Steve Kean resigns; fans to return to Ewood?

The speculation about Steve Kean's future with Blackburn had been rife in the days since Rovers first loss of the season against Middlesbrough, but, as seen last season at various intervals, such speculations had hardly meant that there was anything in the offing with regards to a managerial change, much to the dismay of the Rovers faithful.

With that in mind, one could then understand the collective surprise of Blackburn fans when the news first broke of Steve Kean's resignation (a resignation Kean alleges was forced) yesterday, though the surprise could hardly be traced to Blackburn's decent start to this season. Rather, the astonishment had everything to do with feelings, and perhaps reasonably founded feelings, that owners Venky's hadn't a clue of what they were doing with the club and would in turn continue employing such a unanimously disliked manager.

That Kean had such an atrocious record as the Rovers boss certainly didn't help his cause, but the record alone wasn't the only reason fans spoke out so vociferously against him during his reign. While the reasons for his lack of popularity may be too numerous to list here, one can readily point to his often dismissive attitude towards the fans and their concerns over the last 18 months as doing nothing to endear to him to what is a small yet devoted fanbase. Intimations that he undercut former manager Sam Allardyce for the sake of getting the top spot at Rovers and naive tactics that cost Rovers far too many points from winning positions meant that his name would never be spoken in the same breath as Mark Hughes and Kenny Dalglish.

In perusing the internet for immediate reactions from Blackburn fans in the wake of the end of Steve Kean's management, the prevalent emotions on display were unquestionably those of relief and excitement. Indeed, the excitement has led many fans, namely those who were actively boycotting attending home games at Ewood Park as long as Kean was still in charge, to snap up tickets for their next home match against Wolves with an eye on filling Ewood to the rafters and cheering their promotion chasing side on with one less black cloud hanging overhead. Considering how uncharacteristically small crowds have been at Blackburn this season, a marked uptick in attendance will show just what this change at the top means for Rovers fans.

Venky's, however, are not off the hook just yet by way of forcing Kean out of his job, as the popular opinion is still one of Venky's not knowing how to run a club in the slightest. The appointment of Shebby Singh as director of football has at least given Rovers fans some line of communication with the club in the wake of the deafening silence that greeted them last season, and there has been, to some extent, some decent investment in player recruitments in recent months. These have been baby steps towards righting the ship, but now comes the most important step for Venky's yet: appointing the right man for the job at the second time of asking. Predictably, some of the usual names are being connected with Blackburn--some of which would be decent fits, others not so much. If Venky's have to open up the wallet to bring in the likes of Alan Curbishley or another renowned name to energize the fans, then that's exactly what they should do.

Yes, it's a long road yet for Venky's if they are to prove to Rovers fans that they can bring this club back to the level it was at when they took over, but maybe, just maybe, the Rao family (proprietors of Venky's) have learned a few lessons over the last year and a half. For Rovers fans, it's just too bad that it took relegation and fan boycotts for the light bulb to come on.