Yeah, we’re back to scraping the barrel.

Saturday September 30th 1961. V Sheffield Utd at Ewood. My dad was a coach driver for Charles Holts coach tours and he was friendly with a retired lady teacher who lived in Bacup that had been on one of the tours. Her son Jack was a Rovers fan and he took me. It was a lovely autumn day, very much like last Saturday’s weather. Ewood looked a picture in the sunshine, the new Blackburn End cantilever stand was just opened. Rovers looked great in their blue and white kit, contrasting nicely with Sheff U’s red and white stripes. The PA was belting out the hits of the day before the game. At the end of the game somebody had smuggled in a bugle and he blew a perfect rendition of the “ Last Post “ ! You don’t get that today ! It wasn’t much of a game, I can’t remember anything about the actual match at all but I know we lost 2-1. It didn’t really matter though, I was hooked. I’d come home ! Rovers team that day. Else Bray, Newton Clayton, Woods, McGrath Crowe, England, Lawther, Douglas, Haverty Scorer Lawther. Att 16,667

I’m not picking on Dolan but how he can expect to get picked again after Saturday’s awful performance says a lot about our current squad. Nobody up front really stood out but he was beyond poor. He was more likely to set up a goal for Norwich as he was for Rovers. How many times did he get caught in possession and lose the ball ? I like the lad usually but there has to be consequences for performances like that.

Dack could get beyond the striker, Cantwell never seems to do that.

Given the players we have and the injuries we’ve had to deal with we’ve done brilliantly to be were we are.

Dack pre injuries was twice the player.

The Norwich fans are right. They didn’t make enough chances either inspite of them having loads of the ball. I can’t see either us or them making the play offs.

I hate saying it but we are just not good enough to make the play offs. We don’t make enough clear cut chances so we don’t score enough goals. 1 shot on goal on Saturday apparently. It’s as simple as that for me.

The corners are awful, we need somebody else taking them. . I was really surprised how slow he is. He’s got to be the slowest player at the club. I expect him to be benched when Buckley is fit again.

How long have you been watching Rovers ?

Weimann and Hedges were on the bench for a reason. Neither are starting players as we’ve seen over the course of the season. I agree Dolan and Cantwell were poor on Saturday. Dennis is going to be banned and Buckley is injured. All of a sudden we’re scraping the barrel again. What’s happened with Woodrow ? Surely he must come into the reckoning now.

Richard Hell And The Voidoids - Blank Generation

I can remember a few besides that one Jim. Mike England at the dingle dome after a running battle with Andy Lochead. Harry Gregg planting Mike England at Old Trafford. I’m pretty sure Big Clubs Trevor Hockey once got sent off at Ewood in a pretty fiery match in the late 1960’s. As you say it was very, very rare in spite of the game being much more physical. You may have seen one per season. No way would Dennis been sent off back then, he might have got a booking. Then again the lad being fouled wouldn’t be making a meal of it either.

I’d been watching Rovers for two seasons before I saw my first sending off. Now you see sendings off regularly. Two in the Newcastle v Brighton game today for instance. The game is fast becoming a non contact sport.

Love - Alone Again Or

How does Dolan get a start after yesterday ?

I meant Beck will become a better player than Beck already is now.

You mean keeping attacking players out of the “ D “ ? It’s obvious really because a lot of goals are scored from in and around that part of the pitch. Until recently Tronstad was great at policing that area. We very rarely allowed shots on goal from around the “ D” . That partially explains why Pears started to look half decent.

King was a really top class player. What he would have been like with two good knees ! I remember listening to Dean Saunders speaking. Somebody asked him who was the best player he ever played with. He said Paul McGrath right away. He said his knees were that bad he could hardly train at all but come Saturday he was ready for anything.

When I was playing if I’d have given a winger that much room I’d have been in for a long afternoon. But then there were wingers who were only too glad to run at you from distance. They’re running, you aren’t. Only one winner there most of the time. Current wingers seem happy to just pass the ball back inside.

He’s definitely an improvement on Pickering in my book. Beck will become a better player but he’s not going to be playing for us beyond May.

What is this tactic of having all 20 outfield players stood in an area of the pitch as big as a tennis court for goal kicks all about ? It looks ridiculous. Gueye got his head to most of the balls but there was nobody there to take advantage of it. They just went out of play.

We seem to go for the more complicated “ thread the ball through the eye of a needle “ type pass when there is a simpler ball on much too often. We don’t seem to understand how to build pressure by retaining possession. It’s like in rugby league, some teams think they have to score with every six tackle play. The smart teams know how to build pressure. They don’t try to score with every six. They’ll be content to force a goal line drop out, get the ball back, and go again.

Given time he could. Wharton can make those passes instantly. It’s his speed of thought and execution that stands him out. That’s why he’s made such an impact at Palace.

Jones never got any better. He was making the same mistakes at 25 that he was making at 18. Too impetuous by far.