"Shudder at the name" - West Brom verdict on Blackburn Rovers, Valerien Ismael news | OneFootball

The Frenchman is the hot favourite to replace John Eustace 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…

Blackburn Rovers look to be closing in on naming a new manager after the departure of John Eustace, with Valerien Ismael said to set to take charge at Ewood Park.

The Lancashire outfit have been under the caretaker stewardship of David Lowe since Eustace’s departure for Derby County earlier this week, as they continue to keep themselves in the hunt for a play-off place in the Championship.

After a whole raft of names had been linked with the former Premier League Champions, Alan Nixon reported on Sunday that former Norwich City boss David Wagner and ex-West Brom manager Ismael were the two leading candidates, with an appointment expected imminently.

Nixon has since revealed that the Frenchman will become Rovers' new manager, having agreed terms on a deal that runs until the end of 2028.

We spoke to Football League World’s West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess about Ismael’s tenure at the Hawthorns, and how he could be suited for the job at a fellow play-off contender.

Valerien Ismael discussed as Blackburn Rovers managerial decision nears

Ismael initially rose to prominence after taking his Barnsley side to the Championship play-offs back in the 2020/21 campaign, with his direct, attritional football taking the second tier by storm before going down to Swansea City in the semi-finals.

Since then, an ill-fated spell at the Hawthorns did nothing for his reputation, as he struggled to get the recently relegated Baggies firing upon their return to the EFL, and departed after only seven months in the role.

Stints at Besiktas and Watford have followed, with a typically tumultuous time in charge at Vicarage Road coming to an end last March, and the 49-year-old still finds himself out of work to this day.

Tasked with keeping Rovers in the play-off hunt for the remainder of the season, Burgess believes Ismael could be a decent candidate to take over from Eustace right now, and unlike a lot of Hawthorns regulars, he has no ill feelings towards the former boss upon his potential return to the English game.

When quizzed about him being in line for the Blackburn job, the Baggies fan pundit said: “Quite a few Albion fans shudder at the name of Valerien Ismael, but while I think it did go badly for him towards the end, I am not someone who massively holds that against him and consider it to be a complete disaster.

“Although, in his jobs since then at Besiktas and Watford - although you can’t really judge a manager for how they do at Watford - his two jobs since then haven’t gone to plan so that could be a red flag to Blackburn Rovers fans.

“Looking at their squad, if Ismael still decides to play with wing-backs in his 3-4-3, there are definitely a few there who I think would thrive off of that.

“John Eustace’s football wasn’t tiki-taka football either, so it might not be the most difficult transition to how Valerien Ismael wants to play with his team.

“I think it might be somewhat of a risk, but in terms of wanting someone with Championship experience he might be worth taking a chance on.”

Valerien Ismael's Championship managerial record

Ismael has had differing fortunes in charge of clubs in the second tier, with his spell at Oakwell seeing him produce a masterplan for success, with the previously relegation-threatened Tykes cantering into the top six four seasons ago.

In Yorkshire, the Frenchman won 23 of his 39 games in charge, and lost just eleven, with a front three of Daryl Dike, Cauley Woodrow and Carlton Morris proving to be an unstoppable physical force in their manager’s unique way of setting up his team.

It was no surprise that Albion wanted to pounce after Barnsley missed out in the play-offs, but after moving to the Black Country over the summer, Ismael couldn’t recreate the trick at the Hawthorns, with the Baggies struggling to adapt to life back in the second tier.

His time in the Midlands quickly turned sour though, with a run of three wins from 13 league games putting an end to his tenure after just seven months, despite going unbeaten in his first ten league matches in charge.

After a trip to Turkey, Ismael’s time back in England didn’t get any easier, as he thought he could be the man to finally calm the waters at Watford, but only went on to become the latest casualty in a never-ending saga at Vicarage Road.

Eleven wins from 36 wasn’t enough for the Pozzo family to be satisfied with his efforts in charge in Hertfordshire, with two wins in 13 seeing the Hornets slip down the table at an alarming rate, and seeing the man in the dugout given the axe.