Jim, nor anyone else need worry about JW's response. He has said this morning, that the club will be asking for any material, including sky footage or CCTV recordings, or witnesses and will hold a full investigation into the matter. If any evidence of racial abuse is found, the club will apply the highest possible punishment that it can. Finally, he said that until that evidence has been looked at, there is nothing else to add. Compare that with Millwall sweeping allegations of abuse against Burnley players, under the carpet. Richard Connelly, who was commentating on the game for Radio Lancs, said he heard absolutely no racial abuse yesterday. When asked if it has been a problem at Ewood, he responded by saying that for the last 4/5 years of commentating on rovers games, it has never ever been mentioned as a factor.

Hmmm, "Pogo dancing, closet Punk". I've never been called that before.

According to Matty himself, he got a kick just above the knee which has been causing the recent problems. He is hoping it was only a dead leg.

Well it's looking like plan "B" will have to come into action.

I'm sure the Atkins supporters would point to the appearances that M.A made, as against the relatively few from Mr Batty. I would agree that Batty was a better footballer than Atkins, but were either of them fit to be called an all time rovers great?

Blimey 52 each! Couldn't split 'em with an atomic ioniser.

Who would you say would go down in history as "great" though? Vaughan or W.G?

Nah, stick with it for a while. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Blackburn Rovers today announced a great ticket deal for their fans. The club want rovers season ticket holders, to become ambassadors for the club, by bringing along guests to the Birmingham City game at Ewood Park, this coming Sunday. Kick off 16.05pm Season ticket holders are allowed to bring along a maximum of four guests, for an admission price of £10 each. Senior citizens can buy tickets, anywhere on the ground, except for the Jack Walker upper, as a guest of a season ticket holder, for only £5, while the deal also applies to juniors for a price of £3. Full details can be seen on the Blackburn Rovers official site [free registration may be necessary]

This is a good time to decide when to close the vote, the scores are virtually level. We will close the poll on Sunday, the first time I log on after the Birmingham game. We'll give it that long because this is still a relatively low poll, numbers wise, at the moment.

Thanks for that Jim. We're not doing too badly though, looking at the overall picture. There have been two controversial selections - Le Saux and this second central midfielder position. What the heck, though. When all this is finished [and the best part could be the single greatest player ever], what will we have? We will have a team that reflects the opinions of the majority of members on this site - no more, no less. That's great, that's what we want isn't it? Let's be honest, whatever team is chosen wont alter the views, or memories, of old timers such as you, me and lots of others. What we will have though, and this is the really important bit, is a collection of opinions, viewpoints, debates from rovers fans of all age groups. What's more everything can be saved for many, many years, if not for ever. There have been no nominations for players from the thirties and forties. Why? I assume because no-one remembers them. The players from the fifties and sixties are obviously being forgotten as well. Is that not shown, to some extent, by this topic? Yours, and others posts about some of these players, are helping ensure that the real class and quality of these players are recorded/remembered and read by all age groups. This is a way of recording some of the rovers fans recollections of former players. That's well worth while. It's not all about the older fans though, is it? The views of the younger generation are just as valuable. At least, their recollections are fresh in the mind. I don't remember Bryan Douglas ever having a bad game, do you? So, the best way to help me out, is to continue to contribute to this topic. If everyone stops commenting and voting, as one or two people say they have, then it could die a death. I hope and think, that it wont.

You can't really expect me to change the rules half way through a vote. What's all this "tactical voting" you're all talking about? Did you not vote for Latheron because he was the greatest, in your eyes? Sorry guys, were stuck with whatever the result may be. The best way to get Forrest voted in, is to reiterate again how good he was. The vote is so close, it could yet go either way.

Not THE Michael England? CN174 and Flopsy, thanks for the preview, top notch.

Harry Healess, by Bazza: Here's a snippet about Healless taken from "Things about Blackburn Rovers" by Harry Kay, published in 1948. " Harry Healless is a native of Blackburn, and he was the only Blackburn man in the Cup winning team he captained in 1928. He first played for Blackburn Trinity, and then for the Rovers as an amateur in 1914-15, becoming a professional in May, 1919. His last league appearance for the Rovers was against Chelsea at Ewood on December 31, 1932, and his last match with the Reserves was at Stoke on April 15th, 1933. Harry was one of those footballers who did not develop early; in fact, far from being a star in his teens, he was unknown. When he became a professional for the Rovers he was a centre forward. He played in six other positions. After a period as leader of the attack he went outside right, and later he was right full back, right half, centre half, left half and inside right. In those various berths he was usually good but seldom brilliant. Eventually he became centre-half, and, when big "Billy" Rankin came from Dundee, Healless moved to right half. During his long career with the Rovers, Harry was capped by England twice. His capable generalship often pulled the Rovers through when things seemed to be going badly against them. He could last through the most arduous game, and the team often derived encouragement from the fact that he never seemed to tire. In summer he likes a game of cricket, and was one of the leading batsmen in the Alice Street Wesleyan team, who played in the Blackburn Sunday School League."

FLB's assessment of Jimmy Forest: If we are looking at players who won the most for our club we are ignoring the one player who more with Rovers than any other...Jimmy Forrest. An England international, capped eleven times (games were so few in the 1880/90s that it made him a regular in the national side for six years!) he also went on to win not one, not two but five (count 'em!) FA Cup medals for Rovers. No other player has ever won more FA Cup medals than Forrest. Not only that, he captained us in the last two triumphant cup runs. There is absolutely no doubt that in those days that the FA Cup was far, far more important than the league. A cup win was everything and even until after the second world war that remained the case. The national champions were the FA Cup winners. Forrest was a driving force in a side that were the champions of England, scoting in two of the finals (and indeed Britain for the first three wins when Scottish, Irish and Welsh teams took part) and a great leader. Maybe most won't vote for him but we should spare a thought for a true Rovers legend, the most decorated player of the greatest team in the world. Alright it was bloody ages ago (and fans of other clubs wet themselves if we go on about the nineteenth century) but it's still something to be proud of.

Speeeeeedie's assessment of Batty: I first saw Batty when he played for Leeds, we tubbed them 3-1 at Ewood in our first season up. It was the game when Shearer did his knee. Wilcox ran Mel Sterland ragged. I remember then watching him and thinking what class he had, simple but very effective. Allegedly Dalglish went to Leeds asking for McCallister, they said no, so he asked for Batty instead. He won player of the year in his first season with us, ahead of Shearer and his 30 goals. He did everything simple, kept the ball well and broke up attacks well. He was brilliant, far better than Sherwood, and also never scored, but injuries and his Le Saux fight marred him. Won plenty of England caps, missed a penalty in 1998.

SG194, for Eddie Latheron: Edwin Gladstone Latheron was born in Grangetown,North East England and joined Blackburn Rovers in 1906 almost by accident.He was discovered when visiting Blackburn to play for Grangetown against Blackburn Crosshill in an FA amatuer cup tie.Rovers had originally gone to watch another player but it was Latheron who caught their eye and Rovers paid £25 to bring him to Ewood! A skilful inside forward who,despite his lack of height, was good in the air he possessed fantastic ball control coupled with a fine shot on him.... he quickly established himself as a fans favourite with the Blackburn public.A prolific goalscorer himself, he was claimed never to be a selfish player and always prepared to do the 'fetching and carrying' for other team mates. Without question a driving force(alongside Crompton) behind the all conquering pre war Rovers Championship sides of 1912 and 1914 he was capped twice by England and represented the football League. At the height of his powers Eddie played his last game for Rovers on March 17th 1917.Five days later he went to fight for Queen and Country in the trenches of France and tragically just seven months later he was killed by a German shell.He left a widow and a young child.....he was just 28. Played league football for Rovers between 1906-1915, made a total of 282 appearances in all competitions and scored an impressive 104 goals.

Colin, for Mark Atkins: Let's start with some statistics: He is at number 29 in the number of games played for Rovers since the records began in 1888. He played 272 games in all. Just for comparison, this puts him well above (say) David Batty (70); Alan Shearer (165) and Tim Flowers (214.) He scored 39 goals in those games. This despite spending much of his time at right back, and then at central midfield. Although at a push he could play just about anywhere, and he was capable of playing anywhere. He made a decent effort at playing on the right wing more than once. He was at Rovers for 7 years. The season we won the league he was the joint third highest scorer. Deep intake of breath.............. And his name is Mark Atkins A Bit Of History & Details Super Atko made his league debut for Scunthorpe United whilst still a schoolboy and appeared in over sixty matches for that club (as well as playing for England schools) before Don MacKay bought him in 1988 for £45,000 Although he spent much of his early career at Ewood Park at full-back, he continually demonstrated an eye for goal. Under the managership of Kenny Dalglish, he developed into a battling midfield player whose boundless energy and appetite for work made him the ideal partner for those around him. Eventually, with Batty and Sherwood holding down the midfield positions at Blackburn, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 1995. He then went on to play for Doncaster, Shrewsbury (where he was temporary manager) and was last seen at Harrogate Town. Atko At His Best 25th May 1992. Rovers v Leicester in the first division play-off at Wembley. A very hot day. Rovers were 1-0 in the lead after David Speedie tripped over a daisy and Mike Newall converted the penalty. A nervous moment, as Newall was notorious for his erratic penalty taking. Then: after 85 minutes a break from midfield. A lone figure in yellow sprints to get to the stray ball leaving all others in his wake. He is storming forward like a horny stallion chasing a "my little pony" on heat. The Leicester keeper brings him down. Super Atko has sealed it for us. Yeh! Super Atko! But Newall skies the penalty and reduces us to nervous wrecks for the last five minutes. Thanks Mike. Now go forth and manage Luton Town. So, why should you vote for Mark Atkins Atko never played for England. He was never collared in the tunnel for a post-match interview. He was never the subject of a tabloid shocker. No-one ever asked him to "write" a column for a newspaper. He was never in a "bust-up" with a manager. He was simply a professional footballer who got on with his job. From his origins from Scunthorpe, he slipped into the Rovers' team where he would be a lynchpin for seven years. Older readers will remember Atko storming up and down the quagmire that was Ewood Park at the time. After Uncle Jack arrived on the scene the squad grew, expensive signings joined the dressing room and it seemed that Atko would be perpetually in the reserves. Did this bother him? It did not. He just carried on grafting and working. In the three years that he was with Rovers after we got promoted he played: (1) 31 games and scored 6 (2) 9 games and scored 1 Then, when injury forced David Batty to miss the majority of the 1994-95 season, it was Atko who filled the void and formed a central midfield partnership with Tim Sherwood. (3) 37 games and scored 6 - and that was when we won The Premiership. It was a bit of an injustice when Atko was forced to sit out the final three games of the season following the return of Batty. However, there were no complaints from him as he once again proved himself a loyal servant to the club. He represents everything that is good about our football club and pretty much all that can be good about professional footballers. In a nutshell he was the antithesis of the diving, prancing prima-donnas who seem to have taken over the game. No bull, no hissy fits, no sulks, no boot deals, no MacDonalds adverts, no deliberate sendings-off. Probably the only agent he ever had was his newsagent. He kept his gob shut and played his heart out for the club. Maybe he wasn't the most skilfull but for what he lacked in that department he made up with guts and effort and comittment . He had a heart as big as a bucket. He never shirked a tackle, he might have missed the ball ever so slightly once or twice, but no-one got hurt. He won a Premiership Champions medal after contributing to 30 of the 42 league games in the season when we won the title. That is not a coincidence. He deserved that medal. In a team that was seen at the time (and has mistakenly been seen ever since) to have been compiled from Jack Walkers money, he was a refreshing bargain-basement buy. And he was one of only a few ex-players to be bothered to get his kit on for Garner's testimonial. For me that speaks volumes. Anyhow here's a piccy of Super Atko, sadly not in the B & W but in Wolves Old Gold Mark Atkins Finally. You will have noted that time is slipping away for some kind of choice for the remaining players. I reckon it's a certainty who will be slipping into the two strikers and left wing places. This leaves only two central midfield roles to be filled. Maybe, just maybe, one of these deserves to be filled by some one who was just an ordinary bloke. No frills, no caps, he just pulled on his boots and for seven years he had a blue & white heart. Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you Mark Atkins. Vote for him. You know we need an honest grafter in there. Thank you.

With the scores being so close, it's worth doing this again for some of the less regular visitors. From Brownie: Tim Sherwood's career at Rovers could not have started any lower and could not have reached higher levels. Kenny Dalglish signed Sherwood from Norwich's reserves, after an argument with the boss about how football should be played he was dumped into the second string. He'd already represented England under 21's but his strong personality even at that early stage of his career saw him being allowed to leave and join the then 2nd Division Blackburn. From day one at Blackburn he was up against it- he was a cockney with long hair called Timothy- and the Rovers fans did not take to him. Dalglish tried to squeeze him into the side playing him right wing which was a mistake considering his distinct lack of pace. Left out of the side he was not even on the bench for the Play Offs and seemed on his way out. With promotion achieved, Sherwood was then restored to the side and adapted to Premiership football far easier than the Nationwide. His ability to come deep for the ball, maintain posession and link defence with attack, and cover every blade of grass every game saw him slowly but surely win the fans over. In my opinion he had a touch of class, matched with a fiery determination which was recognised by Dalglish when he made him Skipper. Once captain of the side, the team and Sherwood never looked back. Terry Venables once pointed out that Sherwood had the ability to release the ball quickly allowing his team-mate time on the ball, Dave Bassett labelled him the best 'nuts and bolts' midfielder in the country. In 1994/95 he formed formidable partnerships with Mark Atkins and David Batty and at times carried the Rovers side through tough games. Those that travelled away from home in the 94/95 season will have noticed Sherwood screaming at his players to lift them particularly after conceding goals in the midst of cauldron atmospheres. I thought Sherwood's captaincy throughout that season was a major factor in our success. It's for this reason that I will vote for Tim Sherwood, not the greatest midfielder the club has ever had, but in recent times I feel the most important. Sherwood went on to win England caps his career deserved after joining Spurs from Blackburn and I would suggest if business interests don't rule his future would make an excellent manager. Tim Sherwood will always symbolise the greatest day of my life, Sherwood's hands were the first Blackburn hands to hold the Premiership Trophy and may well be the last for the long and distant future. Vote Sherwood for the Spirit of 95.

Right, step forward Paul, Glenn Steb. C'mon guys who snitched?

Whittle Blue, he was on the original list, but was dropped because nobody put his case forward.

It isn't the first time Parkes has been out of a job at Ewood. I'm pretty sure he was not around for a few years, but can't remember when exactly. Anyone else remember this?

Great preview Colin. Thanks very much.

Mary Dee's. they have one of those machines that pour ten pints before you get your hand in your pocket.

Nah, Jimmy Forrest. C'mon 5 FA cup winners medals! No Rover will ever do that again.