I may be wrong here and | don't know if it's been mentioned already, but if Arsenal win the champions league and we finish forth(above Arsenal), wouldn't Arsenal qualify for the champions league next season and the 4th place spot would not?

I'm sure I heard that was the rule after Liverpool qualified automatically when usually the winner wouldn;t unless they finished at a certain place in the league.

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In fact, you are right.Arsenal would go to the group stages of the CL and we would be pushed into UEFA cup.Nice article on the subject from a few weeks ago here

Florida Rover

So,we'll all be cheering on Juventus to stuff arsenal and put paid to that CL dream for all of us.

Hear,Hear!

3) Has anyone got Duff's goals scored and assists in his best season compared with MGP's for this season?

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2002-2003 was Duff's best season for us as he scored 9 goals in the EPL and 5 assists as well as 1 goal in UEFA vs cska sofia and 1 goal in league cup v rotherham.So,that's 11 goals in all comps and 5 assists in EPL.

MGP this year has 9 goals in EPL and 5 assists as well as 1 goal in cup play.So with 8 games left to play,MGP has equaled Duff's best year of league form for us.

Florida Rover

Dillo,

Can you post the article as its password protected.Thanks.

Sorry to dredge this old thread up but I didn't see any of recent vintage dedicated to Reid.Anyway,here are some comments Reidy made to the irish sun which I didn't recall reading anywhere else concerning him signing a new deal with us (hopefully soon).He would have to be on anyone's shortlist for most improved player this year for us.

the article

Florida Rover

were are the rovers anoraks,come on lads and lasses when was the last time we won with 10 men

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Waggy,

I found a match we played at Ewood against sunderland in the 4th round of the FA cup Jan 23 1999.We won 1- nil and Jeff Kenna was sent off in the 63rd minute.Keith Gillespie scored a short handed goal in the 67th minute.(BTW,played before an attendance of 30,125!)

Does anyone recall any other details?

Florida Rover

PS our FAcup run that year was ended in a replay against newcastle as saha (!) scored the lone goal

thanks ABBEY

how did they score an og from their offensive half?It may just be a glitch on the soccernet commentary diagram.

Comprehensive beatdown going on in st andrews stadium tonight!hopefully the tailspin triggered by this match will carry on through relegation.

Derbyshire added a second goal in the 64th minute to tie the match with cheltenham

He won't be pulling off any wins at 0-4 down in the 66th minute tonight!

When was the last time Rovers scored the game winner short handed with ten men as today?We may well look back at this game as a great turning point for this team.Think of it,how many Rover teams of yesteryear showed this much determination to win?This is a fun bunch to follow

Florida Rover

Yeah,GAV can now file an official protest of the bet because we know this attendance would have brought him much closer to Wigan if one reads all our eyewitness friends here on the MB

1864,

That was an enjoyable match report to read and one felt like one was there reading it.I'll bet the feeling of seeing Craig Bellamy's 2nd hit the back of the net was absolute JOY !

Anyone having trouble getting chat to work today?

Florida Rover

Thanks Lee but I guess my point in a roundabout way was that I'm not sure that the cost alone is the driving force behind ST sales as you still have to have somebody who wants to go.

Is the saving that Lee mentions above enough to stimulate rapid sales of season tickets?I don't think so from an American perspective in that you could miss four games and pay on the gate what you would have spent on a season ticket.if season ticket sales are the lifeblood then it should be that there is more value in having purchased the ST over paying on the gate.If the season ticket was say 450 pounds( 200 pounds less than paying on the gate)wuld that not stimulate greater sales to make up the short fall?

EX. 10,000 ST sold X 540 ST cost=5.4 million

at 450 for aST you would have to sell an additional 2,000 ST just to break back to the 5.4 million but would you really sell an additional (x factor) number of season tickets?Obviously the x factor is the problem.Would this 200 pound difference actually stimulate a substantial number of sales?This is the question.I would think that no more cutting of prices can occur.It is what it is and whoover will come will come and you can't twist someones arm to make them come to a sporting event.There are obviously not 30,000 people in the catchment are that want to and can afford to come and lowering fees is still not going to necessarily make someone want to come to a football game.There are no easy answers or it would have been done already!

my .02

Florida Rover

you have just observed media bias!!

If Gray was feeling ill he should not have started.

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It appeared that Gray took a knock on his shoulder from a clumsy challenge and landed oddly on the floor.I was glad to see the lad shake it off and go back to work.Once Mokoena came on,I was very nervous for him whenever he came into play but I thought he acquitted himself well.I do hope Gra is bakc next week though.

This is getting stupid now, we are all Rovers fans and thats that, well with the exception of that Newcastle fan that uses this site.lol.

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Well,don't forget about Sam Dingle who hasn't crawled out of his hole since last years replay as well as that longsider chap but otherwise point taken.

Rovers have started negotiations with Hughes over a new, long-term contract. Bowen and Eddie thingy are also to be offered new contracts.

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This would be the article I would guess with a mention of the sale/financial bit at the end

Philip correct me if I'm wrong in these figures but try this one on for size:

Blackburn Rovers are in no way form or shape a conventional business.

1) Ownership- the Walkers got agreement from the existing £1m share capital holders to issue additional shares at par thereby swamping the original holders. I think the ratio is now something like 95m:1m as the original holders have stayed in and enjoyed the ride whilst the Walkers have never had any interest to get rid of the minority . That is why Blackburn Rovers remains an unlisted PLC.

2) Value- my guess a fair value for the club would be £60m on an asset basis (book value of players and real estate) but a business losing money at the rate Rovers do obviously trades at a discount to its asset value. On the basis that, clubs like Rangers or Liverpool or Everton have recently been valued around the £70m mark , I'd put Rovers' fair price at £30m to £40m at most.

3) The crunch about Rovers is what is in Jack Walker's will. What little we know is that there is a capital trust fund within the Walker Trust which nobody can touch and is generating £3m of income a year for the Rovers. There is language requiring the Trustees to do their best for the Rovers from the distribution of profits of the huge array of Walker Companies (from walker aviation through property development to many very exciting high tech companies) which is how the club regularly comes by zero interest loans which subsequently get turned into share capital- some £40m since the great man died. This also means the club is able to get bank debt at ridiculous low interest rates as it is backed by the Trust. There is also the requirement for Rovers to be a commercial enterprise.

4) My guess is that the Walker Will nearly makes it impossible for anyone to buy the Rovers- unless the highly diversified trust collapses (and the Walker family live comfortably but far from extravagently by the way). Jack will have written huge safeguards into his Will regarding the Rovers which makes it all but impossible to buy the Rovers.

I think there is the possibility of a very exciting formula for somebody wanting to high roll a top European club using the Rovers as a vehicle.

The Walkers are not interested in publicity or any of the trappings which go with ownership of a top sporting franchise.

I think if somebody has £200m to play with, they should do a long lease deal with the Walker Trust for Blackburn Rovers- the underpinning from the Trust would remain in place for when the lease expires (to keep in accordance with Jack's will) but uniquely, every penny invested by the lessees would go into advancing the club commercially and on the football field. The lessee would become the public ownership face of the club and would stand a much higher probability of sporting success from a base at Ewood (where winning trophies does happen) compared with most other places in Europe. Getting into the £20m+ a year Euro competition would give a sporting chance of preserving the £200m outlay as well!

A better question to me is who is willing to make such an investment?

Florida Rovers

P.S. does this idea make sense or is it madcap?

I'm just wondering where Bellers would be standing in terms of goals against minutes played this season.

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Found a place in the Guardian that has minutes played.Mind they are Prem #'s only.Here goes:

Craig Bellamy 1133 minutes 7 goals 162 minutes per goal

Thierry Henry 1892 minutes 15 goals 126 minutes per goal

Michael Owen 854 minutes 7 goals 122 minutes per goal

Ruud van Nistelrooy 2070 minutes 19 goals 109 minutes per goal

Anoraks unite!

Florida Rover

Dave, I concur.I don't really see any postives from an article of this tone and while I don't mind reading about the issues and seeing them debated on this messageboard,the papers are a different thing.I wonder what the response if any will be from the club(probably ignore it).

Florida Rover