Nice preview Bob. It made a melancholy Smiths fan chuckle.... My heart says that Rovers can get to the final, my head says the Red Scum will be too strong for us over two legs. I think this was the toughest tie we could have got. I would have been reasonably confident that we could have beaten Wigan, and Arsenal will probably not field their strongest line-up in the semi-final. Whereas Man United, out of Europe and almost certainly unable to catch Chelsea in the Premiership, will be very keen to win this trophy. Fergie has been under pressure this season and will be grateful for any trophy he can get his hands on. A victory for the Man United in the Carling / Worthington / Milk / Coca-Cola / Rumbelows / Khyber Café / League Cup - would be the Red Scum's first victory in the competition since Mark Hughes played in their 1992 win over Nottingham Forest. The United line-up that day was: Peter Schmeichel Paul Parker Steve Bruce Gary Pallister Dennis Irwin Andrei Kanchelskis Mike Phelan Paul Ince Ryan Giggs Brian McClair Mark Hughes The Red Scum have twice been losers in the final since 1992, losing to Aston Villa 3-1 in 1994 and 2-0 to Liverpool in 2003. This is Rovers' third appearance in the semi-final in the last 5 years. Wouldn't it be wonderful to get our name on the trophy again after beating Spurs so memorably at Cardiff in 2002, courtesy of goals from Matt Jansen and Andy 'sulky' Cole. Here's a full list of the winners over the last 20 years: MILK CUP 1986 Oxford United 3 Queens Park Rangers 0 LITTLEWOODS CUP 1987 Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1 1988 Luton Town 3 Arsenal 2 1989 Nottingham Forest 3 Luton Town 1 1990 Nottingham Forest 1 Oldham Athletic 0 RUMBELOWS CUP 1991 Sheffield Wednesday 1 Manchester United 0 1992 Manchester United 1 Nottingham Forest 0 COCA-COLA CUP 1993 Arsenal 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1 1994 Aston Villa 3 Manchester United 1 1995 Liverpool 2 Bolton Wanderers 1 1996 Aston Villa 3 Leeds United 0 1997 Leicester City 1 Middlesbrough 0 (after replay and extra time.) 1998 Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 (after extra time.) WORTHINGTON CUP 1999 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Leicester City 0 2000 Leicester City 2 Tranmere Rovers 1 2001 Liverpool 1 Birmingham City 1 (after extra time), Liverpool win 5-4 on pens 2002 Blackburn Rovers 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 2003 Liverpool 2 Manchester United 0 CARLING CUP 2004 Middlesbrough 2 Bolton Wanderers 1 2005 Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (after extra time)

At the start of the season I hoped that Matt might get a few first-team starts during this campaign, but sadly it hasn't worked out and his departure became increasingly inevitable as the season progressed. The seven-year marriage between Rovers and the likeable lad from Cumbria began in January 1999, with a spectacular goal on his debut against Spurs - in front of over 29,000 at Ewood Park. His played an integral role during our promotion season of 2000/2001, scoring 23 goals that season, including the vital headed goal at Deepdale, two strikes in the 5-0 win over Burnley and a last-minute winner in a crucial clash at home to Birmingham on Boxing Day. The following season his hat-trick against Arsenal in the League Cup set us on the road to Cardiff, where he scored the opening goal in the final against Spurs. The week after the League Cup triumph, he scored a crucial late equaliser at the Reebok stadium against Bolton, which helped to stave off the threat of relegation. As FLB said, if only Sven had picked him for the 2002 World Cup. Sadly the motorcycle accident that summer in Italy, where he sustained life-threatening head injuries and was in a coma for four days, obviously had a huge impact on his career during the following seasons. "I was very, very groggy when England were playing Brazil – to be honest I wasn't really sure what was going on," he said. "The doctors in the hospital in Rome kept asking me questions about the game and what was happening. I wasn't 100% when I returned to England." Matt did score twice during a 4-1 FA Cup 3rd round win at Villa Park in 2003, but those were to be his last goals for Rovers that season. He was loaned to Coventry the following month in February, where he was only a moderate success, scoring two goals in nine games at Highfield Road. Matt gained a first-team start during the opening game of the 2003/04 season, when Rovers thrashed Wolves 5-1 in a fine performance at Ewood. Sadly it was to be a false dawn for both Matt and Rovers. After Christmas, Jansen only started in one game before the end of what was to be a wretched season for the club - nearly culminating in relegation under Souness. There was a brief ray of hope on Sparky's debut as Rovers manager, in September 2004, when Matt scored the only goal of the game against Portsmouth. We hoped that things might be different for him under a new manager. But that was perhaps a case of the heart ruling the head, and a full Jansen recovery was always going to be a slim possibility. The prophets of doom (or the voices of reason) from older sages like Thenodrog told us that we were being silly soppy sentimental fools and that Matt wouldn't be the same player again. The heart hoped for a miracle, but the head felt that Gordon was right. This season Jansen has started in only one game, away to Bolton and in the last three months the only Premiership action that Matt has seen came against West Ham at Ewood, coming on as a sub in the last minute. I kept an eye on Matt's career from an early age, because a friend of mine who supports Carlisle raved about his ability as a teenager and said that he was the most gifted player he had seen in a Carlisle shirt at Brunton Park since Peter Beardsley. So I was especially pleased when Jansen joined Rovers from Crystal Palace seven years ago. At his peak Matt was a fine player, who played a pivotal role in our return to the top flight and our Worthington Cup success. As long as he doesn't join Burnley or Birmingham, I wish him well wherever he goes next.

Communication seems to be something of a problem for Rovers. Putting to one side for a moment the issue of why the undersoil heating failed; the club received a phone call just an hour before the game was actually called off, and they informed Modi's friend: "It will definitely be on." As Modi says: At 6pm, Gerald Jackson was unaware there was even to be a pitch inspection. This to me indicates a lack of professionalism in terms of how the club communicates. We've seen it before last season with the shenanigans over Tony Parkes's departure. The club apparently decided to sack him on the Tuesday, but nobody from within the club saw fit to inform Tony before the Friday, by which time it was on the radio and splashed across the back pages of The Sun. I trust that the findings of the investigation into today's postponement that Tom Finn has announced, will be swiftly made public as soon as the information becomes available. It would also be nice to hear from our esteemed chairman Mr Williams - to be reassured that the cock-up was a one-off and that improvements will be made to the way in which the club communicates information to it's supporters.

Well said Tris. I've also had similar feedback from friends who used to like Rovers a few years ago, but now hate the club because of Savage's antics.

Woops. I made a mistake in my earlier piece by posting that we had conceded 28 Premiership goals. We have in fact only conceded 24 Premiership goals. Next time I'll make sure that I check the tables properly before posting.

I agree. The first half, in particular, was a pathetic excuse for a football match. I thought it was a case of two crap teams playing Division One/Championship standard football. I sat there during the first half thinking "Why do I bother to waste time and money travelling to watch this". During the 1850's, the stench of sewage and pollution from the River Thames became so bad one summer that sittings at the House of Commons had to be abandoned. It was known at the time as the 'Great Stink'. A hundred and fifty years later, as I glanced to my left hand side and saw the Thames between the gap in the stands, it seemed that the stench had once again returned to the area during a wretched first half of football. For much of the first 45 minutes, the quality of play from both sides was an insult to the 20,000 at the Cottage. After about 20 minutes, Tugay needlessly gave the ball away in his own half, gifting the ball to Boa Morte, who crossed for Collins John - completely unmarked in acres of space in the box. Friedel pulled off a decent save from the Dutchman's header. That should have served as a warning to Rovers not to give possession away cheaply. But instead, Rovers continued to be guilty of some sloppy passing, with Lucas Neill and Andy Todd being two particular culprits. There was one dreadful poorly timed backpass from Lucas which could have resulted in a Fulham goal. A couple of scousers were sat in front of me, and they obviously weren't too knowledgeable about Rovers because one of them said: "Who is that number 7 ? He looks good." "I think that's Emerton. He's their best player," said the other scouser, dressed smartly in a suit. About ten minutes later, our "best player" was presented with a gilt-edged chance - a simple header from a couple of yards out. An average schoolboy would have had no problem scoring from that position. Not our Bert though. Emerton somehow managed to make a pig's ear of it - heading the ball off-target. This is an international footballer with 40 caps to his name, someone who reached the UEFA Cup final with Feyenoord, and who'll be facing Brazil in the World Cup next summer. He's also someone incapable of the basic skill of heading a ball properly. If he's really our best player, then God help us. Mark Hughes, in the technical area, shook his head in disbelief at Emerton's miss. Just before half-time, we gave away a free-kick on Fulham's right-hand side. It wasn't in a particularly dangerous position and should have been dealt with by our defence. I have to disagree Den. I thought Andy Todd was initially in the wrong position to pick up Diop and he allowed him to get in front too easily. Just before the free-kick was about to be taken, I saw Hughes and Mark Bowen on the touchline frantically shouting at the players and gesturing to them to mark tightly. The instructions were either not heard or ignored by our defence, who allowed the ball to float into the path of Diop, who nudged the ball into the back of the net. Hughes looked livid after the goal went in, kicking a spare ball away in anger. I hope that Hughes suitably kicked some backsides at the half-time interval. Fulham have got a few big black guys in their team like Zat Knight - about 6ft 7", Collins John and the wonderfully named Papa Bouba Diop. These players needed to be given particularly close attention at set pieces because of their size. You're right Krislu. We seem to have developed a habit this season of conceding goals from free-kicks. There was the one at Anfield where Cisse scored from a Savage foul, and at Stamford Bridge, Tugay needlessly conceded a free-kick from which Lampard scored. Last season some of our overall performances were poor to watch because of the style of play that was adopted in a relegation battle. Our defence was usually quite strong and resolute in the second half of last season though and that allowed us to dig in and grind out results. The worry this season is that we're still crap to watch, but with the main difference being our defence looks weaker and is making silly mistakes. In the second half of last season I think we had one of the best defensive records in the Premiership behind Chelsea. So far this season we've conceded 24 goals, which is poor. This puts pressure on our strikers to come up with goals, and as Den rightly said earlier, our forwards, minus Bellamy, are Division One/Championship standard. They aren't good enough at this level. Just seven minutes into the second half yesterday, a cross from the Icelandic Helguson was met by Boa Morte to slot the ball into the net. On our last trip to London a few weeks ago, we managed to come back from 2-0 down against Charlton to win the match. After Fulham's second goal went in yesterday I couldn't evisage a similar scenario. Mainly because our strikers looked so poor. Pedersen, who had an erratic game - never quite getting to grips with the match - did strike the crossbar from a free-kick in the second half. Crossley looked beaten and I think the shot would have gone in if it had been five inches lower. In the last minute of normal time, Paul Dickov's cross in the box was met by the head of Zat Knight to steer an own goal into the net. We might have nicked a point in injury time if Dickov had shown a bit more composure. He curled one shot just wide of the post when he perhaps had more time to go forward and find the target. Also in the dying minutes of injury time, there was a fairly tame shot from Dickov in the box which was comfortably saved by Crossley. Savage was in space to the right of him and he should have either passed to Robbie or at least struck a shot with more conviction. Rovers only came to life in the latter part of the second half. In the first half we lacked passion and it looked like a training game. David Bentley flatters to deceive. At times he looks good on the ball, but then gives possession away too easily. After a couple of mazy little runs yesterday he ended up losing the ball. He's still got a bit to learn at this level and one could see why Arsene Wenger felt that he wasn't good enough for Arsenal. Don Howe once said that when a team loses, 8 times out of 10 it's down to the midfield. Yesterday was perhaps the exception to that rule though. We lost because of a stupid mistake at a set-piece. We lost because our strikers aren't good enough and they don't have enough movement and composure in the box. We lost because Brett Emerton can't head the ball in from two yards out. Anyone that thinks this shower is good enough to finish in the top 6 this season is living in cloud cuckoo land. A Carling Cup victory would be the only way IMO that we could qualify for Europe. There's no way that we're good enough to do it via our League positition. And if it wasn't for the tattooed Welshman Bellamy, we'd be staring at a relegation battle. The 4-1 win over Charlton in November being one exception to the general malaise. Football can be infuriating to watch sometimes. But I'd still much rather watch the beautiful game than be one of the 20 million couch potatoes stuck at home yesterday watching the final of "X Factor" and "Strictly Come Dancing". Those two programmes make me want to vomit and even a Rovers defeat isn't half as bad....

If England don't qualify from their relatively easy group against Trinidad and Tobago, Sweden and Paraguay, then Sven-Goran Eriksson should be sent to the Tower of London. It's as good a draw as England could have hoped for, although I know we haven't beaten Sweden since 1968. Eriksson said after the draw: "On paper we are favourites to win the group but you never know. I said before the draw that if we could avoid Holland and Australia then we would be happy." Sven said he was looking forward to playing against Sweden at the World Cup. "Sooner or later we have to beat them. It won't be easy. They are well organised and have two good strikers in Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic." With five of the best attacking players in the world - Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robinho, Adriano and Kaka - Brazil are obviously going to be the team to beat. Not all of them may be able to play at the same time though, and Brazil need to ensure that their defence is tight. Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira claimed that Germany pose the biggest threat to his country's chances of lifting the World Cup. While some pundits (Alan Hansen included) believe that Germany don't have enough world class players to succeed next year, Parreira says that he fears the Germans the most on their home territory. An estimated 350 million people worldwide were watching tonight's draw and it was an embarrassing farce, Graeme. Because of FIFA's meddling (They didn't want 3 European teams in one group) - what should have been a relatively simple draw for 350 million people across the world to follow became a ludicrously complicated spectacle. What is so terrible or shameful about having 3 European teams in one group? FIFA though had to ensure that the "geography" was right. The African teams had to be spread out nicely so that football can be seen as a "global" event. As I've said before, the World Cup qualification process itself seems to be fundamentally flawed and biased in favour of weak African and Asian teams at the expense of European nations. To take ten teams for example - Togo, Ghana, Tunisia, Angola, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Iran, Trinidad and Tobago and Saudi Arabia. Those ten team should have been reduced in half for the World Cup IMO. Five of those teams would have been enough. They don't have a cat in hell's chance of winning the World Cup - although I know Ivory Coast have got a couple of decent players, as have Ghana - with that thuggish hatchet man Essien in midfield. (I fully agreed with the comments of Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan today when he said that Essien deserves to be banned for ten weeks for that disgraceful challenge in midweek.) It's unfair in my view that some decent European sides like Greece (Euro 2004 Champs) and Denmark (who beat England 4-1 this year) both miss out after they were placed in tough qualification groups. Whereas the likes of Togo and Angola both get to play in the tournament. Denmark, for example, are ranked 13th in the world and Angola ranked 62nd in the world. Is the World Cup about having the 32 best teams on show or is it about a politically correct "global" event where we have to ensure a sufficiently high "quota" of African and Asian teams? After making sure the number of European teams in Germany next year have been unjustly curtailed, FIFA then went on to ensure tonight that we didn't have more than two European teams in each group. The resulting draw seen tonight by 350 million people was a farce to watch when it didn't need to be.

A Premier League spokesman said that he's sure the minutes laughing will be keenly observed by all supporters..... At least Ronaldo was there to comfort Rooney a little: I thought Wayne usually goes for the older ladies in PVC leather.....

Yes, it's humiliation for United tonight as they have finished bottom of their group for the first time. United crashed out of Europe with not even the consolation of a UEFA Cup place for finishing 3rd in the group. It's the first time for eleven years that United have gone out of the Champions League at the group stages. Wayne 'chav' Rooney has failed to score a goal in the Champions League since his debut for United against Fernebache last season. It's the third year in a row that United have failed to reach the quarter-final of the competition, having been beaten last season by AC Milan in the last 16 and by Porto at the same stage the previous year. A poor record for the so-called "world's biggest club". At Benfica's Stadium of Light, a dark cloud hung over Alex Ferguson, who cut a disconsolate figure as he left the pitch. Fergie Out! (As long as it's not Hughes in.)

So Emile Heskey has got 11 million quid burning a hole in his lard-arsed back pocket..... These figures are obscene (though not altogether surprising) - and they graphically illustrate why football is no longer the working man's game. Top 12 players: 1) David Beckham (Real Madrid) £75m 2) Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) £37m 3) Michael Owen (Newcastle) £30m 4) Robbie Fowler (Manchester City) £28m 5) Sol Campbell (Arsenal) £26m 6) Roy Keane (Unattached) £25m 7) Alan Shearer (Newcastle) £22m =8) Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) £20m =8) Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) £20m =8) Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) £20m 11 Thierry Henry (Arsenal) £18m 12 Emile Heskey (Birmingham) £11m As a friend of mine put it: "I have had enough of football. I've had enough of the obscene wages and the 48 quid ticket prices at Chelsea. I've had enough of early kick offs and power crazed stewards. I've had enough of being taken for granted, of being squeezed for every penny and of feeling exploited and powerless. "I've had enough of footballers 'identifying' with the fans, kissing a different club badge whenever it suits them, and parasites like Rio Ferdinand complaining that a 90 grand a week pay-packet isn't enough. "I've had enough of takeovers, greedy chairmen, dodgy agents and missing money. I've had enough of football as a 'brand' - asset stripping and mega-stores, enough of greedy players like Ashley Cole going to secret meetings with other clubs. I've had enough of Beckham's latest hairdo and tattoos. I've had enough of Colleen and Wayne." Football has lost it's soul. I'd like to see a list available for the richest managers. I wonder where Harry Redknapp would be.... Ruud van Nistelrooy, worth a cool £20m, agrees with me that wages for footballers are obscene. (Link HERE )

It would take a heart of stone not to feel some sympathy for 87-year-old Dickie Best, who buried his son yesterday. In 1978, Dickie lost his wife Ann, George's mum, who died from an alcohol-related illness. 27 years later, the rain in Belfast was mixed with tears as Dickie buried his son George. George blamed himself for the death of his mum Ann, who started to seek comfort in the bottle after struggling to cope with George's fame and well documented problems. The death of his Mum hit George hard, but rather than her alcohol-related death acting as a wake-up call to his own problems, he spiralled further into a drink-fuelled depression. As a player, the pressure on George increased after a rumour that he had donated money to a Belfast Protestant organisation. This brought a death threat, purportedly from the IRA, and George sought solace from the increasing pressure by hitting the bottle more heavily. In 1974, an hour after Man United had beaten Plymouth in the FA Cup, George sat in the empty stands at Old Trafford, tears streaming down his face, after he had been left out of the team. Boss Tommy Docherty axed him after missing training and his Old Trafford career was over. You could argue that George was the author of his own downfall and he only had himself to blame. But as I said, it would take a hard-hearted man not to feel some sympathy for Dickie Best, who buried his son yesterday. George's relationship with his first wife Angie was turbulent and after one night of heavy drinking he wrapped his car around a lamp-post. He broke his shoulder and had to have stitches in his face. On another occasion, after George was unfaithful, Angie apparently stabbed him in the backside with a kitchen knife. In 1984, George spent Christmas in prison after being jailed for drink-driving offences. Professor Williams, George's physician, is adamant that George didn't jump the waiting list for a new liver and that he waited his turn for over a year. "His behaviour before the transplant and in the immediate year afterwards was exemplary," Professor Williams said. "Most patients with an alcoholic liver disease have to abstain from alcohol for six months. George abstained for a year before the transplant, and he remained sober for over a year afterwards. But then sadly, for reasons known only to George, he started to drink again." "I've still got no regrets at all about recommending him for a transplant," said Professor Williams. "George ticked all the boxes. He had given up alcohol for a year. Faced with a patient with the same problems, I would do the same again. We are doctors, not gods and it's not up to us to decide who deserves to live or die. It's up to us to treat the sick to the best of our ability and that includes alcoholics." "Our hospitals are chock-full of people who smoke too much, eat too much, drive too fastr, have unsafe sex, and engage in dangerous sports. As doctors, do we just turn round to those people and say 'Sorry, but it's your own fault, we can't help you'. "When I met George he was a very sick man with serious stomach pains and acute liver failure. Like any alcoholic, George could always find someone who would serve him a drink, and all too often, buy the drinks for him." "His liver transplant, and subsequent treatment, was carried out at a private hospital and therefore made no financial demands on the National Health Service. He had to wait his turn for the right liver just like anyone else. I don't believe anybody died because of George." "Medical science still can't properly explain the biochemistry of addiction. But it's a fact that some people are chemically addicted to alcohol," said Professor Williams. George died, not from liver failure, but because of a lung infection that led to internal bleeding. I'm sitting down typing this after having had a couple of vodka and lemonades in the afternoon. Most people know when to stop and can go without a drink if they want. Others, as Professor Williams says, are chemically addicted to alcohol. It doesn't excuse their behaviour of course, and if alcoholics commit crimes like drink-driving, then they deserve to be punished like everyone else. But for most of us, who enjoy the odd drink or two without too many ill-effects, it's perhaps difficult to comprehend what it must be like to wake up in the morning and have a desperate need for alcohol straight away. George joked: "In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life." "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered," he said. A message on one of the cards yesterday said: "Dear George, thanks for giving me so much joy, you were my hero as a child and as an adult. You will never be forgotten." Maybe we should remember him for the pleasure he gave, rather than for what many people believe was a tragic waste of talent. George wasn't a saint - he was a fool at times - but I'm not going to stick the knife in to vilify and condemn a man who has just been buried by his father yesterday. I'll let others do the pontificating and moral condemnation on this occasion.....

He was born in Kosovo. I didn't say in my previous post that he was an asylum seeker - although, as it happens, he actually was an asylum seeker who fled Eastern Europe to go to Finland. (Link to that HERE) I didn't mention asylum seekers in my previous post. I notice that you didn't take other board members to task on previous topics where they described Zurab as an asylum seeker. Maybe, with your username in mind Joey, I should also be careful in future about saying that Kuqi has a big nose, in case that's "racist" too....

Highbury - redolent of marble halls, the bronze bust of Herbert Chapman, the oak panelled boardroom, the Grade 2 listed Art Deco facade of the East Stand, and the famous clock in the South Stand, where I was situated with the Rovers supporters yesterday. On a day when football paid its respects to George Best, I travelled to North London to say a final goodbye to the famous old stadium before two of the stands are knocked down to be replaced with blocks of flats. The new stadium, about half a mile away, is a huge construction, with a roof similar in design to the Stade De France in Paris. Bloody French.... It's not just football that has been seen on the Highbury pitch over the years. Henry Cooper came up against Muhammed Ali in a World Heavyweight title rematch at Highbury in the 1960's - a fight which some of our older messageboard readers might recall. Many years ago, there was also a black and white film called "The Arsenal Stadium Mystery" - where the star player for the opposition is deliberately poisoned. The mystery for me at Arsenal yesterday was how the hell Shefki Kuqi has become a Premiership striker. He looks like a pub player who is totally out of his depth at this level. Yes, he provides the odd decent flick on, and he shows a willingness to run about - but it's not enough at this level. He's frankly an embarrassment in the blue and white shirt - typified by a "shot" he had in the first half yesterday from a decent position which ended up nearly hitting the corner flag. The sooner this dysfunctional Kosovan is replaced with a more competent striker the better.... Kuqi wasn't the only one at fault though. At least he tried. I thought Andy Todd was to blame for both of Arsenal's first two goals. I wouldn't use the word "superb" myself Den. I think it was a broadly acceptable performance for the most part, undermined by a lack of clinical finishing and a couple of lapses in concentration for the goals Arsenal scored. I agree that the 3-0 scoreline was harsh. It flattered Arsenal and wasn't a true reflection of the game. Last season, in one of Souness's last games with Rovers, we also lost 3-0 at Highbury. But this was a better performance in terms of going forward and creating chances. Last season at Highbury we had a demoralised team, lacking in confidence and tactically poor. Improvement has been made under Hughes, but we nevertheless still lost the game 3-0 yesterday and we have to look at the reasons why. We got off to a wretched start - caught cold after just a few minutes. From the initial move, Bergkamp was allowed to go past Steven Reid too easily and it was poor defending from Todd on the edge of our box - gifting the ball to Fabregas. Friedel perhaps should have done better with the shot. Three years ago, I think he would have saved it - but it was the lumbering Andy Todd who was mainly to blame for the defensive error. It could have been 2-0 to Arsenal within ten minutes, but Friedel did well to save Henry's free-kick. On our last trip to London a few weeks ago, we also got off to a wretched start in the opening ten minutes against Chelsea. Away from home we need to be better prepared and concentrate harder at the start of the match. Later on in the first half, for a period of about 20 minutes, we passed the ball around nicely and created a couple of decent scoring opportunities. Our pub striker Mr Kuqi actually did well to chest the ball down in the box for Pedersen, who should have done better with his shot - which was blocked by an Arsenal defender. Friedel made a decent save from a shot from Pires, who was allowed to run down the whole length of Arsenal's right hand side far too easily. Pedersen had a mixed game. His corners were erratic and he didn't fully get a grip on the match. However, he did provide a couple of good crosses in the game. His midfield counterpart Emerton was back to his usual frustrating self - doing very little of any note. Savage - not my favourite player - chased and harried the Arsenal midfield well. Putting to one side his ridiculous playacting, which will do nothing to improve his or Rovers' image, I thought he generally had a good game, breaking up Arsenal's attacking play. Robbie has his limitations. He'll never be a creative player in a million years and he'll never be able to provide the type of incisive defence-splitting passes that Tugay and Berkovic did in their pomp. However, he did do a good job yesterday of putting his foot in at the right moments. As I said, we passed the ball around nicely for periods in the first half, but it was some rather old-fashioned route one football from Lucas Neill which carved out a couple of chances for the tattooed Welsh chav Bellamy. A long punt from Lucas in his own half found Bellamy in space behind his Arsenal marker. Craig struck a firm shot, but Herr Lehman made a good save. From the rebound, Bellamy's shot hit Toure's head and went out for a corner. Another long punt from Neill shortly afterwards found Bellamy in the box, but he couldn't manage to control the ball properly. We deserved to go in at the half-time break no worse than being a goal down - but with two minutes to go in the first half, there was some more poor defending. A fine pass from Pires found Henry on the left-hand edge of the penalty box. But I felt that Andy Todd should have been quicker to spot the danger and intercept the ball. Todd is a carthorse compared with the thoroughbred Henry, and he was too slow to see the danger. In the second half, we again carved out a couple of decent scoring opportunities. From a Pedersen cross on the left-hand side, Bellamy's diving header grazed the outside of the post. David Thompson replaced the ineffective Emerton for the final half hour, and although Thommo looks a few pounds overweight, he was nevertheless lively - seeing a firm shot saved by Herr Lehman. Later, Thommo had a fairly weak header in the box saved by the in-form German keeper. With a couple of minutes to go, Van Persie, on the right-hand of the pitch, then went past Michael Gray too easily and struck a fine goal. I saw a few Rovers fans near me clapping Van Persie's strike. It was a fine goal, but it was also poor defending from Gray. At the end of the match, the young Dutchman embraced his old foe Todd. The difference in the match was the quality of Arsenal's finishing and the lapses in concentration from Todd and Gray. I would feel more comfortable with a defensive partnership of Zurab and Nelsen. I left the Highbury stadium for the last time on a grey and miserable November afternoon. The weather was crap, the food was crap and the toilets were crap. Maybe the move to Ashburton Grove isn't such a bad thing after all....

George used to like telling the story of an incident in the 1970's, after he had left Man United, when a bellboy working at the hotel he was staying in, knocked on the door and brought breakfast into his luxury hotel room. Seeing George in bed with a stunning Miss World beauty, sipping champagne together and with several thousand pounds of cash strewn across the floor of the room (which he won the previous night from gambling in a casino) , the errand boy said: "Mr Best, where did it all go wrong?" George liked to chuckle at the story, but perhaps the sad reality is that it did indeed go wrong for Best from about the age of 26 onwards. He was one of the most naturally gifted players British football has seen, but many people will think of his career as being a tragic waste of talent. A friend of mine that I was speaking to yesterday had the same opinion as yourself Blueboy, but personally I can't be that harsh. Yes, George has been a fool at times, but we have to remember that alcoholism is an illness. It doesn't excuse their behaviour, but alcoholics are not like you and me - who are happy to have a couple of drinks and go home. George was given a second chance in 2002 when he had a liver transplant, and for a year or so afterwards, he didn't touch a drop of alcohol. Sadly he then decided to press the self-destruct button and was back on the booze again. I can understand the reaction of those who say: "It's his own fault. He's only got himself to blame." But I can't pontificate and condemn the man myself when he's lying on his death bed. I know that if I had a relative who was an alcoholic, I certainly wouldn't be telling the doctors not to treat him. Should doctors not treat people who smoke? Should doctors refuse to treat people who like pie and chips and the odd bacon and egg fry-up? In any case, I think George is being treated in a private hospital at the moment, so he's not costing the NHS anything. You could argue that he shouldn't have been given a liver transplant in 2002, but how do we know that if it had gone to somebody else, that person wouldn't have screwed things up as well? A donation doesn't usually come with strings attached. Or do we have to make a moral judgment as to whether the recipient of donated organs has led a completely clean lifestyle ? What if the guy has taken illegal drugs. Should that rule him out ? Where do you draw the line ? For a while it looked as if George had beaten his demons, but sadly he hasn't been able to stay sober. With chronic alcoholics, it's obviously a long-term illness. I prefer to think of George, not in terms of that lurid and gruesome tabloid picture of him today, but for one of the videos I saw of him (some years after the event) when he scored six goals on a muddy pitch in an FA Cup tie against Northampton in 1970. I hate Man United, but George was mesmerising that day. The way he effortlessly dribbled the ball past the players, swerving like a skier on a slalom course. A sublime talent and he played in an era when attacking players were kicked to pieces and didn't receive any protection from refs. He could shoot powerfully with either foot and he got up without fuss when he was hacked to the ground by a big brute of a defender. (A contrast to the way in which that Portugese playboy diver Ronaldo stays down as if he's been shot.) At 22, George was European Footballer of the Year. He was probably at his peak then in 1968, scoring 28 League goals, and with a European Cup medal to go with the English and European Footballer of the Year awards that he won. (It wasn't until Brian McClair in 1988, that United found a guy who could score 20 League goals in a season.) George's autobiography was called "Blessed." He was certainly blessed with huge footballing talent. In other ways he wasn't so blessed. It's now in the hands of the good Lord as to whether he pulls through this time and is given another chance....

There are some people (rather naive perhaps) who say that match-fixing by refs is impossible and that it never goes on in top class football. Sadly it does sometimes go on - and the German ref Robert Hoyzer has just been jailed for two years and five months after admitting match-fixing. Together with fellow ref Dominik Marks, they were found guilty of having fixed matches in return for large cash sums. The Croatian ringleaders made a couple of million Euros in the betting fraud. As my Grandmother used to say: "Where there's muck there's brass." (Or perhaps it should be the other way round - Where there's brass, there's muck.) One of the matches Mr Hoyzer fixed involved Hamburg against lower-league Paderborn in the German Cup. Hoyzer sent off one Hamburg player and awarded Paderborn two disputed penalties. Hamburg were leading 2-0 but went on to lose 4-2. After the match, the Hamburg manager Klaus Topmoeller was sacked. Brian Clough died last year knowing that although he won two European Cups with Nottingham Forest, (a superb achievement with a provincial club) , he could have won an extra European Cup with Derby in 1973 and indeed could have won the UEFA Cup in 1984 with Forest if he hadn't been on the end of some disgraceful match-fixing by Spanish and German refs. Forest won the first leg of the 1984 UEFA Cup semi-final against Anderlecht 2-0 at the City Ground, with England international Steve Hodge scoring both goals. The second leg in Anderlecht was a shameful footballing episode. The Spanish ref was bribed by Andelecht. Anderlecht won the game 3-0 on the night, but to get there the Spanish ref gave possibly the most ludicrous disgraceful penalty decision ever seen in football, when he awarded a penalty against Forest's Kenny Swain. Swain was nowhere near the diving Belgian attacker. He didn't come close to him at all, but the referee awarded a scandalous penalty to Anderlecht. Other decisions during the match favoured the Belgians too, and Cloughy was livid afterwards. (Normally Clough didn't like criticising refs.) The bribery was only proven ten years later - after the Spanish referee died in a car accident. During their investigations, the police discovered that the ref had been paid for match fixing - including an £18,000 payment by Anderlecht in 1984. The "punishment" that UEFA gave to Anderlecht was exceptionally lenient - only banning them from European competition for a year. Clough was also disgusted by the circumstances of Derby's defeat by Juventus in the 2nd leg of their European Cup semi final in 1973. Derby lost 3-1 in the 2nd leg in Turin and Cloughy was bitter afterwards that he had been robbed of a possible European Cup win with Derby. Reading Clough's autobiography, it's clear that even many years later, he was deeply hurt (and justifiably so) by what happened. Link to today's news of the German ref being jailed is below: German ref jailed for fixing

Being a sweet and innocent girl Clare, you perhaps didn't immediately think of the 'dirty dollar' as quickly as myself once it was announced that the match was being staged in Switzerland. Being a slightly older and more cynical chap than yourself, I suspected from the start that filthy lucre had quite a lot to do with it. And surprise surprise, it's been reported that the FA will make more than £2m from staging the match - from the sale of television and ancillary rights. Those less cynical than myself may possibly believe the line from the FA that Switzerland was chosen due to its proximity to Germany and because of the need for "acclimatization of similar conditions" to those we will encounter in Germany next year. To me, that argument is about as convincing as Robbie Savage's claim that he was moving from Birmingham to Blackburn to be nearer to his parents in Wrexham. I'm afraid, as far as the FA are concerned, I don't believe a great deal that emanates from them - especially after the fiasco last season when the Millenium Stadium was chosen for the Arsenal v Rovers semi-final with a ridiculous kick-off time of 12.15pm. Did the FA give a damn about the inconvenience to Rovers fans of making us travel that early to Wales? Did they hell. All the FA cared about was their precious TV rights and making as much money as they could. Our semi-final could easily have been staged at a more appropriate neutral venue like Villa Park, but as Villa's stadium only holds 42,000 - (10,000 less than the 52,000 who attended our game at the Millenium Stadium) the FA naturally wanted to cash in - with a significant proportion of the gate receipts for semi-finals ending up in the hands of the FA. Too many pigs with their snouts in the trough, I'm afraid. When the new Wembley opens, fans in the north of England who want to see the national side will be forced to travel down to London for every game. There will be no more matches at Old Trafford or Anfield. The FA have got bills to pay and they want to recoup as much money as they can. As in life, money rules the football world these days. The supporters can go to hell. I think its almost tantamount to blackmail the fact that England supporters have to attend the friendly in Switzerland in order to gain the relevant "caps" to ensure World Cup tickets. Don't go to Switzerland for the Argentina game and you won't be guaranteed a World Cup ticket. With one eye on Germany, thousands of England fans have indeed applied for the Geneva tickets. No doubt many of them wouldn't have been so keen to travel all the way to Switzerland if they didn't need the "caps" to apply for World Cup tickets. After all, given the contempt and disdain with which Sven usually treats friendly matches - changing half the team around after 45 minutes - it's perhaps understandable that some England fans have become somewhat indifferent to friendlies. We're told that the Argentina game is going to be different and Sven will treat it as a normal competitive match. That remains to be seen. If England fans go all the way to Geneva to see Peter Crouch starting, I don't think many of them will be happy. It's now 16 games and no goals for Mr Crouch this season. (14 for Liverpool and two for England.) Against Aston Villa last Saturday, he missed a simple header from a couple of yards out. And Rafa Benitez says that he's good in the air.... Most England fans can see through this gangling beanpole's limited abilities. He hasn't got the pace or mobility needed for Internation football at the highest level. He looked completely out of his depth against Austria. I'm sure Peter's a nice guy and all that, but in terms of ability, he's a donkey. In previous England friendly matches, Sven hasn't had the balls to upset the likes of Alex Ferguson by playing United players for the full 90 minutes. Sven seems terrified of upsetting the big clubs. It will be interesting to see what happens this Saturday. I can actually only think of two England friendlies over the last 20 years that I've really enjoyed, where there's been flowing attacking football from the start - the 3-3 draw against Sweden at Elland Road in 1995, and England's 4-2 win over Spain at the Bernabeu Stadium in 1987, when Gary Linker scored all four goals. Let's hope that the Argentina game bucks the usual trend for boring stale friendly matches. Just checking my stats - we've played the Argies six times in the last 25 years. In 1980 we beat them 3-1 at Wembley. (An impressive result as they were World Champions at the time.) In 1986 of course, there was the infamous 'Hand of God' match, in 1991 we had a 2-2 draw with them at Wembley, in 1998 we lost on penalties in the World Cup, in 2000 there was a 0-0 friendly draw, and in 2002 we beat them 1-0 in Japan.

Doesn't the gagging of Keane's interview make a mockery of MUTV's claim in the summer that they were journalistically independent? The managing director of MUTV, Peter Brookes, said three months ago: "If we were just a PR arm of Manchester United, I'm not sure how attractive we would be. The important thing is that players aren't told what to say - they do their own thing." The reality is the powers that be at Manchester United want MUTV to be as sycophantic and fawning towards the club as possible - not daring to ask any awkward questions. Around 100,000 UK subscribers to MUTV pay £6 a month for "the latest exclusive interviews with players." Obviously that doesn't extend to interviews which don't toe the party line..... These are the thoughts of Roy Keane which Alex Ferguson and the club didn't want us to hear: On Rio Ferdinand: "Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Spurs, it doesn't mean that you're a superstar. Hasselbaink robbed Ferdinand for the second goal. That's happened to Rio before. It is poor defending. It seems to be in this club you have to play badly to be rewarded." On John O'Shea: "He's just strolling around when he should have been busting a gut to get back." On Darren Fletcher: "I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher." On Alan Smith: "What is he doing there? He is wandering around as if he is lost. He doesn't know what he is doing." On Kieran Richardson: "He is a lazy defender who deserved to get punished. He wasn't doing his job." On Edwin Van der Sar: "He should have saved that shot. It was saveable." Keane went on to say: "There is talk about putting this right in January and bringing players in. We should be doing the opposite - we should be getting rid of people in January." Keane criticised the young generation of United players who put money above trophies and fail to justify their inflated wages. "These guys thought that getting new contracts was the best day of their careers," he said. As Radio 5's Alan Green, in his book 'Green Line' said: "Alex Ferguson is paranoid about any criticism. TV and radio interviewers have to bow to his demands and ask sycophantic questions or else they are ostracised." In his new autobiography, Des Lynam recalled how Ferguson blew a fuse after a match against Middlesbrough in 1995, when John Motson dared to ask if he would be disciplining Roy Keane for an elbow on a 'Boro player. When Motty asked if Keane would face disciplinary action for his third sending off in 14 games, Ferguson ranted: "You've no f*****g right to ask that question John. That's the f*****g interview finished. I'm going to cancel the interview, the whole f*****g lot of it. Cancel it, right? You f*****g well make sure that does not go out, John." Motson tentatively said that he was told by his Match of the Day producer to ask the question, but Ferguson shouted: "You're not getting in again, right - you know the f*****g rules here." Ferguson has refused to speak to the BBC for the last 18 months after a BBC3 documentary revealed that his agent son Jason broke FIFA rules on transfers. Jason's agency was paid hundreds of pounds to sell Jaap Stam and was also paid at the other end by Lazio. That was a good article by Rob Smyth in the Guardian, Philip. I missed it. Thanks for the link.

Out of that trio, only Ferguson is on a rolling one year contract Philip. Wenger signed a 4-year contract in 2004 taking him to 2008. Mourinho signed a new five-year deal in May taking him to 2010. Jose's five-year contract is worth a cool £25m. Mourinho's new deal

In September 2004 when he joined Rovers, he signed an initial two-year contract with a 12-month rolling extension. Hughes is now third favourite with bookies to be the next manager at Old Trafford. In recent months his odds have been cut to 10/1 to succeed Ferguson. Hughes has admitted that he wants the United job. SkyBet odds on next Old Trafford manager: M O'Neill 2/1 C Queiroz 7/1 M Hughes 10/1 O Hitzfeld 14/1 R Keane 16/1 SG Eriksson 16/1 F Capello 16/1 D Moyes 16/1 S McClaren 20/1 S Bruce 20/1 A Curbishley 33/1 S Allardyce 50/1

The way Rangers have started their SPL campaign this term, they might well be struggling to make it into the Champions League for next season. On Saturday they had a humiliating result at home to ten men Caley Thistle, which followed on from a 2-2 draw with Livingston. Rangers are currently ten points behind Celtic and Hearts in fourth place. It's the first time an Old firm team has been out of the top 3 at the start of November since 1994 when Celtic were fourth. "Not disrepect to the Scottish League, but the only big matches you get up there are against Celtic," said Ferguson when he joined Rovers. He's now finding that life isn't so easy against the "little" teams. Ferguson not happy

Despite the recent public vote of confidence in Bruce by David Gold, I suspect that if Birmingham's poor results continue and the Brummie fans start to turn on their manager, then the board might be forced into reconsidering their position. Birmingham are currently second from bottom after a dreadful start of just one win in eleven games. Bruce is second favourite with Ladbrokes (at 7/2) to be the first Premiership boss to get the boot. To compound Bruce's woes, Jermaine Pennant was ordered home from training yesterday after allegedly turning up for training blind drunk. Pennant recently had to wear an electronic tag after being jailed for drink driving while disqualified and having no insurance. He crashed his car into a lampost after being three times over the legal limit. Link: Pennant's latest shame

Randy Ron.

Jose Mourinho recently said: "We deserve more respect." Well I might have a bit more respect for Chelsea if Peter Kenyon didn't treat football supporters with contempt. 48 flippin' pounds for a ticket.... There were a limited number of tickets in the lower tier for Rovers fans at £45 for adults and £28 for Senior Citizens. The majority of seats for Rovers fans are in the upper tier, where there are no concessions for kids or pensioners - so it's 48 quid each there, like it or lump it. Before the start of the season Chelsea doubled ticket prices for their disabled fans to £49 each. As if Abramovich really needs the extra money.... What kind of way is that to treat your loyal disabled supporters ? In the Champions League against Anderlecht, Chelsea had a crowd of only 29,000 at the Bridge - with 13,000 empty seats. They were charging £45-£60 for tickets. And £45 was the absolute minimum - there were no concessions at all for kids. An adult taking his three kids to the match would have cost him a minimum of 180 quid. Peter Kenyon thinks that Chelsea can do what they like. That's why they treat the game's rules with contempt - arranging meetings in restaurants with Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand. The arrogant Mourinho also thinks he can do what he likes - wrongly accusing Frank Rijkaard of going into the ref's dressing room at half-time against Barcelona. Jose defended the disgraceful over-the-top tackle Michael Essien made on Bolton's Ben Haim a fortnight ago. And yet Mourinho also had the audacity to condemn the tackling of Rovers players at Ewood last season. I never thought I would loathe a club as much as Man United - but given the highly arrogant approach of Messrs Kenyon and Mourinho, I'm beginning to dislike them almost as much as Glazer United. 48 quid for kids - Bloody scandalous. Theno is right to say we should all boycott this game. As Elvis Costello once sang: "I don't want to go to Chelsea"

£250,000 compensation for Rupert Lowe..... The parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman received just £11,000 in compensation after a number of horrendous police blunders allowed Ian Huntley to get a job as school caretaker. Rupert Lowe, however, has been awarded £250,000 in damages merely for an article in the Times which criticised his leadership at St Mary's. In August 2004, the journalist Martin Samuel criticised Lowe in the Times for his constant hiring and firing of managers at Southampton - in particular Rupert's decision in January 2000, to suspend Dave Jones for 12 months following child abuse allegations against him - which were later proved to be false. Samuel said that Lowe has treated Jones "shabbily". Many fans up and down the country would agree with Samuel's assessment. By the time the case against Jones had collapsed, Glenn Hoddle had been given the Southampton manager's job on a permanent basis. So Jones was effectively sacked because a couple of Scouse scallies made false allegations against him. Lowe said in court that the Times article which criticised him had been a "blot" on his character - and was awarded quarter of a million pounds in libel damages in the High Court. I think the money he's been given is scandalous. Lowe has run Southampton like a corner shop - appointing a string of different managers like Souness, Jones, Hoddle, Stuart Gray, Steve Wigley (twice) , Gordon Strachan, Paul Sturrock and Harry Redknapp. And the Saints, under Lowe's leadership, ended up relegated from the top flight for the first time since 1978. Lowe should have done the honourable thing and resigned after they were relegated. Instead, the greedy barsteward has pocketed an extra 250 grand merely for an article which criticised the shambolic way he's run Southampton. Rupert's background is in hockey and rugby. He's not a traditional football man. And judging by the way he has run the Saints, he doesn't have a clue about the beautiful game. What a crazy world we live in when Holly and Jessica's parents get just £11,000 for the terrible trauma they suffered - while the odious creep Rupert gets his hands on £250,000 compensation.

Steve Bruce's job under threat It couldn't happen to a nicer bloke could it? Do I not like that man. I hope the Brummies continue to struggle and the pint-sized porn baron Sullivan gives him the bullet. Alan Hansen on Match of the Day last night said: "Birmingham have got massive problems. They were a shambles, all over the place in defence." It certainly wasn't a vintage spectacle at Ewood yesterday, but the three points was the most important thing. Almost fell asleep during the tedious 1st half. Fortunately it improved a bit after the break. Alan Green on 606 last night said of the 1st half: "To say it was shocking would be an understatement." What about Kuqi's horrendous miss during the middle of the second half ? I think my 18-month old niece could have kicked the ball with greater accuracy and conviction. It was a bloody awful shot. Personally I think Kuqi is barely Division One class, let alone Premiership class. Some Ipswich fans were pleased to get shot of him. Yes, he runs about a lot and tries, but his first touch and control is abysmal. He's been responsible for some shocking misses at Ewood this season against Spurs and Newcastle. I know that he scored two against West Brom, but apart from that, for me he's often been an embarrassment in the blue and white shirt. Still, it was nice to see Mr Potato Head squirming on Match of the Day last night....