What to expect from Valerien Ismael at Blackburn Rovers: Background, tactics, play style

Blackburn Rovers have appointed Valerien Ismael as their new head coach with the club aiming to end their 13-year absence from the Premier League.

In comparison to his predecessor John Eustace, Ismael has landed on his feet with Blackburn currently perched sixth in the Championship table with just 12 matches of the season remaining.

We've assessed Ismael's managerial credentials and looked at the impact he may have at Ewood Park.

Valerien Ismael managerial background and achievements

A centre-back by trade, Ismael represented the likes of Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Lens, Werder Bremen and even Bayern Munich during a 16-year playing career.

The Frenchman transitioned into coaching following his retirement at Hannover 96 and assumed an assistant general manager role from October 2009, a position he held until 2011 when he became the manager of Hannover's second team.

A switch to VfL Wolfsburg II beckoned in 2013 and his success with the Regionalliga Nord outfit prompted 1.FC Nurnberg to acquire his services. Ismael's stint in Bavaria proved an unfruitful one and he was dismissed six months into his tenure, opening the door to a return to Wolfsburg's second-string side.

His position with the Volkswagen-owned club resulted in him replacing Dieter Hecking on an interim basis in 2016 and after a successful trial spell, Ismael was named Wolfsburg's permanent manager a month later. This proved to be another short-lived stint, with Wolfsburg deciding to part company after three months.

Ismael relocated to Greece in 2018 where he joined Apollon Smyrnis but even by his standards, his time with the Greek Super League side was brief as he left the club with only one league match under his belt.

A far more successful venture with Austrian outfit LASK Linz beckoned in 2019 and Ismael guided the team to successes in Europe, having steered them to the last-16 of the Europa League before bowing out to Manchester United.

From the Danube to the Dearne, Ismael walked through the doors of struggling Barnsley and transformed the Tykes from relegation contenders to promotion hopefuls. Achieving a play-off berth, Ismael received a multitude of plaudits for his high-energy style as they were narrowly conquered by Swansea City in the semi-finals.

Ismael's success at Oakwell resulted in a switch to West Brom and despite plenty of early promise, he left the club by mutual consent just eight months into his four-year contract.

A two-month stint with Besiktas was the next item on Ismael's agenda before the Frenchman returned to England in the summer of 2023 to take charge of Watford.

Renowned for their merciless fire-and-hire approach, Ismael survived Watford's chopping block for 10 months until he was dismissed in March 2024 with the Hornets languishing in the bottom-half of the standings.

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Valerien Ismael formation, tactics and philosophy

Discipline and hard work are two of Ismael's key principles and they were significant components in Barnsley's ascendancy under the Frenchman's tutelage in 2020/21.

A diligent operator, Ismael implemented a direct style focused on territorial gains during his time with Barnsley and West Brom but with Watford, there was a dramatic style shift as he prioritised possession and control of the game.

His work at Barnsley and West Brom was not aesthetically pleasing, and his pragmatism was a considerably better fit for the Tykes than it was the promotion-chasing Baggies.

Out of possession Barnsley were relentless with Ismael at the helm. Opponents that attempted to play out from the back were immediately suffocated and if Barnsley retrieved possession, they'd concoct an attack swiftly.

While it worked wonders at Oakwell, Ismael's methods became all too predictable at West Brom. The Frenchman refused to deviate from a rigid setup and the Albion's form eventually deteriorated, culminating in his departure.

At Watford, he started strongly with a possession based approach at a slower tempo. When results started to decline and Ismael conducted an inquest after a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland, Watford's possession stats dropped from 58% to 49% but their attacking output increased. It remained pragmatic, but demonstrated Ismael was not afraid to make significant alterations to achieve results.

Ismael's displayed great variance in shape having alternated between a defensive three and a straight back four across his stints in the Championship, although it's a 4-3-3 formation which appears to be of his preference and that may best accommodate Blackburn's key personnel.

Who will play under Valerien Ismael?

Ismael will be eager to hit the ground running with the visit of another play-off contender in Norwich City being his first assignment.

Blackburn had responded to the departure of John Eustace with vigour by recording successive 2-0 wins over West Brom and Plymouth Argyle but they were lacklustre in their previous outing, succumbing to a 3-0 loss against managerless Swansea City.

Four of his first five fixtures encounter teams in the bottom eight of the standings and while Ismael is likely to prioritise defensive solidity, he will be seeking attacking returns.

Although Tyrhys Dolan's contract dispute remains unresolved, the effervescent winger will be key to Blackburn's run in and Ismael will afford him the creative licence to carry the ball forward and get shots off at goal.

Todd Cantwell is another with the skillset to flourish under Ismael's supervision and John Buckley's ball-carrying ability may result in him accompanying Cantwell as an eight, while Lewis Travis will continue to anchor Blackburn's midfield.

Makhtar Gueye will likely inherit the responsibility of leading the line and it will be his work off the ball that will come under the microscope.

In defence, Blackburn appear to possess a settled back four in Callum Brittain, Dion Sanderson, Dom Hyam and Yuri Ribeiro, with Brittain previously working under Ismael at Barnsley.

Possible strongest Blackburn Rovers starting XI under Ismael (4-3-3): Pears; Brittain, Sanderson, Hyam, Ribeiro; Travis, Buckley, Cantwell; Dolan, Gueye, Cozier-Duberry.