Following the resignation of Mark Hughes to go to Manchester City, and left with preciously few options aside from Mike Newell and an overhyped League Two coach, the Blackburn Rovers board turned to me, a loyal coach at Ewood Park, to replace Thaksin’s new performing monkey. With a top half finish in my sights, I have been awarded a transfer budget of thirteen million pounds, enough to bring in established players alongside promising youngsters.
In terms of the transfer market, I have been scouring the free transfers list to find some bargains. Most of the players I have found have been offered trial forms, but after noticing the availability of free agent centre-back Matteo Ferrari, released by Roma, I had to snap him up. The Italian signs a four year deal, beginning his second spell in English football after a loan deal with Everton. The trialists are mainly South Americans, with Ivan Hurtado, an Ecuadorean, ready for our first friendly.
Speaking of friendlies, I have re-organised the fixtures that were set by the previous manager. After a match with feeder club Cercle Brugge, we travel to Brazil for a three game tour that will see us play Santos, Sport Recife and Cruzeiro, before flying out to the Faroe Islands to take on HB. I’ve aimed for a testing series of middle matches, with a morale booster against a weaker team to end the friendlies. All trialists will get a match, allowing me to evaluate their skills.
Tactically, I have decided to utilise an attacking 4-3-3, which can be modified to suit the opponent. This formation will be used in all of the pre-season games. Hopefully the players will get used to it quickly. The setup’s first use, against Cercle Brugge, served us well, resulting in some good movement despite the disappointing 1-1 draw. The set pieces seem to be performing well too, with defender Christopher Samba rising to head home our equaliser from Tugay’s corner. Hurtado, introduced as a half-time replacement for the Flying Dutchman, no other than Andre Ooijer, delivered a steady if unspectacular game, but improvements need to be made if I keep him, with the trialist no spring chicken at thirty two years old. In Brugge, the Ecuador international was watched by the scouts of Dutch team NAC Breda, so it appears we have competition for him if I do decide to take the plunge.
As we take the flight to Brazil to begin our tour, off the pitch two players are at advanced stages of contract discussion. Kerlon, known for running around bouncing the ball on his head, is waiting for a work permit to confirm his £2.6 million move from Cruzeiro, which will allow us to meet the nineteen year old in Brazil 
whilst we play our matches. The other player is defensive midfielder Romaric (pictured), who has been offered a contract. This is following the acceptance of our £4.9 million offer by Le Mans, and the Ivorian would be a surefire starter if he decided to abandon the beautiful old town for the Lancashire home of the four thousand holes.
Santos are the first team we will face in our Brazilian tour, and luckily the deals for Kerlon and Romaric are completed in time for us to take on the Peixe, and on the aeroplane’s touchdown in Sao Paulo, I find out that Newcastle are chasing Benni McCarthy. With McCarthy unlikely to be a major player this season, I announce that the South African is available for £6,000,000. McCarthy is behind Roque Santa Cruz and Jason Roberts in the pecking order, and at a push he can go.
I’ve also been in the hunt for a centre midfielder, with Tugay aging. I’m looking for an attacking player, and my friends in the Emirates recommended Saudi midfielder Malik Mouath Al-Hawasawi, currently wearing the colours of Al-Ahli. He’s a skilled, creative player, and will provide some foreign flair next to local boy David Dunn. The foreign invasion will continue with trialist Juan Manuel Martinez arriving after a release by FC Dordrecht.
In the next update, we will continue the look at our pre-season, building to a first game of the season crescendo after that update. So, keep on reading. Please?
