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. manager on 29 September 2012. History of Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers are an English football club formed in 1875. The first match played by Blackburn Rovers took place in Church, Lancashire on 11 December 1875. On 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association. On 1 November 1879 the club played in the FA Cup for the first time, beating the Tyne Association Football Club 5–1. Rovers were eventually put out of the competition in the third round after suffering a heavy 6–0 defeat by Nottingham Forest. During the 1881–82 season,