9 minutes ago, 1864roverite said:

Patience is a virtue 

Exactly....have some folk forgotten we signed a couple last week and as yet, nobody of significance has left!

A great 'fighting point' against the odds.

It had promotion credentials written all over it!

Well I'm up earlier than anticipated, so may as well stay up.....I'm on the train 'out of Dodge' at 6.24am!

I'm looking forward to today, last time at Kenilworth Road being some forty odd years ago!

I fancy us to nick it.....2-1 Rovers and hanging on for grim death at 4.45pm! (It just wouldn't be our Rovers otherwise!)

COYB!!!

ps Diaz is back for next week, Brereton stayed in South America!😉

Rothwell out, Mads Bistrup in?

17 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Even if he doesn't go, these things unsettle players and usually affect their form. 

Great move by Bournemouth to unsettle one of our key in-form players

Why didn't we do the same to them? 

We have!!!

16 minutes ago, Mercer said:

He may well have, however, living and working in a lovely environment, great quality of life, financially set for life and a happy wife!  Persuasive factors.

Acid test is tomorrow.  If Rothwell doesn't play he may well be offski.

Rothwell isn't travelling tomorrow but HAS NOT asked to leave the club.....fact!

He still has a back injury issue (no doubt a bit of a sulk too because he and his agent haven't got his/their own way in terms of an increased contract offer over and above what's on the table)

Well played Rovers IMO!

Buckle down Joe, work your knackers off for the club that we all love and don't 'blot your copybook' by being seen as a greedy bastard!

7 minutes ago, rigger said:

They where a lot slower on the uptake than Blackpool.

Yeh and Fleetwood!

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Noticed on their website that they are saying ‘Must now have a buying history to buy a ticket for tomorrow’… so they’ve probably twigged that there will be a fair few non regulars in there.

It's London based Rovers contingent Matty.......all have London postcode addresses and hardly any are Rovers season ticket holders for obvious reasons.

COYB (from 3 sides of the ground)!!!

Rest assured, 7 of my pals and myself will be singing our heads off at Kenilworth Road!

I agree with the comments regarding ticket sales for the game...There's a group of a dozen of us who attend almost every game home and away. 4 of them weren't quick enough off the mark on the first day they were on sale at Ewood and missed out.

They've all managed to buy tickets sat amongst our Bedfordshire cousins!😉

46 minutes ago, yankfan said:

If the deals aren’t signed because they players believe they can get more, isn’t that the definition of the deals not being good enough? 

No.

It's what BRFC think the player is worth paying.

If they think they can get more elsewhere, that's the players (and/or their agents) prerogative. If the phone's not ringing with countless offers from other clubs (which it's not), the players should commit IMO and would be stupid not to.

32 minutes ago, benhben said:

Another tough game. They've won 4 out of 5 league games. If we are serious about promotion though nothing but a win will suffice. Hopefully Rothwell will be back. Weve had three tough games in a row now. Hull have beat 2nd and 3rd since their takeover, boro were unbeaten in 12 and luton won 4/5 games. Shows how relentless the championship is. 

If we go with the tried and tested 2 banks of 3: (Lenihan, Wharton, Van Hecke + Travis, Rothwell, Buckley) and a whole host of others filling the slots,I've every faith that we'll be coming back from Bedfordshire with 3 more points in the back sack!

38 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Love Kenilworth Road, so horrendous it has a charm of its own. The stand that is just portakabins, turnstiles through folk’s back yard, wood benches, the Eric Morecambe Suite… marvellous!

Filbert Street and Kenilworth Road....both grounds where away supporters enter the ground through someone's back garden!....as you say Matty, a charm of their own.

1,000 tickets sold on Day 1....not many London based Blues, as all sold to season ticket holders but I suspect there will be pockets dotted about elsewhere at Kenilworth Road on Saturday!😉

Just come out fighting Rovers, I'd settle for a point but 3 would just be fantastic.

COYB!!!

1 hour ago, Ossydave said:

Alright don't flatter them too much, West Brom didn't even register a shot on target, they were dreadful. They play us in another 3 games, unfortunately they'll probably have a new manager by then so may start playing a little better.....

 

Noooooo! We are The Rovers and we are going up!!

2 hours ago, DaveyB said:

I’m sure that was Gerald Ashby rather than Durkin - I still remember that incident like it was yesterday, and his name has been imprinted on my brain ever since!!

Yep, it was Gerald Ashby, I stand corrected.

So that's now 3 cheating, officiating bastards to contend with!

2 hours ago, DaveyB said:

I’m sure that was Gerald Ashby rather than Durkin - I still remember that incident like it was yesterday, and his name has been imprinted on my brain ever since!!

I stand to be corrected but I can still visualise the short, portly, ginger haired 2hat running belatedly towards the Blackburn End Penalty area before brandishing the red card and pointing to the spot.

I've 2 visions of cheating officials in mind: One is of George Courtney and the other is of Paul Durkin. If I could potentially vanquish one of them, I'd sleep easier at night! 😉😃

Eeeeh, wouldn't it be great if in January, we kept all our players and signed Harvey Elliott from Liverpool and Solanke from Bournemouth?

It'd certainly do me.....just sayin' like!

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Hmm........ Paul Durkin wasn't so great when he disallowed a vital last minute equaliser for us at Old Trafford from Tim Sherwood!

....not to mention sending off Henning Berg at Ewood and awarding a penalty for a perfectly timed tackle! (red 2hat!)

2 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

Maybe they could be fast tracked due to experience? They should not struggle with fitness, they understand the nuances of the game, therefore with a bit of coaching they should be effective. Then they can report to other players what the experience is like.

The other side is how many want to, or how many need to? Current Prem wages negate the need for a post football career from a financial standpoint (discounting stupid decisions), but I think that a lot of players would like it. It keeps them involved in the game, keeps them fit, don't have to move around, and unlike the coach/manager route are unlikely to get sacked after 18 months

Consistency comes up a lot with refereeing. What is better; if a ref is consistent game to game, or within a single game? One week he can let teams kick 7 bells out of each other, the next they blow up more frequently.

I think you raise many great points speeeedie. I, like yourself, am totally familiar with officiating in various sports in USA.....they would not put up with the poor standard that we're expected to endure.

That's not coming from a biased, Rovers based view but a personal opinion in general. The refereeing of Rovers games, both this season and last, has just been shit!

It's not just an odd decision or two but a whole host. Do they know the rules and/or watch the same games that we do? (rhetorical question btw!)

Before Monday night (where I thought the ref was ok), I cannot honestly remember the last time that I thought that a referee of our games had a good match.....that can't be right and is unacceptable.

2 hours ago, rigger said:

Aren't Southampton the nearest team to Bournemouth ?

Yep and Southampton have only won 1 FA Cup in 1976. You know how many we've won @rigger! 😉😃.

Let's extend the 'south west' to the south coast......they've won feck all between them!

We're Blackburn Rovers, puff your chest out!!!

Bournemouth, Exeter City, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Yeovil & Plymouth Argyle.......a massive south west catchment area and between them all they have achieved what?.......didly squat and it will be forever thus!

1 hour ago, only2garners said:

Simon - you're right that only Rothwell can travel quickly with the ball and score like Rothwell did. And I agree that other midfielders have a range of different qualities and all are very useful

But what Rothwell is best at does not in itself make a top midfielder. Buckley (for it is he) can routinely take defenders out of the game with his passing, can press and steals the ball frequently. 

I have been critical of Rothwell in the past for not working hard enough, particularly when defending and doesn't have a good football brain, frequently opting to beat players and lose the ball in dangerous positions. This season he has improved on all those aspects and is now a valuable member of the team. But Buckley's better and is of an age where he may well get better still.

My opinion Simon - it's the only one I've got.

For what it's worth, I totally agree with you.

If it weren't for where we currently are and for the balance in the team, I'd weigh Rothwell in if the price was right.

Trav and Bucko however are different gravy by comparison and I'd go as far as to say that they are our crown jewels and will only improve further with age and experience.

£10 million with no add ons and Rothwell can go in January.

He's got a great contract offer from Rovers on the table but within our means. He's also got his share of the £12 million incentive for promotion to consider, if he were to sign a new contract.

If you were Joe Rothwell, what would you do?

I'd be asking "where's the bloody blue and white pen"!

Tell you what Bournemouth, let's talk turkey:

What about a swap: Rothwell for Solanke?

Now jog on!!

16 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Absolutely. Wouldn’t disagree with much of that, except I think it’s a bit of both re optimism/disregard. I don’t mean anything to be a sweeping statement against our younger fans at all, but I would say youth is an understandable reason for some to hold their less angry views. Again, my issue comes from being told by anyone how I should feel when they aren’t coming from a similar perspective.

I think modern technology also makes it far more appealing for younger fans to live in the now rather than the past. I grew up having to satisfy my thirst for all things Rovers with old books and programmes.

If it's any consolation, I'm still extremely bitter about what 'went on'.

There comes a point though (for me) where what's the point?......you can't change anything...it's gone. The present and the future though is entirely different.

I'll never forgive, nor will I forget (far from it) but neither will I spite my face because of it!

WE ARE The Rovers, COYB!!!