We're right out of parrots.... we've got a slug..

He's not injured, he's just resting..

Hmm.. Season Over nearly covers it after all 😞 Bah, humbug. Back to the sodding drawing board.

Common sense (which of course I acknowledge is a figment of my imagination) tells us that we are unlikely to win this game, with key players out, a lack of guile and composure in front of goal, a very limited midfield, creative players (Cantwell and Buckley, ACD) missing in action, low firepower and great uncertainty off the pitch to undermine confidence. Sod that though, as we all know that to rely on common sense makes no sense. What we can expect perhaps is a committed rear guard, a dogged display and perhaps a goal or two at either end. A lot will hinge on whether Brittain can reprise any of the recent form and ability to ping dangerous balls into the opposition area, plus of course whether Big Mak is feeling motivated and has his shooting boots on. Games like this have a habit of springing surprises, and like most on here, I think it may well be a nasty one with a bump back to reality for Rovers fans. A defining game for the rest of the season, perhaps? Standard Optimism - Rovers 1 Sky Blues 0 Silly Season - Rovers 4 Coventry sent packing 1 Season over - Rovers 0 Coventry 3 Here's hoping for SILLY SEASON! COYB!

My cousin sent me a WhatsApp photo of Harry Leonard on the train home from the Oxford no show on Saturday evening. I'm not posting it here, as I don't have his permission to use it on the forum, but a photo I have nonetheless..

I know someone who travelled back to the North West with players yesterday, on the train, no less.

Bloody hell, there is so much noise on here, despite the resounding silence down the road at Ewood. C'mon Rovers - give us something to shout about, so we can stop the noise! COYB! F-OFF VENKYPASHAWAGGOT Bullshit purveyors and snake oil slippery hideaway sloping shoulder merchants Sssssshhhhhhhhhhhame on VENKYS!

I'm expecting a difficult game (yeah, I know - no easy games in this league!) and Oxford will be looking to avenge their defeat at Ewood. No doubt JE will have done the homework on how they set their stall up, and will select accordingly. I hope we go with a settled side, where the obvious team spirit and growing awareness of each others' style and abilities will help to patch over the threadbare realities of our squad. We shouldn't be arrogant, over-confident, OR over-cautious in setting out to play that works best for us. Let Oxford do their worst / best and just concentrate on the things we know we do well. No need to over analyse, over think or over plan - JFDI instead. Soccerratic inspriration - U's 0 - Oop Norf Nickers 1 Take a Punt - Oxford floaters 2- Boatburn Oarsmen 1 Flood plains of the Thames - United 1 - Niggly Norman Bell's Alma Mater 1 COYB !! Let's put a good run together!

Sign this man up as Chief Scout pls, give him a cheque book (or GPay) and GET ON WITH IT FFS ROVERS!! COYB!

It's a wave of nostalgia for the past and I'm guessing that Moyes and the Gurning Chump won't be the last such appointments as clubs look back to previous glory days in a desperate attempt to recreate the previous conditions and context to take them magically forward towards similar good times. A bit like if JE was to be poached away, us appointing Sparky or Souey and expecting that to be enough to restore a long gone confidence and capability. Good luck to them. But better fortune to us 😉 COYB! Signings please!

Can we put a bid in for MacAnthony - part exchange the odious MacWaggott?

Always Foogy in Preston. Specially around the Doocks. Here's hoping JE has put itching powder in our front players' boots. Now come on Rovers. Send the Pompey Chimes a ringing message to take back to Portsmouth Dooks this evening. COYB!

Nope - Venkys are as silent as a dead man in Davey Jones' Locker, and have been for more than a decade. No arguments. No statements. No 'honouring Jack Walker's Legacy'. Despicable Cowards and Charlatans, the lot of them. Already forgotten, the sooner these half-wits are out of our club, the better. Full Stop. End Of. VENKYS / PASHA/ SHADY MIDDLEMEN / VENKAPOLOGISTS OUT!!

Who wasn't the new Noel Brotherston.. but I get your point..

"Needs a kick up the arse" kind of midfielder would be more apropos. When your creative midfielders get hold of the ball there should be an audible intake of breath from the crowd in anticipation of something good happening (a la Toogs / Sherwood etc - remember?). Sadly, with Buckley, there is just a ripple of 'pass it forward, to one of ours, oh fooking hell' goes round like a negative Mexican wave... But hey, JE can fix that..?? C'mon Rovers - time to unveil your cunning plan - and no, it mustn't be underpants on your heads and knitting needles up your nostrils...It's STRIKER TIME!! (Please!)

Shut up please. Let's talk about players coming in or going out in the January Transfer Window thread...

I'm expecting JE to set the team up to be hard to beat, as usual, but I do have concerns about our relative toothlessness and lack of bite in front of goal. If Brittain is playing, I wonder whether they actually work on connecting up with his crosses in training - as when these come in during a live game, it is almost as if it is a surprise to our forward line. One thing is for sure - we shouldn't underestimate Pompey, and they have certainly shown signs of being able to turn it on away from home. Hoping for a ringing home win - Rovers 3 Pompey 0 Nervous for another no-show - Rovers 0 Pompey goal snatching rascals 1 Normal Service Resumes - Rovers 1 Pompey huff and puff 0 COYB!!

No, but Dolan does unsettle defenders, and Leonard is more a poacher than a creator. Not sure about big Mak. Whatever happens, we need to keep a solid shape at the back, win the midfield battle and do what it takes to create chances. If we do that, there is every possibility of a positive result. COYB!

Oh, I dunno... perhaps someone who knows where the onion bag is, shows commitment and skill in front of it, who works his arse off for the team running the opposition ragged for 90 minutes at a time, gets back and does his fair share defending our goal , who creates chances for others as well as hoovering them up for himself... hmmm, didn't we have one of those last season?? And, if my memory serves me, weren't we looking at another product of the same outfit that produced Sammie? What happened to those links??

Get him in with his strike partner with the blonde bob (Forsse?) and there's a ready made duo for the run in..

But not given because..?

Is Buckley trying to force a move.... to Darwen?

Can't get near the ball at the moment.. When we do, Buckley breaks up play with lazy passes.. 😞 Baath looking lively.

I have a VPN but can't see where it might be useful for this game.. any ideas?

It isn't US - it's THEM 😉 Just saying. And, as they used to say, back in the days when we were a third division outfit with no money, "Blackburn Rovers begin their annual battle against promotion..." Still, it is very quiet. Nothing to see, hear or react to.... tick, tock..