They wouldn't be able to afford Bob's fees!! I have also enjoyed reading Jason's columns as I enjoyed reading Simon's before. I'm sure the LET will find a good replacement - in fact there's someone already writing for them who could do a fantastic job. LET

Highly unlikely that any of those channels will shell out for TV rights to show the smallest English club in the competition, and then try and screen the games up against non-subscription competitors showing Spurs or West Ham (or even Newcastle if they get through the InterToto). Rovers best hope is that they all go out in the first round and we're the only English representative in the group stage!

Hampden Park, sunny Glasgow On 16th May 2007

Not sure if we'll get much TV exposure in the UEFA cup to be honest - I'd expect Spurs to be snapped up by ITV (for broadcast on ITV4 as per this seasons biggest entrant in the UEFA Cup), and Channel 5 will take either our games or West Ham's games, probably on a round-by-round basis, and dependent on home and away match dates. Can't imagine any other channel being remotely interested, unless there's a particularly decent fixture which could interest the BBC (ie Rovers v Rangers or similar). Rovers got the pricing right last time round - think it was £15 or £20 for the Blackburn End (Celtic apart, which was usual Cat A price).

An interesting decision by Sven, and one I fully support. Darren Bent isn't good enough - sorry. Whilst a few posters on here are saying he should be in the England squad, I can't find anyone who wants him to partner Bellamy next season for Rovers. We can do far better than that - and so can England. Putting Walcott in the 23 is very clever. He's a total unknown. He's clearly very talented - and in 4 years time he'll still be talented, and he'll know what it's like to be in a World Cup squad. This summer he can play a cameo role in the absence of Rooney, and in 2010 we (England) may well benefit from Sven's clever thinking.

Yes he should be in the squad - simple as that. Sven has to name an extra striker instead of (eg) an extra centre half. We all know that Jansen was replaced by Keown in 2002, and Keown never kicked a ball. Well this time Rooney must go - and maybe he won't kick a ball - but if Sven picks the right mix of defenders it won't matter. The media harps on and on and on about the World Cup starting in 6 weeks. But the final is in 10 weeks, and if England progress and Rooney comes back on line in 7-8 weeks then he can play a massive part. Tired defenders don't want to see that sort of player coming fresh off the bench 70 mins into a tense knock out game in the World Cup. He's very important to England, and Sven would be right to take him.

Whoaahhh - we can still finish 5th in front of Arsenal you know!!!! A good prediction Rev, and well done for keeping the glass half full rather than half empty. Rovers need plenty more fans to adopt positive attitudes. Oh, and be careful next time you try and wave at us outside the Moorgate from that Fiat Skateboard Turbo trolley thing you drive - if you go any further over the mini-roundabout you'll end up grounded with all four tiny wheels flapping helplessly in the wind .......

It must have taken Sparky ages to ring up so many people - personally I think that the current dip in form is purely down to this. He needs to delegate more - surely Bowen could've done the ringing round and let Hughes concentrate on beating Birmingham. And his phone bill must be shocking.

That night last May was something really special, and although Arsenal are very near the top of my "hate" list (unlike Liverpool who I have a soft spot for) - I can't help but be pleased that an English club will contest the final again. Good luck to the gooners in the showpiece in Paris on May 17th - really the sweetest thing would be if they win it and deny Spurs a place in the CL next season - would be priceless. And bizarre - what price two Liverpool clubs having that problem last year, and two London clubs this year. Football is just great.

Common sense in a thread full of crap. The day Shearer bailed out is ingrained in my mind as deeply as the day Rovers became champions and the day I sat on the Riverside and accepted relegation. I don't care what press-fuelled heresay you lot want to spout about his move. The truth is that no-one (still alive) actually knows the details except Shearer himself and maybe Parkes and Kenny, and perhaps John Williams / Tom Finn / David Brown. I share three attributes with Alan Shearer. We're the same height, we both play up front, and we both love our football clubs to bits. If I'd had the chance to play at the same level as him - and a call came in from Rovers offering top notch wages and the number 9 shirt at Ewood - I'd have quit any team in the world to wear that shirt. I wish he'd stayed longer, but it wasn't to be. I wish Rovers had got recognition for letting him have an early operation so he'd be fit for Euro 96, but we're used to being ignored. The long and short is that the best ever player since the new Premier League was formed was our player and had his best times in our blue and white shirt. Nobody can change that, and Alan Shearer will rightly be a fixture in every "best ever" Rovers team until the world implodes.

Charlie - I won't be around for Eng v Trin (we arrive on the 17th and leave on the 22nd) but would dearly love to meet up with you and Mrs American and attempt to repay your kind hospitality from last year in New York on our side of the Atlantic. Share your schedule fella, and we should try and arrange a mass Rovers meet up!

I've scanned through this thread and read quite a lot of rubbish, some sensible contributions, and some downright misinformation (hello EIT). A couple of points: - The reason I've singled EIT out is because (s)he's on a hobby horse again - like a dog with a bone. Always slagging off the board, always blaming Sky for the "dodgy broadcasts" thing. Actually has the facts wrong on the whole lot. - The Premier League - for the current contract period - sold the DOMESTIC rights exclusively to Sky. Others made offers, and under EU instructions the PL had to sell some games to other broadcasters - if a reserve price was met. It wasn't. - Seperately, the Premier League sells rights to an intermediary for overseas broadcasters around the world. The current deal was also the highest ever (but the value of the deal was around 15% of the value of the domestic rights). - The host broadcaster provides pictures for the TV companies which buy the rights - for a nominal fee. Currently, some games are covered by Sky and some by the BBC (who also pay each other for the same feeds which get sold overseas). - All the rights money goes into the PL pot and gets dished back out to the clubs. I find it hilarious that some posters who slate the Rovers board for not splashing cash on new players to boost us up the table (for more prize money) are the very same people who are slagging off the source of all that positional prize money - TV revenue. - Rovers stand to lose more than any other PL club if this ruling survives (I assume there will be an appeal) - for these reasons: 1) Lowest revenue (out of current 20 clubs) through the gates even now, so for Rovers - money from the TV honey pot is more important than for any other PL club. 2) After this ruling, I would expect any TV company bidding for future exclusive domestic rights (Sky, Setanta, ITV, TopUpTV and Five are rumoured to be in there) to stall. Why pay a share of 1.x billion for exclusive domestic rights, when any UK resident or business can subscribe to Greek TV for a few quid and the courts say it's OK?????!!!!! 3) Clubs like Rovers who already punch above their weight do so thanks to TV money. The collapse of the current allocation of TV revenue will benefit - in order - Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, Everton, Man City ... ... and eventually Leeds, Sunderland, Hull, Sheff Wddnesday, etc etc IE ... gate and non-TV commercial revenue will in the end once again become the main factor in league position 4) The same thing will happen if we go to "every game available live on TV" (as mentioned by Manc Blue and others). France went there first, on the back of being the worst attended league in western Europe (despite having the lowest ticket prices). The context could not be more different from our Premier League. Myself and Kiwiwannabe went to Nice v Lens a few weeks ago. Both in the mix for the UEFA cup, but we walked up to the ground 15 mins before kick off and paid less than 20 quid for the best seats. The ground was nowhere near full. The first league to go for "every game on TV" has a range of kick off times (and an array of empty grounds) which would make Sky blush. Last nights French Cup 1/4 finals were at 1815 (Paris v Lille) and 2050 (Lyon v Marseille) - both live on TF1 and fitted around the evening news at 8pm. Both grounds were probably 50% full at best. The FFA sold out so badly to TV that the sponsors of the main cup competition take precedence over the usual shirt sponsor as negotiated by the clubs - so in every cup match the two main competition sponsors adorn the shirts of the competing teams. All for TV. Back to the main point - TV rights are here to stay, and the key for the providers is spreading the schedule - ie making live football available every weeknight and three times a day on Saturday and Sunday. That's now ingrained and is never going to go away. All that to try and get the message over - WE NEED THE CURRENT TV MONEY MORE THAN ANY OTHER PL CLUB. Gate money is chicken feed in comparison - and our closest PL rivals just now (Arsenal, Man U, Spurs etc) can earn 10 times our gate income every time they play at home. We NEED the TV income to survive at this level.

We're now all booked - flying into Amsterdam on Saturday 17/06, down to Dusseldorf on the Sunday and hotel near there for the next few days. Tickets for Togo v Switzerland (Dortmund) on the Monday and England v Sweden (Cologne) on the Tuesday. Another spare day before returning home through Amsterdam. I'm so looking forward to it now, last time I went to a meaningful international game was England v Tunisia in 1998 (Marseille) .... roll on June!!!!!

thanks both - check your pms

Eddie I'm working in Paris (Avenue Montaigne) Monday Tuesday and Wednesday next week. What's the local knowledge - which bars will show Grays v Exeter on Sky on Monday night? Or should I go to Valenciennes v Guingamp in Ligue 2 which appears to be on French TV Monday night? Also from the TV schedules, on Tuesday PSG v Lille in the "Coupe" is on French Eurosport at 5.15pm - surely this can't be live??? Will there be a riot?? Will I be able to get tickets? Would you turn up for any of these games (unlike at Charlton last year when you infamously did another no-show!!?? )

Really??? I seem to remember a trip to Cardiff whilst Souness was manager, and there were about 34,999 other Rovers there dressed in Blue and White and many were waving big flags. They all seemed majorly turned on. The fact that crowds at Ewood declined on the back of that success, and following the subsequent Euro qualification through the league, indicates that it wasn't Souness' reign which caused the problem, but external trends and alternative spending options. The 15,000 Rovers fans who only do cup finals will be able to answer this better than me, but does anyone really think that the average crowd will go up next sesaon, despite the great efforts being made by the players, current management, and board??? If ST sales drop yet again, will LeChuck and his ilk blame Mark Hughes, or the Blackburn public, or socio-economic trends -- or will it STILL be Graeme Souness' fault?!

new rules on ebay

That was quite scary - I hadn't seen Jordan sober since we were in Sofia. It was even more scary hearing stuwilky's dulcit tones quite cleary blaring forth from my left channel speaker just into the second half, trying to start a chant of "Mark Hughes' blue and white army" Did Sky plant mics in front of you Stu? Actually I know they didn't - you just have strange lung power

He just managed a great tackle on Carrick to block him in a shooting position!!

It'll be a bigger miracle if you find anyone who's going to drive to Sunderland via Hull ... I agree with the inevitability of Stead scoring though. I don't want to try and predict the rest.

Using language like "cave in" doesn't really help. Neither does the rubbish being spouted by Liverpool fans on the site in the links further up this thread. Common sense is needed here, and where Parry and LFC have lacked any I'm sure that when Tom Finn / John Williams respond on behalf of Blackburn Rovers, common sense will be very much in evidence. In the meantime we should all take a step back and perhaps remember the underlying issues. The internet is a great discussion forum, but in this case it is generating an undercurrent of bad feeling which just should not be there in these particular circumstances.

It's most unfortunate that things have got to this messy situation. If Liverpool FC and the fans they communicate with really don't want to play on 15 April then that should be crystal clear and communicated to the FA, Prem League, UEFA, etc etc. Then when the fixtures came out the two clubs could have sat down in June last year and found gaps in the schedule to rearrange the fixture. The fact that Liverpool accepted to play on that date when it suited their potential fixture congestion means that their own ethical argument has gone. Parry has done the clever thing by releasing a statement which only tells half the story. He should have told the media "it's Blackburn's home game and they were 100% flexible and understanding in already agreeing to move the fixture once" Adding the Sky money into the mix has complicated things even further. I'm sure Rovers would have been quietly pleased that changing the KO time brought with it the possibility of some extra cash. They can hardly claim to have lost out if another move loses Sky coverage for what was originally a non-Sky fixture. I totally understand that certain Liverpool fans will never want to play another game on this date, but the lack of clear direction from their own club is to blame for where we are now. I hope that whatever happens Rovers put out a clear statement to the media saying exactly what we've done to help so far and that for once we get the credit we deserve for being the club that we always are - understanding, compassionate and keen to do the right thing for all concerned.

There, in two nutshells, are some indications of the maze through which the Rovers have to navigate in order to keep top level football at Ewood, by maximising revenue, building (even retaining) the fan base in challenging circumstances, and making money available to sign players. Let's deal with big Amo first. He made a massive contribution in the run which kept us up - whatever his faults. Injuries have destroyed his time at the club. The Premier League is littered with failed signings and always has been - the 20 managers can't all sign Rio Ferdinand for £27 million. I'd argue that in value for money terms Amo was the better investment given some of Rio's antics. In order to compete Rovers will sign players like Amo. And Reid and Neill and Tugay and Pedersen and Friedel and Nelson and Dickov and Bellamy. Players who are not wanted elsewhere, and players who might make it (but might not), and players who are out of contract or have release clauses. Right. The main point. In order to produce the cash to even be able to get those sort of players, the Rovers NEED season ticket holders. The cash injection during the close season is vital as the club tries to prepare and improve for the season to come. But everyone knows Ewood is never full, tickets are always available on a match by match basis. Hence you have this ridiculous catch 22 where people like Aggy bemoan the discounts - designed to boost regular attendance - which devalue his season tickets. At the same time you have others howling because Rovers aren't throwing the gates open for nowt to fill the empty seats - and tempt future ST holders. In the middle of all this you have a few big mouthed attention seekers who ignore the demographics and the facts and just slag off the Rovers board and management - because they of course could do a much better job (from behond the keyboard), and it's cool to knock easy targets. And to wrap up, an increasing number of pubs in the area take foreign feeds of Rovers home games - breaking the law, but cashing in on Rovers for the cost of a pirated viewing card. Every suggestion on here will be read, many will have already been considered. The club is SO open at the highest level that many fans have been granted an audience with John Williams and / or Tom Finn - I'm not just talking about BRISA / Ewood Blues / Fans Forum / North Lancs / London Branch events or officers, I'm talking about individuals who go beyond tapping out a few lines on the internet - people who actually engage with the club in a serious manner - like writing letters (remember them??) The Rovers are doing everything possible to improve crowds, revenue, league postition, performances, quality of players, results, entertainment, value for money, ease of access, etc etc etc. Sometimes it might not appear to be the case (thinking specifically of the so called club shop) - but if anyone cares enough about that they will end up learning what the issues / parallel financial rewards are and why the club can't do much to change the customer facing side just at the moment. For clubs like ours, the PL is a hugely challenging environment in which to exist. I heard of an incident within West Brom recently when a member of the hospitality staff let slip an intention to watch the Saturday away game v Big Club in a pub showing an illegal broadcast. A load of his colleagues immediately rounded on him and forced him to name the venue and immediately reported it. This is a club we are praising (like Charlton) for their "bussing in" scheme from surrounding areas - but they have clearly worked out that there's no point running free buses to the Hawthorns if boozers are robbing custom by breaking the law. We need to have the same mentality. The population of our area is dwarfed by that in the West Midlands, and we have more clubs to compete with too. But the same people who post grand ideas on here for increasing revenue for the Rovers freely admit that they support the outlets which rob the club of revenue on home match days. Of course it's not the only factor, but it's one of the few which we can influence. As individuals we won't change the fact that there are so many legitimate live games on domestic TV - and as Rovers need such games to bridge the revenue gap to better supported clubs we'd be fools to do so. Sky pays us the same as they pay Man U if we're both on the box - it's the only level playing field we've got in this league. But as individuals we can shop local law breakers who are effectively stealing money from the ticket office tills. In rounded terms, just TWELVE people watching just ONE home game in an illegal pub wipes out the contribution of one Adult ST holder in the BBE. Over the season that's 19 adult STs, and that's still only 12 viewers in one pub. By all means keep the big ideas flowing on here - the club will read and listen, and bodies like EB / BRISA/ FF etc will continue to challenge and contribute. But in this particular area individuals can make a difference by protecting the clubs interests and shopping pubs which are breaking the law.

Jose_cast

Your attitudes are quite ridiculous really. Just because Rovers have gone 5th on the back of a couple of wins, you expect them to suddenly put together a package which suits the immediate situation because - presumably - people are too lazy to contemplate buying on a match by match basis for the remaining 6 home games (and that is therefore an excuse for not going at all). I bet nobody was making this rather strange demand after the crap defeat at The Hawthorns a couple of weeks ago. Birthday present or not, it's a pretty big ask. If you suddenly have to make a regular journey but it doesn't fit with Virgin Trains / GNER / British Airways / bmi's existing ticketing offerings, do you expect them to create a one off 6 week ticket just to fit your needs?? Do you go to Sainsburys / Tesco online and do the weekly shop, and then find an option to duplicate it for the next six weeks without having to lift another finger??! I'm not saying the concept is a bad one - in fact it's a very good one, and I'm sure that as Rovers look more and more into such things (and further develop Ski Data) then we'll see such concepts before too long. But to slag off the Rovers board because you picked up the phone this morning and some ticket office oik couldn't immediately sell you a 6 game season ticket (because no such thing exists) is ridiculous.