John Williams Leaves Blackburn

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Today is a sad day for Blackburn Rovers.

Chairman John Williams has today resigned from his duties at Ewood Park after 14 years which has seen the club win promotion, the League Cup and secure top flight status.

Perhaps the most successful aspect was him being behind the side during ten consecutive Premier League seasons, despite seeing numerous managerial changes over that time.

John Williams will be remembered for working on a limited budget after the Jack Walker era at Ewood Park but was said to be disappointed to be forced to sack his friend, and the club's manager, Sam Allardyce, in December.





Williams was left shocked by Venky's decision to sack Sam Allardyce, who he had appointed for Premier League stability.

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The Lancashire Evening Telegraph reportedly understood that Williams knew as early as Wednesday, before the Tottenham game, that he had to leave.

The website reads: ''Talks took place as new owners Anurandha, Balaji and Venkatesh Desai travelled to the UK this week to attend the Spurs game.

The outgoing chairman could not be contacted for comment last night but this morning issued a statement through the club confirming his departure.

The Rao family, who are understood to be travelling back to India, were also unavailable for comment.

While the exact details of what led to his departure are not known, it is understood that Mr Williams had been uncomfortable with the sacking of Sam Allardyce, with whom he enjoyed a good working relationship.

There were also concerns over the role of sports agency SEM/Kentaro, which has been working with the owners on transfer policy.''

It is interesting to see that former players and the current manager have paid tribute to the outgoing chairman as times continue to change at Ewood Park.

There has been a lot of unrest between the fans today who are disappointed to see so many changes so quickly since Venky's took over the club in November.




Venky's have made several changes behind the scenes at Ewood.


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The situation at Blackburn is certainly interesting and much different to any takeover the Premier League has seen before, even George Gillette and Tom Hicks at Liverpool, but the news that Christopher Samba signed a new 5 year deal before the midweek game was a massive boost to the squad heading into a crucial period if they are to mount a European challenge.

How will Blackburn do this season? Do you agree with John Williams' decision to leave? Please discuss below.

Premier League Predictions- Week Nine

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Each week, I will now post my predictions for the weekend, and see if i can get more right than BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson.

This week, for the 5-6 February, the predictions below stand.

This week's predictions	Score	Lawro	Edward
Aston Villa v Fuham	2-2	2-1	1-0
Chelsea v Liverpool	0-1	2-0	3-0
Everton v Blackpool	5-3	2-0	1-1
Man City v West Brom	3-0	2-0	4-0
Newcastle v Arsenal	4-4	0-2	0-3
Stoke v Sunderland	3-2	2-0	1-2
Tottenham v Bolton	2-1	2-0	3-1
Wigan v Blackburn	4-3	1-1	1-2
Wolves v Man Utd	2-1	0-2	0-3
West Ham v Birmingham	0-1	2-1	1-1

I expect the big winners this weekend to be Manchester City. Roberto Mancini;s side have been threatening to fire for some time now and, after their draw at Birmingham midweek, I think we could see an adverse effect against a West Brom team which concede goals for fun and haven't scored on their last four away games.



Edin Dzeko has yet to hit the back of the net in the league for City, but I expect him to get off the mark against West Brom.

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City's home record is generally pretty good, winning their last 3 in the league but the goals continue to fly in, with Mancini's side having scored four goals in three of their last four home ties.

If City are to challenge for the title, they would need to improve their goal difference, with Arsenal being ten goals better off with 14 games left to play.

Dzeko would be my pick for any fantasy teams this weekend, providing he starts alongside Tevez, while David Silva is set to be included alongside the Toure brothers, who were both missing in their 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

It's important that City win and they could really add to West Brom's problems, the Baggies being only two points clear of the relegation zone and having recorded only eight points away from home all season, four of which being against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Peter Odemwingie has scored nine goals and The Baggies have never lost when he has scored.

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It's worrying times for the Midlanders but Peter Odemwingie's goals might be the difference between staying up and going down, although Carlos Vela;s introduction will be interesting and surely his quality will show on occasions. Big players perform on big occasions, it's a big game for the Baggies tomorrow ahead of ties with West Ham, Wolves, Stoke and Birmingham over the coming weeks.

The other big winners of the weekend could be Arsenal, who travel to St James' Park for the second time this season, having beaten the Toon army in the 5th round of the League Cup.

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Games like this will define Arsenal's league season but their away record has improved this season, having picked up 10 points from their last four away days.

If they can carry on where they left off, without the injured Samir Nasri, they can keep the pressure on Manchester United, who face Wolves before the Manchester derby next Saturday.

It seems the return to fitness of Robin van Persie has really made a difference to the Gunners and Arsenal have started playing the football we grow to expect, especially with Cesc Fabregas returning to form.






Robin van Persie has scored 5 goals in his last three league games and also scored against Leeds in the FA Cup replay.




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On the contrary, Newcastle are looking to life after Andy Carroll and it seems a strange decision not to have brought anyone in, even on loan, to replace the physical front-man on transfer deadline day.

The fans will have been looking forward to a decent season but whether Shola Ameobi (who is out injured for 6 weeks), Leon Best and Peter Lovenkrands can score enough goals remains to be seen.

They couldn't hit the target against Fulham as the side fell to their first league defeat in 5, but a league double for the Magpies doesn't look likely, with the team having only won two of their 16 Premier League games with Arsenal.

The big game is obviously at Stamford Bridge, where Fernando Torres is set to make his bow against his last club, Liverpool.

It will be interesting to see how the Spaniard fits into the system, but I'd guess that he'd play on the right of the three, with Drogba down the middle and Anelka on the left.






Chelsea's front three will have to be switched after they signed Fernando Torres for £50m.




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Another interesting selection will be whether Florent Malouda will again be on the bench, with the French winger out of form and having now lost a previously cemented place up front.

Carlo Ancelotti might have problems selecting Malouda, with Lampard, Ramires and Michael Essien looking solid in midfield, but it's a selection problem that the boss will welcome, given Chelsea's recent lack of strength in depth.

Liverpool are also looking forward, having beaten the Blues at Anfield earlier in the season, so it will be good to see how Luis Suarez applies himself against a top team.

The Uruguayan score on his debut against Stoke and will be looking to get his name on the score sheet yet again.

It's sure to be a good game but I think Chelsea will be inspired by their new signings. Although Torres will be all the rage before the game, Liverpool's defence can't just worry about him or someone like Anelka will step up and hurt them, with the Frenchman failing to punish sloppy defending in the reverse fixture.

Good luck to everyone's teams this weekend.

Want to play along? Please discuss your predictions below.

Rangers v Celtic Month

Rangers v Celtic is a special derby at any point, but with two Glasgow derbies coming up in the next fortnight, along with a Cup final meeting in March, where else would be better to spend a weekend that north of the border.

That's where I'm heading this weekend for my first taste of Scottish football.

I couldn't have picked a better game, the 5th round of the Scottish Cup, after the top sides were drawn together.

Celtic and Rangers have been the dominant force in Scottish football for some time and not even Hearts this season, have come close to touching them this season, Celtic beating them 4-0 after a 1-0 victory over Rangers at Tynecastle.

Hearts have been the best of the rest so far this season and sit in 3rd in the SPL, some distance adrift of leaders Celtic.



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67 Scottish Cups, 40 Scottish League Cups and 95 league championships between them and those figures are sure to change once again come May.

The derbies are as heated as ever and I've watched the last two on TV, Celtic emerging victorious 2-0 at Ibrox, Georgios Samaras scoring both goals in a 2-0 win, and Rangers coming from behind to win 3-1 at Parkhead thanks to two goals from Kenny Miller.

He might have left now but Rangers have plenty of fire-power with Nikica Jelavic coming to the front, and the Gers signing El-Hadji Diouf, David Healy and Arsenal youngster Kyle Bartley late in the transfer window.

Since the last Old Firm meeting, Rangers have won 4 of their 5 games, whilst Celtic have been on fire, winning 6 of 7 and scoring 18 goals, conceding only two.

It will be interesting to see how Rangers cope without striker Miller, who left for Bursaspor, in their first Glasgow derby without him, the hit-man having scored five times in his last four games against the Hoops.

Kenny Miller played for both sides before moving to Bursaspor, where he scored on his debut.



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He missed one game against Celtic last season, a 1-1 draw at Parkhead, but someone will have to step up to replace him.

That man could well be Jelavic, who looks to be a good player and scored against Hibs last week, his third goal for the club in only eight appearances since his move from Rapid Vienna.

The good thing about Rangers is that they have experience, with David Healy, El Hadji Diouf and Vladimir Weiss all with Premier League experience and pushing for starts.

The main problem might be trying to keep Celtic out and I could see plenty of goals with the Hoops having signed Chris Commons from Derby to add to their attacking nature.

Chris Commons scored on debut after signing from Derby County and is a real threat to Rangers.

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Gary Hooper scores a lot of goals and seems to be born for the SPL, having scored 11 since his summer move from Scunthorpe.

Add Anthony Stokes, Paddy McCourt and Joe Ledley to that line up and it is something to be wary of, but the current Celtic team doesn't have that much experience of Old Firm derbies and that might play a part when they again cross the river to play at Ibrox.

Manager Neil Lennon has praised his current strike partnership after their weekend win over Aberdeen but this weekend will be the real test to see whether they can cut it against the country's best.

It should be a good spectacle before heading out to watch Chelsea v Liverpool on TV.

Who will win the Glasgow derby? Please discuss below.