Colin Hendry is first team coach at Boston united.

The lack of goal threat/shots on target tells its own story but I join in with the comments that Jeffers probably had the most effective 90 minutes on the pitch in the last 24 months. He was actually unlucky to come away without a goal. Short run-up penalties look super cool when they come off but the taker looks an almighty pratt when they don't. That apart, I could not fault Lucas for attitude or application in any way at Bramall Lane - a massive improvement compared with his approach at Pompey.

You didn't even try did you? Back to the "debate", Palace are in the Football League so they are responsible for sending the registration papers. Could be the Rovers offered to help out and sent the papers to Lytham St Annes themselves.

As I understand it, the creditors of Leeds are taking a vastly reduced payment over a period of time with all kinds of triggers increasing their return in certain circumstances- e.g. promotion to the Prem giving them a booster. That period over which most of them exercise such rights in return for delayed payments is finite so I can only guess that not only do players cease getting paid from the old days (including our own Dom Matteo by the look of things) next summer but the more onerous terms for some of the old debts time expire as well as by that time Leeds will have paid the scheduled reduced payments. If a new creditor pops up from the bad old days such as this VAT liability, then they would all have to negotiate again if the creditors' agreements do not specifically exclude that from happening. Back to Mike Newell commenbting on the Stevens Report. It is due out on 2 October. This is even more fun- Lucas Neill's agent has been filmed by the BBC under cover in a Panorama programme currently going through legal clearance.

Every game this season- you mean all four of them? Except Pompey where he admitted we were poor, so all three of the ones afterwards.

Jilted John is spot on. Kuqi had a storming good game for Palace yesterday, Bellamy was man of the match in the Mersey derby and Hughes will be fired on Monday.

From the BBC: Shefki Kuqi's move from Blackburn to Crystal Palace nearly fell through after his registration forms were accidentally faxed through to a chip shop rather than the Football League, as the numbers were similar (People). Given it was the Football League who were being written to, it must have been Palace faxing the chippy. Anyone know how the big man did this week-end?

There is little sign of the Stevens report but Newcastle are up to their eyes in the sticky stuff with the VAT man now that their case has gone to the Tribunal. The Sunday Mirror presumably calling their payments to agents the way that it is. If they were willing to slip an agent £660K to talk to himself, what else were FF and his mates willing to sanction? More details in the Guardian. It is fun trying to work out who each of these colourful players is! Just as pertinent is the prominence given to Paul Stretford... The Newcastle case was based on 21 transfers between 2001 and 2003 and focuses on the fact that agents cannot be employed by both the club and the player under FA and FIFA rules. Therefore to reclaim input VAT from invoices from agents employed by players was by definition not permissable and the VATman won his case. Newcastle are appealing. Arsenal are reported to be facing a £700,000 hit and Leeds are very nervous as a retroactive VAT claim from the publicity Pete era could upset their delicate recovery. No reference to Rovers or Souness in anything I have found.

So three of the four penalties and Todd's sending off were perfectly OK? All this gathering of refs to analyse games by the professional refs is all well and good but it seems to be leading to a levelling down of standards rather than improvements. In particular, they all seem to have decided that Rovers are fair game. The fact that we are not playing well doesn't detract from the awful refereeing we are suffering from. I am not saying we are angels. I am saying that I can see no reason why Rovers are conceding a penalty a game and are bottom of the fair play league in comparisson with at least half a dozen other Premiership clubs this season. Hughes obviously has an opinion on it.

Why?

Over half a million people a year get injured in the USA because they were drunk. 100,000 Britons a year get injured because they got themselves drunk. Drunkenness results in long lasting physical and mental impairment. And in Mickey Gray's case to Rooney's right hook. Frankly, what the hell are Rovers doing paying a professional athlete hundreds of thousands a year if he is a complete non-professional? OK he can get drunk but get paid like a drunk. Put him on a student's grant.

So here we are folks, four games into the new season and - conceded 4 penalties - two red cards - nine yellow cards I've not watched much Prem football this season so far but I simply cannot see any justification for those statistics other than the referees of the Prem have declared war on the Rovers. This is sheer victimisation by the officials pure and simple. Just imagine what we would be hearing if any of the media darlings had suffered such terrible officiating.

Complaints to Raffa Benitez- he turned that deal down.

There is every reason why a professional sportsman should NEVER drink to excess. If he were drunk, the club should fine hin the maximum allowed.

Sheff U a newly promoted side shooting for a win against a team that has made an unexpectedly poor start- they would have been massively up for this one. Chuck in Mike Dean hallucinating his way to three penalty awards. All hail hero Brad and I will wait to read what people who went to the game before telling a bunch of posters on here that they are writring total crap.

It is totally unacceptable in this day and age for a so-called professional athlete to have too much to drink.

It is not unusual for a top flight club to have the pick of five top flight central defenders. We are not exactly blessed with cover at full-back so that would seem to be a well-balanced set of options for Rovers. Ooijer should be Ok but has to prove himself in the Prem, Todd is tempramentally suspect whilst Nelsen''s season is beginning in November if we are all lucky. Definitely a positive move if Matteo goes to Leeds when Nelsen is fit again.

Wayne Rooney floored Michael Gray with one punch after the "sleazy" Blackburn full-back made unwelcoming advances to the England star's girlfriend Coleen in a trendy Manchester bar. (The Sun) ...according to the BBC

Sheff U will approach this one like their cup final. Rovers to come back from behind for a very nervy 2-1 win.

But we did get Bellamy so we do get the superstars. And now he's gone to fluffing Welsh chances, scouseland and a couple of high profile court cases. Now we've got Benni and Nonda, and if he didn't play for us, half the MB would be screaming for signing MGP. For all the people wanting a change in ownership, remember Rovers are receiving an average of £5.5m a year from the Walker interests- averaged since Jack became involved that number has remained remarkably similar over the past 15 years. It is producing some remarkable results set against the context of being by some distance the smallest place in the Premiership. It is working incredibly well for the Rovers and is the difference between the club being a Premiership fixture and a return to the neverlands. It would take a quite remarkable new investor to convince me that Rovers were getting something better. After all, were we to still be in the bottom three by January, does anyone doubt that the Trust would pull out all the stops in the transfer market to preserve the club's Premiership status?

OK I've been imbibing fine wine but... Nonda is one hell of a signing for Rovers. I am really excited by the prospect of Nonda and Benni together. Give it a few weeks and those two are going to dismember some unfortunate opponent at Ewood.

So is that why there was no proper football this week-end?

It is being reported that Rovers made a transfer deadline day offer of £2m for David Dunn. Assuming he stays fit and in form, I'd say it is inevitable he will be a Rovers player in January.

Roberts might have been "sussed" by the Prem opposition but I doubt Sparky would pick a poor forward. If he doesn't come good pdq and perhaps irrespective of his own form, he'll be watching Benni and Nonda from the bench. John, Dunn is in the last year of his contract so he can sign a pre-contract agreement with Rovers so he is metaphysically our's now perhaps. The only time Brum come into it is if we need to deal to get him out of St Andrews on Jan 1.

Not as ecstatic as a WHammer but if you look at it this way: Forwards Last season: Bellamy, Pongolle, Dickov, Kuqi with Johnson one for the future and Bentley if needed This season: Benni, Nonda, Roberts, Jeffers with Gally and Derbyshire for the future and Bentley if needed Midfied No change apart from Emerton being now only an emmergency option and Peter and Gally realistic covering options Defence Last season: Nelsen, Zura, Todd, Neill, Gray, Matteo, Amo, Vratty and a bunch of youngsters and the Axe This season: Nelsen, Zura, Ooijers, Todd, Gray, Neill, Emerton, Matteo and a bunch of youngsters and the Axe Keeper Added Jason Brown who looks like serious competition for Brad's place And we made a £2m profit! Compared with the wholesale personnel changes we might have faced, there is good continuity with the squad which came 6th and has reached two Cup semi-finals in two years and a general strengthening all round. In previous seasons, we would not have hung onto Savage, Nelsen, Neill, Emerton, Reid and MGP and to have all six of them at Ewood at the start of September is a major achievement by the Rovers management team. The crunch question is how we cope with losing the unique talent/threat that is Bellamy. I do expect Rovers to make a significant move in the market in January and that Dunn will be a Rover again if he proves himself this season.