If that's what is needed then yes - but remember not every ground had fences and some grounds including ours still have perimeters. What if the fences were so high they impeded an escape in the event of a crush? If this is question time, here's mine... Why on earth would the club put up fences that "were so high they impeded an escape in the event of a crush"? In Germany there are a number of top flight grounds that have standing areas. They are deemed safe enough to allow fans into them so it can be done. These areas will be used in the World Cup. If Germany can do this why not here in England? I'm not particularly in favour of having standing at games reintroduced but if it did happen it would not have to be like in the eighties on crumbling terraces.

Spot on there Scotty. Souness is merely replicating what he did at Rovers when he first joined; getting them into shape and taking no rubbish from players thinking they are entitled to regular pats on the back because they are so good. Souness may do very well for a couple of seasons. Sure, he has a limited shelflife before the ideas run out but it should be no suprise to any Rovers fan if he ends the silverware drought at Newcastle. If he could take us from mid-table in the first division (or 'Championship' if you wish) to promotion, a cup win and sixth place then he can sure as hell do the business for Newcastle. In the short term anyway, his shortcomings will be exposed after a while. Sure, Souness is a bully and a dictator (and an arrogant tosser according to many). That's just what a club like Newcastle has been crying out for.

I'd like to see Douglas and Ferguson given a try sometime in central midfield. Douglas is obviously no Platini or anything but he gets stuck in and at least makes his presence felt. Remember when Flitty was young enough (or after his new contract) to do that? Would hopefully give the defence some cover as well; something which someone as immobile or paceless as Tugay plainly does not do.

Also played at centre back a few times if I remember correctly but I'd suggest his biggest contribution to Rovers was a central midfielder and as such should be included in the vote for that position. Didn't he often deputise when Batty was injured?

I was saying this months ago under Souness, and I'm not picking out Amo as the target. Within reason whatever happens this season I shall back Hughes. He has to deal with the team Souness put together - it looks more laughable to call him a football manger as each game goes by - and can't be truely judged until he (Hughesy) has moulded his own side. Even though this is his side, the weird thing is that I can't see us having lost the game 4-0 if Souness was still here. We rarely got thrashed under Souness, only then to top sides (Arsenal and Liverpool both beat us 3-0 I seem to remember under Souness). Not that I want him back or anything, just that these are worrying times for Rovers. Be optimistic all you like but I don't see too much reason to be...at least not before the January transfer window.

den - if you follow the link below it'll (hopefully) take you to a picture of Ken Clayton in Rovers gear, so to answer your question yes he did play for Rovers, although probably not for that long. Otherwise just go on the cottontown site and search for "Ken Clayton". Ken Clayton - Cottontown picture

I think I've been on that site before that alex sci fi mentioned. Preston a great atmosphere? Blackburn a mundane, lacklustre visit? Hmmm...I do seem to remember that the author is actually a Preston North End fan. Do you think maybe that has something to do with his opinion or am i just being way too suspicious?

billy - off the top of my head Bob Crompton certainly qualifies as a Blackburn lad through and through, also captaining Rovers and England. Was Bill Eckersley also a local lad? Or Ronnie Clayton?

Like many others Ripley was one of my favourite Rovers players of the last decade or so. Let's be honest here though...the only way the words 'Stuart Ripley' and 'great player' can reasonably appear in the same sentence is if describing one of his crosses to that great player Alan Shearer. Ripley was good at his job and sent over the crosses but never a great player. Added to that, the case put forward for Douglas is excellent with some great contributions. Those putting forward the case for Ripley have, with the exception of a couple of good posts such as that by Bellamy11 and Dr Rich (who even then still went for Douglas) are a waste of time. Many of the 'has to be Ripley, haven't seen many others though' type just make me want to vote Douglas. Hate to join the 'old giffers' (copyright Scotty) brigade but when most of the cases put forward to Ripley are so sparse and the cases put forward for Douglas so eloquent and evocative then what choice is there? Also Dr Rich said Ripley was a one club man in a kind of way because he only really achieved anything at Blackburn...not quite, he was pretty successful at Middlesbrough (and fondly remembered) which is why he didn't come cheap for those days. when we bought him. Bryan Douglas - now that's a one-club man, not only a Rovers player but a Rovers fan - for life. One of us. Unlike many others I actually liked Keith Gillespie, true he was inconsistent and always on the one-armed bandits downtown but on his day he was great to watch as he slalomed down the wing. Of course he then ballsed up the cross at the end of it but it was an exciting ride nonetheless. One final thing...Ripley won a title, it's true. However Bryan Douglas is the only Rovers player to have played for England in two world cups. How many games in the finals of a international tournament would you really have expected Ripley to start. 'Super Stu' was a good player for Rovers...but let's not be daft and pretend he can match a true Blackburn legend like Bryan Douglas.

How on earth did David May get a vote again? That's two votes for the first time and another on this. Is it the work of Sam Dingle or longsider1882 or is there a "joker" at work? Would also have been interesting to see the case put forward for John Curtis by...tom007. Den - you made the correct decision to have the vote again and this has actually been vindicated by England's win. The central midfield positions look to be the most interesting of the lot. One thing I did think (and it's actually too late now Brad is in the team) ius maybe to exclude players still playing for the club? After all, what if they suddenly started playing poorly and their reputation went down? Le Saux for example suffered, albeit only by a bit, by his antics in Moscow. It could affect others in similar ways if they left the club on bad terms. Just a thought that's all and of course too late now with the goalkeeper already chosen.

Youri and Tugay are like chalk and cheese. Tugay has (for us) always been the type who sprays passes around while Youri has made a career of attacking defences directly. Maybe Tugay could do the job Youri has been signed to do...or maybe on the other hand the Frenchman can free up some space by occupying the thoughts of opposition defenders to allow Tugay to work his magic and control the game. At least I hope that is what will happen. Lord knows the side needs a bit of flair. World-cup winning flair (albeit a bit long in the tooth) should not be sniffed at.

That's because Mike England never game him a kick. I see Hendry is ahead of England in the voting: look like the Rovers all-star team is going to have a headless chicken with blocks of concrete in his boots rather than a world class centre half. Jim - other than Bob Crompton can you name one other player who you have not seen play who you would like to see in the all-time 'Greatest Rovers XI'? Be fair...if you expect others to trust the opinions of people they do not know then will you? Or is your team just to be a mixture of your favourite ten players and Crompton who I think we can agree is a bit of a one-off? For the record I voted Mike England against my original leanings. If I (or someone else) makes a case for a pre-war player then how much of a chance will he have? I'll listen to others before deciding (and so will some others) but is that enough for players that nobody on here has seen?

Did you know.... That Blackburn Rovers have played more league games against Villa than against any other club? and... Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa were the last two of the original twelve founder member clubs to be relegated? They were both relegated for the first time in 1936, long after every other founding club had been relegated at least once. Well if you didn't know that you do now and much good may it do you. As for the match I'll go for a 0-0 draw. Not likely to happen as I don't think we have had a goal-free match for about the same period of time we have been without a penalty. Can anyone remember our last 0-0 in the league?

Nonsense. Just because he played for England does not make a "great". Carlton Palmer anyone? Equally, Simon Garner qualifies as a Rovers "great", but he never came anywhere near a senior England cap. No one is "deriding" Le Saux and you are probably right that he was the best left back in the league at that time. But he is not the best left back to play for Rovers, not by a long way. Carlton Palmer played once for England Le Saux played 36 times. Notice the word often or did you just choose to ignore it. Carlton Palmer actually played eighteen times for England. It's shocking I agree and not something I like to bring up when people may be eating but it did happen when Taylor managed the national side. Regarding voting for players you haven't seen, I think American summed it up best and it was a valid Hitler analogy. If you are prepared to look at the candidates and then make a decision without having solely to have seen them play live then you have got the point of having a 'Greatest XI'. If you wish to vote for Le Saux or Lucas Neill or Brett Emerton or whobloodyever then great but if you are only going to consider players you have seen play then there is little point in doing this and it is a bit of a kick in the teeth for Den and the others who have worked hard to try and get a feature going for people on here to enjoy reading. Everyone can vote for whoever the hell they want but that isn't the real point, it's about thinking who actually deserves to be in the greatest ever team, not to just discount players because you haven't seen them. Or am I wrong and we should just have a 'Greatest Ever Rovers XI' from the last ten years? Jim - You say that Newton should be in the team otherwise it is a farce. So what about Eckersley? You don't like Le Saux winning but surely Newton losing to Eckersley would not quite so 'farcical'.

It's a case of having to wait for them to come through as at the moment there simply doesn't seem any talented players from the subcontinent to make it in the Premiership. The captain of the Indian national side Baichang Bhutia (sp?) had a rather anonymous time at Bury. If the Indian captain can't make it happen down at Gigg Lane then what hope for the others currently playing for the national sides? There are frequent reports of the next Anglo-Asian superstar in the making but until they change the potential into actual first team appearances in the spotlight of the Premiership we won't know if that'll be the spur to an upsurge in Indians/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis attending matches. There was a very promising player in the Leeds youth team (a midfielder I think) whom I remember hearing about as the next big thing and another at West Ham. Haven't heard about either them since.

Bournemouth have been drawn at home to Cardiff in the next round so what would have been an excellent opportunity for a cup run and some much needed excitement has passed us by. Oh well...more scrapping for points in the league. A good cup run can often be a spur to improved league form rather than having to be a hinderance. Our cup win in 2002 was followed by a surge up the table. Oh well...c'est la vie as the saying (and the downstairs nightclub in Blackburn) goes... Not too sure why people are saying the FA Cup is more important. For clubs like us the only chance of winning anything is in the League Cup as we haven't got a cat in hell's chance in the FA Cup (FA chance so to speak). The top clubs take it seriously and the big four of Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal always seem to win it. The last side to buck that trend was Everton almost a decade ago. Staying in the Premiership is obviously a priority but a cup run may have been the kick up the backside those fans choosing not to go to Ewood could have needed. Maybe next year...those three words are what football fans can always dream of...

That's a wonderful idea. In all seriousness how much would that cost the club each year if they were to gave each local child a replica shirt on his seventh birthday? One week of one of our highest earners wages? Doubt it'd even come to that. It'd be worth it for the good publicity and PR alone. Other than that Rovers do actively target schoolkids in the area. It is something they must continue as it is those kids who often pester their parents to take them along to Ewood. We do not have the fanbase to rely on people keep turning up or locals turning into Rovers fans (United or Chelsea seem so much more glamorous on Sky) so the club has to keep plugging away at the young locals to turn them into Rovers supporters who will then be that way for life.

Utterly undecided. What else can we be really? It is all guesswork and if we were all such football geniuses we'd make a fortune from betting on results. Actually with T4E making 295 smackeroonies maybe he is a genius but for the rest of us we will have to wait and see. The one concern for me is that it looks like the obvious option. Would Hughes really have been the overwhelming number one choice if he had not played at Blackburn? As Souness proved himself at Liverpool, managing at a former club does not necessarily have to equate with success. Although I have often disagreed with USABlue I can understand where he is coming from and think that calling him to not speak and just get behind the team is unfair and out of order as he is just voicing his concerns and will no doubt be supporting Rovers as much as always when we are playing the games. Just because fans are worried does not mean they do not love and support the club as much as always! Chesh - I don't think Hughes played under Cruyff...wasn't it Venables he played under at Barca?

Agree that if Eckersley or Newton (or whichever player from decades ago) are to have any chance at all somebody is going to have put forward one hell of a case. At right back we haven't had anyone particularly special for at least a couple of decades but at left back and despite some irritations Le Saux was a skilfull and intelligent player as well as simply being damn good. How about Jim putting forward a case for Newton? Where are you Jim? Seem to remember him describing him as a classy, quality international-standard player. Maybe a few more people who remember Eckersley saying a bit more about him? For now I'll say Le Saux but keep an open mind should anyone come up with a very good argument for someone else.

We need to be realistic about what sort of manager we can attract. We are either going to get someone who has a mixed past as manager or a promising up-and-coming coach. We aren't going to attract managers who have had a glittering, success-filled career. We may be an attractive proposition for many managers or prospective managers but let's not get silly. Mentioning the likes of Hitzfeld or Eriksson is just a waste of time really as it ain't gonna happen in a month of sundays. So, we can go for those who have had positive as well as negative times in their career such as Strachan, Worthington (not great at Blackpool), Houllier or Jewell (although to be fair Alex Ferguson wouldn't have been able to do much at Sheff Wed at that time) or the likes of Dowie, Adams, Newell who are too new to the old managerial game to know which way they will ultimately turn out. It'd be nice if we ALL at least got behind the new manager and gave him a chance. Other than perhaps Hoddle (whose comments about the disabled were repugnant) they all deserve that courtesy at least. I've been thinking though... You want stability yeah? Someone who is loyal to a club for years and years? You want to play attractive football, passing the ball around and attacking? You want a manager who has slowly but surely dragged a team kicking and screaming up the league ladder? You want someone who puts his faith in the youth setup and brings forward talented young players time after time after time? You want someone who may not be completely impossible to tempt here? There's only one man in the English game that possesses all those qualities... Step forward forward Mr... Dario Gradi.

I think it is bladder conditions that tend to come with baggage?!? My choice would be Paul Jewell, a good, proven manager who has his teams playing watchable football. Wales have ultimately achieved little under Hughes despite some impressive performances. When the result really mattered though his team bottled it. Graham would be a good shout as he has won all there is domestically and succeeded in Europe although I'd rather not have a man of his previously dubious character in charge of our club. It needs to be a decision made soon though. Just no good assistant/rubbish manager this time though please. An appointment from abroad could be likely and maybe not a bad idea. The club needs a new direction. A more attack-minded manager is, however, a must if ever the crowds are to come back to Ewood.

This world must be getting smaller; a text message brought the news to me even though I am currently in China. After last season I have to say I'm happy Souness has left. Despite an excellent initial three seasons the club was going backward and he seemed to be running out of steam. Thanks for the wonderful memories Souness, particularly of Cardiff but both the team and the manager really needed a new direction. Just a thought - Anybody know the odds for Souness being sacked at the end of the season to make way for Shearer the Manager?

philipl - Fergie Suter didn't move for a transfer fee- he just caught the train to Blackburn and said it was for "personal reasons". Unsurprisingly the Darwen contingent weren't too happy about this and the next game between the sides ended in a full-scale pitch invasion and riot by the crowd which had been triggered by on-field fighting by a Darwen player and, you guessed it, Fergie Suter. Unless someone can give the time to make a similar case for other pre-war players they won't have a chance. Crompton is a legend but I don't have any spare time to do another appeal for a different player. An idea I had was to put a case forward for our first England international keeper, the cup-winning Herbie Arthur. As well as being a quality keeper he also created a legend. During a particularly storm-laden game at Turf Moor (it was about 1893 or around there) the players battled the elements. Matters got worse in the form of a guest, a snowstorm. After a while the Rovers players marched off the pitch refusing to play in such conditions. All except Arthur, alone in the Rovers goal against a full Burnley eleven. A Burnley player kicked off and passed to a colleague at which point Arthur succesfully appealed for offside. 'Herbie' then dawdled over the free kick for so long that the referee gave up and abandoned the game. Arthur must surely be the only Rovers keeper to play Burnley on his own; and keep a clean sheet! There are some wonderful stories like this about Rovers if you can find the time to have a look in the library or just read some a history of the club. A few brain cells and a love of Rovers is all you need. Our club has a fine tradition, it'd be nice if more people cared enough to explore it.

If it was just statistics alone I would not have bothered to make the case for Crompton but it isn't that black and white in this case. It's far more than that...it's a legend. It's part of the club, the history and the traditions. If anyone thinks that they have had to have seen someone play to vote for them then I have to disagree. This is about the greatest team of all time; we have to look at it in a dispassionate, impersonal way. Besides, if we were doing it that way then due to the age range of the people on this site then Keith Newton also wouldn't have a prayer. Lucas Neill or Jeff Kenna for right back in the Greatest Ever Rovers side? I felt a shudder just at the thought of it.

Our biggest threat will probably be Jens Lehmann. If he goes all butterfingery like he has before we may just nick a goal. I'll go 3-0 Arsenal and that's not being negative just realistic. That's why it is so vital that we get something from the Southampton match. Did I say Southampton match??? Meant the United match...that's it United...we definitely need something on Saturday. They may be United but hey...they ain't no Arsenal now are they?