Breaking news from the " Turf " ... likely line-up for Saturday leaked by mistake ... 1. Alastair Campbell 2. King Charles III 3. Bertie Bee 4. Martin Dobson 5. Jordan North 6. Jimmy Anderson 7. Alan Pace 8. Justine ... Landlady of the " Royal Dyche " 9. JJ Watt .... 6ft 7ins ... Target man 10. Eric Knowles ... playing off Watt, used to picking up promising bits and pieces 11. A.N.Other .... pulled out of the " Park View " at 11.25 on the day of the game ! In other news, the " walk out " tune has been changed to the wartime classic, " Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye ! "

Claret in peace .... We haven't got " chinks in our armour ", we're going into battle wearing a loin-cloth ... 3 Goalkeepers and kids on the bench today, no Cullen, no O'Shea, No Koleosho, No Weghorst ... no pace up front and players coming to Gawthorpe not knowing who's going to still be there tomorrow ... it's a joke ! The simple truth is that we signed some some promising looking players from clubs in Belgium and France, sold the " project " by Vincent Kompany .. why else would they come to Burnley ? Kompany is now not a factor, and their agents are trying to find them new Clubs to trigger " a new commission fee/ look after their client " ( depending on your view-point ! )

As some may recall, the mods ( or in their words, Dictators ) graciously placed my preview of the last derby held at Turf Moor as the first post of the thread ( v The Dingles (A) - 13/11/2022 ) .. Given the outcome of that game, I doubt such generosity will be forthcoming this time ... 😉

My late friend, a fellow Claret would cheerfully place £3 each week on a Burnley win/ Blackburn lose " Double ", on each Saturday of the League season, occasionally accompanied by his wife shaking her head at the prospect ... The 12th August 2017 was his finest hour, as Burnley won 3-2 away at Chelsea, whilst Rovers, in their brief stay in League 1, lost 3-1 at home to Doncaster Rovers .... I can still recall the smile on his face as he walked away with over £120, with his stake covered for the rest of that season !! 😉

Yes, three of their 1st choice defence out injured ... Do quite like the retro late 70's Luton kit though ... half expecting to see the Futcher twins playing & Harry Haslam giving orders from the technical area ...

I'll have you know that that stand was the first to have under-seat heating in the Country, with warm air being pumped through holes under the seat ... it was prohibitively expensive, and turned off after one season, but the thought was there ... Happy new season, everyone !! 😂

As the new season approaches, I think both Rovers fans and those of us of a Claret persuasion can unite in agreeing that this is an abomination .... sadly once viewed, it can never be unseen ....

Rather tongue in cheek, Kevin McGuire has translated the FIFA rankings into English League Football rankings, and transposed England England's Euro 2024 results .... ( 90minutes ) Spurs 1 Preston 0 Spurs 1 Leicester 1 Spurs 0 Exeter 0 Spurs 1 Portsmouth 1 Spurs 1 Burnley 1 Spurs 2 Newcastle 1 Spurs 1 Man Utd 2 Food for thought ?

Just shockingly bad ... you can take 26 players, and you pick no recognised left back, except for a player, Luke Shaw, who hasn't kicked a ball since February ! Wharton, Palmer and Gordon on, please ... I'd have preferred him to pick Charlie Taylor and Dwight McNeil ... not the best players but at least specialist left footed players ..

At the World Cup he played all three group games against Uruguay, Mexico and France; however, in the win against France, midfielder Joseph Bonnel raked his studs down Greaves's shin, causing a wound that required 14 stitches. His replacement for the quarter-final against Argentina, Geoff Hurst, scored the only goal of the game and kept his place to the final, where Hurst scored a hat-trick as England won the tournament. He was fit to play in the final, but manager Alf Ramsey opted against changing a winning team ... Just to show how times have changed, the Nation's press descended on Sir Alf's relatively modest home in Ipswich the following morning, only for Alf to open the door briefly ... " I'm sorry, Gentlemen but it's my day off ! ", and closed it immediately ..

That was my point ....

I was thinking about the many pundits who've been bemoaning Southgate's habit of selecting " square pegs in round holes ", putting players in unaccustomed positions, to get them in the team .... There might be a lesson from history here .... Jack Charlton was surprised to be included in England's 22 man squad for the 1966 World Cup and was even more surprised to be selected for the starting XI ...... he subsequently asked manager Sir Alf Ramsey why he had picked him. Charlton revealed Ramsey's deadpan response was: "I pick the best team for my pattern of play, Jack - I don't always pick the best players." Food for thought ?

I think objectively we have a squad good enough for " top 6 " .. my main concern is that so many of the squad are with us because of the " Kompany " factor, will they still want be here ? Underwhelmed with Frank Lampard to be honest, mind you at least it's not Phil Neville .... I'd rather have Joanna Lumley as manager than either of the Nevilles ..

It's been confirmed that Jay Rodriguez has signed a new one year deal at Turf Moor ...

Your Mum would not want you to worry about what was done or not done. The love you had for your Mum and Dad shines through every word you've written here, and they will have known that. I hope you have someone to talk to about them, however hard it may be for you, and that it helps. I went down to Blackburn Rugby Club today, as the Club were hosting a Lancashire v Warwickshire Women's fixture. The first two people I saw were my best man from 1989, and his brother, another good friend. Their Mum died from Colon Cancer a week before my Dad, my friend just looked at me, and said " Group hug ? ". We did as we were bidden, and then talked of happier times, occasionally with tears in our eyes .. I send our family's best wishes to you, and will be thinking of you this Thursday ..

Football has been very low on my list of priorities this week, however .... My concern is we have a lot of players who have signed for Burnley, because they were sold a dream by Vincent Kompany ... many from Continental Europe. He's now going/gone, so the new manager will have to sooth some " ruffled feathers ", especially among those who aren't getting game time. If not, then we're into " fire sale " territory, or tons of players going out on loan !! Trafford, I'm sure will come good, and will go on to play many times for England. I'd be ecstatic to get back what we paid for him at this point though, and move on ...

Thank you for that ... I agree wholeheartedly with your 2nd point. I wasn't going to mention this, but it was in the same spirit that I made a small donation to the BRFCS effort surrounding the Watford game to enable young fans to attend at minimal cost .. that, and the kindness shown to me on this thread, shows all of us at our best ...

Right back at you, " Tyrone " ... in the end with my Dad, it was a blessing as he had no quality of life ... you and I were fortunate to have them as long as we did, many others of our generation were not !! My thoughts are with you ..

I haven't been posting much recently .... I only wish it was due to our relegation ... My Dad slipped away " gently into the good night " in the early hours of 21st May, aged 88. He had suffered from advancing vascular dementia in his last few years, but thanks to the love and support of our wonderful mother, was able to stay in his own home until relatively recently. Dad was brought up on a new Council estate in Aspley, Nottingham, the son of a Boots factory girl who left school at 14, and a Post Office Engineer. His father died on active service when Dad was 7, leaving my Gran to raise two children with the help of her family. Dad passed the 11+, and attended High Pavement G.S. where he became Head of School ( 1953-54 ). He was offered a choral scholarship at Gonville & Cauis College, Cambridge on the condition he obtained Latin " O " Level, then a requirement for the Engineering tripos. He achieved this qualification by correspondence School, in less than 6 months, whilst doing National Service between 1954-56. He was commissioned in the Royal Signals, serving in Egypt & Cyprus and stayed on the " Reserve " until 1968. He went up to Cambridge in 1956, with his £40 pa Scholarship " It wasn't a fortune, but it allowed me to keep Sherry in my rooms ! ", he often said. He would recall conversing with Harold Abrahams, the 1924 Olympic 100m Champion, at a couple of College Dinners, long before light was shed on Abrahams' story with the film " Chariots of Fire ". On graduating, he married my mother in 1959, whom he'd met at 17 at an inter-school dance in Nottingham. She was by then an SRN at Westminster Hospital. He then spent the next 45 years in manufacturing industry, running and designing new production facilities in primarily printing and glass manufacture. We moved to Clitheroe in 1975 when Dad was head-hunted to run Joseph Arnold & Co, in Church, then the largest printers of Greeting Cards in Europe. In 1996, he suffered a heart attack aged 60, and underwent a six-way bypass in Boston, Mass whilst on holiday, Luckily, they had taken out Travel Insurance. He was also fortunate that the lead surgeon at Deaconess Hospital was the Emeritus Professor of Cardiology at Harvard ! He retired aged 69, following the successful sale of a Glass Company in which he had a stake. He wasn't a clubable man particularly, preferring time with his family and in his garden. As befitting a former Choral Scholar, music was ever present in our house growing up. He loved his Rugby, Cricket & Athletics and was a life-long fan of Notts County. He's survived by our mother, his wife of 64 years, and his 3 children. He was an adored father-in-law, grandfather of 5, and had 2 great-grand-daughters ... Goodnight and God bless Dad .... Thank you for everything.

For once, I agree absolutely with you, Sir ... far too many " promising " signings, whereas a couple of " oven ready " Premier League players may have proved the difference. He also persevered with Trafford for too long, Muric is not only more experienced, but played the " extra sweeper " role far better, allowing us to play a higher line, and the results from the last 10-12 games show that .. Kompany will stay ... he was the attraction for so many of these signings, his departure would leave a squad in turmoil ..

Really ?

No, I'm still here , one or two personal matters with which you won't wish to concern yourselves ... Congratulations on staying up, it was looking dodgy for about 10 minutes on the final day for you .. I and I suspect many other Clarets had resigned ourselves to relegation some months ago. Not sure that Vincent knew his best team, and his blinkered refusal to drop Trafford for Muric certainly played a part. If our Chairman is to be believed, last season's promotion was unexpected, and two years ahead of " the plan ". We certainly have a large young squad, who I suspect will be better for a year's experience and will need to be culled somewhat, or loaned out. The vast majority of our players have " relegation clauses ", so hopefully the financial effects shouldn't be too severe ... On the positive side for both sets of fans, the 105th & 106th " renewals " of the derby will be eagerly awaited ! Will your owners be able to resist bids for Sammie Szmodics ? Did Mr Broughton see next years proposed budget and think " F**k that for a game of soldiers ! " Can Brockhall unearth another " gem " ? The very best of Summers to one and all !! 😁

Just a thought ... I was at Turf Moor when we were presented with the old 4th Division Champions Trophy in our last home game of the 1991-92 season, against Wrexham. Full house, party atmosphere .... and we lost 1-2 to a Wrexham side we'd tubbed 6-2 at the Racecourse five months earlier. One of your own and a friend of mine, Vince O'Keefe was between the sticks for Wrexham that day ....

I think you're on for a 2-0 today ... Human nature is human nature, huge disappointment for Coventry on Sunday, followed by another with their play-off hopes ending on Wednesday .. it's their 3rd game in six days, they've played twice since Rovers last took to the field. It'll take an almighty motivating effort from Robins to get them up for this game ....