Could this be the year for Blackburn Rovers?

Blackburn Rovers top the Championship after winning their three opening games, but what have they been doing differently under their new manager John Dahl Tomasson?

In this article, we have broken down Rovers’ stats from their barnstorming start to the season to see the key reasons why they have picked up some great results so far. 

Could this be the season we finally see them return to the Premier League?  

 

John Dahl Tomasson 

Blackburn gained a new, exciting manager in John Dahl Tomasson at the beginning of the campaign and his refreshing tactics have been a big contributing factor in their early success. 

At his previous (and first) managerial role with Malmo FF, who play in the Swedish first tier, he led them to back-to-back league titles after a three-year trophy drought… a drought which was very unusual for Malmo who have been the dominant side in Sweden for decades. 

Tomasson will be hoping to have a similar impact on Rovers this season, as he looks to take them back to the Premier League after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the playoffs in 2021-22. 

A versatile tactician, Tomasson is able to adapt his formation and play based on his opposition. Characteristically, he opts for an aggressive, high pressing approach, not giving his opponents any time to relax on the ball. When his team have possession, he likes to play quickly, with every player having one or two touches before moving the ball forward. 

We could see examples of this in their recent 2-1 win over QPR. If you watch their first goal, scored by Ben Brereton Diaz, there were four players involved in the build-up and not one of them took more than three touches. As a result, the ball transitioned from defence to attack quickly, and Diaz finished his chance well.

Blackburn only had 40% possession during the game, but defended effectively, pressing QPR so that they struggled to move the ball forward, as a result, QPR had few clear cut chances and they also gave the ball away to Rovers on a couple of occasions which on another day could have led to a goal. 

However, in Blackburn’s 3-0 away win over Swansea City two weeks ago, they played very differently. Instead, they sat back, soaked up pressure and played on the counter in true Jose Mourinho style, scoring three goals where again they transitioned from attack to defence very quickly. 

So far, Tomasson has got his tactics spot on for every game… if he can keep that up this season then they have a great chance of promotion.

 

A solid defence

As we all know, every great team starts with a good defence and the Blackburn back line have had a great opening three matches – conceding just one goal.  

Key to that has been their centre-back Daniel Ayala, who has started every game so far. He is an intelligent defender, who reads the game very well and thus doesn’t need to make many tackles, averaging only 0.3 challenges per game. Instead, he compensates for this with interceptions, averaging 2.3 per game in his first three appearances. Ayala also isn’t afraid of booting the ball away when he needs to, averaging 4.7 clearance so far. He has been a man of the match contender in all three of Blackburn’s opening fixtures, so Rovers fans will hope he can keep up his good form. 

Another big performer for Blackburn has been 23-year-old right-back Harry Pickering, who has also featured in every game. 

In contrast to Ayala, the Englishman is a strong tackler, making 1.3 per match on average. He also made 0.7 interceptions and 1.7 clearances per game in the opening three fixtures. He is also known to be a very hard worker – covering a lot of ground up and down the pitch to do a job defensively as well as offensively. 

These players may have been the two standouts, but in general, Rovers have been very difficult to score against. West Brom only managed to score through a fluky deflected shot, so they shouldn’t be too frustrated with that. 

If they want promotion this season, they will have to keep performing well at the back.

 

Transfer business

Blackburn have already made some smart signings this summer and they may be set to sign a few more players too. Their biggest so far was a £2.5 million deal for 26-year-old attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics, who has started every game for Rovers. 

Szmodics scored his first Blackburn goal against Swansea City two weeks ago with a cool finish into the bottom corner, but generally, he has carried a threat offensively. Szmodics averages 0.5 key passes and shots on target per game; showing he can create chances for both his teammates and himself. 

The Republic of Ireland international netted six times in 36 appearances with a struggling Peterborough in 2021-22, so he will be hoping to improve on that tally this season. If he can continue his good form, Szmodics could be key in Blackburn’s push for promotion. 

Another big signing for Rovers this summer was Callum Britain, who has played all three matches thus far for Tomasson’s side. A quick, solid right-back, Britain was bought for around £720,000 from League One side Barnsley and seems to have climatized to the Championship already. 

Brittain has made the most tackles of any Rovers player this season, averaging 2.3 per game, making an instant impact on the team. He has also made 1 interception and 1.3 clearances on average and of course was key in keeping the two clean sheets thus far… if Brittain can keep playing well he will surely be one of the first names on the team sheet for Rovers. A great bit of business with a cheap price tag. 

Finally, Tyler Morton joined Blackburn on a season-long loan from Liverpool in July as he aims to prove himself in the Championship. The centre midfielder has only featured off the bench for Rovers so far, but has already made one assist in their 4-0 victory in the EFL Cup against Hartlepool. In the league, he has only played 46 minutes, but he already looks to be an asset for Tomasson. 

Morton is quick and versatile, with the ability to play as a number six, eight or 10, providing some much-needed cover in the Blackburn midfield. In his short-stints on the pitch, the 19-year-old has worked hard defensively, making 1 tackle per game and 0.5 blocks and clearances. Where he needs to improve though is his passing consistency, as he has only had a pass success rate of 60.9%. He will need to keep possession more effectively if he wants to be a regular.

Still, he is a creative young player with a lot of confidence, so Rovers fans are right to be excited about Tyler Morton. 

 

Ben Brereton Diaz

Perhaps the biggest reason for Blackburn’s early run of form though has been their number 22, Ben Brereton Diaz, who has brought his shooting boots to the Championship once again. 

Last season he had a barnstorming campaign, netting 22 times in 37 league appearances for Rovers. He seems to have restarted in the same vein, scoring two goals and making one assist in his first three matches, playing every minute of the season so far. If he can keep averaging close to a goal contribution every game, he could potentially carry them to the Premier League. 

Looking at all of his stats, he is a constant attacking threat: Diaz takes 2.7 shots on target per game, so you can never be relaxed as a defender while he is playing against you. 

Interestingly, he has started two of his three appearances as a left winger rather than as a striker (where he mostly played last season), giving him more license to run at defenders with the ball – something he is good at, making 1.7 successful dribbles per match so far. He also has the ability to create as well as score, averaging 1 key pass per game. 

The only surprise is that a Premier League team didn’t come in for Brereton Diaz this summer… the window isn’t closed yet, but if Rovers can keep hold of him, they have a great chance of promotion if they can continue to play with the same confidence and intensity they’ve shown so far.