Damn, me too! Up in the Lakes for the day.

They managed to hold on to take the win 3-2 What a cracking game! Anyone know the time the final kicks off on Sunday?

Snap! We were the long suffering 27 year wait brigade!

This coming season will be my 40th watching Rovers and, since I started working in the mid 70s, virtually all have been as a season ticket holder. First home game was against Carlisle in December 1966 - I can remember their team coach being snowballed as it made its way down Cravens Brow. First away game against Bury in 1967. How many have you then?

Several double deckers come down from Darwen, both picking up at all the Rovers pubs and a special service that just runs down the main road. This alleviates the need to park your car at Ewood and more importantly allows a few drinkie poos. Only £2 return.

Birmingham City's trophy cabinet is full of dust. Just for the record Blackburn's population is around 100,000 not 125,000. If you want to include Darwen plus the surrounding villages within the Borough it rises to 139,000. We have won 10 majors - I'm sure our little friend with the funny accent will run through Birminghams - it won't take long. Bigger club my arse.

Welcolme back Al.

roversmum - first class!!

Bugger, that's that idea gone for a burton. It would make Burnley Bob feel a little uncomfortable though.

Well done to Woolnough - as you say he usually talks sh*te - when Shearer got tfd to Newcastle he threatened to take solicitors action against me for a letter I wrote to him. With regard to the media, I couldn't give a monkeys. More recently it has been Bolton, now it's out turn. As has been posted it will bind us together and make us stronger. In fact we should adopt the Millwall anthem from now on and starting against Palace. NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON'T CARE.

Andy Todd is not a disgrace. He is one of the reasons we have turned our season round. He said it was an accident and that is good enough for me. He also offered an apology but it was not accepted by Wenger & Co, the "mediadarlingsletsrollaroundonthefloorfacesetchedinpainiwantmymuumy" southern softies. He wears the shirt andhe wears it well - get behind him.

Assuming we beat them, as soon as the final whistle blows, can we please play "Glad All Over" from the PA system at 10 million decibels? I hate that ****ing tune but on Wednesday it would be nice to love it for a few minutes.

I'd be very worried mate - you haven't a cat in hells chance. We're leaving at 5am and hoping to be down there and parked up at around 10am allowing for city centre traffic etc.

Any story needs a crap build up.

Said virtually the same thing today at work to a Sheffield United supporter. When he spotted my Rovers sweatshirt he asked if I were going to Cardiff. "Sure am" I replied. "You'll have sold out, won't you?" says he. "Erm no" I offered. "What!" says he again, "It's a semi final. When we played in the playoffs we sold out." "But Sheffield is five times the size of Blackburn" I inform him. "Oh" he adds with a puzzled look on his face. "And there is an ethnic population of around 26% or 26k in Blackburn, most of whom choose not to attend games at Ewood, so you could say the population of Blackburn is only around 74k so the amount of fans we are taking to Cardiff isn't too bad. Did, of course, also tell him we sold 30k for the Worthington Cup Final without the tickets going on general sale.

I think I'll print off this topic and send it to Viz. There's enough material contained within, in the form of EXCUSES, as to why folk aren't going to one of our biggest games in 45 years, to keep the rest of the UK football supporters in stitches for weeks on end. If Arsenal, Man United and Newcastle fans are reading this, let alone those from Burnley, they must be wetting themselves. We are an embarrassment. A laughing stock. As I've said, nowt against those that genuinely can't afford, it's those that are making their excuses sound convincing and those that can't be arsed that I'm talking about. And there's a good few thousand of them.

Well done 1864 - you deserve to get in free yourself for that effort. Contrast that with several thousand who can afford the trip but can't be arsed and you know where the real fans (in the true sense of the word) are.

That from a fan whose team played at The Dell for just over 100 years. Always enjoyed going there but it was about on a par with Pleasington Playing Fields.

Waggy, I just knew you were originally from Northern ireland

I don't think anyone really knows how ticket sales are going, albeit generally they are poor. It's just been posted that we won't sell more than 15k according to the ticket office. An earlier post says (also via ticket office) that we have sold about half, which would mean 15k already. With a further week and a half to go you would expect the figure to rise to 20k or perhaps a bit more, which bearing in mind all circumstances would be reasonable.

Lucas has come to a bit lately but if some sort of swap deal for Bellamy could be engineered I'd go along with letting him go. Hughes' track record on new signings has been good and I'd leave him to bring in a suitable replacement.

This is a game we can not afford to lose - stay with 4-5-1 even if we are at home, keeping it tight. We should still have enough to win by one or two goals and thereby being almost home and dry in terms of PL safety.

For what it's worth, Golden Boy, I think Rovers will take a reasonable following, over 20,000 but not quite 25,000. I was merely pointing that out, not particularly having a go at anyone. That said, I do think it will be embarrassing if we take less than 25k and very embarrassing if we take less than 20k. Whilst some people have genuine reasons for not wishing to go (cost, time factors etc etc, it's been done to death and not just for this game) it could only be Blackburn Rovers fans (in general) who constantly moan that we've reached a semi final - the first for 45 years. As I pointed out in another previous thread, whilst I was trawling the grounds of Colchester, Leyton Orient, Notts County, Bristol Rovers, Mansfield and Wrexham et al, any Rovers fan, not just me, would have given their right arm to be in such a game as we face in two weeks time. I'm not portraying myself as a better fan than anyone else, because I'm not. I don't travel away very much these days 'cos I can't afford it. But for a semi final I'll pull out all the stops and I would expect 95% of the rest of our support to do the same. I just wish everyone would stop their incessant whinging.

Speaking to a Jarrow based Bar Code this morning - they shifted 33,500 straight away and a further 16,500 are waiting to enter some sort of lottery for an extra allocation they are hoping for. I know Newcastle is three times the size of Blackburn with no other local teams apart from Sunderland nearby, but come on Rovers, anything less than 25,000 will be embarrassing and anything less than 20,000 will be extremely embarrassing. I'll bite my tongue for now as it will only prompt Golden Boy to attempt to shoot me down again!