Actually, Mr Strachan surprised me. He was really pleasant, and we had a nice conversation. He'd sat opposite me in the lounge and he and Paul Lambert were chatting away to allcomers (in case you have stalker fantasies, I was in the lounge first!).

I think we'd be a marvellous challenge to him. We have a lot of allegedly talented players who seem to be unable to make a bigger word out of the words foot and ball when they step onto a pitch for us!

And I have a sense of humour failure when it comes to the rubbish I witnessed last night. I think what most upset me was that I didn't feel any sense of pride at the team, just embarrassment, and a vague feeling that I had to apologise for them daring to step onto the same pitch as Arsenal. I've never felt that before at Highbury, and I didn't much like it.

Fine Bryan, you have it your way!

However for those WITH a brain - I was sitting beside him on a flight from Glasgow to London and, to be polite asked how his hip was. He said fine. I then asked if he was enjoying his time out or looking to get back into football. After telling me about the various holidays he'd had and what he was going to be doing at Euro 2004, he said he was "looking for the right opportunity but not rushing back"

This was after the cup final which Celtic won, so I was quite happy and we talked about Celtic for a while. Rovers were just mentioned in an aside - he was just complimentary about the club. "nice club with a good chairman and board" I thought that was positive!

Eddie- the difference between you and Strachan is that he has talent as a manager and you're a sad loser

Posted on Aug 26 2004, 15:57 

  QUOTE (Jan @ Aug 26 2004, 05:06 )

Gordon Strachan is looking to get back into management and does like Rovers as a club. 

Unconfirmed speculation, or is there a decent source for that?

Not sure

Does the man himself- directly to me in a one on one conversation- count as a good source or not?

Brownie- get over yourself

That was then, this is now.

Who's to say another manager wouldn't have got us out of that predicament too. All I can see is that 17th in the Nationwide (now the Championship) is where we're headed if something isn't done.

Gordon Strachan is looking to get back into management and does like Rovers as a club.

Jimbo: Row 25 seat 23. Saw Jackie, but not the rest of you.

I have no idea why you're still supporting Souness. So many people in our end left that game early, saying "more of the same. Rubbish team selection, awful tactics and no skill at all"

Yes Arsenal were good, of COURSE they were better than us, but is was so obvious to anyone who actually understands football that they were, if there, in first gear for the first half and we could barely keep up with that. OK Boro lost, but they gave them a game- we didn't.

The table doesn't lie. We deserve to be where we are. Yes, we've played Arsenal, but we've also lost to Southampton (who did SO well last night) and drawn with West Brom. I honestly think that if you take a combination of quality of: managers, training and players together, we are in exactly the right place. Palace score much higher in manager and training, but MUCH lower in players.

Never mind, we have United to lose to abysmally on Saturday. On the bright side, Robson has also clearly lost the Newcastle dressing room, so if he's not sacked by then which, given they have a board who desire success and don't act purely on sentiment as ours do, he probably will be, we MIGHT have a chance of only losing by one or two there.

Dream on all you "half full" people. You're actually drinking the dregs.

MB

You were right

Just back from the match. Sitting with my friend who didn't despise Souness as much as I do: Main points to note, which we both concur on:

1) The ref was fair. He made 3 bad decisions against us and 2 against them.

2) Emerton is not, and will never be, a premiership footballer. He should be sent on loan to a Division 2 side to see where his bread's buttered.

3) We looked ok in the first half because they were nervous about the record. As soon as they came out for the second half, they stepped from first gear to about 3rd. They could have scored at will after that.

4) Matteo is not, and will never be, a midfielder.

5) Gresko and Gray as a left side combination, worked. We told you that last season Mr Souness. Please believe us all now.

6) Emerton and Neill- UGH!!!

7) Nissa looked quite accomplished * note that I will take that back if it was his back-pass that let Reyes in for their third goal, but I think it was Matteo

8) They brought on Reyes and Ljungberg, we brought on Yorke and De Pedro. SO not fair.

My friend is now wholly in the Souness out camp. To be fair there weren't many there tonight who didn't come away feeling like that. We were abysmal tonight and looked as if we didn't care.

Answers to questions posed in the last line:

1) Don't know

2) Souness

NO!!!

Jason regularly got past people and put crosses in which, more often than not:

a) Didn't go out of play behind the goal; and/or

Went over the first man; and/or

c) Didn't go over the last man

When you think we used to call Wilcox (I didn't), but some people are actually tolerant of the dross performances week after week from our current "winger"!!

What's worse is there's a ***** great transfer of him on Barclays window on Fleet Street which I have to look at if I go out of the office to lunch.

And we used to wonder about the training injuries they got!

Nice ignoring why they actually felt sorry for us, Philly!!

So we blow 5 points against eminently beatable sides, just so that we can confuse Arsenal, who nobody has beaten for over 12 months?

If I give you money, will you go on holiday again?

That's one of the best posts I've seen for a long time- answering one of the worst.

Well, then- let's hope the board oblige. PRONTO

The only people to ruin the signing will be Rovers themselves, with their dithering and meanness.

American, I don't, but I cannot believe that every Rovers player is magnificent playing out of position in training and suddenly is as awful as they are in a match.

lets hope he had the entire midfield set up watching the way Arsenal played today and hpoing that between themselves and the coaching staff they have worked out some sort of plan of how to diffuse the Arsenal way of fast attacking football before they swamp our non existant defence

Dear god, if he showed our losers THAT they'll all call in sick on Wednesday!!

My point is that it has worked in the past, so it isn't a dumb move to play him there again. Oh, wait, I forgot, Souness is supposed to have a crystal ball and know that he was going to be rubbish yesterday, just like he wasn't before.

Surely he watches them in training and knows how well they're playing??

I think the problem's our (Rovers) view of instalments. I think the vendors probably want a payment up front then a few large instalments. Knowing Rovers they've offered tuppence hapenny a month for 10 years with a lump sum at the end.

I think we're just being unrealistic when we make offers, and then act all shocked when no-one accepts

Another day of being scared to watch the telly in case they have a news flash which consists of some football pundit laughing uncontrollably and saying "and Blackburn are on the end of a record-breaking stuffing here"

Would go to the game but am going to Arse away and don't want to be depressed twice in a week.

Have just watched the first half and it was MUCH worse than has been conveyed here. Brad Friedel can't even walk properly- wht's he doing on the pitch. The balls from defence were one of three types:- panicked balls which fell to the opposition; short passes to Tugay's imaginary friend- which went to the opposition; or long hoofed balls, which went to the opposition.

We had comedy defending for their goal, and the only names I heard the whole half (you know what I mean) were Beattie and Phillips.

As for formation or tactics- No idea.

Oh and Dominic Matteo has never been and will never be a left-sided midfielder.

However there was one beautiful turn and shot from Stead.

Second half isn't as bad tho. Wasn't a penalty EVER.

Finally- there are some men who look sexy with long hair. Nissa isn't one of them- GET IT CUT!!

Argued with Souey??

Come on Jan.

You have ommited to mention that the one thing you despise most about Souness are his Rangers connections.

I know this is difficult for some incredibly stupid people to understand, but it's this club I care about when thinking about Souness. And if you want to know the background for my despising him- it's his days at Liverpool (and for Scotland). Some on here may be too thick to understand that, but hey, I can't help that.

Jan, do you hold a personal vendetta against Souness? Are you sure that it's his management of th eclub that bothers you.

What do I hate about Souness??

I despise his ploy of selling off the family jewels from the club and buying rubbish to replace them;

I despise his attitude towards patently talented players who don't bow to his every wish. Most bosses in any walk of life strive to create harmony within their teams, not disharmony. He seems to enjoy making people hate him

I despise the fact that in spite of his having bought all of the playersin the squad and having lots of preseason games to try them out in he still has not the slightest clue about who should/can play where.

I used to joke that Ray Harford just stuck all the players name in a bag and played them in the positions he drew them out in. I now think that compared to this joker, Harford was actually quite positionally astute!

That's not to mention the tactics. Do we have any? No evidence so far this season or for large chunks of last season.

I also despise his manner in interviews "lady luck" "officials" - get a grip- if he put out the right team trained correctly and using the right tactics, we'd win.

Also meant to say that I sat next to strachan on a flight down to London after the Scottish Cup final. I spoke to him about Rovers and he was VERY complimentary about the club and our setup.

Maybe we could get him- pretty please- as an early Christmas present to the fans (and players).

We'll see