Have got tickets and am going to this one. Last away game I went to was the liverpool away last season - it can't be as bad as that. Everton are good defensively which means our strike force will have no chance of scoring (not that they have much chance against weaker defences either.) The big question is whether our defence is solid enough to stop Everton scoring. Personally I think our defence is good enough to limit opposing teams to a maximum of one goal per game, but sadly with our weak offense this might not be enough. I reckon its going to be 0-0 or 1-0 to Everton. Will Savage be fit for the game? Is Jansen still injured? My team would be (injuries permitting): Friedel Neill, Nelsen, Todd, Nissa Emerton, Savage, Reid, MGP Dickov Jansen subs: Enks, Mokeana (sp), Thompson, Tugay, Gally Really think that its going to be a battle and not sure that its Tugay or gally's sort of game. Would like to see reid start as he's impressed me in recent weeks and will add some more steel to the midfield.

Cheers. Remember the West Ham one. And the Chelsea league cup one as well. I'd forgotten about the Newcastle game and shoot out, probably trying to block out the memory of Davies playing up front on his own for us.

Think you have to look at the end results - and the results are MGP doing a great job at left mid - so full credit to Hughes for getting MGP to play like that. The great thing is that barring us selling him we've got a left mid one of our problem positions sorted out for another 5 yrs or so.

Have we ever won a penalty shoot out other than Wallsall recently? i.e. last 5-10 yrs

There really is no excuse for loosing this one. Our super fit squad of twenty plus players have had a trip to Dubai whilst the reminents of the dingles team have been continuing their loosing streak. Surely it should be no trouble for Rovers to dictate the pace and have em chasing shadows throughout the game. The opportunity to get into the next round could not be bigger. So why do I feel so nervous? Probably because Rovers have a habit of messing the easy things up. I'd be a lot more confident if we had someone who could finish on a regular basis. Even despite Rovers talents for messing up the easy stuff I'm still going for a rovers win 2-0. Prefer a more experienced striker than Jemal on the bench and maybe this is the perfect opportunity for Stead to score.

OK Den I'll give it a go though I didn't vote for him I've still a soft spot for the lad. I think a lot of it was right player at the right time. Considering the glut of good strikers we'd had in the past years (Garner, Speedie, Newell, Sutton, Gally and that Shearer chap wasn't bad either) the current crop of recent strikers were somewhat disappointing to say the least. Davies Ostenstadt and Ward were hardly inspiring - Rovers needed a cult striker again. Which is where Matty came in. When the crowd called for a hero Jansen answered. The guy took a while to find his feet at rovers but even in the relegation season he showed glimpses of the talent and potential to be one of england's top young strikers. By the time the promotion season came that potential had become evident talent. Matty was exciting to watch, in fact one of the most exciting I've seen as a Rovers player and always looked as if he could score a goal or two. In the promotion campaign Matty rightly won player of the season hauling Rovers out of the fire on many an occassion. And some of the skill he showed was magnificent - that cheeky feint against Bolton away, that rocket shot against Norwhich at home, the fantastic solo effort fort the late winner against Birmingham - are just a few which stick in my mind. Ok it was agianst first division but the guy looked class. Another huge plus for Jansen was that he always seemed to give 110%, a fact which became more apparent as he stepped back up to the Premiership. despite playing with grabbi and then Ostenstadt and then on his own Matty continued to score on a respectable basis. And in the premiership his work ethic became even more apparent always harrying defenders and moving about, fans knew that Matty would earn his wage. Then there was his contribution to the Worthington cup - top scorer in the rounds leading up to the final and then he played a key role in the final scoring one and setting up the other - yep it was Matty who harried Leadly into thinking he could take three touches. Not only did Matty have the style and talent, he also wasn't afraid to work hard and be part of the team. Finally there was his rapport with the fans. Matty always looked as if he enjoyed playing for rovers, and who else can remember his celebrations with the blackburn end after seeing off Sheff Weds to get to cardiff. Matty seemed to enjoy a special relationship with the fans, which continued and was evident through their support after his accident. Ok since the accident Matty's been poor but the guy still gives his all. But when looking at all time greats look back to the old Matty. The exciting talented hard working matty. Speedie gave us one season - matty gave us two great seasons. Not only did Matty possess all the desirable qualities of a cult forward he came at the right time. When Rovers needed a front line hero Jansen answered. There's only one Matt Jansen!

What nonsense. The Old Firm game is easily the most intense derby on the planet. As the only two teams capable of winning the title, the victor often stands in good stead in the league rankings. Set aside the quality of football (which is rarely of a very high standard in any derby game) and factor in the history, tension, atmosphere and large fanbases (all the things that contribute to such an occasion). It is utterly wrong to dismiss it outright like that. Yes the SPL is crap, but the Old Firm is one of its few positive aspects. Sure the atmosphere is pretty intense I'll give you that. But then so are many other derby games (Barca Madrid say.) So the winners of the rangers celtic match most likely win the SPL - wow - what a prize. The SPL is so insignificant, you've said yourself the SPL is a joke, that the stakes are hardly much more than bragging rights. And what with at least four derby games per season the derby's highly repetative and too commonplace. Similarly I'd argue the quality and class on display is far higher in a premiership derby for example. Tottenham Arsenal for example is littered with high class players. As for tradition - is the tradition any greater than that of the other derby? Is it a greater tradition than the Rovers-Burnley derby? Ok they're two comparatively small (in terms of catchment area and on the international scale) clubs but to me that just adds to the tradition and atmosphere of the occassion. To me Celtic Rangers games are too commonplace, fighting it out for very little, prizes which internationally are looked down upon.

Amo has many of the desirable extras that you'd like in a defender but sadly he CANNOT defend. The guy is a liability at the back and considering that it is his job to defend then the guy is not worth playing. A defender's first priority is to stop goals and Amo doesn't do that. (Off the top of my head I can recall him playing az large part in goals conceeded against Fulham, that Turkish team and man city). I'm not saying Amo doesn't have qualities, he does - just not as a defender. Since Hughes has dropped Amo/or he's been injured our defence has tightened up considerably - coincidence? The good news is that Amo wants to go, the bad news is no one wants him, even Rangers. Regardless of whether Amo is a decent player or not, i think most people would agree that the centre backs don't need changing and that Amo is fifth choice for the cb position. His wages are too much for a 5th choice cb so we should get rid and put the wages towards a striker or centre mid. Amo wanting to leave is good news as hopefully it'll help us get him off the books in the summer.

The comments just make Ferguson look like a complete looser. (I'd use stronger language if it were allowed.) How he has the nerve to slag off Blackburn after how they stood by him and took a chance on him is beyond me. By the way Barry, the reason you left was cause you failed. You aint going to improve as a player in SPL. Fair enough you wanted to win things - is not the F.A. Cup worth winning or the league cup? Both are worth more than that mciky mouse SPL league. Rangers have just as much chance as Rovers at european success - none whatsoever. The only way that Barry would've had a chance at European glory would be through a big club Arsenal, United, Liverpool, Chelsea etc. or abroad and none would touch him unless he proved himself as a Premiership player. Well, that's another lot of tropheys he'll never win. Oh and Celtic rangers is not a big game. Man Utd Arsenal was a big game. Rovers against either of them would be a bigger game. In fact Bolton Rovers could be construed as a big game by SPL standards. I'm fairly confident that both teams would clean up the rest of the SPL and give Celtic and Rangers a good game too. The truth is on the international stage Celtic-Rangers is scarcely worth bothering with. Just like baby bazza.

Has to be Gallacher for me. Always gave one hundred percent for the club, and linked up well with so many players. The guy had seemed to genuinely enjoy playing for Rovers and didn't jump ship as soon as we got relegated despite saying otherwise (cough Sutton cough). Added to which the guy scored some fantastic goals for us. Incidently if Matty had not had that accident i reckon Garner would have been pushed more for that second position.

This is going to be good. After their win over Liverpool's under 12s B team (and still only due to one of the worst own goals ever) Burnley think they've got a chance. it'll make it all the sweeter when we wallop em. I think any manager of rovers would've sussed out this is a biggie - this goes doubly for Hughes who knows not only how important it is but the atmosphere and tone of the game. After walloping Norwich I'm very confident we'll win. We're finally showing that we can beat poor opposition. (Though I still have doubts about us against quality opposition.) Reasons we'll win. Todd and Nelsen looking strong at the back and can handle what will undoubtedly be a physical encounter. MGP is on fire (not literally.) I fancy him and Emo to terrorize the Burnley defence. Dickov's back on the goal scoring trail. Tugay will be up for this and I reckon he's likely to put in a good game. His sophisticated passing will be too much for Burnley. Matteo should miss the game through injury and Amo will miss it cause he's pants. Savage is miles better than anyone in the Burnley squad and will dominate the midfield. All in all I reckon 2-0 to the Rovers with Savage and Emerton to score. If we score early it could be a few more.

Arguably Rovers biggest game so far under Hughes, a match which could conceivably have the biggest impact on Hughes' success during his time at Rovers. His tactics, formation and team selection will have not come under so much scrutiny as for this must win game. Looking at our squad there's some pretty tough choices to be made and not the nice type of selection problems that they're having down at Chelsea: The goalie situation is fairly settled. Brad's had a few blips this season but overall has been quite solid, and on several occassions has shown just how good a keeper he is. Regardless, this isn't the type of game you want to be throwing a different keeper into - high pressure is something of an understatement. Defensively we've improved a huge amount yet despite this the selection still isn't clear cut. Our full backs seem to get beaten regularly every single game although there doesn't seem to be much alternative. Neill has had a poor season but lacks a replacement, Matteo is woefull but somehow has got Hughes' favour, Nissa didn't seem to do much wrong but if he's off at the end of the season is there much point in playing him, McEvelely isn't quite ready yet and Nelsen may be better off at, and required for, centre back duties. Fortuately Norwich don't have any class wingers of the likes of Robben, Duff and Downing who we've faced in the last couple of games. At the centre of defence captain Todd, one of our most solid players and puts in a good performance every week. Todd's most likely to be partnered by either of the new boys Mokeana (sp)or Nelsen both of whom have looked encouraging. I believe that Todd's centre back partner will be dictated by who hughes wants to play other postions. Then there's Nissa. I thought he did quite well there, but Hughes seems to have given up on him, and a player who is leaving wouldn't help forge a solid centre back paring we've been missing since Short and Berg. Incidently Short if fit, could possibly be involved. Certainly his experience would be nice. Chaos theory dictates that Amo could also feature in some form. Norwich's biggest threat comes from the pace of their forwards Huckerby and Ashton which is Rovers biggest worry, and Hughes must bare this in mind when making his selection. The midfield depends very much on the formation that is employed. Tugay is too much of a liability in a 2 man midfield, but Rovers have sorely lacked his killer passing (or any other form of accurate passing). In a must win game Hughes may gamble on adding some much needed creativity to Rovers offense by playing Tugay. Tommo is another hero of yesteryear underperforming. The guy's pass completion rate is dire but he does like to get stuck in and isn't afraid to shoot from distance. However after some poor performances surely it is time for him to be dropped. Flitty is a battler and always gives 100%. Sadly these days he doesn't give much more, but a Savage-Flitty partnership would certainly provide the defence with ample protection if not much else. Reid to me deserves a chance in the centre, and has impressed when he comes on. Nothing fancy but a dependable all rounder who is capable of making some powerful runs from midfield. However he seems to have fallen down the pecking order. Then there's Savage. Thank god we signed him. Ok he's not a Zidane or Viera but the guy is quality. He gets stuck in and also has more to his game then his defensive duties. Rovers really need a big game from Robbie. The wings see arguably two of Roversmost talented players in Emerton and MGP. After an excellent start to the season Emerton has faded somewhat of late; if he could refind his form for this game it would be very welcome. MGP has a tendency to drift inside, which when playing a five man midfield means it gets rather crowded in the centre. He's scored a few which is nice since Rovers have decided that scoring isn't for them. The alternatives on the wing aren't great; an out of form tommo, or Reid who seems better suited to a more central role. Norwich have nothing special at the back, and from what I've seen of them look shaky defensively. The good news for the Canaries is that rovers have nothing up front. Dickov works stunningly hard scores the odd cracker, but isn't the most reliable of shots in front of goal. However he could be just what we need to unsettle a jittery Norwich defence. As for the rest Gally's best contribution comes when dropping off to the midfield, Jemal has too little experience for such a big game and Stead has even less confidence. Anyone who saw the Bolton game would be disappointed if Boothroyd played for us again. Jansen has never been the same since his accident and injuries seem to have slowed him down even further. However he does seem the best of a bad bunch and the only one who seems likely to get a goal from open play. Anyone remember his stunner against Norwich during the promotion season? A repeat of that would be very nice. Looking at the choices Hughes has to make is pretty depressing. Fortunately norwich ain't up to much either so I'll go for a 1-1 draw, Savage for us then a very late equaliser from a Norwich forward.

Not as bad as moving back up there. The board to me did well with a player who held all of the cards. 5million for a player whop doesn't want to play is pretty good considering. Indeed had we paid a sensible price for him, we'd all be considering the 5m an incredible piece of business by rovers. The biggest looser in all of this is Ferguson. Blackburn will get over this, one player is not a club. I'd much rather have lost barry than Todd, Brad, Dickov or Emerton. Ferguson will never now get the chance of playing for a top club, whereas had he excelled at Rovers he may have become a true Scottish legend. What I would have liked to see as part of the deal is one of their strikers on loan with option for a perminant deal. A bit of a gamble admittedly but since we have bobbins up front it would have probably been worth taking. Or they could have taken Amo back with them.

My thoughts exactly, my favourite Rovers player of all time. Shearer and Gally are my choices too.

Have to agree with Paul. The football on show has not been exciting for a long time. Even the two league home wins we've had this season have been pretty dire 1-0 affairs and very scrappy. Last season I didn't see a single Rovers win despite going to over half the home games and a couple away. For the average none ST holder to see that it's pretty likely that they're going to have second thoughts about going. This is where attractive football, heros, players who look as if they care and atmosphere all play a big part in retaining support. Another factor which IMO has an effect is the increased number of 18 - 22 year olds at Uni. I know quite a few people who used to be ST holders for various clubs but now they've moved away to university, it's too impractical to see their team and the costs in time and money are too high. Maybe between terms Rovers could make more of an effort to attract returning Uni students. Overall though Rovers need to shape up more on the pitch. With any other product if it isn't good enough you change it or stop using it. Football is slightly different but the principle is the same, if you don't produce a satisfactory service people aren't going to come. Yes, football is a chancy form of entertainment, there is always a chance you'll get laced but if there's a good chance you'll win a few games too then people will be willing to take the 'risk'. Sadly Rovers haven't been doing this for a while.

One of the worst games I've seen, both teams were bad, and the way in which Rovers lost the game was sickening. For me there's some real issues, most of which have been highlighted already. Matteo - anyone could do a better job at left back. Defensively he's not too bad unless he gets turned or he has to sprint. Sadly as a full back both these things happen quite regularly. His offensive prowess is terrible - the worst in the team. I cannot think of one pass forward which found its man. Whilst the whole team was poor in possession Matteo stood out in giving the ball away. The guy can't cross or attack to save his life, and a better full back could have capatilised on a decent performance by MGP and ganged up on the Bolton full back. Nissa, Jay, Gray or even an injured Gresko can't be as bad at left back. Boothroyd - the worst performance I have seen in a Rovers shirt - which is quite impressive considering. What's worst the guy didn't seem to care. He should never play for the first team again. Gally had a poor game too but to be fair Gally likes to move about and run the channels and play off a centre forward, yet he didn't get many decent passes which really didn't help his game. Besides at least he looked bothered about not playing well. The midfield - I hate to say it but we missed Ferguson. Not one midfielder was capable of playing a pass that would hurt the opposition. Tommo especially doesn't look to have the vision to be a centre mid. We need someone who can play the killer pass and slow the game down. My biggest gripe was the fact we gave possession away far too easily. Peversely I think this is also the most encouraging thing as if we get this sorted, I think we'll be a lot closer to a decent team then we appear. The reason we don't score many is because we don't have much of the ball. I mentioned this shocking display of giving away the ball after the Charlton game. Again today I can hardly remember us having the majority of possession for over a couple of minutes. And if you don't have the ball you ain't going to score. This is what let us down as defensively we were quite solid. The encouraging bit is that when we do have the ball we do a fair bit with it. Looking at the first half of the game we probably had about 25-30% possession. However in that time Neill forced a good save from the keeper and MGP had a couple of good chances as well. Our possession to chances ratio was pretty good. If we can keep the ball better, and continue with our current chances to possession ratio, we should be getting a fair few more goals. A proven striker would also be nice (Bellamy on loan?) as we really need to take the few chances we are creating. Finally Diouf should recieve a three match ban for diving - there's no question it was a dive and if the FA are serious about cutting down on this they won't get a better or clearer opportunity to send out the right message. I won't hold my breath though.

2-1 Rovers (Gallagher, Emerton) Agree with all of that though would have Jansen and Neill on the bench rather than Boothroyd and Matteo. My big worry is hughes seems to favour Matteo playing. I watched the Arsenal-Bolton game and Diouf looked like a class player, especially when out wide, and would trounce Matteo. Bit worried about our lack of presence up front, we really need another striker. With Stead and Gally playing the long ball is not an option, Pederson and Emo need to whip in lots of crosses and hopefully pin back Bolton. Todd should easily be able to manage pie boy Davies despite his decent form at Bolton. Looking at the team especially with our midfield we should have a couple of goals in us and Savage should add some much needed steel to the centre. Tugay and Matteo should never play for Rovers again. One's shockingly inconsistent the others just shocking. Bringing on Flitty for the last 20 minutes should make sure we look a bit tougher in the final phase of the game as we want to avoid a repeat of the Cardiff game.

My opinions too, Brad's the most deserving of the armband. I think Flitty would be the best short term solution if Savage wasn't coming as he's proven in ther role and the team needs a midfield battler. However the captaincy could be just what Tommo or Todd needs to settle them down and gain some consistency. It's a bit of a risk though.

To be honest I'm glad that he's handed in a transfer request - at least now the club and the fans know where he stands. If he's leaving for Rangers I'm not too bothered. Either he's pretty selfless in putting his family first or he's pretty spineless for not trying to hack it out. Ferguson isn't worth 7 million - back then or now - but he is certainly good enough to play Premiership. If he'd prefer the easy life, well he's not the type of player you want at Rovers. If however he's leaving for Newcastle/Everton then I'd be very dissapointed. Although historically bigger clubs under Hughes we have every chance of matching them in a year or so - indeed we could probably beat them now. If Fergusons going for a quick shot at success with these clubs it just shows how niave and disloyal he is. It's not like a move to Real Madrid nor has he repaid Rovers for the opportunity to play at Premiership level. If he goes to me the negatives are: The loss of moral from loosing a big name. The most likely loss from a 7m investment. The weakening of the squad from loosing a good player. The disruption caused by changing captain. An aging midfield looks even older. The positives are: Hughes will have more money to spend. We've not got a demotivated player picking up massive wages. Ferguson never seemed to me to be the captain Flitty was. Ferguson was as many players have stated a square peg in a round hole as finding the right partner appeared to be causing some difficulties. Maybe Reid and tommo will get more of a chance to play centre mid - I have high hopes that both could really find themselves in this position. Overall, disappointing, but not the worst thing that could happen to Rovers. The worst thing is it dragging on so hopefully it can now be quickly resolved.

Savage would be a welcome addition to the squad but I'm not sure he's worth 3 million given his age. Still think he would improve the team. Worryingly though it'd mean we would still not have many central midfielders under the age of 30, and certainly no decent ones in the early twenties. A good long term prospect would be welcome.

Actualy, it's his problem for not living up to expectaitions although to be fair, the expectations were excessive. There was no way that Ferguson is or was worth what we paid for him, and sadly there is also no way that he is a world class player. I think many Rovers fans are guilty, or rather hopeful, of thinking he's a class player due to the massive investment in him. Don't get me wrong the guys good, but no better than many other stars and certainly not one of the top midfielders in the Premiership. I'd get rid, his loss will not be that great, like the loss of Shearer or Duff, or even as significant as Dunn or Cole. From a footballing sense, whilst a loss, it is not the most signifcant. Also in moving back to Rangers no one could accuse him of moving to bigger and better things, Rovers don't look like a stepping stone and would emerge with their prestige intact. Personally I think our situation, though much improved under Hughes is still precarious, and we cannot afford to be carrying anyone. We must have players who want to fight for the cause and someone wanting to go home who hasn't got their heart in it could be detrimental to the team. To be honest the worst situation would be for Ferguson to stay till summer where we're playing a demotivated players and paying his (rather large) wages, and his value would decrease. Barry must commit to either Rovers or Rangers now. As it is I think he'll go. Finally Rovers must get value for money. The days where we release Grabbi or Cole for nothing must be behind us if we are to progress as a club. I'd much rather have Hughes with a decent transfer budget than Ferguson staying. Ferguson does not make that much of an impact on the team, certainly not enough to justify his high fee. A couple of shrewd signings from Hughes could have a much stronger impact on the team and reap benefit in several positions.

Ok here goes. Despite the fact that the vast majority of Rovers fans saw Friedel as a superfluous signing when he joined, Brad has managed to become a Rovers legend winning over both the crowd and pundits. This is no mean feat considering the shadow cast by former championship winning keeper Tim Flowers, and more recently the former player of the year John Filan. With two quality keepers, including Filan, at the club many were wondering what Brad could bring to the team. The first things Brad gave Rovers were consistency and dependability. At the beginning of the promotion season rovers were having no problem scoring but were letting in goals with alarming regularity. Brad slotted in immediately and proved to be the final piece of the defensive jigsaw. Whilst Matty and Dunn and the like got most of the credit, Rovers tight defence including Brad played no small part in grinding out the wins and our promotion success. Friedel carried this consistency into the premiership, rarely if ever making a mistake and never looking out of his depth. Even Flowers would struggle to match Brad in terms of continual reliability. No howlers, few fumbles, and within his first full season Brad had firmly established a well earned reputation amongst the fans for always being on top of his game. It was during this season that Brad showed that he could impersonate superman, pulling off some fantastic saves, especially during the Worthington Cup Final. Brad was deservedly man of the match as Rovers lifted the cup. Granted it was a team effort which won it for Rovers, but Brad did that little bit more than everyone else; from an early one on one with Ferdinand to the near point blank header late on Friedel was supurb. Cole's goal might have been the decider but it was Friedel's saves that won Blackburn the cup. The following season was probably the highlight of Brad's Rovers carear. Just like it seemed impossible that Shearer in his hayday bearing down on goal would miss, it seemed impossible that Brad would not save. Time after time Brad demonstrated astounding reflexes which must have added 20 points onto Rovers tally for the season. Once again Friedel proved the difference in Rovers securing European football for the second season running. Recognition came from outside the club being named in the players premiership team of the year, and Arsene Wenger's desire for Brad to replace the departing Arsenal legend Seaman. Like other Rovers greats Brad also performed well on an international level during his time at Rovers. To play at three world cups shows Brad's international credentials, Arguably his best World Cup came during his time with Rovers again showing his class with some fine performances and several penalty saves. Since then Friedel has not reproduced this near legendary form, but then he has had the challenge of Rovers defence to contend with. And despite this Brad has still remained one of the most consistent performers at the club. His desire and determination for the club to succeed are epitomised by his goal against Charlton, a truely classic Rovers moment. And those who think he's lost it remember performances like the Manure home game this season. Like Duff and Shearer before in Brad we have witnessed the best player in the premiership in that position whilst wearing a Rovers shirt, and saw a display of talent which few players possess. Rovers may have lost a team which they can identify with but Superman still exists.

Totally agree SG Looks like alot of yesterday was overlooked owing to the overdue win - but 6 pts ahead of the relegation scrap or not we have a long way to go and could easily fall back in there over the next two weeks. Lets just hope we can build and Hughes can use his nous thus far and the transfer window to add a bit of creativity to the team - he's doing well so far but will it be enough? Charlton where not up too much yesterday yet we still made hard work of it - but then again that is just typical Rovers. IMO a good cup run is a MUST for the benefit of the club as a whole. Keep it up Hughesy but tell the players they can try and score more goals if they want too. My sentiments exactly. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of positives. Compared with earlier on in the season the team looks a class apart, you wouldn't believe its the same team. Nevertheless there's still a long way to go before survival and an acceptable quality for Rovers is reached. The first half was not good. In fact at times it was pretty dire. The most worrying thing for me was the amount of times we gave the ball back to the opposition. Against a better team than this would have been punished. This is something Hughes and the team need to work on. This is not a lack of quality but carelessness and sloppy play. I tried counting the number of misplaced passes and casual losses of possession. I gave up after twenty (and Tommo was responsible for half.) Another worrying thing was the lack of killer instinct. Despite giving the ball away on an alarmingly regular basis Rovers were the better team. Yet we didn't create too many chances - although there was that goal mouth scramble that was unlucky not to go in. However, the final killer ball was lacking. The second half saw us tighten up defensively and despite a lot of possession Charlton rarely troubled us. It would have been nice if we could have kept possession better, but as the first half demonstrated that isn't Rovers forte. I believe had we held on to the ball and had the majority of the possession for the first fifteen/twenty minutes of the second half we'd have seen a far more demoralised Charlton and a more favourable scoreline. However, as the guy next to us said, Rovers never do things the easy way. Finally on the negative side, is the problem of having a left footer on the left. Emerton - my man of the match along with Todd - still struggles from not being able to cross it with his left. With Matteo's lack of offensive capabilities this meant we had no one capable of crossing it in from the left. This cost us on several counter attacks in the second half. This must be addressed. I'd have Emo back on the right, or as he's doing a decent job on the left, a left wing back with offensive capablities (what's wrong with Gray?) Either way this must be sorted. Player raitings. Friedel - not much to do but did it well. Was constantly yelling at the back 4 to push up which is much needed. We sometimes defend far too deeply. Neill - a good game again, coming on both defensively and in attack with a couple of runs. Nissa - sliced and mishit a couple of clearances but was generally very solid and good in the air. One near suicidal pass to Neill as well but coming along well with Todd. Todd - this guy is showing his class. Ok not the most talented of players but never shirks a tackle and again showed real desire to win. Coped with Charlton admirably. Joint man of the match to me. You do wonder how Tiny would have progressed if paired with Todd rather than Amoruso. Matteo - defensively solid if not spectacular, dire going forwards. Not the answer to left back, or centre back positions and definately not worth his wages. Tommo - pants in the first half until his cross for the goal, which was his first pass to someone in a Rovers shirt. Second half improved with a couple of good dead ball plays but on reflection prefer the consistency and steel that Reid adds to the side. Emerton - took his goal well although service prior to and after the goal weren't great. Defensively was supurb. Flitty - old and these days sadly limited, but still did his main job of disrupting the opposition. If only he were 10 years younger. Ferguson - involved in goal and had a lot of play go through him. A decent performance but would want more for a 7.5 million signing. Stead - unlucky worked hard, got a stupid yellow card. His first touch let him down. Needs confidence - which might warrent a run in the reserves. Dickov - worked really hard though didn't get much reward. Shot horribly wide when forced an opening in second half (perhaps he should have turned the other way). In short theres room for a lot more improvement but despite some sloppy play Rovers ground out a win, which can only be a good thing. Despite a lot of hard work needed and a few key positions needing sorting out, the situation looks far from hopeless. In fact under Hughes things are beginning to look encouraging.

Pretty much my feelings too. I believe that Souey was doing very well, arguably the best job in the premiership in terms of progression when we finished 6th, and then his ego got the better of him. Then he jumped ship when it went wrong. Now, I'm not so gutted at the way he left. As it was all parties left with their dignity intact and we got compensation rather than having to sack Souness, money that will be much needed by Hughes in January. As for booing Souness that will only bring discredit on us. Firstly the man did give us three fantastic years. Secondly despite his best attempts to ruin us he still left us in a far stronger position than when he arrived. Thirdly, the ways he's humiliating himself and proving that he's not up to managing a big club. Great though he was, he's past his sell by date. If anything I'm somewhat sympathetic to the shambles that he's creating at Newcastle. One of my favourite games (and IMO last seasons most attractive home game of football). Rovers really could win this one. There's been a fantastic atmosphere when these two teams play: 1-0 VE day, 1-0 season after with Shearer's reception, 1-0 to get into Europe with late free kick loosing inthe FA cup, 1-1 first season in Prem (with that dirty g*t Robert flooring Neill). Newcastle have done really well out of us as a feeder club. As well as Shearer there was also Batty, Gally and Given. The latter had the potential to be a great player for Rovers, the other two were. In return we got... Peacock. We're still owed a lot more points for that. I reckon Hughes to fire up the boys for a 1-0 win, lady luck to be against Newcastle, Neill to get booked for hammering into Robert and Todd crashing home a pin point Emerton corner. Think that the fighting spirit will get us through this one and the team picks itself except the front two, where no combination seems to work, and left back, where dispite having 5 players who can play this position none have successfully. I'd like to see Gally - Bothroyd up front as Gally should run rings round the clueless Newcastle defence. My team: Brad, Neill, Todd, Nissa, Grey, Emo, Flitty, Ferguson, Reid, Gally and Bothroyd.

As it is a striker has to be top priority. I know we've loads of half decent ones, and certainly Gally and Stead may be stars of the future but the here and now isn't so good. We aren't finishing off teams there's no class up front plain and simple. Man City away, down to 10 men - Rovers fail to finish them off. Crystal Palace - Rovers dominate and fail to gain all three points. Liverpool - last minute chance falls to Dickov - another draw. That's 6 extra points which a top class centre forward could/would have gained us off the top of my head. We need some quality up front as quite simply we aren't putting teams away, which is the reason that we are where we are. We need wins but we've no one to convert the chances we're making. As for all the other positions I'd like new players in all of them but none have the pressing need that the striking position has. At centre back, Short's return has seen an improvement, and Todd and Nissa are both decent players. Whilst a cb would be my next choice, with Hughes working with and improving these three players the position isn't as terrible as it once was. Granted there's a lack of quality, but hey, the whole squad lacks quality. But Todd, Short and Nissa can do the job for us. The midfield at last looks somewhat cohesive. Another central midfielder would be nice but with Emerton, Reid and Ferguson playing fairly well together and getting a few goals I think its a case of its not broke so don't fix it and isn't a priority. Hopefully if MGP and Flitty get a bit of form together then the midfield is looking fairly strong. Also a left back if Grey and Gresko aren't considered up to it. An attacking left back would be quite nice to compliment our attacks down the left, which I don't think Matteo or Nissa really offer. Hopefully Gresko can sort out this position and get back to his best but if not a lb is also needed. At right back I think Neill's improving and so again this position is not a big worry. Looking at it with a striker, centre back and a defensive centre mid we should have a decent team again. Whether Hughes will be able to sort out these positions is another matter.