Presumably the 'Turf Moor job' he is talking about is the one which involves flying a small, private aircract over the ground laughing at the dingles. The Burnley chairman or vice chairman (can't remember which) was (is?) a Rovers fan and so should be able to put in a good word for him.

Whatever happened to Doris? Was she (he?) Jim after all?

Me too. Clearly Todd should have sucked it up, but it bugs me that the whole situation could and should have been avoided had Souness not told him he was in when all the while he was waiting on Short passing fit. Poor communication. I'm not in the least bothered about losing Todd, the fact that he was a contender for player of the season before the dummy spitting incident just underlines how much our "half decent" players have underperformed this season. None of us know the truth about what happened that day, other than that Todd refused to play and stormed off. To be fair to Todd, that kind of thing can happen when you lose your temper. Later on though he must have known he was wrong to walk out of his job and should have apologised. Presumably he hasn't done this and so has to go. Regardless of the circumstances if you walk out of your job and go back then you should at least say sorry. It's a shame this has blighted what had been a hugely impressive season from Todd (certainly in terms of his improvement) but there you have it.

Is Cool Claret not coming back? Shame...she was a good member of this board and gave as good as she got. Sam Dingle seems to have gone as well unfortunately. Although I didn't usually agree with what he said without diverse opinions this board (or any other) would just be boring. Not that I wish that Preston idiot back whose name I can't remember.

Priceless!!!!!!

Welcome back Waggy.

Actually I remember listening to one of those radio phone-ins a while ago when a Burnley fan rang up and he was saying that a lot of fans expected Ternent to be gone at the end of the season. Apparently he resigned after a game and was talked into taking it back and staying just to the end of the season. So it may have been a mutual consent kinda thing. The LET said last night that Little (inspiration for the "Little for England" chants of bygone years at Turf Moor) had agreed terms with Reading for a free transfer this summer. We should be having a look at their bright young thing Chaplow. Doubt they'd too happy if we took away their great white hope.....

Stan summed it up on 1st April 2001. "It always disappoints me when I lose football matches. But I've already told you, if I have Mini and you have a Ferrari there's only one winner." Ternent actually did a good job at Burnley- left them a division higher than where he found them. Keeping them up was a decent performance for a club that could sometimes not find enough players to fill the subs bench. Ternent did very well at Bury, taking them up two divisions to the First. The reason he probably wasn't handed a new contract is that he was supposedly on big money (well...for Burnley!!) and also that he seemed to have a tendency toward head butting his own players. Lord only knows who'll they'll get in. How about Gazza?????

Personally I'd like to see Alan Ball go there, he must be close to double figures for relegations.

Anyway... A cracker is 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night time' by Mark Haddon. It is centred around a boy with Asperger's Syndrome which tends to allow for very focused minds. As it is from his point of view it is a bit different from the normal viewpoint. Or so i would imagine, I wouldn't know as it is impossible for me to say what it is like in the head of someone else...not with a that kind of disability (if disability is the right word...) Anyway it won the Whitbread Book Award this year and is available for £3.67 at Tesco. No idea why it is that particular price though...

It's unlikely I'll be going on holiday as such this year but I may well be travelling a long way for a job... Just wondering if anybody has any decent book recommendations a year on? Ones that I can read on the plane and after???

Well I never actually went so far as to suggest he should be sacked but after losing a tenth home game I did criticise some of what seemed to be going on at Ewood Park. However, the game cannot be predicted. Fans who are constantly positive are just the same as those who are constantly negative; both will be right some of the time. It's fantastic that it has so suddenly turned around and I, like I believe many others, will breathe a big sigh of relief when we are completely assured of our safety which hopefully will be next Saturday. As for predicting we would go on this run...well, Souness wasn't so sure. 'The Premiership' had him saying that he would have taken having to beat Birmingham on the last day to stay up. We were all worried after the Leeds match yet football...it's a funny old game. We now know what the make-or-break game of our league season was...Fulham away. More than the three points it gave the team belief and we are almost safe. Despite this...ten home losses (so far) and exits from three cup competitions at the first possible hurdle go a long way to explain why so many fans were so unhappy. The sooner we can look forward to next season the better...

It's all to do with context. 'Nigger' has always been a derogatory term when applied by white people to black people, however in the 50s and 60s it was utilised by black communities in an attempt to wrest the word back and use it positively. In such circumstances it can be used as a term of endearment even. It's isn't particularlu common, other than urbanised areas of major cities. Certainly there has been a backlash from other members of the black community (if indeed there is one) against the use of such a loaded word. In linguistic analysis, it's never ever the word itself that causes hurt (how can it? it's merely a few charcters) but the meaning and connotation behind the word can. True, some black communities use the word 'nigger' towards each other. That doesn't mean that it is the same when a white person uses it dismissively about a black person. As for 'sticks and stones...' well, yes, words can't hurt but the meaning behind them can. I'm sure Ron'll be back but for now he realises that you can't spout racist remarks while at work.

And you're both wrong. [bolton's Carling Cup Semi Final at home, featuring JJ's last home game before jetting off to Tunisia for 4 weeks - and of course all the other Allardyce heroes - drew a pathetic crowd of 16,302 !!/QUOTE] If you are going to categorically tell people that they are wrong you need to prove it. Not just refer to the attendance at one single game.

Ron resigned, there was no sacking. Today he has been quoted as saying that he realised that what he said was unacceptable and realised himself his position would be untenable. I'd maybe have sympathy with your thought "if my every comment had been broadcast to all and sundry" regarding Ron if his job wasn't, in actual fact, broadcasting to all and sundry.

Michael Gray was being touted around clubs for a year as well. Yet he's done a good job for us after joining on a free.

Rivaldo may not be playing like he did but he may still be better than anything we have, hence why he keeps getting picked for the Brazilian national team. Besides, he only turned 32 a couple of days ago. All credit to Sam Allardyce and Bolton for having a look at the possibilities. They can always say no. It's certainly a much cleverer course than not even bothering to have a look. I'd hope Rovers have bothered to make enquiries even if they have decided against it. Certainly Emerton seemed like a much-wanted player but that didn't stop Rovers bidding, even he hasn't the greatest season perhaps. Apart from anything else, it'd be one way to try and reverse the declining season ticket sales as well as getting more media coverage. An international star like Rivaldo can turn a usually-ignored team into a great news story. I'm not suggesting we should sign Rivaldo )or anyone else) but we should always be making enquiries about any players who may increase our profile, as long as they can also so the business on the pitch and not bankrupt us.

Jordan - During half time in a Champions League game Ron thought (not for the last time) that his voice was no longer being broadcast. It was though to quite a few countries. Ron then went on to say, among other things, "He actually looks a little t**t, that Totti" and some other things. It would have been much funnier if Ron had been caught with some actual totty, maybe in a hotel room while explaining to them what a 'lollipop' is but alas it never happened. Ronisms could have been used in the saucy headlines as well. "Big Ron had more tricks in bed than an Amusement Arcade". "Big Ron gave me an, if you like, double stepover, before using good penetration in the box." Stay away from his footwear though if it is white. Ron once said "His white boots were on fire against Arsenal, and he'll be looking for them to reproduce tonight". I mean... I've heard some people have a foot fetish but that's ridiculous.

Look at that vizzog - how can anyone not find that boat race funny? After the Totti incident he's an idiot if he's been caught like that again. Sheer unprofessionalism while he is working. It may have been off-camera but he was still representing the company at that moment and should have acted accordingly.

Your obsession with Souness is bordering on the psychotic. Seriously, see a counsellor, book in with a shrink, anything. Otherwise soon you'll be straightjacketed in a padded cell muttering "bloody hun b......", "never get in the all time Scottish XI", "ruined the club with his Ger cronies" and so on and so on before you start nutting the wall. You need to stop being so obsessed with the man. It ain't healthy or normal.

Am I the only one to think it curious that kennysuperbuyer posted constanly after the Leeds defeat over a period of three days and yet has not been seen anywhere near the board since the Fulham win (a period now of five days)?

As ABBEY says, Mike Newell was spectacularly unpopular at Hartlepool. A mate of mine is from the north east and said that for some reason Newell was seen all the time around the bars of Hartlepool, getting drunk and into fights with locals. The feedback seemed to be that they thought he was an arrogant prat. Whether any of that is true or not I don't know (I'm just passing on what I heard!), although it seems true that his departure was met with cheers and applause from the fans. Newell also snatched a runners up spot from the jaws of first place. Maybe he has learned from that as he seems to have done well at Luton in very trying circumstances, certainly the playoff push from the Hatters is very impressive considering they have been in administration for part of it.

A week ago Rovers made Liverpool look like a club who should be challenging the top 3. Before that we made Portsmouth look like good travellers. Is it just a coincidence that it is only against Rovers that these teams ever look like world beaters? Leeds looked poor against Leicester yet looked confident and assured at Ewood. Now, what does the tell you?

Couple of points- he is the longest serving manager at Rovers since Don Mackay, not since Dalglish (he's been at the club longer than him). Secondly- He's certainly not going anywhere before the Fulham match on Monday. If we lose that then I do think Souness will probably offer to resign. If we get a result don't expect him to go anywhere. When things didn't work out at Liverpool he handed in his resignation. He'll surely do the same if we don't improve. The last three games are- home losses to Portsmouth and Leeds with a thrashing by Liverpool in between. If we lose on Monday...can Souness really carry on?

double post.