The latest tabloid tittle-tattle about Ronaldo....

Rub-a-dub-dub, sex in a tub.....

Souness 'suicidal'.

There's always the Tyne bridge Graeme....

*Joke* - I don't want Souness to die of course. But Jan probably does.

Always thought young Christiano may have 'batted for the other side' as to speak!

I don't know about that SG, but looking at the big bulge in his shorts below - I reckon somebody (male or female) has attracted his attention....

I thought it was Van Nistelrooy who was known as the 'horse'....

Rather than threaten them with gaol , let's double or triple the sentences they presently get

The opposite seems to be happening at the moment Phil.

Check out the link below:

Appeal court judge says that Asian drug dealer's jail term is "manifestly excessive".

"Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime," eh Mr Blair ?

Not entirely on topic perhaps, but two moderately related links...

Cisse's sick as a parrot

Monkey Chants "not racist" says Crown Prosecution Service

I thought Savage gave away a stupid needless free-kick in a dangerous position which led to the goal.

As Mark Hughes said after the match: "As the game went on I felt the only way we would concede was from a set-piece."

"I didn't think Liverpool really created anything in general play and we looked quite solid. You fear when they get a free-kick on the edge of the box that something might happen for them, and thats what happened."

When will Savage ever learn not to make rash challenges in dangerous areas outside the box?

Which was the more dangerous/cynical/professional/cardworthy foul yesterday - by Jimmy Asylumseeker or Essien?

I though it was a sickening foul by Essien yesterday Neil - and the fact that he got away with just a yellow card is a perfect example of the 'big club' bias that now exists among certain refs.

Blatter is an overpromoted buffoon whose background is in Ice Hockey and the Swiss tourist industry rather than in football.

Surprisingly though, I think Blatter got things right in the interview he gave to the Financial Times last week when he publicly criticised what he called "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed players on £100,000 a week holding clubs to ransom until they get, say £120,000 a week."

"More often than not, these players are guided in their endeavours by unsavoury agents whose income is a percentage of the deal they cut for their client," he said. "It is simply insane for any player to earn 6 million-8 million pounds a year when the annual budget of even a club competing in Europe may be less than half that."

I was pleased that Blatter seemed able to differentiate between the Jack Walker situation at Ewood Park in the 1990's when we had a lifelong Rovers fan buying his hometown club as a benefactor - and the completely different situation at Stamford Bridge where a foreign businessman with no previous affinity to Chelsea, has bought the club for his own selfish reasons.

Abramovich first looked at buying Man United and Spurs, before settling on Chelsea.

Blatter singled out the emergence of "individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have come into football as a means of serving some hidden agenda. Having set foot in the sport seemingly out of nowhere, they proceed to throw pornographic amounts of money at it," he said.

Blatter said that the current "misguided, wild-west style of capitalism threatens to suffocate the game."

"What we are faced with today is a football society of haves and have nots," he said. "This cannot be good for the future of our game. We cannot sit back and see greed rule the football world."

In another apparent reference to Chelsea, Blatter said it was no surprise that the game has recently suffered from a drop in attendance. He said, "What is interesting about a league whose champions can be predicted with confidence after about five games?"

"Unlimited cash has given certain club owners the ability to control the global game by splashing unimaginable sums on a small group of elite players," Blatter said. "More than ever before, the majority is fighting with spears, while the greedy few have the financial equivalent of nuclear warheads."

Blatter also lamented practices that "at best expose the ugly side of club football and, at worst, threaten its very existence."

He described as "slavery" the system whereby agents purchase the commercial rights to young players, and then cash in when they are sold to clubs.

"Such transactions fall well short of minimum standards of decency," Blatter said.

I also agreed with Blatter when he criticised Wayne Rooney for his disgraceful behaviour in Spain, when he threw the black armband on the floor. He said the United striker deserved a "clip around the ear".

Blatter first worked for the Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, before becoming General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. In 1981 he became General Secretary of FIFA and in 1998 he was elected FIFA president in a victory over UEFA President Lennart Johansson which was marked with controversy.

There have been rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating in accusations of bribery made by the Somali FA member Farra Ado, who claimed he had an offer of $100,000 to vote for Blatter.

Sepp was re-elected president in 2002, but questions about his integrity remain unanswered.

Blatter's personal desire to see the World Cup hosted in Africa came to fruition last year when it was announced, after a secret ballot of FIFA's 24 executives, that South Africa will host the 2010 tournament. But some people felt that Blatter, as president, should have remained more impartial about the venue, rather than openly coming out in favour of the African bid.

Blatter enjoys tampering with the rules in football. The "silver goal" replaced the "golden goal" rule in extra time of matches. Then there was his ludicrous suggestion last year that all draws in competive football should be scrapped and penalties played to settle all matches.

"Every game should have a winner," Blatter said. "When you play cards or any other game, there's always a winner and a loser. We should have the courage to introduce a final decision in every game of football."

Blatter also tried to compare football to opera, when he said that spectators should avoid drinking prior to a match and should be encouraged to clap instead of cheer!

Perhaps he should have stuck to ice hockey....

3.  The complete nobhead who issued Gazza with a caution for returning the yellow card that he had dropped and presumably applying a touch of humour to the Scottish game. 

Probably a Celtic fan who doesn't like the English, Theno. Either that or he's the most arrogant sod in Scotland.

I wonder what would have happened if Gazza had already been on a yellow card. Would this plonker of a ref have sent Gascoigne off for holding up a card ?

Five others I'd like to add to your list Gord....

1) Ali Ben Naseur, the Tunisian ref who missed the so-called "hand of God" goal in 1986. This bungling Tunisian amateur should never have been put in charge of such an important match.

In his autobiography a few years ago, Maradona said: "Now I feel I am able to say what I couldn't then. At the time I called it 'the hand of God'. B*llocks was it the hand of God, it was the hand of Diego! And it felt like pickpocketing the English."

2) Steve Bennett, the south London ref for the Rovers/Bolton match at Ewood last season - who despite not being far away, failed to notice that 'Spit the Dog' Diouf had clearly dived in the box for a penalty.

3) Urs Meier - the bungling Swiss ref with the dodgy goatee beard who disallowed Sol Campbell's goal against Portugal in Euro 2004.

4) I don't usually stick up for the French, but.... the myopic ref who refused to punish a shocking disgraceful foul in the 1982 World Cup semi-final between France and Germany. France's Patrick Battiston was played clean through, with only the Kraut keeper Harald Schumacher to beat.

Schumacher deliberately launched himself at Battiston, smashing into the Frenchman's face, leaving him unconscious with a broken jaw. While Battiston was stretchered off, to spend months in recovery, the stupid ref awarded a goal-kick!

5) The referee in the early 1980's who failed to notice a shot by Clive Allen which went into the back of the goal after striking the stanchion. The goal wasn't given.

Graeme Souness has a massive game at home to Sunderland next Sunday.

It was another poor result for his side today - losing 1-0 to Wigan, which followed on from their previous Premiership performace at Fratton Park. By all accounts they were lucky to get a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth after some fine saves from Shay Given.

Newcastle remain in the bottom half of the table and are clearly still a somewhat mediocre side - apart from their goalkeeper and the lively Owen up front.

Freddy Shepherd described Bobby Robson's last season in charge, where they finished 5th, as "unacceptable". I suspect that even after signing Michael Owen, Newcastle will certainly struggle to reach 5th place this season - which will be another "unacceptable" year for Shepherd.

Souness may have been Shepherd's sixth choice to succeed Robson. It would appear that Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren and David O'Leary turned the job down.

Even Steve "Loyalty" Bruce, who initially found the idea of working at St James' Park attractive, began to have second thoughts about swapping life at Brum for Newcastle. The 5th name to turn the job down was Shearer, who told Shepherd that he didn't feel ready for the job and that it was too early for him.

It was a job that nobody apart from Souness seemed to want - but Shepherd continues to insist that Newcastle are the second biggest club in the country.

Ruud Gullit lost his job after losing a local derby at home to Sunderland, and should Newcastle lose next Sunday, then the pressure will be firmly back on the shoulders of Mr Souness.

Indeed after Sunderland, Newcastle face a potentially tricky away game at Grimsby in the League Cup - the Cleethorpes side having beaten Spurs in the last round.

Lose to both Sunderland and Grimsby, and Shepherd may well feel that it's time to call an end to the abrasive Scotsman's reign. They do some nice fish and chips though in Grimsby, which Shepherd might enjoy tucking into in the directors box.

The trouble for any potential incoming managers is that the coffers at the club must surely be almost dry. Souness has been allowed to spend in excess of £35 million on Owen, Alberto Luque, Emre and Scott Parker.

With Newcastle out of the UEFA Cup before the qualifying rounds ended, money has apparently become so tight at Newcastle, that Freddy Shepherd has had to resort to some innovative money-making ideas - like the one below.

A club spokesman described the sales of the calendar as "steady".

"It's made us seven pounds and fifty pence so far," he said.

Beware of Asian conman in Lancashire who claims to be collecting for earthquake appeal.....

(LET links don't last a long time, so by the time you click on this, it might have changed to another news story.)

Northern Ireland 2 Wales 3

"Arrogant", "Out of touch", "Too many bust-ups with players", "Poor communication skills", "Outdated training methods", "Unfit players" etc.

Does it sound like anyone we know - a certain barcodes manager perhaps?

Well those descriptions have recently been given to John Toshack, and to be fair to the big Welshman, he's taken most of them on the chin - and yesterday came up with the first competitive win the Welsh have had for 14 matches. (10 of those were under Mr Hughes.)

It was an entertaining game in Belfast yesterday - Sunday pub team defending from both sides, but enjoyable nevertheless to watch.

I was in two minds whether to bother watching the game or not prior to the England match. I decided to give it a try, and it was worth tuning in for an attacking end-to-end game. The only world class player on show was Ryan Giggs - and how England could do with someone like him on our left-hand side. For the second Welsh goal, Giggs made an excellent run down the left, before crossing the ball into the box for Carl Robinson to score.

Hartson missed a penalty for Wales, and it was such an open game it could have finished up about 5-4 to the Welsh.

Toshack has come under criticism from a variety of sources recently. Ben Thatcher and Savage have both had their say, while Neville Southall claimed that Toshack's training methods have set the team back 25 years.

The Wales manager hit back at Southall, saying: "That's interesting, as I've never seen Neville at any training. Maybe he has been lurking in the background with a video camera. Maybe he was trying to talk me up, because 25 years ago we actually won five competitive matches on the bounce, something no other Wales team has done since. If we go back to that level, I'll happily settle for that."

Scotland 0 Belarus 1

Just under two years ago, in a second leg Euro 2004 play-off match against Russia that Wales needed to win, Mark Hughes disappointed many Welsh fans by playing a cautious 4-5-1 system at home, with Hartson as a lone striker.

I was surprised yesterday - given that this was an absolute must-win game for Scotland - that their manager Walter Smith played a similar 4-5-1 system, with Kenny Miller left isolated up front.

Smith was too over-cautious in my view. He who dares wins. The Scots should have attacked Belarus from the start, and even if they hadn't won, at least they would have gone down with guns blazing.

It must have been a bitter pill for the crowd at Hampden Park to swallow yesterday, but I suppose the Scots have become accustomed to disappointment over the years.

Walter, to be fair, has improved the team in recent months, but just when the Scots start getting optimistic about their football again, they fall flat on their face.

Not since Euro 96 have Scotland qualified for a major tournament. They haven't got the players - just look at the guy below.....

"Sven apologises for "lack of entertainment"

The world of sensational football journalism was in crisis last night as shocking details emerged this weekend of how not one single England player in the squad against Austria has got drunk, raped or roasted anyone, snorted coke with eastern European hookers or been caught driving while drunk.

Scandal rag editor Piers Morgan said: "This is the kind of behaviour that I don't want to see from footballers. They have a responsibility to the newspapers and I hope they can rectify this as soon as possible."

A top Premiership star who wished to remain anonymous said: "We’re all so ashamed of what we didn’t do. I wish I had gone out and got bladdered instead of having a quiet night in with my family. I just hope everyone can forgive me."

Sven Goran Eriksson today issued a personal apology to newspaper editors for the lack of entertainment his squad had provided.

Piers Morgan said: "There's nothing like a good roasting story to increase tabloid sales. We all feel badly let down by Sven and the squad."

"There's always the Poland game," said a smiling Steven Gerrard, arm in arm with a buxom blonde.

We had two former Rovers players on BBC punditry duties for the England game yesterday.

Alan Shearer, I feel, has improved in recent years as a pundit. He used to come across as slightly wooden and dour - sitting on the fence too much rather like Trevor Brooking. Alan's become a bit more outspoken now - although I feel he was being diplomatic when he described Peter Crouch's performance as "okay".

Not entirely sure about Graeme Le Saux in the commentary box though. Just because he reads the Guardian, goes to art galleries, and can string a few sentences together, it doesn't necessarily make him a good pundit.

Le Saux's Chelsea career was going nowhere in 1993, when Dalglish bought him to Rovers. His first spell at Chelsea was best known for an act of petulance when he threw his shirt at manager Ian Porterfield. The first signs of his temper were evident in an early Chelsea game he played in against Luton. It was an exciting game - Chelsea came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3, but Le Saux was sent-off for lashing out after being fouled.

During his first spell at Chelsea, the quality of Le Saux's final ball could be erratic - and on Boxing Day 1992, his frustration boiled over when he was substituted in a match against Southampton. He left the pitch in a fit of temper, throwing his shirt in front of the bench and exchanging words with the manager.

He joined Rovers a month or two later and his career was revitalised. Under the coaching of Dalglish and Harford, his final ball at Ewood Park became much better and his left-wing crosses set up a number of goals for Shearer. As well as a Premiership medal with Rovers, he won 36 England caps - which probably wouldn't have happened if he hadn't joined Blackburn.

But was Le Saux grateful for the opportunity Rovers gave him ?

Blackburn nursed him back from injury after he broke his leg in the 1995/96 season against Middlesborough. Rovers continued to pay his large wages and gave him all the medical treatment and facilities he wanted. But then, not long after coming back from injury, he handed in a transfer request.

A bit like Barry Ferguson - who also demanded a transfer after coming back from a serious injury. They say that hell hath no fury like a Rovers fan scorned - and for me the circumstances of Le Saux's departure from Rovers left a bitter taste.

Maybe he felt at home with the more cosmopolitan surroundings of London. He did win a League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup medal in his second spell at Chelsea, but his best footballing period came in Rovers' championship winning side - and he shouldn't forget that.

I wouldn't condone Robbie Fowler's behaviour when he showed his backside to Le Saux - but Graeme made matters worse, I feel, by the way he reacted to it, elbowing Fowler on the head.

If Le Saux had ignored Fowler's childishness - the incident probably would have been

quickly forgotten and possibly not even shown on Match of The Day. Le Saux's aggressive reaction summed up his abrasive temperament.

As I've said before on the M/B before, if I was a Southampton fan, I'd be disappointed with his behaviour last season - when the Saints were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 27 years. Le Saux seemed to be spending much of his time in the week before important relegation matches, travelling up and down the country with the BBC rather than concentrating on his priorities with Southampton.

Le Saux has since admitted that in his last season at St Mary's, he was already thinking of retirement and planning a future media career for himself. Whether he devoted enough time to getting Southampton out of the mess they were in seems debatable.

I hope that in the course of his duties with the BBC, he doesn't ever start preaching about lack of loyalty in football - because as we know, he was all too ready to throw in the towel with Rovers as soon as he felt the grass was greener on the other side.

Below - happier times with Uncle Jack, but a couple of years later, he informed Jack that he'd had enough of us....

9 ft 10 and cant jump...

Well they say that white men can't jump Abbey, and Mr Crouch seems to be doing his best to live up to that statement.

He was totally out of his depth yesterday wasn't he?

The gangling beanpole doesn't have the pace and mobility needed for International football. He looked clumsy on the ball and Sven's tactics yesterday seemed to consist of lumping aimless high balls in his direction, which he struggled to deal with.

I thought those sort of tactics went out of the window when Graham Taylor left, but they seem to be making an unwelcome return under the Swede.

He's done bugger all since he joined Liverpool

No goals in eight games for Liverpool this season and when you think of some of the great strikers that Liverpool have had down the years - Dalglish, Rush, Keegan, Roger Hunt, St John, Toshack etc - Crouch isn't fit to tie their bootlaces.

Liverpool have made their worst start to a Premiership season for 13 years - since a certain Mr Souness was in charge.

I think if the Reds hadn't made that miraculous comeback against AC Milan last May, a lot of Liverpool fans would be seriously starting to question Rafa Benitez's judgement by now. His record in the transfer market is patchy to say the least.

I thought Alan Shearer was being diplomatic on the Beeb yesterday when he said that Crouch did "okay". I'd hate to see Crouch when he plays crap then....

I got the impression that Gary Lineker was not at all convinced about Crouch, when he questioned whether he was International class.

Crouch has certainly got a long way to go before he can consider himself an International striker. He had one decent half-season at a relegated Southampton side. That's all. He's done bugger all since.

We would be better off playing a Couch up front.

352306[/snapback]

I think we'd get more pace and mobility up front that way Ozzie.

Early school photo....

Before he left Villa and flew down to the South Coast....

Link: "Multimillionaire international player and a friend took turns to rape women."

I would like to see Rio "100 grand a week isn't enough" Ferdinand dropped from the team against Austira and a partnership of John Terry and Sol Campbell selected for the game.

Ferdinand has been in poor form of late and was probably to blame for the two goals Fulham scored against United at the Cottage last Saturday.

I feel that England will qualify for the World Cup despite the tactical blunderings of Mr Eriksson. We should be able to beat Austria. (Mind you, we should have beaten Northern Ireland too.)

I was disgusted at the reported comments of Alan Smith, who prior to the squad being announced, said that he was "not bothered" if he didn't get picked for England.

Smith said: "I don't expect to be in the squad for the two World Cup qualifiers and I won't be losing any sleep over it. If I don't get to play for England again then I'm not bothered. My priority is Manchester United pure and simple."

Bobby Moore must be turning in his grave at the attitude of this nauseating Yorkshire lout. In Bobby's day it was an honour and a privilege to play for your country and pull on the three lions shirt.

But for Leeds United badge-kisser Smith, he "isn't bothered". I'm disappointed that Sven has picked the treacherous git for the squad.

I bet that Sir Alf Ramsey wouldn't have selected a treacherous player like Smith - someone who openly kisses his team-mates on the lips. Whatever next - tongues involved and shorts pulled down...?

But at least Sven didn't pick the lumbering Brummie donkey for the squad again....

Savage slates Tosh..........

And there goes the final nail in the Welsh coffin for Savage - in terms of Toshack changing his mind and selecting him again.

For me, Savage needs to forget the TV cameras.  He needs to forget his former high profile status.  Forget Wales, forget John Toshak, forget everything except doing what Hughes invested so much trust in him to do.

I agree Tris, but it seems as if our Robbie refuses to let sleeping dogs lie, and remains determined to pursue his petty vendetta against Tosh.

It shouldn't be forgotten that it was Savage himself who told Toshack that he wanted to quit Welsh football, slamming the phone down on him when he called. Afterwards, Robbie changed his mind - and now it seems he's changed his mind again.

Savage now ought to forget about Wales and concentrate on Rovers. Rather than criticising Tosh, he should start by looking closer to home at his own poor disciplinary record - five bookings in seven games which has cost him a suspension.

The city of Tromso, above the arctic circle, is home to the world's northernmost university and to the Mack Brewery - the northernmost brewery in the world.

It's also the birthplace of a young man who turned 24 just a fortnight ago, with 16 international caps to his name.

With nine minutes to go at the Theatre of Merchandising yesterday, our blonde hero from Norway scored his eleventh goal in 35 appearances for Rovers - not a bad scoring record for a midfielder.

Stuart Ripley, for example, scored just 13 goals in 187 League appearances for Rovers.

In the opening fifteen minutes yesterday Rovers could conceivably have been 2-0 up after some fine attacking play. Tugay, a surprise (but welcome) inclusion in the starting line-up, played a defence-splitting pass which found Bellamy just outside the left-hand corner of the United penalty box.

Bellamy then played a neat disguised reverse pass to Pedersen, making a run into the box. MGP's left-foot cross from the bye-line was struck perhaps a touch too hard for Dickov, who couldn't get his foot on the end of it from less than two yards out. It was a good chance though and a statement of intent early on.

Shortly afterwards, Tugay played a delightful chipped ball over the top of the United defence to find Bellamy in the box, who struck a left-footed half-volley saved by Van der Sar. Unfortunately Bellamy didn't have quite enough time and space to get the ball down on to his favoured right foot.

Scholes then missed a chance from about 12 yards out. Ronaldo's cross on the left-hand side found the diminutive carrot-haired midfielder in the box, but he struck his shot wide of Friedel's goal.

Van Nistelrooy could have had a hat-trick in the first half. He was disgracefully unmarked for a corner - his clear free header fortunately going wide. He also shot wide in the penalty box after some poor defending from Zurab. His best scoring chance was after Fletcher's cross from the right found him in space about 10-12 yards from goal. The Dutchman leant back and blazed his shot over the bar. Poor finishing.

In between those chances for Ruud, David Bentley played a long ball on the deck for Bellamy in space on the right-hand side of the field. Craig's cross was met by a fairly weak diving header from Dickov, saved by Van der Sar. If our 5ft 5in Glaswegian had a bit more pace, perhaps he could have got his boot on the end of the cross instead of going for the diving header.

Later in the first half, Bentley found himself unmarked about 12 yards from goal, but his tame weak shot was comfortably saved by Van der Sar.

With just over half an hour played, a free-kick from MGP on the right-hand side floated above the United defence, taking one bounce before going into the corner of the net. It was no more than we deserved, because Rovers had carved out several good scoring opportunities in the first half.

Nice to see an open attacking game. It could have been about 3-3 at half-time.

Early in the second half, Scholes found himself in the penalty box, but Friedel saved the shot with his left foot. Later, Ronaldo's free-kick from the left-hand side was met by Van Nistelrooy, but he couldn't control the ball properly from no more than a yard or two out, and the ball went wide.

In the opening period of the second half, I felt Rovers sat back a bit too much and invited pressure. We struggled to get a grip in midifeld. Savage was chasing shadows.

Rooney came on ten minutes into the second half and went into the "hole" behind Ruud. I think his favourite position is 'doggy'....

Within a couple of minutes, Van Nistelrooy scored a tap-in from Rooney's shot. Friedel should perhaps have done better with the shot. 1-1.

Shortly afterwards, Rio "100 grand a week isn't enough" Ferdinand then made a forward run into the Rovers box. The chipped shot from the greedy Peckham parasite fortunately went over the bar.

With nine minutes to go, Scholes' poor pass was intercepted by Michael Gray just outside the United box. Gray slid the ball to MGP who calmy slotted the ball into the roof of the net.

In the final minutes of the game, Rooney blasted the ball wide after Friedel was stranded following a punched clearance. United resorted to route one football, pumping long balls into the air. One of those long balls found Giggs, who crossed the ball to Rooney - unmarked in the box. His header went wide.

"England's greatest ever striker" according to some United fans. While Sven Goran Eriksson has compared him to Pele. What a load of bollax!

Wayne has scored just 13 Premiership goals for United in 35 appearances. At Goodison Park he scored 15 goals in his entire Everton career. He's a bad-tempered abrasive Scouse chav from a dysfunctional family in Croxteth. Over the last few weeks he's been lucky not to get sent off in Belfast for an elbow in the face, and seven days later was sent off for stupidity against Villareal.

When Rovers recorded their last win at Old Trafford in 1962, the Beatles were having their first top 40 hit, General Motors installed the world's first industrial robot, and the skies over London were darkened by heavy smog.

Last Sunday the skies over East Lancashire were darkened by the stench of Rovers' abysmal performance against Newcastle. In contrast, the performance yesterday at Old Trafford, and the way we went about it - was a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps Hughes had listened to some of the concerns that fans had expressed after that wretched Newcastle game. Supporters urged him to ditch the defensive negative tactics, introduce 4-4-2, and play with greater attacking verve going forward. We did that yesterday and it was refreshing to see.

Meanwhile, the natives at the Old Trafford Bucaneers are getting restless. Many angry calls to the radio phone-ins after the game - some openly wondering whether Ferguson's time should be up at the end of the season and the baton passed on to Martin O'Neill.

Out of the so-called "Class of 92" - Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, Butt and the Nevilles - only one of those started the match yesterday - and it was Paul Scholes whose sloppy pass led to Pedersen's winner.

Prior to the yesterday's game, Scholes told the media that if United couldn't win their next two games against little Blackburn and Fulham, then they wouldn't deserve to win the title. The United era of Premiership dominance looks to be over. Unfortunately Chelsea are almost equally as repulsive IMO.

Out of the rest of the "Class of 92", Gary Neville is currently injured. Brother Phil went to Goodison Park for regular football and has ended up in a relegation battle rather than a Champions League team. Giggs was on the subs bench yesterday and hasn't started a Premiership match so far this season.

Personally I think Ferguson has demoted the hirstute Welshman to the bench prematurely. Giggs is still hugely talented and I'd put him ahead of that little chinky - sorry Korean - Ji-Sung Park.

After the match, Hughes said: "We came here with a positive attitude and possibly surprised a few people with our line-up. I felt there were opportunities to cause Manchester United some problems, and thats how it panned out."

More of the same please Sparky....

I must say I was very impressed with Sir Alex afterwards, he was extremely complimentary towards Rovers.

That makes a very rare change Modi. Last season the arrogant Scotsman berated Rovers for "time-wasting" in our 0-0 draw with them at Old Trafford. I can't remember him saying many nice things about Rovers before.

Compliments from Sir Alex are about as rare as a blonde virgin in Essex.

why did the Rovers kid with the Stars and Stripes get chucked out? 

One wonders if the kid had been flying an African flag in support of Mokoena, whether the stewards would have been so quick to throw him out....

Bunch of dictatorial barstewards. They are clearly over-sensitive to anything relating to America after the bearded gnome took over.

well yesterday the 3 gingers were guests off bet24,we had a fantastic day out,result apart.

Pictured from left to right - Waggy, Bellamy, Waggy Jnr, Waggy Snr.

Looks like you've had a couple of pints Waggy - the VIP hospitality must have been good....

Bellamy nice and polite eh?

He must be turning over a new leaf.

I'm not concerned about our lack of goals," says Mark Hughes.

A bit like the former commanding officer of the Titanic saying: "We're approaching an iceberg but there's nothing to be concerned about."

Well despite your insouciance Mr Hughes, I bloody well am concerned about our lack of goals and also the chronic lack of creativity in our midfield.

Forget the ice baths, forget the fancy modern technology Sparky. Concentrate on trying to get the players to actually learn how to pass a bloody football from A to B without making a pig's ear of it. Our passing and control of the ball yesterday was abysmal.

I don't share the view from some that we dominated the game for an hour. For me it was more a case of two crap teams, woeful in possession, who struggled to create anything of note until Lucas Neill's moment of madness gave Shearer an opportunity to score from a free-kick.

Does Lucas have rocks for brains? He first makes a stupid rash challenge that gets himself booked early in the game and then later clambers all over his marker to give away a totally unnecessary free-kick in a dangerous area. I thought Neill's distribution was poor (again) yesterday - but he was no different in that respect to the rest of the team.

Our midfield was shocking yesterday. Pedersen didn't get into the game at all. Reid is bloody inconsistent - he has a decent game followed by a dreadful one. Savage and Mokoena struggle to create anything.

The service that Bellamy got was pathetic - a 5ft 6in striker isolated on his own up front and we were reduced to launching aimless long high balls up to him. Hopeless.

Please get a grip Mr Hughes. You said that we were going to play more attractive football this season. It's now nearly six and a half hours (and four consecutive games) without a Premiership goal. We've only "achieved" this feat once before since the Premiership began in 1992.

Yesterday was the angriest I've felt about a defeat for quite some time. I thought it was our worst performance since losing 4-0 at the Bridge last November. I don't know how Sky came up with the fact that we created loads of chances during the match. I thought the team was pathetic and totally devoid of ideas and imagination.

I gather that our moustachioed new chairman Mr Williams occasionally reads the messages on this website. If you happen to be reading this Mr Williams, please could you pass on the following dictionary definitions to Mark Hughes when you next see him....

Excitement - noun. 1) the feeling of lively and cheerful joy. 2) the state of being emotionally aroused

Attractive - adjective. 1) pleasing to the eye or mind, charming. 2) having power to arouse interest.

We had precious little excitement and there was nothing remotely attractive about the match yesterday. Wretched performances such as this one aren't likely to pull in any more fans.

Our incumbent manager doesn't appear to know how to play expansive or attacking football.

The Hughes honeymoon is over as far as I'm concerned, Tris. We are back to square one, in the relegation zone - the position that Rovers were in a year ago when Hughes took over.

I could accept the odd game of crap football last season when Hughes had to shore up the defence and ensure Premiership safety. We scored just 32 league goals last season - the worst record in the Premiership.

We were told this season though that there would be more goals and excitement. It hasn't materialised so far, apart from the two wonder goals against Fulham. For the most part, we've looked like a team bereft of ideas and imagination.

We were told that our disciplinary record would improve this year. Well we've already had two sendings off and our captain banned after making a stupid headbutt. What a fine example our skipper set against Spurs. I'd personally like to see Sweeney Todd stripped of the captaincy and the armband given to Nelsen.

And I've seen enough of the big lump from Finland, Shefki Kuqi, to know that he's a million miles away from being Premiership class.

"He tries," say the Rovers optimists. Ashley Ward tried too. It still didn't make him a quality striker....

Kuqi doesn't seem to have the ability to trap a bag of cement. His first touch and control is just about the worst I've seen from a Premiership striker in years. Frankly I feel embarrassed whenever I see this useless lump of a Finn, with his big Roman nose, wearing the famous blue and white shirt and looking worse than a Sunday pub player.

We were promised more excitement. But instead we've had the same mediocrity and

a woeful lack of creativity in midfield.

Happy Anniversary Mark....

This will be my last post on this thread, as I'm not going to waste any more time after this responding to petty insults such as being called an "ar5e" by Colin....

The two main points I made in my earlier posts were that illegal immigrants (ie: those who break the law) should be deported; and that extremist muslim clerics like Omar Bakri, who were not born in the UK, should also face deportation.

Are there any board members who believe that illegal immigrants should not be deported?

Does anyone believe that criminal illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the UK for as long as they like?

Stuwilky said: "A vote for UKIP is a vote for fascism."

No it isn't. It's a vote for British withdrawal from the European Union.

Perhaps Stuwilky hasn't read their manifesto or the rules governing UKIP candidates. Nobody is allowed to be a UKIP candidate if they have a criminal record or have a track record of extremism. (eg previous member of BNP.)

The two parties have different policies, whereas Eddie seems to be under the impression that UKIP and the BNP are two of the same.

I give up.

You have the sensitivity of a drunken rhino.

On two separate posts I expressed sympathy for the victims of last Thursday's atrocities.

I also quoted some words from Sergeant Steve Betts, a British Transport Police Officer, who gave an interview about the horrifying situation to a national newspaper with a circulation of over a million readers.

Please could you explain why I have the sensitivity of a drunken rhino, when I was merely expressing sadness at the comments that Seargent Betts made in a publication read by over a million people? I made it clear that I sympathise with the victims and my sadness was directed at something which was already in the public domain.

It was Den after all who said:

Don't panic folks, the odds on anyone you know being injured must be absolutely minimal.

So according to one of our moderators, we shouldn't panic and the odds that anyone on here knows someone who is injured "must be absolutely minimal".

Therefore, what was the problem with me expressing sadness at something which was already public knowledge for over a million people?

Not letting the bombers win means not siding with the views of AESF, blue phil or thenodrog.

I notice Philip that you only mentioned three people there.

Did you agree with the comment that 1864 Roverite made when he said that it was time to rid the country of the PC brigade, upset the do gooders and send them on the next plane out with a one way ticket?

Did you agree Philip with the comments that Abbey made when he said that people should be stopped from trying to gain asylum, that beards longer than 5" should be outlawed and that women should be banned from wearing veils that cover their faces?

Did you agree with the comment that SG194 made when he said that it was time to hit back hard and stop all asylum seekers now?

Did you agree with these comments below from Bryan?

Why doesn't he do us all a favour and top himself, preferably in a room full of his converts?

If you disagreed Philip with those views expressed earlier from SG194, 1864, Abbey and Bryan, why did you choose to single out only Blue Phil, myself and Theno?

Scotty was earlier in agreement with Blue Phil on this thread....

And I completely agree with Blue Phil above, this has nothing to do with race at all.

No doubt they were all for hanging any Irishman they could get their hands on.

No, and I didn't mention hanging in any of my previous posts on this thread Philip. Abbey suggested that those who support the bombs should be shot between the eyes. I didn't call for anyone to be killed in my posts.

I also didn't make any comments about asylum seekers in this thread, other than to say that according to the BBC's political researcher, asylum and immigration was an "important issue" with around a third of voters.

The two main points I made were that criminal illegal immigrants should be deported and that extremist clerics like Omar Bakri should also face deportation.

Some people may argue that the likes of Mr Bakri shouldn't be deported, but is anybody prepared to argue that illegal immigrants should be given permission to stay..?

Would anyone like to argue the case on behalf of illegal immigrants?

This is, as I said earlier, my last post on this thread....

You're just an ar5e.

Yellow card for Colin....

No personal insults are allowed on this forum Mr C, however much you may disagree with someone else's views....

I daresay that up and down the country there are millions of people who share my concerns about illegal immigration, particularly in the wake of that recent Home Office report which suggested there could be 570,000 illegals in the country.

I don't know if my bit about Ulster terrorists upset you, but if anyone thinks that the Good Friday Agreement has brought about a completely peaceful situation in the province, I'm afraid they are mistaken. The pressure group 'Families Against Intimidation and Terror' for example, said that in just one year after the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA were responsible for 36 mutilation shootings and 103 beatings, while loyalist terrorists were responsible for 31 shootings and 132 beatings.

The group's figures say there were 45 murders in the year after the Good Friday deal - 43 civilian and two members of the security forces. The group believes that 9000 people were directly affected by paramilitary activity in the year after the deal, and so it's perhaps understandable why many people had concerns about terrorists being set free from jail early as part of the agreement.

A link to those figures I mentioned is below:

Northern Ireland beatings continue

Regarding immigration, David Cowling, the BBC's political researcher, has suggested that asylum and immigration was "an important issue" for around a third of voters in the May General Election this year, and that the issue may have been one of the factors why New Labour's majority was slashed from 165 to 66. The Tories had more votes in England, 8,086,306, than New Labour had - 8,028,512. (I voted for UKIP myself.)

A lot of people in the country have fears that our borders are not being maintained properly. I've been getting a fair bit of stick recently for airing my own concerns, but my views are probably fairly mild and moderate compared to some....

I suspect that if I'd posted what Abbey suggested - that every mosque should be closed, that people who support the bombs should be shot between the eyes, beards longer than 5" outlawed and women banned from wearing veils, I would have had a volley of personal insults flown in my direction....

Going back to Thursday's atrocities, the fatalities and list of serious injuries make grim reading. Seven people died in the Liverpool Street tube attack, another seven at Edgware Road and at least 21 in the King's Cross blast. The double-decker bus bomb has so far killed at least 13 people.

One theory is that the bus attack, which happened an hour after the tube bombs, was a callous attempt by the terrorists to catch as many people as possible - with the bombers knowing that the buses would be busy and full after the local tube netwrok had shut down.

Excluding Lockerbie, the previous highest death toll from terrorists in mainland Britain was the 1974 IRA Birmingham pub bombings, which killed 21.

Thursday's dreadful carnage was clearly designed to kill and inflict maximum injury on as many people as possible during the rush hour. There must have been some truly dreadful scenes for the police and emergency services to confront in the Underground.

Amid boiling hot temperatures, and fears that the tunnel may collapse in Kings Cross, one British Transport Police officer said that he will forever be haunted by the screams of one woman who was in a terrible state after losing all four limbs.

This post might well be a little controversial to one or two of our more liberal-minded board members.

Daring to attack illegal immigration (or criminals) is unpopular with some - so for those who really hate my views, perhaps it's best not to read on....

My sympathies are firmly with the families of the 50 people killed as well as the 700 people who were injured in the dreadful attacks.

This was mass murder designed to cause the maximum terror and suffering. The @#/?s who did it (probably in the name of religion) obviously have no respect whatsoever for human life.

Let's hope the fanatics responsible for co-ordinating the carnage can be brought to justice before they blow themselves up in the name of Allah.

According to Met Commisioner Sir Ian Blair (no relation to Tony) it is "blindingly obvious" that a terrorist cell has been operating in Britain.

It's a shame that it wasn't blindingly obvious to the intelligent services before - but at least perhaps the police investigation is making some progress....

I watched Mr Blair's speech yesterday as the lip-quivering charlatan denounced the terrorists.

This was the man of course who pardoned several hundred evil IRA terrorist scumbags and gloried in a job well done. While he's ticked that one off as a success, the nest of vipers he released into Northern Ireland society hasn't exactly turned their attention to knitting socks for seniors.

Some of the Ulster paramilitaries set free prefer to be involved in activities like drug trafficking, armed robbery and "punishment" beatings. After Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair was released, he continued to be a central figure in the UDA power struggle which left several men for dead after brutal beatings.

After Adair was let loose as part of the Good Friday Agreement, he had to be thrown back in jail again a couple of years later for being a danger to others. You should never let a Mad Dog off the lease....

As Blair gave his usual lip-quivering performance yesterday - the one that he's perfected over the years starting with Diana's death in 1997 - as he began to denounce the terrorists in front of the media, I wondered how the likes of Colin Parry felt about his speech - knowing that it was Mr Blair who let out from jail early the evil scumbags who killed his son Tim in Warrington shopping centre.

While Mr Blair was in Gleneagles to try to ensure the African Continent goes from rags to riches - giving the African countries extra aid (much of which I suspect will end up in the hands of corrupt dictators) - a Home Office report published last week suggested there are up to 570,000 illegal immigrants roaming our streets.

Tony Blair was asked several times by Jeremy Paxman during an election interview if he could give any kind of estimate about the number of illegals wandering our streets. He refused to answer the question.

Perhaps now, after the election, we know the reason why he wasn't too keen to give an estimate. I doubt it would have done Mr Blair any good with voters during the campaign if he'd suggested there were more than half a million criminals (or illegals) walking around the country.

I'd suggest that having 500,000 illegals roaming the streets of Britain is more likely to lead to the situation of extremist elements in the country or a terrorist cell being in operation, compared with a country that has a zero tolerance approach to illegal immigration.

Maybe after Mother Theresa Blair has finished holding hands with Geldof and Bono in their Holy Trinity to alleviate African poverty, he can turn some of his attention to the Muslim fanatics who have been virtually welcomed on to UK shores. (Mr Bakri being an example I raised in my earlier post - an Islamic cleric who came to Britain in 1985 having been deported from Saudi Arabia because of his membership of a banned group.)

It would be nice if Mr Blair could stop pussyfooting around and start to order some more deportations - both of illegal immigrants and some of the extremist clerics like Omar Bakri who preach their hatred.

But then I suppose we would get the human rights brigade in operation, complaining about the unfairness of these criminals having to leave Dear Old Blighty - and Trevor Phillips from the CRE complaining about "racism"....

BTW Scotty, I'm sure that you're delighted with our new signing Craig Bellamy - who was previously arrested for racist abuse against an Asian/Muslim guy outside a Cardiff nightclub.

Personally, whenever I encounter Asians/Muslims in newsagents, curry houses or other areas within my daily life, I always make a point of being especially polite to them - as I don't blame the individual immigrants themselves for coming to Britain.

I only blame the politicians for allowing mass immigration into this country.

And I dislike the fact that by questioning this policy of mass immigration (in a perfectly legitimate non-abusive way) people like yourself come out with the "racist" line, (which you have now admitted was the wrong word to use.)

I'm perfectly entitled to my views, which are shared by millions of people in the country. Please cut out the personal attacks on other board members.