Troy Deeney also said ‘I’ve been broke before, so I’m not bothered if I don’t get paid’. Fair play to him.

John Williams was always of that view based on the Club's analysis of people who had let their season ticket lapse. The analysis showed that relatively few people ever returned (at least as ST holders) if they let it go. His view was we are creatures of habit who get used to and are quite happy doing other things once we stop doing something.

If I was selling the first game back, it would be free to this seasons, season-ticket holders, and a fiver for walk-ons. Money will be tight, and habits will have changed. Prices should be tempting to get people back to Ewood.

For me any player should be able to refuse to play. Any player that refuses to play doesn’t get paid . It’s that simple for me

Warmed to Deeney when he was asked about if he felt pressure taking a penalty, he responded that when he was young his mum was a single parent working 2 jobs to put food on the table, not a well payed footballer kicking a ball! His attitude is spot on, football isn’t as important as sometimes made out, no matter how much people may like the Shankly quote

By putting it in those terms he's getting his shot across the bows in early making it look like Watford are the bad guys if they refuse to pay him. Like I say, I've never seen the slightest suggestion that any player Deeney or otherwise, will be forced to play if they feel unhappy with it, so I'm not sure where the issue arises.

I don’t know one that’s open

Loletta Holloway - Love Sensation (Fantastico)

Fair play to Troy Deeney as well who has refused to go back to training because he has a little boy with breathing difficulties and carrying the further risk of being from a BAME background. He has said that his families health is more important than the financial side and I am sure he isnt the only player with such a stance.

Money laundering, same with sun bed shops. Well known fact actually.

Hang the bastards no ifs buts maybe's we didn't mean its. Still cold blooded murder and there is no reason nor excuse. Looks like the world has lost another one who was trying to make a positive contribution to society. RIP Aya. Hang the bastards.

Of course, The Canadian isn’t even close to being back up quality. I’d have no issue with him as second choice, but just knowing how this club operates if Walton leaves and he does comes in that will in all likelihood be that.

I’m not claiming anything, it’s my opinion, as that’s what a message board is. I’m talking about the UK, couldn’t give a feck about the stances of other nations, good luck to them. Im sure ITV’s re-showing of Euro 96 is pulling in the viewers too, it’s a novelty at the moment. A year of behind closed doors football will see that novelty wear off very quickly.

Yes, most fans (Cue, ‘well me and my mates and family want to watch every single behind closed doors game, we can’t wait) Yes, rest of UK football. Scotland, League 2 and non league. League 1 will follow soon enough. Of course the PL and Championship clubs want to play on, that was kind of the point of my post...

Fortunately Briggs is 90% full of shit and ever the opportunist. He's had a fight sorted with half the HWs on the planet in the last few years. Not happening.

Can’t say fairer than that.

I'm sure that is a case of Deeney simply trying to justify his position and that he isn't so incredibly stupid he doesn't realise the difference. The fact you can't go for a haircut isn't a pretty regulation brought in to penalise Deeney in particular or footballers in general , it applies to everyone. If Deeney returns to play he'll be in a sanitised environment coming into contact with other players and staff who have been tested over a period and been shown not to have the virus therefore there's exceptionally little risk. If hairdressers were open, Anyone going to a hairdresser has not been tested for the virus, nor do they know if the hairdresser has it, nor do they know if any other customers have it. All the difference in the world although there will come a point when people have to take that sort of risk in general.

One thing often overlooked about 'The greatest Rover of them all' is that number of England caps - 41. In his time England didn't play in World Cups and there were no Euros (or qualifiers. England only played the Home Nations and a few friendlles. I reckon if he had his career in modern times that total would have been between 100 and 150. Truly the best ever.

I hear Tyson and Holyfield are going to get back into the ring for a charity event, Holyfield quoted as saying "If he hits me hard, I'll be hitting him back" You've got to have some respect for what Tyson Fury has done, his recovery and getting back to elite level, but he should never be talked about in the same breath as Mike Tyson or Holyfield. For boxing fans out there, the Costello and Bunce podcast is superb, they went through the Sugar Ray Leonard v Thomas 'The Hitman' Hearns fight with Sugar Ray himself last week, superb stuff.

There’s obviously a big public appetite for rural based detective shows then! Get John Nettles a test ASAP!

Now that's what you call a 'mic drop' moment! "My work here is done! Boom!"

Shanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

The Eurythmics- Sweet Dreams

The Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition

"I can't get a haircut until mid-July but I can go and get in a box with 19 people and go and jump for a header and nobody could answer the questions, not because they didn't want to, just because they don't know the information." This was a quote that showed how illogical it all is.

Hull the first Championship club to break ranks and call for a curtailment of the season. Obviously a shed load of self interest there with them 21st, but a return to action doesn’t seem to be cut and dried as some posters thought. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/hull-city-allam-season-voided-4144894.amp

For the minimal difference in revenue it would make it would be better PR to make it free entry for all to show the Club stood shoulder to shoulder with everyone etc. As long as you thereafter sorted out ST holders.

Completely unrelated stat, but David Raya had made more career starts whilst he was still at Rovers than Brad had made in his entire career before moving to Ewood.

Same in Chorley they've popped up all over in the last few years yet you rarely see anyone in them when driving past. Must charge a lot for a crop to be able to survive. Maybe if they are claiming Govt help now in the lockdown it would be a good time to look at their books and see how they arrive at the figures they are claiming ?

I hope my initial feeling is as accurate as when Souness brought in some reserve goalie from Liverpool years ago. I was not impressed when I heard that news.

The Style Council - Have You Ever Had It Blue?

It's strange isn't it. I live in a small town, population circa 30k or so. For as long as I can remember, the town had three barber shops, two in the town centre and one on the outskirts as part of a small complex for people who lived at that end of the town. Now all of a sudden in the past two or thee years another six have opened, and before the lockdown whenever you would walk past them they would all be empty, whilst two of the original three in the town centre would always be very busy.

Spot on, this argument that football is somehow stopping key workers from getting tests by paying for them from a different private source is absolute nonsense. If the NHS had the option to use said private tests they probably wouldn't take it as they will have a huge contract with another supplier.

Let's hope we are both around to see it .

Of course keepers mature later. But in the modern game it is increasingly rare for footballers to come from the lower leagues well into their 30s to become a regular at a much higher standard. ‘Class’ I’m fairly confident, he ain’t. Neville Southall to answer your question - who was playing for a top side like 1980s Everton at 23. Not still in the third division at 33.

The Specials - Free Nelson Mandella

Absolutely. Linked to the likes of Zidane and Dugarry and we brought in Dailly and Holmes. No team stands still and looks to improve. Those two were squad fillers rather than being standout improvements. We could have attracted the best players in the world and for a bit of investment, could have continued to be one of the top dogs competing for the title and cups for years to come. Instead we fell away.

In fairness, so they should. They're a league lower than us, and have been for two years now. One game, or a few? It can be hard to stand out as a goalie in one game if not tested properly. I agree he doesn't have the CV of someone who should be our first choice, but he sounds like a significant upgrade on Leutwiler as backup, and may be able to challenge for the jersey with someone higher calibre. Sounds like his agent is a lil greedy though and that could make him expensive for backup. Not 33 yet, may be by the time next season starts though. 32/33 is pretty much the peak time for a goalkeeper. You could expect probably 2-3 more decent years (by whatever standard his 'decent' is...I'm talking about at or near peak). I wouldn't say joining Sunderland in League One constitutes his career highlight. He played 43 games in the Champs for Burton. Scottish Prem is arguably a better level than League One too (at least, a fair few of the clubs are). He has 2 caps for Scotland, one of which was in October gone, in a qualifier. He has been on the bench for them for the last 10 games (except for the one he played). So he has become Scotland's second choice goalkeeper in the last year despite being in League One. Is that hugely impressive? No, but it does suggest he is on an upwards trajectory reaching his peak. They don't regard him as not worth bothering with due to his age. If it's as first choice it will be underwhelming for sure. If it's as backup, with an eye on possibly being able to mount a serious challenge for the shirt, and the wages are low enough, I'd happily swap Leuts out for him.

This long ago stopped being about ‘sporting integrity’ in the PL. They know most fans aren’t particularly arsed if they just put a line under this season and point per game it like the rest of U.K. football will be doing, in fact it would just be a relief all round as we hear increasingly daft conditions placed on the matches - further diluting the sacred ‘integrity’. Yet, they stagger on creating an ever bigger PR disaster, absolutely desperate to grab as much cash as possible to pay their mind boggling wage bills. It’s all so very unedifying and I believe the game will be in for an all mighty shock when crowds dwindle away in 2021, they are just very, very lucky that the TV deals aren’t imminently up for renewal or the whole house of cards would have come crashing down.

Thanks for asking for my input, but nobody has posted anything wrong just yet. In fact, the police have updated the post saying they believe she was an innocent bystander and the intended target was someone else. Makes the whole thing that much worse, if that was even possible!

My understanding is that private labs have always had tests available if a person is willing to pay for them. What the government has and what the labs have can exist separately. There was feigned uproar over here a few months back. 2 basketball players from the Utah Jazz got the virus. Within 24 hours the whole team, plus trainers, coaches, and ancillary staff were tested. Their argument was that they paid for a private lab to do it.

? Hence my profile pic!

‘Class’? He’ll be 33 by next season and he’s spent his English career at Harrogate, Burton, Bradford and third division Sunderland. Looks like the expectations of Sunderland fans have fallen even more than ours.

Clubs have to carry on as normal best they can. We dont know what will happen in the future

What does the bit in bold even mean? Also, your big hero Jack split up the SAS, not Ray Harford.

Anything would be an upgrade on Walton but how can any Club even consider signing new players in the current climate? I'll settle for us still being here by the time fans are allowed back into stadiums.

It doesn't make it right chaddy just because clubs have the funds to bypass the system and pay for private tests. In the meantime care workers in nursing homes can't get the tests and won't all get them until the end of June - if they're lucky - according to the government. Finishing the football season really isn't a priority when the death count mounts on a daily basis.

According to gossip we have yes. Experience may be preferable but amongst many other key criteria, notably quality. If you want an experienced keeper, surely David Seaman would be a good addition? Or less jokingly, someone like Lee Camp, Jason Steele or Adam Federeci, all experienced but all shite? Just because he is experienced doesnt mean he is the one. Interestingly, even during last season when he was supposed to have impressed most for Sunderland, he missed out on the League team of the season to Adam Davies who has since collected dust as third choice at struggling Stoke. I am just pointing out that his calibre is hardly one that in normal circumstances, would have a promotion chasing side jumping for joy. That doesnt mean that he isnt up to it, players that I have been skeptical about in the past who I have had more knowledge about have flourished for Rovers, and conversely players that I have been excited about have underwhelmed or crashed and burned. As it is, my main point that we could be signing anyone and it would be difficult to be overly excited simply because there is a good chance we wont see them play for a long while. With income very limited for the forseeable and money presumably scarce, being pro-active and agreeing to sign a freebie such as this to fill a void considering that we dont have any contracted goalkeepers signed up for next season may be a shrewd move. My main opinion was not a negative one regarding the player, it was about the overall situation and how it may make the signing a better one than expected. In regards to your fanciful ideas about vaccines, this isnt really the thread but it remains to be seen whether a vaccine will ever be created and indeed whether it isnt a judgement call regarding the current rate of infection rather than the full closure of a vaccine as to when the players no longer need to go through the motions behind closed doors. No matter how many speculative and optimistic articles you post about vaccine progress at this stage, I suspect that before the turn of the year, never mind September, for the vaccine to have been created, trialled and tested and then mass produced would be an incredibly welcome but unexpected pleasant surprise.

I've just watched the Liverpool game in full on Sky, how many chances did we have in the last 15 mins to wrap things up? Sutton open goal fluffed his shot, Shearer 7yrds out blazed over the bar and a deflection that wrong footed James and went inches wide? I still found myself wanting to jump off the settee. brilliant, just brilliant. The height of my ambition as a Rovers fan growing up in the 70/80's was to possibly make an FA Cup semi final, I never thought for one minute we'd win the league, win the league cup and travel the length and breadth of Europe following Blackburn Rovers Tremendous, can't thank you enough Jack Walker

Not a chance there will be a vaccine ready for use in September. (Feel free to find and quote this post later as I’d like nothing more than to be wrong).