Just because a Rovers fan has negative vibes about how things might turn out next season does not make them stupid or not a proper supporter. The fact that they're worried shows that they're bothered about the club. As it is I think it's a bit early for all these negative vibes. Let's see who Souness signs before all the gloom. If however the squad has no more changes when the season starts, I'll be very worried as none of the problems in the squad have been addressed. We've a couple of large deficiencies, the lack of a left midfiedler and a lack of quality at the back. (Amoruso IMO is an okay defender, but nothing special. He's no Hendry, Berg or a slightly younger Short.) Fortunately Souness seems to have recognised these problems. We've been linked with a couple of names for both positions, and given our finacial situation they appear to be very good value for money if they come off. I'd be delighted with either the Russian chap or Pedersen on the wing, and Matteo or Van Buyten are both very good players IMO. For the possible fees that have been mentioned I'm not sure who else is a better option. Like Dickov, this to me would be considered a shrewd use of our funds. Blackburn Rovers need to be improved upon if we are to avoid another season like the last. The squad does need a few additions, not many but it is crucial those positions are filled. Souness needs to stop falling out with players. We've got to concentrate more at the back, no more silly goals. These improvements would make a substantial difference to the team but fortunately aren't that hard to achieve. The time to see whether they have been achieved will be the first few months of the next season, so let's try to be optimistic for the moment.

If he's a good left sided midfielder than 2.5 million is not too much to pay. There's no way we'll get more than 1 maybe 1.5m from sales. Assuming 3 players leave, Yorke, Todd and another - possibly Gresko or Reid - but even so that would mean that the transfer could cost about 1 to 1.5 million. And if we can't get that to fill the only position that really needs filling it's a poor lookout.

For me our club comes first and if McEverley needs to go out on loan to Bumly for him to become the successor to Grey then so be it. I'd rather he went on loan elsewhere but getting Jay to a decent standard is the most important thing.

Both would be great moves... ... so neither of them will even be attempted.

Not good news. There's not many left midfielders about, and considering we really need to fill that position I reckon we can afford to spend a large part of our transfer budget on someone like Pederson. As for the whole aclimatising discussion, Norweigans do tend to settle in England better than players other countries, and certainly appear to adapt more quickly. Not saying players fromother countries don't just that statistically Norweigans are amongst those who most regularly do. I feel its a gamble worth taking. On the whole issue of carrying a player we've carried whoever's been left mid all season, and I don't think Pederson would need to be carried, but if we do - well, we're used to it. We need a decent prospect on the left.

If they did that Houllier would be staying with the club. All the donkeys he's signed would like to ensure their place in the squad. Can't find the link but read the other day on the BBC website that Hesky backed the sacking of Houllier. A bit ungreatful that, considering he kept the misfiring inept muppet in the team despite constant poor performances.

Yeah he's fairly creative, and a good passer of the ball. He's always looked good when I've seen him (although admittedly that hasn't been much.) Also he's in his last year of his contract with West Ham so won't be costing mega bucks. As for Berkovich I know he's moody but he played well for us before and Souey knows the player so should be able to get the best out of him.

I'm not too keen on loan deals as it's more for short term problems rather than the long term benefit of the team. End of that season you've still got the same problem. Even though I don't think Tugay would be starting every game, loosing him would mean that there would be a severe lack of creativity in the squad. Perhaps if he leaves Berkovich or Carrick as a creative replacement?

Not the most inspiring signing but a good piece of business. There are far more important areas that need strengthening and our money so it's a pretty shrewd signing. The guy's proven, provides something different up front, and brings a bit more experience up front - fulfils all the criteria we were asking for. It said on the BBC website that he was a replacement for Cole, in which case I would not be happy, as don't think Dickov is good enough as a replacement for Cole.

this year starts on jan the 1st john not in december It's the old chestnut though...if you want rid who do we bring in? The only managers I remember you mentioning are Mark Hughes, who despite some impressive results in friendlies has still ultimately failed to get Wales into Euro 2004 and instead snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. You say Tugay can no longer do it; well, he could do it a month ago so when exactly did he go past it? There is no reason to think that as long as he used a bit more sparingly in future rather than playing every game. Tugay has always been inconsistent for us, if he wasn't inconsistent he would be at a bigger club. You've said Cole is lazy in the past and doesn't give a damn about the club. The second part may be true but where do you get the first one? It certainly isn't from watching the games. I've watched Cole countless times and he's always seemed commited and has had no problem working his socks off. Despite him being our best player this year (that has been here all season) you have said on another thread you'd be happy if he left. Why? Let's sell all our best players and sack Souness for Peter Reid eh? While I'd have no problem wanting Souness to leave if we were having another poor season later on, surely we should give him a chance to rectify the wrongs? He's overperformed with Rovers at times; winning a cup and sixth place so soon after the depths of the Kidd regime? We want someone to take us up the league; Souness has already done that. It only makes sense to see if he can repeat that before realising he can't and then sacking him which would cost us a fortune in compensation. Souness has to improve. We know that. If he doesn't there be calls for his head. To suggest not giving him the chance to put right his wrongs after such an impressive preformance before this season is too much, too soon. Basing Souness on his entire record at Rovers rather than kneejerk reactions to latest results. waggy- I'll just say that you have consistently held your views and I respect that, unlike some members of this board you haven't popped on to say "told you so" after every single Rovers defeat. You make your case better than most. Excellent post although IMO whilst Cole's been good he's still been inconsistent and needed the presence of another performing striker to regain his form - which is fair enough. Think there's been underlying problems for quite some time - mainly the ability to ignore certain positions and the tendency to fall out with players. However all managers have their downsides and as long as the good outweighs the bad - as it has for 3 out of 4 seasons then we should stick with Souness.

What - spend vast quantities of money and get them bankrupt? That'd suit me fine. Then we could pick up Barry, Angel and a few others on the cheap. Seriously though, I don't think that's likley to happen. Ellis is notorious for not supporting managers that well with funds.

If we let every player who's played inconsistently go this season we would loose half the team (and I'm being generous). And since Tugay's form has been picking up of late, he's one of the players who has indicated that they can get back to their best, or at least a good level of performance. In a team with as little flair as us loosing Tugay would be another step towards achieving the goal of the most unattractive team to watch. Even if Tugay isn't up to the full 90 minutes every week, having his killer passing ability on the bench each week is a huge asset and likely to give us a fair few goals and points. Personally IMO he can perform this role for another 2 seasons. Added to that, as already stated, he's Rovers through and through and a fan favourite, loosing him is only likely to dishearten many of the fans.

I think that we've just as good a chance as Villa as getting him. From his point of view he's more likely to be guarenteed a first team place - let's face it he's no competition at all. Also Villa are not much more likely to win anything than Rovers, indeed we've had more success than them over the last few seasons. Not sure how badly Villa want him, he's hardly neccessary for the team, so might not make as much of an effort to get him. Hopefully Stig can put in a word for us.

I thought you were talking to Spurs fans there for a moment.

Birmingham manager's hardly noted for his loyalty. When the going gets tough Brucie gets another club. How many clubs did he botch or jump ship? Couldn't even get Wigan out of the second division. And let's be honest, can anyone see Birmingham winning anything in the next five years?

I am gutted that yesterday's result cost us over £1 million!!! I know everyone is in 'oh well we stayed up' mode, but I cant forget how poor this season has been. I am not going to start 'Souness Out' rants, but there are still questions I have about his managerial technique and team selections. Case in point again yesterday - we finally have a left winger fit and starting a match, so Souness plays him at right-back!! Reid did ok, and Douglas has played on the left a lot, but I'd rather have only one player out of position instead of two. I am very worried about next season already. Agree. Am already getting worried. The quality is there but for some reason it just isn't working. Take the second half we did everything right but still ended up conceeding a goal and dropping a few places and a lot of cash. As for the first half it was ugly to watch. I've never seen a team play so narrow before, although with four centre mids it shouldn't have been a surprise. At least when Brett and Neil came on we had a bit of width and the team seemed to benefit from that, playing some decent football. The thing which most underlines how bad this season has been is how other clubs view us. Last season we considered ourselves must better than Birmingham and most fans on both sides and nutrals alike agreed. This season Birmingham see themselves as good as if not better than us, which shows how far we've fallen. As for Reid he's not a left winger, and hasn't shown me any indication he could do an ok job there. Sadly his positional sense didn't seem that great at right back either. The bloke next to me reckoned he'd be sold in the summer. As for Douglas he adds nothing to the team, with this performance again underlining he's not Premiership class. On a positive note though thought Tugay and Nissa were magnificent, and I'd be very interested to see how an Amo Nissa partnership would develop.

Personally I think Flitty's been one of the most vital players in our squad for many years. He always gets stuck in and disrupts the opposition - a vital job in football even if it isn't the most glamerous. And he's stayed with Rovers through relegation, good times and bad, and to me seems to really care about the result. Flitty is much more of a hero than Smith. As for consistency IMO Flitty's been disrupting the oposition well for the last 3/4 with scarcely a bad game. And IMO I don't think Smith has been that effective or impressive. His constant lack of disipline is hardly the type of consistency I'd want in a player. And saying Flitcroft is not as aggressive is laughable, the guy never shirks a tackle. Don't confuse Smith's mindless sendings off with Flitty's channelled aggression on the pitch.

Not sure about the prediciton...but that team is perfect, I wouldn't change a single bit. Totally agree Le Chuck. Prediction 2-1 Rovers. I bet we get a pen; I reckon the refs at their referee's meeting realise the blatant (alleged) favouritsim against Rovers (though we don't need any help loosing home games) and in an attempt to counter this give us a couple of pens. The first will be missed by Cole, who'll score the goal of the season five minutes later, Brum will get an equaliser, Taylor from a corner) but then Flitty crashes home the second penalty to give us the win.

Good idea by the dingles. Much as I dislike to say it, agree that Ternant's not done a bad job. Maybe he was too successful for them? They aren't goign to get a big name, or any other type of name really. There best bet is to get a young promising manager though that's not going to happen either. It's not the most carear enhancing job ever.

I wish more players had been bothered when we got relegated. And despite the guy being a thug, Smith always gives his all, which is what every football fan wants to see from their players. Agree with sentiments that relegation is not a pleasant experience but as long as it isn't us I'm not too bothered who goes down. In fact with Leeds down it should make it easier for us to survive next year.

It's interesting how people change from Souness must go to Souness is brilliant after 2 games. To be fair just after the Leeds game things were looking very dire. Anyone who witnessed the Portsmouth, Liverpool or Leeds games will tell you that it was relegation form from a very uninspiring team. Each game was a massive game for the club, especially the home games, and after the performances delivered it was only natural to question why such poor performances in such crucial games. Tactically and motivationally Rovers seemed lacking and the buck stops with Souness. Granted the players weren't holding their end of the bargain, but it appeared the manager wasn't performing either. Based on the back of a poor season up till then many who had not previously called for Souness's head, the majority without a chip on their shoulder or an axe to grind, should not be blamed or heavily criticised for this misjudgement, the reaction was appropriate in the bleak situation. After the last two results I'm convinced we'll stay up, there's too many teams near the bottom to all play their way out of trouble, as well as our recent upturn in form mean we'll pick up a few more points just to make sure we'll survive. Souness should take a lot of credit for both results, no one would have gone for the team he chose, and it paid of big time. I never thought the board would sack Souness, based mainly on his past achievements. And up until after the Leeds game my faith in Souness remained pretty strong and I still consider myself pro-Souness. However the weaknesses of Souness are becoming more apparent leaving me to wonder whether this is the beginning of the end. My main bugbear with Souness is his disregard for certain positions. Last season it was left back, this season left midfield. This to me is criminal, and although now the formation is more suited to playing without a left mid it shouldn't have taken till crisis point to make such a change. I've ranted about this elsewhere. The second biggest concern I have is the falling out with players. Whilst Dunnie appears to be an arogant muppet he's Rovers through and through and you wonder whether another manager might have managed to get more out of Dunn; after all if you can't get a player performing his best for the club he supports, then the manager may have motivational problems (although the same should be said about Dunn.) The Cole and Todd situations also did more harm then good, especially since they have been two of our top performers this season. It's not like they were not pulling their weight or inconsistent. You have to question how such fallings out would ever benefit the team. At least with fall outs with players like Yorke it might force them to perform. You can't really fault many of the transfer's Souey's made. Only Grabbi has flopped, Emerton and Gresko on paper seemed very shrewd buys, and it's more the players than the manager's fault. Add to this the real bargains we've had, Tugay, Friedel etc you can't really complain. However, whether we brought the players we really needed is another matter. Grey and Stead are both excelent buys, but perhaps what we really needed was a centre back with pace and a left midfielder. Souness buys well but perhaps not always for the right position. What does annoy me is the high squad turnover, especially this season. As another member posted this team has little resemblence to the team that has had had the success of the past three seasons. By not keeping to the if it ain't broke don't fix it rule Souness has tactically erred and the time take for everyone to gell may have cost us success this season. A good example of this is Hignett, no more than a squad player, nevertheless he always did a job for us - or at least got the goals. His replacement Baggio did naff all at greater expense. Although Hignett wouldn't have filled in for Dunn like Ferguson has as a squad player, I know who I'd rather have. Finally there's our defending. Let's be honest it's pants. Ok we kept a clean sheet, but Leceister aren't very good. Bt even in the Fulham game we let in three and the rest of the season hasn't been all that plesant defensively either. This really needs sorting out, and there aren't many indications that it's going to get much better. Short's not long left and Babbel, Neill, Gresko and Amo have been inconsistent. I'm not saying Souness should go but that there are some worrying signs there. Fortunately there have been signs that Souness is beginning to recognise these mistakes. The lack of a left winger has seen a change in formation, Amo might not be as terrible as first thought, Souness issues a form of apology for the bust ups and I can't see any full scale changes next term. Hopefully Souness will continue to rectify these errors that have contributed to a poor season. Indeed based on the last 3 seasons, where we more than exceeded my expectations he deserves to be in charge next season. Three out of four good seasons is still an impressive ratio. The circumstances of this season have contributed to a poor season too, nasty injuries, lots of new players settling in and a total absence of luck, still no penalties, would have hindered any team. We know the players have the quality, we know the manager still has the quality and we can't be so blighted by circumstances next season. So let's get behind the team and see us finish much higher next season.

I'm a big fan of Souness but this season some decisions have been baffling. My main gripes apart from the really deep #### we're in, from recent games are: 1) Why change the bench every game? 2) Why drop or change a player's position after a man of the match performance? I mean Todd after Newcastle, Nissa after City. 3) Why change the left & right midfielders over after 10 minutes? Then change them back again on and off for the rest of the game. 4) Against Portsmouth why was Grey the only left footed player substituted? 5) Amoruso, why? If Souness was to go who would we have instead? I have heard a romour that Hughes will come at the start of next season as boss since he apparently has a soft spot for rovers. Apart from Strachen who's most probably going to Leeds, there isn't anyone out there I'd want. The other name I've heard mentioned is Newell.

Wasn't Emerton replacing Gillespie and Ferguson replacing Dunn? In both cases Rovers have improved the squad. The only player not to be replaced is Duff and whilst it is nigh on impossible to get someone else of this quality, having no replacement whatsoever has been clearly detrimental to the team. The only criticism that can be levelled at Souness as regards to transfers is his lack of a replacement for Duff. As for the rest on paper the squad has been strengthened in all areas. Sadly many of the players have not lived up to expectations this season, but can this be seen as Sounesses fault?

If Leeds United go down, what have Yorkshire got? Yorkshire won't have a Premiership club, unless Sheffield United go up. Lancashire have Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton ... Leeds have become a laughing stock. The muppets forgot to mention the best Lancashire team (and technically the only Lancashire team) Rovers. Other than that good articles. It's fascinating in a morbid kind of way watching Leeds in their death throws.

Ooops double post.