It's a rare occasion to be able to agree with both Tris AND Scotty but this is one of those. In my opinion, football would much poorer with video technology. Personally I don't want exact decisions or the best team always winning. The controversy, disputes and arguments make football what it is. A game of passion and, at times, injustice. Many times I've been clutching my head in frustration at some idiot of a ref denying Rovers but football wouldn't be the same without it. No controversial goal line decisions? What'd be the point of that? Give me talking points and managers declaring "we was robbed" anytime.

As referred to in AESF's post above, there really are some sick people about. BRIT HELD OVER SICK HOAX ON THE TSUNAMI GRIEVING Emails sicko says 'sorry' Robbery, rape and kidnap

My point about using "the west" is that China is not in the west, this is happening in their own backyard, they have a $500 million dollar slush fund for this sort of thing, and they are giving less than us. Where is the criticism of them? So no, "the west" is not the proper term here. (And I won't even go into the imperialism of Japan and China.) Actually China has so far pledged $65.3million and that will rise hugely when all the various funraising activities and government-owned enterprises have been included. There is certainly much that can be levied against the Chinese but it's rather a strange argument to suggest that philipl should get off his soapbox behind a keyboard in Malta before criticising U.S relief efforts by getting on your soapbox behind a keyboard in Boston to criticise Chinese relief efforts. At the weekend I did get off my backside and went to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, admittedly for myself rather than out of good will but even so when I arrived there was so much to see there to restore belief in the human spirit that I was taken aback. There I saw many efforts to raise money or clothes and blankets for disaster relief, from stallholders in the markets giving their entire taking for the day (not just the profits) to help and from then on to money from state-owned train fares going towards relief efforts. From first-hand experience I can assure you that there are many, many Chinese who have given up their own time and effort to try in their own way to help the survivors, however small their help may be. Even the machinations of Government will get around to pledging plenty more in time. To criticise so much good will and desire to help is simply unfair. As is the knee-jerk criticism of the U.S. relief from other posters on here before we even have any idea what exactly will be donated or pledged. American is right about it being a no-win situation for a country, whatever they donate will never be enough for some. Thing is...that's as true for China as it is for the USA.

The Geordies are desperate for a win, fans unhappy and players even more so. Rovers have been the fall guys so many times in the past when other sides have needed a victory that I have lost count. So much optimism among Rovers fans always worries me that a kick in the teeth is on its way. A Newcastle win. "Bah, humbug!"

Three games without scoring suggests we may need to look for goals from elsewhere. Especially if it looks like Dickov could be the makeweight in the Savage transfer if the LET is correct. Nelsen, Mokoena, Savage and a forward brought in? Could be a very busy transfer window at Ewood. If the numerous rumours are really to be believed. Only problem...who can we offload? Who really wants underperforming players on Premiership wages? De Pedro for example...if no other club wanted him when available on a free, who would want to have to match the presumably decent wages he is on with us? Time to go cap in hand to the Walker Trust perhaps...

Balderdash, as always. You were calling for the head of Souness for so long that eventually, just like a broken clock, you had to be right eventually. Well done Nostradamus...who'd have thought that eventually a football manager may have run his course at a club? Must be a first. When did you first start calling for the head of Souness? Before our sixth place? Before the Worthington Cup win? You never stopped...like a broken record for years even when he was doing a good job. How gracious to name some possible successors this summer when most of the board were also thinking of life under a different manager. Interesting view from the self-appointed troll of the board whose only wish is to gain attention by instigating arguments...I'm just glad I managed to rile you! Maybe you can carry on by posting another of your... ahem...'hilarious' "been on the sauce again?" replies to Tris or stating that anybody with a differing view to your own in the 'Greatest XI' thread is a moron. Good to see your so-called journalistic skills being put to good use... Now I'll kindly let you get back to your own professional pontificating and allow you peace in which to compose yet another one of your tedious diatribes...do you never get bored of trying to wind people up Jim?

rover6 wanted to sack Souness and replace him with Paul Sturrock. Jim didn't have the guts to put forward a viable successor and left any questions relating to this unanswered. So, no, they didn't get it right. A lot of people were worried under Souness, they just went to extremes although I did respect rover6 for naming a sucessor and taking all the ribbing he received in good humour. Re Cole : I agree. That was the turning point for me as well, although what would have sacking Souness have done? We wouldn't have got the compensation from Newcastle and Hughes might not have fancied the job quite so much- Wales hadn't ballsed up their World Cup qualifying campaign at that stage and were still looking at tempting games against England and Northern Ireland to come.

You can have as good defenders as you like but if teams cut through the midfield like a knife through butter they still won't keep clean sheets. A defensive midfield player who can break up attacks is a must and it would actually free up some of our more attack-minded players. We have midfield players with creative talent (Emerton, Ferguson, Tugay, Thompson, Djorkaeff, maybe even De Pedro and MGP if we ever get to see them) who are often too harassed trying to defend to be able to spend much of the game attacking. If we had someone who could protect the defence and give the midfield some stability then for once the other team would be back to worrying about what we are going to do than what happens now with us worrying about the opposition danger-men. After that...well, almost everywhere could be improved really couldn't it? A new striker in a different mould to what we have now may be worth looking into. A big targetman up front maybe, possibly giving the tried-and-tested little man and big man partnership up front. A new centre half? Why not, if they're good enough. Certainly most of the team needs improving but to my mind the one vital position is a central midfielder to make us hard to play against once again. Martin Andresen has had his critics on here (unjustly most of them were I feel) but he came into the team and did a job, no-nonsense and that must have made a difference, it was certainly an important part of our four match winning streak last Spring. Every team needs a hard tackling central midfielder, a "water carrier' (copyright Eric Cantona) if you will, just ask Wenger/Ferguson/Clough/Ramsey any decent manager ever really. As for who can go...almost any for the right price.

This poll really illustrates just how much of an advantage the more recent players have over older players...if they are good enough. Le Saux knocking out an England regular and one-club man Eckersley, Hendry thrashing Mike England. Duff was a great player for us but 75% (which he has at the moment) is way more than Clayton, Dougals and Crompton received. Was he so much better for Rovers than those? Personally I doubt it...while he may be on the same level as the other Rovers greats for a couple of seasons the others were great players for Rovers throughout their entire career and I don't think he would win quite so comprehensively if he had been playing for us say twenty years ago. Still he is sorely missed and I had no hesitation in voting for him. Shearer will walk the next vote (with surely an even bigger percentage of the vote than Duff) but Garner may not find it quite so easy, I'd say keep the polls going. A change is as good as a rest after all...

Yeah that'll fool 'em... ...especially when said with a Blackburn accent.

Sellars did not do so well at Newcastle? First time I've ever heard that slant put on his time there!

Sellars actually was called up once into the squad but had to pull out through injury. Like Jansen later...he never got called up again. Was never quite the same player. Sellars is an example of a player whose skills were slowly kicked out of him. It's a worry for Duff in case the same happens to him. By the way...last time I saw Sellars was outside the Millenium Stadium in 2002, so I presume he'd been inside cheering on the Rovers that day!

Scott Sellars was my favourite player when my dad finally relented and started taking me to Ewood (I was 22 at the time...just kidding!). An awesome player who served us in the second division but proved himself to be Premiership-quality when his brilliant passing and startling vision helped light up Kevin Keegan's famously flamboyant Newcastle side. Unfortunately Scott was an unlucky player. The wrong move at the wrong time (to the new league champions Leeds United in 1992) which didn't really work out and then, injury struck at a fateful moment. Called up to the England squad but having to decline and instead sit it out on the fitness table. Like Jansen a decade or so later, the chance never came again. Sellars really was an excellent player, full of creatity, flair and skill. An unpredicatale and enigmatic sikily skilled winger who entertained the crowd and got people on the edge of their seats. Will I be voting for him over Duff? Nah don't be daft he wasn't that good but Sellars does deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Irishman and remembered as an excellent Rovers player. So after going on about Sellars all the time my vote is Duff. Oh well, what can you do? Jim - Noel Brotherston did go to the 1982 World Cup with Northern Ireland.

Cheers Brownie and I'll pass on your congratulations to Jimmy if ever I bump into his ghost, maybe he is haunting the area just behind the FA Cup trophy (where a winning captain would raise it from), with a pint of Mild in one hand and a Woodbine in the other. Or, er...as would be more likely, not... At least this way we have players to cover most of the last 125 years or so. From Forrest in 1880s & 1890s with Crompton taking it up until the Second World War (admittedly as director and manger for much of that time). After t' war Clayton, Douglas and in the 1980s & 1990s Colin Hendry, with Le Saux and bringing it up to date with Freidel. The only full decade since Rovers were formed which doesn't include any representative is the 1970s, which was the worst decade in the history of the club. Then again, Simon Garner joined the club in 1978. If he does get in then we will have a 'Greatest Ever XI' that covers players from every full decade since we were formed (1880s - 2000s), if you include Crompton as the manager in both the twenties and thirties. Quite a greatest team! One which spans the ages and bridges the decades! That's unless Sherwood doesn't do a Forrest and 'come back from the dead', so to speak...

Name me a succesful side that doesn't have a "scrapper" and you may be able to validate your point. Arsenal have Viera, United have Keane *(and want Gravesen allegedly), Liverpool have Gerrard. We still need a central midfielder to share the workload with Ferguson. Tugay was excellent yesterday but when we next see another performance like it from him? If Thompson or Reid can move into the middle then fine but we need a ball-winner.

Jay on the left? Nissa on the left? Sparky's knobbly-kneed auntie on the left? What on earth has happened to Mickey Gray? Does Hughes just not rate him? While he may not have been having the best of seasons he is still our best left back surely?

Quite true. Only a person utterly oblivious to his surroundings could have failed to hear the racist chanting in the eighties. In those days as all who were there can remember monkey chants seemed part of the atmosphere at every league ground I visited and I've been to a fair few in my time. It's sad to look back on those days and see that it was the norm to try and degrade a player solely because of their skin colour. At least with Yorke the majority were complaining because they did not like his workrate or attitude. This debate or brouhaha or storm in a teacup or whatever does at least show how far matters have progressed. Two fans arrested for racist chanting. To do that at times in the eighties the police would have had to wade through hundreds or even thousands of other fans chanting just the same things. The reporting of this story is over the top but it all comes down to timing. One week ago it wouldn't be such big news but a week is a long time in football... As for the two - do we even know they are Rovers fans? Football fans at all for that matter? As for the scarf...not suprised it isn't Roma. They tend to allign themselves against the Lazio ultras, some of whom (or many of whom depending who you listen to) embrace racism and slogans of white supremacy. Then again, any guy who ends up on national television doing a monkey impression (if that is what he actually did do) is hardly the sharpest tool in the box. Or able to handle his beer. One of the two. Or maybe both? EDIT - I disagree that Ewood Park has been racism-free. It isn't something that can be completely eradicated from every single supporter. However I do agree that any kind of racist chanting or comments are very rare indeed.

It was mainly because some members seemed to get a bit annoyed because they believed people were telling others who to vote. Den, Brownie and myself agreed to do this shootout if the votes were very close to stop the complaining. As it turns out...Forrest ended up winning but we decided on doing this about Thursday which would be fair. Also...hopefully there will be one clear winner this time and so no more complaining that people are getting their mates to register and vote!

There is a saying in football that is popular with beleagured managers who have known better times. It tends to be used by an arrogant so-and-so who believes they know better than the press or the fans or even their own players for that matter. Ferguson, Souness...those types. I'm going to use it here though not to attack anybody but to support them instead. The phrase is... "Show us your medals" If I was Jimmy Forrest I'd probably say..."show me a table that's big enough to hold 'em first pal..." I'd also be dead of course because Forrest went long ago to the football pitch in the sky but that doesn't mean we should disregard the man or his achievements. I'm not a fan of the negative type of campaigning that has been going on by those in favour of both Forrest and Sherwood. Saying people are morons if they don't vote a certain way or belittling the achievements of players because they happened so long ago. Sod it...let's look at what they achieved for Rovers instead. If you want to vote Sherwood do so and likewise if it's Forrest then fair enough. Just have a little think about it first...that's all you have to do to have grasped the point of these debates. Then vote for whoever you want and sod what the rest think. In terms of honours won with Rovers Forrest is the most succesful player we have ever had. Five FA Cup winners medals...nobody has ever beaten that, for Rovers or any other sides for that matter. They are a long time ago sure but why cast aside our history? It is after all what the club is all about...the tradition, the institution, the Rovers. Forrest stands out in our history and we are talking about him well over a century later on. Now if that doesn't make him a 'great' then nothing will. To my mind that is the definition of a great. To be remembered for their achievements. Forrest also won shedloads of other competitions with Rovers...that was when we were the greatest team in the world. It has happened very often, at most only twice (the cup-winning sides and the pre-WWI double title-winning team) and Forrest was the star of the side. Forrest used to be in the mould of an attacking central midfielder who burst forward to support the forwards in the box and latch on to any chances. It certainly worked well for him. After all...he scored in two FA Cup finals. In another two different FA Cup finals he lifted the trophy as the winning captain. Success was something that seemed to be permanently welded to Forrest. With it by his side he inspired the Rovers for twelve years. Jimmy was not one of those journeyman types who pottered around playing for this club and that. When he joined Rovers he stayed...and was a first team regular for over a decade. Captain for seven years. Seven! Not many others can beat that for service to the club. Forrest was the only player to play in all five of Rovers' FA Cup winning finals. The FA Cup was by far the most important honour available then, even more important than the Premiership is now. Some teams look to Europe...in those days there was only ever the cup, the cup, the cup. Rovers were champions five times out of eight. They were the first ever truly great footballing team. The club obviously knew a winner when they saw one...they wouldn't see another until Bob Crompton came along. Like Crompton, Forrest stayed involved with Rovers for a good twenty or so years after finishing playing. Forrest stood out in probably the greatest ever Rovers side. Just because it happened a long time ago does not mean we should forget our glorious past. It wasn't just Rovers who Forrest was a regular for. There was also England. Although his eleven caps may not sound so impressive, due to the limited number of games it was. It meant he was a regular for a good six years. Forrest also joined a select band. Rovers players who have captained England. There are but three of them. Crompton and Clayton already have their places in the 'Greatest Ever' side...Forrest is the other. Might be a good idea to have an England captain in the side eh? One last thing about Forrest...he was a Rovers fan. One of us. Born locally and devoted to the club once he joined. Like Douglas and Crompton before him he was a Roverite and a Blackburn lad. Forrest has won this poll once...winning seems to come with the territory with him. I'm not going to have a go at Sherwood to help my case for Forrest. Jimmy doesn't need me to... Jimmy Forrest - 5 FA Cup winners medals - twelve years at Rovers - local lad - England captain - A natural for the 'Greatest Ever XI'.

Breaking the Cole story on his own in the summer showed he has must have a contact at Ewood. Whether that contact left after four games or not is debatable. Or is it even one of the board? Surely not that many people could have known that Rovers were actually deciding to let Cole go on a free. Nixon got that one right and got there first. Unsuprisingly Neild comes across as part of the Ewood PR machine and rightly so. After all, he knows not to bite the hand that feeds him. At least not too hard.

Hilarious. One of the funniest things I have read on here for a long time.

Jim, as usual, is on the windup most of the time. For some reason he likes to gain attention by riling other members of this board. No idea why...maybe his parents didn't give him enough attention as a child. Try not to take him too seriously and don't let him affect your voting just because he annoys. Let's keep this about the greatest Rovers players, not how much he is getting on your nerves. Some of his tirades are actually very funny if you just relax and don't take them too personally! As Bryan (I think) once posted...Calm down dear, it's just a messageboard!

Ideally one of them will pull out in front and we won't need a further vote of any kind. Oh and just to say that Tris and Bob F did mention having a shootout before myself, just at the same time as each other. Great minds and all that...don't want to take that away from Tris as he seems very proud of it!

If that happens please add Latheron to the list, he deserves to be here more than both Sherwood and Forrest. I know there will be increased support for him if it came to a three way vote, he has to be considered once again. No, that is unfair on Atkins and Batty. Latheron has only received three more votes than Atkins and just five more than Batty. Either we have a five-way vote of all the players who have reached double figures in votes or (and to be honest this is the only sensible way to do it or we could here for months getting rid of one at a time) a straight shootout between Sherwood and Forrest who are now a good forty votes ahead of the others. As good as Latheron was, fifteen votes so far is not enough to keep him in. Not without the likes of Batty and Atkins just a few votes behind him.

Kevin Davies was. Literally. The fat bas.... Anyway Parkes has gone. Long after those responsible for his departure have also exited the gates of Ewood the club will remain. That's the one thing that is important. Bob Crompton outlasted Parkes by a long chalk and was at the club for half a century. Still died sometime though. Yet the club moved on. While I realise some people are upset I cannot understand not supporting the club. Dislike the manager or the fans or the board but just remember that it is Blackburn Rovers that is the most important. When Keith Berkinshaw was sacked by Spurs he mentioned to someone outside that "there used be a football club over here". Tony Parkes might have felt the same when he left. However...there still is a football club in Blackburn. No matter who stays or goes. All the best Tony but come on...we're still Rovers 'till we die right?