Blackburn Rovers F.C. Under-23s and Academy

Blackburn Rovers F.C. Academy and Under-23s are the youth teams of Blackburn Rovers. The Blackburn Rovers Academy holds Category One status. The current manager of the Under 23's side is Billy Barr, who was appointed following Damien Johnson's promotion to First Team Technical Football Director. Billy Barr has managed several youth sides at Blackburn, including most recently the Under 18's, and many of the players now playing under him at 23's level have played for him for many years. The team play in the Premier League 2 Division 1, after gaining promotion from the Premier League 2 Division 2 in the 2017/18 season.

Blackburn Rovers Academy and Under-23s
Full nameBlackburn Rovers Academy and Under-23s
Nickname(s)Rovers, Blue and Whites, The Riversiders[1]
Founded1875 (1875)
GroundCounty Ground (Leyland), Leyland, Lancashire
Capacity~2,300
Head of AcademyStuart Jones
U23 Lead CoachDamien Johnson
LeaguePremier League 2
U18 Premier League


Under-23s team

Blackburn Rovers Under-23s play in the Premier League 2 Division 1.

Damien Johnson is the former manager the Under-23. His predecessor, Eric Kinder left the role to take over as the club's Head of Academy. Kinder was appointed Gary Bowyer's replacement following his appointment as first team manager following two successful caretaker spells. However, the new current head of Academy at Blackburn Rovers is Stuart Jones. The Under 23s play their home games at The Lancashire FA County Ground at Leyland, Preston.

The team now is mainly consistent of players poached from local academies like Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton. Several Under 23's players have recently made the step up into Tony Mowbray's first team, including Lewis Travis, John Buckley, Joe Rankin-Costello and Joe Grayson (son of former Blackburn player - now Blackpool manager Simon Grayson).

The Academy

Blackburn Rovers Academy holds Category One status, the highest possible. The club maintained this status in a full audit which took place during the 2017/18 season. The Academy trains at Brockhall training village, the same location as the first team and the Under 23s. It also provides a stepping stone for youngsters to progress to the highest levels of football at Blackburn Rovers producing high quality players in the past. Former players such as Damien Duff, Phil Jones, Damien Johnson, James Beattie, Neil Danns, Jonathan Walters, and Anthony Pilkington were all nurtured in The Academy. Current professional football players also include Jason Lowe, Martin Olsson, Grant Hanley, Josh Morris, Adam Henley, Connor Mahoney and Jack O'Connell. Recent graduates such as Lewis Travis, Ryan Nyambe and David Raya all play for or played for Blackburn Rovers first team in the Championship today.

History & Facilities

In January 1991, British industrialist and businessman Jack Walker a lifelong fan of Blackburn Rovers completed the takeover of the club. In the following years, the Brockhall Village Academy, was constructed at a cost of approximately £4.75 million. The centre included state of the art facilities on a par with top training facilities elsewhere in Europe. It includes 6 full-size pitches, indoor training facilities, an indoor running track, outdoor running "hill", a swimming pool, goalkeeper training facilities as well as accommodation for the youth players.

Blackburn Rovers India Academy

On 19 November 2010, Pune based chicken meat processing, and pharmaceutical company, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Private Limited., completed the takeover of Blackburn Rovers, under the name Venky's London Limited.[2][3]

One of the companies early ambitions was to open an Academy back in their home nation of India. Managing director, told The Indian Express newspaper the club was planning a centre of excellence near Pune which is 100 km (60 miles) from Mumbai.

"We are getting an academy and a stadium in Pune," Venky's B. Balaji Rao was quoted as saying. "The site is near the Mumbai-Pune highway and will be ready in a year-and-a-half or two years." Rao said the academy, on the outskirts of the city, will be run exactly like a Rovers' training centre at Brockhall in northwest England, taking players from the age of 11 and 12. As of 2016 however no academy or stadium has been constructed.[4]

Squads

Development Squad
As of 10 August 2019[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  ENG Jordan Eastham
— GK  ENG Andy Fisher
— GK  ENG Joe Hilton
— DF  GIB Louie Annesley
— DF  ENG Sam Barnes
— DF  ENG Hayden Carter
— DF  ENG Joe Grayson
— DF  ENG Tyler Magloire
— DF  NIR Lewis Thompson
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG John Buckley
— MF  ENG Tyrhys Dolan
— MF  NIR Brad Lyons
— MF  ESP Stefan Mols
— MF  CAN Ben Paton
— MF  ENG Joe Rankin-Costello
— MF  ENG Tom White (on loan at Bolton Wanderers)
— FW  ENG Daniel Butterworth
— FW  WAL Jack Vale

Academy (Under-18s)
As of August 10, 2019.[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  ENG Aidan Dowling
— DF  FRA Flavien Boyomos
— DF  ENG Lenni Cirino
— DF  IDN Joe Ferguson
— DF  ENG Jake Garrett
— DF  ENG Daniel Pike
— DF  ENG Isaac Whitehall
— DF  ENG George Wyatt
— MF  ENG Alex Baker
— MF  ENG Luke Brennan
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG Sam Burns
— MF  ENG James Connolly
— MF  HKG Jay Haddow
— MF  ENG Sam Durrant
— MF  AUS Zak Gilsenan
— MF  ENG Jared Harlock
— MF  ENG Ben Pleavin
— MF  FRA Jalil Saadi
— FW  ENG Brandon Lonsdale

Noted graduates

Blackburn Rovers' youth system has been successful over the years, many players who have come through it have gone on to feature in the first-team and make an impact or progress in the 1st teams of other clubs in the future.

Current/Former Rovers first teamers

Other notable academy graduates
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References
  1. "Nicknames". Club Nicknames. The-Football-Club.com. 2 August 2009. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  2. "Rovers Takeover Complete - Financial Document" (PDF). Rovers.co.uk. Blackburn Rovers. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  3. "Venky's spent £23m to buy Blackburn". deccanchronicle.com. Deccan Chronicle. 21 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  4. "Blackburn to set up Indian academy". Fifa.com. Football Association. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  5. "Development Squad". Blackburn Rovers Official Site. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. "Under-18s". rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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