Shearer worse appointment than Kean for next Blackburn boss

Tottenham have reportedly denied Blackburn permission to speak to first-team coach Tim Sherwood about taking over as manager at the club he captained to Premier League glory.

The former England international is second-favourite to land the position and can be backed as short as 13/8 with Ladbrokes. The bookies are expecting the unpopular Venky’s hierarchy to turn to an Ewood legend in order to win back favour on the terraces.

Sherwood has already moved to distance himself from a return to his old club in favour of remaining in his current job at Tottenham.

The 43-year-old, who made 246 appearances for the Rovers in seven years, would be a huge hit with the fans despite his lack of managerial experience, though anyone who isn’t Steve Kean is likely to be welcomed with open arms.

Another Rovers icon who is sure to excite the fans is Alan Shearer; the only man currently ahead of Sherwood in the betting at 5/4.

Goal-machine Shearer notched an incredible 112 goals in 138 appearances for the Lancashire club, but his managerial statistics fell short when he had a dabble at saving Newcastle from relegation.

He picked up one win in eight which, obviously, wasn’t enough to save the Toon from the Premier League trap door.

This next appointment is crucial in Blackburn’s future as teams who fail to bounce back to the big time at the first attempt often see themselves devolve into perennial play-off chasers in England’s second tier; see Blackpool, Hull and Middlesbrough for the most recent examples.

Bearing this in mind, Rovers would be better served going with a completely untried manager if they’re not looking for an experienced campaigner, given the hash of things Shearer made on Tyneside. Plus, they’d do well to prise him away from his cushy job of saying nothing insightful on Match of the Day.

However, with the team sitting one point off the pace in the Championship standings and, boasting one of the strongest attacks in the division, whoever assumes control of the good ship Blackburn will be better placed to achieve promotion this season than most others.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date