All sins forgiven, past present and future. Thanks for kicking things off, Mike. ??

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8177615/Pay-cut-stand-Agents-PFA-advise-stars-against-wages-sacrifice.html Twats like Taylor aren't in the real world. He doesn't realise that the long term damage will be irreparable to many of his members and his comments will turn more away from football as we see families desperately struggling in the current situation. I sincerely hope that when football eventually returns it will signal the start of a sanitisation of what has become an ogre.

You sure about this? My recollections of Newell are that he held the ball up really well and brought others into play with his football intelligence. He was a really good finisher too. Edit: That goal he scored in the first half against Derby at Ewood in the play off semi final in 1992 is one of my all-time favourite Rovers goals - and Sellars also scored a cracker in the same half.

Forget struggling, how many family members are going to die! Which fans are going to be turning out to cheer on their "heroes", after Auntie Ethel has suffered a painful death. All whilst these greedy twats have been sat in their mansions counting up the pennies like Scrooge McDuck. It should be very easy to sort for me. Just set some parameters and blanket apply them: Example- everyone in the top 2 leagues who earns over 10k per week to take an immediate 50% pay cut for 3 months. The money to be used to support non playing staff, the lower league clubs, and local charities/initiatives. Then review it after 3 months. If you're on half a million pound a year, you can afford it. Turn a negative into a positive. Hope something like this comes out on Friday. Anything short of that could do irreparable damage as you've said. Football "community" my arse. Feels more like us and them.

So was your post. The equivalent of posting "Peter Whittingham was shit" (which, if we are being honest, he was for Rovers) an hour after his death was announced. Absolutely no need for it. And by the way, I'm no snowflake, but your motivation - behind the cloak of an internet pseudonym - to post how 'poor' the bloke was just after his death was announced says more about you than it does about the quality of Little and Large's comedy.

Bit to young to remember him properly but if Shearer speaks highly of him that’s good enough for me

One of my favourite players too. I remember watching him, playing for Leicester in that dramatic game at Ewood. I think Newell actually got sent off, but I was really impressed with his touch and work rate...I was actually wishing he played for us....and a few short years later, there he was making his Rovers debut at home to Boro. He scored a really cool finish that day at the Blackburn End. Happy Days!

Newell was excellent in his first 2 seasons. The slump which saw us nearly miss out on the play offs coincided with him being injured, and he came back just at the end of the season which saw an upturn in fortunes to scrape into 6th. The first season in the Premier league he was also excellent. However he had an injury during 93/94 and he never looked as good. I remember him scoring a last minute winner at Sheffield Weds in early 1994, and he had been woeful all game. I was suprised to see he made over 30 appearance in 95/96 , as he hardly played the year before. By then he was in his thirties and on the wane. His record for numerous clubs after Rovers wasn't great. However he was a massively influential in those first two years. A proper player.

I agree, the relevant action has been taken.

Within a season we had been completely spoiled in the centre forward stakes!

Completely out of order.

He wasn't my cup of tea, but really? Posting this at his passing? Poor do mate and completely unnecessary.

People like agents, players at the highest level, and The Premier League disgust me. It’s all about them.....their rights, their contracts, their futures.....sod anybody else . We’ve been saying for years that the top end of football is sick, full of selfish people ....and so it is proven .....still insisting on their rights.....whilst the rest of the country suffers and , sadly in some cases dies. The football world has the chance to right it’s wrongs ....do you think it will ?? .....I don’t....but, please God when these dark and difficult days are over .....we will have our say.....” We will remember them “.......Thank God for the real people out there..our inspiration......those on the front line at this time ......all underpaid but now massively valued. Top flight football come September???? Who cares !

Absolutely no way. My nickname for him, which caused some amusement with my mates, was ‘silky magnet boots.’ Silky skills and the magnet boots was a reference to his ability of being able to control the ball easily, not the other way round. Ok, he was a class above what we had been used to in the 2nd Division and once we had established ourselves in the PL, it was clear that, if we were to reach for the very top, we needed to recruit a better player to play alongside Big Al. His return from injury at the most crucial stage of the season was the main reason we were promoted to the PL. Without him then, I don’t think we would have made it. One of my favourite players.

Remember in that 95/96 season the rumour was that Shearer preferred playing up front with Newell (they were good mates and neighbours off the field too) and consequently Sutton was dropped to centre half (that he hated). Results that season suffered and I recall Newell getting a bit of stick in a couple of games and reacting. Seem to remember his body language was pretty poor throughout that season and he left us soon after so I can see where Le Saux is coming from. Prior to that he was superb for us and , for me, was the main reason we went up in 1992. I also remember him being sent off playing against us for Leicester at Ewood in 1988 in a 3-3 thriller, it's still one of my favourite matches.

Ha ha fair enough. Another memory of Newell - and it is a bit of an odd one - was a goal he scored in Simon Garner's (second) testimonial. He had already retired (I think) at that point but scored an absolute beauty, one touch and a clinical finish from the edge of the box. Thought he was a terrific centre forward.

My memories of watching him from the Riverside are of the ball bouncing off him for a good few feet before he got it under control. Agree completely with your other comments. Once he had got it under control he did bring others into play. Depended on whether there was a deep lying midfield player close enough to him to take the ball away if there wasn't he was able to recover the ball hold it up and lay it off

im`e basing it on him continually disapearing,not turning up for training and genuinly being a pillock when his opinion of his own ability did`nt match his true ability,25 games in two and a half seasons says it all

great striker with few weaknesses and scored vital goals for us,love him to bits?

I’d take prime Robinson over David james friedel really could be the most underrated prem player of all time

My thoughts exactly! Hope it gets the bugger out of a job. Read somewhere that along with clubs using the government scheme to furlough non playing staff whilst still paying obscene wages, this could be the biggest PR disaster for the Premier League. I kind of hope it is so that football is brought back under control but I doubt that is going to be the case.

The Newcastle side that didn’t win the title in 1996 gets far more coverage and sentimental reminiscing in the media than the side that actually won it the year before.

Players full pay, club employees given wage reductions, looks like the business model in most cases. Should be the other way around. ?

That bloke has just show himself up for exactly what he is.

Waggott with some disgraceful comments today... “I have been in discussions with Tony every day on player welfare as well as the business side, and my view is that the owners have been very good to the club over the last nine years since they took over the ownership of the club and it’s now time for us to play a part and look after them a little bit as we go through a turbulent time. I’m looking across the board how we can pay all the people we can for as long as possible.”

Fowler was ridiculously unfit when he arrived, and well past it. From that era, Amoruso was bloody awful too- never seen such a slow defender! Looking to more recent times, Paul Taylor, Paul Caddis, Chris Brown and Wes Brown anyone? Lots of shouts for Fettis, but I would strongly argue Leutwiler is the worst keeper I’ve ever seen between our sticks. Then again, I’m too young to remember Fettis!

Yes i believe he used to socialise with the Rovers lads a lot.

I wondered whether Leonard meant Neil Ruddock, who was pals with Shearer for sure.

Interview in the Telegraph the other day. Just before the accounts were released. Obviously loads of people are using this as an excuse to trot out the old ‘they are investing’, ‘we’d be another Bury without them’, and ‘They were badly advised’ lines. Waggott isn’t stupid, his timing is spot on in keeping that pretence alive.

Which is exactly why we needed to take advantage while we had the time and not waste it on another steady eddy. Let’s hope you are wrong but at least now everything can be blamed on Coronavirus. Everyone at the club is now absolved.

Le Saux clearly had issues/others had with him...I remember an interview he did with Barry Davies, after his awful injury,when he implied he hadn't had good wishes from everyone.. Then there were rumours of a significant clique/Southport Mafia, which I assumed meant Shearer, Flowers, Warnock ...and Newell? And something was clearly going on beneath that scene with Batty in Moscow....

Barry Ferguson. Was a class act footballing wise but let us down big time.

Ah, but the accounts show who pays the piper. He won't suggest a pay cut?

Many, many years ago, when I was able, my then firm sponsored a round at Wilpshire golf club for the club golf day, and he was our pro........thoroughly good day out, excellent company, and seemed very principled. Always enjoyed watching him play.

Franz Carr. I honestly thought he would be a world-beater having watched him play alongside my younger brother for a couple of years for Lancashire schoolboys and Rovers reserves in the very early 80s. I think the transfer at such a young age to Cloughy's Forest went to his head a bit.

Top player with a great engine and attitude, very basic skill wise and lacked the physical and finishing of elite target men. However an intelligent, hard working quality player who served Rovers really well.

I too thought little and large were poor but he was a human being with family and friends and the comment is in very poor taste. John Donne had it right when he said Each man's death diminishes me or whatever the exact line was.

Mike Newell wouldn't sign for DM took the arrival of Kenny to change his mind. Couldn't control a ball for toffee but was a perfect foil for Speedie and Shearer. If Shearer enjoyed playing with him then there can't be any better recommendation. Likely to be the only Rovers hat trick scorer in the clubs history in the champions league

Didn't Curry score the winner at Maine Road in the old second division once? And should have done likewise in a League Cup game at Spurs but for an awful decision to disallow it (against a Spurs side containing the likes of Gazza and Waddle if I remember correctly). Don't think he gets anywhere near a worst Rovers 11 to be honest.

I loved Newell. Perfect foil for Speedie during our promotion in 92, and also to Shearer for the following two years. It's quite suprising that although a key member of the squad, he only managed two starts, and didn't score once in our title winning season. Hat trick in the champions league too, can't imagine many more Rovers players will ever achieve that feat!

Yeah, played one game away at West Ham in the 94-95 season. Looked very average.

I can remember a long time ago (when I was still playing it on the PS1, so at least 20 years ago now!) I went through the whole process of creating the best chocobo. Can't remember if it was golden or black now but it took forever. I eventually did it though. I think you gain access to a specific island by doing so. Also makes winning the races at the Gold Saucer very easy Midgar Zolom is practically impossible to beat without the battle hack early on in the game. I just used to run past it, but yeah it's strange that it instantly respawns after you've beaten it. You also see it impaled on a tree from memory so I guess there are just a lot of them living in that little pond ? One thing that always stuck with me regarding the cutscenes was the one where Cloud puts Aerith in the water at the end of the first disc. **SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ANYONE WHO INEXPLICABLY DOESN'T KNOW THE STORY AND IS PLANNING TO PLAY THE GAME AT SOME POINT** I remember somebody saying that if Aerith was dead her body would float, not sink, so the fact she sunk to the bottom suggests she was still alive and Cloud technically drowned her ? makes that scene a bit darker in retrospect!

Bournemouth are a prime example, crowds of 10,000 and they are buying players for £25million and paying a number of them 50/60k a week. House of cards is apt.

i always though grabbi had the ability,he just could`nt adapt to english football

Not saying they’re not - just found it interesting how close a good number were, and how the two best American keepers of the PL era ended up on the same number of clean sheets. Completely agree that Brad has been robbed - Alison and Ederson have played about 50 games each FFS.

Paul McKinnon always springs to mind when talking about worst players. We bought him from a non league team where he scored for fun but he actually left Rovers owing us a goal (he scored an og but none at the right end). Way out of his depth. Dave Hargreaves (RIP) had a poor time of it at professional level under similar circumstances as I recall.

Mike Ashley is a reptile, lower than a snake’s belly, asking for Government help for his lower employees. What a twat whilst he retires to his semi-detached, in lower council house town.

I'm guessing you meant FF7, unless there's a special version of FF8 I haven't played ? but yeah the original FF7 is still an absolute classic and a blast to play through. Some of the graphics look very outdated nowadays but it has enough nostalgic charm for me that I can ignore stuff like that. For me everything about the original game is close to perfect, with only the translation and at times abundance of random battles a bit of an annoyance. Good thing is on the rereleased PS4/XBOX/Steam version you can turn off random battles and also speed the game up with helps immeasurably with the more tedious parts of the game.

Really enjoyed it despite it not being totally accurate, but as someone else said it wasn't intended to be a documentary.

I wonder which dropped first?