Blackburn Rovers have added the much-requested experience to their ranks by confirming the acquisition of 36-year-old, central defender, Kyle McFadzean, who joins on a deal until the end of the season, via a free transfer, after departing Coventry City.
The veteran defender, who arrives at Ewood Park on a free transfer after seeing his contract terminated at the Sky Blues, will undoubtedly add the experience at the back that Jon Dahl Tomasson has been crying out for, since the summer. Furthermore, he will also provide further cover for Rovers’ defensive ranks from which Daniel Ayala, Ashley Phillips and James Hill have all departed from since last summer.
McFadzean, who turns 37 at the end of February, has a range of experience and has spent the last three and a half seasons playing for Mark Robins’ Coventry City in the Championship and is familiar with, both, Rovers and the division. The 6’1” centre-half, who was Mark Robins’ vice-captain for a majority of his time in the Midlands, was an integral part of the Sky Blues’ majestic rise through the divisions, which culminated in a defeat at Wembley in last season’s Championship playoff final, to Luton Town on penalties.
Born in Sheffield, McFadzean spent time in the Blades’ youth academy before being handed his debut by Neil Warnock in a League Cup tie as he replaced former Rover, Keith Gillespie in September 2005, yet, the defender was released from his contract upon the Blades’ relegation from the Premier League at the end of 2007, having never made another appearance for his hometown club.
With his career at a crossroads, McFadzean took three years away from football, before making a huge drop down from the top two tiers of professional football, to go and ply his trade at non-league level, as he linked up with then-Conference North side, Alfreton Town. During his time in Step 6, McFadzean – then 21 – was able to grow, both physically and mentally as he acclimatised to playing ‘men’s football’. He proved an instant hit in Derbyshire as he played 83 league games over three seasons, before interest from above helped the defender move up the pyramid.
After starting the 2010-11 season with Alfreton and playing the first two games of what would eventually be a Conference North league title-winning season for the Derbyshire side, McFadzean’s impressive performances saw Conference Premier’s Crawley Town take a chance on the defender, which proved fruitful, as he led them to promotion to League Two in his first season. After another eye-catching debut season for his new club, McFadzean earnt the rare achievement of back-to-back promotions as his impressive displays at the back, which included 12 clean-sheets, saw Crawley rocket into League One for the 2012-13 season. After the Reds finished an impressive 10th in the Third Tier, despite having an injury hit first season in League One, McFadzean came back in 2013-14 to again stave off the threat of relegation, playing in 42 of the 46 league games for the Red Devils.
Now 27, the defender was again showing the importance of his experience as he won a move up the table as Karl Robinson acquired his services for MK Dons, for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2014. Again, McFadzean’s winning touch was applied to the Dons, who won promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history come the end of his maiden season, as the star-studded MK Dons team – who also beat Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United, 4-0 in the League Cup – which included Dele Alli, Benik Afobe and Will Grigg finished 2nd in League One in McFadzean’s first season. Whilst McFadzean’s first season in the Championship proved to be tough, as MK Dons’ lack of investment in their squad – eight free transfers – saw them go straight back down, the defender did catch the eye with some solid individual displays, which included ten clean-sheets, with one coming in a 3-0 home win over Rovers at Stadium:mk.
As Milton Keynes dropped, Burton Albion’s rise into the second tier saw them take the defender off the young club’s hands. Managed by experienced head, Nigel Clough, McFadzean again showed his class and experience as the under-pressure Albion managed to fight off relegation, despite all pundits tipping them to go down. That successful first season in the Championship in 2016-17, wasn’t replicated as they fell through the trap door in 2017-18, despite McFadzean playing a total of 73 Championship games for the Yellows and keeping 20 clean-sheets over his stint in the second tier.
In May 2018, with his contract set to expire with Burton in the June, it was announced that McFadzean had agreed a pre-contract agreement with then-League One upcomers, Coventry City ahead of 2019-20. His arrival at the Sky Blues proved a masterstroke, as despite his debut season across the Midlands ending in curtailment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coventry City were awarded the League One title on Points Per Game, as they returned to the Championship with Mark Robins achieving two promotions with City.
As Coventry City grew under Mark Robins, McFadzean’s experience became a crucial base for the Sky Blues’ success as they took the Championship by storm after returning following their nine-year absence. The experienced defender took on a leadership role within Robins’ dressing room as he was also awarded with the vice-captaincy. As their confidence and experience of the division grew, McFadzean was a great help as Coventry survived their first season back – with no supporters in the ground – as they finished 16th, before finishing 12th in 2021-22. As part of such a stellar defence, McFadzean was part of a back three that included reigning Rovers Player of the Year, Dominic Hyam and current Stoke City defender, Michael Rose.
Moving into 2022-23, with Rovers picking up Hyam, Coventry were forced to adapt as the shrewd operator Mark Robins began setting out replacing the holes in his defence, to which he succeeded as McFadzean formed part of another successful defence as Coventry stormed to 5th place and made it to the Championship playoff final, despite losing to Luton Town on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Coventry soon earnt a windfall of cash in the summer of 2023, as they moved into 2023-24 after selling Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyökeres for a combined fee of around £35m, Mark Robins was able to manoeuvre more freely in the transfer market, which led to a reduction in minutes for the experienced McFadzean.
Alongside his club career, McFadzean has also forayed internationally, having played four games and notching one goal for England’s C team back in 2009, making his debut against Hungary under-23s.
Despite only playing in 15 games this season, the towering defender, who is also a threat at set-pieces – and has a 1 in 3 clean-sheet record – will be looking to earn the game time he desires, which is what led to him agreeing a mutual termination of his Coventry contract, to allow him to move north to East Lancashire.
As Rovers now look to add a sprinkling of experience to their technical, but youthful ranks, it remains to be seen how Jon Dahl Tomasson utilises the veteran defender, alongside Scott Wharton, Dominic Hyam and new signing, Connor O’Riordan and whether a switch in system, like was seen against Wrexham AFC in the FA Cup, will be favoured.
Welcome, Kyle!
