Tony Parkes Testimonial

[Dan Furness]

Anyone going Ewood Arms before game?

[thenodrog]

TP's favourite team in his time at BRFC as published in the LET. "My greatest Rovers side" During his 34-year spell at Blackburn, Tony Parkes has seen some great players come and go. Here, he picks his greatest Rovers team of all time - a side he believes would be good enough to win the Premiership title...

I cant argue with much EXCEPT his inclusion of Barry bloody jockstrap Ferguson! Especially over the likes of Tim Sherwood. Granted Sherwood played in a better team but even on a good day Ferguson could never come close to competing with the influence Sherwood could exert over a game.

anyway here it is.............

BRAD FRIEDEL

I was fortunate enough to play with Roger Jones, who was a fine keeper in his day, but Brad Friedel gets my vote in this team.

Without being disrespectful to Blackburn, Brad should have played for a bigger club. He should have gone to Arsenal or Manchester United two years ago after what was a magnificent season for him personally.

They were both looking for a keeper at the time and, to be honest, he's always played well against Arsenal in the past so they could hardly say they hadn't seen him.

Brad's what I would call a typical American sportsman. He's athletic, he's agile and he's got big, long arms which nearly touch his ankles when he hangs them down.

He's a great shot-stopper, who's brave and he covers the ground quickly.

The chance to go to an Arsenal or Manchester Utd has probably passed him by now but he could have gone there two or three years ago when he was in his prime. Thankfully for us, he didn't.

HENNING BERG

Henning was always a great defender, even when he was knocking on a bit.

He wasn't the quickest, but he used his body well to get in between his opponent and the ball without managing to give a foul away.

He read the game exceptionally well and I always thought he was a very clever player.

Good defending is a dying art these days. A lot of modern day fullbacks seem to be good attacking players but defending comes second.

Henning was also a great type as well. He played for Man Utd as a centre back and he was an excellent guy to have in the dressing room.

COLIN HENDRY

Colin was a huge personality and the crowd loved him almost as much as they loved Alan Shearer.

He just epitomised what fans like in a footballer. You don't have to be a beautifully skilful player, fans like certain other things in a player as well.

They want fully commited people who can head a ball and tackle.

The thing with Colin was you could tell he was always giving everything he had. He was prepared to put his body on the line and he trained like he played.

It was just as important him saving us a goal at one end as it was Alan Shearer scoring them at the other.

KEVIN MORAN

Kevin was an excellent centre half. He wasn't the tallest guy in the world, I think he was only about 5ft 10ins, so he was at a bit of a disadvantage playing in that position and he used to get a lot of cuts about the face as a result.

But he was incredibly brave and very helpful with the other players, too. By the time he arrived at Blackburn, he had already played for Manchester United and Sporting Gijon in Spain so he was vastly experienced. It was just a joy to work with him and I often used to ask him for advice when I needed it in my early days as a caretaker. He used to play Gaelic football in Ireland as a youngster and you need to be tough for that. I think he brought those qualities to his game as a footballer.

GRAEME LE SAUX

Kenny bought Graeme as a young boy from Chelsea and he only cost us £600,000. At the time, there were very few decent left backs around in the game and Graeme developed into one of the best.

He was a good footballer who had played further forward in the early part of his career and that helped him when he dropped back to left back.

He got in the England side while playing for Blackburn. He had a great left foot, he was probably better attacking than defending, but as long as you're good at one of them then you've always got a chance.

The fact he's still playing now at the highest level, at the age of 35, is a testimony to his quality.

Off the pitch, I think Graeme was a little bit different to everyone else. He liked to read the Guardian and visit museums and he got a bit of stick from the rest of the lads for that, which meant he wasn't a favourite with some of the players.

On the pitch though, you can't fault his contribution.

BARRY FERGUSON

I don't think people saw the best of Barry Ferguson at Blackburn Rovers. He got injured early on when he was just starting to find his feet in the Premiership, and then when he came back from injury he was just starting to flourish again when he moved on to Rangers.

To be honest, I could have seen Barry going onto bigger things in the Premiership if he had stayed with us.

He might have moved on to one of the big clubs eventually, but whether he ever comes back now or not has got to be doubtful.

His decision to go back to Scotland means he will never be judged as a great player because as long as he's up there, he won't be playing against top class opposition week in, week out.

For me though, he was a very good midfield player. He could break forward and score goals or he could sit in there and play. He was a good passer, he knew the game, and he could do everything. I'm sure once he'd got the pace of the game down here he would have gone on to become a huge star.

HOWARD KENDALL

Howard was player-manager when he came here and he was a lot like me in terms of he played for the team instead of himself.

He would often sacrifice his own game to win a match for the club, which isn't always easy to do as a player because you often want the plaudits for yourself.

He was a top class player and very unlucky not to get a full cap. He loved to get forward and support the front players from midfield.

He didn't have much time for midfielders who dropped deep and got it off the back four. He much preferred to see them further forward and in more dangerous positions.

It's not easy to juggle the roles of player and manager, but Howard did it pretty successfully at Blackburn.

STUART RIPLEY

Stuart was a strong, powerful runner and he came to Blackburn having spent a lot of his early career playing in a free role at Middlesbrough.

Initially, he wanted to roam and he had to learn how to play right sided midfield when he came here, which meant he had to become more disciplined.

He was a good crosser of the ball but he could also run through the middle as well if he drifted inside.

He worked extremely hard for the team and in that title-winning team he was ideal.

DAMIEN DUFF

I am sure Damien Duff would be in everyone's favourite Blackburn Rovers side. When he first came onto the scene he was only a young lad but you could see straight away that he was always going to go on and become a top, top player.

Left footers have always got an advantage anyway, but Damien was a good lad who improved as time went on and the great thing was he always wanted to get better.

Over the years, he also managed to add goals to his game, too. He wasn't interested in that to begin with, he just thought the job of a winger was to get crosses into the box and create goals for others.

He was one of those players who could pick the ball up and travel great distances with it, and I'd certainly pay money to watch Damien play.

From the fans' point of view, I don't they get any greater enjoyment than watching young players like Damien come through the ranks.

To be honest, I don't think he really wanted to leave Blackburn in the end because he wasn't that ambitious at the time.

If Chelsea hadn't come in with such a big offer, he might still be a Blackburn player now.

ALAN SHEARER

Alan was the perfect centre forward. He could hold it up and if he did go out wide then he would take the centre half with him and knock in a great cross. He had the ability to score all kinds of goals - spectacular ones, tap-ins, headers and volleys. He could score you a goal from 25 yards by dropping his shoulder and making a yard for himself, just like he did on his debut against Crystal Palace.

On top of that, he was a great leader, too, who wanted to win football matches.

He was single minded, particularly when the ball was in the box.

I think it's fair to say, Alan was the finest centre forward of his generation. If you were looking for a striker to play down the middle then Alan was your man. Some strikers can score goals but they can't do everything else you need a centre forward to do. Alan was different, though. He could do the lot.

SIMON GARNER

Simon gets in the team just for his goals alone. You could have taken Simon straight off the Riverside and given him a shirt, and that's how the fans saw him, too. They saw him as one of them. Someone you could meet him in a pub and have a drink with him because there was no airs and graces about him.

He was an instinctive finisher. If anything dropped in the box it was in the back of the net before you could blink.

One on one situations perhaps weren't his biggest strength when he had time to think about what he was doing, but overall he was a wonderful goal scorer and a lad who scored fours and fives in games.

Not many strikers do that.

And finally....the manager

KENNY DALGLISH

Kenny has got to be the manager of the team because he's the one who has achieved the most in my time at the club.

To win the Premiership title at a time when Manchester United were so dominant, and to a lesser extent so were Liverpool, has got to go down as one of the great achievements in Blackburn's history.

I've been fortunate enough to work with a lot of good managers in my career and Blackburn became something of a breeding ground for a lot of them in those early days.

Quite a few moved on to the First Division from here in the 1970s and 80s.

Managers either got good jobs from Blackburn or they got the sack, there was no in between.

It started with Ken Furphy going to Sheffield United, then Gordon Lee left for Newcastle, Jim Smith went to Birmingham and Howard Kendall joined Everton. But Kenny has to go down as the best of the lot for winning the championship. A brilliant achievement that will never be forgotten.

Edited May 17, 2005 by thenodrog

[doctorryan]

Anybody seen the audio link for Radio Rovers tonight yet?

[doctorryan]

Found it, but it's not working.

[Flopsy]

it is now

[doctorryan]

Keep me clued in if you can flops.

[Flopsy]

Atkins scores with a header from a Ripley Cross

SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER MARKY ATKINS

[Flopsy]

Rovers go 2-1 up super goal by Paul Gallagher (dont know who scored our first)

[doctorryan]

Doogie

[greggyk]

Atkins scores with a header from a Ripley Cross

SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER SUPER MARK SUPER MARKY ATKINS

316827[/snapback]

ay?

It was Shearer mate.

well thats what the commentator screamed. I had to turn sound down quick because Im at work

Edited May 17, 2005 by greggyk

[doctorryan]

Is it Neil and Wendy in the box Flops?

[Flopsy]

yeah Shearer missed it and Atkins was the one who got it (I believe) willing to be proven wrong

[Flopsy]

Shearer now scores after Todd messes up

[greggyk]

told ya he scored

[doctorryan]

[doctorryan]

"The Judge" goes in for Brad.

[doctorryan]

Shorty 3-2

[doctorryan]

Kev Gallacher

3-3

Edited May 17, 2005 by doctorryan

[doctorryan]

Gally 4-3

[doctorryan]

Stead from Tugay 5-3

[doctorryan]

Att: 13584

[robbojohnno]

where are you getting your info from rover world?

[doctorryan]

That's affirm.

[doctorryan]

Derbyshire 6-3

[Alex Rover]

So far these are tje players. Other then "Larry" how good is this team:

PARKES: Flowers, Grayson, Hendry, May, Hird (sub Donnelly 46 mins), Ripley (sub P Dalglish 46 mins), Cowans, Atkins (sub Miller 69 mins), Gallacher (sub Patterson 69 mins), Newell (sub Speedie 46 mins), Shearer.