Alan Shearer season. Speculation of a transfer to Liverpool, who finished the season as FA Cup winners, also came to nothing. During the middle of 1992, Southampton's manager, Ian Branfoot, became "the most popular manager in English football", as he took telephone calls from clubs "trying to bargain with players they don't want plus cash". Although Branfoot accepted that a sale was inevitable, he claimed that "whatever happens, we are in the driving seat". In July 1992, Shearer was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3.6 million, with David Speedie reluctantly moving to The Dell as part of the deal.
History of Blackburn Rovers F.C. to the position of Director of Football at the end of the championship season, and handed over the reins to his assistant Ray Harford (1945–2003). Alan Shearer was sold to hometown club Newcastle United for a then world record fee of £15million in the summer of 1996. Rovers failed to win in their opening 10 games of the 1996–97 Premiership and Harford resigned. They were relegated in 1998-99. They were promoted back to the Premier League in 2000–01. In 2001–02 they won their first-ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. In 2004–05 they