Started off still under pressure. Brad has to make point blank save. I do think that Nonda / McCarthy do not hold the ball up well as a pairing.

I thought he picked up his 5th booking against Bolton and missed the West Ham game even though he was injured anyway. Edit - Y>B beat me to the punch with the bookings. In that case I'll have to add something about todays game. Err HMM err. Oh yes. Why is there hardly any contact allowed on a football field any more except when a defender is shielding the ball for a goal kick from an opposition player. The Fulham defender ran about 6 foot away from the ball to barge Micky Gray out of the way in order to let the ball run out at the Blackburn End. A joke. Love to get Mike Hackett and ask how that can possibly not be a foul.

On the ground everybody to a man appealed in all sides of the ground. It's the loudest handball appeal I've ever heard. It looked a nailed on penalty. However when I saw the replay on TV from two different angles several times there is a case that it strikes Midos chest which suprised me as I was (and still am) 100% sure it hit his arm. The key is to watch the incident again at actual speed. As the cross comes over, Mido is almost stretchg sideways to reach the ball. However his control manages to make the ball deviate about 90 degrees. At the angle he was at there is no way he could have controlled this on his chest to make the ball roll infront of him. If it had hit his chest it would have gone out for a throw. The only way he could have controlled the ball that way unless he's got a pyramid for a chest (he is Egyptian) was with his arm, hence the reason at the time it looked so blatant. People will say that a ref cant analyse this, doesnt have all the replays and if hes not sure cant give it. However at first glance at actual speed it is clear handball. Everyone can tell, the fans, the players and surely the officials. Even in commentary on Sky they called it as being a definate handball. Doubt only creeps in when you see the slow replays. It was a pen. I can let the ref off for having his view blocked by half a dozen players. The linesman should be struck off for gross incompetance. Whether or not it would have changed the result we'll never know.

I believe Lucas Neill played central midfield on a number of occasions for millwall. :ph34r:

If thats true and Zurab is suspended I still wouldnt expect Sparky to reintroduce Todd. More likely Neill at CH and either one of the Blonde Maldinis' at LB.

Thus all rovers fans are racists who gladly sing songs about pakis, the war and raping barmaids.

Lets be realistic. Out of about 8000 there may have been 30 or 40 making noise. It doesnt take many people to sound loud in silence. It wasnt organised chanting by half of the away following (as in the Leeds / Ramsey) situation. To brand all Man Utd fans as Scum shows huge ignorance and IMO stupidity on your part.

Diasspointing but not overun (in socreline at least) as I thought we might have been. Very little created. McCarthy is OK with a strict ref but if defenders are allowed to pull and push him as he controls it he seems to sulk a little. The midfield is just not right. I know we've no choice in there but as well as lacking creativity (as we always have since Dunn left) we now lack drive. We have no midfielder who can get the ball, surge 10 are 15 yards forward quickly and release it. Whilst we can still battle in there and hold the ball up well with nice little passes, eventually we just toss it over the top. Can Bentley not see Emertons overlapping runs? I'm all for putting an early cross in but if your 2 on 1 on the full back at least try and work the situation. Hope the guy near the back of the Bburn End that collapsed was OK.

You might have scoffed with regards to shall we call them the modern era players, but most others didnt. I wouldnt at the time say Shearer, Sutton or Speedie were unrealistic at all. Beckham, however, is.

Doom and gloom post this one! Can't see is scoring or keeping a clean sheet so I'll go for a 0-3 reverse - 1 of which will be a penalty and another will be after a Man U foul / handball that they get away with. Also, I believe the Darwen End was sold out a while back. With our poor attendances being highlighted more recently I'd expect a few hundered Mancs in vairous corners of the home ends. Money in the coffers I suppose.

I got mine on Wednesday. Your not wrong about sell out though. Only the gallery at the back left!

True. I presumed from Dens original snippetof team news that Emo was playing. Still, he'd have been on the right wing anyway and would probably have returned to being last years Emerton! Not sure how much mobility there is in the middle with the Axe and Tugs. I'd be suprised if at some point early in the second half Tugs isnt knackerd (4 games in 9 days!) and replaced. If we're behind expect McArthy coming deeper and the fox in the box being unleashed. This could go either way now.

I'm quite pleased with that team then.

We discussed this in the pub afterwards. I thought McEveley was poor (albeit up against one of the quickest players in the world) in the first half and 'OK' in the second, although his crossing and distribution was poor. I know he's young but lets be honest, he's not better than a sober Micky Gray.

I've just finished the first book now and see what you mean. Its well written, interesting and sets the characters out quite well. However at the end of the book you do get a feeling of 'is that it, nothing really happened'. I've got books 2 and 3 so I'll get stuck into them now.

Andy Todd used to play CM remember. :ph34r: If Savage is out and we're desperate!

I have to say 26 hrs later I'm still broken. Last night I had to go out for a meal with people I've never met last night and must have seemed like a right miserable sod. Then today I've done a full round of golf round Mottram Hall (very nice, does Chesh own that place?) which did nothing to lift my mood. Then, just as we enter the clubhouse for a quick pint, as my spirits are finally lifting, they've got the highlights of the game on the telly being replayed by Sky. In football, the lows far outweight the highs. And we pay for the 'priveledge' !!!

Fiar play. I've jsut bet my adamant father a tenner that it was over the line on your say so (he gets rather mad when we lose and challenges anyone opinion with cash!). Rollon Football First. Hope your 'view' isnt biased.

Anyone clarify that as from were my Dad was sitting (JW upper straight in line) he said it was nowhere near over the line and, apart from Pedersen, no Rovers player in and around the 6 yard box appealed believingly. Radio Rovers apparantly said it was over but they're more biased than Pyongyang FM

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH

Its old but its still funny! link

I just hope we dont have another post-europe slow start. The first half against City was dreadful, and Emile banged his annual Ewood goal in within 4 minutes. We'll go a goal down early and scramble a 1-1. Speed and Benni

England have gone 6 consecutive games keeping a clean sheet (including two in the world cup). So after failing to score against Macedonia what do we do in probably our toughest fixture for a long while? Change the defence from 4 at the back to 3.

Bentley is 22 now. However I thought as he was 21 or under at the start of qualifying for this tournament, he was definately eligible for this tournament. I cant believe he's been dropped considering he's in the best form so far for Rovers. Looking at the list low down on that page I see Nigel Reo Coker is 22 and captained the team tonight, but dont think any others in the first column played.

Having watched the Under 21's tonight, fair play to Theo Walcott. 2 goals in a terrific cameo last 15 minutes away in Germany. First goal very well taken and the second a great run from out wide near the half way line. The hype surrounding him in the summer wasnt his fault and I'm sure he felt like he was elevaetd up and then dropped into semi obscurity at times since his call up. He'll probably feel a bit better tonight though.