Blackburn Rovers Ladies
Blackburn Rovers LFC was formed in 1991 and made steady progress in their early years to reach the Northern Combination in 1998.
The club then also made steady progress in that division. After finishing 9th and 8th respectively in their first two seasons at that level Rovers managed a mid table position in 2000-01 before establishing themselves as a genuine force.
In 2002 the club managed a 3rd place finish and have not looked back since.
The twin factors of establishing the clubs’ headquarters at Blackburn’s Centre of Excellence and the appointment of Andy McNally as manager were instrumental in Blackburn Ladies’ rapid recent progress.
In the 2002-03 season Rovers finished 4th in the Combination but were actually closer to promotion than the year before and also made it through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup before losing 7-2 to a very strong Birmingham City side.
Promotion was then clinched in the most emphatic manner possible in 2004 as Blackburn recorded a perfect league campaign, winning all 22 of their fixtures.
The Northern Premier League held no terrors for the club and after finishing an excellent 3rd in 2005 the club romped to the title in 2006 to claim a place in the National Premier League for the first time in their history.
The club remained unbeaten once again with 20 wins and 2 draws from their 22 games and they also performed with distinction before losing in the two major cup competitions to National Premier League opposition, losing 2-0 to Everton in the League Cup and 2-1 after extra time to Chelsea in the FA Cup.
This effort saw McNally awarded the FA’s Manager of the Year award, the first time the accolade had gone to someone outside the top flight.
On the playing front Lynda Shepherd was also recognised with selection for a training camp with the full England squad.
The clubs’ rise to prominence has also been reflected in the Lancashire County Cup which they have won for three seasons running from 2004 and now look set to dominate.
Season
The club would have hoped for a better finishing position than 9th before the season started and have genuine cause for alarm given their dismal form over the second half of the campaign. Without a significant improvement they would be relegation candidates next time around.
There was a massive setback in the form of a dreadful early injury suffered by goalkeeper Danielle Hill with Krystal Parker, at seventeen, being handed a gruelling task in replacing her.
All areas of the team seemed to be affected by a loss of confidence after Christmas, however, and there was more chopping and changing with the starting eleven than usual.
Losing to Rochdale in the Lancashire County Cup final emphasised the clubs’ difficulties and it is important that the club are able to make a strong start to next season otherwise a tough campaign might lay in store.