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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.

Collier would give Fettis a run for his money.

I didn't intend doing this, but I'm going to bring back the best post in favour of some [not all] of the leading candidates. The first one is Tim Sherwood. 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. Remember, we're looking for a "great". Does that make Sherwood a great. Anyone? I can do the same with the other leading players and if anyone wants someone in particular bringing back up, then say so.

I'll try and resurrect some of the testimonials from the original centre midfield discussion. I reckon it's worthwhile to have another look at the cases put forward for the players still up for election.

Nothing obvious about that at all Hughesy. No-one has a right to stand at a football match, no matter what anyone else is doing. Photo's, back to Ewood to keep watch on these people? That's silly Hughesy. The upshot of rovers fans standing at away games, is that rovers will have their away allocation cut. That's the real scenario.

So, any of you that voted for Clayton want to give us your views on his partner. I'm in no rush to settle this one as there seems to be a lot of people unsure who fits the bill of "great". Me included.

The standard 3 games for violent conduct. Why should he get any more?

Just watched Newcastle on football first. At 1-0 to Fulham, there was everything to play for. Newcastle just had to keep plugging away, as they had been all afternoon and surely an equaliser would have come. So guess what Souey did? He took off a full back and went three at the back. Fulham responded immediately by putting radlinski on. There was so much room for fulham it was untrue. A short while later what did Souey do? He took off the other full back and put another forward on. They looked just like rovers did. All over the place. To be fair Newcastle could have scored six. The fact is they conceded four. For that blame Souey's tactics.

Paul - you're not sure? Neither am I. Have you changed your mind about Simon Barker? Philipl - I can't include McKenzie for two reasons. 1, people on here persuaded me to include him as a striker. 2, The vote has to be from the list above, minus Ronnie Clayton. Sorry Philip. I know where you're coming from with McKenzie though, the man was a born entertainer. Pity we don't see his like now. Feel free to push him for the striker position though.

The result of this vote has seen an overwhelming win for a certain Ronnie Clayton. Ronnie won by a landslide, recieving 109 votes. That follows Bryan Douglas as the only other player as yet, to win over 100 votes. Thanks for everyone's contributions towards the debate. It's the contributions that make this whole exercise, worthwhile. Result: [number of votes, followed by percentage of the vote]: Ronnie Clayton,..........[ 109 ] [67.28%] Tim Sherwood.............[ 23 ] [14.20%] David Batty.................[ 8 ] [4.94%] Mark Atkins.................[ 5 ] [3.09%] Tony Parkes................[ 5 ] [3.09%] Howard Kendal............[ 3 ] [1.85%] Stuart Metcalfe............[ 2 ] [1.23%] Jimmy forrest...............[ 2 ] [1.23%] Simon Barker...............[ 2 ] [1.23%] Eddie Latheron............[ 1 ] [0.62%] Harry Healess..............[ 1 ] [0.62%] Eddie Quigley...............[ 1 ] [0.62%] Total Votes: 162 The next move is to vote in Claytons' midfield partner. I'll put the poll up in the next few days, but remember, we're looking for a rovers "GREAT" There are 109 people who voted for Ronnie Clayton, who can make this second midfielder vote very interesting Feel free to discuss.

result: Tim Sherwood, [ 23 ] [14.20%] David Batty, [ 8 ] [4.94%] Ronnie Clayton, [ 109 ] [67.28%] Mark Atkins, [ 5 ] [3.09%] Howard Kendal, [ 3 ] [1.85%] Eddie Quigley, [ 1 ] [0.62%] Jimmy forrest, [ 2 ] [1.23%] Simon Barker. [ 2 ] [1.23%] Eddie Latheron [ 1 ] [0.62%] Harry Healess, [ 1 ] [0.62%] Tony Parkes, [ 5 ] [3.09%] Stuart Metcalfe, [ 2 ] [1.23%] Total Votes: 162

Rovers: Friedel Neill McEveley Todd Johanssen Reid Ferguson Tugay Emerton Dickov Bothroyd

Sherwood was a good player, Drummer boy. However, this is all about finding a true "rovers great" for each position. Can anyone honestly say that when they get to the twighlight of their lives [cue symphony orchestra ], they will be able to look back at Sherwood, take on all the palava of him and Sutton going into the Sunday papers to slag off the club something terrible, followed by his demands to get out of Ewood, and say "son, that Tim Sherwood was a truly great rover"?

We can do a greatest manager poll, we can do whatever you want. I can see past Garner too. Garns was voted our "cult hero". but that doesn't mean he was one of the two greatest ever strikers, does it? I certainly think we should vote for the greatest ever rover, from the final eleven though. Anyone else?

The voting has slowed right down. In the last vote Duggie got 100 votes, it doesn't seem like that will happen here. I must be boring you all now.

I thought Norwich looked frightening, if you're a Norwich fan. Man City were no better. It was a dire match, Norwich's keeper let in a real poor goal, - watch him have a blinder on Saturday.

McEveley, Nissa, Reid , Tugay, Dickov and Bothroyd are capable of good performances, what they haven't proven yet, is that they can do it consistently. That is the real BIG test of this management - can they get performances out of those players every week?

He's mentioned Here Bryan.

Just so people are clear :- There will be two votes for the two central midfielders. The winner of this vote will go automatically into the team. Then we will vote in the second central midfielder, from the same list of candidates, minus the player elected from this poll.

Time to vote.

The Liverpool perspective on the game.

OK,Ok, as soon as I get the chance, I'll put the vote up.

There's a lot of conjecture there John, but I don't think you're too wide of the mark. What you have to ask, is why - if indeed the board did withold funds for Souness, did they do that? My gut feeling on this, is that the board knew that Souness DID spend millions last season. However, the results and performances, particularly at home, were dreadful. The obvious way to proceed was to see what the new season was to bring, not throw more millions at it. The board knew that if the season started badly, that Souness was going to have to go.

Since I put the shortlist for voting up, there have been some more great posts. I've added more players because of these posts. We now have 13 players up for selection- we are allowed 15. So if anyone feels strongly enough for another player to be brought back into the voting list, then let us have your reasons for them being included.

To move on. What I'm proposing is that these players will be the voting options: Tim Sherwood, David Batty, Ronnie Clayton, Mark Atkins, Howard Kendal, Eddie Quigley, Jimmy forrest, Simon Barker. Eddie Latheron Harry Healess, David Dunn Tony Parkes, Stuart Metcalfe, These players will miss out: Tugay, Barry Hole, Ken Knighton, Roy Vernon. Duncan McKenzie, Eamonn Rogers, Alan Bradshaw, Mickey speight, Peter Dobing. Graham Oates Scott Sellars Barry Ferguson Garry Flitcroft Paul Warhurst Nicky Marker Nicky Reid Eyal Berkovic Gordon Cowans Mick McGrath, __________________________________________________________ Any "serious" objections?