A lot of people go on about the Worthington Cup victory - but I think that wasn't an impressive feat at all. You just need to look at the teams who've won the cup - Leicester, Spurs, Bolton or Boro this year - it's a two-bob cup. The big clubs don't care a jot about it. Which is why we played Sheff Wed in the semi-finals and Arsenal reserves before that. No, I think last year's 6th placed finish and getting promoted were far bigger achievements than the Worthy Cup win. But if Souness wants to go down as a Rovers legend,imo, he needs to get us performing consistently in the league, middle to upper section of the league, and getting a bit further in the 'real' cup competitions on a regular basis.

No, but it's increasingly unlikely to happen. Spurs want a European type man, who'll be 'Head Coach' rather than 'manager'. Difference being, the head coach works with the players but doesn't have the final say on player signings. That, I suspect, will be the job of Pleat as Director of Football. Souness doesn't strike me as someone who'll be happy to take that role. (You though Hoddle and Pleat was a pairing made in Hell). RevBlu, we simply can't afford Butt. His wages are likely to astronomical, even if he takes a cut, and £3 million we don't have. Birmingham can bid in the knowledge they'll have the financial perks of staying in the Premiership next season. Our board cannot be sure of which league we'll be in, so we can't spend massive money when our income could be slashed dramatically next year IF we end up in the nationwide. Our survival depends on loan deals. But it does look as if Souness hasn't got a plan B following the collapse of the McBride deal.

I'll go and do that right now. BTW I'm not complaining about Gillespie being released but the fact that he and Duff were not replaced by players of similar ilk. In that they attack the full back, cause a bit of excitement by trying a bit of skill or trickery. (Gilly's skill was limited but he did try to use his pace now and again). Reid, Emerton (to an extent) are hard workers but not the players to get you of your seat. Nor are they the players to scare the pants of full backs as Duff routinely did and Gilly did to bad ones like Ian Harte and Gio Van Bronkhorst.

It's got nothing to do with his Sky commitments at all, imo, Souness buggered up the transfer dealings in the summer, leaving us in deep trouble. Selling Duff - fair enough, we got £17 million. But with that £17 million - have we bought anyone who comes near to replacing Duff? When we had Gillespie and Duff on the wings, Souness complained that fielding out and out wingers was detrimental to the team's defensive strength. SO out go the pacy wingers, and in come players who are not going to open up defences but simply work hard and get the tackles in. Emerton has a bit of skill but you can see why he predominantly played right back for Feyenoord. Now we don't have bonafide wingers - has our defence record improved? NO, it's got bloody worse and to make matters worse, our only real attacking threat - Duff, has not been replaced with a similarly creative player.

Leeds are not down already. None of the clubs are going to accept relegation lightly - they'll all scrap. And if we're not prepared to scrap we can go down.

Oh please! By all means, feel free to argue in favour of Souness - but this well-worn argument is totally stupid. Was Brian Kidd on the pitch when we were stinking up division one? Was Graham Taylor playing alongside Carlton Palmer for England when he was England boss? Were they still culpable for the bad results?

Souness has done well for us but please don't make out he's a great manager who's won loads of prestigious trophies. That's simply insulting the intelligence of Rovers fans. He's never cut it as a top Premiership manager - and he still hasn't. If we survive this year and go on to better things, I'll change my view. But at the moment, one sixth placed finish does not make him a great manager. Especially with the fact we had the luxury of a world class player in our team. David Moyes effort of getting Everton into 7th last year with little resources and a promising teenager is far more of an achievement. BTW - I'm not revelling in our current predicament, if it sounds that way, it's because I feel very strongly that we'll go down unless Souness goes.

Honourable? That would be quitting, where is the honour in that? There is honour in realising your failings and admitting to them. And forgoing a big pay-off by resigning would show that he really wants the club to survive. There in absolutely nothing honourable in doing a Glenn Roeder. Sticking to the club like a limpet with not the faintest clue of how to avert relegation. Taking the club down and then getting sacked after a poor start in division one. Many people on this board think Souness is an excellent manager. So was Klaus Toppmuller - the man that took Bayer Leverkusen to the Champions League final. But situations change and he almost got them relegated the next season with almost the same team. The Bayer board made the huge decision of sacking him and it worked - but it was close because they waited and waited expecting a sudden turnaround that never materialised.. It won't work everytime but the sooner Souness is axed, the better chance of our survival because it'll give the new man time to turn things around. And Trevor Brooking will vouch that time is everything.

What I don't understand is that if nothing else, Souness would absolutely rip into his team for underperforming. A first half shocker - the team comes out with a rocket up their backsides from the notorious hothead. Now he just seems to shrug his shoulders, accept defeat and leave it at that.

The fans and the board have given Souness long enough to turn things around. How many other clubs would have had the patience of Rovers, giving a man who spent £15 million in the summer until January to get out of the relegation mire. Spurs ditched Hoddle and we've hung around without improvement. We cannot afford to sack him, so please Mr Souness do the honourable thing and resign. Unless of course he holds up his hands and admits his failings by bringing in an experienced pair of hands to help him out. George Graham, Jimmy Armfield - i don't know who, but someone with real football knowledge to sort out our sliding club.

Souness' man management summed up in true keith Gillespie style by a Swede. "It is frustrating (at Blackburn). "I have not got any explanation from the coach (Graeme Souness). It is obvious that you wonder what will happen." Mr NEJ It doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence that the boss doesn't speak to fringe squad members. I may be a Souness detractor but you can't say my complaints aren't without support.

Disgusted with the latest cup exit. Souness has wasted transfer funds, cannot motivate the team to perform regularly and should resign. In the summer, Souness had approx £12 million to find replacements for Berg, Duff and Dunn. He has screwed up big time. Before that he had a grandiose plan of rekindling the Yorke, Cole partnership - that failed big time. How many more failures are the Rovers fans prepared to accept from Mr SOuness?

The season could end fantastically. Yes, absolutely right, maybe we will finish 4th from bottom. Graeme Souness will deserve manager of the season for such an achievement. So Flops, you're happy with 5th from bottom, one point from the bottom three? You're happy with staring relegation and ruin in the face? You're fine with administration when we go down? Stop being so proud and blinkered in equal measure. Admit that Souness isn't doing a good job at the moment. I understand if you want him to stay in the job. But still have the balls to point out that he isn't earning his wage at this current moment.

I think Charlton's thumping of Chelsea gives everyone a taste of how badly Souness is failing. Curbishley has moulded a useful team on a very little money and has them more than coping in the Premier League. Souness has had millions to spend, with very good players coming through the youth set-up and we face the prospect of relegation. He better have some impact signings ready in January or our season could end messily.

not at all like you jumping on a bandwagon every time we get beat ....but how hes he a good manager if we get 1/2 way. WELL DONE ENGLAND NOT A UNION MAN BUT FAIR DO'S THE BOYS DONE US PROUD. I hate to go on about this but you brought it up. You've obviously missed the subtlety of my point. After beating Everton - I was prepared to say that Souness may actually turn things around and perhaps my calls for his head were premature. BUT at no point did I say that he had suddenly become a great manager. I still think Souness is holding onto the job by his fingernails and if we lose against Spurs - he's got to go.

Just a few points about my opinion on rugby - Well done England. I just wish the media could leave it at that. BUt no, they have to start calling for Woodward to be knighted - a ridiculous thought considering the paucity of competition throughout the world. And, besides, people should IMO be honoured AFTER they've retired. - Don't you just cringe during the football World Cups or Euro Championships, when non-supporters start giving it large about footy when they blatently have no prior knowledge of the game. These bandwagon riders are doing the same with rugby.

There really is a case for Rovers English/Aussie players to not watch the match. Bath rugby team have been ordered not to watch the game as they'll be 'emotionally drained' for the afternoon kick off. So should we bearing in mind... Todd, Short, Flitcroft, Reid (he's English and you know it), Jansen, Neill and Emerton - will all be emotionally involved in the game and have to trot out to play Man U afterwards.

Well I think we're in terminal decline because whatever the manager says to them, the players just go out and lose. He's tried all manner of formations and permutations. Nothing seems to work. That is my defenition of a club in terminal decline.

Which is why Sunderland fans poured beer over Reid after another preseason defeat to an obscure Belgian team. Sunderland fans were disillusioned with Reid well before the start of that ill-fated season. It wasn't Peter Reid that took Sunderland into the top 7. It was the dynamic Niall Quinn - Phillips partnership and the fact they were riding the crest of a positive wave following promotion.

The fault may lie with the players - what are we going to do about that? Keeping with the current set up and continuing to lose match after match? Fining, insulting, screaming, crying, begging is not going to give the players confidence. It's obvious that the players are not responding to the manager. What are we going to do about that - Sack the boss.

Like at Old Trafford you mean?? Do I have to spell it out? At Man U, Ferguson is obviously such a good manager that he can keep his players on their toes year after year. In special circumstances, a highly rated manager suddenly sees his team in terminal decline that he cannot alter. It's when that sets in that he must get the boot regardless of his achievements. Examples: George Burley - took Ipswich into 5th or 6th - next season spent money (£5 million on a GK Matteo Sereni) and relegates them. Had the Town board not been sentimental and blinkered by Burley's past achievements, relegation could have been averted. Bryan Robson - Took Boro to cup finals but suddenly a season comes along where they're awful and can't win a match. Surely they're heading down if Steve Gibson doesn't sack Robson. What do they do? Bring in Venables to right things before it's too late. He saves them. Glenn Roeder - the WH board stuck doggedly with the man who took them into the top seven. Next season their loyalty is rewarded by relegation. My point being - big slumps can sometimes have no solution but to sack the manager. I would sack some of the players but seeing as that's not possible, Souness has to go.

You make a good point. BUT Sunderland did not have a team as good as ours. I.e they did not spend £7 million on a central midfielder. Peter Reid had a dreadful end to the season before, in preseason they lost most of their games to nobodies and in his final season they were equally rubbish. Sunderland brought in Howard Wilkinson. A football dinosaur.

In the danger of sounding patronising - i don't think Jim meant it like that.

Hoddle takes a lot of criticism but he did well at Southampton, Chelsea and Swindon. ANd his time at England wasn't too bad. He only failed at Spurs where the board were interfering and he fell out with some key players. Saying that, didn't Souness fail at Liverpool and Southampton? Just because Hoddle didn't cut it at Spurs - doesn't mean he's a bad manager. I'll stick to my guns with my support for Sturrock - and one of these days he'll get a big job and we'll see who was right. No one has come up with a response to my comparison between George Burley and Souness. I.e the Ipswich fans and board spent too much time admiring what Burley had achieved and not enough considering the future and relegation. Before long - Ipswich were down and their most successful, recent manager still at the helm. Too many people are living on the ghost of a Worthington Cup win and not considering the downwards spiral we're currently on. Like I said, it's a psychological thing - Souness may not be a bad manager, but the players need a change to freshen things. Hearing the same voices everyday in training and matchdays can become monotonous and stale.

I can see why he won't put forward a name - you'll only mock it through ignorance. As has happened with my suggestion of Paul Sturrock - a name some people have laughed at without having the faintest idea who the hell he is. Glenn Hoddle is available. And before you laugh. Remember his record at Swindon, Chelsea and Southampton. Didn't cut it at Spurs - but all managers fail now and again. As Souness did at Southampton and Liverpool. As Strachan did at Coventry. We couldn't go far wrong by employing Hoddle and Sturrock in a duel management role.