Better crowd than I feared we might get AND the team performed for them. Perhaps some who came because it was Liverpool will come again?

I'd like to echo that. From what I saw looking doiwn from the upper tier there were few stewards visible and the vast majority of fans sat down. It was also good to see that when fans where stood up there was no immediate reaction from the stewards. I thought the rendition of "Stand up for the Blackburn End" beautifully timed. Perhaps both sides have seen the light?

It was Neil and Short who played him onside, Jay and Nissa must have been a good ten yards further up the pitch

The BBE was in full voice for 85 minutes I'd say. After Liverpool scored their first a young man and woman where escorted from the BBE - seemed to me they were Liverpool fans I happened to glimpse the young lady on MOTM in the Darwen End later after Baros scored. Personally I think they should just be thrown out, not moved.

Just watched MOTM....yep didn't dream it we did play very well. That performance should have restored a lot of pride and confidence in the team. Now for me the big question is this - can we do it for two games in a row? This was a good performance but, without wishing to dampen things down, we usually play well against the bigger teams. Next Saturday we must go out and do the same to Norwich and then again at Citeh. I shall be watching!

Pretty much everything has been said already. We played FOOTBALL yesterday, the first time in perhaps 12 months we actually played the game and look at the difference. We also kept the ball on theground for much of the match and Rovers alwasy look so much better when we do this. The crowd were superb for 90 minutes with the icing on the cake being the majority of the players showed their appreciation of our support. Happy days

2-1 Rovers. I feel good and blindly optimistic today. Come on you Blues

On Sunday March 29th 1987 I stood at the back of Wembley Stadium, having left my wife at home with the 9 month old - "this could be the only time I see Rovers play at Wembley" - as 30,000 Rovers fans celebrated Colin Hendry's winning goal and winning the Full Members Cup. It was gut-wrenching and I came close to smacking the steward who said to his mate "You'd think they'd won something" We had! In that team, and Man of the Match that day, as he was on many, mnay other occassions was Simon Barker. For me Simon was a bit like Dunny in our spell in Division One - they where shining lights, a small ray of hope that things would get better. Simon Barker hails from Farnworth and worked his way through the youth teams to make his full debut in October 1983; he had bags of potential and was one of the best young midfielders of his time in the old Second Division. His role was as a creative, right-sided player who would frequently just appear in the penalty area to knock in yet another goal for Rovers. During the time Barker was at Ewood the club was constantly under great financial pressure and after we had missed out on promotion twice he was sold to QPR for the then club record fee of £400,000. From what I remember his last season was curtailed to 30 odd games but he still managed 9 goals. Simon went on to be a regular member of the then QPR First Division side. League:---------180 + 2 scoring 35 goals FA Cup:----------11 League Cup:----9 scoring 4 times FMC:--------------6 scoring twice Other Games:---2 In five seasons Barker made 208 appearances for Rovers plus two as sub. In that time he scored 41 goals. In my view he'd walk into the current side. I'm not good at waxing eloquently as so many of you have about your favourite players but hope I've jogged a few memories. Simon was not our greatest midfielder but for this fan he represented a lot, gave me some faith in the future and I was very, very sorry to see him go. Simon Barker deserves a proper mention in this thread. He was a footballer and these days I'd give my right arm to see a few more real footballers at Ewood Park.

Every cloud has a silver lining............. I do hope Souness has the decency to offer £7.5m for Barry Ferguson who is going to be a "top, top player in the Premier League"

That really is a very good article. Particularly interesting to note that the only people with their heads in the sand are the Premier League themselves: 'Five or six years ago people were saying the league was a one-horse race. Now it's at least a three-horse race,' says a Premier League spokesman. 'We are still one of the most competitive leagues in Europe. Total rubbish. The PL is one of the most boring leagues in the world. Great if you are trying to sell TV rights but for the every day fan who wants nothing more than a 3.00pm Saturday KO it has become a nightmare. The day the PL took the Sky money was the day football began to die. Sky TV is like a cancer spreading through the game and will eventually destroy what remains of the beautiful game.

He expressed his views to Graeme Souness

I'd best post my views before I get too well acquainted with the bottle I've just been out for. 86% voted Hughes as the right man for the job, even rover6 and jim had positive remarks to make. That's not a side-swipe just a fact. Now I don't feel very positive, Churchillian or whatever and I'd agree Hughes has made some strange selections to date. However to begin suggesting his time will be short and to start raking up the Welsh results of the past four years is plainly ridiculous. Until tonight I didn't know the results where as poor as suggested, I don't recall anyone moaning six weeks ago. The people responsible for our position are Graeme Souness and the players. Souness has gone, I still don't believe he deliberatley purchased poor players, so any blame apportioned to the management goes in his direction. The players? Well to be blunt about it there are many who for whatever reason have to look closely at themselves. I don't believe they are really that bad but their performances say they are total crap. If these footballers WANTED to do something about the team's situation they could. The truth is that many of them have now been found out for the mercenaries they are. We have footballers like Emerton, Neil, Ferguson, Reid, Matteo, Gresko, Amoruso signed from second-rate teams, some playing for third or fourth rate international sides who have managed to flatter to deceive. If you are really PL standard, then PLAY, if not just go. It's time to earn your money chaps or be forever known as yet another second-rate, money grabbing, mercenary footballer who couldn't give two hoots about his club and its fans. Blackburn Rovers current crop of players demonstrates much that is wrong with the game.

Great post Alan. You and I have discussed this before and I share your feelings. I'm very, very tired of football and have been for a long while. I only care about Blackburn Rovers and that is hard work at the moment. Why am I tired of football. Simple really 1. Over exposure, it's no longer special. 2. The exploits of the so called stars and professionals. I am sick to death of mediocre and average players being built up day in, day out. The true stars, like Henry, Shearer, Pires, are wonderfully absent from the media. 3. The exploits of, for example only, Ferdinand, Beckham, the Leeds pair etc. I'm sick to death of them, they're just bloody footballers. Nothing special. 4. The constant over-analysys. I don't care if the referee screwed up, the result is the same. I don't care if the goal is later proved to be offside - it was more fun to argue without any proof. 5. The mercenary players and their mealy-mouthed platitudes to the fans who pay their wages. 6. The extortionate money paid to those players 7. All the rubbish about "playing too much football" 8. Manchester United I grew up watching Southern League football and that was more exciting than the Premier League. There was a buzz, some hope of winning but the PL has managed to kill that for all but the fans of three or four clubs. The game has been milked for years by people who care little for it. As I posted a few weeks ago, when you sell your sould to the devil he eventaully comes knocking.

Unless you're very clever, I can't do it!, it needs to be an image that is already on the net. Find your picture Right click and select Properties In the window that opens look for Address Copy the Address - something like: http://www.maion.com/photography/_photos/maro0915.tiny.jpg On brfcs.com click Reply in the usual way Click the IMG button Paste the address in the window that opens Click Add Reply in the usual way

Paul begins to question coiln's directions to the City of Manchester Stadium

The issue between club and fans is two-fold; 1. Home fans would like the stewards/police to take a more respectful approach to enforcing the rules 2. Home fans would like the rules equally enforced with away support. In any disagreement where you have two fairly entrenched views something has to give. In this instance the club can't back down as to do so would be to defy the Licencing Authority. Fans agree they are not permitted to stand and so do not have a reasonable arguement for continuing to stand. This just leaves 1 & 2 above. Seems to me the obvious move is for the home fans to remain seated thus removing the heat from the situation. By doing so the pressure is then 100% back on the club to resolve the away fans issue. If, with the home support observing the rules, the club fail to address the away fans issue then those in the BBE who are unhappy have a cast-iron case for arguing with the club on the matter.

Hello Acrtic, The site does have its own badge, if you would like to buy one - £3 plus postage - please get in touch with me.

Rovers explain stand up row

He certainly went straight down the tunnel, nothing unusual in that for a player, but to describe it as "storming" is exageration and nothing other than paper talk. Gally out on loan? I shall be very unhappy if that happens. We supposedly have one of the best academies around; yet rather than give these youngsters an extended run in the team we lend them to other teams or ignore them completley. We know the first team are utter crap, we may as well find out what the kids are really like. Might earn us £17m one day

I shall be going out on my bike.

How can he clear out Souness's dross with little money to spend and the transfer window closed for ten weeks (by which time it might be too late anyway)? Or do we have to accept relegation as inevitable in order to rebuild and start again? From a footballing perspective that could be the best solution but goodness only knows what it would do to the rest of the club.

You are quite right den but we will only get an answer to that when someone who was thrown out posts on here. I can state quite clearly I was told I would be ejected if I did not return to my seat. This during a heated conversation in the FS concourse.

True we rarely got thrashed under Souness - just beaten, week in, week out. He purchased crap players and left us to reap the whirlwind. The sooner Hughes can clear the whole lot out the better. These so called professional players are responsible for the club's predicament.

From The Guardian article: I was saying this months ago under Souness, and I'm not picking out Amo as the target. Within reason whatever happens this season I shall back Hughes. He has to deal with the team Souness put together - it looks more laughable to call him a football manger as each game goes by - and can't be truely judged until he (Hughesy) has moulded his own side. Against Bournemouth and on Saturday there would odd flashes of quality play. In both games the ball was on the ground, Jansen and Stead were involved on Saturday; against the Cherries it was MGP, Jansen, Stead and Gally. While I don't suggest we put the reserves out against Chelsea I want to see the young players tried soon. I want a hero. I wasn't especially angry on Saturday, just accepted the inevitable. We have a team full of journeymen, here for the coin, with no interest in our club. I no longer support these players, I support Blackburn Rovers. I can support anyone who tries but we did not have a player in the starting 11 that created a whiff of excitment for me. Not one who I shall be disappointed to see leave. Stead is the only player Souness signed that I can feel anything for... Friedel excepted. My eldest doesn't have an ST this year (he's going to Australia soon) and I've been stumping up £24 - £28 each game for his ticket. It has certainly made me think. I'm sure we would have stopped already if myself and the other two kids didn't have STs. Crowds are dropping? On a match by match basis it would cost us £60 - £70 per game - it isn't value for money and there lies the problem. I've asked before and I'll say it again, ad nauseum, we need HEROES.

I saw a Rovers fan, with dark hair, in a dark blue jacket man-handled down the right hand side of the steps towards the stairwell by two police officers. As they got to the top of the stairwell he pulled away from one police officer who still had hold of his left arm. The fan then disappeared down the stairwell. I don't know if this is the person you are thinking of.