I thought we just signed seth Johnson, I nearly had a bloody heart attack!

One of the very finest, he is THE up and coming young midfielder in the premiership domestic or foreign. Can dribble, tackle, create and score- very similar to a certain Mr Gerrard although I think he might feel somewhat under appreciated at Chelsea next season. I would kill to have him at Rovers, imagine him and Ferguson in the middle, it is enough to make you drool.... The future of England is right there- it will be tough to displace Lampard but I do not think it is beyond him, a far more naturally talented player IMHO. Joe Cole is a trick pony in comparison.

The way Abromovich has run the club has been appalling and belies the fact that it is essentially a game to him (I know techinically football is a game, but you know what I mean). Everybody realised that in investing all the money the russian would be holding the reigns but it has been amazing just how involved he has been. He lacks any real startegy for winning the title beyond a simple formulae of buying the best (whether that means coahes or players) and has wasted a obscene amount of cash doing it. It does not bode well for Chelsea at all, it suggests impatience and a lack of commitment and if Chelsea win the title and the Champions League or alternative do very badly you have to wonder whether he will just walk away. He is upgrading thestadium and so on yet the capricous nature of the bloke means nothing is for certain.

Your being way too hard on Sven IMHO, the guy is cautious but then Keegan was cavalier and he got a kicking. He has formed an excellent side by emphasising those qualities we are world leaders in- work rate, finishing, long range passing. Also he has taken risks, picking rooney was a massive risk due to his lack of club form and low goal tally. He has a clear idea of how he wants England to play (in stark contrast to some of his predecessors!) and as the four years have worn on since his appointment we have steadily risen in the 'attractiveness' stakes. Some of the passing and link up play against Croatia was sublime, and we looked fairly decent in the first half against portugal. There were, by common consensus, eight teams at least who could win the tournament at the start. That makes England at best have a one in eight chance of winning it, longer odds once you consider that in terms of personnel at least four of those teams had frankly better players. Even if we were fantastically,brilliant amazing and manged by Jesus Christ we would still never had more than a one in four chance of winning the whole thing. It is a sixteen horse race of a high quality after all....... Sven needs to now get behind the team and turn them into a side which can dictate a game against top opposition and I believe he will. Naturally a defensive mided man he will of recognised that we now have the quality in the middle of the park to compete with the best sides. Our future essentially depends upon the full backs getting forward, a high defensive line and an attacking passing outlook- and this will be what Sven is aiming to do. And to finish, who would you get in? McClaren, Bruce, Venables again? None of these would strike me as a definitive step forward.

I think Sven is going to have a bit of a re think now and I expect the next england friendly to be characterised by attacking verve. We know we are, largely, a good defensive side but we have to not be afraid to put our stamp on a game. Practically the same line up will start but maybe without Scholes and instead Joe Cole, Parker or Wright-Phillips. Personally I would stick Parker on the left to help with ball retention and he can drive forward too. We do not really need to change much, just find the confidence to stay on the front foot for the whole game. A basic point should be made that at all times Campbell should attempt to marshal the defensive line to a minimum of 30 yards from our own goal, preferably more (it exposes up to fast strikers, but that is by far the lesser of the two evils). If it sits on the edge of the box then our midfield cannot function. A few simple adjustments and we should improve vastly, and we were not too ba before .

Please don't write that like it is fact, because it's not. We played terrible, Sven made mistakes...but despite all that if we had a half decent referee we would be through. It was meant to be taken in a light-hearted manner. I still think that the Vassell for Rooney substitution was one of the factors that resulted in us losing. Heskey up front would have been able to hold up the ball and allow midfielders to move up the park to join him in attack. Instead we had Owen and Vassell isolated and overpowered, providing no decent possession in the Portuguese half. Imo, Sven should look for Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney to be first choice partnership for England. They'd compliment each much more than the OWen - Rooney partnership. And it'd mean we might actually have an aerial threat up front. I agree that Owen should maybe be dropped in favour for a more powerful striker. On the other hand a forward needs to score goals which Smith has not done consistently although that might change at Man Utd. Rooney, despite his amazing form for England, is not an out and out goal scorer either, prefering to drop deep. I would suggest, even if I am little biased, Stead is (if he improves in the air) the ideal partner for Rooney with good technique and link up play along with an eye for goal. He needs to be better with his back to goal too, but the potential is there. If it is a big chap we need up front then it is really a two horse race at the moment between Smith and Stead. I am very optimistic about our jon's chances of breaking in to the squad next season.

Ferguson is our 'best player' (he hasnt shown it in rovers shirt yet, but frankly he is the name that sticks out in the squad. But then so does Emerton's....) and was always going to inherit the captaincy sooner or later. Firstly it clears up selection problems, Souness will want to start Tugay from time to time and maybe give Thompson a shot in the middle without worrying whether the captain is in the team. Secondly if we are signing players they will want to see that they will be able to start. After saving a load of cash on astute buys on free (de Pedro, Dickov, hopefully Matteo) we might have the funds for Butt. He will want to know he will be in the the team regularly before he signs (if we get him...), so having an automatic starter in Ferguson and Flitcroft as captain on our books would not fill him with confidence. The bottom line is Flitcroft is now deemed a squad player by Souness, not a first choice, and he has been sniffing around midfielders (Izzet for example) for quite a while. Souness, despite accusations of only trying to get 'athletes' in, likes his players to be technically able- especially in the centre of the park. Flitcroft, while he has many talents, is lacking in this area.

Parker and Duff are two of the finest young talents in the the world, to just throw them away like that is not only callous but ultimately stupid. If this happens it might well be considerably harder for Chelsea to attract players as they will be aware of how shabbily they will be treated. Parker is almost of Gerrards quality IMHO so if Liverpool do not jump at this they are most certainly banonkers.

Clive is the biggest tosser on telly. Does anybody like him? I fail to see why he gets to froth nonsense all over the beautiful game.

I am majorly worried about this too. Ronaldo or Figo consistently one on one with Cole is a recipe for disaster, especially when the full back is also expected to provide all the width on the left too! I cannot see Sven dropping Scholes however, so I would expect to see Gerrard moved out to the left and Scholes shuffled into the middle. This could work quite well as Scholes should be afforded a bit of room by the Portugese midfield. Would have to agree that Bridge deseves consideration though. I have a feeling that this game is going to be a corker- both teams will be looking to attack as Portugal lack the defensive players to sit back and we have found our best form when going forward. Ultimately we look to have the most effective system and formation even if we lack the flair players (apart from Rooney, obviously!) our defensive superiority and versitility in midfield should make us favourites.

Just been at the gym and ysaw sky sports running a story to do with Fowler and Cole. There was no sound unfortunately.... does anybody know what it was about? BBC and Skysports.com are not running anything.

Personally I was very impressed by the standard of passing and the patient nature of the England in general. It is beginning to show that we can compete on an international level in terms of technique, vision and skill. That allied with our more recognised talents of fight, power and pace and we have ot be one of the favourites now. While contraversial I would say the our main 'world class' players are Campbell, G Neville, A Cole, Gerrard, Rooney and possibly Lampard Hasnt played enough, but is showing real promise). I have never felt comfortable with Owen up front- great finisher, good movement but limited when on the ball out of the box. Still made a great pass for Rooney's third though, but perhaps the exception rather than the rule. Beckham is great at passing and the dead ball but in open play he must be ultra fit or he is buggered. He lacks the pace or the skill to beat players so he must have the energy to find space before he recieves the ball. That is still lacking. Obviously in the lack of decent competition he deserves a place (as well as being the captain!) but you have to say if we had a player who can beat a full back, even with a lesser quality of passing, he would give our Dave a run for his money. Gerrard is awesome. Fair enough he was not outstanding to day, but he can do everything. He will be twice the player Beckham wil ever be. Rooney already is! Neville was excellent and shows that dependability is under rated- I hate his little rat face but sheer class defensively and had the engine to get up and down consistently. Any side in europe would put him in their team. A cole is a bit more of a risk, but I would say he is just the converse of G Neville- outstanding going forward, average defensively. Again, most national teams would have him in their side. I hope we play like that again, we can be an attractive team to watch! Just imagine if we had a left winger........

Excellent news! Fair enough he is the wrong side of thirty but then there is no transfer fee. We can go back in for MGP or whoever later. I suspect if Matteo signs for a minimal fee as well it would clear the way for Butt to come in. Good dealing Souness

In a bizarre sort of way Abrohimovich is really helping those teams just outside the top five and smaller prem clubs in london. They are able to attract the cast offs on loan or in transfers for next to nothing. There could be as many as ten or twelve ex blues knocking about, all of decent quality. Birimngham and Villa look like they are going t have substantially improved teams thanks to the dodgy russian which is not good news for us. Glen Johnson? Yes please....

You can say what you like but big sam has been good at Bolton. In terms of money invested they should of been down a long time ago. To be fair you have to wonder what he would of achieved with a decent transfer budget.

Whats happening with the 'presteige friendly'? I would like to see a top quality side at Ewood to kickstart the season. Any of the top four teams from around the major european leagues. Inter Milan would get my vote at the moment.

Surprise, Surprise, theres an Irish Bar and an English Theme Pub. I went to Turin a while back and the only places which were at all lively past ten o'clock were two Irish pubs. It was quite disappointing..... ended up getting wasted, having a kebab, fighting some armenians and being sick. Made me wonder why I had bothered travelling all the way across europe from London to be honest. Not a particularly pretty town either. Also some of the others I went with ended up in a club and the entire place was just rammed with blokes (it wasnt gay either). Seems the Italians do really lock up their daughters.

Despite detesting Bates I am hoping he gets a wad of cash to invest in Wednesday (my dad's club and my second team). Also Chelsea do not have a better squad than Arsenal- more strength in depth, but in all the vital areas they lack players of the Gunner's quality and consistency. Duff, Cudicini, Terry/Gallas and Lampard (and even then he would have to displace Gilberto Silva) are the only players that Wenger would put in his first eleven IMHO.

bet you wish you didnt say that now, eh flopsy!

a young lad with tugs ability lets see???10-15 m at least. Yeah it probably would cost that amount for a player on the market now. For me I’d like to see Douglas given a bigger role in the team next season, if Douglas was given the opportunity to play alongside a player like Barry then I’m sure it would be good for him and as a partnership for years to come. People have given Douglas a bit of stick, but remember for most of the games he’s played in he’s been played on the left wing and hasn’t done any worse than other players who have been picked in that particular position. A young player on the market, £10m easily. Douglas has come through the ranks and has cost nothing and has potential to be a good midfielder. Providing he signs the contract. It is impossible to compare Douglas with Tugay, there is light years in difference in their talent. A player of Douglas' ability is worth maybe two or three million and that is allowing for his development! If Toogs does go (not something I am veheminatly against) then it will change the way we play, not perhaps for the worst either. A consistent partnership in the middle is in my eyes more important than Keeping the Turk. Ferguson can play a decent ball, even if he lacks Tugay's vision and flair, and it will be him that Souness will look to build the team around. If we can find a decent partner for him in the long term Rovers will benefit more than depending on an in form Tugay to turn up every week. Which ever way you look at it Tugay will be no more than a squad player next season due to his defensive frailties and his age. To lose him would be a blow but hopefully will act as a catalyst for developing a new style of play and allow us to move on.

On the contrary, it seems that the club and the fans have stayed pretty loyal to Matt over the past couple of years. and smith has been loyal to leeds for the last couple of years. Its more a question of what happens when the chips are down, as in this summer.

Have to say though that there is another side to your scenario. Somebody would actually want to pay 1.5 million for him and match, or at least come close to matching, his 50k wages. I cant see that happening.

exactly the point pussycat....since steadys arrival at ewood coley has be-reborn. and good on them both aswell. Just watched the goal he scored last saturay again on Rovers world. He really looks a lot more enthused about football than he has for a while, he seems really happy. If I was him I would be intrigued about what I couls achieve with Stead and Gally at Rovers. Both are excellent players, and with Jon he has already struck up a really good partnership- something he has not had since Jansen's injury. Cole will have a great crack at breaking the 15 goal barrier next season if he stays, and for the first time since Shearer left I have real confidence in the ability of our strikers to make a full contribution in terms of goals.

Would you really stay at Rovers if you were a top class mid twenty year old player if they were plummeting into relegation? The whole squad is being ripped apart to cover debts, the fans are miserable, the management is on a never ending carousel of changes and pay offs. It is his career as well you know, loyalty is a fine thing but he wants to make the most of it. The clubs have as little loyalty to the players as the other way round- the right bid comes in and they would look to sell him, even force him out if at all possible. A bad run of games and all the fans would hate him, jump on his back, call for him to be dropped, insult him in the media. Where would he be then? A dried up journeyman with the sole consolation of knowing he stuck by his clubs side.... is that enough? To turn the tables where is our loyalty for Matt Jansen, eh? Most of us are hardly calling for him to be reintroduced because we do not feel he would be good enough. Sentiment is a very small part of it, we want results. We are only as loyal to him as far as he is useful to the cause, if you see what I mean- we have Stead now. He is the new golden boy, so if Matty was harbouring a deep burning passion for Rovers he might well find his heart broke. The club may well just leave him behind. Natural arrogance and self serving nature is not in any way linked with being a footballer. The reason that most footballers act in their own interests is because that is the way the game works- 99% of the people on this planet would act the same way- there is nothing to suggest they would not. It is a sad state of affairs, that I admit, but it is pointless getting on a high horse about it when we are little different. It would be nice if it was a little more romantic, but that would come at the expense of the competition and quality that makes football what it is. If Rovers were made up of only players who cared passionately about the teams they played for then we would be effectively playing the fans. Would they of beat Man Utd on the first of May?

Stop it with that talk !. Stop it now. I'll personally rip out Souness' heart and eat it if a swap happens, and we fail to get a left winger. I actually would not mind seeing Robbie at Ewood PROVIDED Cole stays and he is payed reasonable wages (for somone in his form I would say an absolute maximum of 20k a week). On the other hand Fowler commands at least 40k at Man City so I cant see him moving to us, especially as he would certainly (if sanity prevails) be behind Stead and Cole. Cole should not leave unless we are getting PROVEN quality. Fowler is certainly not that.