This one is in the lap of the Gods - but Hughes does seem to have that "lucky manager" feel to him that is so essential for a top manager. There have been a number of times when I thought that Rovers would fall into old routines - Middlesborough away - two wins - we never do that, Newcastle away we never win there ..... Win at Old Trafford twice in the same season - well you just never know

I have been thinking about the relative merits of our current side against 94/95. I have to say that on balance the current side isn't far behind - with one glaring problem - the forwards. Big gamble for the board - give Hughes approx £10m to purchase a quality forward (maybe two) and Petrov - and we could be pushing for top six or beyond. It is all a gamble either way - don't invest and we could lose money, our better players, our manager and the ever dwindling fan base. Invest the money and there is no guarantee that we will get any higher than we are - but it should tempt back some floating fans, increase our chances of at least hanging onto 8th spot - and for once give back the impression that Rovers aren't just there to make up the numbers. I am not aking for hand-outs from the Trust - it should be based on a business decision(gamble). But I think (on balance) it is the only way to go - the alternative is the eventual slow decline of Rovers.

I find this disgraceful - what is MH doing ? The disciplinary table was the only thing we won last season

I wish that Lawro would make up his mind. Could it be that he has realised that he is c**p at predicting results - and has gone deliberately against his old team mate Souey in the hope that they actually win Still not changing my original prediction - 2-1 to Rovers. It will be an interesting team selection by MH. Though history would seem to indicate that MH will play his strongest side (personally I would rest Tugay, possibly Pedersen and Dickov - and give the youngsters a go). I do wonder how injured Todd is - and whether he is carrying only a slight knock - but being rested for Wednesday. Personally - I would swap a result tomorrow for a win at OT on Wednesday.

I'll add something a little contraversial - I actually think on balance GS was good for Rovers. When he took over we were mid-table Championship - we then got promoted, won our first League/Worthy Cup and finished 6th in the table. Even though he left us in a bit of a mess at the end - it was still a better mess than he started with.

I disagree with all the players mentioned - with the possible exception of Kuqi - but even then he is a useful back-up striker. I think we will see Reid's shooting improving over time - as his confidence grows. But before we criticise him too much - lets think of one of our most techically gifted midfield players Tugay - and how often his shots go sailing off towards the back of the BBE

A tough one to call. Mainly as I am not certain how the semi-final the following Wednesday will influence the players and Mark Hughes selection policy. Bellamy being suspended is good news for the semi final - but not so much this match - as I would have fancied us to win with him playing. Still - going to go with my heart and a Rovers win ....... Newcastle - 1 (Shearer) Rovers - 2 (Kuqi and Peter)

Too many people compare MGP as a winger with Duff. I have long held the belief that MGP is more left sided midifield player than left winger. On that basis he does an excellent job. He is hard working, his set piece delivery is excellent (remember that players he deliver at pace, with swerve often end up with a series of average set pieces only to then set up a goal - Beckham when at United is a good example) - and personally I feel his passing shows imagination lacking in our midfield (I would be curious as to how many assists he has). He is also hard working - bit like Wilcox, not necessarily putting in huge tackles but always doubling up cutting down space etc. His heading ability is a useful outlet for Friedal. As for him being a striker - remember Platt and Scholes - two excellent goal scoring midfield players who weren't as effective when pushed up front. It is often the runs from deep that create the space for Pedersen. One final point on attcking dribbling wingers - according to some people on the forum Ronaldo had a good game against us. Which would you prefer - MGP (who scored) or Ronaldo who beat his man three or four times but didn't actually create anything ?

That report is the funniest thing I have read all year You can always rely on the Mancs with their supreme football knowledge to come up with insightful comments

Gotta disagree with your summation - Ronaldo was yet again the show pony that he has often been labled. I thought Gray did a good job on him - and considering the number of time Ronaldo attempted to get past him, I think Grays success rate was very good. Also - whenever he got past a player when did it actually lead to anything ? I thought Saha excellent in the first half - but faded badly in the second. Over the whole match I thought Bellers caused them as many problems as Saha caused us. On the night United showed why they are a shadow of the team they used to be. They had the vast majority of possession but created limited chances. In fact we probably created the better chances on the night. I am sorry - but I didn't see the gulf in class that you mention. What is amazing is the relative costs of the two teams that were on the pitch last night. United's team must be in excess of £100m - Rovers probably around £11m

Gotta wonder whether psychologically this result may help us. At 1-1 we basically start level pegging - as I would be surprised if either team is capable of keeping a clean sheet over 120 minutes in the 2nd leg. If we had been taking a 2-1 lead - the inclination of the Rovers players would have been to sit back. United would have been at us from the start - with 60k+ behind them. It is very difficult for a team that is in the back foot to suddenly change their approach to the game. At 1-1 I don't think United will go at us with the same venom - which hopefully will help us to get a foot-hold in the game as we did in the league. The 2nd leg will be played as much in the head - as on the pitch - hopefully a draining derby and match against Liverpool will help even the odds.

Looking back on the refs performance I thought he only really got the Dickov booking totally wrong. He was actually almost fair - though I still felt United got more than their share of 50/50 decisions. As for the Smith / Savage / Rooney incident - it was possibly the best way to deal with it. However - Smiths challenge was a red card offence, Savage's reaction (though justified) would have also been a red card offence for some referees - as would Rooney's reaction to Savage putting him in a head lock. The one thing that was missed (mainly by the linesman who was directly in line with it) was Ferdinands two handed push in the back of Bellamy - and absolutely certain penalty (though you could debate whether in the box or not). Overall a draw was a fair result - giving us plenty to play for. I wonder how much of our second half performance was due to them being fresher than us (after resting virtually their entire team at the weekend). As said by somebody else previously - we desperately need a striker to support Bellamy. Kuqi works very hard for the team - but the number of times United attacks were set up by his bad control was a joke.

Enough of the tittle tattle about the LET - we know it has gone downhill since Peter White - surely it must be possible to find a sports writer who is a Rovers fan For anyone interested - the bookies seem to be offering generous odds on a Rovers home win 3-1 against the home side seems generous to me. Obviuosly they are as pessimistic about our chances as some of the people on this MB

It really is difficult to belief what Ferguson says - he has played his mind games so often in the past. He knows that any form of deficit for United will make the return match very difficult for them - as they struggle with the pace of Bellamy. A 1 or 2 goal lead from tonight would give us the ability to go to OT, defend deep and hit them on the break. Though we may see the odd youngster - it will essentially be his first team I feel. Lets not forget - even if he rests HorseFace - Saha isn't a bad replacement - and probably cost as much as our whole team !

If only the national press gave us as much credit as this article - then maybe the fans would come flocking back I msut admit - even a couple of seasons back we could have expected 17k+ for this match. To me it adds merit to including Cup matches as part of the season ticket deal.

Tomorrow must be the most important match in Rovers recent history. Make no mistake there will be plenty of "casual" Rovers fans attracted back by the lure of the semi-final. Put in a good performance (and result) - and maybe these fans will be more inclined to come back in the future. Lose (and no matter how unjustified) they will believe that we are still the team that could barely put together a home win for almost two years. Add to this the huge confidence boost for the rest of the season that a Cup Final appearance would make to the squad - not forgetting the potential extra revenue. As I said before - over two matches I am not too confident - but then again I wasn't confident we could beat Middlesborough away once - never mind twice. Hughes is the magician - lets hope he can wield some magic for us.

I can't say that I am overly optimistic about our chances over two legs - especially as United have been able to rest the vast majority of their team over the weekend. However - we have a chance (which is a pleasant change) - lets just hope the referee gives us a chance (unlike previous encounters). What pleases me must is Hughes positive attitude - gone are the days of "we just want to survive" - back to the days of "we want to win things". I am sure Jack will be looking down with a smile on his face.

It must be just me - but I thought that Peter's debut was only compentent. Yes it was his debut - but if MGP had put in a performance like that I don't think he would have got the plaudits that Peter did. Bellamy made the best of a poor cross - with an excellent finish - and also made the best of an average pass for the 3rd goal. Having said that - he did show enough to think he is a worthwhile addition to teh 1st team squad. But I didn't see enough from him tothink he will be the answer to our prayers when MGP leaves for Chelsea Anyone else remember Mark Patterson's debut on the left wing ? He looked great on the day - then the coaches got hold of him and stopped him doing all that silly dribbling lark

Tricky one to call this. We desperately need to rest some players - but look limited in some areas. Though a huge risk - I would like to see some fringe players brought in. Maybe we will see an appreance from Flitty, Amo and Gresko before they go to pastures new. Even if they end up Cup Tied - I would play them to rest Savage, Nelsen and Gray. For me Matteo would play centre half and Nolan right back. I would go with a risky :- Friedal Nolan Amo Matteo Gresko Emerton Thommo Flitty Peter Jansen Dickov Then place lots of attacking talent on the bench for a rescue act On paper the above side should be good enough to beat a Championship side - but can't help feeling it has banana skin written all over it. The problem is for Hughes, the players looked dead on their feet on Monday - and I am sure would struggle to beat United on Wednesday if too many of them play against QPR.

I am all for getting the kids in the ground - and kids for a quid seems a good intiative for games like Pompey where the ground would be half emtpy anyway. But the club really need to better advertise the fact that normally this match would have only been £5 for kids - which I feel is an excellent deal anyway - but they don't seem to advertise it particularly well. Personally I would like to see a get a free Junior ticket with every adult ticket. Not a huge difference - but may help boost adult attendance as well.

It is amazing how much football is played in the head. 1st Half we looked as good as any team I have seen this season - put a fully fit Bellamy up front and we would have been so far ahead ay half time that the 2nd half would have been irrelevant. 2nd half Pompey were up for it - we sat back and struggled to gain the initiative back from them. Though they didn't work out, I thought Hughes two subs were perfect - maybe just add Tugay to actually have someone in midfield that can pass to them I don't think you can underestimate the impact that Hughes has had on the team - they now regularly put in displays that we haven't seen since the glory days of Duff, Dunn, Cole and Jansen. Makes me wonder how well Hughes would have done with that group of players - 6th under Souey - Champs League under Hughes ?

2nd yellow ? it should have been a straight red. From the highlights I have seen of Wigan recently our success will depend on Nelsen and Todd/Zura. If we can keep Camara and Roberts quiet I feel that we have enough up front to worry Wigan. I am actually more optimistic playing this fixture away. The onus will be on Wigan to attack - from what I have seen a lot of their success has been hitting teams on the counter using the pace of their front two. When you look at their stats they rarely seem to have the most possession - but obviously use what little possession they have to good affect. Having Reid playing instead of Tugay may actually work to our advantage as he does add some badly needed pace to the centre of midfield. I am going to go with my heart - and a 2-1 win to Rovers. However, given Wigans current form a draw must be considered a good result at this stage of the season

To an extent I agree - but I think part of the reason that other players have looked so good is that defenses are scared of Bellamys pace and adjust accordingly. Also any midfield player will tell you that you need the forward to make good runs - which Bellamy is excellent. This is a huge loss - where we need Kuqi to step up - in the final pre-season game he looked excellent - if he can start repeating that form more regularly we could be alright. I am just hoping that this forces the board to give MH the money for our McCarthy (we can but hope)

I keep waiting for Pedersen to score direct from a corner. It will almost definitely happen at some point. Maybe better to save it for United / Chelsea or Arsenal at home - 90'th minute to win 1-0. Can you imagine the press coverage we would get

I don't agree with what Savage did - I agree at times he can be a grade A pillock. But under it all he is a half decent footballer who gives 110% everytime he pulls on the shirt. I'll stand by what I said on the Arsenal game thread : "Is it only me that thinks me again Blackburn are being portraid as the villians by the pro-southern press ? Yes, Savage over reacted to the Reyes attempt at a punch. But he didn't roll-around as has been described in many portions of the press. I have also seen matches where players have raised their arms - and not been defended by the media - with the common comment "you can't raise your hands and hope to get away with it". What really gets to me - is that over the last few years Arsenal themselves have been well known to feign injury in an attempt to get players sent off. It reminds me of the out cry against Todd last season. Yet again the whiter than white Arsenal fans and their devoted media machine lambasted Todd for an incident that nobody could prove whether was deliberate or not. And yet only a few seasons previous a blatantly deliberate elbow by Begkamp on Nissa gets barely a mention in the press."