Yes

I agree with this. However, I cant see exactly how Dack would fit into this system.

Back in late 1984 aged 13, I was an avid reader of Roy Of The Rovers. At that time, I did a paper round six mornings a week, getting up at 6.30am and earning the princely sum of £2.50 per week. Therefore, I was very interested in the below message printed on the letters page. I thought for a bit about some Rovers trivia which might be sufficiently interesting to get published so I could more than double my meagre weekly wage. I sent a letter off and waited... Imagine my surprise when my letter was duly published in January 1985. I hot footed it down to the Post Office and cashed my postal order that very day.

Cracking goal by Simon there in the '83 clash. He was about 23 years old there and scored twenty odd goals that season and the next. Regardless of his reputation as a bit of lackadaisical trainer / 'refuelling issues' etc, you cant argue with those numbers and unquestionably if he produced those statistics for our current side he would be playing in the Premiership. Just not for Burnley...

Have we got one? Oh the excitement!!

Baz, Sparky, Faz Jesper, Jim Bran, Big Norm, McGrath, windy Miller bending (maybe) and Gennoe. I was 13 years old and on the Riverside that night somewhere under that Perspex banner. Massive infiltration on that end by the Utd support who mocked everything in sight at our beautiful ground. Gutted for Baz that night.

That's an interesting line up FK and has got me thinking differently about things. How about a slight variation: Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Williams Bell -Travis Holtby JRC Buckley -Brereton Armstrong

Alan Ball perhaps?

I daresay you are being flippant there. He also cost seventy times as much as Jimmy Greaves cost Spurs but that was back in 1961. Brereton was born in the same year as Buckley, Rankin Costello, Stefan Mols, Dan Butterworth etc. He didn't demand to be transferred for that grossly inflated fee, just as we wouldn't blame the likes of Butterworth if Notts Forest paid a similar fee for him or another young player of ours. He is eighteen months younger than Harry Chapman. A little perspective is needed. Like all the above named, Brereton has a lot to learn. Recent performances suggest he is doing just that. He seems to be a good lad and to my mind he may well go on to have a better career than Sam Gallagher. Right now, of the two of them, I would rather the manager select Brereton.

Great thread Joe but I think your opening sentence belongs in the 'footballisms'thread. Big Ron eat your heart out.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the players were quietly prepared to lose the game last night. No joy whatsoever from them after Armstrong's early goal. The hostility towards Wigan following the fallout from Dack's injury still runs deep I believe.

Kate shouldn't be "going" with Roy, because Roy is her brother. This is Ewood Park, not Turf Moor.

No, I think Elliott is definitely your man if versatility is what you are looking for. Midfield, defence or attack, Bennett will be reliably and equally inept in all of 'em. You can count on him for that.

Walton Nyambe Lenihan Adarabioyo Bell/ Downing Travis Davenport Armstrong Graham Brereton Rothwell 4, 4, (f---ing) 2!

I remember this like it was yesterday. Other than Travis for Reid and Adarbioyo for Mail I wouldn't put any of the current crop into that team.

The sobering (in every respect of the word) thought here is that your local boozer will likely call last orders for the final time in the near future, along with many, many others.

I was thinking about that the other day. Sad to say it but you have to fear that we may not see the likes of Danny or Stewart Downing kick a ball for us again. It's going to be very hard for those older lads to regain any kind of conditioning or sharpness.

Andy Kennedy's left footer away at Villa takes some beating. Also, now that many of us have time on our hands, the entire home game in that cup tie circa 1990 is on YouTube. It's rare to see a full 90 minutes from that era and its really worth the watch. My 18 year old son was fascinated by the state of the pitch, the intensity of play, the noise from the crowd and the sheer physicality of the contest. Chris Sulley and little Scotty Sellars team up repeatedly to put reducer on the lightning fast Tony Daley and the absolutely route one football from Rovers is a reminder of a different age. The changes in the game in the last few years have crept up stealthily. Interestingly, only the highlights were broadcast by the BBC but this is the full broadcasted version. A highlight for me occurs during the warm up ( previously unbroadcasted) when John Motson has to describe Simon Garner to the cameraman to enable a close up. The camera then hones in on a frankly hungover looking Garner who looks like he's never kicked a ball before. He was never one to exert himself unnecessarily. See first video from the 4.25 -5 minute mark.

Yes it was the third round of the FA Cup, January 1983. The game was definitely televised. About ten or fifteen years ago a couple of moments were shown on TV from the match, including Garner's great strike and another incident involving Brotherston and Souness if I recall correctly. Unfortunately I can't remember which TV show it was, perhaps Fantasy Football. I've also tried to find it on YouTube but to no avail. A Rovers fan will have it on VHS in a cupboard somewhere. It really was a magnificent goal by Simon and probably led to the rumours Howard Gayle mentioned recently that Garner was considered as a potential transfer target around that time for Liverpool.

Very hard to argue with this.

Absolutely damning stats from Bennett's point of view. Having seen the way he performs In that role however, I can't say I'm surprised. I thought his performance against Derby was woeful; shambolic in fact. His body language on the pitch used to be one of confidence and enjoyment. He now looks subdued and anxious. He goes missing when we are defending which leaves a gaping hole in his position. He hides when not in possession, and when he has no choice but to receive the ball, he releases it as quickly and simply as he is able. When attacking, he gives no indication that he was once a winger. He is incapable of beating the full back and his crosses into the box are almost always an abject failure. I almost feel sorry for the man. He is a limping dog of a player and I would like to see him being put out of his misery. Lovely bloke and all that....

When I think of a 2nd tier side containing the likes of Gennoe, Price, Hendry, Barker, Ardiles, Sellars, Gayle, Archibald and Garner, and then I think of our current squad, it's hard not to feel a bit deflated. Those boys would have destroyed what was in truth a fairly poor Derby side yesterday.

Yes, I would be absolutely delighted.

It has, but please Curb Your Enthusiasm AllRoverAsia ☺️

I wonder which dropped first?