I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm delighted that Souness has been sacked, but I think that it is pretty funny. There was a time when I thought that he was a really good manager. He got us back into the Premiership, we won the Carling Cup and got European football and the next season we finished 6th. Then last season he took us to the dogs. Players like Matteo and Dickov were the big summer signings that we needed. Indeed to slove our left sided midfield problem, Souness thought that Dominic Matteo could do the job. He left us up sh!t creek, to go off to a bigger club, where he thought he belonged. After spending over £50 million on players, the guy finally got the sack. There's no doubt that injuries played a big part in the team's slump, because Emre, Dyer and Owen would add to any team. But to be honest, I'm not sure how well the team would have done with all their players fit, because of their crap defence that Souness persisted with. But when you look at the team Souness has been playing, it isn't all that bad and it should have been picking up some more points. This is another sign of Souness' weakness as a manager. It was great to go up to Newcastle and beat them, putting Souness under more pressure. Another horror show came against Citeh and that was enough. I feel sorry for Shay Given, because for me he is the best goalkeeper in the league, behind Cech and he deserves to be at a club that is winning things. With Brad getting on now, Given would be a great replacement. It must rankle with Souness that the team he left is challenging for the Champions League, while the team he went to is six points above the relegation zone and has just sacked him.

I wasn't surprised that we didn't win. We don't have any attacking threat and the mid-week exploits probably took it out the team. Going out of two cup competitions in one week isn't good. Hughes needs to bring in reinforcements if we are to stay in the top half of the table.

I'm not sure if Hughes does realise that Kuqi isn't up to it. As you say, we didn't need last nights game to see how bad he really is, we knew this a long time ago. As such, you'd think that Hughes would have had been looking for another striker, because it seems that the injury to Dickov has made Hughes move for one and not the realisation that Kuqi is crap. It also makes you wonder why Jansen wasn't given a game. Surely he isn't as bad as Kuqi. We have been getting a lot of praise recently about how well we are doing in the league, that we are a good bet to get into Europe and that we have a good squad. We have been doing well in the league, but I don't agree with the other things, when Kuqi is the only striker fit. I was very disappointed last night. We had a real chance to get to the final. Apart from Bellamy, we had a full strength team out, against a United team with a second string midfield and we still couldn't create much. Friedal was excellent, as was the defence. The seconfd goal should have been avoided, with Tugay getting caught in possession. Pedersen was anonimous as usual and Bentley showed some nice touches and skill when he got the ball which was very rare. After the Khizinashvili penalty was given, we should have been given one for Ferdinand's hand ball. Reid's goal was a good strike and he should do it more often. Any word on Bellamy? Will he be back for Saturday? It's becoming a joke, the way that he is always injuried. We need him playing all the time, not just one or two games, then his hamstrings get tight and sits out a couple of games. If this is going to be a regular thing, then the need for a striker is more urgent.

It's great to see Hughes challenging the board like this, letting them now what we can achieve. We are now an established Premiership side and I believe the days of just looking to stay up are over. Hughes has ambitions for the club, he wants them to challenge for Europe and trophies consistently and he wants to be the man who takes them there. He has shown how good he is in the transfer market, uncovering players like Nelsen and Mokoena and giving a new lease of life to Khizinashvili. These signings have been made on a shoe string budget. He bought Bellamy and Savage in for £8 million and they have been great signings. Both of them obviously have big egos and are a bit tempremental, but there hasn't been a word out of either of them. This shows what a great man-manager Sparky must be. I think that we can make it into Europe this season and our chances will be strengthened by adding one or two players to the squad. In the summer, the board needs to release some serious money to Hughes (within reason of course), so he can add more quality to the team and take the club up a step. The Blackburn board are known for being tight b@st@rds and with Hughes' contract up soon enough, I hope this wouldn't make him think otherwise about signing a new one.

If he has injuried his collar bone, then wehave to be on the look out for a new striker. Bellamy is a bit injury prone, Kuqi is useless and Johnson is too young and inexperienced.

I'm delighted with the result, as it pushed us further up the table toward Europe and away from the bigger club that Souness left us for, it continues our unbeaten run and it puts Souness in the sh!t. It sounds like we should have been 2-0 up by half time and in the second half Newcastle had more of the play without creating much. The goal is a lucky one, but who cares. The last time we won at Newcastle, Gallagher scored with his hand as well! Apparently Kuqi was a disaster again and it was good to see Sergio Peter get a game in the Premiership. Elsewhere, Thompson scored on his Wigan debut and fair play to him. Middlesborough are in big trouble and after Birmingham's win (damn it!) they are only three points outside the relegation zone. There could be two managers out of a job in the northeast come Monday.

Shearer scored his 100th Newcastle against us. He He scored his first league goal of this season against us. I'm sure he will break Jacky Milburn's record against us as well. He certainly likes scoring against the team who he has won his only medal with.

God, I would love to win on Saturday and put Souness out of job! I know that his team has bad injuries, but the teams that he has put out lately haven't been that bad and he still can't get any consistent results. We lost 3-0 to them earlier this season, when they didn't deserve it. We are on a good run and they aren't, so we should be looking to win. Too bad Bellamy isn't playing, because I would have loved him to bang a couple in against them and give the fingers to Souness. Even if Emre is back, I wouldn't want to be facing Reid and Savage on my return. I'm going for a 2-1 Rovers win.

We blew our chance to move ahead of Bolton. We played most of the game with an extra man, but were still unable to score. Apart from Emerton's header crashing off the bar, we didn't actually have many chances for the amount of pressure that we put them under. I thought that Bentley played well and was his best game for Rovers. Reid also had a fine game, but wasn't able to hit the target with his efforts. We played better when Kuqi and Bellamy came on, but still couldn't break through. Indeed we were lucky not to lose, after Vaz Te slipped. 2 points dropped big time!

This is a game that we must win, especially after Diouf cheated us last season. Bolton have an understrength side and we have to take advantage of this. A win would move us ahead of Bolton, which is added incentive. Plus, this is a derby match and you never want to lose those. Rovers to win 3-1, Pedersen and Bellamy with two. Jansen will score for Bolton, it is inevitable!

When you think about it Kuqi doesn't offer us anything different at all. You'd think that he'd be a good target man and would be able to hold the ball up. But he doesn't have a first touch to do this and the flick on for Pedersen's goal was one of the few times I have seen him use his size to his advantage.

I thought Kuqi was pretty bad last night. He played worse against Portsmouth (one of the worst performances that I've ever seen) and yet he remains in the first team fold, simply because we don't have anyone else. He did well to set up Pedersen last night, but that's all he did. Bellamy was looked distraught at times last night and against Portsmouth, when he came on. He isn't good enough by any stretch of the imagination. He and Dickov will play up front against Newcastle, with Bellamy out. But I wonder who will be on the bench? No one springs to mind and this is why it is crucial that we get another striker now, so we can push on in the second half of the season.

We played well in the first half of tonights game and should have been two up after five minutes. In the second hlaf, we struggled to get going. A draw was a fair result. I thought that Todd and Gray were our best players tonight. Another cracking goal from Pedersen! Bellamy desperately needs someone to play along side him. I though Kuqi was dire again tonight. He set up the goal, but did little else to worry the United defence. One our few chances in the second half fell to him and he shot hopelessly into the boards. I really hope that Hughes has someone lined up to buy and play with Bellamy.

All the best mate. You have been a brilliant player for Rovers. I wish that you had been given more of a chance.

Anything less than a top ten finish will be mean a disappointing season. We have done ever so well to get into the position we are in, so we should be looking to improve on it, during the second half of the season. When you consider that we have played Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United all away from home, it shows how well we have done. We should be confident about getting results against these teams at home, as well as the weaker teams. I think that we have the ability to finish in 6th, but if we strengthen the team, then this will make it more realistic. Any sort of European football would be great, but Hughes would have to strengthen the team in the summer to cope with it.

The fact that we are in another cup semi-final, shows how far we have come under Hughes. I'm sure he is dying to get Rovers to the final and put one over his old manager. We have been playing well lately and so have United, apart from yesterday. We have to take advantage of being at home first and win. Dickov and Bellamy to start up front, with Gray at left back. I can see United putting out their strongest 11, which includes Vidic and Evra. We have a great chance of getting to another cup final, so lets no muck it up.

A good result for Rovers, keeping the winning run going. I was glad to see Sergio Peter finally play, because a lot has been said about this boy and I can see why. Setting up all three goals on your debut isn't too shabby. Maybe he will challenge Morten for the left wing spot now. Bellamy's goals were class finishes, showing why he is so important to the team. Hopefully we will get another decent draw in the cup and get past the next couple of rounds.

A good score at half time. It sounds like Sergio Peter is playing well! Who's on the bench today?

A win is a must today. Another good cup run would be great for the club. I'm not sure what type of team I'd like to see today. Ideally I'd like to see a mix of players who've been playing regularly and those who haven't. Maybe Sergio Peter will get his first game for Rovers and I'd like to see Bellamy and Jansen up front. Aaron Mokoena could also do with game, preferably in midfield. Ian Holloway will have his players fired up for this one, so we have to expect a physical encounter. Rovers win 3-1.

Has Matt's contract with Rovers actually ended? Because after watching Kuqi against Pompey, I'd be willing to give him a game. We are playing QPR in the cup on Saturday, it would be worth considering. Jansen and Bellamy up front, a couple of years a go, that partnership, would have been lethal.

A great result which overshadows the performance in the second half. We played very well in the first half, with Reid, Pedersen and Dickov being our best players. Pedersen free kick was gem, while Dickov's was real poacher's goal. In the second half, we looked very tired and Portsmouth really should have equalised. Before the game, I wanted to see Kuqi and Bellamy up front, but after Kuqi's performance I don't want to him again. The guy is dreadful! His first touch is dreadful, he has no awareness of what's going on around him and generally just gets in the way. I can't believe that Hughes took Dickov off instead of him. He may score some more goals this season, but there is no way that he is Premiership class and isn't a player who will take the club forward.

This is the first time in a long time that I will be able to see Rovers play, so hopefully they won't disappoint in front of the Sky cameras. Portsmouth are starting to come into some form under Harry Rednapp, so this could be a difficult enough game for us tonight. However we should be looking to extend our winning run, after two away wins and two great performances. Rovers to win 3-1, with Bellamy getting two and Kuqi the other. Lua Lua with Portsmouth goal.

I'm very sad that he has left. I thought that he may have go more of a look in this season under Hughes, but it just hasn't happened. The guy could have been a real star in the Premiership, because his goals and his ability to go past players. He should have gone to the World Cup and then he would have avoided his accident. I can't believe that he has been at the club for seven years. Time really does fly. I wish him all the best and I hope he finds a good club to play for.

Pedersen goal was brilliant, but Reid's was even better. Reid has the ability to shot like that and I'm glad that one finally found the net! I saw the highlights on football first and we played very well. Gray was excellent as was the whole defence. Pedersen was pretty quiet again, despite his goal and Bentley looked good in parts. We have to follow this result up with a win against Portsmouth.

A brilliant win against a team flying high in the league. It was good to see Pedersen scoring, because he had gone off the boil lately, so hopefully this will get him going again. It sounds like Steven Reid scored a screamer today and I'm delighted for him because he's the type of player that we need. With Bellamy also scoring, after injury, this will give him and the whole team a huge amount of confidence. I think that the last two results could be massive in terms of the rest of the season and how we do. With a game against Porstmouth to come as well as the Sunderland game in hand, we have the chance to get six more points, which will take us the table and to the fringes of Europe. With the possibility of the team being strengthened in January, we have a lot to look forward to in the new year.