OK not technically their employer but as their boss he was obviously in control of whether they would play and he had the kind of authority around the place that meant their future at the club was up to him. A good example would be Stam, one of their best players who was shipped out because he annoyed Fergie. Not irrelevent even if I did use the wrong term - Sven leaving after the World Cup won't be the same as when Fergie announced he was leaving at the end of the season.

Hughes to call back Gally in time FOR Wednesday? A ROVERS RETURN BY GALLAGHER That'll scare Fergie!!!

Not sure if the Fergie analogy is that relevant though. The players represent England as a part-time job almost. Their 'bread and butter' is from their club. Fergie was their manager, their employer. No wonder there was a bit of crisis when he announced he was leaving as many players will have wondered who their next boss was and whether they'd have to move. While the England players will be wondering who will replace Sven it is unlikely to have as much of an effect as their club manager leaving. Hopefully it may even free up some of the pressure on them. Our two best performances in the last three decades - 1990 and 1996 - both came under managers who the squad already knew were leaving after the tournament. They say things come in threes. Semi final defeat on penalties again then?

17 philip The age of Rooney's debut Coincidentally Walcott will be 17 come the World Cup...

Remember we also have to factor in signing-on fees and wages which generally double the real cost of a signing. Free transfers end up costing a club lots of money too. We also got rid of Flitcroft and Thompson recently. Those would have cost Rovers, it's not just a case of letting them go, they need to compensated with loyalty bonuses (which players receive when the club wants them to leave without their having placed a transfer request) and also paying off the contract. So these should be taken into account - transfer fees alone, both incoming and outgoing, are only a small part of the overall picture , if that is what you meant by net funding. With the Rovers board I agree with you that they should be backing Hughes - to an extent. We have to bring a striker in but who? Someone like Ashton for £8million should not be contemplated. It's putting all your eggs in one basket. Hughes should be backed for the right player...at the right price. Benni from Porto sounds perfect. Not too expensive but proven. Rovers have usually backed their managers before, I'd be surprised if they didn't this time. Expect some transfer activity soon.

Nobody suggested that (except maybe thenodrog) so get off your high horse. Jansen is a lovely lad, the kind of guy who'd make a perfect son-in-law, charming, and pleasant. His looks obviously help his popularity and fair play to him for that, nothing wrong with it. However riding a moped around Rome is hardly the same as Tugay riding a bike home a short distance from training. Surely a moped would be expected to be the more dangerous? Ultimately though the difference comes down to luck...Matt lucked out. There is an article in The Mail today...Matt suggests Souness wasn't sympathetic to his psychological needs to recover, which sounds like Graeme. In the article Matt says in criticism of Souness' handling of him - "The previous manager (Graeme Souness) did not understand the psychological problem that I had and was not very co-operative with it. Apparantly the first thing he said after the accident was: "what the hell was he doing on a bloody moped?" Hope Jansen suceeds in the future altough maybe he needs to go back to where he started his career - in the lower leagues - before slowly working his way back up. Regular games may be what he needs.

Actually that is true...fair point.

Has so-called popular journalism in Britain ever been at a lower point? Any 'News of the World' readers before this must be ex-readers by now.

So of the three live games chosen by the BBC five of the six teams are from the Premiership? Aren't these the same tossers who constantly whitter on about the FA Cup being the cup for glory and upsets? Isn't there already a Match of the Day and a Match of the Day 2? What need of a third? So many more interesting games and yet they chose these...

In other words it's not going to be worth the hundreds of millions (at least) spent on it then? Nice having an alternative to carrying your passport with you but surely a bit much to pay?

As did everyone else.

Why are they quite useful? As yet another form of ID? I've plenty of those as does everyone else so it is no use paying shedloads for another.

Since when has a bicycle been the same as a motorbike? thenodrog was right...take away Matt's good looks and there is no way we would have ever had such a long thread.

How? Hughes did nothing to change the situation.

You're such a girl.

I've not heard before of this angle that the taxi driver wwas to blame? "Moronic" and "psychopaths"...wasn't it just an accident?

It wasn't worth being a Category A game though...on TV on a Saturday night? Making it Category B would have been a fairer price so it is not a question of "dropping prices". The fans have been asked to pay out last Wednesday to see United, the Saturday before for QPR and before that for Pompey at home. Expecting fans to pay out for the fourth time in less than a fortnight in the new year for a game rearranged for Sky while charging the most they can is simply not on from Rovers. If ever there was a time to be considering the financial burdens for fans it was last night. I'm ok this season...I'll be back for a few weeks, watch a few games and then be out of the country again. If I was being asked to cough up again and again though for home games which are rarely at the time that the fans want (Saturday at 3) then I might be thinking enough was enough by now. Time and time again the prices are knocked down for the games that they can't sell tickets for anyway. Fulham or Pompey at home etc. Why not try and get fans in with games they might want to see? For years now the Rovers approach to reduced tickets has been half-hearted. Tenner to see Fulham or Charlton...not many took it up and it made season ticket holders think if their season ticket was really worth it. I'm not saying we should just let people watch the United game for a tenner...but on this occasion it must have made sense to look at the game on an individual basis rather than just lumping it into a category...this time A. The crowd of 18180 against local rivals shows that whatever Rovers did on this occasion it didn't work.

They shouldn't...the man has done absolute wonders there. Sure he is a terminal whinger but he is an excellent manager. While he may have Wanderers-tinted glasses I'd much rather have him in charge of England then someone as dreary as McLaren, who seems to be the more favoured route to go if we the next national coach is to be English. Allardyce has always liked to complain but he seems to have gone into overdrive in the past year or so...ever since his players were receiving plenty of stick from the media, notably Diouf. Wouldn't be surprised if a large part of this is a desire to take the brunt of criticism onto his own shoulders is tactical. If so...he is doing a great job of it.

True but I was thinking more generally. If I recall correctly I think he has received nine yellow cards so far this season. That kind of rate is going to go hurt us by suspensions and more immediately by Savage having to be careful about his conduct in the rest of the match. Bookings are part of his game but some of them are needless and just silly.

True but it should be also be pushed out further. Blackburn Rovers are not just a team for the town of Blackburn but for much else of East Lancs too. Darwen, Rishton, Church etc need also to be targetted. The more affluent Blackburn fan may often move out of the town and the club needs to make sure these fans either keep attending or get back into the habit. From what has been suggested of the Jack Walker Upper, these people aren't going anymore.

Savage may be improving but it doesn't stop him picking up stupid bookings and then being generally less effective for the rest of the match after. If there is any part of his game he needs to improve it is that. Being irritating to the other team is good but being too irritating to the ref will only result in a yellow card.

...but they may have Glenn Roeder instead when we play there. That doesn't really scare me. Should that scare me? Roeder or Souness?

As Nelsen has until January 17th to appeal it's fair to say that The Sun are talking a load of tosh and that is merely speculation on their part. Lua Lua has also been charged for a bit of ref-calling.

...and there was me trying to be nice and not say your 'cynical' comment was ridiculous!

Not necessarily a nightmare, it does depend on the luck of draw although you can expect a tough opponent certainly. Betis made it through though and shows it can be done. Unfortunately for them they are now fighting against relegation from La Liga!