Blackburn began the season dizzy with dreams of gatecrashing the English Premier League's elite. Instead, their inconsistent campaign has left manager Mark Hughes increasingly frustrated.
Hughes admits he has found the campaign a chore, and no wonder given the way his talented squad has failed to fire.
The addition of the impressive Paraguay international Roque Santa Cruz has been tempered by Benni McCarthy -- recently dropped in favor of Matt Derbyshire -- losing the consistency which made him such a startling success last term.
PHOTO: AFP
Even more worryingly, Rovers appear to have lost their famed obduracy. Santa Cruz scored a hat-trick in Blackburn's last league outing last Saturday, but it was still not enough to overpower Wigan, who fired five goals in reply.
And that has been the story of Blackburn's season so far. Solid victories over Reading and Newcastle have been juxtaposed by wretched results -- and performances -- against clubs Rovers would normally expect to crush.
Rolling with the highs and lows has inflicted significant damage, and not just on the club's bid to qualify for Europe. Confidence has also been dented, with Ryan Nelsen, the New Zealand defender, revealing he has been driven to insomnia.
"A bad run hurts us badly and we think 24 hours a day about how we can put it right," said the 30-year-old defender. "It's not like we go home and forget about it."
"I didn't get any sleep after the Arsenal game in the League Cup last week. You just end up taking the game home with you," he said. "My son is five weeks old, but the sleepless nights haven't been because of him. Sometimes, I'll get home after a game and sit on the couch with him for a couple of hours."
"I didn't think it was possible, but the manager has gone greyer over the last few weeks, but he and the coaching staff are doing everything possible to remedy the situation," Nelsen said.
That is easier said than done. Chelsea are the visitors to Ewood Park today and although defeat to Arsenal last Sunday stripped the gloss from Avram Grant's impressive managerial record, his team returned to their formidable best last Wednesday with a 2-0 victory in the League Cup quarter-finals over Liverpool.
That victory was teed up by Frank Lampard's opening goal and the midfielder now needs just one more to complete his century for the west London club.
Lampard may have fallen out of love with the vast majority of English soccer supporters, thanks to some lackluster performances for his country in their doomed Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, but his relationship with Chelsea remains as affectionate as ever.
Now, as he stands on the brink of his milestone, Grant has paid tribute to a man he considers to be his side's heartbeat.
"Frank is a great player, a great professional. He has a lot of qualities and one of them is to score a lot of goals," he said.
"I don't think there is another midfielder who has scored this number of goals but from his position in the midfield he has a lot of assists and he defends well," Grant said.
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