This feature first appeared in the June 2020 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe now to get 5 issues for just £5
Interview: Chris Flanagan
Blackburn Rovers paid £25,000 to sign me from Dundee back in 1987. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you where Blackburn was at the time. Don Mackay brought me in to be a centre-back, but sometimes I’d play centre-forward in the early days. Not long after I arrived, I scored the winner in the Full Members’ Cup final against Charlton. Not many Scottish players have scored a winner in a Wembley cup final. We were a mid-table side in the Second Division, and never in my wildest dreams did I believe we could be champions of England one day. There were so many bigger clubs than Blackburn.
Soon, though, I became aware of Jack Walker. At first, he had more of a behind-the-scenes role. He had helped the club sign Steve Archibald from Barcelona and Ossie Ardiles from Tottenham – no mean feat for Blackburn back then. We made the play-offs two seasons in a row, but didn’t go up. We were competing with top teams – Chelsea beat us in the first year, then Crystal Palace with Ian Wright.
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In 1989, I moved to Manchester City for £750,000. Blackburn needed the money and City were a big club. But a couple of years later, Peter Reid signed Keith Curle and wanted to let me go. I still had unfinished business at Blackburn, and they agreed to pay City what they’d spent on me – £750,000.
By then, Walker had officially taken over the club and Kenny Dalglish was the manager. Kenny had left Liverpool after Hillsborough and was available – but bringing him in was a big statement... a masterstroke. He was my idol as well. I think he’s Scotland’s greatest-ever footballer.
Kenny was always going to attract players to the club, and Jack was spending money. He was developing the club to bring it up to the top level, and had three new stands built at Ewood Park. There were other clubs trying to do it too, like Derby and Wolves – Sir Jack Hayward was throwing money at the latter – but both failed miserably.
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We would train on playing fields at Pleasington, dodging the dog s**t and putting the goals up ourselves. Occasionally, a funeral procession drove past on its way to Pleasington Crematorium, so we would stop the session and show our respects. The facilities weren’t luxurious, but they never harmed us – and Kenny loved it. He had a great partnership with Ray Harford, who was an outstanding coach.
In Kenny’s first season, we beat Leicester in the 1992 Second Division Play-Off Final to get into the new Premier League. From there, I think Jack said there was a five-year plan to play in Europe. Within three, we had won the league.
Alan Shearer arrived after promotion – but to be honest, we didn’t know a lot about him at that point. David Speedie joined Southampton as part of the deal, and many people couldn’t understand why he had to leave – he’d been the catalyst for Blackburn getting promoted. But without Alan, we wouldn’t have won the title.
On Fridays, we played five-a-side and Alan would always be on the same team as Kenny – you can imagine how hard it was to play them, particularly as Harford wouldn’t let anybody put a tackle in! He’d say, ‘If anybody f**king tackles, you’re getting sent back in!’ How can you not tackle?! But it made me a better player – it was a test every time.
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