Second midfielder

[Blackburn Ender]

I voted for Forrest first time round, so I'll have him again.

Five winners medals in the FA Cup, old black 'n' white photos of "the Northern horde" going to London....up for t'cup...

He starred in two great teams playing a major part in establishing Rovers as one of the famous clubs, with a glorious past that, like the 1995 feat, can never be taken away from us, no matter what they call their daft competitions these days.

[Tango]

Reading through those assessments again has made my mind up for me. Forrest gets the vote.

[LeChuck]

It's between Latherton and Sherwood for me.

I'm suprised at how many people are dismissing Sherwood so easily, surely the captain of what is likely to be our only Premiership winning team deserves to be somewhere near the list.

[jim mk2]

It has to be Latheron.

That Rovers side of 1912-14 was one of the best I've seen and he was the driving force behind it.

A vote for Sherwood is a vote for mediocrity.

[den]

It has to be Latheron.

That Rovers side of 1912-14 was one of the best I've seen and he was the driving force behind it.

You're a card, Jim.

[mhead]

In terms of greats I thought it had to be Latheron...the bio certainly convinced me.And then Forrest was included which really starts to do your head in -he won more than anyone else ever has for Rovers.

Yet the Captain of only our third League Championship has to rate very highly.

Help!!! this could turn out very unsatisfactorily!I think it has to be:

LATHERON

[broadsword]

Hmmm ... including Forrest has split the vote and could result in Sherwood creeping in!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Scotty]

Hmmm ... including Forrest has split the vote and could result in Sherwood creeping in!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Well, at the time of writing Sherwood has only got 1 vote out of 18.

For what it's worth, I voted for Forrest. I'd have put Forrest, Latheron and Batty ahead of Sherwood.

[Hughesy]

Tim Sherwood gets my vote

[Ben-2000]

With being 20 years of age, I haven't seen many of them play so I don't really think I should vote. Of the one's I have seen, I would say Sherwood.

[broadsword]

I voted Latheron, but am prepared to tactically recast my vote in favour of Forrest to stop Sherwood getting in.

[jim mk2]

With being 20 years of age, I haven't seen many of them play so I don't really think I should vote. Of the one's I have seen, I would say Sherwood.

Although I voted for Latheron, of those players of more recent vintage, may I make a plea on behalf of Howard Kendall ?

Kendall was one of the classiest players of the 1960s/70s and was a member of Everton's outstanding "Holy Trinity" of Kendall/Ball/Harvey that was such a joy to watch and helped the club to its championship triumph of 1969-70.

He was capped by England and would have won many more caps but for the outstanding number of England-qualified players playing at that time.

He joined Rovers as player-manager in 1978 and led the club to the old third division championship in 1979-80. He signed an ageing Duncan McKenzie for Rovers and the pleasure for me was watching Kendall and McKenzie, the old masters, toy with lower-league players as if they were schoolboys.

Kendall almost led Rovers into the old first division the following season but left that summer for his old club Everton, which he led to the first division championship in 1984-85.

Although he was past his best when he played for Rovers, Kendall was one of the most talented players I have seen in a blue and white shirt and certainly qualifies as one of the "greats".

[den]

For what it's worth, I haven't voted yet, because I can't make my blinkin' mind up.

Sherwood/ Atkins - great? Can't see it. Batty, likewise.

Latheron - I'm looking, but great? not sure.

Forrest - well 5 FA cup winners medals - he could be.

Kendall, Jim? wasn't around very long as a player.

Since I haven't voted yet, I don't know who's winning and don't want to yet.

[speeeeeeedie]

Choice of 3 for me:

Latheron: England International, Championship winner, killed in WWI.

Forrest: 5 FA Cup medals, when it was more important then the league.

Batty: personal - seen him play - the best we had, 42 England caps, 1.5 Championships (didn't really figure for us until late on).

Atkins: don't make me laugh.

Sherwood: cannot label him "great".

I don't think any other will get a vote. Parkes wins the loyalty award.

Could go with the majority: the only member of the team I've not voted for so far is Le Saux, for justifiable reasons.

[bellamy11]

I voted Latheron. In fifty years Sherwood will be remembered as the captain of the title-winning team, but not as a majestic player. He cannot be deemed a "great". Latheron, an England international who scored goals, seemed to be a very very good player.

[philipl]

Plumped for Forrest because of his unique achievement of FIVE FA Cup Medals and the fact he was an automtic England choice for five seasons- only Douglas and Clayton can better that length of representation for England.

I believe it is important that we recognise the first period of Rovers' domination. The time when not only the Rovers but Blackburn was a major force in the World. When Forrest was playing, over 50% of all the manufactured cotton goods in the world were originating in the mills of Blackburn- a staggering thought.

[LeChuck]

The problem with Forrest is that we know sod all about him except he won lots of medals and played for England...in the same way Phil Neville has for Man Utd. Not saying he was a bad player, just saying I don't really know enough to put him above some of the others.

[den]

Went for Forest. 5 FA cup winners medals - he's regarded as great now, so he will never be forgotten for that feat.

Especially if we remember him on here.

I do like the idea of a presentation of sorts. Surely the club programme or the LET would take note if a well-penned summary of the scheme with the final team was sent in. It can't hurt to do so anyway. A best 11 is something everybody will have an opinion on so it would be good for people outside the website to read what we've voted on and compare it to their own.

Can't see any presentation being made , but there are plans to save this topic and all your posts, in something a little different than messageboard gold.

[bellamy11]

Went for Forest. 5 FA cup winners medals - he's regarded as great now, so he will never be forgotten for that feat.

Especially if we remember him on here.

I do like the idea of a presentation of sorts. Surely the club programme or the LET would take note if a well-penned summary of the scheme with the final team was sent in. It can't hurt to do so anyway. A best 11 is something everybody will have an opinion on so it would be good for people outside the website to read what we've voted on and compare it to their own.

Can't see any presentation being made , but there are plans to save this topic and all your posts, in something a little different than messageboard gold.

I can see what you mean about a presentation, but something like this could easily get a section of the matchday programme or a bit of the LET Full Time supplement.

A final team complete with a 500 or so words explaining the system we voted on would be an interesting read for many Rovers fans, especially if some were invited to come up with teams of their own.

[colin]

Come on you Super Atko fans.

Championship medal.

262 games.

You've seem him play.

You know you want to...........

He was born in Scunthorpe.

[den]

Come on you Super Atko fans.

Championship medal.

262 games.

You've seem him play.

You know you want to...........

He was born in Scunthorpe.

Nah, Jimmy Forrest. C'mon 5 FA cup winners medals! No Rover will ever do that again.

[LeChuck]

Nah, Jimmy Forrest. C'mon 5 FA cup winners medals! No Rover will ever do that again.

No Rover will ever captain us to the Premiership title again either...

[Tris]

This is really difficult.

Brownie and Colin and Bazza have made really good cases from the very start for their respective choices.

However in the end I came down to a shortlist of Latheron. And then added Forrest to it. Then had guilt pangs about not voting for the players I've actually seen.

Like Den, wanted to delay the moment of truth .... but

Final answer = Latheron.

[FourLaneBlue]

Plumped for Forrest because of his unique achievement of FIVE FA Cup Medals and the fact he was an automtic England choice for five seasons- only Douglas and Clayton can better that length of representation for England.

Not forgetting Crompton! The greatest Rover of them all was a regular for well over a decade and that only stopped because of World War I! There's no outfield player I can think of who was continuously a first-choice member of the England team for as long as Crompton, certainly not longer. The likes of Stanley Matthews flitted in and out but Crompton was first name on the teamsheet for years.

Plumped for Forrest in the end as I think there should be a representative of the great cup-winning sides of the early days. It now looks like a battle between Sherwood and Forrest but as Latheron is taking some of the votes that may let Sherwood in. While I'd be happy enough to have Sherwood in we already have Le Saux and Hendry from the title team in (and Shearer will follow), it seems a bit unfair that our great cup-winning sides are not represented at all. We have Crompton for the championship sides and Le Saux, Hendry (and will be) Shearer for the Premiership-winning side so I've gone for Forrest for our other great period of dominance.

Edited November 11, 2004 by FourLaneBlue

[jim mk2]

As a Blackburn lad and club stalwart, Stuart Metcalfe deserves a place in the all-time team.

Rovers were in decline for much of the late 1960s and 1970s but one player who stood out both for his performances on the pitch and his loyalty to his home-town club was Metcalfe.

Born in Blackburn in 1950, "Meccy" represented England at youth level, was a member of the Central League championship-winning side of 1966-67 and the next season made his first team debut at the age of 17. Many fans thought he was going to be the next Bryan Douglas with some dazzling displays on the wing.

By the time he was 18, Metcalfe was a regular in the team at outside right, but he later moved into a central midfield position where he combined with Tony Parkes to help Rovers to the Third Division championship title in 1974-75. Metcalfe scored seven goals in 43 matches that season.

His loyalty to the club was recognised when he was awarded a testimonial in 1978. He left Ewood in 1980 to join Carlisle United but returned to Rovers in 1982 before ending his career with Crewe.

In all Metcalfe made 375 appearances for Rovers, scoring 21 goals, but more than that to the Ewood faithful he was very much a talismanic figure whose skill, ability to beat players and probing passes made him an outstanding player in a generally depressing period for the club.

Stuart Metcalfe, a candidate for the Rovers Hall of Fame (if we had one !)