Tris

It's the anti-racism thing. The pre-match crap in the tunnel was so ridiculous I thought it was a WWF style stitch-up for the cameras. At 1-1 it looks like it could be a good game to watch. Let's hope the 22 thick idiots under the spotlight don't spoil it like they did last time the sides met.

He did that the second he handed in a transfer request. The rest was just inevitable. It's gone very quiet from those who wanted Ferguson to stay hasn't it? I wanted him to stay, and I appear to be here! Although only you would try and turn such a sh!t end result into a point scoring exercise on the internet. The reason I wanted him to stay is because, playing at their best, Savage and Ferguson would have been an awesome midfield pairing IMO. I didn't like the fact that he'd asked for a transfer, but there's a world of difference between doing that and refusing to wear the shirt ... and it certainly wasn't "inevitable" that he'd go to those lengths to force Rovers' hand.

He is going Tris - firstly because he's a greedy disloyal git who put in a transfer request the month after saying that he wanted to stay. Secondly because Mr Williams capitulated on the £6m fee and didn't stick to his original guns. Ferguson refusing to play against Colchester changed the whole situation for Williams (and Hughes) ... it left them three days to try and get the maximum cash from Rangers. Given the way Viola and Ferguson have handled this whole affair, one assumes that Rangers would have been made aware that Ferguson had pulled the ultimate stunt to force his return to Glasgow. Once Ferguson went to that length to get his move, he devalued himself ... ... in more ways than one.

Think you hit the nail on the head with "ability" actually, time doesn't really come into the equation!

fantastic post billy my first choice was never going to change i think my second choice has switched to briggs den - keep this man's post!!

The signs are that he will be playing tonight.

Almost every member of the squad is a "souness buy" The guy who has worn the armband while Ferguson has been injured is a "souness buy" - not only that but he even refused to wear the shirt and sit on the bench. Compared to handing in a transfer request, refusing to wear the shirt is 100 times worse. No-one is booing Andy Todd right now. He's doing a job and doing it well. These things ebb and flow. Ferguson is a decent midfielder and if he plays the next 12 games and does well for us, then nobody will be booing him.

Since Matt's accident, the Rovers have played 99 Premier League fixtures. Until his contract expires this summer, there are just 15 (PL) games to go. It would be very strange if he were to be offered a new deal. The first thing Hughes did when he arrived was to give Matt a fresh chance. Matt has since had a minor injury, not at a good time for him, but Hughes had already dropped him again. He remains my favourite player currently on the books, I've met him a couple of times and he's a top bloke. I'm afraid that even I now accept that his football career is going to continue at a lower level, if at all. He's a very bright guy, he may decide that after that passing flirt with the very pinnacle of the game (Tord Grip you t0sser) that the rest of his life lies away from football.

To correct (for the 9,648th time) re Duff Had the board (and Williams in particular) not worked damned hard in 2002, not only would we have seen Duff leave a year earlier, but we'd have got 1/3rd of the money Chelsea paid for him. At the most. Dunn and Cole are not really worth commenting on. Neither has done anything to suggest we should have kept them. The Rovers board is running this club exceptionally well, in the most difficult of circumstances.

Sorry fella, your club is responsible for the conduct of your fans - especially at home. Gold can shove his 100,000 up his rear end. Previous visits to St Andrews have been laughable. The first time we went since you got back up, there was NO police presence in the stadium at all. On asking why, we were told that this was because your club had failed to agree terms / fees with your local police force following promotion. There was a barrier on the concourse between the home and away sections of the Railway stand, but it didn't reach the roof. At half time, you idiots were buying pints of lager for nigh on 3 quid and lobbing them over the divide!! I think that was the same day that your lovely fans made the most disgusting attack on Dwight Yorke, with a chant about the fact that his son was blind. I lost all respect for Blues fans that day, and the ones I know (I have loads of mates from Stourbridge / Kinver) were deeply embarassed. And then that cup game when the lights went out and we kicked off at 20 to 4. Absolutely pathetic. Your club is a joke and your owners are jokers. What do you think about Sullivan saying he's sick of the travel and he wants to invest in West Ham or Spurs - does that make you feel proud?? Make the most of your time in the top league - as soon as Sullivan fooks off back down south, and as soon as Bruce sees an offer to tempt him to his 15th club in 4 years, you lot are going straight back to where you crept out from. And after the events of the last few weeks, I'm not the only one who can't ******* wait.

I've no idea what point you're making, I didn't say we should let emotions influence any business dealings, but if Rangers are potless then it just means we're left with a player who wants to play somewhere else. which doesn't for a moment mean that he's incapable of playing well here ... Mark Hughes' stance so far indicates not only does he want to keep BF but he's even already made it easier for both parties to put this situation behind them if he does stay.

Like philipl, I think the delaying tactics are significant. Williams has (again) come out with a class line about the response from fellow board members ... it might be Friday ----- but actually it's far more likely to be Monday. Paraphrased (and with the rest of that statement labelling the current (and only) Rangers offer as preposterous) that seems to be telling Rangers to go swivel. And at the same time tells Ferguson and Viola to go figure. I have no doubt that Viola tried to engineer this scenario in the light of the Savage saga. But Williams has handled both situations absolutely brilliantly. Things will have to move very fast for any transfer to happen. As I posted earlier, the Boumsong money cannot finance a big money move for Ferguson - of the reported 8 million, 1 mill went to Boumsong, 1 mill to his agent, and Rangers have signed Buffel for 2 and now this Greek geezer for 1.75. For a club recently massively in debt and - even after the 8 mill windfall - having to move players out to bring players in, I'd say that the chances of them being able to bid an amount to tempt JW and co to sell, are precisely nil. Which leaves us with the problem of keeping the player. Like Scotty, I have lost all respect for him. I'd never boo any player picked to play for our team, and I also recognise that he's a good un. I think that with Savage, he'll be an even better un. However, I have total confidence that if Ferguson is still here on Feb 1st, the people around him (except Viola) will be able to ensure he can do his job for Rovers. Even if that means dangling the carrot of a move back home in August. It might be kind (and sensible) to take the armand off him and give it to Savage - this is inevitable in any case at some stage. And just tell Ferguson to get his head down and play his football for the remaining dozen games. Then sort out what happens next in the summer.

We've managed to get hold of a copy of Ferguson's transfer request.

David Sullivan a couple of weeks ago in the Sunday tabloids : - He's definitely been tapped up. It's absolutely disgraceful. I've never seen such a clear case of tapping up as this. David Gold on Sky Sports News today : - I have no evidence he's been tapped up. What a pair of idiots. John Williams tonight : - It's been messy and too public. A lot has been said but not by Blackburn. Well done Rovers - AGAIN. And on the Colchester ticket prices. When will your own fans give you some credit?????????????

Gold is one sad idiot. Check out his self-glorifying comments at the end of this article, making out he's won some sort of tussle with Deadly Doug. It's pathetic. ic Birmingham - click the top story

Have I missed it, or has the LET not even mentioned the Ferguson transfer request. I'm sure it wasn't in yesterdays, and today (at least in the online version) there are 5 Rovers stories but the only reference to Ferguson is to say he's injured so can't play tonight. Maybe John Williams is playing a blinder behind the scenes, and keeping a very tight lid on the situation.

Stop right there and read the posts. They ALL refer to the terms on which he may or may not be sold. Not a single post from me (or Pl) advocates him "staying" And specifically to my post which you refer to, I suggest that he is sat down by Hughes and Williams, and told to suffer Lancashire until the summer. When the money we owe Rangers is due. Rovers MUST NOT succumb to any Rangers offer which uses the August "installment" payment as an element. If for no other reason then because £2.5 mill over 8 months generates six figure £££ interest. That's proper money which makes fans gripes about cup replay prices look daft. Rovers hand is further strengthened because Ferguson has another 2.5 years to run on his contract. He seems so weak of character that it would be quite impossible for him to "rot in the reserves" at Rovers - or even threaten to do that. If (as alleged) his home life is a misery cos his family can't settle .... .... and the quotes he made about wanting to leave Glasgow problems behind .... .... and he changes his mind about such matters every few weeks .... - if I were John Williams (and he's no fool) I'd sit Fergie down and point out some facts. 1. The current offer from Rangers is a crap joke. 2. It's actually worse than a crap joke, given they (Rangers) were the beneficiaries of the money going the other way in 2003. 3. In the absence of a proper offer - Mr Ferguson / Mr Viola - here are your options: A] this is my favourite - f*** off and die B] this is my 2nd favourite : ..... > If Rangers fail to cough up, then - for once - Rovers hold all the aces. Ferguson - judging by what we know - only wants a move to Rangers. Rangers (it seems) can only afford him if they use the 2.5 mill due in August as part of the deal. But Ferguson has handed in a transfer request. In January. Rovers are surely now legally entitled to flog the guy to anyone who bids an acceptable amount. If Ferguson rejects any move, Rovers can hold him to his contract, or maybe even cite the fact he requested a move, and cancel his wages NOW. But if his family is so important, then Ferguson will do the best for his family. I suggest he sends them back to Glasgow. And I suggest Rovers make him train with the U18s for the next 2 and a half years. Because if the family is important, he won't break a contract which provides for them so handsomely. Just 2 hours drive away. And Rovers current board just won't accept having the ###### ripped by Ferguson or anyone else. All of which must be good news, because Ferguson is clearly so WEAK of character that he'll have no answer. John Viola may have lots of answers, but, on the face of it, he has bugger all options. Rovers hold every single ace, and won't even need the jokers.

That's very clever of them. Because if he stays for the totality of his contract, he'll maybe play another 80 - 90 games. And if he doesn't, Rovers could get any amount of money for him, to be decided - at whatever point in time - by the Rovers board. So Sky Sports can - in a neat phrase - go (don't use that word etc) themselves.

Although it was the Daily Record, it was also a direct quote from John Williams. For me the sensible thing for Rovers to do would be to publicly reject Ferguson's transfer request. Privately sit him down and tell him he can go in the summer if that's what he wants, PROVIDED the money is right from whoever. There is certainly no way we should be accepting ANY offer from Rangers which includes writing off a sum due to them in 8 months time. If they want the player now, they pay cash now. Otherwise the player stays here.

Disappointing we won't see a Ferguson + Savage midfield. I think the signing of Savage would have brought the best out of Ferguson. For pure amusement, here are some of Fergie's quotes when he signed for Rovers :

REALLY !???! They must really hate you lot then - 40 quid a ticket (once you've paid the 40 quid "membership" fee) ... They sell your best players, and buy garbage like Tiny and Yorke. You'd think they'd chuck a couple of their 700 million quid at the team!!!

I cannot believe you're trying to compare the two situations. Graveson has come from obscurity via Everton to the biggest club in the world. That deal is done. Ferguson has come from obscurity to Rovers and some scottish tabloids think he's going back to obscurity. Like philipl, I can't see any evidence that Ferguson is going anywhere other than Brockhall and Ewood until at least the summer. Rangers can't afford him. If someone else comes in on Jan 30th with 7.5 million quid, then fine - goodbye. But that won't happen. This isn't like Savage - it took over a dozen soul-spilling tabloid exclusives and two half-dead parents to engineer that situation. Ferguson hasn't been near the press. Even his agent hasn't made a single direct quote. And this isn't like Graveson. Good luck to him - he's got an amazing opportunity and I will watch his progress with interest. But you can't draw a parallel between Graveson to Madrid and Ferguson to Glasgow. That's just silly.

Alan Nixon wrote the piece - what did you expect ??? Accuracy !!?

Something very strange is going on down the road at Bolton. 5 WEEKS after agreeing an extended contract with Henrik Pedersen, they've transfer listed him (and 6 other players) to raise funds for Big Fat Sam to go and play with. Maybe he should employ Gold, Sullivan and Brady to fight his corner. BBC link

Highest overall 3rd Round attendance for 20 years as JJ points out above. I think Rovers are slightly the victims of their own sensible pricing for recent league cup games judging by some of the reaction on here. There hasn't been an FA Cup tie at Ewood for two years (v Sunderland, 3-3, 25.01.2002, 14,315). In the interim there have been home cup ties with Gencler (14,573), Liverpool (16,918) and Bournemouth (7,226). Certainly two of those (can't remember about Liverpool) were priced very sensibly, as were previous league cup ties against the likes of Walsall and Rotherham. This has clearly led a large number of fans to assume that any cup game = cheap tickets. However, the FA Cup isn't the UEFA or the league cup - it's the premier cup competition, and the rules about splitting revenue kick in. I think the vast majority of clubs (depending on the draw / agreement with opponents) charge normal admission prices for FA Cup games I went to MK Dons v Lancaster City earlier in the 1st Round and even that was a tenner - no-one can argue that Rovers v Cardiff with possible extra time and pens isn't more attractive entertainment. And yet you can watch it for a tenner, if you can be arsed to sit in the CIS wings. Or alternatively pay Category B prices with a fiver knocked off. I think that's pretty fair pricing really.