You really do seem to have a problem with understanding posts, dear chap. I have not at any stage said that I am a better fan than anyone else. Nor have I questioned your motives for non-attendance. I really couldn't give a flying one if you ever attend Ewood or not. I am, however, doing cartwheels of joy that you intimated that you are going to Manchester United on Saturday. Good on you! However, there have been some posters on here that have strongly suggested that the only reason they didn't go last night was because they simply couldn't be bothered. This wasn't backed up with "because football is crap" or "the price is too much" or "I live 300 yards from the ground and my legs have dropped off". They simply couldn't be bothered to go. They don't have to justify their lack of attendance, to me, to you to anyone else. But similarly, they shouldn't be surprised if someone has at a go of them for not traipsing along to Ewood - not that anyone really has, but that doesn't make your comments half as much fun - nor should they castigate posters such as Martin who tried to make a rallying call to stir up some interest from the apathy that was present. If you don't understand that, perhaps a mod could introduce a cartoon feature so the message could be relayed in pictures?

Nope. But not because I can't be bothered, unfortunately I have other things to do that day; and as has been mentioned in other threads, if you do have to pick and choose matches, why go to Old Trafford and line ManUres coffers? I don't have a problem with fans saying they can't get to various matches, as it is inevitable even the most commited of fans will miss a game once in a while (except Jordan, but he probably needs commiting). Lack of funds, unsuitably of kick-off time, other arrangements, distance to match etc are all legit reasons for not going to a match. This I'm-better-than-you argument is a waste of time and at no point have I (or if you read Martin's posts or the others that seem to have rocked certain peoples cradles) suggested this. However, I don't think I've ever missed a game just because I can't be arsed to go to Ewood. Then again, whats a 120 mile round trip?

Chris who did the preview interview assures me that they took more to Cardiff for the play-off final two seasons ago than we did for the FA Cup semi. It was a thoroughly entertaining match, and it was good to see a lower league team try and play football instead of just lumping the ball forward, which with Booth up front must have been a temptation. It's easy to see why they are doing so well in Div 1. How did those who watched via teletext (or whatever media they could be bothered to use) feel the match went?

100% correct. "Can't be bothered" is an excuse, it certainly isn't a reason . And why shouldn't Martin make comments about attending? The fact he is a student and a season ticket holder with a 200 mile round trip does give him some room to comment on others non-attendance.

The best sort of protection the defence can have is a goal or two lead. 4-5-1 against Arse, ManUre, Chelski & Liverpool. Against the rest, we should chance our hand.

Met various Rovers players in the usual circumstances (hanging around after matches etc). Other most recent unexpected meeting with a footie figure was staying in the Macdonald Holland Hotel in Cardiff in August and thinking someone behind me in the restaurant at breakfast seemed to be getting a fair bit of fawning from the staff. Turned out to none other than Sam Hamman. Nice bloke.

I think anyone who knows anything about footie has heard of Law & Worthington (so that probably rules Chris out!!!) My barber is 70 and he *entertains* me with stories of yesteryear at Leeds Road. If we draw Town in the FA Cup, I'll try and get him to do an interview as well!

Travel back in time and you’ll discover an interesting fact about the teams facing off at Ewood on Wednesday 21st September, both clubs were the first “threepeaters” in the top two football competitions. Rovers were the first team to win the FA Cup three times running, whilst Huddersfield Town hold the honour of the being the first team to win the league three years in a row. However, this is the League Cup and fortunes have not been as kind historically to the two teams. Whilst Rovers had a memorable win against Spurs in 2002, last season they suffered a forgettable loss at the first hurdle to lowly Bournemouth. Town, on the other hand have never won the League Cup (their best performance was in 1967/68 when they reached the semis) and they lost to local rivals Leeds in the first round in 2004/05. BRFCS.com looked hard and long to try and find an expert on Huddersfield Town matters, but had to settle on Chris Rowan a life-long supporter of the Terriers. He also has the great honour to sit about 5 ft away from Modi’s desk in Halifax. ***************** M: Hello Christopher and thank you for agreeing to take part in this discussion on the forthcoming Blackburn Rovers vs Huddersfield Town Carling Cup match. C: This discussion is now participated in under protest (see above paragraph). Hello. M: First off, how do you think this years going? It doesn’t look like it’s a season that is one of merely survival for your boys. C: As we head towards October the first few games have offered us some encouraging enlightenment towards how things might pan out for the rest of the season. We're looking solid at home, apart from a 'blip' against Scunthorpe, though we were suffering from the curse of fatal death - the manager of the month award! We are looking useful away from home too, picking up a win at Doncaster, when we didn't play particularly well and having a comfortable win away at Oldham, both of which are places we have generally struggled at in recent visits. We're sitting in 4th place as I write these notes and still feel there's a lot more to come from Town, especially in terms of some of the key players we have to come back from injuries. M: Would you say that the teams fortunes have been regenerated since Peter Jackson came back a couple of years ago? C: Regenerated is certainly an apt way of putting things, we were dead on our knees, on the brink of liquidation, with no season tickets sold and a professional playing squad of eight, just days before the Division 3 (now League 2) season kicked off. Jacko has steered us full circle since those days and after a promotion via the play-off's in his first year, narrowly missing the play off's last year, we're now firmly on the promotion hunt again this season. M: But don’t you think it’s odd your manager makes the man of the match award at Ewood each week? C: Do I detect an element of jest in this question? So long as it's one of Peter Jackson's blue and white gems that is man of the match and not one of your sponsors selections, that will hopefully point towards a successful crusade across to the wrong side of the Pennines for the Terriers. M: Moving onto the match, which Town players will grip Rovers in a hand of fear? Do you have any deadly assassins in front of goal, for example? C: It can't have escaped any opposing team's attentions that we have Pawel Abbot banging the goals away up front. Pav has picked up from where he left off last season and already has seven goals to his credit this time round. Pav is like a robot, in that what chances you give him he will score. He isn't work-shy either in that he is never prepared to give up the chase on lost causes and create something out of nothing. Sadly I think we are yet to settle on a suitable and consistent partner for him, we have Taylor-Fletcher, a recent summer recruit from Lincoln who seems to need five chances before putting one away. Of course there is local folk hero Andy Booth who seems to play three, miss ten, play three, miss ten - through injury these days, he is always an ariel threat to any opposition, although more in terms of the creation of chances rather than in their execution. The whole team has a very young average age, probably around 23 and with many of the first team home grown products, if we can keep them together for the foreseeable future, then we could have some interesting times on the horizon. M: One former player who will no doubt be kicking himself for missing the match is Jon Stead who rose through the ranks at Huddersfield, then joined Rovers before there was a parting of the ways in the summer. Do you miss Steady? C: Steady, for me personally, isn't missed. I think Jacko conducted some excellent business in replacing Stead with Pawel Abbott. For me Stead would always try and do too much on the ball (although the same could be said of Pav!) For me Steady only had one trick, lashing in a 20 yard shot - OK so it's a useful trick to have, but I prefer Abbott's all round game. Jon would no doubt have found this cup tie the greatest show in the galaxy had he still been a Rovers player, but it looks like Town, Rovers and Steady have all moved on now, good luck to him at Sunderland this season, it looks like they will need it! M: How much do you know about the players at Ewood or is it a mission into the unknown? C: I remember, what was it - twelve years ago or so... when Rovers won the Premiership and I could have probably named half of the people involved at the club. Now I would struggle to name half of your starting eleven. I don't tend to watch too much Match of the Day; I only concentrate on the important leagues! So to answer your question, I don’t know too much about the players at Ewood. Had I approached this interview in a professional manner then I would have looked your squad up online but, bah – that’s too much effort to go to. Lets see how many I can name without looking: Brad Friedel?, Robbie Savage, that striker from Ipswich who’s name I know but just can’t even begin to try and spell (ex-Sheff Weds too), Oh yeah, Tugay, hmmm struggling now… has Mark Hughes retired yet? Actually that brings me to another point, I expect nothing but a battlefield on the pitch, Mark Hughes was a dirty player on the odd occasion I witnessed him live, and I understand there’s something of a disciplinary cloud lurking over Rovers at the moment? One thing Town have done well is kept their discipline this season. That said Efe Sodje (Offie Sodje!) is now wearing a green and white bandana for Yeovil instead of a blue and white one for Town. M: Some clubs have criticised Rovers robust style of play and act as if World War Three has broken out. Are you aware of this, and can your team take a good kicking? C: Oops! See above. To expand on the topic though, yes we do seem to be able to take a good kicking, elbowing or whatever else anyone has thrown at us this season. I think we have had five players at least dismissed on opposing teams to us this season, so we’re quite used to it. None of the dismissals teams have suffered against us could be really complained about either; they’ve all been for raised hands in a players face or a raised elbow etc. My advice is put £5 on Rovers to finish without the full compliment of players! So let the war games continue - we seem to fair quite well. M: It’s often said that the crowd at a football match can be like a 12th man. With pretty poor attendances at Blackburn, I think it unlikely for there to be more than 8,000 there on Wednesday. Will playing an almost invisible enemy help the Terriers? C: It could well inspire the Terriers, though I think trying to prove themselves against Premiership opposition should be incentive enough. Ewood Park is a decent enough ground to visit these days, allowing for one side which is in a state of decay, it’s a shame we haven’t met a few rounds down the line and there might have been more interest from both sides. M: The last time the two clubs met was in 2001 when Rovers won 2-0 on Easter Monday. Rovers were promoted that year, Town relegated. Do you see this match as the chance to exorcise any daemons? C: Well it’s always nice to win a game, regardless of past results, I knew we lost the last time we met, but I couldn’t have told you the score – I don’t think Town would perceive Blackburn as the enemy of the world, despite the way our seasons both panned out. M: Whilst it wouldn’t be the end of the world for Rovers to lose, fans would prefer not to go out as they did against Bournemouth last year. What do you think the scoreline will be? C: 1-0 to Town, with Danny Schofield scoring with his left foot from 26.3 yards out, on the left hand side of the penalty box, in open play, in the 16th minute of the first half, following a fracas between Robbie Savage and Terry Yorath on the touchline (some kind of Welsh thing). Oh and the attendance will be 10683 with 1453 supporting the Terriers. M: Thank you Christopher. Best of luck for the rest of the season and I hope Huddersfield Town becomes a Boom Town. Any final comments? C: Meglos!

It's just over 4 years since the amazing result against Germany, which SGE seems to have as a lasting legacy. However, it's just under 4 years since the 2-2 draw against Greece which was the probably the worst English performance in recent times, except last night. Maybe that is a truer reflection of Sven's time in charge. Stevie Gerrard was particularly woeful that match, and he was again yesterday; clearly not having the faintest idea what he was expected to do. The big difference between the Greece match and yesterday was that Beckham was absolutely astonishing at Old Trafford in 2001. Last night he was the only English player to emerge with any degree of credit but he couldn't take on the entire Irish team as he did against the Greeks.

There have been some odious comments on here in the past, but that really does take the biscuit.

I asked earlier if the Villa fans attacked without provocation. You've so far failed to answer this simple question, or maybe I've not been able to interpret your answer if you have tried. The issue of not wanting people to have a good time is spurious to say the least. What a right-minded person objects to is their and other supporters having their own enjoyment spoiled by a tiny minority who don't have two wits amongst them to be aware that they are annoying everyone else around them. Also, by getting involved in the antics afterwards those who were responsible meant we all had a lovely time sat on a bus in a car park far longer than necessary (not to mention innocently being filmed by the police). I'm sorry if that means I am a party-pooper for complaining about those who can't control their alcoholic intake, but that's how I feel. However, another really astonishing thing yesterday was the fact that some of these silly little children (and those big boys over 18) who had drunk so much their eyes were more glazed than the Crystal Palace were let into the ground in the first place. Aren't stewards meant to refuse admission to those intoxicated beyond a certain level?

So you're saying that 'briks' (sic) were thrown by Villa fans in a totally unprovoked attack? Why would the police come on the coaches and film fans if they didn't think that some had been involved in the incidents? (Not on our coach, or to hazard a guess the other official coaches either.) And whilst I am sorry to hear you were hit in the face with a 'brik' and suffered a concussion, had you drunk much before the game?

What is it with football 'fans' that makes them think getting utterly tanked up at a game is a good idea? Today, I was sat just behind someone so drunk he couldn't stand up to anyone who had the audacity to ask to get past him. Then after the game, the coaches were delayed for an hour due to some cretinous Roverites who had so much to drink that they thought it a good idea to start picking an argument with departing Villa fans. This lead to stones, bottles, traffic cones and other objects being thrown and the police turning up to video all of us on the coaches as potential 'evidence'. Well thanks to the oafs involved.

Must say I think that is pretty wide of the mark. There are far more casual fans who do have an interest in football but don't nail their allegiance solely to one club than 'thoroughbreds' (or in our neighbours case, inbreds). Yes, they probably have a favourite team but don't buy the season ticket, the replica shirt, the mousemat etc. Then there are those who do follow one team closely but are quite happy to go along to another team when they aren't doing anything else. For example, in the past I've been to watch Rochdale, Preston, Huddersfield and even Chorley when I've fancied a match and Rovers aren't an option. Now, I will admit that if Rovers aren't playing or it's an away match I'm not going to, I will tend to stay at home and watch tv matches than get off my backside and pay far more money for a live match.

I think quite a few casual supporters will stay away due to footie on tv. I'm sure someone could look into it to confirm, but I'm fairly certain that since two televised matches on a Saturday has become the norm, rather than the exception, that crowd figure declines have generally accelerated for most teams. For those interested in footie and not a devoted supporter of a specific team, if given the choice between watching a couple of matches in the comfort of their own home on a Saturday for a couple of quid - and this covers all the family - or going to a ground and spending maybe 40x times as much, then there is only likely to be one winner.

I was in Winchester on a long planned and paid for holiday. Therefore, I guess I am a 'so called' rovers fan. Should I burn my season ticket?

Fair enough, my use of 'survive' was in the sense of Premiership status and not teter on the edge of oblivion survival. I guess the unknown is can a small club be run sensibly and stay in the top flight of football, even without a huge crowd? Of the clubs you mention, certainly at least 4 of them have lived beyond their means (either before or after relegation) and suffered dreadfully because of it. Other comparable clubs would be Fulham (although MAF seems to be struggling to keep them financially ticking along at the rate of knots he dreamed of) and Charlton, who seem to be a well run club and don't seem to be in financial pickles these days.

Eh? We need a gate of around 45k to survive? It indeed cannot be done under the present structure, as the ground can't hold that much! How many clubs in the Premiership average a gate of over 45k? There are only about half a dozen with that capacity, let alone attendances.

Someone said Liverpool had charged £10 for their Champions League qualifiers so far. Don't know if that's correct, but they are charging £15 for CSKA Sofia.

So could I, although I did have trouble shaking off a marker at the Millenium Stadium.

Some definite big pluses this afternoon. Gresko - a far more talented footballer than anyone else we have who can play left back. His first time cross for Reid's goal was superb. Hopefully the fact he's featured so much in the last 2 friendlies and todays unfriendly, means he is 1st choice in the position. Savage - looking fit and was able to control the midfield. All being well we will be seeing the best of him in the next season. Kuqi - I have a sneaking feeling the guy is going to become a bit of cult at Ewood. He is strong, suprisingly quick, and he can get in the right place as well. Taylor / Harkins - both looked good and not out of place (admittedly against 9 men). However, as Taylor has featured in all preseason matches so I think Hughes sees him as possessing the potential to make it.

Well my fathers one has arrived. Mine hasn't. Even he cracked the joke as to how long the DVD will last and he's 65!

Peter got walloped in the face just before half time. Jay (after going over mid way through the first half) was subbed just into the second, holding his ankle.

But for those not at their home addresses prior to the time of the Fulham match but aiming to go to Ewood, having the season ticket might be an idea. This might not apply to many people admittedly, but I'm sure it does for some. The other issue is at what stage do you start worrying that the damned things got lost, or (heaven forbid) Rovers ticket office have screwed up and not sent one out at all? When can you start worrying if your renewal seat gone to someone else? How much hassle in phone calls or wasted time visiting Ewood to sort out do you allow for? Can this be done if you're on holiday until the day of the Fulham match? Can you gamble on the s/t waiting for you when you get home?

Nope. But then again, neither has my father and he paid by cash. Slightly more worrying for him was the fact he's had a chase letter asking him to renew...