Venky's took over at Ewood Park in November and have yet to convince they know the game, even if they talk a good one. This is a big season for Steve Kean

Guardian writers' prediction: 19th (NB: this is not Paul Doyle's prediction, but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 15th

Odds to win the league: 2,500-1

If you could bottle and sell the mood around Ewood Park, you'd be banged up for peddling toxic moonshine. Blame the Indian chicken barons who, since buying the club last November, have failed to produce the readies to genuinely pursue their grandiose ambitions. Ronaldinho? Champions League in four years? Dreaming is good, but to keep declaring your dreams while doing little to realise them is lame. And annoying. Most Blackburn fans are annoyed.

It is, of course, still early days in the Venky's reign and in the long run they may transpire to be visionaries. Perhaps it is just the firm's PR which is pants: the few signings made so far have showed more savviness than a communication campaign featuring long periods of silence interspersed with sporadic announcement of imminent greatness.

Ruben Rochina and Mauro Formica, respectively signed from Barcelona B and Newell's Old Boys in January, are brimming with potential and after six months of adaptation may be primed to become forces, or at least make more of a contribution than they did last term; likewise the pursuit of Dundee United's David Goodwillie, another promising player in his early 20s, seems a better bet than chasing a dwindling 'big name'.

Those three players seem well suited to producing the slick(er) football that Steve Kean is trying to provide. Recruitment has still, however, been insufficient, especially since the club pocketed £18m by flogging the man who could have become the bedrock of their defence, Phil Jones. As the squad stands, Blackburn are only a couple of injuries away from plummeting into another relegation fight.

On the other hand, if they reinforce before the transfer window closes or if they are spared ruinous injuries, Blackburn could be the season's surprise package: there is the skeleton of a good team there.

Paul Robinson is a competent goalkeeper and the back four is formidable – the central-defensive partnership of Ryan Nelsen and Chris Samba (assuming he stays) provides staunch protection. Gaël Givet generally copes well enough at left-back and on the right Michel Salgado has consistently proven his quality and commitment. Of course natural erosion will afflict the 35-year-old Spaniard at some stage, casting doubt on his ability to replicate the dynamism of last season, when he finished in the Premier League's top 10 both for tackles made and interceptions.

If Kean's attempts to progress the club beyond the Age of Allardyce are to succeed, the midfield must build on its promise. Martin Olsson and David Hoillet bring the sort of speed and slinkiness the manager seeks, though not yet on a consistent enough basis. Steven Nzonzi is another emerging talent. David Dunn, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Brett Emerton and Keith Andrews are still around to contribute experience, but they also slow the team down when they appear (usually off the bench), causing a disconnect between how Kean wants his team to play and how his resources allow them to. This is why it is so important that Rochina and Formica come to the party.

Goodwillie would also have to make a strong early impact. With Nikola Kalinic in iffy form and seemingly on the way out, Blackburn found goals hard to come by last season. The Croatian himself, Jason Roberts and Hoillet were the top scorers in the league, with only five apiece.

Kean's record so far is slightly better than Paul Ince's was at Ewood Park, however the positive end to last season – when Rovers secured survival by going unbeaten in their last four matches – suggests that, unlike under Ince, most of the key players believe in the manager and momentum is positive.

It is now up to the owners to show similar belief: they have given him a job, now they must give him enough tools to do it properly. Otherwise they risk rendering Kean as a lame duck. And Blackburn's goose could be cooked. And there will be many more puns like those.