Curwood Addresses Frustrating Transfer Window at Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers’ new chief executive Steve Curwood has stepped straight into the storm, defending a transfer window that left supporters angry and the squad looking light.
Four signings arrived. Seven players went out. Three deadline-day deals collapsed. No wonder Curwood admits “everyone is frustrated”.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, the 54-year-old did not try to sugar-coat it. Rovers pushed hard, he insisted, but were outmanoeuvred late on in the market.
“Deals were on the table,” he said. “Deals were agreed with players and clubs. We can talk about morals in football, maybe there aren't too many now and that's what's happened.
“We were gazumped at the last minute on a couple of deals, and one was a foreign one which took a bit more time than you would anticipate.”
Two of those failed moves, BBC Radio Lancashire understands, involved Reo Hatate, who instead joined Burnley, and Brian De Keersmaecker, who went to Bristol City. Both would have addressed key areas. Both slipped away when it mattered most.
Late Mowbray return, early damage
This was never going to be a straightforward summer at Ewood Park. Michael O’Neill had kept Blackburn in the Championship while juggling his role with Northern Ireland, then turned down the chance to take the job permanently in mid-May.
By the time the club turned back to Tony Mowbray, reappointing their former boss on 5 June, the clock was already ticking. Hard.
Curwood called the window “chaotic”, and pointed directly at timing.
“Ideally your manager will be in by the start of May to work out where are we going for next year,” he said. “So that timeline has been constrained somewhat, and then conflated by injuries.”
Rovers found themselves caught between two transfer strategies. Move early and secure what you can, or wait for first-choice targets and accept the risk.
“If you want to do your deals early, maybe you can't go after the best players sometimes,” Curwood said. “You've got to either wait and go for target number one with this risk, or cement one in the building because we know we can get him, like Jayden Fevrier for example.”
This time, they gambled on waiting. The market punished them.
Backing Mowbray’s vision – and paying the price
Curwood stressed that the board did not hold back financially.
“The investment has been there,” he said. “There hasn't been a reluctance (from the board). There has been collaboration throughout the process. I think at the final hurdle we haven't been able to get them over the line.
“Yes – it’s frustrating, we're frustrated, and Tony wanted that extra little bit of something which we haven't managed to do.”
Mowbray, he explained, was determined to be selective.
“We might highlight three or four targets, but Tony wants to make sure the people here want to be here and play for him.”
“Was it the wrong thing to do to push for the specific players Tony wanted? These things happen when you try to be specific, but none of us want to just bring in players to add bodies in the building.”
That stance will appeal to some supporters who value identity and commitment. Others will look at the depth chart and see a squad that feels one or two injuries away from trouble.
Outgoings, rejected bids and a “top-heavy” squad
Seven departures stripped numbers from the dressing room, yet Curwood stood by those calls, arguing that the squad needed reshaping regardless of the incoming shortfall.
“You've got to allow the manager to make certain decisions,” he said. “The squad list was top-heavy. Certain players needed game-time, like George Pratt going to Bradford.”
Blackburn also chose to resist interest in several key assets. BBC Radio Lancashire reports that offers were turned down for Ryoya Morishita, Sean McLoughlin, Balasz Toth, Yuki Ohashi and Ryan Alebiosu. In a summer where they struggled to land targets, Rovers at least drew a firm line in protecting what they already have.
That, though, only increases the pressure on those players to deliver in a leaner, more finely balanced group.
A whirlwind start – and a promise
Curwood arrived from League Two side Fleetwood Town just two months ago. He walked into a club mid-transition and straight into a transfer window that exposed every weakness in its processes.
“It's been a whirlwind since I arrived – with a transfer window, an administrator going to another club, and a senior physiotherapist leaving,” he said.
He has asked for patience, and time to put his own stamp on the operation.
“The first 90 days will give me time to reflect and bring some of the processes this club need to improve where we are. We'll be in a very different position moving into the next window, and beyond that.”
For now, the frustration lingers. The question is whether Mowbray and this trimmed, carefully chosen squad can keep the noise down long enough for Curwood to prove that promise right when the window opens again.
