Walking a different path?

A break? Whilst fans of other clubs enjoy the luxury of switching off from the goings on at their outfit of choice, those of who are still left on the good ship Blackburn Rovers are stuck cowering in the proverbial corner, peeking through our finger covered eyes waiting for the latest news filtering through from the gift that keeps on giving.

It's anything but a break.

And it promises to be a looonnnnnggggg summer at the club, because even the numbnuts positioned halfway across the world with their finger on the big red button will (pray to god) realise that an awful lot needs to change this summer. 

It should be the summer of correcting a mountain of mistakes and a chance for some humble self assessment. But then weren't we producing the same sound bites last summer?

Gary Bowyer will be the club's new manager, whether that is a particularly wise shout over the long term remains to be seen and I have my doubts, but given the steady procession of managerial sagas, compensation payouts, renegade directors and ill advised appointments we've endured over the last 12 months it's probably as safe a call as Venky's can muster at this stage. Would they appoint anyone better from the outside world? History dictates that the answer would be a resounding "What have you been smoking?".

Shebby Singh, Derek Shaw and Paul Agnew still remain in the boardroom. Simply adding someone in to oversee things won't help. One, two or preferably all of them need to find fresh employment - I hear there are plenty of local pubs and bars that need some assistance in performing to their maximum...

Appointing a "decision maker" or a "global marketing advisor" as has been rumoured will only add superficial gloss to a dental framework that has long since needed more surgical attention, adding more sweeteners into the mix certainly won't drill out the root of the tooth ache. It will however further embellish the list of absurd job titles in existence at Ewood Park, which is of course, what really matters.

For the club to even stand a chance the ego stroking and infighting needs resolving, more so than any other pickle we've found ourselves in.

As a court hearing so ruthlessly exposed, a total overhaul from top to bottom wouldn't go a miss - it's been a while since I heard an organisation's own operation described as "unforgivable". But then lets not ask for too much hey?

Then there's the playing staff. Believe it or not there are members of the current squad who can be used to build positively going forward - namely the young lads. The likes of Jake Kean, Grant Hanley, Adam Henley, Jason Lowe, John O'Sullivan and a summer of stubbornness willing, Jordan Rhodes are a perfectly serviceable nucleus of players to use alongside more experienced supplementation. If we can bring back Todd Kane on a season long loan I'd be on the phone - fax is too risky - to Chelsea quicker than you can say "interim".

But they of course are not the problem. There is a raft of deadwood lying around the place that needs showing the door. High earners who've been under contributing for too long such as Paul Robinson, Gael Givet, Morten Gamst Pedersen and David Goodwillie are prime candidates for pastures new. Not to mention anyone who used to play for Fulham... If there are any takers/suckers willing enough to match the high wages we're shelling out.

And if anyone has always dreamed of building a team of nobodies from Iberia, now is your chance. We have an excellent farm of them here. Anyone at all? Now is your time. Feel free to help yourself to the likes of Edinho Junior, Nuno Henrique, Paulo Jorge and the whole gang. Whether they'll be any good remains to be seen but they're free to leave to a good home. Consider this is an advert for them.

The good news is that the early signs of player recruitment look to have taken a different path to last summer's bid high/produce low talent influx. The signings of Chris Taylor and former player Alan Judge are hardly likely to send thousands sprawling to renew their season tickets (inexplicably many still waiting for that little gem of information), but they are the types of signings that many cried for throughout last term... Hard workers who'll bust a gut. Oh and wingers, if you remember what they look like. Encouragingly they look like purchases in the Bowyer mould rather the Shebmeister General.

Rarely, the club is actually in a position where given our current wage bill and what they're actually providing in exchange for their income we can actually improve on the field whilst saving money. Especially in a division where organisation and graft often outranks razor dazzle.

There is an awful lot that needs to change, that much is obvious. The golden question is will it? Maybe if we shout loud enough we can penetrate the batch of sand that the owners have buried their heads in for far too long?

Or maybe it's all pointless and we'll start next season as clueless and naively hopeful as we did this. Either or.

I've said it several times before but if a mere simpleton like myself can spot it then I'd like to think astute business owners worth millions would too.

It's going to be a long summer...

The Best Striker in the Championship

Excellent. Level headed. Deserving of better.

Not really terms you can throw around Ewood Park this season without due care, but there is one individual in blue and white that you can wax lyrical about, free of the risk of the usual "overly positive" or "fickle" accusations many get levied with if they dare lose focus of the doom and gloom that is Blackburn Rovers discussion.

His name is Jordan Rhodes. At 8 million of your finest British pound coins, you could argue that we overpaid for him. But what you can't argue against is that he is very, very good at what he does.

Not the most complete centre forward in living memory and perhaps a more refined all round game from being able to truly pull his weight at the top level, but you'll have to cast your minds back a fair distance to remember a striker better at finding the back of the net (hint, Match of the Day, monotone, scared of offering any insight, from the North East).

Jordan hasn't had the chance to fire us out of the division and into the top tier, which was the foundation-less plea for calm of a pre-season mission statement. He has however kept us away from the even greater despair of League One, which without him would have been a very real prospect. Especially taking into account the catalogue of underperformance and ineptness relentlessly bundling on around him.

There is always the old argument that if it wasn't Rhodes plundering the onion bag it would have been someone else, but I would simply fire back that there aren't many who would have thrived under such poor service and working conditions - even less who would have actively considered coming to Rovers in the summer. Particularly in our current guise. That Rhodes has got anywhere near the amount of goals he has, is testament to his ability to convert what little has come his way and it speaks volumes that his reputation has actually been enhanced in a season when very few at Ewood Park have come up smelling like roses.

To have 26 league goals for Rovers is remarkable given the circumstances. In a season which has seen the club use 38 different players, none of whom are actually reasonably decent wingers and with the previously heralded defensive midfield platform of Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu being a lethal combination of injured and rubbish, it's fair to say Jordan has been working against some heavily stacked odds.

To finish as the Championship's top scorer, something Rhodes has a shot at this weekend, would be a deserved accolade for a player who has operated well above his peers this campaign. Statistics will show Crystal Palace's Glenn Murray as the current top dog, but he's been enjoying the considerable delights of Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie all year long. Our man on the other hand has been struggling with the likes of Josh King running in a straight line really fast and losing the ball, Markus Olsson running in a straight line really fast and not crossing and Mauro Formica working tirelessly in a straight line and losing the ball and/or not crossing.

I could go on (don't worry, I won't - it's boring I know), but hopefully you've got the point.

Statistics and what you can produce on paper will always tell you who "won" something. But invariably they're inflexible enough as to not tell you the full story.

He probably won't be at Ewood Park next season, one of the promoted clubs or a lower half of the Premier League side will only ignore his output for so long, especially since he trades and converts in the hardest currency of all. If someone comes in with a reasonably attractive offer we'll be powerless to stop him leaving the circus... irrespective of his "happy to be here" interview earlier in the week.

But there is no denying he's an absolute joy to see in the famous blue and white halves. He's lived up to the price tag and the hype, without the ego you'd expect and with a modesty you'd not.