Yep, that just about sums it up, albeit in a more restained way than I would have chosen, but nevertheless succint and more or less accurate.

No Theno it's you that needs to to take a long hard look at yourself. There are far more important things in this life than money and always making out how right you are in every post. Standards still matter even if they have gone out of fashion. And to abandon all standards in the pursuit of a temporary convenience is the pits, and I am not prepared to do it. Not for money or anything else. Can you say the same?

Would you sell your soul to the devil Theno? Sounds like you just don't give fig for the reputation of Blackburn Rovers. "Hey while we are at it why not see if the Home Office (being a bit pressed for cash) wants to release a few murderers and rapists that have a flair for football as well. Send 'em on licence to Rovers.....everybody knows they are a team of thugs anyway ho ho ho!"

I am up for it Den, but then I am not a mod. Maybe they are all asleep.

Therfore it should have been a red and it was. The ref was correct. I have looked at the tackle from a much better and close-up view than that U-Tube clip shows, and Barton did go flying in at speed with both feet off the ground, studs first and whether or not he got the ball is completely irrelevant. That was indeed a classic case of a "man and ball" tackle, which is and always has been since the stone age a sending off offence. And so it should be... any player that deliberately sails into a tackle in that way deserves a lot more than just a sending off in my opinion. That could easily have been a career ending injury for Alonso, and it is purely good luck that it does not appear to have had that result. Also, for all you people that seem to want Barton as a Rovers player...... did you see his deliberate attempt to snap Tugay's achilles tendon with a carefully aimed and viscious stamp down on his heel in a match at Ewood last season? No, you will all probably deny all knowledge of that wont you? I don't want to see a thug like that EVER appear in Rovers colours.

I think I understand where you are coming from Seggie, and if Barton showed even a sign of GENUINE sorrow and remorse for any of his violent actions then I would say "yes let's give him a chance" Sadly though there is absolutely no evidence of ANY genuine sorrow or remorse from him, and therefore I consider him to be totally unworthy of any forgiveness from any right thinking person as things stand at present. Obviously I am not party to what goes on behind the scenes, but I would expect there to be some kind of public statement made by or on behalf of Mr Barton should he actually have genuinely seen the error of his ways and reformed. Because of this lack of evidence of any attempt at reform, Barton still carries the stain of his conduct on his perceived character, and therefore I do not want to see Blackburn Rovers employing this person in any capacity at all. Just imagine what the media and the fans of other clubs would be saying about Rovers if we did take him on as a player. Our already poor, though undeserved reputation with the British football watching community would take a further,and I believe unrecoverable, plunge into a state of universal hatred and loathing from which we would probably never recover.

I take it that you are refering to Rooney, and yes he can be a very intimidating and often dirty player. So can you list all the incidents of violence comitted by Rooney on or off the field of play that are equal to those comitted by Barton?

That wouldn't work Hughsey. You really need to be pumped up to play football effectively. When I was playing the coaches always gave us a "pep talk" before we went out to play. The objective being to get the adrenalin flowing freely, and this sharpens your reactions considerably and also seems to increase both strength and stamina.

I don't care how talented he is as a footballer, he is in fact a violent thug and a complete disgrace to the game of football and himself (not that he is likely to care about that last bit with his mindset). I certainly don't want to see him anyehere near Blackburn Rovers ever again, bu unfortunately the ruling powers in football will all look on him as a money making commodity and he will still be employed by some PL team if not Newcastle.

Obviously I cant speak for anyone else but I would certainly be receptive to any sensible ideas as to how we the members and beneficiarys of this MB could help out with the financial problems. Any suggestions folks? I also realise that the admin people are both too busy and too worried at this time to join in this debate, but I feel that the rest of us should try and come up with some ideas to help out. Not having the slightest idea what is involved in providing this service to all us Rovers fans I am at a severe disadvantage in getting the ball rolling as it were because I have simply no idea what it takes or how much it costs, but I will certainly be keeping a very close watch on what suggestions are forthcoming and will hopefully be able to eventually join in with something sensible myself. Alternatively I will be happy to go along with any reasonable suggestion that gains the approval of the the admin and members. Sorry I can't be any more constructive but the heart is certainly willing...this site means a great deal to me and i do not want to see it go under.

My thoughts exactly. If Benni is refusing to get himself fit by losing excess weight and training to get match fitness back, then surely he must be in breach of contract. Rovers should be able to warn him that unless he conforms immediately he can be sacked without any compensation, and probably sued for breach of contract by Rovers.

Yes you're right about the Lancashire custom Colin. Although come to think about it; it is more widespread than that. Very common also in Scotland; in fact probably more common today than it is down south. EDIT: OOPS! I just noticed the date on Colin's post. Sorry folks and I hope Colin is still around to read it. It does not actually take me 2+ years to reply, but I was just scanning this thread and had not noticed the date when I got to Colins original post.

Like the man once said: "I have a dream!"

More's the pity. I think that for the sake of Football as a sport and for the long term good of all who have a genuine interest in football as sport and entertainment, the best thing that could happen would be if Utd simply implode and disappear (hopefully to rise again in a more acceptable form). Also it would be helpful to the good of the game if Abramovich suddenly decided to pull the plug on Chelsea and disappear taking all his cash with him.

Thanks for your support Theno, but I can easily see off any silly mishief makers when it comes to talking about WW2, and in fact had already done so before I read your post. I lived right through it all and can quite easily remember things back as far as 1938.

First I have heard of that facet of his life; are you certain about that? I very much doubt that he would have time for any sort of recreation during the first four or five years of the war. I have read almost all there is to read on the subject of Churchill and his war years and all the authors are as one on the fact that he seemed to never sleep. He took the occasional catnap in his room in the bunker that he was running things from at that moment in time, but always left strict instructions that he had to wakened if there was any threat or action pending. He also was famous for staying awake for 2 or even 3 days at a time. I guess you are going to claim now that all this was down to drugs. Maybe it was, but they were no way recreational drugs; more likely he ordered his medical staff to keep him awake for whatever time for operational reasons. Incidentally this kind of thing was very common in the Navy where the ships captain would very often order the doctor to keep him awake for the duration of a pending action, and this also was often over 24 to 36 hours.

You obviously know nothing at all about what Britain was like during WW2 either. I can confidently state that there is no other politician that could have done the job that Sir Winston did as Prime Minister in those terrible times. Absolutely none; and what is more I will also say that we would have lost the war early on but for the leadership and morale boosting powers of Churchill; to say nothing of his personal influence over President Roosevelt in the days before the USA came into the war. He does not deserve to be there either!!!

Once again Theno I have to agree with your synopsis. Iwas only saying the same thing myself a couple of days ago, the only difference being that whereas you say it with a certain amount of perverse pleasure in being right, I say it with a great deal of sadness and sorrow in being right.

Does anyone else notice the likeness of the one on the left to Count Dracula?

What does it matter which particular area of the country is to blame? Surely any decent British citizen who cares about being able to go about their lawful business on the streets of this country should be appalled at any and all of these reported incidents. Why waste time and energy arguing amongst ouselves about which area is worse than another area? Simply condemn them all for what they are: drunken, uncivilised louts who if the politicians had any balls at all would be properly dealt with in a way that would not only deter them for ever more, but would send an unambiguous message to all others thinking along these lines.

That just shows how far the "sue everyone for everything" culture has descended down the mad spiral to ultimate madness. We wont be far behind in this country either if the politicians don't wake up soon and put a stop to it.

Maybe his motivation for wanting to earn all this dosh is so that he can re-distribute some of the capitalist wealth amongst the poor where he comes from? Yeah! that'll be it!

What's he doing there; negotiating a transfer to Juve?

Wonder what the odds are on Sparky getting the job ?

That looks very much like an admission of guilt (in writing as well) Abbey. Hope there are no plods reading this.