First few months were pretty shocking, but once he settled in he's been a very dependable player for us, for a good two years or so. However now is probably the time for him to leave, freeing up the wages for the Big Sam revolution. His versatility in particular has made him a key member of the squad. I shudder to think where we'd have been without him this season, or who'd have played right back.

No to Barton on so many levels. Firstly, whilst quite a few players have previous, very few have anything near the amount that Barton has - both before and after the prison sentence (where he should still be imo). Morally it'd be wrong to give Barton a chance at Ewood. Agree with Fife and Imy9 and the rest on this - Barton is not a reformed or remorseful character deserving of a lifeline. Secondly even if you don't care at all about Barton's behaviour it is far too much of a risk football wise. Aside from being a bad apple in the dressing room can anyone honestly see him being able to play for rovers for more than half a season? If he isn't suspended for things on the pitch he'll be getting into trouble off it. What odds would anyone give that he would be available for 3/4 of our games. They wouldn't be good. We pay enough midfielders not to play for rovers - dunn, reid, grella, (formerly) vogel - we don't need to add another - especially such a loathsome individual. Our midfield needs quality and reliabilty - and Barton certainly doesn't fulfil the latter.

When the going gets tough Barry has a sulk. Seriously the guy just doesn't seem to be able to cope with things not going well. Ferguson actions show a lot about what is wrong with modern footballers, and they wonder why football fans are disillusioned. (Granted that incompetent FA, refs, obscene wages etc also contribute.) Have to say credit to Walter Smith for coming down hard on both players, loosing your keeper and captain can only hinder them at this stage of the season, but it's nice to see a manager act with integrety. Bet they come out tomorrow apologising and saying that they've been misinterpreted.

What a stunning rolemodel that lad Jamie is. Great example to us all. Now if that was a player from a lesser club I've a feeling that the FA would come down on them like a ton of bricks - and quite rightly so. However playing for Liverpool I've no doubt the FA will find another patch of sand to bury their heads in.

Agree. The thing is IF (and it's a a big if) we get him back to the level he can be, then we have a stunning player on our hands - easily in the 10m bracket. The chances of this happening though seem to be receeding fast. Hughes seemed to know how to handle tempermental stars like Bellamy and Benni, I'm not so sure Ince does. And as has been said Benni isn't an impact sub - even when in form - so he's pretty much redundant at Rovers. I don't care if he's arrogent and has an attitude if he does the business but as he isn't he should keep his mouth shut and work hard to regain his place. Can't see it happening though.

Gutted. No other way to put it. That Hughes would want to manage a top club, especially one he has played for, is more than reasonable and something I've been steeling myself against for quite a while. To be honest who can begrudge him that? He's a top class manager and deserves a chance to manage at the highest level. But City? No ties to them - in fact the opposite - and a chairman who redefines the word impatient? Sven did what asked to and got fired, that is hardly a stable working environment. Fans who have much too high expectations and a squad which is weaker than ours - there's some good players in there but how many (cm aside) would get in our team? The fact Hughes is willing to go to talk with City suggests that he wants out of Rovers in the worst way, he and could signal the break up of our hugely promising squad. When you've finished with the rope MC...

Utterly agree, my thoughts exactly. Mainly I think we need a manager who can put back the desire amongst the players. For many playing for the big 4 it really looks as if they don't care at all, they know they've better prospects of winning things with their club. Combined with big wage packets and iconic status it's hardly surprising they're not flogging themselves for england. Beckham and Richards have been two of our best players, and unsurprisingly they're the ones with most to gain from england - it's their best chance of winning something. For me it'd have to be someone like Mourinho who will put the hunger back into the players, not put up with pre-maddona attitudes (well, if not performing) and will give us a system and get us knowing how to play it. However the FA will probably go for another yes man, albeit one with a bit more pedegree then McLaren (hardly difficult.)

Well I think that pretty much guarentees West Ham's relegation. I know there's still a fair few points to play for but from the games I've seen (rovers and on tv) charlton are a poor outfit. And if they can't beat charlton ina game of that magnitude they might as well give up. Whilst I like the club, as others have commentated having a club with such financial backing not competing against us next year - both in the league and transfer market - would be very advantagious. Looking at how close the championship is at the moment, west ham may well struggle to get back out, especially when considering the exodus of talent that inevitably follows relegation. Whilst it won't be too nice for lucash to get relegated i'm hardly thinking it'll be sweet revenge on the chap. He'll just jump ship to somewhere else and get another big payday, which is pretty sickening. Still his marketability and reputation must have sunk a few notches and i'm not sure too many big clubs will want to take on a player with such a reputation as a mercenary.

After today's game it suggests that Robert's looks the more likely favoured partner for Benni. In terms of impact for time on the pitch I'd say Robert's is ahead at the moment, and whilst he hasn't scored he does unsettle the defence more, and create more openings we can capitalise on. Nonda seems the definition of an almost player. He get's loads of chances but many lack conviction and power. If we could get his shot's to have a bit more venom about them I'd be very happy to have him here on a perminant basis. Considering the improvement of Bentley between this season and last, or MGP from when he first arrived or the improvement of Ooijer over the past few months, it may well be that the best of Nonda may come next season. Hughes' record of whether to stick with them or let go has been pretty good so far so I'll trust his judgement on this one. Ideally though I'd swap Nonda and Jeffers (Derbyshire does his role better) for Mido who seems likely to move away in the summer.

Agree with Four Lane on this one. As for the best partnership it's difficult to say for certain as we've never seen Nelsen and Ooijer together. One combination which I think doesn't work so well is Zurab and Ooijer, as both tend to back off rather than be 'in your face' players (like Todd) which allows our opponents to have too much space. To me it comes down to who we're playing. Against more physical teams I feel Todd would be the ideal partner as he's better at scrapping. Against teams that play more free flowing football Ooijer's better control and pace is preferable. Factor in that Ooijer can also play right back, something I wasn't convinced of until his recent spell at full back, and you can really see the need for both players in the squad. The chances of one of our three first choice cb's being injured, or either Bentley or Emerton being out (Emerton moving to right mid if Bentley's out) means that both will regularly be involved in the team. Of course we can't forget Samba and Zurab either, which shows the competition for places in defense is huge. It'll be interesting to see if Hughes lets Todd go in the summer if Samba lives up to expectations, as 5 centre backs barring an outbreak of injuries is too many. Todd is the logical one to leave as both his previous and age are not on his side. However with Ooijer out for the season, Zurab regularly picking up knocks, and Samba adjusting to life in the premiership, I'm glad we've got the dependable quality of Todd in the squad.

I'm resigned that players will want to leave us for bigger clubs but Neill just wanting to go for cash is very disappointing. He's been a cracking player for us as well as being higly versatile, and a player of his quality will be missed (especially with our injury problems). Bellamy's move was more palitable, as clearly it wasn't all about cash - though i doubt if good money was not available he would not have moved. Liverpool fans on the radio have been saying he's not good enough which imo is wrong - he's a very good if not top class player. As for us as said it's not a disasterous move - we needed a top class left back before anyway and Emerton on this season's performances can more than cope at right back. However with the small squad that we've got plus Ooijer's and Reid's injury we really are short of options for full backs. Hopefully Hughes will be able to sign at least one in the transfer window. You wonder had he not been booed whether he would have stayed since i believe that we made him a highly attractive offer. However the club could not really have made any more signs that he was highly valued, so Hughes is blameless on this one. The fact he won't let him go until we sign a replacement also shows that Hughes recognises that the squad is dangerously thin. Overall other than his bank balance and his agent it's not a great move for lucas and i reckon he'll move on again in the summer after wham are relegated.

With his woeful injury record any significant outlay for Dunn would be questionable and a huge risk. The club haven't loosened the purse strings much during Hughes reign so 500k let alone 1m IS a significant amount of money to our club. With falling attendences and looking like a midtable team thus not getting the revenue from having fewer televised games than last season, 500k plus on a player with Dunn's injury record is a questionable policy. Added to which all the bargaining chips should be with the buyer - he's missed loads of games through injury, he's out of contract in the summer and he's a rovers fan. With all this in mind anything over 250K would be questionable on such a fitness risk when the odds are stacked in the buyer's favour to boot. Remember the club also needs at least one new full back, another midfielder on top of Dunn and another good striker as Nonda hasn't quite done enough. All of which will cost money, which we don't have in abundance. Don't get me wrong I'd love to have Dunny back providing the deal was right. He's as good a chance of regaining his form and fitness at rovers as anywhere else. He'd be highly motivated, would give us some much needed creativity, and the local lad stuff would give the fans a boost, oh and he plays midfield where we are pretty short especially in depth. Emerton seems best at full back, Tugs is ancient, whilst Mokoena and Gally haven't really impressed or look up to standard for a while, and Peter is still learning the trade. That leaves only Reid, Pedersen, Bentley and Savage for the medium term, i.e. 12-18 months who can really be relied upon (although I'd be happy for Tugs to stay on another year or two on current form). With Reid injured, Pedersen being off form for much of the seaon it really highlights how important it is to get a couple more bodies into the midfield position. A fully fit Dunn would boost the options in midfield considerably. Another thing which hasn't really been mentioned is who else is out there who could do a job in centre mid for us? With not much money to spend, risk's like Dunn may be the best thing we can currently get - both in terms of price and availability. If there was an equally cheap, fitter version of Dunn available I'd probably opt for that but off the top of my head I can't think of any. (The Hibs midfield pair if we have the cash?) This coupled with the need to strengthen the midfield may well be the deciding factor on whether Hughes takes a gamble on Dunn. Our need for a midfielder may also weaken our bargaining power with Brum too, something which worries me is how they got 6m for Heskey. Overall Dunn at 1m might be the best we can get, but Dunn on a free/£250K would be an excellent piece of business.

The last three games should have seen us pick up around 7 points. Although i thought we'd slip up against the barcodes I fully expected us to beat both charlton and fulham. Now newcastle are not a good team, and charlton are crap. That we loose to both of them in the manner that we did must have alarm bells ringing - even for Hughes regardless of what he says in public. Having listened to a couple of the games i agree with a fair bit of what is said on here. Worryingly the problems are coming from all over the pitch. From the defence upwards we have vast room for improvement. Mostly though the problem seems to be a lack of desire. Last season we seemed to be 'up' for every ball, the team really ran themselves ragged every game, and you could sense the desire in the players. This season we don't seem to be up for it at all. Now rovers have been unlucky with injuries, reffing decisions and players promise not being fulfilled over the last 2 years but we've done well in spite of this. Heck, that's always been the case even when we won the prem decisions were going against us against the bigger clubs, and we've lost some key players to injury (e.g. tommo, gresko and jansen under souness). This season we don't seem to have enough to cope with this, too many positions are filled with players who aren't good enough for the level we're aiming at. The defence has been dramatically weakened - Grey was the weak link last season. I expected a top lb to come in but this hasn't materialise. Added to Neill wanting away (why doesn't he just shut up like Bellers did) the full back positions have been weakened. Ok Emerton has made the right back position his own, but that still leaves us a couple of full backs short of a squad. Zurab was always the weakest of the three centre backs, but Nelsen and Todd always covered for him. Ooijer whilst being decent is not as good as either Todd or Nelsen (although much improved upon his initial performances) leaving the centre of defence much weakened as well. One slightly hesitant centre back is enough imo, two is a desaster waiting to happen. As for Henchoz, he's done a decent job since coming in, but to be relying on a wigan reject is asking for trouble. Worst of all it shouldn't be happening as Todd is still on the books. Yes he is a loose cannon, but his desire to play football cannot be questioned. In our situation can we really afford to leave him out of the team? He's the type of player we need in this situation. Midfield - it was always a risk having only 3 centre mids especially when one is 35. They didn't have to be a world beater but one or two other options would be nice. Certainly reverting to 4-5-1 may not be a bad idea at the moment. For starters it'd give us another decent midfielder in Mokoena allowing him to play his best position and to the best of his ability. Besides the side is leaking far too many silly goals and needs some defensive solidity. Also Pedersen should be rested (not dropped) as that would've taken a fair bit of the pressure off him and hopefully put a bit more energy into the side in Peter's pace. Up front we're missing a powerhouse like roberts. I can see why Nonda wasa worth a gamble, but it hasn't worked and we've no more time for gambles. We need tried and tested players in this situation. Similarly I doubt that Derbyshire is the solution, from what i've seen from the reserves he's promising but not up to premiership standard. Benni imo is a good player, but because of his style needs someone to play off. At the moment none of our strikers actually fulfill that role. Therefore I would: Go 4-5-1 and try grinding out results away from home. Hopefully Bentley and Peter/Pedersen would be able to support Benni up front and with having fewer defensive duties able to concentrate on attacking. Bring Todd back into the team. Strip Neill of his captancy but still play him as he's better than Gray and will want to impress his next club whoever that may be. I don't care what you say having a captain looking elsewhere cannot be good for the team. Get rid of Nonda in the transfer window and buy in a quality striker proven in the EPL. There's not many about so a loan may have to do the trick. Buy in a top class left back. A defence of Emerton Todd Nelsen and top class left back would be committed and far more resiliant. Buy in another centre mid so Bentley can keep to the right mid and Emerton the right back slots. Ideally a box to box centre mid would do me. Three top class signings however would cost the club but without them the team could worryingly look a lot weaker, and with a couple of injuries would arguabley have 2/3 championship standard players in the first 11, which really would see us struggling vs relegation.

Have to say Scotty's reply to rover6 says most of what i wanted to say. In terms of versatility i'm not sure that Mokoena is good enough, certainly when in defence I have worries about him. However as Scotty says he just needs to be decent at centre/defensive mid. We know he can cut it in a 5 man midfield - so he's not a poor player/without talent. He needs to adapt to playing in a 4 man midfield. Whilst so far he hasn't been too promising the fact he has shown that he's capable of playing in a 5 man midfield indicates he has some ability which can be worked with. (Unlike Douglas who was poor even in his prefered position) I agree as first 11 goes Mokoena isn't the way forward. However we're already short on midfield cover and with Tugs and Savage over 30 the central midfield situation is going to see a fair bit of change - which means a lot of work for Hughes. Surely it will be better for Hughes to concentrate on getting a couple of class midfielders in rather than have to worry about a squad/cover midfielder as well. Especially when he has someone on the books who has potential and time to realise it. Also factor in rovers are not a big club with a massive squad. Ok I personally don't think Mokoena is all that handy in defence but can rovers really afford to get a replacement? We've bigger things to think on i.e. improving the first 11, and with only having a small squad Mokoena's versatility however limited becomes more of an asset. And are any of the youth any better in those positions? As we've found out injuries do happen and you need squad players who can come in and do a job, even if not at the standard that's ideally desired. Finally factor in the issue of time. You don't revamp a whole squad in a year or two. These things take time. Wholesale changes are dangerous (Souness' last full season demonstrated that) and some continuity is important, not only within training, but with regards to the manager's division of time (it's easier working with someone you're familiar with) fitting in, team spirit and the like. Overall, if the deal isn't extortionate, which I doubt it will be, then rovers aren't really going to loose/be harmed by this deal and can only benifit. Having said that Mokoena has been mostly shocking this season, but then it takes players a while to really settle in, and the time it takes varies for each player. Reid, Emerton, Bentley, Oijer, are just a few who have been not that impressive at times during their rovers career but are looking the business now. Hopefully Hughes can bring the best out in Mokoena as well.

It looks like something dodgy went on behind the scenes. I think Charlton have ball$ed up this one. It stinks of typical football club directors getting on a power trip and blaming everyone but themselves for the situation they find themselves in. Totally agree speeeeeeedie. Considering that they admitted to giving him part of next season's budget for transfers (just before the transfer window ended i think) this shows a massive turnaround in thinking. Why were they confident enough to give him next season's budget now, yet sack him a few games later, when the results have been better? What he did with Oldham in their situation was awesome, and he started very well with palace, but his signings for Charlton have been very odd to say the least. His next club will make or break the man's career.

I like Gally as a player and he's a decent bloke too. I can remember when he first got promoted to the first team squad, he came and watched his mates play in the reserves. Is he good enough - i'm not sure, but one thing for certain is that he will remain a squad player for us for a while, given a) the injury crisis and we're reliant on the academy for squad players. The lad looks a cut above when playing in the reserves and has got some good goals for us in the past, so imo he certainly should stay. IMO he's probably best as a backup to right mid - and he certainly isn't going to replace Bentley. He's too lightweight in the middle, as is Bentley to be partnering Tugs in the middle and having Gally on the right. On the left Pedersen is a much better all rounder and adds a lot more defensively than Gally would, swapping them again would make the team even more lightweight defensively. Besides Peter looks very promising as a traditional winger and is younger with more time to improve. Up front I feel that all four of our strikers have more promise then him, although Gally could replace Jeffers if it doesn't work out for the lad. However he Jeffers and McCarthy are all somewhat similar insomuch as that non are big powerful strikers, and like to drift out wide and deep. He doesn't really provide anything different in this respect which may go against him when competing for a forward birth. The midfiled situation isn't ideal but at the moment it has to be Mokoena. Personally I agree with comments to push Tugs further up and instruct the Axe not to venture forwards. Other than that Neill in centre mid would be a better solution although we would then have problems with the left back position. As for Douglas - he's never been good enough. Poor in the Prem, poor in the reserves, poor in the championship. Anyone who has seen him play will realise he is not the answer.

I've been impressed with what I've seen of Nonda so far, although I do think he seems a little off his game after the injury. Nonda holds the ball up well and brings other player into the game well too. He's physical, good in the air and creates a lot of chances for himself. Many of these chances however seem to be lacking power and conviction, which imo is his biggest weakness. Overall though he's pretty promising in my book. When you take into account the injury, moving to a new league and settling in, and team lacking many of our top stars, I think what he offers and how he' performed is certainly worth having. He reminds me a bit of Bentley when he arrived in that there's so much promise yet far less end product than their should be. I reckon Hughes and co will shape him into a better player and get more end results from the initial good signs. However, I also reckon this will take a bit of time, but that the end result will be well worth it.

Alan 75's post pretty much sums up my thoughts on what i've seen of him. The reserves/extended youth thing is a big problem and imo loaning brings on players much better than the reserves these days. I reckon with a season or two under his belt at a lower level Derbyshire could well be a decent squad player for us.

Agree with that - both really don't seem to be up for it over the 90 mins but with more confidence and sharpness Jeffers may well revise that oppinion. Not mentioned but something I found significant was that our entire bench last night cost less than half a million pounds. Even with injuries that seems pretty worrying for an English team playing in europe, especially considering that there were seven subs.

This will be a tough game but hopefully rovers will start from the off this time instead of waiting till the second half as we have in the last two games. Rovers team picks itself and looks rather exciting bar 2 problem positions: 1) Left back. If Emerton isn't fit enough for 90 minutes rovers have a range of unappealing options at left back. Gray whilst an improvement on the West Ham game is slow, too easily beaten and has shocking ball control. Opton 2 is McEveley who whilst more committed also switches off at times and has even less pace. Option 3 is Matteo. Nuff said. Personally I'd go for what someone else said in another thread (I can't remember who). play Todd at centre back move Zurab to right back and Neill to left back. However I can't see us doing that as Todd really is out of favour in the worst way and the only other possibility is doing that with Henchoz. Would be a bit worried about that as his lack of pace would be a great invite for Baros and co's pace, but overall it'd be better idea than using one of our ineffective reserve left backs. Hopefully Emerton will be fit. 2) Centre mid. With Savage and Reid out the only other recognised centre mid is Mokoena who has been poor so far this year. However Mokoena is a defensive midfielder and does add a little bit more steel to the midfield than the other options. The other alternative is putting Gally on the wing and moving Bentley inside. I wouldn't really favour this as this midfield would be lightweight beyond belief. You can't really imagine Tugs and Bentley holding their own in a midfield scrap, and nor is Gally recognised for being able to get stuck in. This midfield alternative to me would be overrrun. Based on that my team would be : Brad, Neill, Zurab, Ooijer, Todd (Emerton if fit), Tugay, Bentley, MGP, Mokoena, Benni, Nonda. subs, Gally, Jeffers, Gray, Todd, Brown Prediction 1-1 with pederson scoring for us.

Surprised so few fans came - i reckon a combination of poor results, the possibility of a weakened team, the cold and it being on tv provided far too many reasons for people not to come. As it was they missed a cracking night in which two rovers legends continued to cement their status (tugs and Brad) and certainly in terms of atmosphere the fans didn't seem to be missed. Hopefully such results will persuade fans to come to the Nancy game. However we will most likely have qualified by then - making it a meaningless or less meaningful game - which may well mean another low attendance. What fans seem not to realise is that this is what we fought so hard for last year. Europe is an achievement and for smaller clubs like ourselves doesn't happen that often. Fans should realise the significance and value of such nights.

Agree pretty much with what Scotty says, although wouldn't have classed Nonda as poor. Yes he missed a sitter, but worked hard and held the ball up exceptionally well. Regarding the full backs I thought Neill didn't seem to be going in for loose balls with the determination and commitment he should be, and Gray despite trying is far from good enough. Disappointingly we will have 2 players in the team on Sunday who aren't up to it in Mokoena and Gray. Some of Gray's passing was woeful, his ball control was poor, and he gets skinned far too often. Mokoena seems to know what to do but doesn't seem able to do it. his passes are often the right idea but badly placed, and he doesn't really impose himself on the midfield. This is a shame as the other players in the team, when playing well, can really give a good account of themselves. Rovers were lucky - thank goodness for Brad in the first half. Full credit to Basel I thought they played well in the first half, physical without being dirty, were quick to get forward and defended in numbers. However, the second half rovers turned it around, and full credit to them for keeping going after getting the 1st goal. Tugay like Brad is a rovers legend, and perhaps not mentioned yet in his acolades from last night is how much running the guy did, both going forward and back. I was very impressed with his work rate as well as his class. In fact the only time he slowed down was when he was subbed. The only other thing to mention was the atmosphere which imo was fantastic. the Blackburn End never shut up, even in the first half when we were getting hammered. Maybe it was the cold or something... One last gripe would be their goal keeper who kept stealing yards with every offside and did crap goal kicks, and the linesman who thought everything was offside. Still it made it even more satisfying when we won. Big question is now which rovers team will turn up on Sunday - the first half inept display or the european masters of the second half?

I can remember a few years back that all the boxes were sold out for the entire season, even for league cup games. If this is still the case maybe the only realistic profit-making revamp of the Riverside would be to kit it out with boxes and improve the existing seats i.e. get them all under shelter and get rid of the supports that block the view. Increasing the capacity of the riverside would never make any sense - and I'm not too sure about decreasing it. I reckon for big games or if we continue to be successful we could still reach the 30K margin. However if less seats (say knocking off a couple of thousand) would make it cheaper and easier to run or rebuild the riverside then it'd probably be a sacrifice worth making.

Utterly agree. Think that either Todd or Henchoz would be a much safer and reliable option at the back, as neither Gray or McEveley are good enough. Gray would be decent back up if he could be bothered (although too error prone to be 1st choice) and McEveley also seems to lack concentration as well as seriously struggling for pace. A win isn't vital so I wouldn't rush any players back, but with the same team as Sunday's game I really can't see us winning. Too many average players imo. We really need Tugay, Benni and Bentley to have storming games as they're our most influential players and what with all the injuries it becomes even more crucial that they are on top of their game. Sadly Benni whilst class has quiet spells and Tugay had a poor game vs West Ham so I'm a bit worried whether they can carry us through. Being optimistic a 0-0 draw.

To me the game answered quite a few questions about our squad. On the McEveley debate - I don't really think he's up to it. Promising but I'm beginning to think he'll still be promising when he's 31 and will never make the step up. First half Robben was all over him and beat him every time. Second half he did improve defensively (although it'd have been hard not to) but going forward his distribution was poor. Also he was caught out for the first goal. Would much rather Rovers concentrated their efforts on Taylor, and I personally think Gray, errors included, is better both going forward and back. Peter on the other hand was immense. He looked like a proper old fashioned winger who wasn't afraid to run at his opponent and get to the byline and showed a lot of attacking flair. I certainly wouldn't have any qualms with him entering the team. Mokoena - didn't seem to cut the mustard for me. He didn't really get stuck in the way Savage or Flitcroft does, nor does he offer much going forward. Was excellent two seasons ago and looks a pale immitation of the Axe we got when he first came into the team. Henchoz did surprisingly well considering I didn't have high expectations. Ok he's not the fastest player but he seemed quietly efficent for the most part. Discouragingly it means Todd's rovers career is certainly over which is very disappointing. Overall I felt we were missing too many players, and had several others not in their best positions and it cost us against an uninspiring Chelsea side. I feel if we'd have attacked and got stuck into them more in the first half it'd have been a different game. We showed them far too much respect. Having said that Cole should have walked - which would have made it a different game, but I'm not going to start on the Chelsea bias refs show as I could rant for a long time on it. Needless to say it didn't help our cause.