2005-2006: 19,468 (Premier League) 2004-2005: 22,315 (Premier League) 2003-2004: 24,376 (Premier League) 2002-2003: 26,226 (Premier League) I rather think that track of Rovers' support has blown a bit of a hole in our club's budgeting as well. Are Rovers really so much worse than they were four seasons ago that average gates are deservedly down by nearly 7,000?

Fair play blue and white. After watching the highlights of some other games, Brasil were only playing the UAE but they did score seven in awesome style in the second half- precisely we have a chance but WHO can knock the Brasilians out? Let's just hope they draw Germany in the last sixteen!!! France and Germany was nothing particularly frightening- France are still a lot less than the sum of their parts and there are some less than convincing newcomers in their team. Italy were awesome in the Netherlands- of the continental Europeans, they are going to be the best value at the British bookies by far to win the World Cup. England will be one bad bet- the bookies reckon £1.5 billion might be staked on an England victory.

Just been looking at t'internet for Man City and their average crowds are down over 3,000 this season meaning there should be 5,000 tickets going begging. Also noticed that they are on a bit of a bad run- lost five out of their last nine whereas we've won six out of our last nine. What is striking is that they've had a fixture list like Wigan's- apart from Man U away and West Ham home, they have been playing all the bottom clubs so they are probably in a bit of a false position at the moment. Presumably this thread will become the preview thread at some point?

Man City's bank manager and SWP's bank manager would definitely disagree. I always felt SWP was the sort of player who could turn out to be a short term wonder- take the pace away and he is a basic Prem player. His future at Chelsea in part depends on whether the bust up with Robben (who is very special) is terminal or not and in part on developing his all-round game to a much higher standard. It is quite ridiculous that he cost more than Duff who is at least twice the player that SWP is.

...and both Parker and Carrick ahead of King.

I agree about Ferdinand- in a theoretical world, if he were at Rovers, he'd get picked ahead of Todd, would be a toss-up between him and Zura and no way would he push Nelsen out of the team. We were poor defensively as a unit for both the Argentine goals (and the three early chances and the Crespo off-side goal). Terry was not his normal self but then Ferdinand is a long way short of the quality Terry is used to playing alongside. I'd have gone for Campbell who at least is a leader as well as gives a physical presence which was needed yesterday and will be needed against the very mobile big forwards we'll be facing if we last the distance in the World Cup. At 2-1 down and 80 minutes gone, I was thinking that it was a shame we were going to get nothing out of the game as we deserved a draw at least.... so I disagree with the assertion that England were lucky. It is incidentally the first time I've felt that SGE's in-game tactics have been good for a very long time. The really good news about yesterday is that it will do our World rankings a power of good ahead of the draw in early December.

Souness has certainly made a habit of over-paying for Rangers players. Is there any evidence that he was pocketing from it? In an article considering Rangers' plight this morning, The Guardian points out that firing McLeish and his backroom team will leave Rangers over £1m worse off and that Rangers' finances were already in the have to sell to buy category. It doesn't list Ferguson as a saleable asset- "Only Dado Prso, Fernando Ricksen and Thomas Buffel would command decent transfer fees, so how Murray juggles the finances is the biggest question hanging over the club at the moment." Obviously Ferguson is damaged goods playing for a club in serious decline. Murray's only hope of salvation is that Romanov's ego or property-developing instincts wreck Hearts.

He has done if you are referring to the Reserves. He partnered Todd in one game.

What an admirable chap to have skippering your team.

Another article about the "mainstream respectability" of drugs. I am passionately anti-drug, I just don't see that prohibition is the way to deal with it.

Presumably the mole is sitting on the bench with his face blanked out. That jumper presumably is a bit of a give away! Have to save the copperplate block capitals Steve Bruce has executed on those charts is admirably clear. Don't know about the one where all the arrows result in a scrum on the penalty spot though.

An understatement! It is a hilarious read if you insert the fact: "Argentina are the host nation and have requested the game to be played on neutral territory in Europe" at the start of the rant. Switzerland is just about the only neutral place in Europe easilly accessible for all and sundry. As for the raindrops and roses, AESF does call Clare sweet and innocent....

Presumably Rovers get nothing out of selling City tickets so giving the visiting club an allocation they have to sell to avoid a financial loss means that Rovers would never have any financial interest in taking a larger allocation. Yet another example of football trying to kill the away support. Serves Man City right when pockets of Rovers all over their stadium are jumping for joy as Bellamy grabs his hattrick.

I can't be bothered to dig it out but the £3m figure was widely bandied about when he came to Ewood and presumably is the reason why we don't have a buy option on him. Thankfully we have an agreed option to buy Zura.

I'm only going off TV coverage so I don't see the whole picture, but my big reservation about Bentley is that he looks good when he's just come on or at the start of a game, then after a brief dazzle all you see are his limitations listed above. When all the Prem sides are using Pro-zone or equivalent, it seems that the opposition find it pretty easy to snuff Bentley out of the game as any sort of force who can damage them. In the first game in which Bellamy started after the West Ham debacle, Bentley threaded a glorious ball through to Bellamy which Bellamy applauded after the move had stopped- but that was the last we saw of Bentley as an offensive player in that match. The only position I think makes sense for him is playing the narrower of two wide men. That pretty well boils down to forcing MGP out of the side on the left with Emo playing wide right. I am not convinced by Bentley and certainly not at the rumoured £3m price tag. Meanwhilst, Arsenal have agreed to spend £2m on a young Mexican attacking midfielder- Vella- so Bentley is slipping yet further away from playing at Ashburton Grove.

Man City don't sell out at Eastlands- there hasn't been 48,000 on in most of their games so it should be pretty easy for Rovers supporters to get in. Mancunian accents are pretty easy to imitate.

I think the TV companies vetoed it when they realised their cameras and staff (including commentators) would be sitting on top of a scaffolding on the Riverside stand. The technical reason was the angle wasn't going to be good enough.

At least we have Premiership matches in Blackburn....

Its an away game for England and Geneva has Easyjet and is a bit closer than Buenos Aries so there's not a lot to complain about. It is also pretty well plumb centre if you look at where the Argentine players themselves now live- Italy, Spain, England. Probably helps the Argentines being close to a Swiss bank or two and the Uefa and Fifa HQs. Quite why the Argentines are going to a French speaking city to learn about Germany as somebody suggested....

Not having any need to know the price of this stuff, I simply go by what I read in the papers.

That's true- they deliberately chose that dirty shade of green so you cannot see the snot round the edges.

So much cocaine is being used in London that traces of the white powdered narcotic can be detected in the River Thames, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper said. Citing scientific research which it had commissioned, it said an estimated two kilogrammes of cocaine, or 80,000 lines, spill into the river every day after it has passed through users' bodies and sewage treatment plants. It extrapolated that 150,000 lines of the illegal drug are snorted in the British capital every day, or 15 times higher than the official figure given by the Home Office. I am not posting this because I approve of cocaine usage- far from it. But if a line costs £20 on the black market, that is £1bn a year getting into the hands of criminals just on cocaine alone. Ending drugs prohibition is the only solution.

Even in a fortnight without club football, it seems that Brum cannot keep themselves out of the media's eye. Must be because they are a BIG CLUB.

Just turn out at Hackney Marshes or Wormwood Scrubs for the Rovers' London branch and show them your fancy stuff, Eddie- that will quieten them down. I even scored a goal in the blue and white halves once! (and it was not an o.g.)

Must say I am impressed at how easilly the Manc supporters have adjusted to their new station in life. They made an impressive amount of noise supporting the underdogs. Soon they might even realise it is fun to be a real football supporter.