Blackburn Rovers eyeing up Plymouth Argyle & Fleetwood Town duo for Ewood Park role | OneFootball

The Lancashire club's owners Venkys are seeking to beef up their backroom operation, and they've identified three potential new CEOs for Ewood Park.

Blackburn Rovers are seeking to beef up their backroom operation with the appointment of a new CEO, and Fleetwood Town are one of the clubs that they're eyeing up in their search for a new Chief Executive.

With four points now between them and the Championship relegation places, Blackburn Rovers' Championship survival for this season is far from assured.

Having finished the 2024-25 season in an impressive 7th place, the Lancashire club have had an unsatisfactory 2025-26 campaign and, with just ten games left to play of the season, they are still in danger of falling back into League One.

There have already been changes at Ewood Park this season, with the departure of manager Valerien Ismael at the start of February and his replacement with the Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill until the end of this season, but the new manager bounce brought about by his arrival at the club already seems to be slowing, with two defeats and a draw having followed two wins in his first two matches in charge of the club.

But new reports this morning have confirmed that Rovers' owners Venkys are planning further changes to their executive structure, filling a vacancy within the club which has been vacant since the end of last season.

Fleetwood chief executive Steve Curwood is on the short list to become the new CEO at Blackburn

Journalist Alan Nixon has reported that Fleetwood Town CEO Steve Curwood is on Blackburn's shortlist as a potential new chief executive.

Nixon confirms that Curwood is on the list because of the experience that he's gained in that position with the Fylde coast club, but he has also been on the board of the EFL as a non-executive director, as well as working for the Cod Army since 2008.

Nixon reports that Rovers want a figure who can "work within their budget" - Rovers are a club who receive no Premier League parachute money and attract limited commercial and match-day revenue.

But Curwood is not the only name on the list as a potential new CEO for Blackburn Rovers.

It was revealed last week that ex-Crystal Palace and Bristol City chief Phil Alexander - who has been CEO of the National League since November 2025 - is also someone that Blackburn are interested to talk to about the role, and former Plymouth Argyle chief executive Andy Parkinson is also in the frame for an offer to relocate back up north to Ewood Park.

Liverpool-born Parkinson left his role at Home Park in September 2025 after over six years in Devon, having also previously worked at Liverpool as director of operations, and he's another figure that could fill Steve Waggott's shoes following his departure last year.

A new Blackburn Rovers CEO would be filling a vacancy that's been open since May 2025

The curious aspect to the fact that Blackburn Rovers are seeking a new CEO is that the position has been vacant for almost ten months.

Steve Waggott resigned the position at the end of the 2024-25 season following seven years with the club, but 10 months on from his departure, no replacement for him has been found.

The BBC's report on his resignation signed off by saying that "the club have not yet made clear" who will be Waggott's successor, and the answer to that question has turned out to be far longer than many would have expected, given the importance of having a CEO to help move the club forward.

It was reported in June that the club were utilising the services of an external company for the replacement process, but it's still taken almost an entire year to get to the point of names starting to be mentioned.

There is no question that Blackburn have stagnated on the pitch this season, and survival in the Championship remains far from assured as 2025-26 enters its closing stages.

Unhappiness with the club owners Venkys has been long-standing issue at Blackburn, and if nothing else, Waggott was a steadying hand on the tiller at Ewood Park, so the fact that it has taken so long to turn the heat up under the process has been a surprise.

Any new CEO at Blackburn will face a mounting number of challenges. Blackburn's financial position remains difficult, despite the club having posted record profits for the year to June 2024 in March 2025.

It's not known whether the appointment will be made by the end of the 2025-26 season or whether it will come earlier than this. With the team still only four points above the Championship relegation places, the exact nature of the new incumbent's position may be steered by whether they're still in this division by the end of the season or not.