, The season so far for Blackburn Rovers: Standout players? Areas to improve? January agenda?

The season so far for Blackburn Rovers: Standout players? Areas to improve? January agenda?

Blackburn Rovers have enjoyed a strong season so far, with Tony Mowbray’s side sitting in 4th place in the Championship.

Blackburn Rovers’ recent run of form has seen them propelled into the play-off spots.

Rovers sit in 4th place thanks to a run of four consecutive Championship wins and they’ve lost only once in their last nine games in the division. Tony Mowbray’s side have skirted around the play-off picture plenty in recent years but ended up falling off and into obscurity, so they will be determined to avoid that this season.

Here, we take a look at Blackburn Rovers’ season so far as the halfway point approaches…

Standout players?

It’s hard to look past Ben Brereton Diaz when assessing Blackburn’s star performers so far this season.

, The season so far for Blackburn Rovers: Standout players? Areas to improve? January agenda?

The Chilean sensation has been in stunning goalscoring form, netting 17 goals in 22 Championship games so far this season. His exploits in front of goal have softened the blow of losing Adam Armstrong in the summer and he hasn’t been showing any signs of slowing down.

Plenty of other Rovers players have earned their plaudits too. Club captain Darragh Lenihan has continued to play a key role for Mowbray’s side, while fellow defender Harry Pickering has settled into life at Ewood Park well.

Sam Gallagher’s eight goal contributions (five goals, three assists) have marked a decent start to the campaign for him too, even playing through injury at times.

Midfielders Lewis Travis and John Buckley have performed consistently too, while Joe Rothwell’s dynamic runs and creativity have been key assets as well.

Areas to improve?

With 37 goals in 22 games, Blackburn Rovers are the joint-second highest-scoring team in the Championship this season, so they can’t really do much more at the top of the pitch.

There have been some shaky moments defensively, though. A 7-0 loss to league leaders Fulham is the prime example of that, while there have also been some late goals conceded. Rovers conceded a decisive 84th-minute goal in the 3-2 loss to Huddersfield Town, threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Coventry City, and conceded in the 83rd minute to lose 1-0 against QPR – so more resilience when fighting to hold onto points late on could be improved on.

READ: Blackburn Rovers comment – 3 transfer alternatives Tony Mowbray should consider instead of Josh Maja

However, Mowbray’s side have shown more defensive resilience in recent weeks. Blackburn have gone four Championship games without conceding. Their recent defensive record coincides with a switch to a 3-4-1-2 formation, so Mowbray has warranted plenty of praise for making that change.

January agenda?

Despite their impressive record in front of goal, another striker wouldn’t go amiss.

After failing to bring in another striker after Armstrong’s summer departure, Rovers have been left light on options at the top of the pitch at times, so a new signing in that department should be on the agenda.

It could also be worth looking into sending some young talents out on loan. The likes of Hayden Carter and Dan Butterworth have been in and around the first-team, but it may be best for their development if they were to head out on loan in January.

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