You've gormlessly put the cart before the horse! Murdoch (an Australian with no vested interest one way or the other) put money into English football not to help it out or to make it better but because it is more marketable and he will make even more money by doing so! PERIOD. To put that amount of money into Scottish football would have been suicidal from a business point of view. Try and think things through before you let your prejudices run away with you. When it comes down to it Sky pored 20 million pounds per club into England in the early nineties because the crowds were bigger, the interest was larger and the competition was more fierce. The SPL lacks competition, crowds and international interest compared to England not just since the Sky money came in but since the start of football records. Why? England is bigger and has more fans more fairly divided (although not fairly enough....) to actually create a competition. That is the crux of the scottish problem, you cannot just say "oh, its only because you got the sky money!" because the league earnt that money out of the virtues of its size and competitiveness. Murdoch did not put it in out of the goodness of his heart, ha, but to turn a profit. Rovers, Bolton, Charlton etc. are all part of that success and fully deserve a share. Indeed they deserve a larger share than they currently command as Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool etc need us to survive. If we were all rubbish teams who they could turn over with one hand (which is worryingly becoming more and more of the case due to money issues) then we would go the way of the SPL. Anyway you talk about Henry, Berkamp etc, coming for the cash. Then How do you explain English dominance of Europe in the early eighties before SKY was even a twinkle in Murdoch's eye? We have a better league, we always have. Not because the English are intrinsically better than your lot, but just because there are more of us. ps. The Scottish porblem is made worse however by the way Celtic and Rangers monopolise the whole nation. The Celtic and Rangers shops in Edinburgh do far more business than the Hearts and Hibs shops and if you go deep into Perthshire or Aberdeenshire then still the majority of fans will be for the old firm. If it was a little less cuthroat then maybe more than would 4,000 would turn out for an average league game at Livingston.

Virtually impossible to work out what is going on with these commentators. From what I can make sense of it seems we are utterly toothless.

There is nothing to suggest that Jansen will get a new contract. He has been terrible since his accident and there is little prospect for improvement due to his age. For the sake of his career and rovers wage bill I believe he will be moved on. I expect Gallagher and Stead to stay due to their age and low wages while Bothroyd will not be bought. Hopefully we can buy a 'quality' striker over the summer leaving us with: Stead Dickov Gallagher Johnson AN Other Pedersen (?)- see how he does in the role this year.

Savage had an excellent game last night although he probably served to be booked. The guy ran and ran. With him and moko in the middle we are going to be hard to play through and he showed some decent technique and passing. Moko similarly. What was interesting is that in our second game he was as influential as Ferguson's near best (only performances like Barry's against Newcastle exceed lily's last night). Not as neat on the ball as Ferguson or as composed- but his driving runs (a la the penalty) and shooting are a lot more convincing. When Hughes said "he more than compensates for Ferguson leaving" I think our manager might be right. Im am glad, especially in the pridicament we are in, that he is at rovers.

My team: Got to be optimistic..... 2-1 Rovers. ps. Just realised that if this team plays, which I think is quite likely, then we will only have one English player on the pitch. And only 3 (4 if you cont Reid) British players- which is a bit of a shame.

Nope. The 4.5 million includes the 2.5 still owed-written off as part of the transfer.

Told you all Seriously I dont think it is such a bad idea. Reid/Thompson and Emerton on the wings will provide more defensive awareness while Pedersen has shown suprising versitility in the air and on the deck. I imagine Flitcroft will return alongside Savage as Tugay has been a complete liability giving us one hell of a tough tackling midfield. I hope Pedersen can make a go of it as, to be brutally honest, none of our 'real' strikers (bar Dickov) have. If he looks good then I am more than happy to have Emerton back on the left as he has been good there. If Dickov fails his fitness test it will be interesting to see who Hughes partners with the Norweigen. I would guess Johnson, but Gallagher could be a good shout. It is amazing how the running order of strikers changes each week but this is how I think it is at the moment. 1. Dickov 2. Pedersen 3. Johnson 4. Gallagher 5. Stead 6. Bothroyd 7. Jansen Their have been murmurs about Jansen playing but I just cannot see it.

A good case in point. Duff respected the club and went when Rovers were satisfied by the price/ release clause was triggered. Unlike a different scumbag. Duff was as good to Rovers as anybody in the last twenty years. Showed more respect than Shearer or Dunn for example. Deserves a cheer. Hopefully he wont, along with Robben, destroy us.

Can't be arsed with your cheap digs. Some people talked sense on this thread and some didn't. ladies!....

You raise some decent points. However, had Barry signed for Sunderland it would have been seen as a backward step. Yet what if they achieve promotion and then consolidate their Premiership status for a few years and reap the benefits that continuos top flight football and a massive fan base generally bring, would it still be seen as a step back ? I agree there's more of a possibility that Sunderland will go up than the Old Firm being invited to into the Premiership but if that happened then we would no longer be paupers in a poor league. Rangers (and Celtic) have the fan base to sell their allocation of tickets for any away match down South without one supporter up here having to cross the border. That's the real benefit of a Nation with only two main clubs - the fan base throughout Britain and indeed the World is massive. We could attract the top players if we were on a level playing field and who wouldn't want to play to home crowds of 50,000 plus. Would Gattuso, Boumsong, Van Bronckhorst etc leave to join teams in superior leagues at such a rate if they were receiving the same sort of cash at Ibrox - I think not ? I go along with the suggestion that we are not one of the biggest clubs at the moment but the potential is there should we ever be invited down South. If that happens then you'll have a better understanding about the size of the club. That's why I think Barry is at home competing with our main rivals for Championships and cups and an opportunity of adding to his medal collection as well as playing regular European football - because he believes that's what players of big teams do. Well you did try to dress it up but the fact remains that Rangers and Celtic will never be invited into the Premiership. Reasons: a) Tukeys do not vote for Christmas- 18 of the 20 clubs need to approve changes to the rules of membership. As around 10 of the twenty clubs have relegation fears each season they would never ever vote to expand relegation to 5 places to sate the Glasweigen thirst for cash. Collapse of the Home Nation system- If the main Scottish clubs joined the one of the principle reasons the home nations have seperate teams would collapse. It is a point that three Welsh teams operate in the English league and we might be able to hold on to it using conservative ("why, it has always been this way") arguments but the FAs, FAWs, SFAs and NIFAs positions would all be severely weakened. c)If the Turkeys wont vote get the chicks- The other membership option would be to get Two of the three places available for Championship teams given to Rangers and Celtic. Will not happen as the Championship would sue the Premiership- ugly. d)FIFA/UEFA would go beserk- FIFA have a very strict attitude about national leagues. You play within your boundries. There are exceptions- Wrexham, Cardiff and Swansea as said before and Monaco in France- but the old firm would e a move of unprecedented size. FIFA and UEFA would see it as a challenge to their autority and quite rightly view it as a problem that could snowball. The big Vienna teams would want to play in Germany, the Portugese in Spain, the Danes and Belgians in Holland, and even the Greeks in Italy? It would be mayhem. Never ever going to happen. The only hope for the old firm is a european super league sanctioned by UEFA which does not look close TBH or try and join the Conference to avoid problems A and C. The only thing is that B and D are stilll very real. So Barry moving back is going backwards- massive support- OK. But realistically he will always play n a team miles away in terms of talent from Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich etc. Your squad is little better overall than ours, your league is stagnant (Championships and cups in Scotland are not worth much, are they. It is given that you do not even need to be a very good player, in the greater scheme of things, to win one) and the players you produce (Ferguson, Dickov, McFadden and a few others aside) are awful. Dont you sometimes wish you were not so massive? That there might be a bit of competition?

He is going Tris - firstly because he's a greedy disloyal git who put in a transfer request the month after saying that he wanted to stay. Secondly because Mr Williams capitulated on the £6m fee and didn't stick to his original guns. Ferguson refusing to play against Colchester changed the whole situation for Williams (and Hughes) ... it left them three days to try and get the maximum cash from Rangers. Given the way Viola and Ferguson have handled this whole affair, one assumes that Rangers would have been made aware that Ferguson had pulled the ultimate stunt to force his return to Glasgow. Once Ferguson went to that length to get his move, he devalued himself ... ... in more ways than one. Thats absolutely disgraceful behaviour by Ferguson, completely unprofessional. We can only hope one day he finds out what it is like to be actively screwed over. If the tables were turned it would be like a club forcing out an injured player, or denying him treatment- something I cannot see JW or BRFC ever doing. Why? Because they have some decency. Wanting a move is fair enough and understandable- but forcing the hand of the club in that way is fraud. We paid for his talent and participation and he denied them to us. I know we would never do it, but technically you could sue for that kind of behaviour.

IF WE CANNOT FILL SEATS GIVE THEM AWAY TO KIDS. Precisely. See my earlier post on Leicester Tigers rugby union club and their success in building a fan base by grabbing the kids at an early age. Call me a stupid old fart, but this problem requires some new thinking. Here's an idea: Rebuild the Riverside and give over the entire upper section (4,000 - 5,000 seats ?) to children, who would be given FREE season tickets. The cost of building it ? Only the price of one Grabbi, one Davies or one spineless Scot. The long-term benefit ? Absolutely priceless. Generation upon generation of children imbued with the habit of attending football matches and (hopefully) a love of Blackburn Rovers. I realise there may be logistical and stewarding problems with so many kids in one place but it's worth serious consideration. when we already regualrly have at least 5,000 seats empty why bother rebuilding the stand. We could give away/sell very cheap say 3000-5000 easy at the moment. A general deal of all kids (14 and under) for £5, upto 4 per adult. The Darwin End would be ideal, the only problem being the away support in the bottom tear. I cannot see it really being that bad however. The offer could be recinded for Liverpool/Man Utd,or shifted to remaining seats in other stands going on purchase two days before the match. When we cannot fill our ground at the moment building a new stand would be lunacy.

I cannot see Johnson being left out. He scored in the last game afterall and we need scorers (even if it was against Colchester). Goodpoint about us being over run, but surely if we stick five in the middle without having a player to hold up the ball we will just surrender posession. Look at the Man U Boro game last sat. No way of hurting Utd till they got a second striker on. Brum Chelsea was the same. The simple fact is Chelsea have the wingers (Duff,Robben) of a high enough quality to support the main striker (Drogba, Gudjohnsen) who is strong and technically good enough to hold on to the ball. We have none of those things. Five midfielders might well play but Pedersen will play off the front man if so. Has anyone noticed how good he is in the air? I was supised- wingers are usually so poor. He could teach Stead a thing or two.

Murray isn't stupid. I'll bet he knew he'd need to pay more than the original derisory offer - but the moment he put in a bid and Ferguson was interested then Williams was on a loser. Keep Ferguson or lose money - he had no choice and was forced to make a decision. It's that simple. Failure in Europe - something we both have in common then And remember - it's not that long since only two sides were dominating your league now it's just the one ! As for Fergie, I've seen him run the show against, Feyenoord, Paris St Germain, PSV etc - comparable I'd say with at least - the very least - half the Premiership clubs. I do have some sympathy with Rovers supporters as I always like to see them do well but i think it's unfortunate that barry seems to be one of those players who performs better in surroundings he's familiar with. Ferguson is a good player but there is no doubt he is moving backwards, not forwards, going back to the SPL. No matter how you dress it up, in football terms it is the north of the boarder that is the backwater. Rangers and Celtic in terms of playing staff only posess the resources of a mid to lower table premier league side (a case in point- apart from Larsson and Miller what SPL players have gone on to play for top clubs in the last two years?). We are weak up front but in terms of the team in general their is not a lot to choose between us and the mighty Gers... I suppose he just doesnt like a challenge.

Thats a loaded question. If Mark Hughes believed he could not commit to the club- yes. If Mark Hughes believed he could commit to the club- no. Without knowing that how can you say?

Um, look at other clubs outside the top five and try and argue that Williams has performed worse than them. He did a good job and bluffed as hard as he could- eventually Ferguson, the wimp, forced his hand. The only other option was to hope that he committed himself to the side, if that was not possble we had to sell. Only JW and MH will know whether that was the case or not. Assuming the worst, Barry said that he would never play for Rovers again, how would of you in your wisdom handled it?

Would he really be much better than Thompson? Judging by his recent performances I would not say so. Might as well not rush things and struglle through with Thompson, Tugay and Flitcroft.

Hmmm... been thinking about this and as we look like we are going to get no strikers, Dickov could be injured and Ferguson seems to be off I would suggest this team. I think that is roughly the football equivalent of a brick wall. I think, barring transfer developments, this is what Hughes will go for too (Well, swap Matteo for Johansson and Nelsen for Niell- but same idea)

That is absolutely disgraceful- you canno only allow one type of CC can you? Isnt that a monopoly?

How about Prso? Id take him......

Believe all you want Rev (and you can keep Revving up all the way to the end of the transfer window ) but to keep Ferguson we really have to be sure that he would be giving his all for the cause and trust in his professionalism. A month ago I'd have had no doubt about him giving his all for the team but his conduct over the last three week in despereately trying to engineer a move home DESPITE the team not being safe means I'm not sure that he will be providing his services to an acceptable level if he stays. The worrying thing is that none of us knows just how he would behave because in the career of Barry Ferguson there is no precedent for the current situation. That's why I would take the money if it is near the valuation. Besides even if he was gloriously happy here a quality forward would still be worth more to Rovers than Ferguson if it was a straight choice and I'm sure we all must agree after the desperate mix-and-match of Monday night strikers. How many weeks to the end of the season? I think it is around 14. 14x c.30k = c. 420k In the scheme of things, if we are not getting in another player, it is worth paying to have him If Rangers cannot come up with the six million.

Could they not show all three? The deal has been three BBC matches and one Sky per round. In terms of national derbies in the modern era Burnley versus Blackburn is one of the more low profile ones- but if they showed Oldham Bolton I cannot see how they would justify not showing this one. To all Roverites in Edinburgh/Lothian (McClarky etc.) any chance of anyone sorting out a poor student with a lift (obviously I would help pay for petrol etc). I really want to see this game! ps. Just realised I do not have a rats chance in hell of getting a ticket. ######.

But it wont be if he stays. We will then get who will be club captain, what should we do with him, should we play him, has he the right attitdue, will he go in the summer etc.............................. What I mean is he will know he has to stay till the summer and in order to maintain interest in himself he will want to play. Utterly agree that he should lose the armband. We seem to be loking at a bad day- Ferguson will probably leave, Bellamy to Celtic, Carew staying, no direct replacement for the midfield. Only one that sounds positive is Sokota. Pull something out of the bag Hughesy.....

Well it will be over one way or the other by the end of today. One good thing from having a transfer window I suppose.

Tashor, great post. We are not going to be able to survive in the Prem unless our supporters turn up. They are not essentially because we do not win every week. I cannot understand that mentality because only a couple of clubs can win every week and they have a shed load of cash. ###### to the lacking a "hero". Who in the bottom half of the Prem does? You want a world class player, someone local and committed? they will have a decebt ciuple of seasons then Chelsea, Man Utd or Arsenal will buy them- Duff, Rooney, Parker are all good examples of this. Alan I am not sure how you think these things can be achieved, or what other teams you are looking at saying "crikey, they are the kind of club which do not over charge for tickets, stocked by local heroes and play cracking attractive football. Why, Rovers pale miserably in comparison". Indeed Rovers are subsidised as Tashor says and have the cheapest season tickets in the league. I cannot see anywhere you get as much talent for the price of the tickets. Simple answer is we are screwed in the long run- when the Walker money runs out we will drop out of top flight football. We should enjoy it at the moment, these are the good times.