National Express is the place to check. Failing that, a room in a youth hostel - The hatters - costs as little as £10. Well, that's how much I paid last night when booking.

You can criticise my post, but this is just laughable.

I'm so glad to see Jansen getting his career back on track. It's been a long time in coming. I can understand club officials keeping Jansen from the starting 11 if he isn't putting enough in or if he simply isn't good enough. But the reasoning behind keeping him at the club for the last two seasons, just for the odd cameo performance is beyond me. He has been mislead and fed so many empty promises for so long that I do not blame him leaving. I wish the club had had the guts to tell him he either wasn't good enough for the team or didn't have a future at the club.

United were absolutely dicking us down the wings last night. Ronaldo is world class. Smith however...

Zalayeta is on the transfer list for about 5-6million in the first season, but he is worth every penny. Three seasons in a row he's been my top goal scorer and has been insanely good.

FM2006 is so much better than 2005, almost entirely because buying and selling players is about 10million times better. If you have a player rated 5m, you no longer have to offer him to clubs at 500k to get him off your books. Clubs bid for your players and you can almost get rid of deadwood at the end of the season. Similarly, clubs accept bids for their players far more often than before. The only problem that I've found is that the transfer list is usually quite sparce. The team talk option and tactical changes during gameplay make you really feel as if you are having a tactical impact on the game, rather than just watching a blue bar go up and down.

After a couple of great wins I can see our inconsistency being a stumbling block and us slipping on the old banana skin. 1-0 Sunderland.

Got the game yesterday and after playing it for an hour I can already say that it is far better than FM2005. You can actually sell players for real money, not an eight of their value, and you can buy players far easier than before. Th enew features also look nice. A question, if you download the patch after you have started a game, does it take effect on that game?

Personally, I think that our cup games against Charlton, Middlesbrough and now Many UTD are the most important and exciting of the season. This is the only way we can really get into Europe and the rewards are complimented by the excitement associated with a knock out cup and a game plan aimed only at victory. Charlton was the best game I have seen in a long while and to score against boro in the last minute was great stuff. We seem to play much better in the cups as well so it's great entertainment all round. It's going to cost me about £60 to get to Blackburn and it will take uptwo days of the week, but I sure as hell aren't going to miss it. I find it really surprising that people would rather see league fixtures than a cup semi, or not reach into their pockets when we are just two games away from a final at Cardiff. I myself am up to my eyeballs in debt, but I'll be there. I think we need to really go for a good attendance at Ewood and support the lads. You can see it means a hell of a lot to them.

In my opinion Hughes has no desire to play jansen in the first team. I think it is about time somebody was straight with the guy and told him asuch. It's a real shame and I would certainly prefer him to start over kuq, Dickov and maybe Bentley.

I'm having the same problems Dillio Dillo and I have a PC.

Rovermatt, I agree, but England have been placed as second favourites to win the compeition. I don't think it is deluded so much as misplaced confidence.

Well over the phone I have found the shop assistants to be quite rude and unhelpful. The Rovers-World online shop is also a joke as it is rarely updated and at certain times only offers the most expensive delivery options.

Looking at the odds for the world cup winners, I'd have to say that the Czech Republic are looking pretty good at 34/1. Looking at the structure of the draw, I have them down as playing Brazil in the second round of the competition, but if they can get through that match, I'd say that they have a fair chance. Personally I think either Brazil or Argentina will win it and my predictions are for a Brazil - Argentina final. I think England will make it to the quarter finals. My predictions have us against Poland in the second round and then Holland in the quarter finals. I do not think we will beat them.

That was a typo, I can assure you

I'm surprised that neither Hughes nor Souness has considered playing him at right midfield to be honest. Going forward he is certainly better than Emerton.

That is the poorest English I have ever come accross.

I think Dickov and kuqi have both shown how good value for money purchases they were. Their work rate alone has been well worth the outlay and between them they have turned arouind some vital matches recently. However, we cannot expect them to keep it up. Both are very useful coming off the bench and I hope they can keep up their form while Bellamy is out, but I do not think they are permanent solutions. We still badly need a striker.

Didn't watch the game today, but recently, when attacking, Reid has been influential in midfield, controlling the game deep in the oppositions half, keeping possession and spreading the ball well. He certainly didn't seem to be playing hot potatoe.

Now bellamy is out, we will be exposed as the worst goal scorers in the league. We truly have an appauling strike force, Bellamy aside. I thought Bellamy was an excellent purchase and when he doesn't score, he creates a lot of goals and adds a lot of class to the team. However, his talents are by no means being exploited as we lack a regular goalscorer or a striker who compliments Bellamy's style of play. His injury just reinforces how much we need that goalscorer.

Whoops, you're right, but you get my point.

You're a pillock. I don't even think that Todd has played particularly badly this season. He stupidly got sent off for headbutting reid, but other than that he hasn't really done an awful lot wrong. I think he has been caught for pace a couple of times, but against the likes of Henry, that is hardly a humiliation.

Sorry guys, cannot believe the 7-0 at Forest slipped my mind! I agree that Reid has played very well recently, but defensivly he is lightweight to say the least and I think Savage will be key to compete against the likes of Noble, Etherington and Benayoun in midfield. Unless we play 4-5-1 I think we should stick with Savage.

Sorry if any of that doesn't make sense. I've been writing essays all night. I'm also aware that there is no info under "past meetings" as I couldn't be bothered to find out. Maybe that's something you guys could do

13th August 2005 Well this Saturday sees us entertain West Ham at Ewood park. After two seasons out of the premiership, our last meeting came on the opening game of this premiership season, resulting in a 3-1 defeat. I distinctly remember that prior to the match, all pre-match interviews and statements were emphasizing how motivated the players were for the game and how much they wanted to get the season off to a good start. This was not the case. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in London, Rovers started the better team, carving out numerous chances and scoring once, but failing to capitalize on a long stretch of possession. In the second half the players showed a distinct lack of spirit and motivation and the Hammers wanted it more. They over ran us in midfield, with Benayoun taking us to pieces. Coupled with numerous defensive mistakes we conceeded three times and lost the game. It would appear that we still suffer from the same problems 15 games on. I posed a number of questions to a Hammers friend and these were his thoughts on the match... What are your memories of the opening game of the season and the last time our clubs met? Mostly I remember how worried I was after you scored so early. I genuinely thought we were going to get a hiding, a tough welcoming back to the Premiership. Thankfully a bit of luck and some shoddy defending on your part handed us that game, but I didn’t think that kind of fortune would keep up in our games after. It has. The one memory from that game that will remain with me forever? The joy when I saw Paul Konchesky, on his debut, shove Savage through the advertising hoardings. After what Savage did to us when he was at Birmingham the season we got relegated (last game of the season, Rufus Brevett for us scores an own goal and Savage mocked him right in his face), it was the least of what we owe him. Looking ahead to Saturday At Everton we failed to convert long stints of possession into goals and at Charlton in the cup we made several defensive errors. While we manged to score three times in the same match and turn it around, we were reliant on Chalrton mistakes and a wonder strike from Thompson to seal the victory. However, with little firepower to call upon, I believe that we should play Kuqi alongside Bellamy as his physical presence caused Charlton a lot of problems. I also think that we will need the pace of Zura to deal with Harewood and his reliability in a game that is fast becoming a must win. I think Savage's role in the match will be vital as he will have to perfrom two duties; protecting the back four and allowing Tugay to control ther midfield, while also preventing Benayoun from stealing the show. This is the side I believe that we should play on Saturday: Friedel Neill / Zura / Nelsen / Gray Thompson / Savage / Tugay / Pedersen Bellamy / Kuqi I predict a 1-1 draw with Bellamy scoring for us and Sherringham for them. My friend commented further on this weeks match: From the Rovers side, who do you think will be the biggest threat or cause you the most problems? We’ve got a quick defense so I don’t see Bellamy causing too many problems, Dickov can have a nasty knack of being quiet then turning up in the right place at the right time though. But we’ll have Reo-Coker out and in his place is a nice little star for the future in Mark Noble – unfortunately though it’s left us a bit weak physically in midfield, so I think Savage and Tugay overrunning our boys in the middle of the park will be your biggest threat. Conversely, from the Hammers side, who do you think will be the biggest threat or cause us the most problems? Well Harewood has all the physical qualities to cause you guys some real trouble – pace, power, stamina – just a shame he can’t kick a football really. And Sheringham has the game sorted in his head, just a shame he runs in slow motion. I think our biggest threat will come via Benayoun or Noble, both very good passers with good vision. Etherington might cause some problems though if he can be bothered, which is unlikely. What score and result do you predict for Saturday and whom do you think will score? We’ve been pretty dire away from Upton Park this season, so I reckon you should get a point at least. But I think it’ll finish 1-1, Noble to get his first goal for us and maybe Pedersen to score for you. Statistics Current Form: Rovers: LWDLWL Hammers: WLLWDL Past Meetings: Opta Stats: Team BLACKBURN ROVERS League Rank Games 14 Goals 15 10 Shots 133 8 Conversion % 11% 13 Passes 4800 9 Pass % 75% 9 Crosses 320 10 Cross % 21% 18 Tackles 433 7 Tackle % 75% 2 Fouls 245 2 Yellow Cards 28 1 Red Cards 2 3 Shooting Player Shots Shot % 1 Shefki Kuqi 22 23% 2 Craig Bellamy 18 56% 3 Morten Gamst Pedersen 16 44% 4 Steven Reid 12 17% 5 Paul Dickov 11 55% Passing Player Passes Pass % 1 Kerimoglou Tugay 514 76% 2 Lucas Neill 472 74% 3 Robbie Savage 414 74% 4 Steven Reid 411 78% 5 Ryan Nelsen 386 76% Crossing Player Crosses Cross % 1 Morten Gamst Pedersen 104 30% 2 Brett Emerton 39 24% 3 Robbie Savage 38 23% 4 David Bentley 23 19% 5 Craig Bellamy 21 26% Tackling Player Tackles Tackle % 1 Robbie Savage 64 69% 2 Morten Gamst Pedersen 49 73% 3 Lucas Neill 48 69% 4 Ryan Nelsen 38 64% 5 Steven Reid 31 73% Dribbling Player Dribbles Dribble % 1 Morten Gamst Pedersen 57 53% 2 Brett Emerton 53 54% 3 Lucas Neill 36 54% 4 Steven Reid 34 75% 5 Craig Bellamy 29 59% Team WEST HAM UNITED League Rank Games 13 Goals 17 5 Shots 119 14 Conversion % 13% 6 Passes 4639 12 Pass % 74% 13 Crosses 279 16 Cross % 20% 19 Tackles 419 12 Tackle % 70% 15 Fouls 183 18 Yellow Cards 16 19 Red Cards 0 11 Shooting Player Shots Shot % 1 Marlon Harewood 32 34% 2 Yossi Benayoun 24 46% 3 Teddy Sheringham 18 39% 4 Nigel Reo-Coker 8 12% 5 Bobby Zamora 8 38% Passing Player Passes Pass % 1 Paul Konchesky 587 76% 2 Hayden Mullins 582 74% 3 Daniel Gabbidon 464 74% 4 Tomas Repka 399 78% 5 Matthew Etherington 376 76% Crossing Player Crosses Cross % 1 Matthew Etherington 94 30% 2 Paul Konchesky 51 24% 3 Tomas Repka 33 23% 4 Yossi Benayoun 32 19% 5 Marlon Harewood 15 26% Tackling Player Tackles Tackle % 1 Hayden Mullins 64 69% 2 Daniel Gabbidon 55 73% 3 Nigel Reo-Coker 53 69% 4 Yossi Benayoun 50 64% 5 Tomas Repka 44 73% Dribbling Player Dribbles Dribble % 1 Matthew Etherington 92 53% 2 Yossi Benayoun 83 54% 3 Nigel Reo-Coker 70 54% 4 Marlon Harewood 58 75% 5 Paul Konchesky 39 59% General Overview This has been somewhat of a inconsistent season so far for Rovers. A bit of bad luck, a general lack of quality in the final third and some defensive errors have resulted in us being far further down the table than perhaps we deserve. I think that Hughes is getting the most out of the players and, in midfield in particular, we are looking a very good outfit. I think that our "bully boy" label is laughable when watching our current standard of football and I think we Briefly, how would you summarize West Ham’s season to date? A bit of luck and a lot of team spirit and ‘character’ has carried us where our actual ability shouldn’t be at. We’re doing better than most people expected and we’ve already got some good results on the board and shown we can score – I think how it continues will depend on what happens with us and the clubs around us in the transfer window though. Rovers have for a long time now been considered somewhat of a physical, or even dirty team. Rovers fans believe this to be unjust. What are your feelings on Rovers style of play? It can’t be denied you have a lot of reputedly ‘physical’ players in your team – Savage, Todd, Neill etc – I don’t think that’s done you any favours in being seen as a ‘dirty’ team. I think it’s alright to exploit the physical side of the English game a bit in order to get results, you do have your little ‘moments’ though. I consider Mark Hughes to be one of the premierships top managers, who has masterminded a complete turn around at the club. What are your thoughts on Hughes? I thought he really would turn you boys around when he first came for Souness, he really seemed to pick you up that season. I’m not so sure now though – I think he’s a good manager, but you haven’t quite had the revolution in form I thought you might, and his choice of players is questionable. I’m sure he probably knows them well from the Welsh team, but one of the only people I dislike as much as Savage and Bellamy is Hughes himself. Where in the premiership do you think West Ham will finish? I’d be happy with anything above 17th really, but given our start, I think about 12th/13th ? Conversely, where do you believe Rovers will finish this season? Around the same as us. A bit of fun A West Ham fan came onto our board and asked us what players we would enter into a 5-a-side team. What would your selection be? Of your players I guess? Friedel, Nelson, Emerton, Pedersen, Bellamy maybe? Yourselves and Rovers have both made bids for F.C Porto striker Benni McCarthy. We believe he would a huge signing and a massive boost to the club. What are your thoughts on the McCarthy situation? Who else would you like to sign in January? Well he came here and agreed terms, only for Porto to pull out at 11pm on the deadline day. For me, that was a massive disappointment – we really need a striker as Sheringham can’t last much longer and outside of him we have no natural goalscorer. As for particular players to sign in January, I’m not sure, we’re linked to all and sundry right now. Perhaps a genuine right mid and maybe a right back for when Repka leaves, other than that I’d be happy with just a decent striker. - An anagram of West Ham United is WEED HUT MINTS... - Rovers recorded our highest ever premiership victory over West Ham, winning 7-1 on Sunday, 14 October, 2001.