The team that Jack built

Former Blackburn Rovers chairman Jack Walker and lifelong fan and benefactor built a team with one purpose in mind…to win the Premiership Title.

Vital Blackburn Rovers member Clint made this recent comment, among other things:

“Jack Walker built a team for one thing – to win the Premiership! That was achieved without spending over the odds, unlike Leeds did to there costs, it shows it could be done, although granted the money back 10/11yrs ago was pocket change for a certain Roman!...”

So who where the individuals that Uncle Jack brought in from the very beginning of his reign as chairman up to and including the last man signed, Jeff Kenna in March of the Premiership winning season?

1991-1992 Season
Steve Agnew (Barnsley) – £700,000 – 25-06-1991
Stuart Munro (Rangers) – £350,000 – 12-08-1991
Alan Wright (Blackpool) – £400,000 – 25-10-1991
Colin Hendry (Man City) – £700,000 – 08-11-1991
Mike Newell (Everton) – £1,100,000 – 15-11-1991
Gordon Cowans (Aston Villa) – £200,000 – 28-11-1991
Russell Beardsmore (Man Utd) – (loan) – 19-12-1991
Tim Sherwood (Norwich) – £500,000 – 12-02-1992
Duncan Shearer (Swindon) – £800,000 – 27-03-1992
Matt Dickins (Lincoln) – £250,000 – 27-03-1992

1992-1993 Season
Lee Makel (Newcastle) – £160,000 – 20-07-1992
Stuart Ripley (Middlesbrough) – £1,300,000 – 20-07-1992
Alan Shearer (Southampton) – £3,600,000 – 24-07-1992
Patrik Andersson (Malmo) – 01-08-1992
Wayne Burnett (Leyton Orient) – £80,000 – 19-08-1992
Nicky Marker (Plymouth) – £250,000 – 01-09-1992
Micky Evans (Plymouth) – (Loan) – 25-09-1992
Simon Ireland (Huddersfield) – £200,000 – 03-11-1992
Henning Berg (Lillestrom) – £400,000 – 26-01-1993
Kevin Gallacher (Coventry) – £1,500,000 – 22-03-1993
Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea) – £700,000 – 25-03-1993

1993-1994 Season
Andy Morrison (Plymouth) – £500,000 – 05-08-1993
Paul Harford (Arsenal) – Free – 24-08-1993
Paul Warhurst (Sheff Wed) – £2,700,000 – 11-09-1993
Ian Pearce (Chelsea) – £300,000 – 04-10-1993
David Batty (Leeds) – £2,750,000 – 26-10-1993
Tim Flowers (Southampton) – £2,400,000 – 04-11-1993

1994-1995 Season
Chris Sutton (Norwich) – £5,000,000 – 13-07-1994
Robbie Slater (Lens) – £300,000 – 04-08-1994
Shay Given (Celtic) – Free – 08-08-1994
Tony Gale (Wealdstone) – Free – 11-08-1994
Tony Carss (Bradford) – Free – 29-08-1994
Jeff Kenna (Southampton) – £1,500,000 – 15-03-1995

So to achieve his dream of winning the Premiership Title Jack Walker brought in 38 players (including two loan moves) at a cost of approximately £30 million (I`m not sure of the fee involved for Patrik Andersson?) over the course of four complete seasons up to and including the Championship winning season. The amount was a huge amount back then, from the early to mid 1990`s, but it was money well spent on players that played for each other and wanted to be a team.

It wasn’t a case of all these players being utilised, but most along with some already in place, the likes of Bobby Mimms all played a prominent part in Rovers’ rise forward which ultimately saw Uncle Jack’s biggest dream, and a dream he had PROMISED at any expense both literally and figuratively be achieved, winning the 1994-1995 Premiership Title.

Although the big money signings Walkers money paid for did play a vital role in the winning of the Premiership Title, people like Alan Wright, Colin Hendry, Tim Sherwood, Henning Berg, Graeme Le Saux, Ian Pearce, Robbie Slater and Tony Gale all arrived for little or no money and had an equally important, if not more so important part to play in the building up to and winning of the Premiership crown.

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