Mirroring the rivalry of the clubs, in 1900 the Blackburn Press took on the Burnley Press at Ewood Park. It isn’t known who won. © Cottontown

Gone for good as a league side in that summer was their oldest rivals; Darwen. They had been relegated from Division Two in 1898/99 after losing eighteen games in a row (still a record) and conceding an enormous 141 league goals in 34 games (that’s over four goals conceded each game!). By the time the season had finished they had secured just two wins (that equates to one win every seventeen games) and a pitiful nine points. Their goal difference was a since unmatched minus 119. Quite simply, Darwen that season had the worst league campaign any team has ever had. These awful records have not been matched in incompetence since and are unlikely to be so. Unsurprisingly they didn’t apply for re-election and have not been close to being a league side since and so ended Darwen as the first major rivals of Blackburn Rovers. In the future Rovers would look to Burnley, Preston, Bury, Bolton and even Blackpool for some Lancashire challenges.

The league form was once again back to the level of disappointing in the 1899/1900 season, in results if not style. Despite improvements in performance they were a very inconsistent side and tended to follow a good run up with an immediately proceeding bad run. The league team of the 1890s Aston Villa once again won the league. Attendances as usual varied alarmingly but proof of the growing and burgeoning rivalry was evident as the two league games attracted the highest home crowds of the season for each club. Almost thirteen thousand saw the Rovers battle on unrewardingly at Turf Moor during Burnley’s 1-0 win.

Not that it was a good season for Burnley or indeed the other main rivals, Preston North End. The first game of the twentieth century for Blackburn Rovers was at home to Burnley on 1st January 1900. It was a great start to a new century as they won 2-0 in front of 14,000 fans thanks to goals from Dewhurst and Briercliffe. The new century was less than twenty four hours old before Rovers had shown those wannabes from Burnley just who the best owned the local bragging rights. At the end of the season Burnley were relegated after finishing second from bottom. This time they would not bounce straight back. The Clarets would not be back in the top flight for over a decade. Happy New Century Lads! It could be said that Rovers did not help them too much. They had played their last match of the season away to Preston and lost 2-0. That win took Preston above Burnley on that very last day of the season and therefore sent their Claret-and-blue clad rivals down. Two years after Burnley’s action saved Rovers (albeit that was not why they advocated the expansion of the league), the blue and whites proved unable to repay the favour.