And what was with that Langley guy holding his face on the floor? The worst piece of play-acting since the Rivaldo-Unsal incident - absolutely disgusting.

Mokoena was excellent, didnt put a foot wrong. I would be disappointed if Pedersen starts the next game, despite a decent enough performance - we have better at the moment in his position. Stead wasnt particularly bad, he just didnt have much of a chance to make an impression. We tended to look to Dickov more often. He had a good chance that was well saved by Warner in the first half, as did Dickov (albeit deflected) in the second half. Matteo was bad beyond words. Everyone else was pretty average. Didnt see their goal cos I was getting a burger. Getting to the ground was easy, very well signposted, and there was loads of parking. That was probably the most exciting part of the day.

i think that's entirely plausible. look at the rubbish they've bought off us - it's hard to imagine, should any of them leave brum, that they will be going anywhere but the championship or below. I think i'm right in saying that with the obvious exception of Damien Duff that's pretty much true of any recent departure (last 10 years or so) of Rovers. The grass is always greener...................... Out of interest, are you including Shearer in the camp that did or didnt?

And a lot of nonsense it is too. Average players don't captain teams to trebles, even in Scotland. Or had you erased that from your memory?

What about Laudo??

Well I thought it was bloody funny, and gave an otherwise fairly boring game a huge talking point. Yes it was a bad decision, but then stuff like this is what makes football so great. It's a hard knock life.

Ha ha, something else aren't they? No wodner Savage is desperate to quit a club run by such half-witted morons.

My heart bleeds. For all the management involved at Birmingham they do appear to be a very shitely run club. A clear case of too many cheifs if ever there was one.

The answer is a combination if the F.A. themselves, Sky and the Champions League. As far as the game goes - 2-0 Rovers.

I'm absolutely delighted. I think we will get him - the Hughes factor should be a major one. Savage will make us even harder to beat than we already are, him and Ferguson together is a mouthwatering prospect. What a great day!!

Wooooooooooohoooooooooooo! *anticipation*

Goal was very well worked, clever run by Ferguson, well held up and Thompsons first time cross was superb. Straight forward finish for Emerton and he took it well. Very pleasing result, brilliant Christmas for the Rovers. We must take this on from here, roll on Pompey.

Pukearsehole - Newcastle.

Very well put, I couldn't agree any more if I'd written that myself. Fingers crossed it happens.

Without opening it up for debate.......can you fill me in as to what the rumour was?

Details Greg??

I thought I was being realistic. Savage is 30, I think I'm right in saying even Roy Keane was only offered another year by Utd, agreed he (RK) is 3 years older than Savage. It just seems to me that Savage at £2m plus a four year deal will cost Rovers perhaps £8m. That assumes he earns £30k/week which could be on the low side. Good player that he is, and I'd be happy to see him at Ewood, he's not in the same category as the others you mention and Rovers should not be held to ransom on the deal. Philip's post is probably as close to the truth as any of us will get and very little real money will change hands. Savage will not retire at 32, nor will he be over the hill. Gary Speed is a very similar player to Savage, and he is currently having a very good season for Bolton, despite being 5 years older. And Bolton paid £750k for him. I know Savage is not in the same class as the 4 I mentioned - thats the point I made when I mentioned them! However after those 4, its hard to find as good a defensive midfielder - certainly one within our reach anyway. We could comfortably get 4 years out of Savage, with him playing at the high level we have come to expect from him. His professional career has hardly been littered with persistent injuries - unlike Keane, and he doesnt have disciplinary problems. I still fail to share your concern.

But we've already offered more than his market value. £2m for an ageing midfielder, who has probably got no more than two seasons in him, plus having to match the four year deal he just signed at Birmingham? Rovers have to be realistic, we made an offer that was turned down, if we go back with more we are just throwing money down the drain. I agree Robbie Savage could help us out right now but £2m plus a four year deal is ridiculous. If Hughes is taking us in the right direction we will need better players than Savage in two years time - basically we can't afford to offfer any more. How old is Savage, 30? 2 years left in him? Christ Paul, I know you're trying to make a point but lets atleast be realistic eh? Signing any player these days is, on the face of things, throwing money down the drain. However a player like Savage can be the catalyst that gets a team going, and boy do we need one of those. We offered £2m to be paid installments that were apparently set to absurd increments. As I stated in a previous posted above, I believe we could get Savage for little over our original offer, if we get the payment terms right. How many better players are there in Savage's position in this league? Vieira, Gerrard, Makelele, Keane............after that I'm struggling. Makelele is nearly 32, Keane will be 34 next year. Vieira is 29 next year. Savage is in his prime for someone that plays in his role. £2m would be a snip - a small price to pay for survival.

Again, very lopsided anti-Savage view. Rovers can sort this deal by paying Savage's market value. We would probably even get him for little more than we originally bid, if only through structuring the payments slightly better. Savage has done his bit. His quotes are as good as a come and get me plea, all Rovers have to do is follow it up.

Tris I think you are being harsh on Savage. Undoubtedly Rovers will have spoken to his agent and sounded him out over a move. I can't believe we would've faxed a formal bid to Birmingham without determining this first. Behind the scenes, it appears Savage wants the move. However, he is not sure Birmingham will let him go, nor is he sure Blackburn will stump up the cash. It is very much a waiting game for him. Now put yourself in his position - if he were to put in a transfer request, he would alienate all the Birmingham support and probably a lot of the staff, players and coaches alike. He would however be no closer to a move than he is now, and would have no guarantee of being able to leave the club. If February comes round and Birmingham haven't agreed terms with any interested parties, Savage will be stuck at St. Andrews until the end of the season atleast, possibly frozen out and becoming a less desireable signing by the day. It would be professional suicide to slap in a transfer request unless he has received assurances from his prospective new club that a deal will be done. The ball is in Rovers court - we're the ones that have to put up, or shut up.

Talent wise Scotty you may well be right - but a decent amount of talent mixed with an abundance of application will always win above an abundance of talent and little or no inclination to use it. In that sense, Dickov is a long way above Andy Cole.

Chris would do well to remember that Dickov's two penalties were both earned by him, and both times resulted in an opposition player being sent off. Quite apart from being maligned, he should be applauded for two more priceless contributions to the team.

Or it might be because he's pretty good. 1-1, Stead starting 2005 as he means to go on.

Very old dated point of view, Flopsy.... She can be both. yeah but who can spell hermafrodite oohhh me No, you can't.

Since that game, our record is as follows - Pl W D L F A Pts 10 2 7 1 12 10 13 The previous 10 league games before that (5 under Souness) - Pl W D L F A Pts 10 1 3 6 7 22 6 Although our upturn in form hasnt been groundbreaking, Hughes has clearly made us more solid and a much tougher nut to crack. It all points towards a much better 2005 than we've had 2004. Fingers crossed.