Tim Southampton Rover

Just thinking about the last few years. I know he was/is still young but I reckon Jan Paul van Hecke has something about him and is a bit of a throw back to the likes of Nelsen, Hendry. I reckon he's the sort that would take out his granny if it meant he got the last Werther's original.

I know very little about Speight. What was he like in general? Good player? Who would you compare him to in the post-Prem era?

Growing up watching Rovers in the 90s, it felt like we always had at least a few players in each team who made you think: “Yeah… I wouldn’t want to mess with them!” Players like Batty come to mind, and of course Shearer, Hendry, and even Newell looked like they could certainly handle themselves. Fast‑forward to the 00s and… well… Andy Todd arrived. A man who seemed to specialise in elbows and the occasional bit of diplomacy delivered via the boot. The famous moment he turned round and kicked Christophe Dugarry up the derrière is still one of those classic memories that feels impossible to forget. We also had players like Bellamy, big Chris Samba, and Admiral Ryan Nelsen - lads who were always up for a scrap on the pitch but gentlemen off it (well, Samba and Nelsen anyway!). You could even say that Robbie Savage would always back up a teammate, even if he wouldn’t quite make the “hardman of Ewood” shortlist. But looking at the most recent Rovers squads… I don’t really see a proper “don’t mess with him” figure anymore. Perhaps football has changed. Maybe that edge gets coached out of them. They all seem nice. Friendly. Media‑trained. Professional. But not exactly the type to put the fear of Ewood into anyone. Am I being fair? Who would you say has that bit of bite in today’s team? I’d love to know who you’ve watched over the years, in particular from those who watched pre-Premier League football. I bet there are some tough players back in the day! Maybe there are some players who may not be the absolute hardman but deserve a mention. The main question is this: Who deserves the crown as the ultimate Hardman of Ewood Park? 🦾

It's what happens when you support Blackburn.

Weirdly, I have a gut feeling that we are going to win. They weren't any better than us in the cup and I believe that'll be the motivation to drag a result over the line. Yes. I know it won't REALLY happen but I am trying to focus on the wise words of the legendary Kriss Akabusi - PMA. Positive, Mental. Attitude. Therefore, Rovers 4-0 Hull City.

I swear EastEnders has less drama than this club. We might as well have a cliffhanger 'doof doof' at the end of every night 🙃

Brilliant performance. Very enjoyable! Start them all vs Watford 🤣

To be fair, we took no long throws in yesterdays game. We are making progress. Oh wait, Miller wasn't playing. My bad.

You're all just jealous because Hayden missed the dire Rovers game and you had to put up with watching it 🤣 Personally, I'd make him captain. He's clearly smart.

IF the board keep Ismael then they should consider bringing in another coach that can point out what is going wrong or give him fresh ideas to work with. I'm not sure what the assistant manager, coaches or technical staff are saying behind the scenes (Maybe they are and he's ignoring them? Who knows!) but the fact is that nothing seems to be changing on the pitch to get the best out of what we have to work with. To us fans, we have called every bad decision before they've even acknowledged it. If we can see it, why can't they?

"Injuries mean Blackburn 'cannot compete' - Ismael" If semi-pro Macclesfield can compete and beat Premier League Crystal Palace then we should be able to compete against other Championship players. To me that is someone who is out of ideas and is not up for the challenge. Time to go.

I'm sure there is always input but at the end of the day it has to be Ismael's choice. He's the manager who's job is on the line. I think what the past few months have shown us is that he trusts what he trusts and isn't flexible enough. You'd think at 3-1 down, you'd have changed it with 30 mins to go because then you can see if something else works or clicks better. He brought on like for like replacements and continued to play the same.

We'll probably smash Watford 5-0 and he'll get awarded a 3 year contract. 🤣

I agree that injuries have affected the team, and we can sympathise with Val on that. But it’s hard to understand why he says that while still leaving out better players like Pickering and persisting with underperformers like De Neve. He’s sticking to a system that hasn’t worked in about 20 games, and any other manager would have adapted by now. The one piece of data they seem to be ignoring is the actual results on the pitch.

The only players who left with any sort of credit was the attitude shown by the young academy players. I felt sorry for the new signing. He at least showed he can be a threat up top. Seeing his old team smash Man City probably left him contacting a lawyer to see if there is a refund clause in his contract to send him back.