Sammie Szmodics scored his 20th league goal of the season on Tuesday as he extended his lead at the top of the scoring charts, but with Blackburn Rovers sat just two points above the drop zone, could he become the first ever Championship golden boot winner to be relegated in the same season?
The Rovers relied on a Szmodics equaliser to salvage a point at home to Millwall on Tuesday, a result which means they have just one win in their last 15 league games. That run has resulted in a fall down the Championship table that has gone from a tricky period to now a real relegation scrap. They were 11 points above the relegation spots on Christmas Day but just two and a half months later sit 17th and a perilous two points above 22nd placed Stoke City.
Former manager Jon Dahl Tomasson left the club by mutual agreement midway through February following a topsy turvy 18-month spell in charge at Ewood Park. Having taken Blackburn to the play-offs last season, he was unable to repeat the feat this time around. John Eustace was the man tasked with changing the team’s fortunes for the final four months of the season but is yet to find a victory since taking over. Ironically Blackburn’s only win in 15 came under the interim management of Damien Johnson.
Eustace, who many felt was wrongly let go by Birmingham City in October, has adapted the Blackburn system from a back four to his favoured back five since his arrival. And despite the lack of results so far there are certainly positives to take from his seven games in charge. Firstly, the settled nature of his side should allow for relationships to build on the pitch, especially within the back three that has mostly consisted of Dominic Hyam, Kyle McFadzean and Scott Wharton. Those three have given the side a base to stay in games for long periods even if they have not gone on to get the desired result.
Above all though, Sammie Szomdics is almost certainly the reason Rovers are not in an even more precarious position. The 28-year-old has proven himself as a quality operator in the EFL in previous years but never to this extent. He has primarily been deployed in one of the two attacking ‘10’ roles behind a striker such as Sam Gallagher, or as the number nine himself. This has allowed him to get into more promising goalscoring positions higher up the pitch and almost quadruple his tally of seven from last season. His poacher-like instincts in front of goal have come at a crucial time for him and for Blackburn and if they are to stay in the division he’ll certainly be pivotal to them doing so.
Szmodics does face the possible outcome of holding the golden boot at a title celebration at King Power Stadium on May 4th, although he’ll be hoping the Lancastrian emotion in the away end is one of relief and not dismay due to a gutting relegation. He could be the first to suffer relegation while winning the golden boot in any of England’s professional divisions in 50 years. Southampton’s Mick Channon was the last player to experience it, as he netted 21 times in the 1973/74 Division One season while his side finished 20th and dropped to Division Two. Szmodics would however be the first in the second tier.
Although while it would be quite a remarkable achievement for Szmodics to win the top goalscorer’s award in a turbulent campaign down the lower end of the Championship table, he would certainly trade any personal honours for a guaranteed place in the division next season. That’s what he and John Eustace will be striving for in the coming weeks, starting with a huge game at home to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, who themselves have gotten dragged into this mammoth relegation scrap which realistically now includes at least nine clubs.
The £18 million January sale of Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace has probably cost Blackburn on the pitch but should give Eustace a strong summer budget if he is to keep his side in the Championship this season. Recent sales of academy graduates such as Ashley Phillips, who will return to Ewood on Saturday with Plymouth, have also proven there is good foundations and long-term planning possible at Blackburn Rovers. Although good planning and future proofing is not necessarily worth it if it comes at the expense of a drop to League One. Rovers are not favourites to fall into the bottom three currently but with every week that goes by without a win for John Eustace, relegation looms to an even greater extent.
