I'm not so sure that we should be praising Souness for his half time tactical genius when it's plain to see it was borne out of sheer desperation. To me it was more of a s**t or bust scenario as opposed to a tactical masterplan. And if we were so good in the second half how is it that I can't remember Hoult having to make a save apart from the goal? Compare that to Brad who still had to make a couple of interventions and the defence who had to make at least one last ditch block to prevent a certain winner. Granted , it is only the first game of the season but I'm sure posters on here would be a lot more tolerant if this performance was a one off. As it is, it's like we never had a summer break and we're picking up where we left off last season. As far as I'm concerned, we have every right to be worried.

If these are the best players Souness has had since he came to the club why does he not show the same confidence in them when he picks the team? I'm noticing a huge change in attitudes towards the manager both at the ground and on this MB. I've stuck up for him in the past but my patience is wearing thin. The next 6 games will shape, not only our season, but I believe the fate of the manager. The players are good enough, is he?

Not to mention sexist. While he's signed some black players how many women has he signed? None at all. There'll be some bras being burnt outside Ewood soon and it'll all be down to Souness' anti-female bias. Best not get that Ross lass on penalties mind. Anyone else remember her woeful last effort in 94? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read four lane. Engage brain before typing next time, you know we don't get penalties.

Stephen Cummings

Agreed SG. I do remember commenting sometime ago that if the 2 parties could not work together it was a fight the manager had to win or his position would be untenable. Looks like he won.

I'm surprised I haven't read a full and unreserved apology to 'master of the football scoop' Alan Nixon in amongst all the Cole talk after some of the early comments on this thread! He may get a bad press amongst members of the board, and probably rightly so in some cases, but the last 2 stories I've heard attributed to him (Duff and Cole sale) both turned out to be true.

I remember the events of 15th April 1989 vividly as my brother was at the game with the Liverpool fans in the Lepping Lane End. The way my parents and I felt until we heard his voice on the other end of a phone will stick with me forever as will him crying in his sleep for weeks after the event. For all those of you who say 'move on' I urge you to engage brain and really consider the loss these people felt. Next time, and god forbid there'll never be a next time, it could be you.

If only.....

It's nothing new, it's just that it comes at a time when interest in rovers seems to be on the wane. That's the more disturbing thing.

Said to me they had a big backlog of tickets to process and that if I paid by cheque there was no way it would be processed til next week. Which was good news seeing as I get paid today and had nothing in the bank to clear it. On a different note I know of at least a dozen non-renewals. One of which has held a s/t for the past 20 years. I'm not hopeful of 10,000 +

I got in there at 6.30 yesterday and got a good seat no problem. So I reckon 2.00 in the afternoon will be just about right. Cheers Bob and Tom, 2pm it is.

David James is a big worry. His actual shot stopping skills are excellent but he's all over the place when it comes to crosses. The 1st goal yesterday could have been avoided if he'd come out to catch the ball in. It actually landed in his six yard box so he should have been there but he just stood still on his line. One last thing, after all the bad press Ashley Cole gets is it not about time it was recognised that he is actually a very very good left back? IMO best in the tournament. The old line that's trotted out is that he can't defend....utter tosh, he's been magnificent at both ends of the pitch. Top stuff Ashley. Bring on Thursday...btw does anyone know what time I should get in Blues bar to assure myself of a good pitch?

I fancied getting to the MOVE festival (where Morrissey's playing at LCCC) but unfortunately I'm going on my hols the day before. Wanted to see the Pixies again (they play on the 10th) as it's probably the last time they'll play live in this area. I saw them at Preston Guild Hall in 1991 and they are still by far the best band I've seen live.

There are four tracks on the album Nick that personally I've grown to like a lot - namely: "I'm Not Sorry", "I Have Forgiven Jesus", "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?" and "America Is Not The World". The rest of the album is a bit mixed, but I've got no regrets about paying a tenner for it - because those four songs mentioned are very good IMO. I guess Nick, that you didn't like the track where Mozzer laments policemen.... That particular song, entitled "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores" is a fairly average track, but there's a nice line about "Lock-jawed pop stars, Nothing to convey, They're so scared to show intelligence. It might smear their lovely career." One such lock jawed pop star (that most people have probably long forgotten about) is the ex-Brother Beyond singer Nathan Moore. Brother Beyond were a cheesy pop band in the late 80's, briefly competing with Bros for the affections of teenage girls. Their best-selling hit "The Harder I Try" reached number 2 in 1989. Nathan's been a busy lad recently. He's been caught scouring the back streets of Kings Cross for lewd acts with prostitutes. Shocking. He's been fined £250 with £50 costs. Further details below: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004260447,00.html Got the new Mozzer release and gave it a couple of weeks before making a decision on it. Utterly utterly fantastic without a bad track on it. 'The first of the gang to die' and 'I have forgiven Jesus' are truly superb. The lyrics again are sublime with 'the first lost lad, to go under the sod' and 'I was a nice kid, through hail and snow, I'd go, just to moon you'. However my personal favourie lyric is 'you have never been in love, until you've seen the dawn rise, behind the home for the blind'. A real return to form after his flirtation with a rockabilly style. Great stuff.

Here's my suggestion for a chant for de Pedro - Gerrinto em Gerrinto em Gerrinto em OR Shearer Shearer Shearer

Just as significant a result last night was the France Croatia draw. If Croatia had won I wouldn't have fancied us to turn them over, as it is, we should be able to secure the point needed to qualify. That said, the team looks decidedly ordinary. Players well off the pace (Scholes and Owen especially), a complete inability to keep the ball in hot conditions and a tendency to defend deep and invite pressure when we're in the lead. One thing is for certain, at this level you cannot afford to keep giving the ball away. Even an ordinary Swiss side passed it around us at times so imagine what the 'bigger' teams could do. It's not that I don't think we can play passing football (as the Gerrard goal showed) it's just that it seems the players are playing it long under instruction. If the manager believes in his players a bit more and tells them to play passing rather than direct football we can match any team. I still wouldn't have minded a piece of that 20/1 on the Germans pre-tournament though. They looked back to their organised disciplined best the other night.

Our record with Scandinavian footballers (Berg apart) isn't too clever either. Frandsen Andersson x 2 Andresen Bohinen Dahlin Pedersen x 2 As for the signing of De Pedro, great to finally have a left sided player. Strange that we've gone down this route after Souey's 'Johnny Foreigner' jibes but from the sounds of the apparent wages being paid and the fact it's free we're looking at a low risk signing. Something that could not be said if we'd shelled out 2 million plus on an unproven Norwegian youngster.

Mates are in albufeira on stag party (not allowed to go even though I'm best man!!) and one txted earlier to tell me the ruck started between 2 england fans arguing amongst themselves. Escalated pretty quickly and ended with portuguese police wading in. Said it was 'premier league bother' and was pretty scary and he's no shrinking violet himself.

Is there any quote from John Williams saying there's no money Simon? It just seems strange that on the one hand we are told there's £4million to spend and then Souey says he's got nowt. Maybe it's GS's way of putting the pressure on JW to release more cash? Whichever way you look at it, there are no positives to be gained by the news and suddenly the price freeze on season tickets seems totally irrelevant. If you were undecided about the purchase of a season ticket before you're swayed towards not bothering now.

My guess is because there's a sizeable Asian community there. You know what some people are like, if there's no French to have a go at they'll have a go at what they perceive to be non-English. Surprised there wasn't a spate of attacks on Renaults, Citroens and Peugeots.

Unspectacular, with a liking for picking out row z in the Walkersteel/Jack Walker stand with his passes. Great free kick against Portsmouth away in the promotion season though.

Yes but the town and surrounding areas isn't given enough credit for its support of the club. Jack Walker invested in Rovers because he knew it was a hugely important part of the town. To pay back the place he grew up in he invested in the club as he knew that would make the whole town and its surrounding areas happy, if he'd been born in Manchester or Birmingham he'd probably have built a museum or library or something. As wonderful as Jack Walker was for Rovers he wasn't the first benefactor (nowhere near the first in fact) the club has had. There is something about the place that has always worshipped the club. As he was Blackburn born and bred he knew it was the club that the townspeople cared for most. As for bought the title - Jack gave the club a big helping hand with money but so what? It's only a big deal to those jealous of the success with how we spent it. The declining season ticket sales are worrying but nobody seems to know the exact reasons and it could only be a temporary decline. Even with that decline we get better support from the surrounding area than nearly anyother club. So don't let anyone tell you Blackburn isn't a football town just because of a bit of a slump over a couple of years. Blackburn is still THE football town. Rovers fans do themselves down too often. When I said we were "punching above our weight", I meant that we are doing so compared to Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal. The likes of Southampton, Birmingham or Charlton need to start winning some cups and leagues before we think of them as "bigger" than us. Those clubs may be able to point to a few empty seats at Ewood to show how they are a bigger club than us. We can point to our trophy cabinet to show what a real success of a club has to show for itself. Great post FLB. I'll take the prem and the Worthy cup wins to my grave, dunno what the fans of the other teams will take but it's a pretty sound bet it wont compare.

Could the same not be said for Jonny Douglas, Steven Reid and even Jemal Johnson. Sometimes it's better the devil you know... On the subject of Pedersen, this proposed deal gets more alarming as time goes by. His club holding out for more money and no-one actually witnessing him having a good game. Then there's the supposed interest from Villa and Man U that has suddenly disappeared. From the original cries of 'sign him' and 'just buy him' bets are being hedged and the talk is now, 'give him time, he'll take time to adjust to the PL'. Keep the powder dry Souey, he's patently not good enough. There is the small fact that Douglas and Reid aren't left wingers though? I don't understand how writing a few lines in the LET gives you this in depth knowledge on Pedersen an the fact he'll be a flop?! Your arguement regarding united and villa is pretty lightweight too. Think about it logically. United - They've got Giggs to play there and he's still one of the best left wingers in the prem. Alan Smith can also do a good job there. I'm guessing they also have a few decent youth team lads who could do a job too. Even the likes of United have a transfer budget and they clearly have bigger priorities than a left winger. Left face it they could afford to let him play for us for a season and snatch him off us if he does well - sad but true...... Villa - I suspect their interest was mainly due to the Gareth Barry contract situation, however the fact that that seems to have been cleared up means they don't need Pedersen right now either. Then there's the fact they have Whittingham to play there too. Villa have made it quite clear they're working with a tight budget..... Very good. Firstly, I have no in depth knowledge but I go off the fact that Norwegian attacking players very rarely are anything more than functional. If you can name one other than Solskjaer who isn't then I'll doff my cap in your direction. Your argument about United and the left wing situation is flawed too. With Keane, Scholes and Butt to play central midfield (arguably the best trio in the prem) why did they then go out and buy Kleberson and Djemba Djemba for big bucks? I understand that left wing is probably not a huge concern but then again I wouldn't have central midfield as being so for them either. I'll be leaving the fray on this particular topic and I'll refrain from posting I told you so if and when he fails to deliver because it would appear he will be signing. Conversely if he surprises me and turns out to be the new wing sensation of the prem I will gladly admit I was wrong...and quite possibly show my backside in the Ewood club too. Carews a decent striker is he not? Keane (by his own admission cannot play a full season in the premiership anymore and has accepted he won't. Kleberson was highly rated and has been a big let down to be fair. Djemba Djemba I'm not entirely sure about but didn't it bag an agent a nice little fee? Make of that what you will. Butt is surplus to requirements..... Fair enough, I just can't see how you can write a player off because he's norweigan and you haven't seen him play! Carew? Don't rate him really high but I don't suppose you play for Valencia and score so many goals if you're a numpty. Cap doffed ever so slightly!!

Could the same not be said for Jonny Douglas, Steven Reid and even Jemal Johnson. Sometimes it's better the devil you know... On the subject of Pedersen, this proposed deal gets more alarming as time goes by. His club holding out for more money and no-one actually witnessing him having a good game. Then there's the supposed interest from Villa and Man U that has suddenly disappeared. From the original cries of 'sign him' and 'just buy him' bets are being hedged and the talk is now, 'give him time, he'll take time to adjust to the PL'. Keep the powder dry Souey, he's patently not good enough. There is the small fact that Douglas and Reid aren't left wingers though? I don't understand how writing a few lines in the LET gives you this in depth knowledge on Pedersen an the fact he'll be a flop?! Your arguement regarding united and villa is pretty lightweight too. Think about it logically. United - They've got Giggs to play there and he's still one of the best left wingers in the prem. Alan Smith can also do a good job there. I'm guessing they also have a few decent youth team lads who could do a job too. Even the likes of United have a transfer budget and they clearly have bigger priorities than a left winger. Left face it they could afford to let him play for us for a season and snatch him off us if he does well - sad but true...... Villa - I suspect their interest was mainly due to the Gareth Barry contract situation, however the fact that that seems to have been cleared up means they don't need Pedersen right now either. Then there's the fact they have Whittingham to play there too. Villa have made it quite clear they're working with a tight budget..... Very good. Firstly, I have no in depth knowledge but I go off the fact that Norwegian attacking players very rarely are anything more than functional. If you can name one other than Solskjaer who isn't then I'll doff my cap in your direction. Your argument about United and the left wing situation is flawed too. With Keane, Scholes and Butt to play central midfield (arguably the best trio in the prem) why did they then go out and buy Kleberson and Djemba Djemba for big bucks? I understand that left wing is probably not a huge concern but then again I wouldn't have central midfield as being so for them either. I'll be leaving the fray on this particular topic and I'll refrain from posting I told you so if and when he fails to deliver because it would appear he will be signing. Conversely if he surprises me and turns out to be the new wing sensation of the prem I will gladly admit I was wrong...and quite possibly show my backside in the Ewood club too.

Could the same not be said for Jonny Douglas, Steven Reid and even Jemal Johnson. Sometimes it's better the devil you know... On the subject of Pedersen, this proposed deal gets more alarming as time goes by. His club holding out for more money and no-one actually witnessing him having a good game. Then there's the supposed interest from Villa and Man U that has suddenly disappeared. From the original cries of 'sign him' and 'just buy him' bets are being hedged and the talk is now, 'give him time, he'll take time to adjust to the PL'. Keep the powder dry Souey, he's patently not good enough.