"If Crouch plays for England, so can I" was being sung in the bar I was watching the game- at least it lifted the tedium of yet another utterly inept England performance.

Listen to it live on the BBC World Service.

The Academy won the inaugural National Competition last season and are doing a Chelsea in the Northern Section so far this season- and that's with a few well under age players in the squad. It seems that the calibre of youngster being brought to the club is not at fault based on that evidence- we are still gatting the cream. Whether any are good enough to progress further is the $64,000 question. After producing some gems- Dunn and Duff, it seems that we have generated a group of players good enough for League football but not the Prem in recent seasons. Players like Barker and Garner are the ones I am hoping will burst through at the highest level in the near future.

Rovers have rejected Preston's approach for Jansen so he's obviously part of Hughes' plans, even if only as 4th choice striker.

Thank goodness Ferdinand is being dropped. Not sure about Crouch but it looks like we are going to have two games with him to prove himself and get injured before the Rovers' game, or flop.

Going off into AESF territory but here's a list of all the different sorts of squirrels in the world. The Japanese Pygmy Flying Squirrel is oh so cute whilst the Black Giant is a multi-coloured monster you wouldn't want in your back garden! Anyway, there are no reds round Blackburn- they are all nasty greys. I was amazed that the sweet little reds are native all the way from Portugal to Japan and that there are flying squirrels in Finland. Easiest and most humane way to kill a squirrel. Wear thick gloves and drop trap with squirrel into water which covers the trap. Takes about a minute. Don't mess with them to do it a more humane way if you value your own skin and blood.

280 million Americans consume 25% of the World's energy. 2.8 billion Indians and Chinese together consume a little more than half as much but the disrupotion in the markets has come through their consumption doubling in a few years (from a very low base). Some interesting statistics on the USA

Give it a rest 'drog. It is a total non-runner.

Football clubs engaging advertising agencies. I really like the Man City campaign. Clever, clean and will make the Sky Blues walk tall over their sliding Glazered Manc neighbours. Great stuff for winning over a new generation of supporters and perfect for youngsters to argue over. Problem for Rovers is that we don't have a target market of any significance to advertise to. PS There is a public access programme on TV Malta in which clubs and associations can promote themselves. The Malta Man United supporters were on last night- they must have more clobber in their enormous club premises than in the Man U Superstore.

Sales of SUVs have slumped 43% in the USA last month. Obviously the rise in "gas" prices is drumming some sense into the American consumer.

There's a defender called Jelleyman at Mansfield- who are bottom of the football league.

In England: Sheffield United and Wednesday Manchester United and City Liverpool and Everton Nottingham Forest and Notts County Aston Villa and Birmingham City London- every club except Barnet Are you allowing Leeds City (went bust in the early '20s) and Leeds United? I forgot Bradford Park Avenue and City (Bristol Rovers and Port Vale have never been in the top flight and Blackburn Olympic didn't make it into the football league) In Scotland: Dundee and Dundee United Hearts and Hibernians Queen's Park, Clyde, Partick Thistle and Third Lanark (and two others in Glasgow)

Particularly as we all read it when it was posted yesterday.

It could be an extremely good sign that Hughes has convinced every player, Bellamy included, that his place is at risk if he doesn't/isn't able to perform and other players take their chance(s). Todd certainly is finding that out. When fit again, Matteo, Gresko, Amo and Tommo are facing the same problems, probably starting with the Liverpool game if noises from the treatment room are accurate in predicting they will all be available.

The difference between Chelsea and Liverpool at the end of the day was Drogba. Very few forwards can destroy Hyppia like that. Kuqui certainly won't and I'd stick with Dickov and Bellamy up front if Bellamy is fit with Kuqui to offer something different later. This will be a massive game for Liverpool. If we can frustrate them (and that includes attacking them at their end which will erode their confidence even quicker), we might get something out of this game. Will be interesting to see which duo (trio?- I suspect it will be a duo with Hughes sticking to 4-4-2) out of Reid, Bentley, Tugay and Emerton gets the nod alongside Savage and MGP. Brad will have to be at his best but despite his heroics, I think it will be Liverpool 2 Rovers 1

It is sad when (if it is true) an old timer who had done so much for the club, is snubbed like this. However, it is very naive to immediately jump on the club's back if some of the things I've heard going back over the last ten years are true.

Report on season ticket sales at all Premiership clubs. It shows Bolton suffering a small decline which given the local news about the Trotters doing really well with season ticket sales raises some questions. The more I think about it, the more I believe the EU commission's intervention to force the number of televised games up from 106 to 138 was one of the biggest contributors to the fall in attendance. Interesting to read that the "big" games between the Mancs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are showeing very big drops in viewing figures. Personally, I avoid these games- so many are anti-climactic bores.

Observer reports Bellamy as having hamstring problems. In that case two weeks will be insufficient. Mark Hughes says its his knee and the medics will be looking at it again today. I really hope he pulls out of the Welsh squad as I simply don't trust Toshack with our players.

Hakan Sukur has just equalised at home for Galatasaray. All the new found Rovers fans in Tromso won't be happy. Tromso can breath a sigh of relief- they knocked out Galatasaray 2-1 on aggregate; a fabulous result for the Norwegians. Quite a few big names are suffering tonight- as well as Galatasaray, Auxerre, Leverkusen, Feyernoord are out, Partisam Belgrade are being thrashed at home by some Israelis making their debut in European competition.

Looks like West Brom will have their full squad fit. Sounds like Curtis Davies, the young centre half they got from Luton is an excellent signing for them and is doing very well in defence. Robson has been quoted as saying he expects Rovers will stick with 4-4-2. This is going to be no pushover but if Hughes gets the lads right, we should take the three points.

Its all academic if you read what Lee has put on the official site. The African Nations Cup in January and February robs us of the Axe and Benny of any chance of coming to the Rovers in the January window. Incidentally didn't Corbett suffer a badly broken leg just after he joined us which didn't heal for about two years? Anyway, Southend are going very well with him back down there.

For anybody arguing with a Manc claiming we were lucky to win at Old Trafford, Opta/Sky have put Van Der Sar in their team of the week!

Reverse osmosis- 70% of malta's water comes from it. Its cheaper than desalienation but not that cheap.

Queroz is only telling the truth though about Manc supporters- be honest! Agreed, he's being a touch undiplomatic and is certainly not helping his chances of being Ferguson's successor which can only be bad news for Rovers. Incidentally, I thought Ferguson's recent criticism of high football ticket prices probably went down a treat (not) with his new owners. So its collective foot in mouth all round at Old Trafford even though Ferguson won't even talk to MUTV now, never mind the rest of the press. Perhaps he sees a hidden agenda at Glazer TV? At the end of the day, the Mancs are struggling to come to terms with the fact that the Rovers' win was neither lucky nor against the run of play. That we had many more shots on target (not forgetting dangerous balls across the box which weren't connected with), they were indebted to their goalkeeper and dear old relegation zone (at 3pm on Saturday) Rovers went to OT to play football and more than held their own in an open free-flowing game must be causing all kinds of alarm bells ringing. The foul count was pretty even and Ronaldo should have walked for the premeditated elbow smash into Gray's face so no Manc complaints on that front either. The footballing legacy of Saturday is the one which is really hurting. It was the manner of the Mancs defeat rather than the defeat itself which is bringing so many chickens home to roost. Without the fear factor (and this Manc team does not instil awe any more), it won't just be Chelsea who will fancy coming away from Old Trafford with three points this season. All credit to Hughes for spotting the weaknesses and going for it!

Judging by this morning's press coverage, Rovers blew the roof off Old Trafford and ended the Ferguson era on Saturday. Good to see that its not just Rovers supporters who go over the top at a bad result. At least Newcastle couldn't be said to have been fortunate to have only scored three!