USA, First yellow, Tommo running along touch line is brought down by palace player, their legs entangle and Tommo kicks out. Was lucky in my opinion not to get a straight red. Second yellow. Neill is badly tackled, bit of a player confrontation. Tommo meanwhile decides to start a second arguement off the ball, and pretends to nut Palace player. Bit of a handbags do but the refs assistant reports it. Tommo off. In other words Tommo was a prat there was no need for him to be involved.

We were the better team today. We were solid at the back, controlled midfield for large periods, and attacked well down the flanks. We weren't brilliant, our current squad is long way from being brilliant, but we were better than Palace which is encouraging. Our finishing let us down though. Dickov, Neill, Short and Ferguson all had good chances to score and none of them did. If one of them had we'd have got the win we deserved as Palace hardly offered a threat. Matteo, despite what Ewood Dream says, was solid at left back and snuffed out any threat from Palace's winger. Short and Todd coped admirably with Johnson. Neill actually looked like a player again. And my man of the match was Flitcroft, who I thought screened the defence superbly throughout. He didn't offer much going forward but that wasn't his job today, his job was to stop Palace creating and he performed it excellently. Thompson, like many a player before him this season, needs severe punishment for his petulance that could have cost us late in the game. That aside though it was a decent performance and a hard-fought point. We're certainly more solid now and we don't look like a soft touch anymore. However we're still lacking a cutting edge, something that I hope Hughes can sort during the transfer window. Match Report by Scotty Palace: Kiraly, Boyce, Hall, Popovic, Granville, Routledge (Torghelle 82), Riihilahti (Andrews 53), Watson, Hughes, Kolkka (Lakis 73), Johnson. Subs Not Used: Speroni, Leigertwood. Yellow card: Hughes, Torghelle, Andrews. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Todd, Matteo, Reid (Thompson 71), Flitcroft, Ferguson, Emerton, Dickov, Bothroyd (Stead 80). Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Johansson, Gallagher. Red card: Thompson (88). Yellow card: Dickov, Todd, Thompson. Att: 22,010 Ref: A Wiley

The last two posts cracked my up. How can you pass such judgement. Have you not read the message board, you dont have to watch the game. The jury returned as soon as the team was announced.

I think the penny has dropped for a lot of people Paul. Especially when they see the salaries that even the average premier league players are picking up.

Rovers collected a welcomed point in a 0 – 0 draw away to Palace this afternoon in a game that ended up with referee A.Wiley dishing out yellow cards and sending off substitute, David Thompson towards the end of the game. Not a game for the football connoisseur and best forgotten. Although Rovers could have sealed all three points if it hadn’t been for some inspired goal keeping from Palace’s Gabor Kiraly. With the first half hour being a scrappy affair Rovers started to take control of the game in the final 15 minutes of the first half and if it hadn’t been for three outstanding saves by Palaces keeper Gabor Kiraly Rovers would have gone in at the break in the lead. With around 5 minute to go before the break, Kiraly made a double save, when he first blocked a Bothroyd effort and then he denied Reid from scoring from the rebound. Within 2 minutes the keeper was again in the action to deny Craig Short from scoring with a volley. Half time 0 – 0. After the break the game deteriorated with few chances to either side, although Palace’s Johnson had a shot tipped on to the post by Friedel. As frustration crept into the game the referee became the main attraction dishing out yellow cards like Christmas cards, with Thompson getting two yellows which resulted in his sending off. Full time 0 – 0. Palace: Kiraly, Boyce, F.Hall, Popovic, Granville, Routledge,(Torghelle 82 ) Riihilahti,(Andrews 52) Watson, Hughes, Kolkka(Lakis 73), Johnson. Subs not used: Speroni, Leigertwood, Yellow card. Hughes, Torghelle, F.Hall, Andrews, Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Todd, Matteo, Reid,(Thompson 71) Flitcroft, Ferguson, Emerton, Dickov, Bothroyd.(Stead 79) Subs not used: Enckelman, Johansson, Gallagher. Yellow card. Dickov, Todd. Red card. Thompson Referee: A Wiley Attendance: 22,010

From a Cardiff City site. LINK Link to Cardiff City Official Site.

Everton 1 Rovers 3 Rovers reserves took the lead through Jonathan Douglas in the 12th minute, when he headed home a rebound after Jemal Johnson’s shot from 18 yards had come back into play after hitting the post. Rovers went further ahead in the 23rd minute when Sergio Peter tapped in Gary Hawkin’s right wing cross. As Everton starting to threaten in the second half Rovers went 3-0 up when Matt Derbyshire rose above the Everton defence to head home a 60th minute corner. In the 81st minute Everton struck back with a Chadwick powerfull shot that gave Drench in the Rovers goal no chance. Final Score 1 - 3. Teams. Everton. Turner, Wright, Fox, Gerrard, Bosnar, Li Tie,(Harris.88), Seargeant, Vidarsson, Chadwick, Vaughan,(Hopkins,55),Wilson.(Boyle,46) Subs not used. Gallagher, Phelan Yellow card. Wright. Rovers. Drench, Peeers, Morgan, Douglas, Bruce, McEverley, Donnelly, Harkins, Johnson, Derbyshire, Sergio Peter. Subsnot used. Barker, Fielding, Hodge, Nolan, Luke Jones. Attendance. 201 Link to Rovers Official Site Match Report

Amen to that.

There is allready a decline in tv viewers, people are tuning off to sky and more and more are signing up to the freeview digital service. Media Report. Freeview v Sky

Rovers 0 Spurs 1. With all due respect to Norwich, Man City, Birmingham and Fulham, Saturday's game against Spurs was going to be the first real challenge for Rovers, since their 4-0 defeat against Chelsea and it did show what a difficult task Mark Hughes has on his hands. In those previous games the team had shown an improvement in work rate, but they never really showed enough creative ability to kill off teams and this was once again the main problem against Spurs. Rovers had plenty of possession, and whilst there may be an excuse that Spurs came with a clear plan to defend in numbers, there was no creative edge or ideas in the Rovers team capable of making a break through, with the strikers having to battle for every ball. This has been the crux of the problem all season. Rovers don't have a player with the imagination to provide that bit of magic that will split a resolute defence, nor a proven goal scorer. Whilst Dickov will cover every blade of grass and he must be every defenders nightmare, he doesn't have that killer instinct in front of goal, unlike Spurs who had Keane, who was capable of a making a lethal strike give a half chance. Robinson in the Spurs goal only had one save to make all afternoon, which was a quick turn and shot from Gallagher at the start of the second half. Robinson's quiet afternoon was the opposite to Friedel who had to save two Defoe attempts and one from Mendes. The build up to Keane's goal just 10 minutes into the second half was a delightful move, even though it started with a mix up between Ferguson and Tugay, resulting in Brown collecting the ball in his own half, to go past Johansson and Todd before driving the ball across the penalty area to Keane, who clinically drove the ball home past the helpless Friedel. To be honest Spurs out thought and out played the Rovers, who huffed and puffed but never looked as if they would break down a resolute Spurs defence. Looking at individual Rovers players, Johansson proved once again that although he's a capable stopper in the centre of defence, he's definitely not a left back, and more worrying is his indecision in laying off the ball. On Saturday's showing Gallagher's inexperience showed and was never in the game, continually being dispossessed of the ball, he only managed one shot on goal before being replaced by Bothroyd in the second have. If any player deserves praise, then it would have to be Andy Todd , who had another solid game in the centre of defence. It there was a failing, it had to be his wayward shot at the Spurs goal that ended in row z. If there is any consolation to be taken from Saturday, it had to be that the team below us didn't pick up points. However we cannot rely on that happening every weekend. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Todd, Short (Matteo 85), Johansson, Reid, Ferguson, Tugay (Thompson 65), Emerton, Dickov, Gallagher (Bothroyd 56). Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Enckelman. Booked: Dickov, Tugay, Thompson. Tottenham: Robinson, Kelly, Naybet, King, Atouba, Pedro Mendes, Brown, Carrick, Ziegler (Redknapp 73), Defoe (Kanoute 88), Keane (Gardner 77). Subs Not Used: Pamarot, Fulop. Booked: Naybet. Goals: Keane 56. Att: 22,182. Ref: M Dean

Whether Ive become immune to Rovers results or whether Ive lost all interest I dont know. Until I switched on my pc tonight, I haven’t watched, listened or thought about football since leaving the ground last night. I had even forgot about the cup draw. In fact when I got back to the car last night I didn’t even tune into the radio, I just listened to a cd. In the previous games the Rovers have shown an improvement in work rate, but they never showed enough creative ability to kill off teams. Although Rovers had plenty of possession, Saturday there was no creative edge or ideas in the Rovers team capable of making a break through. Which has been the crux of the problem all season. Rovers don’t have a player with the imagination to provide that bit of magic that will split a resolute defence, nor a proven goal scorer. Whilst Dickov will cover every blade of grass he doesn’t have that killer instinct in front of goal, unlike Spurs who had Keane. As for Gallagher, on yesterdays performance he has a lot to learn and at present he's too light weight, getting knocked off every ball. Once again Nissa proved hes not a left back and his lack of vision to lay off the ball is very worrying. Ah well my immune system cant be that good, Ive started to remember Saturdays game again.

Score goals? Create them? Terrorise defences? Give us something to look forward to? Be worth the price of admission alone? What did he win with the club? Hughesy before you start throwing abuse around read your posts. What did he win --------A Worthington Cup Medal

Well done Hughesy. I better change the history books. Cup Final Team Blackburn:- Friedel; Taylor, Berg (Capt), Johansson, Bjornebye; Gillespie (sub Hignett, 76), Hughes, Dunn, Duff Cole, Jansen (sub Jordi, 73) Subs not used:- Miller; Curtis, Mahon Have a word with the LET photographer as well.

Worthington Cup.

I've had the privalage to have seen them all since the 70's Noel was brilliant, but we were in the lower leagues. Waggy was good in the opposition half with pin point crosses, but he was in his latter years and Bailey did a lot of the spade work. Sellers was another brilliant player but again it was during our lower league days. Wilcox was a workhorse who could swing in a good cross, but he never really excited me like Duff. Duff proved himself both in the first and premier, continually improving in his later years at Ewood he had everything, workrate ability to beat his man, dribbling crossing and the ability to get you on your feet, every time he had the ball. The memories of him heading down in full flight towards the BBE, usually in the second half of a game will remain with me for ever. Duff for me is the ultimate, someone who can play football and entertain.

Rovers Slovakian left back, Vratislav Gresko will miss the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage. An injury he sustained in Slovakia goalless draw with Slovenia two weeks ago. Rovers doctor Phil Batty is reported on the official Rovers website as saying 'Vratty returned from international duty with an injury. Tests have revealed cruciate ligament damage and unfortunately he will be out of action for several months.'

The Rovers home game against Bolton on Saturday the 22nd January, has been moved to Monday 24th January. The game will be shown live on Sky.

match report by bellamy11 We really didn't turn up tonight at all. I'd heard a rumour that Sunderland reserves were a bit awful but they were anything but when they played. I can't say any player came out of the game with any credit this time. Johnson got injured early on before he could get going. This left the young Garner and Derbyshire feeding off scraps for the entire match. I can recall two chances in the entire game - both headers - and the one that was on target was absolutely no problem for the Sunderland keeper. Matthew Piper was a class above everybody on the field. It was inevitable that he would have a hand in the opener. He had Morgan's number all evening, and his control on the sideline and precision cross was met at the far post by Ryan who finished well with a good downwards header. The midfield had absolutely none of the ball. They were a step behind Sunderland in everything. Peter was ineffective on the left, and neither Harkins nor Danns nor Donnelly should be thinking about pulling on a first team shirt until they learn to dominate scrappy games like this. My main concern was the fullbacks. Sunderland had time and space to cross throughout. They made quite a few decent chances in the second half and Yelldell did well to save a few stinging drives from in and around the penalty area. 272 people turned up to see a very drab affair. The team can't really be blamed here. They're very young - no Pedersen, Gresko etc to add senior experience. They've played very well recently and it was inevitable that they'd be poor for a game. Hopefully they can show that they have spirit and bounce back.

Rovers Res 0 Sunderland Res 1. Rovers lost their reserve game against Sunderland at Christie Park, Morecambe this evening 1-0. A close range headed goal by Richie Ryan in the first half, was enough to give Sunderland maximum points, against a young inexperienced Rovers reserves team. ROVERS: Yelldell, Peers, L Jones, Bruce (Nolan 83), Morgan, Donnelly, Danns, Harkins, Peter, Johnson (Garner 20), Derbyshire. Subs not used: Drench, Hodge, Barr. SUNDERLAND: Alnwick, Lynch, N Collins, D Collins, Dodds, Dickman, Piper (Teggart 63), Leadbitter, Ryan, Brown (Kingsberry 63), Welsh. Subs not used: Carson, Taylor, Flynn. Click on Read Entire Article for Match Report

What the heck is a meesage anyway.

Fans favorite, Matt Jansen went under the knife this morning to treat a cartilage problem and will be out of action for around 3 weeks. Assistant boss Mark Bowen is quoted as saying. "Matt had a small operation this morning to trim knee cartilage, It's a tiny piece of work and we believe it should be a fairly quick recovery." "I am guessing, but I reckon maybe two to three weeks before he is back in action completely." Meanwhile, central defender Amoruso is reported to be recovering from his knee operation and has commenced light training.

Match Report by AJConroy I live round the corner from Craven Cottage and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the neighbours being outplayed and outfought. And that was the key: we didnt just run and scrap but we put the ball on the deck and passed it. Several things stand out: - the team as a whole seem more together. I know it sounds daft but there always seems a player on, so often you see two players chasing down a loose forward, the midfield take it in turn to close down the opposing team etc.. - I think Reid and Emerton look a great duo. Emerton today was extraordinary. One incident comes to mind - he ran about 40yards with the ball, passed it, then seeing the play break down raced all the way back to our penalty area to break down the play. Reid was not on fire like last week but he posed so many questions for Fulham and made several big strong tackles. - Gallagher was terrific. But we should have taken him off 10minutes sooner. He looked shattered. He should start next weekend, not Bothroyd. - Dickov chasing down a ball in the 92minute was something to behold. I have no idea where he gets that energy but I am deeply appreciative of it. - Friedel's save from Cole was key when we were one up. - Tugay played very well. There was one spell, lasting no more than 5minutes, when he was lunging in but that aside this was a good performance. - I think Ferguson is key to this side. I reminds me of Sherwood in many ways. Small simple passes, tidying up, simple linking-up play etc.. I am a big fan. Finally, the fans were great today. I know we had a much to sing and shout about but there was so much good humour and genuine satisfaction today. Sometimes I wonder how much games mean to players but seeing their faces, their body language as they came to the Rovers players at full time persuaded me that this game meant an awful lot to them. It wasnt about money. Fulham 0 Rovers 2 Fulham: Crossley (Van der Sar 73), Volz, Knight, Rehman, Bocanegra, Malbranque, Legwinski (McBride 66), Pembridge, Diop, Radzinski, Cole. Subs Not Used: Hammond, Pearce, Rosenior. Red card: Knight (76). Yellow card: Diop, Knight. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Todd, Johansson (Matteo 90), Reid, Ferguson, Tugay, Emerton, Dickov, Gallagher (Thompson 83). Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Pedersen, Enckelman. Yello card: Ferguson. Goals: Gallagher 10, Dickov 77 pen. Attendance: 19,103. Ref: R Styles

Fulham 0 Rovers 2 After battling back in their last four games to gain a point in each game, Saturday's game against Fulham, could as last be the turning point of the season when Rovers got all 3 points and their first away win. With a goal in the first half from Paul Gallagher and a penalty from Paul Dickov in the second half, Rovers deservedly took maximum points and climbed clear of the relegation zone. From the kick-off Rovers showed that they were up for it, tormenting Fulham’s defence with low cross’s, with Emerton coming close within the first few minutes, before Gallagher got on the score sheet in the 10th minute, converting Steven Reid's drilled cross past Crossley. Whilst Rovers attacked at will, Fulham did have their moments, with Radzinski, firing wide after beating the Rovers defence in the first half and Andy Cole forcing Friedel to push a shot around the post in the second half. Rovers eventually sealed all 3 points 13 minutes before the end of the game when Fulham’s Knight scooped the ball with his hand as he attempted to dispossess Dickov. Inside the area. Whilst Knight’s reward was a second yellow, resulting in a sending off, Dickov was awarded a penalty, which stotted home past Edwin van der Sar, who had come on to replace the injured Crossley, Link to Match Report Fulham: Crossley (Van der Sar 73), Volz, Knight, Rehman, Bocanegra, Malbranque, Legwinski (McBride 66), Pembridge, Diop, Radzinski, Cole. Subs Not Used: Hammond, Pearce, Rosenior. Red card: Knight (76). Yellow card: Diop, Knight. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Todd, Johansson (Matteo 90), Reid, Ferguson, Tugay, Emerton, Dickov, Gallagher (Thompson 83). Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Pedersen, Enckelman. Yello card: Ferguson. Goals: Gallagher 10, Dickov 77 pen. Attendance: 19,103. Ref: R Styles

LET Link. Cole on Souness Well there it is then, blame Souness.

You lot really annoy me. Your just a bunch of character assasins. The same thing happened around this time last year, when we had the opportunity to sign one of the best ball players ever. But no, you couldnt be patient, you had to question his where abouts, his social life and his ability to adapt to playing in this country. You should all be ashamed of yourselves, because of you lot, Rovers lost out and the player is now plying his trade in the sun.