I’m glad they kept 11 on in some ways. We always seem to struggle playing against 10.

Very, very sad news. He would have been in the prime of his life. We’ve had a couple of similar incidents in Rochdale late at night in the last few years. One punch fights, were the victim is knocked over, bangs his head on the ground and is fatally injured. Blokes watching too many Westerns and thinking punching somebody in the face is nothing.

Yeah he was exactly the same age as me and I always envied his career. That was until Everton came to Rochdale in a pre season friendly. He came over to take a throw in right in front on me and I spotted a bald patch emerging under a comb over at the back of his head ! This would be when both of us were about 21 or 22. I wasn’t so jealous then.

Steve Warriner - Small Town Girl

Buckley should have hit the target as a minimum. That was a bad miss.

RIP. Will something be done now ? Somehow I doubt it.

I’d have Kendall for his all round football nous.

I said that to my son at the time.

They once got beat 6-2 at Newcastle. Headline in that nights Manchester Evening News “ Football Pink “ - “ Reds In Eight Goal Thriller “. It’s like playing Wales at Rugby Union, you don’t beat them, you just score more points ( goals ) than them !

You might have but you were on your own.

I agree a goalscorer of Garner’s standing is what we are short of at the moment but as long as we keep getting one more than our opponents we’ll be ok.

You can’t have four. Come down off the fence please. On another tack how many of that team would get in the current team ? Quite a few I think. Jim Arnold to name only one.

If you could have one player from that team to play for us on Friday who would it be ? For me it would be Howard Kendall to play in place of John Buckley.

The Howard Kendall method.

He could be in the old left back position. It depends on the perspective of the photo.

I have the image of “ Tommy “ in “ Early Doors “. The old guy that sits on his own in the corner of the pub. I never really understood drinking before a game. Especially at my age now. I’d be up and down to the toilet disturbing everybody.

They were conspicuous by their absence last season when they were getting dicked every week. Just saying.

“ Lamped “ . That’s an old Lancashire expression. Anybody know where it comes from ? I heard an explanation years ago.

Their centre half missed a complete sitter when he ran through our defence first half. It was harder to miss that it was to score.

Well spotted. I’d forgotten about him. I played Left Back at times. That’s definitely a full backs tackle back in the day. Now it would be a card, then it was “ play on “.

I know a good optician, I can send you his phone number if you like.

I agree with all of that. It’s great to have a recognisable team shape and a coherent and successful way of getting the ball from our end to their end. It’s about time but it’s great to see. The only fly in the ointment is we have to make a lot of chances to score a goal. When you watch the finishing in yesterdays Liverpool game you see what big money brings you in terms of goalscoring. It put me in mind of that Rovers v Forest 7-0 years ago. I think we had 8 shots on goal and 7 went in !

Here’s your choices - the team for that game. Arnold Branagan , Keeley, Fazackerley, De Vries Brotherston, Kendall, Speight, McKenzie Garner, Stonehouse No subs. DeVries was a left back we signed from Hull. He played 16 games for us in the 1980-81 season. He lost his place to Mick Rathbone. Looking at photos of him I’d say he’s a likely candidate.

You can’t play it any other way. How else can you maintain competition for places ? We’re all equal but some are more equal than others ?

Were they winning today Gav ?