First half goals by Jonathan Douglas, Jemal Johnson and a penalty in the 85 minute by Neill Danns gave Blackburn a 3-0 win against Wolves last night. Peter Enckelman made his debut in a Rovers shirt and Craig Short got another 75 minutes of match fitness under his belt. Paul Gascoigne played the first half for Wolves and their trialist keeper Saul Deeny was sent off for bringing down Douglas, which resulted in the penalty for Rovers.

With satellite tv, and internet coverage of last nights game we all know, worldwide by now the result from last nights game at Ewood Park when Blackburn beat Everton 2-1 to move out of the bottom three in the premier league. Every supporter will have his own opinion on the game and the performances of individual players, which is clearly evident when reading the fans forum on the message board. Everton Pre and Post Match Comments Match Report

With satellite tv, and internet coverage of last nights game we all know, worldwide by now the result from last nights game at Ewood Park when Blackburn beat Everton 2-1 to move out of the bottom three in the premier league. Every supporter will have his own opinion on the game and the performances of individual players, which is clearly evident when reading the fans forum on the message board. What those fans who where forced to watch tv or listen to the internet due to genuine reasons missed was the atmosphere within Ewood Park last night. Manager Graeme Souness has stated before the game that we were all in this together and whilst the players did their part, so did the fans who turned up to support their team. The omen of a win was there, when the players ran out to “The Final Countdown” and within 6 minutes of the kick off Rovers had taken the lead through Babbel followed by a goal by Yorke 7 minutes later. With the ground rocking to the sound of Souness’s Blue & White Army, No Nay Never, Barmy Army (Uncle Jack) etc Rovers dominated the first half, both on the pitch and from the stands. Early in the second half Radzinski pulled one back for Everton, which resulted in some nerves showing on the pitch and nail biting in the stands and although Unsworth came close in equalising for Everton, the Rovers players did’nt capitulate and neither did the fans who supported the team to the final whistle, with sections of the ground standing in unison for the final ten minutes, singing their team to a deserved victory. Rovers may not be out of the woods yet but the first tree has been felled and the fans where there to shout TIMBER. Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Todd, Babbel, Gresko, Emerton, Ferguson, Flitcroft, Reid, Jansen (Baggio 79), Yorke (Gallagher 46). Subs not used: Martin Taylor, Tugay, Enckelman. Booked: Ferguson, Gresko, Flitcroft. Everton: Martyn, Hibbert, Yobo, Clarke, Naysmith (Jeffers 82), Gravesen, Nyarko (Unsworth 45), Linderoth, Kilbane (McFadden 45), Campbell, Radzinski. Subs not used: Chadwick, Simonsen. Booked: Linderoth, Campbell. Attendance: 22,179. Referee: P Dowd

With no possibility of bringing in a saviour to turn things around until the transfer window opens in January, in the words of the song, Blackburn must search for a hero from within. With Rovers not having kept a clean sheet all season and not having scored a Premier League goal since the away game at Leeds in the beginning of October, will their hero emerge tomorrow night to give them three points to start the climb out of the relegation zone. Tomorrow night, Blackburn will be without suspended midfielder David Thompson and striker Andy Cole. Whilst manager Graeme Souness has a wealth of midfielders to select from, especially now that Scotland and Turkey have allowed Ferguson and Tugay to join up with their respective international teams on Tuesday, Souness’s major problem will be the striker selection. Souness has the option of four strikers with the experienced Yorke and Jansen appearing to be first choice to start in a crucial game against fellow strugglers Everton, however Souness may surprise everyone by giving youngster Paul Gallagher his debut start in the Premier League. With Craig Short making a successful return in the reserves mid-week, with the exception of the injured Amoruso, Souness has the full first team defensive squad to choose from, including experienced back up for Friedel, in the form of on loan Villa keeper, Peter Enckelman. Rovers Squad : Friedel, Enckelman, Neill, Johansson, Short, Todd, Taylor, Reid, Tugay, Gresko, Ferguson, Flitcroft, Gallagher, Yorke, Jansen, Emerton, Baggio, Babbel, McEveley, Grabbi. Everton themselves have a number of injury problems, with David Weir, Steve Watson, Duncan Ferguson, Kevin Campbell, Alessandro Pistone, Lee Carsley and Richard Wright all reportedly out, David Moyes will select from. Everton Squad : Martyn, Hibbert, Yobo, Stubbs, Naysmith, Linderoth, Gravesen, McFadden, Kilbane, Nyarko, Rooney, Radzinski, Jeffers, Simonsen, Li Tie, Unsworth, Clarke, Osman, Chadwick. Referee. Phil Dowd. Today manager Graeme Souness has issued a rallying call to all those who care about the club and I quote Souness from the official site. “The fans are absolutely vital to us, perhaps even more so when we are loosing. This isn’t the time for pointing fingers or arguing about this or that. I’d like to think we are in it together” So in the words of the song. Search for the Hero, (not only on the pitch but also) Search for the Hero inside Yourself.

The Premier League this morning 7th November, gave their approval for Rovers to sign Villa keeper Peter Enckelman on a month's loan deal. During an interview with Sky tv, manager Graeme Souness stated that if Enckelman impressed during his loan period, concideration would be given for a permanent deal. During the interview with Sky, Souness confirmed that the club were in the market for a goalkeeper as cover for Friedel as the club believed that Yelldell wasnt ready for Premiership level football at present.

Gençlerbirligi conquerers of Blackburn in the last round, tonight fought back from a goal down to gain a 1-1 draw against Sporting Clube De Portugal in the UEFA Cup. Gençlerbirligi goal being scored by Veysel Cihan with his first touch after coming on as a substitute.

Graeme Souness talks about lady luck, well at the moment it looks as if someone at Blackburn Rovers must have driven over a girls netball team carrying a pride of black cats belonging to the Pendle witches this summer. With a crucial game against Everton due next Monday the latest bad fortune to hit the club, is a shoulder injury to reserve team keeper, Yelldell, who has been covering for the injured first team reserve keeper Alan Kelly. Blackburn must now return for a second time to the Premier League for approval, in order to loan Villa keeper, Peter Enckelman before the deadline at noon tomorrow, to ensure he is eligable for Mondays game. Should their application be rejected again by the league, Rovers will only have accademy keeper Steven Drench as cover USA keeper Brad Friedell. Steven Drench has limited experience and last night was his first game for the reserves this season, in which he made vital saves to keep Rovers in the game, before Paul Gallagher equalised 8 minutes before the final whistle to give Rovers a 1-1 draw with Bolton. There was however good news last night when Craig Short played his first full 90 minutes of the season against Bolton reserves, which could put him in line for a recall against his former club on Monday night.

More often than not, when a football clubs board of directors give the manager the dreaded vote of confidence, the writing is on the wall for that manager. Today Blackburn’s Chief Executive John Williams has been very careful in wording the club’s vote of confidence in manager Graeme Souness. Speaking to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Mr Williams is reported to say "Manchester United create a siege mentality at Old Trafford and we've got to do something similar here now because we are all in this together," "I know all the players are right behind Graeme and the board are too. LET Article. Chief Leads Fight Mr Williams’s comments come on the back of support for Souness from former Everton manager Walter Smith, Rover's club captain Gary Flitcroft and former Rovers favourites Glenn Keeley and Kevin Gallagher. A poll currently being run on this site, show that BRFC. Supporters are backing Graeme Souness to remain as manager of Blackburn Rovers. Poll. Souness has our Support

Rovers central defender Craig Short plays his first game of the season when he turns out for the reserves against Bolton tonight at Morcambe’s Christie Park. Short has been out of action since pre season when he had an operation on his knee cartilage. Other first team squad players included in the reserves team are Taylor, Gallagher, Baggio, Grabbi and McEveley plus Danns and Douglas who have returned to the Rovers after a successful 3 months loan period with Blackpool. Making his debut for the reserves will be academy keeper Steven Drench, following Rover’s failure to get league approval for a loan deal involving Villa keeper, Peter Enckelman. Meanwhile Graeme Souness has taken the remainder of the first team squad to his native Scotland for a team bonding exercise prior to next Monday’s crucial game against North West rivals Everton.

Where were YOU on the 24th February 2002, yes I suspect you were happy to share in the glory of a trip to the Millennium Stadium Cardiff, proud to wave the flags and colours when Cole and Jansen scored to bring the Worthington Cup back to Blackburn. How many of YOU turned up at Ewood Park for the UEFA Cup game against Celtic, or the Worthington Cup Semi Final against Manchester United last season. In three seasons as manager of Blackburn Rovers, Graeme Souness has won promotion to the Premiership, the Worthington Cup and qualified for Europe on two occasions, finishing 10th and 6th in the Premier League. Now is the time when YOU the supporter must get behind the team, if not for the man whose brought the club success, that couldn’t have been dreamed of when Brian Kidd took the club down to the Nationwide back in 1999, but for the memory of the man who had the foresight to appoint Souness as manager back in March 2000. Next Monday night Blackburn Rovers play North West rivals Everton at Ewood Park in a game that both teams are desperate to a win in order to move away from the relegation zone and to kick start their season. Blackburn will be without Cole and Thompson due suspensions and although Craig Short is back in training a return on Monday night against his former club may be one game to soon. Now is the time when those who were happy to bask in the glory years, should get down to Ewood Park, to stand up and show their colours, to wave the flag and support the club. Its not about personalities anymore, its about the future of Premiership football at Ewood Park, its about the future of YOUR club.

Who then. topic merged.

Dont panic

In a game where Blackburn dominated for most of the game Leicester had two attempts and scored from each. First ex Rover Marcus Bent scored in the 73 min from an Isset free kick when he stuck his leg out to deflect past Gresko and Leicester sealed the game with 8 minutes to go when Howey prodded home from close range after Elliot at headed on a ball in to the box. Untill Bent scored there was only one team that looked likely to win and yet with all the possession Rovers failed to capitalise. Rovers defence that has been the centre of discussions all season looked on the whole solid and the midfield controlled the game the only item that was lacking was the goal that would have killed Leicester off. The goal that Rovers deserved for their dominance didnt materialise and all the history books will show is that Leicester gained all 3 points. Leicester: Walker, Impey, Sinclair (Elliott 72), Howey, Stewart, Gillespie (Thatcher 61), Izzet, McKinlay, Scowcroft, Ferdinand (Dickov 67), Bent. Subs Not Used: Coyne, Hignett. Booked: Howey, Dickov. Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Babbel, Todd, Gresko (Reid 82), Emerton, Flitcroft (Tugay 79), Ferguson, Thompson, Cole, Yorke. Subs Not Used: Yelldell, Jansen, Martin Taylor. Booked: Emerton. Attendance: 30,975 Referee: D Gallagher

I seem to recall that on one of the occations when Parkes took over, he got the players together and took them down the pub, instead of going to training.

Good point, not something that many of us have considered. He refused to criticise Lucas and is still make his feelings known on the Cole incident, instead he keeps hiding behind comments such as 'the general feeling is...'. Strange comments from a man who is not afraid to say what he feels His analysis of the formation and general frustrations of being a Rovers fan at present are spot on too. Heck, Souness cant win can he. He doesnt criticise Neill or Cole in public, he gets criticised. He criticises Dunn in public and he gets criticised. Its called man management, never criticise staff in public or in front of other members of staff, untill it gets to the point where that member of staff is taking liberties that affects your control of the remainder of employees and the image of the company.

Graeme Souness has again selection problems, with three defenders unavailable, Todd cup tied with Short and Amoruso all out due to injuries. Souness does however have Lucas Neill available after suspension and illness and also has the bonus of Babbel passing a fitness test. Blackburn squad. Friedel, Yelldell, Emerton, Babbel, Thompson, Ferguson, Gresko, Taylor, Neill, Johansson, Gallagher, Reid, Jansen, Grabbi, Yorke, Cole, Baggio, Tugay, Flitcroft.

Posted: Oct. 25 2003, 20:18 by Big A on fans messageboard forum In many ways we were unlucky to lose here. Both sides were awful really. 4-5-1 does not work. We were just pinging balls forward and they were sent straight back at us all the time. Cole had no support and we never looked like scoring. I thought Ferguson looked good today, neat and tidy. Todd and Taylor looked solid and times and then made silly errors. Both were guilty of not winning clear headers and one of them (Todd I think) was ball watching for their second. Thompson did quite well on the left but he's obviously not a left winger, Tugay didn't click today and Emerton kept misplacing passes. One thing that worried me was Friedel. He made some good saves but looks far less confident than last season and dropped a few under pressure. Saints were as bad though really - they looked good in defence but when you're playing against one man it's not hard. Beattie's free kick gave them a lift and we pushed men forward - they caught us on the break with the second. Second half going forward we were a bit better but we were hampered by having 10 men / playing 4-5-1. The team put in a bad performance but imo GS' tactics were at fault as well (doesn't mean he should be sacked though). 4-4-2 would have offered more of an attacking threat and pumping long balls at Andy Cole when he's up against two giant Scandanavians would never have worked. Saints were there for the taking, they were as nervous as we were but Strachan was more positive and Beattie's free kick won it for them. Edited by Alan75

Second half goals by Beattie and Grffit give Southampton a 2-0 win against Blackburn, who had Andy Cole sent off in the 63minute. Southampton: Niemi, Dodd, Lundekvam, Michael Svensson, Le Saux, Telfer(Griffit86), Delap, Anders Svensson, McCann, Beattie(Marsden 90), Tessem. Subs not used: Jones, Fernandes, Higginbotham. Blackburn: Friedel, Reid, Gresko(Jansen 67), Taylor, Todd, Flitcroft, Ferguson, Tugay, Emerton(Gallagher 67), Thompson(Neill 71), Cole. Subs not used: Yelldell, Johansson. Red card Cole Yellow card Todd Referee: S Bennett Click here for MATCH REPORT

Two second half goals from Sinama Pongella gave Liverpool Res all 3 points against Blackburn Res at Christie Park tonight. In a game that started lively, with Yelldell making two excellent saves to defy Liverpool and Rover's Fitzgerald having a header cleared off the line, all within 2 minutes from kick off. However the lively start turned into a dull affair for the 1200 spectators, the highlights of the night being Pongella's goals in the 53 and 58 minute.

Selection problems mount for Blackburn manager Graeme Souness, when it was confirmed today that Italian centre half Amoruso will be out of action until the new year, after undergoing a knee operation. Prior to the main operation, an exploratory operation revealed a similar problem that Thompson had last season. This injury compounds Blackburn’s defensive problems with Short, Babbell and Neill already side lined with injuries and Todd being cup tied for next weeks game against Liverpool. Meanwhile trialist Qu Bo has returned to his club Qingdao in China to regain his fitness. Rovers chief executive John William is reported as saying : "Qu Bo is still some four to six weeks away from full fitness and officials at his club have decided that he should continue his rehabilitation back home."

Despite what some people on here think I'm normally quite a positive person, especially when it comes to Rovers. Unfortunately, there's very little I can say that's positive after that. First of all - 4-5-1 at home to Charlton??!! Away from home maybe, but to do it at home just hands the initiative to the opposition. I can understand Souness wanting us to be more solid but only playing one attacker against a team that sat nine men behind the ball (as everyone knew they would) is ridiculous. Despite saying that we actually played OK in the first half. Not great, and we certainly didn't threaten their goal enough, but we looked comfortable and pretty well in control of things. Unfortunately, after about half an hour or so, Charlton had the cheek to mount an attack. Cue defensive disarry, nervous tension aplenty, a corner, laughable "marking" by Flitcroft, and another soft goal against. The team who, up until Charlton's goal, had looked vaguely promising suddenly wilted. Thompson slowly disappeared, Emerton became a liability, Ferguson may as well not been on in the second half, Tugay looked tired and devoid of ideas. Jansen came on and looked average at best. Some of the players played well. Reid had far and away his best game for us, Cole worked his socks off and looked our only real threat. Gallagher showed plenty of promise and did what Grabbi did at Leeds - hugged the touchline and put good crosses in. I thought Gresko put some decent crosses in, especially in the first half, but faded like the rest in the second. Our back four played more or less like a unit and dealt with most things pretty well. Tactically we're a shambles. There's no shape at all to our midfield. Thompson and Emerton provide little or no width to stretch defences, and when they do get the ball wide they simply cut inside into already congested areas. Noone runs from midfield past the front players, noone beats a full-back and gets to the bye-line, nobody runs into the channels. Our defenders or deep midfielders have noone to hit when they're in possession - all to often a high ball up to Cole or Jansen seems to be our only outlet. Even if one of these two wins a flick-on or knockdown noone runs onto the ball. And we're so slow. Our passing is laboured and we never hit teams on the break. It's not just a physical thing, mentally we're just not quick enough at spotting an opportunity or killer pass. Whether that's just confidence or something more fundamental god knows but I hope we sort it out soon.

Final Score 0 - 1 Blackburn. Friedel, Reid,Taylor, Todd, Gresko(Baggio 78), Emerton(Gallagher 80), Flitcroft(Jansen 45), Tugay, Ferguson,Thompson, Cole. Subs not used. Johansson, Yelldell. Yellow card. Emerton, Thompson, Cole. Charlton. Kiely, Stuart, Fish, Parker, Holland, Jensen, di Canio(Fortune 86), Hreidarsson, Young(Kishishev 17), Johanssen(Euell 68), Perry. Subs not used. Royce, Powell. Goal. Hreidarsson 32. Ref. G.Barber Attendance 19,939 MATCH REPORT

Tonight sees Blackburn back in league action when the entertain Charlton at Ewood Park, in front of the Sky cameras. With both clubs reporting a long list of injuries, the managers will have to make enforced changes and at this stage it would be difficult to predict the starting line ups. Graeme Souness will be hoping striker Andy Cole will have recovered from the cricked neck that kept him out of the mid week uefa cup game, however if press reports are to be believed, regarding Amoruso requiring knee surgery, Souness will have to reshuffle his defence once again. Charlton also have their own injury worries, including Shaun Bartlett, Carlton Cole, Kevin Lisbie, Jason Euell, Richard Rufus and Gary Rowett. With injuries to his main strike force Curbishley is likely to start with Paolo di Canio up front. After this weekends results, Rovers have dropped close to the relegation zone and it is imperative that tomorrow night they get a win that would move them back up the table. Andy Cole will be hoping to score his 250th goal whilst Matt Jansen will be hoping to celebrate a win on his 26th birthday. What the fans have to say. Link to Rovers v Charlton Preview and Predictions Team news. Rovers . Friedel, Reid,Taylor, Todd, Gresko, Emerton, Flitcroft, Tugay, Ferguson,Thompson, Cole. Subs. Johansson, Baggio, Jansen, Gallagher, Yelldell. Charlton; Kiely, Stuart, Fish, Parker, Holland, Jensen, di Canio, Hreidarsson, Young, Johanssen, Perry. Subs; Fortune, Royce, Euell, Kishishev, Powell.

Posted by Tris I could not agree more. Huge credit also goes to you guys (Paul, Glenn and SteB) for getting the fans game organised, and to JPW for driving everyone everywhere (even Burnley), putting the Gencler fans up, cooking them breakfast and captaining the side. It's been well documented on here before what a great team we have in charge of the club. It was demonstrated again here. To elaborate - Rovers put on a coach to bring the Turkish lads to Brockhall from Manchester, they provided a fantastic pitch for us at the academy, all set up for a reduced numbers game, a ref (one of the academy lads - will find out who so we can thank him), full (brilliant) changing facilities, and John Williams himself turned up to see the fans game, One of the coaches even patched up my knee in the treatment room after the game. Personally the already pretty good dream became surreal when Jacko got to the Fernhurst and said my goal was on Northwest Tonight. It was already amazing to have been shown the academy facilities, play there in the blue and white, and score. To then have the goal on the BBC was like not quite real. Needless to say it's on tape somewhere and will be kept for the rest of my life.

Posted by Paul There's a little story to this which for me speaks volumes about our club and it's attitude to the fans. At 7.30pm Tom Finn was waiting in the JW reception for me and the boys. He knew all about what was happening. We chatted while we waited for Glenn and the Gencel fans. Tom apologised because he couldn't stay with us for the presentation. We saw Dunny arriving who stopped for a few words in reception and as we walked through the changing area Glenn almost tripped over Matt Jansen! We met Neil from PAPR and the TV presenter (sorry can't think of his name right now) who were very helpful. Myself, Glenn, my sons and assorted Gencle fans were able to just mill around in the tunnel for around 20-25 minutes. When we were in the way the tunnel hostess was very polite in asking us to move as they players were coming off the pitch! It just underlines for me what a fantastic club we have in Blackburn. I don't believe any other club in the country would accommodate a group of fans in this way for 40 minutes before kick off in any game let alone a European match. We really underestimate how lucky we are to have people like John Williams and Tom Finn running our club.