I bet Real Madrid will be bailed out though. Again.

Real Madrid is effectively an offshoot of the government at times. They have always received biased treatment.

A loathsome club.

Shame to see him miss out on such an occasion in his own country when it is all down to him.

Overall, he was an excellent signing for us. Those bemoaning his work-rate are not mentioning that if he had been the player we all wanted him to be we would never have seen him within miles of Ewood.

Still, his going on strike shows that Sam was completely right to get shut. Those criticising the decision were quite simply wrong. Albeit it has taken hindsight to 100% fully be sure of it.

I admit I had my doubts about selling McCarthy, because fitness aside he was still the best goalscorer at the club and without a replacement we were left thin on the ground. As it stood, his departure coincided with an upturn in form despite our misfiring strikers.

Did it really "coincide" or did Benni's departure help the club and the team spirit?

There have been rumours about his negative influence on squads both before and after his time at Rovers. It also means Jason Roberts has nobody to moan to and his application seemed to improve. Even if still didn't score much he seemed to complain less and frown less when left on the bench.

I mean, what the hell?!?

Tony Adams appointed manager of club in Azerbaijan

Steve McClaren compares his title success with FC Twente to "Blackburn winning the Premier League in 1995 – only without Jack Walker's money." Why do people always insist that we bought the title?

I think you are being slightly oversensitive there. He's not saying that we bought the title...just bigging his own achievement up as regards beating the established sides.

Over idiots like Holt will say we bought the title certainly but Mcclaren didn't seem to be maligning our achievement. Rather he was saying it was great, but his was greater. Bit ego-driven but fair play to him. The man has had his tough times.

Steve McClaren - league winner. The first title in FC Twente's history.

Quite an achievement.

Article on our former Flying Dutchman. Who did more moaning than running. Does not come across as a decent bloke one little bit.

The strange case of... Richard Witschge

Steve McClaren's Twente Enschede are 4 points clear at the top of the Dutch league with 4 games left. They do, however, have Ajax breathing down their necks and face tough games against the likes of reigning champions AZ Alkmaar and Feyernoord.

Could well be a very interesting end to the season.

Last English manager to win a Dutch title? Sir Bobby Robson. Another manager derided by the press when managing England and failed to get us qualified for a European Championships.

Bit harsh on Bellamy. He negotiated a buy-out clause when he signed, everyone at the club knew the score. He didn't once bad mouth us in the press or kick up a fuss to get a move, in fact I'm sure he's only ever said good things.

I was thinking more the disappointment. After saying in an interview with the LET that he didn't have that clause in his contract it turned out he was lying and it did in fact exist. A difficult situation for him to be in but ultimately he would have been better to not answer the question than to say an outright lie.

It is hard to care anymore. Yet another player leaves and saying he was playing for the fans etc.

Going on strike as well.

Been here before though haven't we? Ferguson, Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Bentley...all left under a cloud.

So as regards Benni going it is all a bit...meh.

Been there. Done that. Tons of times.

Modern football, eh?!?

Robbie Fowler is Down Under and refusing to be on the bench...

Robbie Fowler refuses to start on bench for North Queensland Fury

Surprised to read some of the vitriol on this thread toward McCarthy. He played well for you, scored some important goals and helped to maintain your Prem Status. Now he wants to move for what he sees as a better opportunity, why would you begrudge him the chance to advance his career with a bigger club during the last few years he has playing football professionally?

Nice wind-up longsider.

Presumably this is related to Coyle leaving? Some might say that as Rovers have finished above West Ham for about the last 8 seasons that they are hardly a "bigger club".

Unlike for example Bolton being a bigger club than Burnley. When was the last time Bolton finished below Burnley in the league? A while ago no doubt. Thanks to an Owen Coyle inspired win on Tuesday they are once again above you.

A sad ending for me,should have been Roberts heading to barrow boy land not McCarthy.It does appear though that he burnt his bridges with Allardyce and there was no turning back...shame really.

Why would West Ham want to spend 2 million and wages of 50k a week on Roberts? They aren't that daft.

Sad way for Benni to leave and it does sour things somewhat however he did also give his some excellent memories. Mainly of fancy flicks and back heels that were so tricky that they bamboozled our players never mind the opposition.

Getting shot of him for more or less what we paid for him 3 and a half years is not bad business.

Let's not get some old clogger in to replace him. Either invest in younger players or keep it to the summer. Kalinic, Roberts, Di Santo and Dunn/Hoilett if need be are fine for up front. It has been the lack of quality chances created that has led to such a poor return from our strikers.

Benni is one of those players who seems to get better and better the less that they actually play.

Every now and then he turns up for a game. This has happened since we signed him.

The post thinking this wouldn´t happen under Hughes is laughable. Under Hughes he was dropped countless times. Under Hughes he admitted he wasn´t in the right frame of mind for a good half season after the Chelsea move fell through.

Man...this guy really loves Rovers down to his bones doesn´t he?

The are a lot of things to bash Allardyce with I fully admit but this Benni saga isn´t one of them.

However...we should not let him go on the cheap. West Ham are willing to pay way more than the knockdown. They just think BRFC might be weak and cave in immediately. Whose need is greater? Theirs or ours?

Time to play tough for Rovers. Who has most to lose? West Ham are battling relegation. Benni needs to play if he wants to make the World Cup. Other teams will be interested in him as well.

No reason to be caving in. Apart from anything else...if we accept a reduced fee we are just helping relegation rivals. Better to wait for the summer if need be. I´m sure Benni will come around if he wants to be representing his country this coming summer...

Either they pay the price or we should sit tight until the summer.

I really don't see why it came to this. Coming into the window, we had a player with a good Premier League pedigree who wanted to leave and a manager who wanted to sell him and replace him - a win-win you would think. Now, with a week to go, the world knows we have a fat, lazy, out-of-form player on strike, which can hardly be pushing up the bidding price - everyone loses!

In what way does Benni lose? He already has suitors and they might even have had a hand in getting him to do the dirty on BRFC.

So Benni will get a huge signing-on fee, no doubt hugher wages and a move to London. If he can get the transfer fee down by going on strike no doubt he will get a slice of that too.

Benni is the big winner in all this...but only if Rovers cave in.

If they do not get the price they want they should not sell. If Benni doesn´t like it he can play in the reserves...and jeopardise playing in and the chance of being the hero in the greatest sporting event his country has ever known.

Over to you Mr Williams...

Think what you want.

I will, thanks. I thought the same about Benni when he was pulling his antics under Hughes as I do now. This is not about the manager...this is about a player who has had issues with each of his last 4 bosses. Ridiculously talented but let´s not forget that even in his best season for us he was dropped by Hughes. At the end of the season he didn´t get his move to Chelsea and has never been the same player since.

If this had been under any other manager I am sure you would be seeing this differently.

It appears that a number of senior first team players want away, even if McCarthy has been the most vocal about it (he has more at stake with the World Cup situation). He hasn't been so unfit as to be left out of the squad has he??

I don´t remember many times in the last quarter century when we didn´t have some players wanting away.

As for Warnock...why would Sam want rid of one of his best players? Tugay...well, maybe we should have kept him, but there is no guarantee that this season wouldn´t have been too much for him. Did he truly want to keep playing? Mind you, with hinsight, anyone over Andrews seems a good option.

Allardyce has done plenty to annoy but Benni...no way. Neither Hughes, Ince or Allardyce have managed to tame him for that long. All the approaches have been taken, including bigging him up, and he goes on strike...

There should be some empathy shown towards Benni MaCarthy here rather than just slagging him off.

Empathy for knuckling down and shoving it in your manager´s face...yes. Empathy for playing for the fans and proving the doubters wrong...yes.

You want empathy for a very, very well-paid professional footballer who is not in ideal shape and is forcing a move out by going on strike.

I think you can keep your empathy regarding that part JAL.

More to the point, the psychology of the entire dressing room ... the players who can't escape Allardyce in the next 7 days will certainly see this from Benni's side of the fence and will no doubt spend the next 3 months planning their own exits in the summer.

Doesn't bode well.

Why?

That doesn´t make any sense at all. Benni jumps ship after bring unfit for months and other players "certainly see this from Benni´s side".

Sorry...but I think that is a load of rubbish.

If anything they will consider it good riddance to be rid of a talented player who alas thinks he is bigger than the club. There may be some with other issues but no self-respeting professional would "certainly see this from Benni´s side" and nor would any self-respecting Rovers fan.

The man has gone on strike!

I've thought about the situation long and hard and it's definitely most unfair. The squad should jolly well all be in early as far as I'm concerned.

Everybody should all be in early because Benni is continually overweight and missing weight targets presumably he himself agreed to with the club in the past? How is that "unfair" exactly?

While I agree they should all be in as they have been rubbish recently it does not mean the treatment of Benni is unfair.

I think this has allowed Benni an excuse to run to the papers and blab thereby setting up a move yet remaining popular at the same time. Our more trusting, some might say naive, fans will believe him and use it to slag off the manager. Whereby Benni has got what he really wanted - a move, nice signing-on fee and a manager who will more easily put up with a lack of fitness while selling the club-himself short - and yet the fans will all blame the boss. This despite being a player who has now had, ahem, "issues" with at least his last 4 managers.

What I would really like is Benni to come out and say that he is going to stick it out, get fit and repay the fans at both Rovers, where his under contract as well paid handsomely, % South Africa, whom he has boycotted at times, by getting fit and regularly scoring thereby showing his manager just what he is made off. Oh and not to run to the papers every time he scores one league goal in half a year or so.

Is that too much to ask? Or are some of our fans such pushovers for anybody with a few fancy flicks that they are happy for someone to sell the club short year after year not only in turns of fitness but in terms of going to the press about a move. Every season pretty much there has been something like this. That is all Sam's fault and not Benni's how?

Whatever has happened in the past has happened. No one can dismiss him inching for a move to Chelsea.

Didn't he himself admit in an interview that he himself was not in the right mood for 6 months or so after it falling through?

Half a season and he hadn't got over it?!? How old is he and how much did Rovers pay him in that time?

As far as I recall Chelsea, in the end, decided not to actual put in a bid so it was not as if Rovers actually turned it down was it? Just that they weren't going to allow their then star man to go cheaply.

Whatever...it is time Benni really started paying back Rovers and a couple of alright performances on the pitch are not enough. Physical fitness, professional application and saying positive things to the press instead moaning about his lot being those things.

What I suggested in my original post did not dismiss anything about his weight, but when you have performed rather "well" over your last 4-5 games which you have started and last for almost 90 minutes in all of them, and to be hauled into 7am training on the back of that match, on your own, then YES I find that unfair or at least uncalled for in the circumstances. Maybe he should call in Robinson for some jumping practice, Andrews for some passing practice, and Roberts for the rubbish he produced for some effort practice too.

Well...those are hardly the same things as being out of physical shape are they? Something that is the very basic requirement of his job.

I'd hope the other players are giving extra training too on their weak areas. However fitness is not just something to be worked on. It is a necessity as part of his job.

Seems like Benni is using this as an excuse to engineer a move. How else do you explain him running to the press about it days before the transfer window opens?

Maybe it could have been handled better. However, even if it had been, Benni would most likely have found something else to complain so as to let everybody know he was available. Interesting how it is seemingly common knowledge that 3 other clubs want him. Perhaps his agent has been touting his availability around already?

Ludicrous and I am not one bit angry with Benni.

He is being treated unfairly if he's asked to report to training on his own.

Thats the nail in the coffin. He's gone.

Quite right. Why would you be one bit angry with Benni? Apart from continually turning up, year after year, overweight. Were you similarly "not one bit angry with Benni" when he was speaking to the press about his desire to move to Chelsea before having a good half-year long sulk when it didn't happen?

This year he has failed to make the weight targetting agreements made with Sam. Those are his words in the article and not those of anybody else. Then he goes to the press to complain about unfair treatment when the treatment, as we can see from HIS words, is utterly fair.

Good that you are "not one bit angry with Benni" however I think all fair minded fans will think that, as this has happened year after year, then it is HE who has the problem and needs to sort himself out.

This is what Sam has said to the press about Benni-

Q: Players such as Benni McCarthy will need a good season at the World Cut is looming in his home country, isn't it?

A: He is a very talented link player for us. He needs to feature for South Africa in the World Cup because, one, it is his last chance, and, two, it's in his own country. It would be ludicrous to think he didn't want to play for them but I'm not interested in that. He might be but I'm not.

I'm more interested in him playing for us like he did yesterday and scoring more goals because he is our highly-talented player who has not scored as many as we would like. Many others on the front line are guilty of the same.

Most of our players on the front line are way down on the goalscoring chart in terms of what we expected them to get this year. That is why we are drawing too many games and not winning them. I just think it is not bouncing for us or going the right way for us.

Q: So are you looking for more from him in the second half of the season?

A: Do the job we know he can do, score goals for Blackburn Rovers, he’ll go to the World Cup in his own country, which will be a great experience, then he can come back next season and do it all over again.

The ball’s in his court. When he gets an opportunity to play, he must play like Benni McCarthy can, not how Benni McCarthy sometimes plays. At times he’s not quite shown the ability he has in every game he plays. You have to play your best every time you get picked in this league.

This club has not had a player of his ability for a long time. What we want to see is that ability used on a regular basis. That’s all that’s keeping him out of the side. He’s too long in the tooth for me to change him, he has to change himself.

I can give him the tools to be better in every department, but it’s whether he wants to make himself better. If we get there, we can all go forward together.

Look at that...he wants a response from Benni and for him to fulfill his potential. So how does Benni respond? By being a cry-baby...boo hoo...the manager is picking on me all the time just because I am too fat and can't be bothered training more as I'm only on about 50 grand a week.

Who else in the squad has weight problems? Dunn in the past but look at his response this season!

Why can't Benni do that instead of running to the press and taking the p1ss out of our supportere by continuingly being outside his physical best?

"This club has not had a player of his ability for a long time"...yeah Benni...the manager really doesn't rate you.

Shut up whining and do your talking on the pitch eh? Oh and get fit too lazybones...

Yet again we see what a self-centred prat Benni can be. Under Hughes and Ince he was dropped for attitude issues and weight problems. At Porto he was frozen out. This guy has a history of hissy fits and laziness.

For a professional footballer to be continually, year after year, short of the required fitness is a disgrace. In the article Benni shoots himself in the foot by admitting he has kept missing targets. So he complains when he is brought in for extra training to get up to the fitness level he himself should have made sure he is at?

Then after a return of ONE whole league goal...he goes crying to the papers, trying to make his manager look bad in an attempt to engineer a move? Completely unprofessional and shows a huge lack of respect to Blackburn Rovers and the fans who cheer him on. Benni loves the fans so much that he wants out and will go to the press to engineer it.

There is only person forcing a move for Benni. That is Benni.

From the article it is obvious that Sam has been trying to get Benni into a fitter condition for a long time which has resulted in fines. Yet we are supposed to have sympathy with Benni when he continually, year after year, sells the club short over his fitness?

Not good enough from Benni.

Howard Gayle used to be a nippy type of forward, graceful and with some pace.

Now...

Well...he is retired I suppose!

Whatever happened to rovergroo? Along with my good self he used to update this list from time to time. Shame that he does not seem to post anymore as he was one of the most interesting posters to read on here.