Lucas Neil did not turn into a bad player. He looked very low of confidence at times at the start of this season. This carried on from indifferent displays last season. He is defending much better and I think he can contribute more going forward. However over the past few games we have seen the real Lucas Neil in my view. He looks fitter (like everyone does) but he is making some crucial interceptions. Still maybe not 100% for everyones liking but got to give him credit. Actually what am I saying- Souness bought him, actually he is cr*p, what a waste of money. Why did that man bother to get us promotion. Also Matteo is a crap left back but thats not his position. Hughes feels he is the only one he can play there- explains the Spector deal then, who will start as soon as he joins up.

It depends who organsises the wall. It is not the sole responsibility of the keeper. Danny Murphy organises Charlton's wall for example.

Flitcroft is on borrowed time- Hughes knows it and is actively seeking a replacement. You need more than what Garry has at the moment. He looks fitter recently but you need more if you want to do well in this league.

I would dish out the money because the guy is quality. Steve Bruce says he is the heart-beat of their team. However I dont need his comments to know he would improve us. His character sometimes over-shadows his footballing quality. Proven player.. you know exactly what you are getting. But rover6 you would rather some unknown young boy who you will also be attracted to at the same time. Notice a trend appearing that you seem to fancy all our youth players and MGP. By the way rover6- when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror are you temped to head-butt it??

With the strikers we have got you HAVE to play Dickov. Any manager would. He makes things happen- Stead was awful yesterday, not tough enough for this league.... Bothroyd has shown glimpes but is he upto it? Gally is not deemed good enough to start anymore.

So quiet people, so quiet! Took some friends who had never been before- they enjoyed both defences on display but could not understand why there was such a quiet home support.

Where has the belief gone from the fans? Saw Hughes trying to get the fans going but it was lacking any sort of belief that we could win the game. How times have changed, I thought we could have taken Newcastle in the second half but we are lacking quality in many areas. We need a left back- hopefully Spector will provide this answer. Speaking to a Man Utd fan yesterday and he thinks he is a quality player. More importantly we need a striker as Stead is looking well out of sorts.

Thanks for the travel updates guys! Setting off in an hour.... feeling very nervous today, could not sleep last night- think there will be a cracking atmosphere today and dare I say it I have a feeling we will win!

What is the weather situation like? I here road conditions not the best. Just that I am driving down with a couple of mates from Edinburgh in the morning.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashi...rt/ROVERS2.html

From PA Sport Newcastle boss Graeme Souness heads for familiar territory today knowing his reception might be just as frosty from the away end as from the home stands. The man who brought the Lancashire club a League Cup success during his time in charge knows the points will not be surrendered without a fight. “Blackburn is going to be a very big day for me,” he said. “I had four very good years there. I enjoyed it there and worked with some great people from the chairman down. “It is a big game for both clubs. Both clubs are desperate for a win, both clubs are maybe not playing with the kind of confidence they would want at this time, so it is a real pressure game. “It is stand up and be counted and let’s see what we are all made of.”

Surely it was Glasgow Rangers after Nelsen. Surely they will be after a new centre back as they will lose Boumsong soon and Craig Moore is off as well.

That story has been picked up from the Sunday papers over here. Not saying it wont happen but there is less substance in the story unlike the Ryan one.

So he should make decisons for the benefit of the club or for someone he does not deem good enough for his match day squad at the moment?? You really do fancy him as well along with cawaido.

The Mokoena talk is just speculation being repeated from Sunday's papers. There has been no quotes or anything. Just people putting 2+2 together because he was on trial with us. It is just being picked up on news wires here and from South Africa. As for Nelsen we are in talks with him.

However Gravesen is a class player. Sadly our Barry is not (yet). I could go on and comparing defences would be a waste of time. There are a lot of question marks over our team like give Ferguson a few more games etc. Carsley would probably get in our line up for example. Dont know how you can say we have the same strength of talent as them. Potentially some of our players may get better- MGP and a couple others. Also you cite Bent but Cahill has proved he can play in this league and I would guess he will get better.

If I am being overly optimistic we could be a lot better. I am not getting carried away with Everton- just pointing out that I think they have a more established squad than us. The additions in the summer of Cahill and Bent have added a new dimension to Everton along with the introduction of a very successful tactical system which other Prem clubs are attempting to follow.

I think most of us are backing, in this case, MGP. The whole furore surrounding him not be involved is ridiculous. I can understand why it seems odd why he is not playing to you. I trust our coaching staff more than I do your opinion, even though I appreciate you coming on to view your thoughts on MGP. I am sure he will play a part soon but I am not losing sleep over it.

cuidado- Out of curiousity how would you describe your feelings for MGP.... love or just showing real care for a good friend. Would you like to see big Jol take him on at Spuds- he really is a disgrace your manager. When Sir Alex saw the size of his gut he made his own judgement on him.

True- unless you have a lot of cash you are not going to get experienced Premier League defenders, especially in January. Even the likes of Dawson (Notts Forest) are out of our price range.

I love it when this thread comes back to the top. http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashi...rt/ROVERS0.html

http://sport.iafrica.com/news/398964.htm

Interesting to see people are still kidding themselves that Everton's and our squad are similar in any way. First of all as pointed out they have reliable defenders who have a track record of playing well. They also appear to have a left back. As for midfield Gravesen is class unlike our Ferguson whose role at the moment seems to be bringing out inconsistent performances for him at the moment. He is used to be a deep lying playmaker however seems lost at many times throughout matches. He did score goals for Rangers but playing in that league it is not very difficult. Dont particularly like Carsley but he does the dirty work of winning the ball and protecting the defence. I could go on but with their one attacker they have something we dont- pace and also in Bent a decent finisher. Both things we lack. Get real guys its looking very bleak- we could not even beat a really dire, Championship Palace team. It needs more than fitness to stay in this league.

A real test for us tomorrow. Palace will come fired up at us and they think they are better than us. Feeling very worried and nervous ahead of tomorrow. Saturdays are proving interesting days at the moment and it would be nice to be able to enjoy myself tomorrow night again. Not going to predict as I simply dont know but I fear the worst....

I had a week or so break away from the UK and this board. However while I was in the US I made sure I had to see the Spurs match live in a bar. Thought I would treat some of my friends who wanted to see a soccer game. The thought that dawned on me during and after the match was what the hell has gone on at our club in recent times. It seems like we are trying to teach the squad them to play football again. Basic traits of being any midfielder is to track your opposite man however this has been a problem with our team for a while. That is just one example of basic things we do consistently wrong but I have come to the sad conclusion the club had deep rooted problems which will take a long time to eradicate.