Right ... will be in Naarwich at around 9 - 9.30 tonight, if One Anglia Railways is functioning properly. Stopping at the Sport Village also. See you all in t'pub.

I knew this would come back and bite me on the arse some time. B*llocks Ditto. The last time I had to pull strings to get a Rovers ticket was for Gillingham away - last game in Div One ! This is the headline on Norwich's official site ticket news section EXTRA 700 TICKETS FOR BLACKBURN MATCH CITY are pleased to announce that approximately 700 extra tickets have become available to Club Members for Saturday's Premiership clash with Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road. The Lancashire club have confirmed they will not be taking their full allocation for the game, so there will be extra seats available for Norwich fans in the Jarrold Stand.

Is he a clairvoyant ?

Sheffield Wednesday. Leeds. Sunderland. Ipswich. Nottingham Forest.

lol ... you could at least have come up with a scenario for match abandonment as well !

Well, after tonights result, it's a clash of the bottom two teams, they've crept back above us on goal difference.

Hallelujah ! Common sense and plain facts, all in one post.

No ... you must have misheard. Souness was once quoted in the LET as saying Gally could be a good player so long as he didn't get his "big head on" And it has since been proven beyond doubt that Souness only ever spoke total crap. Seriously, I really hope that people close to Paul Gallagher can somehow get the message across. I witnessed an incident in Blues Bar late on after the Brum game which sadly indicates that he has a lot of problems to sort out.

I've had to play catch up on this thread, and having just read the last 6 pages all in one go, I have to say it's the best bit of this series so far and rightly so. I hope Den spins it out to the max. Centre midfield is the crux of the matter in every sense. The rest of the team depends on the players in the middle of the park. For this vote we're being asked to weigh up creative genius v defensive solidity, reliable workhorse v clever lynchpin. At one stage reading through this thread, I was tempted to post immediately that we should all be granted a get out clause by suggesting we dilute the dilemma by being promised further votes on 2nd teams or filtering the candidates in some way. BUT Den has been clear from the start - look at the title. It's about the GREATEST EVER TEAM. The joy of this part of the vote is that you really have to decide on your own two feet. How do you perceive "greatest"? Can you sacrifice reputation for contribution? Or graft for guile? It's amazing that Dunn has only been mentioned once and Berkovic not at all. Don't get me wrong - I'd never vote for Berkovic in this exercise. Even though, in years of going to games, including loads of competitive internationals, I think Berkovic has certain attacking qualities which I've never seen bettered in any other midfield player anywhere. So I urge everyone to really weigh up what we are voting for - the greatest Rovers midfielders for the greatest Rovers team. We have to pick the best two to perform in the best team. Tactical voting in round two must not be allowed to leave us unbalanced when we admire the final result. I'm reluctant to suggest this, but I feel there's a case for fragmenting this vote into two - a vote for a holding midfielder and another vote for an attacking midfield partner. We've taken the brave decision to go 4-4-2, and having done that we should be realistic about who ends up in that formation in order to protect the integrity of the final lineup. Maybe Den can get another "sub-vote" out of this, or maybe we should just go hell-for-leather - why not Dunn and Berkovic ????? Shearer and Garner would LOVE that !!

Paul, I'm sorry but that is just rubbish. I know you're completely anti-Murdoch and won't have Sky in the house (if I remember a previous post correctly) but you're going overboard here. Top flight football before the advent of the Premier League (and therefore pre the first Sky contract) was a joke when it came to TV coverage. There were reasons for that, the main one being that the public in general was disillusioned with football and its problems. The Premier League and Sky's football coverage have grown together. Sky's coverage is designed to provide maximum choice for the TV viewer, and so it should. It's fine to moan about 1245 or 1715 kick off times, or Sunday or Monday games, but fans love it unless it involves their team. How many Ewood regulars enjoy catching some PL football in the pub before and after the 3pm Saturday games ? A lot. How many actually cite KO times as the main reason for quitting going to live football ? Not many. There are plenty of better reasons. And one last thing - Sky show live football right down to the Conference. Nowhere else in the world is there any TV broadcaster showing 5th tier football. You may mock Sky Paul, and ban it from your home, but as a football fan I think you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. Accy Stanley and Morecambe were involved in the last two Conference games live on Sky. Both were screened on nights when there was pish all on normal TV. The option of live football was more than welcome in this house. And one more last thing. If Sky TV is "a cancer spreading through the game" then the EU tried to nuke the whole set up. Other leagues in Europe (eg France) have EVERY top level game available live on TV - the EU wanted that in England too. You may love to hate Murdoch and co, but I'm afraid they're only the messengers. And now for the rant on why I hate the crap part of Sky which unfortunately goes with their brilliant live coverage of the actual games. They built up the Man U v Arsenal game for days on end. Even though there was another live Prem game as a curtain raiser, it was screened almost as an afterthought to the incessant hype surrounding the main event. One of their pundits has since described this sort of game as "unrefereeable". One of the reasons for that is the incessant garbage filled media hype, most of which comes from the Murdoch stable. The management and players of both clubs have played right into the hands of the trashy media, and only have their own disgraceful conduct in the showpiece match to blame for the subsequent tirade of claim, counter claim, soap opera and bullsh!t which looks like it could continue until the return fixture. One thing is for sure for that return game - no-one, but no-one will want to referee it. Some poor sod will draw the short straw, but now it really is a totally impossible task. Thanks largely to the way Sky hype their big games.

Just to take a slight sub-tangent ... I've got a small trophy sitting near my PC which says "Best Football Contributor, 2002, Tris" I've been taking chill pills ever since, and lost the title to philipl last season. Scotty's never had a look in. He's far too abrasive and abusive for things like awards. Ask Manc Blue.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote for him, but surely Ferguson has to be on the list ??

I tried to persuade you two to come to the Griffin bar !! You'd have had no argument and everything would have been sweetness and light. As for the Souness / Hughes thing. I'm clearly tainted because I've consistently tried to counter-balance ridiculous anti-Souness rants on this site. Which means people will just interpret any comment I make in that context. The current squad of players is good enough to stay in this league. The current manager - on paper - has the credentials to mould that squad into a reasonable team. The previous manager would (and has) never presided over back to back 4 goal drubbings. Hughes didn't have to take this job - he's turned down what now appear to be more appealing Premiership positions. At the top of his cv one would imagine he points to his ability (with Wales) to get the best out of what he has to work with. So far, he has completely failed to do that at Rovers. The same players who threatened to really impress against Man Utd now look utterly forlorn. Ewood crowds are plummeting ... the only thing to look forward to as a Rovers fan right now is the FA Cup 3rd round draw next month. Oh, and this .... London Branch team are third in the league ... Lucky we have an escape from football isn't it .. .. ..

Paul, I'm sorry but that is just rubbish. I know you're completely anti-Murdoch and won't have Sky in the house (if I remember a previous post correctly) but you're going overboard here. Top flight football before the advent of the Premier League (and therefore pre the first Sky contract) was a joke when it came to TV coverage. There were reasons for that, the main one being that the public in general was disillusioned with football and its problems. The Premier League and Sky's football coverage have grown together. Sky's coverage is designed to provide maximum choice for the TV viewer, and so it should. It's fine to moan about 1245 or 1715 kick off times, or Sunday or Monday games, but fans love it unless it involves their team. How many Ewood regulars enjoy catching some PL football in the pub before and after the 3pm Saturday games ? A lot. How many actually cite KO times as the main reason for quitting going to live football ? Not many. There are plenty of better reasons. And one last thing - Sky show live football right down to the Conference. Nowhere else in the world is there any TV broadcaster showing 5th tier football. You may mock Sky Paul, and ban it from your home, but as a football fan I think you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. Accy Stanley and Morecambe were involved in the last two Conference games live on Sky. Both were screened on nights when there was pish all on normal TV. The option of live football was more than welcome in this house. And one more last thing. If Sky TV is "a cancer spreading through the game" then the EU tried to nuke the whole set up. Other leagues in Europe (eg France) have EVERY top level game available live on TV - the EU wanted that in England too. You may love to hate Murdoch and co, but I'm afraid they're only the messengers.

£2.50. But you got a free piece of polystyrene so as not to get burned by the metal pie case. The atmosphere was abysmal, but to be fair most people would have been in shock due to the cost of the tickets. Some of the London branch footy team retired to a certain sort of bar last night. For the second time in one day we were treated to a bunch of c****s sliding down the greasy pole. At least in the evening they were fit.

Alternative link Basically, it's called the Prince of Wales and it's opposite West Brompton tube / rail station Although given your location I guess you can walk there ...

Will be there at 12. Sorted.

do you let many blokes adopt that position ?

So you'll be drinking all the way down on the train, and then in the pub from 11am until kick off ? marvellous. More to the point which pub ... or are you open to suggestions ? I'm open to suggestions. Last season pre-Chelsea a few of us did the pre-Fulham pub (8 bells at Putney Bridge) ... partly cos Fulham was at QPR I suppose. (And partly so a certain member of this board could park on Putney Embankment, close enough to the river that when the tide came in his car almost ended up on a voyage towards the Thames Estuary. I suppose a voyage home with the AA was scant reward). However it's two stops further down the District line than is necessary, which loses at least 14 minutes drinking time, so can't really be top of the list, especially as we'll be there in 4 weeks time anyway. I've not tried << this place >> before but it looks like a decent place to start, next to West Brompton station, 10 mins walk or so from t'Bridge, with a couple more stop offs possible on the way.

So you'll be drinking all the way down on the train, and then in the pub from 11am until kick off ? marvellous. More to the point which pub ... or are you open to suggestions ?

According to the ticket office, there are "plenty" of Chelsea tickets left. No surprise there then.

What worries me is that the standing issue is being blown out of all proportion in the context of the two arrests in the Blackburn End, which - according to the statement from Tom Finn and the eyewitness account on this thread from Kinx - had nothing to do with standing. It seems to me that many people are looking for a cause and / or a target. Souness has gone, Hughes is (for now) untouchable, suddenly an opportunity to vent some anger has presented itself and the bandwagon is gathering momentum. In the run up to the Liverpool game this is the last thing we need. Scousers standing everywhere, an extra two hours in the pub, probably extra police / stewards on the BBE as a precaution. Judging by some contributions to this thread, some fans aren't even bothering to read the posts or club statements which put the sensible viewpoint. Multiply that attitude into the entire lower tier of the BBE and the potential for big trouble is starkly obvious. Standing is clearly an issue which affects all clubs, and from what we've been able to read on this thread (if you've bothered to click the links) it's an issue which is being discussed by clubs, governing bodies and there is even a (perhaps embryonic) strategy to look at it. It's just our luck that a combination of a late live Sky game, a simmering discontent in the BBE, a regrettable incident last Saturday, crap football and results and the lack of a natural target for frustration could all lead to the standing issue being propelled right into the media spotlight live at Ewood Park.

Well how can you not want to stay at the Pearl Continental !? Thanks CK, just look at this list of features - it's fantastic - the list is so long I've left out the obvious ones you get everywhere, like colour TV and bedside telephone But you get all this too : Fire Escape Wake Up Calls Tea & Coffee Shampoo Biscuits Central heating Desk & Lamp Windows that open Sod the bench on Platform 3, I'm trying this

The statement from Tom Finn in the LET and on the official site is particularly clear in linking the "unpleasant atmosphere" and subsequent arrests in the Blackburn End to the actions of one or more Middlesbrough fans in the executive area. The unnamed fan goes into more detail of the provocation. In many cases, people invited to exec boxes are invited via a work contact (supplier, associate, whatever) and so are in effect representing their employer. I think two things should happen in this case. The owner of the box, therefore the host, should be reminded in no uncertain terms that they are responsible for the actions of their guests, and that in this case one guest (or more) has caused a potentially dangerous situation to occur through provocation of the home fans. Secondly the host should be encouraged to shop the guilty party to his/her employer, pointing out that whilst representing the company as an invited guest his/her/their actions from behind the glass window led to public order offences out on the terrace. I have no doubt that if I were to behave like that whilst representing my company, with or without the ensuing chaos, I would face severe disciplinary action, and probably dismissal (especially if the incident could be linked to alcohol). For me, the bit in the clubs statement re the occupants of the box (saying "from thereon their behaviour was closely monitored and was acceptable") is not enough. The damage had already been done, and to me it appears that those who were ultimately responsible for the situation degenerating are being allowed to get away with their irresponsible actions.

Jim comes to terms with Accy Stanley's relegation from the top flight in the late spring of 1893.