentley and an FA Cup semi final no doubt spring to mind. The subject of today’s show - the official Rovers season review - paints a bigger picture. Red cards (lots of them), penalties conceded (lots of them), and the tantalising...
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Season review watch along: 2005/06
We are back! In this new series we are rewatching Rovers season reviews from the 2005/06 up to the 2009/10 season. We go back over a period in the club’s history through a different lens, seeing what we remember, what we forgot, and most importantly, judge the production quality of Rovers season...
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Charlie Mulgrew
Charlie Mulgrew endured a tough first season at Rovers with the club being relegated to League One. Rather than leaving, Mulgrew became a core part of the team that bounced back the following season and his leadership on and off the pitch was as instrumental as his goal contribution. In this...
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Bradley Dack
Bradley Dack became an instant fan favourite as part of his contribution to the League One promotion year. He went on to become an integral player in the Tony Mowbray era, adding flair and ability to a team that was attempting to re-establish itself in the Championship then push on up the league....
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Bradley Orr
“Blackburn fans f*cking despise me” said the man himself. There have been fewer controversial players for Rovers this century than right back Bradley Orr. He became a symbol for the change in ownership and management the club went through under Venky’s and Steve Kean. We discuss Orr’s legacy at…
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Ben Marshall
Ben Marshall was the epitome of the type of player Rovers needed to become serious contenders in the Championship. A promising young player who could play in a variety of attacking positions, blessed with excellent set piece delivery and an eye for goal, Marshall had talent in bags. On this…
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Shane Duffy
A deadline day signing in 2014, Duffy joined from Premier League Everton as a young prospect in the mould that manager Gary Bowyer was fond of. Duffy and Hanley had a short lived partnership that had the potential to propel Rovers up the league and challenge for promotion. As those hopes faded,...
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Jordan Rhodes
We are back for another season of player profile episodes, this time looking at the period after Rovers were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship. In order to mount a challenge to return to the top flight, Rovers went all-in on the signing of Jordan Rhodes for £8m from…
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Paul Robinson
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...
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Robbie Savage
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...
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David Bentley
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…
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Brad Friedel
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...
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Jon Stead
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...
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Andrew Cole
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...
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Bouncing back
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.
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Here we go again
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…
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Transfer embargo
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...
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Team GB
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…
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It’s all about the Shebby
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...
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Out of control
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...
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Back for a second season!
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...
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Bonus episode: Q&A
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?
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Downfall
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…
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An Allardyce shaped lifeboat
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...
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The Ince Experiment
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?
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How good were Blackburn under Hughes?
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…
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What went wrong in 2003-04?
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.
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Flying high (forever and ever)
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.
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Rovers Returned
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…
more -
Trailer
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.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were relegated in 1999, before regaining their place in the league two years later in 2001. This podcast mini series examines what happened when 'Rovers Returned' in the subsequent 11 years until the club's second relegation in 2012.
HOSTED BY
Paul Worthington & Simon Burns
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Rovers Returned have?
Rovers Returned currently has 37 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Rovers Returned about?
Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers were relegated in 1999, before regaining their place in the league two years later in 2001. This podcast mini series examines what happened when 'Rovers Returned' in the subsequent 11 years until the club's second relegation in 2012.
How often does Rovers Returned release new episodes?
Rovers Returned has 37 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Rovers Returned?
You can listen to Rovers Returned on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Rovers Returned?
Rovers Returned is created and hosted by Paul Worthington & Simon Burns.
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