The comparison of Duffer and MGP sounds a bit like sour grapes to me. Some of the comments are unreal "No way would i take him over MGP" etc etc Duff at the end of the day is a World Class talent and the only problem with him is the ability to stay injury free. As the 'ToonFan' reported yesterday, they have signed Duff for £5 million which is a considerable value less than his market value, but with him in his last year of his contract at Chelsea, then this probably had a factor in this price. I wish Duffer all the best in his career, but I'm still not clued in why he picked Newcastle. They still aren't in Europe yet and as someone correctly said that there is no reason as to why Blackburn can out-shine Newcastle this time around again. Roeder could well find it hard to finish in the top-8 if he doesn't find a striker capable of scoring 15 goals a season.

Seems like a few positives from the game, particulary with Gallagher and Derbyshire. I know that it was only Accy Stanley but good to see the debutants get off the mark. It will be interesting if both Jeffers and Gallagher will be kept at the club,but we managed to bring in McCarthy, then goodbye to Kuqi. Looks like Groobs 'Wasted No Time' with the report!! But the impressive performance from Roberts was cut short after just half an hour. Using good strength and skill to get away from his marker, Roberts looked to get clear but was caught and in the process appeared to sustain a groin injury. Manager Mark Hughes wasted no time in replacing the former Wigan man with Shefki Kuqi. The goal prompted Hughes to replace Jeffers with Matt Derbyshire and he wasted no time in putting the game beyond doubt with a goal on 75 minutes. A forward ball was flicked on by Jonathon Douglas, Derbyshire's first header crashed off the bar, but the rebound fell to the young Rovers striker and he wasted no time in heading in the second attempt. Groobs 'wasted no time' to give Tim Flowers the 'Bottle'

That was him yawnsie. Also kept a clean sheet last nite against the dingles!! ACCORDING TO THEIR CLOCKWATCH FROM THE GAME 18 Jones denied by terrific save by Alan Fettis 74 Mahon forces a flying fingertip save from Fettis Flowers was the 1st player i saw at Ewood in a memorable 2-0 victory over Liverpool back in 1994. I seen him a few times including Collymore's shot that hit a divot. Only other goal-keepers i've ever seen play in competitive games are Alan Kelly and Brad Friedel. Friedel wins hands down for me. It took a while to convince me that he was a decent Keeper and not a Liverpool reject that i had initially thought! His performance in the Wothington Cup just done it for me.

Would this be the player in question? He is currently playing in Division 2, where he was recently signed by Bury on a 1 year deal. Previously he was at Macclesfield and believe it or not he won quite a few rave reviews with them and also with Hull and now a legend at York City!! Certainly in the same boat as Roy Carroll where isn't a Premiership keeper, but decent acquistion to other clubs. Back onto the topic, but personally i think that Friedel DID sign a longer extension to his contract last season. He has at least 2 years to run on it now from what i'm lead to believe. And don't forget how he turn down Ferguson at the beginnng 2 seasons ago before he signed Van Der Sar. Quality stuff!

I love the Kappa kits as well. But as Flopsy said (cynical or not) i really did like the bright/illuminous yelloy top with our emblem repeated several times down a stip on the right-hand side. It had a bit of style and certainly with a change of colour but similar idea we could get a decent away kit created. The home kit is decent, but i'm certainly not in awe of the away one, but i'll still buy the both!!

I was alarmed when i found out a bit of information on Jeffers. When at the tender age of 16, he was hit down with a career-threatening heart illness, but made a recovery from that shortly after. Does anyone know what this was? Quite a few young sports-stars have died in the last 2-3 years due to heart defects. Finally, due to a continuous problems with his ankles, the Everton fans had labelled him 'Glass Ankles', and feared he mightened have been able to withstand the pyhsical pressures of the Premiership.

Never mind segregation in the stands, how about on the pitch!!! Had a look through what players they have and if both players are fit then there will be Two Andy Todd's. It should prove to be a good game with a decent look at Jeffers and Roberts. Ex-Rover Leam Richardson should also feature for the game.

No, it must have been in Oswaldtwistle. How did you get that one wrong. Yeah, Dunnie was quite the man when at Ewood. He has still came down on several occasions since and watched Rovers instead of playing for Brum when they were in a do or die battle at the end of the season. Again like Jan i've met the lad on several occasions and he hasn't changed a bit. The 1st time was when he scored the magnificent solo goal for England U21's and the last time was only 2 months. He can take a fair amount of stick and will always chat to the fans. In fairness he doesn't hang about with his class-mates but why would he want to? As Jan said they were probably a bunch of bums and under-achievers and he's a multi-millionaire. I would pay to watch him back at Blackburn. A skillful midfielder who had a great work-rate (would do anything for teh team) and linked the midfield with the forwards extremely well. I'm not from Blackburn and its's immediate surrounding towns/villages, but i think it's fantastic on how well he's done in his career to date (not including his injuries) As Jan said....... i don't even know you 'DMF', but jealously is a dreadful thing. Actually shows how insecure you are of yourself. You need a bit more guidance in life mate.

£2.5 million.

Have a guess as to where Franny's from.... look at AS location!!! In all seriousness i've not overwhelmed with the signing but i think Hughes can work him on a bit to score a few goals. Would expect more from Jeffers than of 'Shefki the Farmer'. We need to sign a 'fit beast of a targetman' up front and think Jimmy Floyd or Viduka would be a good strike partner to aim for. As a lot of fans have said that there is very little risk here and is completely up to Jeffers to prove his worth, failing that then I would like to see Derbyshire or Gally to be given their chance.

According to today's Daily Mirror, MO JOHNSTON AXED MO JOHNSTON, the former Scotland striker, has been sacked as interim manager of Major League Soccer side Red Bull New York. The man who controversially crossed the sectarian divide between Celtic and Rangers as a player only managed two wins from his 12 games this season and will be replaced by assistant Richie Williams until a permanent replacement is found. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Surely this will put a dent into Matt's chance of signing on at NYRB's now. Anyword with what he has been up to club wise over the last week or so?

Danke Schon, Mein Deutsch auch ziemlich gut und Deutschland ist nicht gut am World Cup. Anyhow, thanks for the apology and i'll not make that mistake again. Tschüs Groo.

Sorry gumboots. Really thought you were a bloke, but i haven't seen you so at least i can be pardoned for that slight error, lol. Forgive me?? Aye fantastic to read comments from Steve Reid. A decent guy who has his feet well and truly on the ground. In reference to this £2 million, if Bellamy, MGP were on their last year, would they be sold for£2million? Disgraceful so it is. With reference to Bellamy, he just wanted to play Champions League football and i don' deny him that and was fairly honest about it. He kept his head down and played his football and didn't hype up the clause in his contract which he has to be given his fair dues. He's kept everything amicable and wish him all the best, but i won't be feeling sorry if Liverpool fail to qalify for the group stages of the Champions League.

I've notcied that lads. But i was working in London about 7 years ago for a few months and with my cousin's season ticket holders I sad a tad of a soft spot for them. They were good friends with Stevie Carr and it was hard to turn the attention away from them. Was even in their North Stand Supporting Blackburn when we played them back in 97/98 when we lost 2-1. Their fans were pretty respectful even when quite a few of them knew i was cheering on the Rovers. Now sadly that looks as though all that will change!!

Lads, In fairness we are complaining about the 'paltry' £6.5 million for Bellamy but can you actually imagine Reidy leaving to head to the capital for £2million??? FFS we signed him for £2.5 million and then to have a fantastic season last season and earn the recognition he deserves and sell him for £1/2 million less. I can't believe Spurs had the audacity to offer this, i would actually would have preferred if they offered Ramon Vega in an exchange only deal..... oh thats right he left them!! I really am tearing my hair out at this offer and had it went through I don't know what i would have done. Is noone else disgusted at this so-called offer? I'm soon getting ready to add Spurs to my hated list.

Lads, Just adding to what everyone is everyone is basically saying. Fantastic news to have Stevie on board and to turn down the chance to play and live back in London (where he has spent the large proportion of his live) was an ultimate sacrifice. But just on a concerning point when reading an Irish Newspaper from the start of the week. Is it true that Spurs only offered €3million (euro). This is outrageous if it is a true fact. It would only equate to £2million (stg). This is obviously a mis-print by some thick-Paddy and was not the official offer??

Lads thanks for the comments. I just felt that I had to put something down as I was very saddened on this news. I heard of Eddie's passing on Thursday evening and it was just too late to go to the funeral on Friday morning with work committments. It would be great if more users, like 'Fife Rover' could add further comments. I wil print this off and send it onto the family in a week or so. Again many thanks lads for posting your comments on this very sad occasion and as 'Ribblesdale' quite rightly said, he was one of us. RIP Eddie.

Former Blackburn Rovers and Northern Ireland star Eddie Crossan, who made over 300 appearances for the club, sadly passed away on Tuesday 13th June, 2006 at the age of 80. Eddie made his debut for Blackburn on 31 January 1948 in the 4-3 victory over Sunderland at Ewood Park. His first goal for the club came the following week and the wee man went on to score 98 goals for the club An inside forward, with mercurial talents, Eddie produced his highest goal tally of 18 in the 1954-55 season, which included his first Rovers hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over Rotherham at Ewood Park in October. He also scored the opener in the 8-3 home win against Bristol Rovers in February that season, when Tommy Briggs netted the other seven, and hit a brace in Rovers biggest ever Ewood victory (9-0) against Middlesbrough on 6 November 1954. Eddie died peacefully in hospital after battling with illness and his funeral was held today (16/06/06) in the local chapel. He is predeceased by his late wife and also his nine children and footballing brother Jobbie. I would like to place a small tribute for Eddie Crossan. Eddie was a player who i never witnessed playing a game of football, but one whom i had heard so much about within the folklore of Northern Ireland especially LondonDerry and also from a few people of Blackburn. "I was introduced to Eddie back in 2001 and from that moment his character never changed from other meetings. He was a typical next-door neighbour, extremely modest and overwhelmed in the fact that a Blackburn fan was looking to talk to him. He fondly remembered his time at Blackburn and also his team-mates and held Bryan Douglas in the highest regard. He lived somewhere along the Bolton Road near to where the 'Fernhurst' is situated and recalled the odd evening with a few of his team-mates in the bar having about one or two half Guinness' and calling it a night." "He was flattered when it was stated in a few brief biographies that any of his goals were often memorable and was partial to missing the odd close range effort. He laughed at this, but you could see clearly in his eye that he knew that this was a true fact. Further mentioning to him that most football fans expected him to achieve more from football instead of his brother Jobbie, he found it difficult to explain this, but i think I could see him talking about his own frustration either with lack of opportunity or indeed with himself. However Eddie easily turned it around to state that he enjoyed playing a good standard of football with Blackburn along with representing his country on a few occasions being the ultimate recognition but felt that he needed a change and made the short journey to Tranmere Rovers." He went onto state that once he had the year done at Tranmere then he wanted to come back home to his beloved City. He then brought up his family of nine with his late wife and adored his grandchildren who loved heading over to visit their Grandad after School. In fairness Eddie wasn't keen on travelling and the few attempts to bring him over to Ewood Park was very politely turned down by himself. However, I think back in 2000 Blackburn Rovers arranged a trip over for him and met another flying Irishman 'Damien Duff' and was taken on a brief tour of the stadium. Until recently Eddie enjoyed going for his walks along the abandoned railway track, going for drives in his car, playing Bingo recently, but most of all spending time with his family. However his wife of over 50 years passed away about a year and a half ago after battling an illness was probably too much for him. Thanks for all the fond memories Eddie and I leave with me the biggest regret not being able to watch you play for Blackburn and Northern Ireland. To an outstanding man, an extremely talented footballer, Rest In Peace. My thought and prayers are with his family at this very sad time.

Alrite Frosty, yeah i was wrong but it was nearly 10 years ago so i can be forgiven for that mistake. Besides can you even recall what you done on that day? My thinking exactly and to be fair the goal hasn't been played often over the last five or so years. There was one game that i can recall between Utd and QPR at Loftus Road where a great goal was scored. Was it Paul Parker or someone with a 30yd thunderbolt? Thats the reason why i thought it was against Utd.

If we don't get a bid of £2million then i wouldn't sell him. To be fair to him, when it comes around to next season i'd off load him on loan for a few months (wages covered) and see what our current situation is then take things from there. He is worth a fair bit of money and why be rash on it? He's inconsistant, but this could be a wake up call for him if it happened. Don' forget we have Tugay finishing up next season and Sav isn't going to be far behind him, so we need more options and he's a relatively young player in our ranks it would be too harsh to sell him for less than £2 million. Besides, even though Bentley has been a wonder signing for us he has started to become a tad too complacent in the last 4-5 games, so we need to add a bit of pressure onto him to perform week in and week out.

Yeah wasn't that against Man Utd with Schmeichel in goal? What about Stevie Macs for Real Madrid in the Champions League Final a few years back or indeed my beautiful 1st time finish at the BRIC against you Groobs? U never even seen the ball wooooosh past you!! T O P T H R E E G O A L S : 1. TUGAY vs Fulham 2. REID vs Wigan 3. PEDERSEN vs Fulham

I suppose this is great news for all Anti-Todd fan club. As quite a few of the supporters said he has been one of our best players over the last 2 seasons and why say he's not fit to play for this club any longer. After walking away before the Leeds game when dropped and not given a reason. That was a borderline decision for Andy to make, but to then turn around when Souey left and place himself as a regular choice centre-half, then that deserves some praise. With regards to his reaction vs Birmingham, if he threw his top off at Hughes or indeed hit him a kick up the anus (Dugarry), or indeed join Burnley (joking) then that would be nothing short of disgraceful. He hasn't committed an offence here and was just frustration. Give his man a chance. Certainly still my choice of centrehalf along with Nelson. OK fair enough I would give Nelson the captains armband. But isn't this a great sign than we have a top quality centre half who almost certainly wears the 'Blue & White' jersey in the same style as Big Col. Now we just need a regular defensive partner and Todd would certainly do for another season or two. This man has received a lot of unfair criticism in his career. He doesn't need any more especially coming from our fans. He is an absolute gentleman and very well spoken off the pitch so just lay off his back now. He always given his full commitment to the club and has he ever verbally insulted the Rovers or mention how it should be run? I didn't think so and he doesn't need any cr@p comments like he has in this thread. Give it a rest now.

I think Gav didn't get tickets to his testimonial!! Na, i think what he has done in his career is an absolute credit to himself. He went to his hometown club, but both the staff and his fellow team-mates let him down and thats the reason why he didn't win any further trophies but he wasn't too far away from achieving that. He has done himself proud, awarded OBE, leading goalscorer for Newcastle, worty ratio of goals scored for both club and country and of course his league medal with Rovers. Fair enough he could have left Rovers for a bigger club but went to a smaller one who under-achieves At the end of the day he's giving all his proceeds from his testimonial to Charity. A tremendous gesture and i know he doesn't need the money but not every wealthy person would consider giving £1million+ away All in all, he gave me his training top on the day he scored his 300th career league goal at Ewood. An item of memorabilia that i will treasure for the rest of my life. Thanks for the goals and memories Al.

He is priceless and can you really see him wanting away? A pretty torrid time with managers has ruffled his features a few times and this season he seems to be very settled. With a likely place in the UEFA going and working under the manager who has always got the best out of him..... then he's staying!!!

Good idea. Nelson for my player of the year anyway.