bazza

Well done "Soupdragon". Excellent first post and I agree with a lot that you have said. Come on some more of you "messageboard readers only" and vote for Jimmy Forrest.

The team faded when he was virtually an ever present and we won the Prem ? or was it the season he won Fan's Player of the Year ? It was after the championship season when Billy McKinlay was with us. I can't remember which particular season, and I haven't access to records at the moment.

It' absolutely scandalous that Sherwood is now in the lead. Greatest ever midfielder my a*se! When Sherwood was injured and our two midfielders were McKinlay and Flitcroft we were awsome. As soon as Sherwood was fit again he replaced McKinlay and the team faded. So much for "greatness"!

No Rover will ever captain us to the Premiership title again either... That's a very rash statement. Before Uncle Jack took over I would have said," Rovers will never win the league title again". Who knows when another rich person (be he Russian or other nationality) might fall in love with our club and pump his billions into us? Haven't voted yet. I'm torn between Forrest and Latheron. My heart says Latheron but my head says Forrest. I think I read somewhere that the player who influenced the 1912 and 14 champions was Danny Shea rather than Eddie Latheron. Must go with the statistics FORREST for me!

Eamonn Rogers was too brilliant a player for third division football. There was no way Rovers could have kept him once we were relegated. Martin Britt, anyone, for worst Rover?

Here's a snippet about Healless taken from "Things about Blackburn Rovers" by Harry Kay, published in 1948. " Harry Healless is a native of Blackburn, and he was the only Blackburn man in the Cup winning team he captained in 1928. He first played for Blackburn Trinity, and then for the Rovers as an amateur in 1914-15, becoming a professional in May, 1919. His last league appearance for the Rovers was against Chelsea at Ewood on December 31, 1932, and his last match with the Reserves was at Stoke on April 15th, 1933. Harry was one of those footballers who did not develop early; in fact, far from being a star in his teens, he was unknown. When he became a professional for the Rovers he was a centre forward. He played in six other positions. After a period as leader of the attack he went outside right, and later he was right full back, right half, centre half, left half and inside right. In those various berths he was usually good but seldom brilliant. Eventually he became centre-half, and, when big "Billy" Rankin came from Dundee, Healless moved to right half. During his long career with the Rovers, Harry was capped by England twice. His capable generalship often pulled the Rovers through when things seemed to be going badly against them. He could last through the most arduous game, and the team often derived encouragement from the fact that he never seemed to tire. In summer he likes a game of cricket, and was one of the leading batsmen in the Alice Street Wesleyan team, who played in the Blackburn Sunday School League."

I know this is a bit late but what the heck! The problem is that in the old days there were no midfield players ; only wing halves and inside forwards. Wing halves were defensive and play-making grafters who were box-to box players but not generally goalscorers. Inside forwards were attacking play-makers who were expected to score goals as well as creating from midfield. Here are my choices in each category:- Inside Forwards:- 1) Roy Vernon 2) Eddie Latheron 3) Jimmy Forrest 4) Eddie Quigley 5) Peter Dobing 6) Eamon Rogers 7) Albert Nightingale 8) jointly Roy Isherwood and Eddie Crossan. Vernon was terrific in most games he played. Quigley could hit a ball harder than anyone else and sprayed pin-point passes around the pitch. Dobing was absolutely brilliant on his day which was about four games a season. Rogers was another really good player, skilful; Eire international. I think he lives near me but I've not seen him. He tends to keep to himself. Wing Halves:- 1)Ronnie Clayton 2) Harry Healless 3) Mick McGrath 4) Barrie Hole 5) Graham Oates 6) Eric Bell 7) Ken Knighton 8) George Sharples. Enough has been said about "Sir" Ronnie. Healless, captain of the 1928 cup-winning side. When I was a little boy my dad pointed out a tall (as I thought) man outside the Nuttall Street stand wearing a long brown overcoat and a trilby(?) hat. Dad said "That's Harry Healless" and I just gawped. I was too shy to go up to him. Besides he didn't look like the man holding the cup in the photo I'd seen in the book. Hole was a really good player and so was Oates but the latter played in a lower league. It DOES make a difference. Defensive Midfielders:- 1)Paul Warhurst 2)David Batty 3)Nicky Marker. I remember commenting to my mate during a Rovers game that in my opinion there were only two "world class" players in the Rovers team; that is, players who looked comfortable on the ball and could "do" things with the ball and "knew" they could do things with the ball. One was Shearer and the other was Warhurst. Shame Paul's career didn't go as it should've; two broken legs for a start. Attacking Midfielders:- 1) Tim Sherwood 2) Duncan McKenzie 3) Simon Barker 4) Scott Sellars 5) Gordan Cowans 6) Tugay joint 7) Dunn, Berkovic, Ferguson joint 8) Parkes, Flitcroft Others who I cannot place in any category:- 1) Mark Atkins 2) Stuart Metcalfe 3) Howard Kendal joint 4) Micky Speight and Nicky Reid.

was pivitol in us winning the premiership - Id say so And I would say that Den is absolutely correct. No way was Atkins pivotal to our winning the championship. He played a part at best. I wouldn't class Atkins as a great player. The "pivotal" man to us winning the championship was surely Shearer. But having said that I remember sending Mark Atkins a "Sorry you've gone" card to him at Wolves, and on it I told him something I'd perceived which was :- when he was out of the team we didn't win but when he played we did. Be interesting for a statto to check that out.

The Claytons lived in Penwortham near Preston. Both Ken and Ronnie were given a trial by Rovers. There is some story that Mr Clayton, their father, insisted that both brothers were trialled and if Rovers wanted one, they had to take the other as well. How true this is I don't know. What I DO know is that Ronnie was being given a trial and he was playing right-half in front of David Gray. My dad was watching this trial and David Gray was constantly shouting instructions to teenager Ronnie. My dad shouted "David, leave the lad alone and let him play his own game." A chap came up to him to thank him. It was Mr Clayton, Ronnie's father. Both Ronnie and Ken played for Rovers as wing halves for a short time but Ken faded and Ronnie progressed to captain Rovers and England.

Colin, what a fantastic presentation of the reasons we should all vote for Super Atko. Mark Atkins was fair to middling as a young right back. I remember the game v Sheff Utd when they were pumping the ball straight down the middle and Rovers defence couldn't cope. Then Atko was moved to central defence and was a revelation. Every time they hoofed it forward Super Atko headed it back. I can almost see the surprised look on their faces; the faces of the Sheff Utd players that is. "Jet!... I can almost remember their funny faces". That brings me to the Dalglish era. The chap sitting in front of me always referred to him as (I thought I heard) "JET" So I always referred to him as "Jet Atkins". Later I learnt that it was "Chet".......Chet Atkins.....some guitar player..pop singer?? ( Gosh, I sound like mi grandad.) Dalglish only kept two of the players he inherited........Jase-the-ace Wilcox and Jet Atkins both of whom were fit for the job.

What a strange list. Two names that caught my eye for different reasons were Latheron and Nicky Reid.........Chalk and cheese. Not that I'm old enough to have seen Latheron. My father was born in 1902 and watched the two championship-winning sides etc. and always raved about Eddie Latheron. Dad died in 1965. My father-in-law who is now 80 told me recently that when he was a boy in the early thirties, he came home one saturday from Ewood and his grandad said "How did Latheron play?" Of course Latheron had died in World War I. Silly old goat. But that question brings an image into my mind of a face gleaming with expectancy. I've heard it since and seen that expression with "How did Douglas play?" and "How did Finney Play?" The obvious answer expected would be "Brilliant as ever!" So Eddie Latheron must have been a VERY special player and fans favourite. I'm tempted to vote for him alongside the legendary Ronnie Clayton.

Forget the transfer market. It IS possible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Just look at David Moyes and Everton. So I'm expecting Sparky and his team to have us out of the bottom four by January. If he doesn't produce, then I'll start to doubt.

This is the ideal game for Sparky to experiment with the younger lads. We're going to lose anyway so why not let them have a go. No point experimenting against the likes of Norwich City. Those points are too precious to lose.

I agree, Jim. I'm disappointed to see Mike Ferguson get only one vote. He was far better than Ripley who IMO comes next down the list.

That's the most sensible post on this thread so far in planning how we get out of this mess. I've been racking my brains all weekend putting myself in Sparky's shoes and trying to pick a side of battlers. I even had Jemal Johnson, Gally and Bothroyd in a three pronged attack But we need battling tacklers like Douglas in the side.

I remember Roy Isherwood. I thought he played as an inside forward or as it's called nowadays "attacking centre midfield". He was pretty good but not brilliant. I didn't know he was in Ramsey's title-winning side.

In my 53 years of watching Rovers, Douglas was the best. 2nd was Mike Ferguson. When Accrington Stanley folded and went out of the league (1961?) Ferguson came to Ewood. He was a lot taller than Douglas, looked round-shouldered; almost hunched; got the ball at his feet and seemed ever so slow as he shuffled along. All this was deceiving because his ball control was superb. The opposition couldn't get it off him. He always seemed to have a stormer against Aston Villa. During a 4-0 win at Villa Park....(all this is in my head....no consultation of books...so I may not get it quite right..) I wasn't there but the reports say Fergie waltzed round 7 Villa players, including the goalkeeper, and walked the ball into an empty net. He was a joy to watch. 3rd was Stuart Ripley. I liked Rippers.A greedy player. If the defence wanted a rest they gave it to him. He would play his own game with the opposition of "Come and get the ball off me if you can". He scored Rovers first Premier League goal v Palace. I think it was a header. BUT, he kicked the ball up too many opposition backsides when trying to cross. Wilcox produced more Shearer goals than Ripley.

Bryan Douglas. Very much like Duff in a way. The ball seemed tied to his boot laces. Regularly tricked his way to the by-line and layed it on a plate for someone. An England regular. He once leapt above the tall Spanish (I think) defence to head home a cross. When playing later at inside left , against WBA at Ewood, attacking the Darwen end, he started on a mazey run from the left touchline just inside the WBA half. He jinked his way to the penalty area and with the WBA defence standing off expecting him to do his usual pass to someone else to score, he beat two more players and smashed the ball past the stunned Albion keeper; a real gem. Incidentally this was at the time when the second half of a top league match was broadcast on radio. It was always kept secret but that day someone made a gaff and stated it would be Rovers v West Brom. I heard the gaff at lunch time and so took a portable transistor radio with me and listened whilst standing on the Blackburn End. The commentator was in raptures about Duggy's goal.

I haven't time to give a long account of Duggy. How many of you intend to overlook Duffer for the left spot? How will you be able to explain to your grandchildren the magic of Duffer when they wont have seen him play? Oh yeh, there will be video and DVD recording to show them but how will it look to their modern game? Well I can tell you that Bryan Douglas was equal to Duffer if not better. A Blackburn lad who remained faithful to the club throughout his career and is still with us now. He played outside right for Rovers and England, then moved to inside left to fill a vacant position. A totally brilliant player. It was said of him "He could turn on a sixpence". It was a shame that he didn't receive the recognition he deserved because of being in the shadow of Tom Finney who IMO was the greatest ever player in the world. VOTE DUGGY

Thanks for reviving a memory. Deepdale was a very early ground to get floodlights back in around 1956(?) Ewood was much later but erected better ones. Obviously technology had moved on. Me and my mate took a North Ender onto Ewood for an evening game. When the lights were switched on they used to switch on only two of the four pylons at diagonally opposite sides of the ground. We got the North Ender to agree that Rovers lights were as good as those at Deepdale. Then the other two pylons were switched on and he had to (reluctantly) admit that the Ewood floodlights were TWICE as good as the Deepdale ones. We were in hysterics. He took it well, though.

and there, for the oiks, is a man who knows his football. Like almost everyone who has seen them all, he knows who was the best, by a long way. Den, if you were a referee I'd say you were biased.

I'm coming in very late on this. I haven't voted yet so don't know what the score is. Billy, when I started watching Rovers we were crap and had centre halves such as Holt and Holliday.(Sounds like a Monty Python sketch, doesn't it?) Then we bought Willie Kelly from Airdrionians. He was a brick wall and did the same job for us as John Macnamee years later. The problem I have is distinguishing the classy players from the rock solid dependables. Hendry is the best of the latter. The ones who, IMO, oozed class were England, Moran and Henchoz and, to a lesser extent, Allan Hunter. Of the three youth cup winning players who made it to Rovers first team in the 1950's the reverse order of brilliance was Pickering, Newton, England. Mike England is head and shoulders above all others mentioned so far for this position so my vote will go to him. I expect Hendry to win the poll,though. I'm making up my own team of players who don't win. So far my team is:- Else; Newton; Eckersley. I might just get Mike England for my central defender. If so I shall be well pleased. At this rate my team could maybe thrash the "elected" team at the end. So please, you youngsters, don't vote for Douglas and Clayton!!

Spot on KSB. I am quite upbeat even though we lost. But the effort was there for all to see. We are getting better in fitness and effort. Things are not going for us yet. We deserved a point from tonight's display but we didn't have "the rub of the green" No penalty either. Ball on arm rather than arm on ball. It'll come good. Have patience. Thank goodness it's September and not April. Sparky has plenty of time and he is beginning to turn it around.

Glad to hear about the new,better training system. I think Gamst is a good player but is taking quite some time to get used to the pace and, moreover, the physical element of British Prem league football. He'll come good. So will De Pedro; classy guy. Either of these two in front of Gray is preferred to the currently useless Gresko.