Moments that shaped English football: No. 6 Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers – May 14th, 1995.
With every year that passes the 1994-95 season becomes the most fascinating of anomalies on the graph that is Premier League performance over the last 19 years. As Manchester United were in the process of winning four of five titles between 1992 and 1997, the emergence of Blackburn Rovers, albeit fleetingly, looks to remain the most unlikely of stories in the history of the Premier League.
The truth is at the time, Blackburn’s victory was not the underdog story that it now appears. Manager Kenny Dalglish was given what was then a vast sum of money by Rovers owner Jack Walker to bring in re-enforcements to a squad that began the Premier League era with promotion from the second tier of English football. The purchases of Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer, created what was briefly the most feared partnership in the division, and a second place finish in 1993-94 hinted at the potential of the men from Ewood Park.
The last day of the following campaign will go down as one of the most dramatic in the history of the division. Blackburn visited Liverpool in the knowledge that only a victory would guarantee a first league title in 81 years. United needed to win to maintain pressure on the Lancashire club, but with a trip to struggling West Ham their final day assignment, that result appeared a formality.
Nevertheless, Blackburn started well – Alan Shearer netting his 34th goal of a prolific season, looking to rule United’s result irrelevant. Dalglish’s men had won only two of their previous five leading into the Anfield clash and the strike of their top marksman settled the nerves of the visiting contingent.
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As news of Shearer’s goal rang round Upton Park, West Ham capitalised on some slack defending and distracted minds to tip the balance of power further towards Blackburn.
If it had appeared the race was run, the second half would prove to be anything but a formality. Brian McClair nodded in an equaliser for the champions, United, and lay siege to the Hammers’ goal in the hope that one more strike could wrest the title from Blackburn’s grasp if Liverpool could themselves find a goal.
Half an hour passed without further notable action in either game, and as the clock ticked towards the final five minutes of the season, it appeared that Blackburn had done enough to weather the threat posed by English football’s two most successful sides. Then, disaster, in the form of a John Barnes equaliser left Dalglish’s men completely at the mercy of the result in London.
When Sir Alex Ferguson looks back at the very small list of regrets during his time at Old Trafford, the inability of his team to muster a winning goal against a committed but limited West Ham side that afternoon, may well be top of his list – a handful of frantic goalmouth scrambles the only reward for constant second half pressure that afternoon.
Further north, a Jamie Redknapp free-kick turned what had been a carnival atmosphere into a funeral procession. However, as the players trudged back for the restart news of United’s failure to score at Upton Park was transmitted to the supporters and the party began – a stray fan kissing a bemused Dalglish as the players accepted the congratulations of the victorious Liverpool side.
For Blackburn, this was the start of a very sharp decline. Dalglish relinquished control at the end of the season, and within four years the club were out of the top-flight, having lost a number of their prized assets in their slip down the league.
Owner, Jack Walker, who had made it is personal goal to bring the league title to Ewood, died in 2000 – destined never to see his beloved hometown club back in the top-flight.
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