The Cole departure is in my mind a definate water shed. Souness up to now has broadly looked to bring in attacking players of high technical quality and flair (Cole, Yorke, Tugay, Thompson, Grabbi, even Stead to a degree). Dickov is the first real first team signing which diverts from that. I will be amazed if I ever feel as optimistic as I did in the pre season 2002. We had a team that looked on paper as good going forward as anyones bar Arsenal and Man Utd: Cole Yorke Duff Dunn Tugay Thompson Johansson (a bit weak I know!) Berg Taylor Niell Friedel It promised so much but failed to quite deliver its potential- life is always like that so I was perhaps wrong to get too carried away. Still, if Dunn, Cole and Yorke had given their all then we COULD HAVE (like you could have paid more attention in school) done better than sixth- I really feel that the attitude of these players was at least partly at fault along with injuries, something which Souness has never really forgiven them for. I give Souness credit for building a new side with a definate ethic about it but it is a shame to say that the kind of flair that the 2002/2003 posessed in abundence (more than our Championship side even) will not be seen at Ewood for a long time. The fact of the matter is that Cole, like the other two, showed in spells what he is capable of, but I would challenge anybody who said he always did his best. The moot point is whether a consistent Dickov is more effective than a sporadic Cole, something I will be interested to see. My faith sill remains in Souness to of got this right.

Is Gllagher trying to establish himself as the first chops sporting professional footballer since 1952? Or auditioning for Wolverine's weedier un metal enhanced brother?

I wonder how many of the russian public are chelsea fans? The money could be said to be theirs so they might feel they have a vested interest......

Call me crazy but that suspiciously looks like our likely starting eleven for the season. Could Souness be prepaing to give Douglas an outing as our new right back in the coming months?

trialist is not playing in first game Yeah, just found that out.... how confusing.

As the trialist is playing with the first team players again today it would seem that if we did sign him it would be with the idea of putting him in the squad. Previous aquisitons for the reserves/academy, Darbyshire etc., have never played for the first team even in friendlies as far as I know. Also the fuss seems a bit to substantial for a purely youth player. Nice to see Volpatogate has not as yet prompted him being sent home.

I think that's a great point that many people have failed to consider. Assuming that Thompson is fully fit and both he and Emerton start, it's not such a bad idea for them to shift back and forth to alternately provide attacking impetus (Thommo) and solid defensive cover (Emerton) from the center. And American, I wouldn't hold your hopes out for Ronaldo... apparently Burnley have the inside path to signing him... again. Anyway, this XI has already been suggested a ton of times but I'll post it again anyway: Friedel Neill, Amoruso, Matteo, Gray Emerton, Thompson, Ferguson, de Pedro Stead, Dickov Bench: Enckelman, Gallagher, Johansson, Tugay, Douglas I'd really like to see Nissa given a fair run in the side, but as of now I'm not sure whose expense it should be at. Tugay is certainly still capable of a decent run of games in the center of midfield, but I think that he and Gally could each do a fantastic job as game-changing substitutes. Whatever the case, I hope that this talk is premature--and that there will be at least one more signing to come (Butt please) that could shake things up a bit. I dont really think it is viable for Thommo and Emerton to switch back and forth due to their lack of experience in the centre. Whoever plays there needs to be primarily concerned with holding the midfield together, a responsibility that niether of them have had really. It is a demanding job that has a real impact on how much of the ball you can win- swapping will just distract from that I feel.

Thats a bit harsh Rover6- fari enough he has made a few mistakes but all the sides we have had under him have played decent passing football (bar the last third of last season) with tactics on par with most of the premiership. He hasnt done anything ground breaking but then who really has? The main problems from last season resulted in a lack of conviction from Souness as to what the team should look like meaning he didnt buy key players for key positions. He never decided what the best eleven was. That has now changed- he wants 'men' (in his words) all over the pitch with the obvious intention of marrying skill with effort and determination. This to me is quite an attractive suggestion and one that I think could well pay off. Souness tactics do not revolve around man marking and fancy formations (and who is to say he is wrong, the 442 format has consistently shown itself dominant) but he does now have a strategy.

Just to put a different spin on things: Firstly if yorke, Todd and Flitcroft all go like Cole Souness will have saved the club somewhere in the region of 100-120 k a week. Thats a lot of cash and has to be praised on some level. Their replacements will mostly come from youth players along with probably two cheap signings. Good house keeping. Secondly Souness is taking a risk, he is sticking his neck out: Few managers would stick a player like Dickov up front for a european push, Graeme obviously believes in him like he believed in Stead. Give him a chance. It is possible that our manager is actually in control of the situation and everything is coming tgether as planned....... Only time will tell- give him a chance.

If it was camara Wolves will have Souness and ROvers up befor the FA, UEFA and FIFA before you can spit. Ive got a question- If De Pedro couldnt play because he didnt have clearence how come we can get some random triallist to play at a moments notice?

Well I would like to see: Stead Dickov De Pedro Ferguson Butt Thompson Gray Matteo Amoruso Emerton Friedel Ferguson and Butt (our next signing, wishful thinking?) would hold a tight midfield together allowing the fullbacks to get well forward. Both Emerton and Gray could be devastating on the overlap while Thommo and De Pedros preference for playing deep wide roles would allow them the cover. I know, you will say that Emerton cant defend for toffee and all that, but I personally think he would do a good job there. Gallagher, Tugay and Jansen all to get a good crack as the regular substitutes. And can I say it is not a bad side at all either.....

Cole's gone- he had great technique, vision, skill and movement. He was however sadly lacking in his ability to finish well (the difference between him being a great player and a good one) and consistency. Dickov is infinately more limited, but I would not rule out him being more effective for Rovers next season than Cole would of. He is going to shake up defenders and give Stead space.... and we have Gallagher to come on if we need a bit of quality on the ball. Alll is not lost and certainly not millions in wages. The saved cash could be used to look at someone like Nicky Butt and a veteran striker.

Must be nonsense. Cant possibly be true.

What I am saying Dave is that the reason such groundless filth as the Hillsborough story appears in the newspapers in the first place is to sate the thirst for sensationalism, acrimony and blame in the public at large. No matter how much the Sun apologises and how far their circulation falls other newspapers will just take up the slack. Lies of a similarly breath taking slanderous nature will continue to be peddled every day and people will not only consume them but take great pleasure in doing so. To merely say the story was a product of a few evil editors and their minions is to miss the point. Our culture created that kind of reporting and we love reading it.

That's a very "superior" of viewing the situation , Joey ! The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of tabloid readers aren't stupid - they know exactly what they're reading and how seriously to take the contents . However , if you've only 5 minutes break at work , you don't feel like getting out the Times and doing the crossword , you want a bit of light reading. However , 15 years ago the Sun didn't just put a bit of a spin on a story or stretch the truth a little to make a point ; it deliberately and maliciously printed lies that accused fellow Brits of being complicit in this most tragic of accidents - the fact that they are "scousers" is absolutely irrelevant , they may well have been Scots , Geordies or whatever . Only the completely stupid (and unfortunately we have a few of those on here) make any distinction. For treating good , honest fellow citizens like that , the Sun must pay - for as long as memories remain of that day . It must pay as much as possible in lost revenues for as long as possible , if only for the sole reason to deter the other rags from even contemplating treating our people in such a callous manner ever again . My point is that the kind of reporting so massively repulsive in the case of the sun's handling of Hillsborough is just built upon basic tabloid culture. This grows out of what people want to read. Im not trying to be superior but the fact of the matter is that journalsim which actively hopes to exploit, wound, anger and insult only occours because people want to read it. You can blame the sun if you want and castigate the people who wrote the story as evil but in truth the mirror is no better, the daily mail certainly isnt. Misrepresentation and slander is how they sell newspapers because that is the literary diet most want or at least find preferable to such maligned things as objectivity and discussion.

Team karaoke at half time? Now there would be genuine entertainment, who needs Rovers Return.......

The Sun, The Mirror, The Daily Mail (especially) etc all rely on sensation to sell newspapers and all report vitriolic bile with no real interest in journalism, merely in profits. The Hillsborough report was a quite breath taking example of this but in general the moral standard of the mirror is no better than the sun. The people who are responsible for this cancer on our society are not the editors or journalists but the idiots who buy them.

I was thinking about using Jaws sound track dom, dom...............dom, dom........dom, dom.........dom, dom......dom, dom...dom, dom..dom,dom dom,domdom,dom dom,dom dom,domdom,dom dom,dom dom,domdom,dom dom,dom dom,dom dom,dom dom,dom MATTTEEEOOO!!!!! Top stuff! Intimidating yet fun, the ideal combination for any chant. Seriously think this should be adopted.

How does a player go from the England first team to ignomy before he is 31? Did he have an injury or something? He has been awful for so long that I have forgotten when he actually became rubbish.

Very intersting article on the BBC about the Chelsea squd. Morinho has openly set a limit of 24 players and actually declared who is in at the moment. Link As it stands only Cudicini, Cech, Ferrera, Johnson, Bridge, Babyaro, Terry, Lampard, Robben, Duff and Gudjohnson appear to be defiantely safe.

Smells of Abramovich just sticking his oar in where he fancied, doubt Morinho had much influence on this one. Chelsea have one bloated midifeld: Robben, Duff, Geremi, Makelele, Lampard, Parker, Cole, Gronkjaer, Davids. This is all ignoring Stanich, Oliviera, Nicolas, Smertin and Petit. If Parker is deemed surplus to requirements (seems increasingly likely)we should definately have a look. Any manager with his head screwed on right would go for him, but you dont get if you dont ask. Souness did make enquiries last year when he was still at Charlton.

This just goes to show that in football there is NO preordained elite who will win games just because of their status. Football is game played by 22 men for 90 minutes, nothing outside of that, so provided your team is well drilled and has talent you are in with a chance. I hope some of this rubs off on the premiership next season- Arsenal, Man Utd and the like have a huge psycological advantage which wins games before a ball is kicked. If mid table sides adopt an approach of believing they can compete and WIN against the big sides we will have a very interesting season. Being "practicle" (ie. aiming merely to achieve what seems 'possible') is just negativity dressed differently. Curbishly, O'Leary and even Souness should be inspired by what the Greeks have achieved. Fair enough, it is a lot harder to overcome bigger teams throughout a 38 game season, but it is counter productive to envisage yourself in an set order of clubs.

Isn't that illegal? Can't remember the details, but it's one change of clubs per year or somehing? Its got to be less than a year- im sure people have moved twice in 13 months. Although it is not in England Hakan Yakin moved between three different teams in the last year.

Les Ferdinand - Allardyce really is starting to believe his own hype. They might as well disband their youth set-up, apart from Nolan and Hunt, do they have any home grown talent? Ferdinand is incredible, to still be a decent striker at that age beggers belief. Hats off to the man! On the other hand I would rather stick a fork in my eye than see him at rovers.

Because the spanish have at least three of the greatest wingers in the world currently available to them. All of them are worth in excess of 10 million- we got De pedro for free. Who would of you signed instead? Someone who would come to sunny Blackburn and we could afford. I for one cannot think of a single chap- that Petrov guy was good for Bulgaria, but I think he is already in the Bundasliga and his value has just trebled after his excellent performances.