Blackburn Rovers: The Venky's will be loved by Derby County for one John Eustace-inspired reason | OneFootball

John Eustace has flipped the script between Derby and Blackburn after 12 months in charge at Pride Park

Derby County are currently reaping the rewards of their decision to pursue John Eustace last February - and Blackburn Rovers may have truly lost him in the month prior to the Rams' move to hire their ex-midfielder.

The Lancashire outfit were in contention for a play-off place during the 2024/25 campaign, having been level on points with sixth place West Brom following their 1-1 draw with Leeds United on New Year's Day 2025.

But an underwhelming winter window laid bare Blackburn’s lack of promotion ambition for Eustace, and the lack of ambitious signings when the club were in the mix for a top six finish was a sore point among supporters, and it showed the ex-Birmingham City manager the kind of resources he had to work with in his goal of competing in the Premier League.

So, it should not have come as much of a surprise when he departed in February 2025, jumping at the chance to move to former club Derby, despite the fact that they were at risk of relegation to League One.

Derby County are benefitting from Blackburn Rovers' John Eustace fumble

The Venky’s have come under a lot of criticism for their running of Blackburn Rovers since they purchased the club in November 2010, and losing Eustace last season was a real blow to the club.

Whilst it can't be denied that the Indian poultry giants have put a lot of money into trying to make the Lancashire outfit a success, some of their gambles have backfired, but they could have been more ambitious when Rovers were in a play-off push last season.

Instead of using some of the money made from Sammie Szmodics' sale to Ipswich Town months earlier, it was a rather cheap January for Rovers - Augustus Kargbo arrived from Cesena on a permanent deal, Yuri Ribeiro and Adam Forshaw were free transfer additions, whilst Emmanuel Dennis, Dion Sanderson and Cauley Woodrow all joined on loan.

None of Blackburn's six new recruits in that window went on to make a real impact at the club, and their business and budget was perhaps a major reason as to why Eustace decided to jump ship for his former club Derby less than two weeks into February 2025.

Derby were in relegation trouble at that point compared to Rovers being in a fight for the top six, but Eustace overcame a slow start to life at Pride Park by guiding the club to 19th, keeping his side clear of the relegation zone by just one point.

Valerien Ismael was eventually hired as the 46-year-old’s replacement at Blackburn, but he was unable to bring the play-offs to Ewood Park, with the team ultimately finishing seventh in the Championship table - that could've been bettered with some smarter recruitment in the mid-season window.

But the summer transfer window showed exactly why it was such a smart move by Eustace to jump ship for Pride Park.

Derby invested in Eustace’s plan for the team by making big signings such as Patrick Agyemang and Carlton Morris - the former being a £5.8 million deal and the kind of ambition that Rovers lacked.

The Rams also signed Rhian Brewster, Andreas Weimann and Danny Batth as free agents, putting an emphasis on experience and bolstering their frontline, but they also used the loan market to great effect, with Ben Brereton Diaz, Bobby Clark and David Ozoh adding creativity in the middle and out wide.

And those deals have paid dividends for County, who are now themselves in contention for a play-off place themselves - whereas Blackburn are struggling.

It’s taken John Eustace one year to put Derby County ahead of Blackburn Rovers

It is fitting that on the weekend of Eustace’s one-year anniversary at Pride Park, a 2-0 win over Swansea City moved Derby into the play-off places.

Goals from Brewster and Agyemang sealed all three points, showing the importance of the club’s summer business, and their investment into improving the attack.

Meanwhile, it's been a sorry state of affairs at Blackburn, who dismissed Ismael as manager after less than a year in charge, with Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill taking over on a short-term basis.

A 3-1 win over QPR lifted Rovers out of the relegation zone, but the risk of the drop into League One remains a very real threat for now.

The two clubs have essentially swapped positions in the table, with Eustace now vindicated completely in his decision to move teams.

It was a risky decision on paper, as he easily could’ve been managing a League One club at this point instead given where Derby were in the table when he took over.

And it wasn’t until March 8, 2025 that the 46-year-old even oversaw his first win as manager, losing the three fixtures prior to a 2-1 victory against - of all clubs - Blackburn.

That was the first of five wins in a row, and seven from their final 12 games of the season, and Blackburn may now need a similar run of form in order to avoid relegation, while Derby are hoping to earn a first top six finish in the Championship since 2019.

And it is the lack of ambition showed by the Venky's that the Rams will be thankful for if they can secure a place in the play-offs given Eustace’s impact over the last 12 months.