Dismissive Blackburn Rovers reaction issued amid David Wagner situation | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn fan pundit has had his say on the rumours linking David Wagner with the freshly vacant managerial post at Ewood Park

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

In amongst all the transfer deadline day drama, Blackburn Rovers parted ways with manager Valerien Ismael.

The past year under the French boss had been dominated by off-field problems that made his job incredibly difficult.

His arrival came following John Eustace's departure to Derby County, a club at the time battling relegation, despite Blackburn being in the top six. Then, Rovers lost the main core of players who helped them in their play-off charge, and this season, the club have truly suffered for it.

Blackburn were winless in eight games, including a 1-0 home defeat against Hull City last Saturday, which saw Ismael's side three points adrift of safety, and after just 11 wins in his 43 league games in charge, a change comes as no real surprise.

Now, the focus is on bringing in a suitable replacement, and Alan Nixon has stated that former Huddersfield Town and, most recently, Norwich City, boss David Wagner is in line to take the vacant post.

Wagner hasn't been back in management since he was sacked by the Canaries in May 2024 following a convincing play-off semi-final defeat against Leeds United. Despite finishing in the top six, the German boss never really won over the Norwich fans due to his pragmatic style of play.

Because of this, FLW's Blackburn fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, isn't too enthused about the reports linking his club with Wagner, believing that he won't be too much of an upgrade to how Valerien Ismael had the club playing.

Blackburn Rovers fan pundit dismisses David Wagner links

Middlehurst doesn't want to see David Wagner as the next manager at Blackburn, feeling that the way he was sacked at Norwich, following a largely middling 16 months in the role, doesn't fill him with much excitement.

"It's a difficult one, because David Wagner didn't have the best record at Norwich, and coming off of being sacked, too, I don't think he's a good appointment that Blackburn fans need," he said.

"Blackburn really needs a positive hire, a manager who has had quite a stable career as of late.

"Obviously, that's a difficult ask at the minute, but I think, with David Wagner, he had a bad record at Norwich, and coming to Blackburn would be like replacing one bad egg with another.

"So, I don't think that Wagner would be a good appointment."

David Wagner may be the best option for Blackburn Rovers amid survival bid

David Wagner hasn't been in frontline management in well over a year now, and actually went on record during the summer and stated that he was losing excitement and enjoyment as a manager, and is enjoying his time as Head of Youth Development at RB Leipzig.

However, if he was enticed out of management by Blackburn, the Ewood Park-based club could do a lot worse than him.

Wagner's ideologies were rejected by Norwich fans, mainly because they felt that a side that possessed Josh Sargent, Borja Sainz, Jonathan Rowe and Gabriel Sara should have been playing more exciting, attacking football.

With Blackburn right in the midst of a relegation battle, having lost way more times than they've won at home this season, they need a points-first approach, and the former Canaries boss could be among the best options out there currently.

That being said, Valerien Ismael's dedicated, hard-working approach hadn't worked at Blackburn, and there may be some worries that, as Middlehurst said, it would be "one bad egg for another" in terms of managerial replacement.

But, given the state of affairs off the pitch currently at Ewood Park, and the fact that, on it, the club aren't picking up enough points, it's not the most attractive place for a manager to go right now.

Time will tell as to who will take over from Valerien Ismael. If it is David Wagner, perhaps a fresher take on a pragmatic approach could see Blackburn pick up enough points to finish outside the drop zone.