Edited - although this 10 page thread has covered a diverse range of subjects (including murder, the death penalty, burglars in the home, war criminals and even one member talking about Barry Manilow records) my earlier piece in 2005 about a black sex offender was deemed to be "not relevant" to this thread. The piece seemed to upset people and has therefore been edited.

There are Rovers fans living in the south you know Den! If Abbey can warn parents about a guy in Blackburn, then what's wrong with me featuring a story about a man in Essex...?

Edited - although this 10 page thread has covered a diverse range of subjects (including murder, the death penalty, burglars in the home, war criminals and even one member talking about Barry Manilow records) my earlier piece in 2005 about a black sex offender was deemed to be "not relevant" to this thread. The piece seemed to upset people and has therefore been edited.

20 years ago in 1985, Wales were on the verge of qualifying for the 1986 World Cup. In one of their best ever performances, they beat Spain 3-0 at home in their qualification group. Ian Rush scored twice and Mark Hughes scored the other one. The Welsh campaign boiled down to the last match at home against Scotland at Ninian Park, which they needed to win. Hughes gave the Welsh the lead early in the match, but with just 10 minutes of the game remaining, Scotland were awarded a controversial penalty, scored by Davie Cooper. The Scots went to Mexico. In the late 1990's, under Bobby Gould, Welsh football reached it's nadir, losing 7-1 to Holland and 4-0 to Tunisia. The only way was up under Mark Hughes' management and he gave the Welsh some much needed pride back - although he failed to win any of his last 10 competitive matches. Today, in front of 47,000 at the Millenium stadium, John Toshack saw his side lose 2-0 to Austria, a result which completely ends any faint hopes Wales still had of qualifying. Toshack said after the match that the Austrians were stronger and fitter than his players. He denied that Robbie Savage would have made any difference to the result. "Savage has been an integral part of the side that has gone 10 games without a win," said Tosh. Robbie says that he'd be willing to play for Wales again if Toshack was no longer in charge. Ryan Giggs, wearing the captain's armband today on his 50th appearance, will have to play on until he's 36 in 2010 if he's to ever fulfil his ambition of representing Wales at a World Cup tournament. It's looking unlikely.

"When I saw Rijkaard entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it," Mourinho was quoted as saying on the 27th February. According to UEFA though, the Portugese manager made up the whole story. Mourinho has effectively been branded as a liar by UEFA - who accused the Chelsea management team of a "wrong and unfounded" claim. UEFA say they have carried out checks and that it was impossible for Rijkaard to have gone into the ref's room at half-time. They say that Chelsea created a "poisoned and negative" atmosphere and unfairly put pressure on match officials. Coming after the alleged Chelsea tap-up of Ashley Cole, it seems as if the arrogant Mourinho thinks that he's above the law and can do what he likes - making false accusations and illegally tapping-up players.

I agree Den. There was perhaps too much ejaculating in the underpants from some Rovers fans after Pedersen scored a couple of goals and hit the crossbar with a free-kick against Leicester. The Norwegian has still got a bit to learn in terms of overall play. He can improve in terms of running with the ball, getting to the byeline and crossing. A very good match report, btw Scotty. Whatever minor differences of opinion we've had in the past on non-footballing matters - I tip my hat off to you Scotty for that excellent report.

The FA are a bunch of arrogant twerps who have put TV and revenue ahead of the supporters. The FA are getting their excuses in early by holding the semi-finals at Cardiff this year in order to try to justify holding all semi-finals permanently at Wembley in future. Because of the huge cost of the new Wembley, over £750m, as many events as possible including England friendly internationals, FA Cup semi-finals, the Community Shield and rugby leagues Challenge Cup final all have to be played at the new Wembley. They are looking at up to 25 events a year, including rugby, football and pop concerts. Over £100m of the cost of the stadium has come from Lottery money, through Sport England - but the FA have also invested a huge amount in the project and want that money to be recouped. Therefore, it's Wembley semi-finals in future. Nobody should be fooled by the ridiculous spin from the FA that Cardiff semi-finals this year and permanent Wembley semis in future is something that the fans want. As Mark Palios, the disgraced former chief executive of the FA said before he resigned: "From the FA's point of view, the new Wembley will be a vital future revenue stream for us." The emphasis when building the stadium was on corporate facilities which can bring in more revenue. Cardiff semis this year are all part of the FA's plan. They don't care about the inconvenience that it causes to travelling fans by having such a crazy kick-off time at 12.15pm. And from next year, fans will no doubt be expected to travel to Wembley for an early kick-off as well. As the link below says, no mention of the financial necessity of hosting FA Cup Semi Finals at Wembley was made at the time the project was submitted to the Sport England panel, who chose Wembley as the best venue. Sadly I don't think any petitions will make a difference. There is simply too much money wrapped up in the new stadium for the FA to change their minds. Supporters Against Wembley Semi-Finals

Well I also got an e-mail from the FA - and surprise surprise it was exactly the same - word for word as Flopsy's and Captain Kayos's. So much for the personal response... The key phrase in the e-mail is: "It's an unavoidable fact that as the major funding body in football we have a responsibility to the long term future of the game, this future needs funding." A tacit admission from the FA that they've chosen Cardiff for their own selfish reasons - to earn more revenue for themselves. Jonathan Arana, the Senior Customer Relations Manager at the FA, who replied to the e-mail appears to be suggesting that the fans themselves have been asking for semi-finals to be held at Cardiff. Mr Arana might be well suited to a job as a Government spin doctor. He could continue spinning the line that WMD had always been there in Iraq... From the 2005-06 season, Wembley will host semi-finals on a permanent basis - thus further ruining the tradition of the FA Cup. The FA will no doubt point to the fact that in the early 1990's, Wembley also hosted semi-finals - and will try to spin the line that this is what supporters actually want. I'm sure if the FA actually conducted a thorough poll of supporters, a majority would not be in favour of permanent Wembley semi-finals. We could end up with more ridiculous situations in future where for example, Newcastle and Middlesbrough play each other in one semi at Wembley, while two other northern teams are forced to also travel down to Wembley for the other semi. Due to the FA's arrogance and greed, it's the fans that suffer. And in order to help pay for the £757 million cost of the new Wembley, the seats need selling at top dollar to help pay the debt. Hence a large section of the stadium will be set aside for the prawn sandwich brigade. I understand that corporate seats will account for over 18,000 of the 90,000 seat capacity. Corporate boxes are available on three, five or seven-year contracts with prices ranging from £60,000 to a frightening £270,000 a year. Football still the working man's game? B*llox. It's been ruined by greed.

And here's the reply the FA would give if they were actually being honest... Dear CAPTAIN KAYOS, Thank you very much for your e-mail. You are absolutely right that consideration for the supporters is the last thing in on our mind. Why should the supporters be a priority? We have taken the decision after it became clear that 75,000 fans at the Millenium Stadium would bring in significantly more revenue for us. The four clubs take 65% of the money, and the FA takes a large chunk of the rest. To hold the Newcastle/Manchester United game at the City Of Manchester Stadium, for example, which holds 48,000, and the Rovers/Arsenal game at Villa Park - which holds 42,000 and is a more central location between Blackburn and Arsenal - would not have brought us enough revenue. You're absolutely right that playing the games in Cardiff will lead to increased congestion and strains on the public transport system. But we don't really care about that. It's not our problem. You're right as well that we can change kick-off times, venues and dates whenever it suits us. We usually do that with little consideration for the supporters. On this occasion, it suits the FA to hold both games in the Millenium Stadium. We couldn't care less about FA Cup tradition and the fact that semi-finals should be held on a neutral English venue which is different from the final. Our only consideration is ourselves. I'm sure you'll be aware that the FA has a large amount of expenditure. There's Sven's £4m a year wages. Brain Barwick, the FA Chief Executive also earns a lucrative salary. Then there's the hospitality, champagne and smoked salmon sandwiches that we require for dining guests in London and the luxury first class air travel that we need for foreign trips abroad. (Usually staying at five star hotels.) I'm sure you'll appreciate CAPTAIN KAYOS that all this costs money. The fact that we can boost our coffers by holding the semi-finals at Cardiff suits the FA perfectly. We don't give a damn about supporters. But thank you for your e-mail anyway. Yours, THE FA.

Apparently Robbie Savage told John Toshack that he'd only be willing to play for Wales in future if games were held at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham - where he would be closer to his sick parents....

1960... John F. Kennedy is elected as America's youngest ever President and Blackburn reach the last four of the FA Cup, meeting Sheffield Wednesday in a semi-final at Maine Road. Back then we had played Sunderland (away), Blackpool, Spurs (away) and Burnley (away) before the encounter with Sheffield Wednesday. It was to be our last semi-final for 45 years. Also in 1960, the publication of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" causes a national scandal in Britain, shocking the country with it's four-letter words and a male lover who was actually working class... An obscenity trial followed, with prosecutors arguing that the book was sexually explicit. For 70 minutes today, some of our football verged on the obscene too. I was disgusted to see such sloppy passing and a chronic lack of imagination from our players. Time and again we played the wrong pass - into blind alleys. I thought Thompson had a shocking game, we hardly saw anything of Steven Reid and overall our five-man midfield was desperately poor, with Dickov isolated on his own up front. After Pederson's free-kick hit the post in the first couple of minutes, we virtually created nothing until our disallowed goal in the second half. Don Howe once said "If you're not playing well, then nine times out of ten it's down to the midfield." Our midfield today was lacklustre and insipid and we didn't stretch Leicester at all down the flanks until the erratic Emerton came on - and actually got behind the opposition defence for a change. For most of the match, it was frankly a diabolical and embarrassing spectacle. We gave the ball away with alarming regularity, with Todd, Neill and Thompson being particularly guilty in this respect. But as the old cliche says: "It's the result that counts at the end of the day." Dickov's penalty brought a huge sense of relief. I would have prefered our semi-final this year to be played at a traditional English venue rather than Cardiff, but the FA, who take a chunk out of the gate receipts for semi-finals, are looking to maximise their revenue at every opportunity. 40,000 fans at Villa Park isn't a big enough pay day for them. The Semi-Final gate receipts are split evenly between the four competing clubs. The four clubs get 65% of the combined gate receipts to be divided equally. After a payment is made to the staging venue, the FA gets the rest of the money. That's why they want this years semi-finals to be staged at Cardiff. Don't believe the spin and b*llocks that you hear from the FA about them "wanting to allow as many fans to attend as possible." The FA doesn't give a damn about the history and tradition of the FA Cup. From next season, English sides playing in the Uefa Cup will not play replays in the 5th or 6th round of the FA Cup. Champions League teams will not have to play sixth-round replays. One rule for the bigger teams and another rule for the rest. It's sickening. And the FA, by staging the semi-finals at Cardiff, have proved that they're a greedy bunch of b*stards who are willing to trample on the tradition of the FA Cup in order to get their hands on more revenue. What happened American was that there was a half-time poll at the Walkers Stadium among Leicester fans - and they voted against the name change. Early indications from an internet poll had suggested that a majority was in favour of changing the name to Leicester Fosse. The local press though ran a campaign against it, and people became suspicious of the name change. Leicester Fosse was the original name of the club - named after a Roman Road near the club called the Fosse Way. After the 1st World War, the club's name changed to Leicester City. Understandably perhaps, beer-bellied fans who had "Leicester City" tattooed on their arms, alongside "City forever" inscribed indelibly on various parts of their anatomies, wanted to keep the name Leicester City. Opponents of the name change argued that "Fosse" was a silly name, which would open them up to ridicule. Those in favour of the name change felt that Fosse would give them a unique sense of identity. (City is a name that about 15 other clubs in the League have got.) They argued that like Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest etc. "Fosse" would give them more of a unique football name. In the end, the fans voted against it in a half-time poll. Today, Leicester tried to reach their first FA Cup semi-final for 23 years by playing a negative and defensive brand of football. Ultimately their tactics didn't work. It was up to us to break them down, and for 82 minutes we huffed and puffed without any real quality. Going back to 1960 again, there's a passage in that infamous novel which tells of how the gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors, approaches Lady Chatterley from behind "and short and sharp, he took her..." Today the football we saw was also fairly brutal and ugly. It lacked the beauty and romance that I like to see, but in the end we shafted Leicester. I'm grateful for the victory and will look forward to the semi-final - even though it's being played at the wrong venue....

Leicester fans seem to be pretty confident that they can get through to their first FA Cup semi-final for 23 years. Back in 1982, Spurs played Leicester in a semi-final at Villa Park under somewhat unusual circumstances. The Falklands War had broken out the previous day which placed Ossie Ardiles in a slightly difficult position. He received a lot of abuse on the day from Leicester fans. In the second half, Ardiles played his part in the opening goal of the match - crossing the ball for Garth Crooks to smash in a powerful volley. A Leicester own goal later in the match made the final score Spurs 2 Leicester 0. It turned out to be Ossie's last game for Spurs that season - he wouldn't be there for the Wembley final against QPR. Leicester were helped into the semi-final that year by a young local lad with pace and a keen eye for a goal - Gary Lineker. Earlier this year Mr Lineker had a road in Leicester named after him, near to the club's old Filbert Street ground, after topping a supporters poll. The Foxes may have had the two best keepers in English history playing for them between the sticks - Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton - but Lineker seems to be held in greatest affection among Leicester's fans. Gary will obviously be a partisan observer on Sunday, as he introduces the action on the Beeb, but I get the feeling that since his old pal Sparky was appointed as our manager, Gary has treated Rovers with a little more respect than before. In 1991, Don Mackay made a bid for Gary - who made it clear that he wasn't interested in a move to Ewood. Lineker thought it was a publicity stunt by Rovers. Not long afterwards, Kenny took over as manager and it was clear to everyone that the bid for Lineker had been a totally genuine one. A Lineker/Speedie partnership that season would have been interesting. It would also have meant that after signing Shearer in 1992, we would have had the two finest English strikers of the past 25 years wearing the Rovers shirt. I didn't see the episode of "They Think It's All Over" in 1999, where apparently, according to our Jim, Lineker gloated over the fact that we'd been relegated. Perhaps Gary, like a lot of other Leicester fans, had a grudge against us over our promotion win at Wembley. He may also have regretted his comments about Blackburn being a "small club" when we went on to win the title. I remember watching Football Focus in the summer of 1992, when Lineker made some slightly derogatory comments about Rovers. He said that he was surprised that Shearer had chosen Blackburn because we were a small club like Southampton. Perhaps Gary was still trying to justify the fact that he'd turned down a move to Ewood. In 1986, Lineker and Hughes became team mates at the Nou Camp under Venables. Sparky initially found it difficult to adjust to life abroad, becoming a bit homesick. Gary and his pretty wife Michelle helped to make his stay in Spain a more comfortable one by regularly inviting the young Welshman (only 23 and still single at the time) out for dinner in the Catalan city. The two strikers became good friends and have remained so since. It's fair to assume that should Rovers beat Leicester, then Lineker will be hoping Sparky goes all the way and wins the competition. Our FA Cup tie with Leicester represents Rovers' best chance of reaching the last four since playing Sheffield United in 1993. Back then we drew 0-0 at home, before losing the replay at Brammal Lane on penalties after a 2-2 draw. A frustrating result, because we beat Sheffield United twice in the League that season (1-0 at home and 3-1 away.) Rovers reached the quarter-final again in 2001, but realistically against Arsenal at Highbury it was always going to be an uphill battle, with ourselves as the firm underdogs. Leicester, with Robbie Savage in the side, also reached the quarter-final that year, surprisingly losing 2-1 at home to Wycombe. Leicester have not won a match at Ewood since the last day of the season in 1996/97, when the much maligned Emile Heskey scored twice in a 4-2 Leicester win. Rovers will reach the semi-final for the first time since 1960 if we can overcome Leicester. It's a massive game for us and one that we're capable of winning. Leicester obviously shouldn't be underestimated though, and I think it will be a keenly fought battle between the two sides, with perhaps not more than one goal settling the match. A return to Cardiff, where we first started our cup adventure, beckons. But Leicester may prove to be a tough side, hard to break down on Sunday. Hughes himself says: "We know how Leicester like to play and I expect a very hard physical game." I'll go for: Rovers 1 Leicester 0. Mark "Preston are a bigger club than Blackburn" Lawrenson has also gone for a narrow Rovers victory. I hope that's not a bad omen... A link to Lawro's quarter-final cup predictions is below: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4336129.stm

This is probably the most disturbing aspect of the Champions League for me. The G14 group carries an enormous amount of clout and they threaten the healthy future of the game. The original 14 members are: Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Man United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain. In 2002, following pleas from David Dein, four more clubs were invited to join - Arsenal, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon. Peter Kenyon is naturally keen to sign up Chelsea as well, and it's almost certain that Chelsea will be invited before long. Freddie Shepherd at Newcastle has also been throwing his considerable weight around to try to get the Geordies invited around the table. (Such a massive club Newcastle - they haven't won the League since the 1920's!) The G14 clubs (18 of them) say their aim is to "promote and safeguard the general interests of the member clubs." In other words - maximise their own revenue and sod everyone else. That's why Peter Kenyon (while at Man United) said that he'd be happy to see 50 of the smallest clubs in England fold. Kenyon said that ideally he'd like to see 40 of the biggest English clubs streamlined into two Divisions. They used to be. Between 1977 and 1984, English clubs (Liverpool, Forest and Villa) won seven out of eight European Cups during this period. England and Italy have both won the most number of European trophies - 27 each. (In England's case - One Champions League, 8 European Cups, 8 Cup Winners Cups and 10 UEFA Cups.) Spain are close behind with 26 trophies. But when you take into account the ban on English clubs between 1985-1990, it illustrates just how much England used to dominate European competition. A total of 13 different English clubs have won trophies in Europe - Liverpool (7 wins), Man United (3 wins), Spurs (3 wins), Nottingham Forest (2), Arsenal (2), Leeds (2), Chelsea (2), Ipswich Town (1), Aston Villa (1), Everton (1), Newcastle (1), Man City (1) and West Ham (1). 13 is the best record of any nation. Our nearest rivals are Italy, where nine different clubs have won European trophies - AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Parma, Lazio, Sampdoria, Fiorentina, Roma and Napoli. The six year ban on English clubs proved to be very costly. The continental clubs improved their tactics and fitness, while English clubs went into decline. While out of European competition between 1985 and 1990, a number of English clubs played a direct style of football in the League. We had teams during this period like Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton who got the ball forward as quickly as possible. And so when the English clubs returned to Europe, they weren't used to playing many games against good quality passing sides who kept the ball well and were quick on the counter-attack. The English clubs got used to defending against aerial bombardment rather than quality attacking play. Since returning to Europe after the ban, only once (Man Utd in 1999) has an English club reached the final of the Champions League. It's inconceivable that clubs like Ipswich and West Ham could win a European trophy now. The domination of football by the elite has gone too far. The G14 have got their way, and supporters of smaller clubs have suffered.

A bit like Scotty and Manc Blue... Apparently though Colin, the feud between Andy and Teddy first started because in a match against Bolton in 1998, Sheringham told Andy that he was the one to blame for a Bolton goal. (Cole had given the ball away.) Our old "hands on hips" hero Andy then threw a major hissy fit, telling Sheringham that he would never speak to him again. Talk about creating a mountain out of a molehill.... But that was one of the problems with our Andy. He didn't seem to like (or couldn't take) criticism very well. He took it as a personal affront against him. The Sheringham/Cole spat is probably one of the most high profile feuds at the top level amongst club team mates. Another was the feud between Tommy Smith and the late Emlyn Hughes. The pair won the European Cup together at Liverpool, but Smith has always been honest and open about the fact that he detested Emlyn with a vengeance. Even when the news was announced that Hughes had a brain tumour, Smith said that he had no get well message for him. The spat first started because Smith accused Hughes of canvassing for the captaincy and going to the manager behind the players' backs with criticisms about the team. Sadly the feud ran very deep and continued right up until Emlyn's death.

I agree with Tashor's thoughts on the ever increasing gulf between the "haves" and the "have nots". Cracking game though tonight. Full of goals and entertainment... Southend beat Bristol Rovers 4-3 on aggregate in the LDS Van Trophy semi-final... Down at the Bridge, it wasn't a bad game either... I've been critical of Chelsea's style of play in some of their games this season, but I must admit they played some good attacking football tonight. Joe Cole was excellent in the first half, although he faded a bit in the second. It definitely looked like a foul by Carvalho for Chelsea's 4th goal. Collina missed it. Another key moment of the game was in the second half with the score at 3-2 - when Eto'o blazed the ball over the bar from close range after Iniesta's shot hit the post. The otherwise impressive Eto'o should have scored. It was a bad miss. I feel the same way as well Bryan. But no complaints from me tonight about Chelsea's style of play (apart from Carvalho's antics at the corner.) Some of Barca's passing and movement from Ronaldhino and Eto'o was excellent to watch. Elsewhere, it was nice to see a downcast Sir Alex leave the San Siro after a defeat. Time's running out now for the odious Roy Keane if he wants to get his hands on a Champions League medal. (He was suspended for the 1999 win.) Hopefully the Irishman will retire in a couple of seasons time regretting his lack of European Cup medals. In the other game tonight, Lyon thrashed a woeful Werder Bremen 7-2. It's not the biggest ever win in the Champions League though - last season Monaco beat Deportivo 8-3. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal can overcome their two goal deficit against Bayern.

Yep, I know. Happy Birthday btw Rosie...

A couple of intriguing 2nd leg return games tonight. I'm hoping that AC Milan can keep up their excellent home record in Europe to knock out the Red Scum. Milan haven't lost a knockout match at home in the European Cup since 1979. Johan Cruyff, meanwhile, has launched a strong attack on Chelsea's defensive style of play. The Dutch legend says that defensive tactics are a blight on the modern game and that he hates teams who score one goal and then shut up shop. (Chelsea have won nine Premiership games 1-0 this season. I'm sure every Chelsea fan would be delighted with a 1-0 win tonight.) Cruyff though says that Chelsea's defensive play is a "turn off" and that it makes him loathe football. I wonder if he's heard the chorus of the old Elvis Costello tune: "I don't want to go to Chelsea, oh no!"

I think 50's enough for the time being Bryan. (I thought about going up to a hundred - but that would have been taking the p!ss!) I could never hate you in a million years Rosie. For a few of the names on my list (eg: Graham Poll, Ruud Gullit, Mark McGhee) "hatred" is too strong a word. "Dislike" would be more appropriate.

Can I choose 50 names instead of 5. I've got a lot to get through - I'll give brief reasons for each one.... 1) Lee Hughes (Still hasn't apologised for committing manslaughter) 2) Alex Fergsuon (obnoxious/highly arrogant) 3) Barry Ferguson (selfish liar) 4) Duncan Fergsuon (thug) 5) Alan Smith (Judas/traitor) 6) John Fashanu (Vicious thug who smashed Gary Mabbutt's eyeball sockets and cheekbone. Epitomised Wimbledon's brutal style of play.) 7) Peter Kenyon (Liar/arrogant. Openly stated that he wants smaller clubs to fold.) 8) El Hadji Diouf (disgusting cheat who spits in people's face.) 9) George Graham (Crook/arrogant. Terrible style of football.) 10) Eric Cantona (French thug) 11) Wayne Rooney (Traitor to the city of Liverpool) 12) Stan Collymore (wife beater) 13) Lee Chapman (wife beater) 14) Joey Barton (Repulsive behaviour to burn a team mate's eyelids) 15) Lee Bowyer (arrogant thug who stamped on a Spanish player's head during a match at Elland Road) 16) Peter Ridsdale (Conman/liar) 17) Vinnie Jones (Vicious thug who was a disgrace to the game. He should never be seen as a "hero" no matter how many Hollywood films he appears in. Jones prematurely ended the career of Spurs and England defender Gary Stevens with a horrendous tackle.) 18) Craig Bellamy (arrogant) 19) Gary Blissett (Former Brentford striker who smashed a Torquay player's eye socket and cheekbone. Rightly charged with causing grevious bodily harm.) 20) Ken Bates (arrogant) 21) Harald Schumacher (Dirty former German keeper. In the semi-final of the 1982 World Cup, Schumacher threw himself into the path of Patrick Battison, leaving him unconscious and shattering several of his teeth.) 22) Freddie Shepherd (arrogant) 23) Ian Wright (abused a disabled linesman - should never have been employed by the BBC.) 24) Gary Neville (arrogant) 25) Ruud Van Nistelrooy (diving Dutch cheat) 26) Louis Boa Morte (another diving cheat) 27) Steve Bruce (Disloyal/arrogant) 28) Julian Dicks (thug) 29) Mark Dennis (Former Saints thug) 30) Kevin Davies (Has since done well with Bolton - but I can't forgive him for his lazy displays in a Rovers shirt.) 31) Gerard Houllier (French clown) 32) Phil Thompson (Worked closely with French clown) 33) Roman Abramovich (Russian gangtster who was first interested in buying Spurs - anything to gain British citizenship.) 34) Clive Tyledsley (Man Utd-loving cheesy commentator) 35) Mark Bright (muppet) 36) Howard Wilkinson (useless/dour - the idiot who sold Cantona to Man United.) 37) Jose Mourinho (arrogant) 38) Joe Kinnear (Brutal long-ball style of play with Wimbledon) 39) Ian Branfoot (Brutal long-ball style of play with Southampton) 40) Norman Whiteside (Dirty player who made some reckless tackles at Man United) 41) Graham Poll (publicity seeker) 42) Mike Riley (useless) 43) Dwight Yorke (lazy) 44) David Beckham (vain/materialistic/publicity seeker/inarticulate - the ultimate hero for today's chavs. He should never [imo] have been appointed as England captain.) 45) David Sullivan (Sleazy Sunday Sport porn baron.) 46) Trevor Francis (Dour/arrogant. Once fined a QPR player two weeks wages for the 'crime' of wanting to be at the birth of his baby.) 47) Ruud Gullit (arrogant) 48) Graeme Le Saux (Treated Rovers fans shabbily after coming back from injury - walking out on us. They say that hell hath no fury like a Rovers fan scorned....) 49) Paul Ince (arrogant) 50) Mark McGhee (Disloyal. Regularly walks out on clubs)

I'm pleased that Arsene Wenger, who sometimes defends the indefensible, was open and honest about his side's shocking performance last night. Arsenal were abysmal against Bayern Munich last night. Wenger said: "It was our worst performance since we started in the Champions League. There was no sharpness, no movement and no passing. I expected so much more from my players. It was a very very bad performance. At the moment we don't look like keeping a clean sheet." Nice of Wenger to be honest for a change. Too often when Arsenal lose a match, he has the habit of making feeble excuses - or pins the blame for the result on the ref. I hated the League format of the European Cup when it was introduced in 1991. It was clearly designed to benefit the richer clubs and maximise their income. I much prefer the old system. But now that we've reached the last 16 and the knockout stages though, I must admit the draw has thrown up some intriguing ties, philipl. Hopefully they'll be some good football played tonight.

"I thought it was a good Cup tie," said Mark Hughes after the match, before leaving on the coach to depart the ragged moorland of the hill trolls. I suspect though that neutral observers watching on the Beeb must have been less than complimentary about the match. On a dreaful pitch resembling a cow field, some of the football played was akin to the brown muck that's deposited from a cow's backside. After Paul Dickov's bad miss in the second half, I must admit the words 'banjo' and 'arse' went together with the cow.... The match reinforced my view that we don't have sufficient attacking quality at the moment to be a top ten side in the Premiership. Effort and commitment from the players: 7/10. Entertainment and individual quality: 3/10. Defensively we are reasonably sound, with Nelsen again impressive. Going forward though, we fully reflect our league position in the bottom six of the Premiership. I thought Emerton was a frustrating bugger again today - running into blind alleys, falling over, giving the ball away, head down and not aware of his team-mates ahead of him. Our delivery from crosses and set pieces is poor and there's a lack of imagination and subtlety to our passing. A Premiership side should really be able to create several good chances over 90 minutes against a team from a lower division. We failed to do that today. BBC viewers must have gained the impression that an East Lancs derby is high on passion but low on quality. Burnley's main threatening moves came from a nutter invading the pitch, while their only player with a hint of creativity is a Frenchman - Jean-Louis Valois. For Rovers, the impression that viewers of the Beeb must have gained is that Blackburn are a workmanlike side, which lacks individual quality and flair. Hughes will have to bring back Matty when he's fit! I thought ladies were too busy studying the tactical side of the game to worry about the looks of players... You're as old as the person you feel CC. I better not ask how old he is...

So Mr Ferguson is now trying to justify the transfer on the grounds that Bolton V Blackburn isn't a big game. He's certainly changed his tune from August 2003 - when he signed for Rovers saying: "Every single game down here is a big one. Whereas without being disrespectful to Scottish football, you only get one big game a season up there and that's against Celtic." Not only did he say that every single game for Blackburn was a big one, he also told Rangers fans that he had to get away from Glasgow because of the sectarian abuse he had received. "I just want to be able to go to the park to play football with my boys or take them to the swimming pool without worrying someone will say something to me that will upset the kids." "Moving to England will be good for the family," he said. "When I knew Blackburn were interested it just felt right. I only have positive feelings about this move." "I'm excited about playing in the Premiership. I'm looking forward to facing Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. I'd love to do for Blackburn what they do for their teams." So this is a man who firstly tried to use his kids and family as an excuse for moving from Rangers to Blackburn. He tells Rovers fans just before Christmas last year that he is "extremely happy" at Blackburn. "I definitely see my future here at Rovers. Hopefully I can stay here for a few more years yet," he said. The following month in January he hands in a transfer request and according to Mark Hughes, he refuses to play for us in the FA Cup against Colchester. He returns to Rangers, telling the Scottish media: "I've missed the club so much. When I pulled on the shirt again it felt so good." And now he says that the reason for moving back to Glasgow is because Bolton V Blackburn isn't a big game.... The truth is that you can't believe a word that the @#/? says. He has consistently lied and behaved in a disgusting manner, especially for a captain - culminating in refusing to pull on the Rovers shirt. A clear breach of the contract he had with us. Why can't Ferguson own up and actually admit the truth ? That he's a failure in English football who ran away from the Premiership - having failed in his aim to become a player in the Vieira/Gerrard/Lampard mould. The English Premiership where he previously said that every game was a big one - unlike in the Scottish League. Why Fergie Quit Rovers... Because he's a failure, a bottler and a cheat to the Rovers fans who paid his vast wages for 18 months (six of them while injured).

If I was a Southampton fan in the middle of a major relegation battle, I'd be concerned about Graeme Le Saux and whether his mind is entirely focused on the job in hand. Le Saux was in the commentary box at Villa Park for the England/Holland match, having travelled up from the South Coast to Birmingham in midweek. Three days later on Saturday, he was in the commentary box again for the Beeb, this time at White Hart Lane for the Spurs/West Brom FA Cup replay. The following day he was sitting in the BBC studios for Sunday's Match Of The Day highlights. Le Saux is not injured. He played in Southampton's last game against Everton, and as I understand it, he'll be available to play in their next game in the FA Cup against Brentford. If I was Harry Redknapp, I'd be a bit p1ssed off that in the middle of a relegation battle one of my players seems more preocuppied with becoming a media tart for the Beeb rather than focusing on his job with Southampton, for which he is handsomely paid. With the Saints in the bottom three and desperate to continue their 27-year run in the top flight, what kind of message does it send out to Southampton fans when they see and hear Mr Le Saux on the box as a telly pundit all the time? Personally if I was Redknapp, I'd deduct the payments he has been receiving from the Beeb from his wage packet at Southampton. I'd also tell him that in future if he wants to drive up to Birmingham in the middle of the week while his club is involved in a major relegation battle then he'd be better off looking for a new employer....

Just making the point that he is the captain of the worst Scottish side in history and as SAR says, he is keen to join a league whose national representatives are crap. Anyway, at least Scotland have one decent player playing for them at International level - Paul Dickov. The link below is not really relevant, as it's non-football related, but the boss of Channel 4 has suggested that Scots actually like to wallow in failure. I don't entirely agree with his views, but it's an interesting read. Scots Love Failure

Just posted a piece on Barry Ferguson, Don.... Now for another odious sod - Craig Bellamy. "This is a great football club and it's an honour for me to be here," said Bellamy when he joined Celtic on loan. At the press conference Martin O'Neill joked that he half-expected his new striker to be picking the team for him in a fortnight's time. Lo and behold, it hasn't taken long for Bellamy to criticise his new employers. Craig is said to be unhappy with the training facilities at Celtic and what he calls an "inferior league" in Scotland. Sir Bobby Robson once said that Bellamy was the "gobbiest player I've ever managed". (Sir Bobby was a manager for 37 years.) It was Bellamy who not only threw a chair at Newcastle coach John Carver - but also threatened to quit St James' Park if Wayne Rooney was signed by Robson. (Last month Craig was telling the media that he would never ask to leave Newcastle.) Bellamy is a young man with exceptional arrogance. After joining Newcastle, a television interviewer told Bellamy that goalscorers were adored on Tyneside and if he knocked them in, he could become a hero. "But I already am a hero ..." Bellamy sneered. To paraphrase the old joke: How many Craig Bellamys does it take to change a light-bulb? Answer: only one. Craig holds the bulb and the rest of the world revolves around him. According to Graeme Souness, Bellamy told new signings Babayaro and Jean-Alain Boumsong that Newcastle were "a rubbish club with a rubbish manager". That was more complimentary than his views on Coventry City though. "Rubbish club, rubbish supporters, rubbish stadium, rubbish city," he said when leaving Coventry for Newcastle in 2001. Bellamy claimed that he had "shut a few people up" after scoring two goals for Wales in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Hungary. He might be a talented player - but he's also a thoroughly obnoxious brat who causes unrest and disharmony at whichever club he plays for. Rovers are better off without him! (A shame in one respect that he didn't join Birmingham. He and Steve Bruce may have been well suited to each other.)