I'll get my boots down out of the loft.

I'm usually on here moaning about commitment but I won't be tonight. That's all I ask for - players that have something beating under that badge on the front of the shirt. We had that today in spades. By haft time we'd lost a lad to a bad injury, given away a pointless red card and a penalty, we'd one or two other players feeling the pace. We'd be coming out without both our starting centre halves and wondering who was going to play right back. We'd every right to be thinking it wasn't going to be our day. We re-group at half time, came out with a coherent plan we obviously believed in. The manager had figured out that has long as we were still in the game with 10 minutes to go they'd be arrogant enough to think they could take it easy and that would give us our chance. Well that plan worked great and we came out with a very well deserved point. Well done to all concerned, that performance took guts and self belief. It could be a season changing performance. All the best to Wharton, he must be gutted after finally getting a well deserved first team place

Some of the younger players have dropped bollocks and got carded and then not seen the first team again for ages. Just saying.

If we have to go to Bristol with Nyambe and Ayala as our centre backs I wouldn't be too bent out of shape. One to get his head on everything in the air and the other with the pace to get everything on the ground. That's why Nyambe is such a valuable player.

It was crazy letting Magloire go out on loan to non league knowing we have 3 injury prone centre halves plus Lenihan always has a suspension in him. Ground hog day with our centre halves.

Really ? That's a really low barrier.

I know a bit about disc problems having had one for the last 40 years. As my Osteopath said at the time. " You could have a friend for life ", Well he was right. I'd play 60 minutes on a Wednesday night in the Gym. I'd go home after the game and I had my own tractioning device that consisting of a board with a harness that I put on the stairs. I'd hang off the board for about 1/2 hr using the weight of my lower body. Next day I'd be really stiff, getting shoes and socks on was a struggle, Friday was a bit better. By Monday I'd be Ok, ready to do it all again on Wednesday. You really need your back to be in perfect condition to play football. The guy who looked after me had been consulted by Alan Gilliver when he was at Rovers and he told me Gilliver had a disc fusion. Not as much pain but a real loss of flexibility. That was 50 years ago now but I'm not sure things have improved that much with backs over the years. I do remember going to our local Infirmary for treatment. The physio at the time was also the physio for Wigan Rugby League club. I sat down and looked around the waiting room and who should be opposite me but Ellery Hanley, the Wigan and GB captain. He'd come for treatment on his back also. Believe it believe it not but this was on the Thursday before he was due to play in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley the Saturday ! I thought, " He's no chance of playing ". Of course he turned out on the Saturday and had a brilliant game as usual.

I'm not happy with the midfield either. Could be another game lost in team selection.

The ball would have weighed a ton by then. He did well to get it as far as Trautmann ! I'd just started playing men's football at about 16 and ten stone wet through. I remember playing on the right wing on a really waterlogged pitch, the ball was getting heavier and heavier by the minute. With about five minutes to go the ball came right across from the left skidding along the ground. I'd come inside and the ball was about 10 yards out giving me a good half of the goals to aim at. I gave it everything I'd got and it was like kicking a cannonball. The goalie got a hand to it but the weight of the ball knocked his hand right back and the ball trickled in over the line.

When you've had a bit of a knock back as Bournemouth had it helps a lot if you get an early goal to get you back on track.

That's my gut feeling. We've too many key players who are either 8 out of 10 or 4 out of 10. If they all have a good game at once we look the part but that doesn't happen often enough. We could do with a few who are 6 out of 10 every week. Let's hope they prove us wrong.

If you get a chronic disc problem certain occupations aren't for you. I would have thought playing pro football was one of them. I did my back at work in my early thirties. We used to play 5 a side for an hour once a week after I'd get " better " and after about 45 minutes I was seizing up. I hope I'm wrong because the lad looked to have a good future.

I remember putting the TV on around 1964 for the England V France schoolboy International from Wembley. The French No10 not only looked like a young Bryan Douglas but he played just like him. The resemblance was uncanny, I often wonder what became of the lad, I can't recall his name now.

Even as an amateur player we had a code for where the ball was going. Hold it in my right hand before throwing the ball, that meant it was going to my right so somebody make a late run there. Ditto my left hand. It was amazing how nobody caught on. That was when the wing half took all the throw ins.

Eden Hazard on a good day was the nearest player to Bryan Douglas playing now in my opinion. Ronnie in his heyday was a bit like Roy Keane without the stupidity. He was a real box to box player. As time went by and he lost that essential mobility to play in midfield he dropped back into the middle of the back four.

Hey, we could take corners back ten.

I can walk great with my knees but I wouldn't like to take a corner with my right foot these days.

The Osteopath I used to see for treatment on my back, Frank Plum, used to treat Rovers players around that time. He had rooms in Rochdale as well as in Blackburn. We were talking about Rovers a lot while I was in his traction machine. He told me he was giving Ronnie traction on his back every day in the week before that game. Ronnie didn't play well that day and knowing that it's hardly surprising. Alan Gilliver came to see him to get a second opinion when he'd been advised to give up the game by the powers that be at that time at Rovers . Gilliver thought the club was after the insurance money. Just as an aside the captain and centre half of one of the teams I played for used to play with a bad back. He wore what looked to me like one of those old whalebone corsets that women wore under his shirt !

I'm with you pal. Mrs Shoelaces will tell you nobody wants Rovers to win more than I do. I'm always on cloud nine when we win and I'm sulking for a day or two when we lose. I think I've got worse as I've got older. Having said that you can only be under par and be winning games for so long. Before too long it'll catch up with you. Remember our first season back down under Keanochio ? We were winning and miss firing, teams gave us too much respect so we got away with it for half a dozen games. Then the penny dropped for our opponents that we weren't actually that good and it was downhill from that point. If we aren't playing well I don't see much point in trying to convince ourselves that we are. That's been two disjointed home performances on the bounce now. That's against very willing but limited opposition. Looking at both Barnsley and Millwall, how many of their players would you like to see in our first 11 ? We're still no nearer knowing what our best 11 is. Every game throws up more selection questions. We were all pleased to see us sign an solid centre half in Ayala, now people are saying lets get Wharton back in there. Lots of people wanted Johnson back in, now it's lets drop him and get Trybull back. Another quiet game from Holtby and he'll be for the chop. We'll need to have it sorted for Saturday, Brentford have got a cutting edge, something that Barnsley and Millwall haven't got.

It's full of it, they're a horrible set of bastards. It's not just like it's one or two either. I couldn't support a team with a fan base like that. You'd think it was still 1970 down there.

If our support ever got so bad I'd have to consider wether I want to support a club with fans like that.

It looks to me that it'll be a lot harder to bring over players that aren't exactly well known on an international level. Just the pond we'll be fishing in. Good job we got Kaminski when we did.

Where does that leave our overseas scouting set up ?

That Burnley team played against Rovers on many occasions, teams didn't change members back then anything like they do today.

Correct. Walter Joyce, who was 12th man for that final, is peeping out from behind Ray Pointer and I think it must be John Connelly behind Tommy Cummings. The missing player is John Angus and he must be stood directly behind Brian Miller, unless Miller had three legs ! It could also be Jimmy Robson hiding behind Miller.