Blackburn profit from Birmingham’s Rooney cock-up as Huddersfield man harshly suffers like Toney

The Championship Spotlight is on Blackburn Rovers with Jon Dahl Tomasson leaving and being replaced by Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City predecessor.

TOMASSON OUT, EUSTACE IN AT BLACKBURN

Rovers overachieved in Tomasson’s debut season in 2022/23 as they challenged for the Championship play-offs but they have suffered a major fall from grace in recent months.

On most occasions, the blame is automatically laid at the manager’s door when a club endures a slump like Blackburn are at the moment. Yet in this instance, it’s been difficult not to feel empathy for Tomasson, who has been operating with one arm tied behind his back amid the Championship side’s major off-field difficulties, which were highlighted by their embarrassing failure to seal deals for Duncan McGuire and Lewis O’Brien in recent transfer windows.

Rovers have a good crop of youngsters at their disposal but the best one – Adam Wharton – has just been sold to Crystal Palace for £18m. This sale is the anomaly among a wave of poor business decisions as the club’s board failed to maximise potential profits when Ben Brereton Diaz (free transfer) and Thomas Kaminski (£2.5m) moved on.

It’s always felt as if Tomasson – who was linked with Feyenoord last season – deserves better than what he’s endured at Blackburn and he’s now set to fall on his feet to become the new manager of Sweden’s national team after last weekend’s disappointing loss to relegation rivals QPR was considered the final straw.

Blackburn’s eight-game winless run in the Championship leaves them just five points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand. With them not yet out of the mire, their board are making a rare wise decision in turning to John Eustace to steady the ship.

Eustace – who has been out of work since Birmingham City needlessly replaced him with Wayne Rooney in one of the biggest cock-ups of the season – recently earned plaudits for his work at St Andrew’s.

With their new American investors, Birmingham are gradually heading in the right direction. But this was not the case during the majority of Eustace’s tenure as he did bloody well to save the club from relegation in 2022/23 when most onlookers felt their squad was not up to the task.

Eustace left Birmingham with his head held high and they – thanks largely to the Rooney-inflicted crisis – have gone backwards since his exit. After swerving the mess at Stoke City and Rotherham United earlier this season, the Blackburn job is far more suited to his skill set so he should be fancied to kick on from where he left off at St Andrew’s.

HUDDERSFIELD YOUNGSTER GIVEN BETTING BAN

It emerged this week that 21-year-old Huddersfield Town striker Kian Harratt has been given a four-month ban and a fine of £3,200 for betting offences.

This comes around a year after Brentford and England forward Ivan Toney received an eight-month ban for similar offences and you have to feel that these cases – along with the one involving West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta – will only end up being the tip of the iceberg.

Harratt was found to have placed 484 bets between June 2020 and June 2023, with several being for/against Huddersfield and a couple of his previous loan clubs.

Initially facing an eight-month ban like Toney, his spell on the sidelines was reduced as his “inexperience and naivety” – plus the fact he admitted to his wrongdoing straight away – played into his favour when the verdict was reached.

Now, I am aware that rules are rules and with all modern players knowing that they are in place, there is an argument to suggest that they should know better.

But with betting becoming increasingly embedded within the modern game, addiction is a growing issue in wider society and this in turn will naturally impact the players as well.

Betting sponsorships are obviously huge earners for football clubs but as more footballers succumb to addiction and/or other problems, they must start to question whether it is morally acceptable to take on these deals, just as they would have previously when funds were coming via alcohol companies.

I mean, for God’s sake, one of Brentford’s official partners is Hollywood Bets, while Sports Broker is among Huddersfield Town’s principal partners. It stinks and whether it is the FA or the clubs themselves, action is required to reduce (or completely eradicate) betting sponsorships and in the meantime, footballers deserve a bit more empathy if they slip into the trap of breaking current regulations.

READ MORE: The regrettable Ivan Toney case is a reminder of football’s growing gambling problem

BORO MAN IS MLS BOUND

To finish with something a little lighter, a bit of shock transfer news concerning Middlesbrough emerged earlier this week.

Boro head coach Michael Carrick revealed on Thursday that midfielder Matt Crooks will “travel over to America in the next day or two” to discuss a move to MLS outfit Real Salt Lake, with him understandably keen to “explore” this opportunity.

Aged 30, this is no doubt an enticing opportunity for the experienced midfielder who has been a good servant for Middlesbrough over the past three seasons since joining for around £1m from Rotherham United.

Capable of operating in attacking midfield or as a striker, Crooks’ versatility has been important for Carrick’s side and he’s grabbed 38 goal involvements in his 115 appearances for Middlesbrough across all competitions.

Crooks’ importance has not waned too much this season so it is somewhat surprising that Boro and Carrick seem willing to sanction his exit when they are chasing a spot in the Championship play-offs.

Carrick has argued that Boro will still have “really good options” without Crooks but it remains to be seen whether they will eventually be made to rue letting him go at this point. As for the player, this is a sporting opportunity, life experience and salary (presumably) that’s too good to turn down for the twilight of his career.