[Archived] Rovers 0 - 1 Arsenal

[tashor]

We'll miss you if you go away.

Yeh........'course we would......

...... Every time I try to remember but I always get it wrong.....

No matter how I shake my peg....

It always dribbles down my leg.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Bit late to be posting on this thread, but since it was the first live game I've seen in the flesh for 2 years and I have only just returned from the UK vacation, I just have to add my thoughts.

Watched the game from a box in the Blackburn End since I decided to get the extended family together and watch in style, so the game set me back the thick end of 2 grand - never let it be said that us Expats don't do our bit financially. When I asked by what good fortune I was able to book a box at 2 weeks notice for a game against the reigning champions, it was sobering to be told that "This one's usually closed."

Excellent customer service from the hospitality team in getting the thing booked, sorting out food to suit my daughters food allergies etc. I thought the box was terrific. It being a lunchtime KO the food was a megadocious full English Breakfast belly burster - no prawn sandwiches for us proper fans - and a fun time was had by all watching the pre-match entertainment: that being of course watching the assorted types who make up the BBurn End lower take their seats. I would not like to be the people who have to sit next to those two Klondike Twins lookalikes who can each only perch one of "the twins" on their end of aisle seats

As to the game, well at least we were at the right end for what little excitement there was. Great piece of control by the fella for Arsenal's goal, but personally I thought Brad could have made the guy work a little harder for it; just falling back on his arse was hardly likely to achieve much. In fact I found the pre-match video of Brad's finest moments to be just a testament to the great man's decline: he made more great saves in the Worthington cup final alone than he's made in the last 2 seasons.

It was clear that without MGP's set pieces and Reid's surging runs from midfield we would create no opportunities whatsoever - I think that this has been a very prominent feature of our last few games. Not helped of course by the utter wretchedness of Dickov. I stopped counting after he got to 10 senseless free kicks given away for either brainless offsides or blatant fouls; handing the ball, territory and momentum back to the 3rd best team in the land whenever we had managed to push forward. And the constant complaining to the ref when he had been doing the fouling I thought just summed up everything wrong with today's game. Thanks for the 9 goals mate, but we just have to do better than you for next season.

That aside, Nelson I think is the dog's whatsits; and I can confirm that he spent a good 15 minutes good-naturedly signing autograph books, shirts, backpacks, nubile young breasts and the like after the game - no hint of prima donna-ship.

So, all in all, a reet grand day out. It made a fan of my (very Canadian) 11 year old daughter, and it got my mum back to Ewood for the first time in 50 years, since she used to go and lust after Eric Bell's billiard table-like legs.

Oh, and the 70% off closing down type sale in the shop - what's that about? Anyway, all the stuff was just too cheap to miss so we dropped another ton in there.