If we had knocked Chelsea out in the last round, we'd be approaching this match like supermen. Yesterday will be no guide to the game at the Valley where we have had a horrible record ever since the famous 4-3 win in the late '50s.

No Incidentally, I feel a bit sorry for Brett- that was a fantastic strike with great swerve to bring it inside the post. Andersen waving at it after it had gone into the net was pathetic and diminishes a great goal.

Read the press reports- most have a churlish little dig one way or another but this Observer report is a delight.

Bruce is a poor manager, full stop.

Fair point- but Whelan would have spent £25m this summer had there been anybody willing to go there. As it is, I think their net spending was over £10m. The big difference is that Jack had junked Mackay (who wasn't performing) and appointed King Kenny- a manager who could attract the big names. Paul Jewel has quietly gone about doing his job at Wigan exceptionally well and it will be interesting to see how much transfer money Whelan will release to him now that he has established Wigan as a top flight club so quickly and whether he will find it any easier to attract players. The Fayed experience at Fulham could be instructive in that regard. Wigan could keep the challenge going- I deliberately didn't put the home and away fixtures on that list of games because although they now face a run of challenging games, they start off with two home fixtures including Arsenal who have yet to win on their travels. However, all it needs is for Arsenal to "click" and the Wigan show could be derailed as there are no "easy" games for them to regroup in.

Well they haven't been top of the League for two runs like we had done by the start of November. And Wigan have an extremely lop-sided fixture list. They've played the bottom sides except Bolton and Chelsea and now have a nightmare run of games. Chances are that someone will rumble them and that their defence which is currently playing out of their skins will come back to a more normal level. Filan's form is great news for the Aussies ahead of the WC knock-out though. Doubt Wigan will finish in the top four like we did in '92 and I make that prediction more than half expecting that two out of Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool will not make the top four either. That said, if Wigan are still in the top four after their next nine fixtures (when they play all the top sides except Bolton), they are probably going to stay there.

Six wins out of the last eight games now with our only defeats coming against the European Champions and the Premiership Champions. ...Or three points out of six from this difficult patch. What is also highly encouraging is the way the Rovers are beginning to play consistently playing high quality, slick entertaining football. Wouldn't like to predict results away at Citeh and (beginning to pick up the pace now) Arsenal but they should be cracking games. Incidentally, Wigan are winning at Pampey and are on course to go five points clear in second place tonight and just six behind Chelski. They probably needed to get a good run under their belt as the fixture computer has given them this interesting sequence of games between now and 31 December: Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man U, Charlton, Man City, West Ham, Rovers.

A departed player, Neill Danns, scored Colchester's 8th and 9th goals against Leamington in the FA Cup today.

Sounds like the ref dropped two clangers as well as failing to book Charlton players for persistent fouling- Bellamy called offside for a clear run on goal in the first half and a blatant hand ball in the penalty area in the second half. "Blackburn belied their popular image as a mainly physical threat as they played some delightful football."- BBC.

Fantastic win- how sweet to be so wrong with that prediction!!! Radio 5 guy said it was the best Prem game he'd seen all season so far. Still down in 11th but gap of 10 points above BIG CLUB in the relegation slots. Now got two weeks to get our lads fit again after the dirty London team kicked us all round the pitch.

Rovers won 1-0 according to the BBC videoprinter.

We might match 4-5-1 (MGP, Tugay, Bentley, Axe, Bert) with 4-5-1 today and a Hughes explosive in whatever orifice MGP and Bert use to receive instructions to make it 4-3-3 when we attack.

No Savage, no Nelsen. This is a certain defeat now.

I was sure we had an Academy thread somewhere but cannot find it. Anyway good luck to the youngsters on Saturday morning- they play Liverpool who will take over top spot if they beat the Rovers under-18s.

I'd forgotten about us losing 2-5 at home in the early days of the Prem and was reminded it was Coventry who rolled us over. Seem to be a few will he won't he mind games going on over team availabilities from both sides.

Drugs use in Ilkeston or any small town in Britain. Professor Parker estimates that the Police estimate of 240,000 who have used crack cocaine to be an under-estimate by 50%. To the lock 'em up brigade, there are around 100,000 places in British jails. If just one type of Class A substance has five times that number of abusers, what are you going to do?

Yet another ex-Rover to make a debut for BIG CLUB. When Damien Johnson pulled up with a hamstring earlier this week, Bruce moaned that he had lost his best player this season. Says it all really.

Ferguson offering to strengthen the England squad. England would be strengthened by the three of those withdrawals and lets face it, will have to get used to Rooney suspension absences from key matches.

The LET rating of the players that night. So many what might have beens....

Matty has unbelievable skills- right up there just below McKenzie. The two goals against the dingles at Ewood especially the second where he raced away from the half way line and comprehensively beat the keeper on his near post one-on-one. The jink for Rovers' third at Burnden. Promotion winner at Deepdale. That cracker against Norwich at Ewood. The League Cup semi-final hattrick against an Arsenal side which when you read the names who played that night now, you realise what a strong team we thrashed. A goal, the tackle to set-up Cole's winner and a marvelous all-round performance the last time we won silverware. No shaddy, he's not a legend. (I understand that Roscamp and Puddefoot were pretty limited players but they are both Rovers' legends- we have only had one Cup win since 1928 so why can't Jansen and Cole be legends as well?)

...and Dickov played in which divisions with Man City? Were you watching Rovers in the Prem in 2001/2?

Red face time sparky marky Dickov Appearances 368 goals 102 born 1972 Jansen Appearances 276 goals 82 born 1977 (and he's missed most of the last three seasons remember) Jansen in his prime was massively better than Dickov has ever been.

I think he meant 500th ticket this season.

More than a point- he's dead right! ..and the funny thing is, because of the way he's gone about it, it's made it harder for the Mancs to do what is needed!

A bit of a rant about Keane not having a rant against Ferguson.