Not new, but it's been a while... I'm USRover, an American with basically 0 ties to any club overseas, except for the fact that when I started following the sport beyond playing myself as a kid, my favorite player at the time in 2002 (who just happened to be on field pre game over the weekend 🙂) was at Rovers then, so I started rooting for Blackburn then and never stopped. I have kicked around the forum from time to time since I found it in.... '04? I don't think I have really been active here since like 2017, but at least for now, I am back. Starting to think of actually coming over the pond for a first time visit to Ewood for my birthday in April (would ideally be the Southampton game).

But what about today's game

But, there is still unfinished transfer day drama. What happened to Chaddy's board game?

And we didn't make page 500, unless we can also get that 2 hour extension.

And which board game! Maybe he is still stuck in a risk based land war in asia

Trapp won't happen today. Once that first bid got rejected, the earliest he would leave would be after the MLS season (end of October, plus playoffs into December). So, one for january, at best. It would be truly outrageous to even see a "buy him but loan him back for the rest of the season" type deal get done, imo.

So, I have a "fool proof" and totally realistic plan to make the Trapp transfer happen. I'll be seeing Brad Friedel on Saturday. Now, never mind that 15,000 others will be there, and that he is managing the home team that night. Those are meaningless details. I'll simply catch up with him. After all, as a Rovers fan, he has to talk to me. And I will tell him to call Trapp up, and have Brad tell Wil, one Ohioan to another, how wonderful a Lancashire winter is for footballing. I'll make sure he sneaks in that story about that one time, he scored that goal, and how great it feels to score a goal in the Premiership. Its in the bag. What could go wrong?

Regarding Trapp: I would be amazed if that deal gets done tomorrow. Not due to anything Rover's related. Its a long long story, that many in Blackburn can likely relate to, but I will only summarize here. The Columbus club is a shambles at the moment. Owner trying to move it from Ohio to Texas, fans revolting to keep the team in C-bus. There is a city council meeting in Texas on Thursday night US time, and if they approve a stadium concept, then a court date Friday on a different issue trying to stop the team from leaving Ohio. Trapp is from Columbus. I can't see him leaving now, while the #savethecrew fans battle on to keep the team from moving. But if these things pass, and a move to Texas is likely, he would be much more likely to leave, but still likely on January, as he would Stick out for the final games in his hometown.

The trapp offer reminded me that I haven't logged in here for a few years. Since I have seen him play live a few times, I thought I'd give some info. As a yank, I would love to have an American in the blue and white again. I rate Trapp somewhat highly, just not sure he is what Rovers need. He is the classic deep lying center mid type. Good positioning, breaks up attacks while the opposition has the ball. Slides deep when we have the ball to allow others to get forward, sprays the occasional long ball well. To use the US football term, he is a quarterback. Won't get goals, but won't give possession cheaply. He is in an odd spot for the US Men's team, as he is kind of in between generations. They have a great swell of talent in the 19 to 22 yo range, which includes some other D mids. So, if he meshes well with them, he might even be the National Team captain if they make Qatar. Or, he could just get bypassed completely, and be the "B-team's" old reliable steady hand in the middle.

In a USL game last night (the reserves of 2 MLS sides), they used video replay in a live game. Apparently got good reviews. Had to use it twice, one on a "penalty or was it just outside the box" call. The other was a call whether a foul was a staright red or yellow. Apparently, he also used the video ref (but no video review) to confirm that a goal was not offside. Seems to have gooten good marks, and the game only had 4 mind of extra time.

So, it looks like my last posts were summer of 2013... but as its been getting harder and harder to follow the rovers here in the US, my need for news and Rovers talk has me back here.

This may not work outside the USA in which case I'll try to find a different clip. But this weekend saw potentially the MLS goal of the season. Scored over Kasey Keller's head. It was especially shocking since Seattle (at home) had been down 1-0 in the 80th minue, and had just scored 2 quick goals to take a late 2-1 lead. Hassli's shot gave the vistors the tie and basically shut up what is one of the loudest stadiums in the MLS when its rocking. Hassli's goal

Interesting times now in the MLs, with the Gold Cup on, the MLS teams all lose their best CONCACAF players, basically. These aren't the games to watch for those that lvoe beautiful football, but these are the games where your bench depth turns a bad season into a decent one, or a good season into a bad one.

from the bbc sport live match texts from tonight... 2038: HALF-TIME Republic of Ireland 1-1 Norway James Boylan's HT snap-shot: "A sparsely-populated Aviva Stadium is witness to a largely dull if evenly-matched affair, illuminated by pockets of neat football and, in particular, Morten Gamst Pedersen's classy free-kick goal." Seems like his Set piece goals are starting to flare back into life.

He is right with the DP rules and the amount over $350k... I just wasn't going to get into the nitty gritty of the wage rules for the MLS. I'd call them silly, if they weren't needed to keep some idiots (like Lalas was) from ruining the league before it could take off. But they are a bit cumbersome, and rough on younger players, but at the same time needed. If you are a big fan of the ins and outs of sport monies, the MLS structure can make for some fascinating research.