Today Is The Day

[Paul]

Today is the day, the most eagerly anticipated game for years. The morning has dawned bright and cold with a beautiful clear blue sky. Since just after 1.30pm, January 31st Rovers and Burnley fans have been counting the minutes, chasing tickets, bantering with each other, recalling famous victories, grasping at every reason as to why we will win……and now kick off is just hours away. Thousands in Blackburn don’t have tickets, thousands around the world will have to rely on radio, TV and internet to follow the game. Defeat is unthinkable as the Rovers stride out on to Turf Moor for the tie of the round, perhaps the competition, to renew the intense rivalry of an East Lancashire Derby, THE Derby.

To while away the hours here are views from the Rovers camp, along with links two a couple of Sunday papers:

Simon Garner “I won’t be going to Burnley, I find I’m not very popular in the area! But I’ll be watching it on television and cheering on MY team” © LET

Mark Hughes “I’ve played in the Manchester derby, the Liverpool derby, the south coast game and Barcelona v Real Madrid and the match against Burnley is right up there with them” © rovers.co.uk

David Dunn on the win at Turf Moor, “I don’t think some of the lads in our squad really understood what Blackburn and Burnley games were all about………I kept trying to tell them………it was only when we were in the dressing room two hours before the game and could hear the fans roaring that it started to hit home to them” © LET

Ronnie Clayton "Wembley, Old Trafford, Highbury, Villa Park are great places to play football but you can’t beat the special feelings and adrenalin associated with a packed Ewood Park or Turf Moor and a match against the old enemy” © LET

The Observer

The Independent

Come on you Blues

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