Ozz

Given up on a summer now, it's bank holiday weekend coming up this week too. Very depressing.

There are more this morning, from his brother.

Despite the failure with the claim for Dahlin, it seems some insurance claims are worth the paper they're written on. Boros premiums look set to shoot up, as young Utd player wins millions. Man Utd Player wins claim.

Ex Rover Barry Ferguson is about to be knocked out of Europe in Lithuania, coverage here on BBC.

Anyone know who got it?

Gary Bailey gets a clobbering here... And a rusty Simon Garner spaffs the best chance we had all night...

£2.00 to get in! Jimmy Quinn aims one at the moon.

Perfect timing Mr Caleano! The headline says Rovers Cup Dreams are Shattered, which was incorrect. Nobody at Ewood really ever dreamed we were going to win the FA cup. The dream had already been realized. I had started watching Rovers in the season we missed out on promotion by goal difference, 1981 I think, and by that time Rovers had not been in the top flight of English football in my lifetime, going back to 1966. The real dream of all Blackburn Rovers supporters was to be playing the big teams every week, and in the absence of that-a head to head in a cup match would have to do. It didn't get much better than a home game against United, and most of us knew deep down that we were not really going to have much chance of beating them. So we all rolled up, best part of 20,000 home fans, for a glimpse of what we had dared to dream of all season long, as the promotion campaign gathered momentum. more in hope than expectation. The coverage in the media for a Rovers game, was in my experience unprecedented. Articles in the Daily Mail, live TV coverage on the BBC, interviews with the tea lady...I absolutely loved it. My team, which felt like it didn't exist outside of terraced streets, crap pies and freezing nights on crumbling terraces fending of rival supporters bricks, were in the spotlight. So as I boarded the Cliff Owen coach at the Flat Iron around 5.30 that Friday night, I recall thinking that this was all slightly unreal, and as rival supporters sat on the coach, trading insults with each other, I considered for the first time that we wouldn't get promoted. The game came and went, we lost 0-2 as you probably know. I recall the glow of mini TV studio lights coming from a hastliy erected hutch in the no mans land between the Darwen End and the Riverside, where Jimmy Hill could peer out and cast his judgments on Hovis FC. I recall lots of sporadic fighting , in the Blackburn End after Strachans opener, and seeing lots more all round the ground during the match too. I clearly recall Strachan ballooning a penalty into the United end, and thinking we had a chance to get a replay. I recall climbing up the fence at the bottom of the BBE near the end, and running on the pitch after the whistle had gone, and beckoning the whole Darwen End to come and take me on! I was briefly on TV, for about two seconds, as the camera near the dugouts caught me saying, "Bring on City!" And ultimately, I recall thinking that it was all a bit of a let down. We were never in the game, and had only on ereal chance to score, when Garner came on and ballooned one over the bar late on. So the dream had come and gone, and Rovers players and fans alike woke up on Saturday morning to face the prospect of playing games against Barnsley, Grimsby, Cardiff and Hull. Without spoiling the ending to the season, we never really got over the United game in my opinion, our football never matched the quality of earlier games, and seemed like the zenith of our season. It was all, well nearly all, downhill from here on in...

Rovers FA Cup exploits in times previous to 1985 were always memorable-well for me anyway! In 1983-84, we played Chelsea , Swindon and Southampton in three great games, culminating in David Armstrong knocking us out on Friday night Match Of The Day on BBC-1. 1983 saw us play Liverpool in the 3rd round at home, which I missed. I was playing for the School Team that morning, away at Darwen Vale (3-3) but couldn't get a ticket for the match-ironically driving past the ground at lunch time coming back to Chorley from Darwen just to rub salt in the wounds! Plus the two monster games in 1980~ish when we were in the 3rd division, firstly against Coventry at home (won 1-0) then the draw and defeat against mighty Aston Villa in the promotion season. So the next in the line of cup clashes to remember were Manchester United.

Number 9 I think will be Noel Brotherston Number 10 is Viv Busby Number 11 is John Lowey

So the build up to the big televised game had started, and if you think that Rovers don't get much press these days, then you should have tried reading anything on us back then. So to find two pieces in the national press that were not match reports was a sign of the country starting to notice what was going on down at Ewood. Two pieces here from I think The Express or Mail, and a great photo of the old Blackburn End in the background.

Me circled!

Some of my Utd supporting mates had those Chorley Reds flag, Cotty from Brinscall. I remember the comment too, it was Channel 442 on Sky last year ESPN channel, I taped it (Soz Claire still not been back for the videos yet!).

Look under the vidoe bit Den. "Hi Alex This is Arch answering, my 10 year old son Elliot has just shown me the video and you comments, and you were right I was puffed out as I had just ran the length of the pitch, but it was worth it. Seeing the video and your comments has brought it all back, great times and brillian people in Blackburn, Don Mackay and the club really looked after me and I enjoyed a great experience, you included. Kind regards Steve Archibald"

Whittle Blues superb uploads of old Rovers footage to Youtube are wonderful, and his clip here of that superb game against Villa, when Steve Archibald got two has even attracted comments from Arch himself!

Rovers line up for the Fulham game- Gennoe Branagan Keeley Faz Rathbone Brotherston Barker Randell Miller Thompson Quinn The Fulham line up had ex Blackpool keeper Ian Hesford, Leroy Roseniorand Ray Lewington, and were managed by Ray Harford. Young Simon Barker watches Quinny notch the first here... Chris Thompson manages to steer this one into the Darwen End goal, from two yards out, much to the anguish of the Fulham defender, and the delight of a thinning Riverside crowd! Sunday morning saw a large crowd at Ewood Park, as the tickets for United went on sale, and the queues snaked all along Kidder Street, as the faithful waited patiently for the precious green bits of paper. Once you purchased the ticket, the ground was unlocked, and many people took the chance to wander onto the terraces and of course the pitch, which I did and dreamt of taking a penalty into the Blackburn End to win the match the next Friday! And it was truly and absolutely freezing cold!

Does or did anyone know the fella from popular music group Blancmange, who supported Rovers-he listed Noel Brotherston as a hero in an interview on a copy of Smash Hits once. From Darwen I remember.

Here's the Legend Noel Brotherston taking on the Fulham full back, watched by our own Mick Basil Rathbone.

Next up Fulham at home, on February 9th 1985. The Cottagers were lying in 8th coming into the game on 38 points. We were second, on 49 points. The upcoming fixture at home in the FA cup against Manchester United was creating some excitement now. We were to play them on the Friday night , live on BBC-1. So as an appetiser, ITV came to Ewood and we were on the Big Match highlights show this weekend. The crowd at the Fulham game was higher than would normally been expected, this was due to the vouchers being issued at the turnstiles-the voucher guaranteed you priority for a ticket for the United match, which I think was an all ticket game, very rare back then. I think around 12,000 was the official attendance for the Fulham game. My main memories of the win (2-1) were firstly how cold it was-a dry, but bone chilling spell had been around after some heavy snow earlier in the year, causing the pitch to be rock hard. Secondly our first goal, a Jimmy Quinn header-he seemed to jump about 10 feet in the air and bulletted a header in to the net. Chris Thompson scored a tap in for the winner, following a dreadful mix up in the Fulham defence. Here he is celebrating the winning goal. The win put us back on top of the league again, and in a good mood to meet the Aristocrats from Old Trafford next week.

Get Ince to 'em-bu bum bu bum. To the tune of Gerrin to em. Do I win £5?

I know the Walton Le Dale one, but don't think the two were connected. Not even sure the subterranean Preston one was called Pinocchio's either. I think it began with a P though. Between Jeans Junction and Yum Yums.

I think that this is what used to be an Italian, Pinocchios? downstairs near the Stanley Arms. Was closed for a few years, but the reviews are excellent.

Never heard of it, but I can guess what the main course is.