Half of them have left. Last season we had a pretty good team and a crap manager. This season …… who knows ?

But this season more than last season.

For Burnleyto go down Kompany would have to be a Steve Kean standard appointment and I’m pretty sure he isn’t.

Dack’s got what you can’t teach players.

He certainly played like a “ Blackburn Rovers player “ He always gave 100% unlike some loan players we’ve had.

The only problem with players like Bellamy going into coaching is that none of the players under him will be half as good as he was. Some coach’s find that difficult to deal with.

The fact that you had to go back 40 years for examples should tell you all you need to know.

I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve seen Brittain play but reading their site he seems Nyambesque without the robust physique.

Like most left footed players. They always give you a chance as a defender because of that - unless it’s Messi or Maradona of course.

When you’re having a new baby would you really like to be in a foreign country with only a slight understanding of the language and a country away from the usual support staff of your families ?

A mate of mine took his son to that game. He’s never been to the Turf since.

There’s only one place he should be playing - up front near the centre.

And Maradona, Gerson, Puskas, Giggs, I liked playing right back because you knew all you had to do was show the left winger the inside and nothing much was going to happen. Unless they were right footed of course but usually they weren’t. One footed right wingers don’t come along often although Meccy was pretty bad in that respect. Really World class right foot only players don’t come along often either. Jimmy Johnstone was one I can remember. He was really right footed but he had such acceleration from a standing start and he was such a brilliant dribbler with that one foot it didn’t really matter.

I wasn’t MGP’s biggest fan but you couldn’t fault his ability to strike the ball with both feet. Up there with the best in that respect.

Some of Venus’s extra responsibilities amount to being an estate agent and clerk of works.

Because right footers tend to have a better left foot than left footers have a right foot. Don’t ask me why but that’s how it is. Just think of the left footed players you know and how many of them are one footed ?

Great try from Smith in the England game. That’s why you need a pacy stand off. Farrell wouldn’t have made it to the line.

At one time not all that long ago that would have been the going rate.

Not many teams get out of this league with a good faction of experienced players. It’s a long hard season.

There was a bit of that, both of the teams were run by guys from the office side of the business who had a tendency to pick their mates. Lads like me who were working on the shop floor weren’t in the clique.

There’ll be a reason he’s signing for Reading.

I only watched the first half. Norway were clueless, it appeared as though they were playing without a left back or a left winger. England were just streaming forward down the right hand side all the half. It could have been 10-0 if they could finish. I like their all white kit though, very classy.

Getting his replacement in before his big money move ? A very Brentford style signing.

Another element in this issue is the lack of works teams. When I was playing my company had two cricket teams playing every week. I was only good enough to play for the reserves at cricket. We had an enclosed ground with a full time groundsman. They also had a bowling green with a full time green keeper. Lots a big engineering companies did the same. They put good money in the sports and social side of work. Now the companies have all gone the grounds have gone the same way. My old ground has houses on it now as have all the other grounds I played on barring one. Any sport is like a pyramid, the bigger the base at the bottom the better the players are at the top.

Yes you’re right. These days it’s all about money. I can’t blame them for that, it’s a short career that can end in a moment. They’ll be looking at Dack and thinking - “ On the verge of a big money move and now 2 years older and struggling to regain his place in the Rovers team “.