I just thought I’d ask, after all my youngest son is 40 and he can just about remember him in his prime. But for the injury he would have been in the Bobby Charlton bracket in terms of reputation.

Did you see much of Gazza before his injury Stuart ? The lad was world class.

I believe there are rumours of a new European Super League move in the offing.

I’d fancy Big Club to beat us at the moment if there was something riding on the result. As it is it looks like both teams will be safe by then so who knows what teams will turn out at Ewood.

I fancied Big Club to beat Rotherham today, they’ve gone on a good run of form since they appointed Lee Bowyer.

He should have been up there with Ronaldo and Messi, but he never made it. He was our most talented player since Gazza as a teenager.

At this level that simple style of play would suit most teams.

I thought it was a pretty boring game but then most semi finals are. Sterling played like he’d never seen a football before. All the fancy away shirts and third shirts yet we had two teams both playing in blue ?

I wasn’t at that game. Just look at the state of the pitch yet teams could get you out of your seat with the football they played on pitches like that. I watched the City - Chelsea semi final on a billiard table surface yesterday and it took me all my time to stay awake.

I had a falling out with my Rugby League team ( Hornets ) many years ago. What they were serving up was diabolical. I was getting home after games and wanting to kick my non existent cat. After one particularly awful mid week game I left before the end and I told my pal “ Don’t bother coming for me on Sunday, that’s me done “. He phoned me on the Sunday to arrange a time to pick me up but my mind was made up - I really was done. Later on he persuaded me to go to local games instead. Oldham one week, Leigh the next, Halifax another week. It was ok but a bit like kissing your sister. Interesting but not leading anywhere. Eventually even that tapered off. Then a few years later Hornets moved to playing at the Spotland Stadium near where I lived. One Sunday I’d nothing to do so I wandered over to watch a game. It was just like meeting an old flame, I was instantly hooked again and 30 odd years later I still am. Regarding Rooney - at 18 he was the finished article, he was a natural. You didn’t need to tell him anything about how to play the game. For various reasons ( injuries, life style etc ) he never really kicked on to achieve his full potential but he could have been whatever he wanted to be as a footballer.

Not for me.

Either of the Joe Rothwell goals for me.

That’s why stats only tell you so much. The league table trumps all the other stats in my book.

We always have “ excellent players coming through “. That’s as far as it goes.

Yes I could see that. Some modern centre halves see defending as a bit of a chore, he’s one of them. I prefer centre halves who love defending.

Kaminski was our best player for me and more than made up later on for not getting out to the Derby goal.

Just looking back at their goal. What a typical Mowbray shambles. We don’t do enough to prevent the first cross coming in. The ball sails across to the far wing. Nyambe is too narrow. The centre half jogs over like he’s going getting a half time pie. Elliot is also too slow reacting to help out. Their guy eventually puts the ball back into a huge space on the near post for Lawrence to head home. Some of our players seem to be marking each other. I would have also expected my keeper to have got out and clattered Lawrence back in the day but that doesn’t seem to be the fashion these days.

Rovers are the only constant in my adult life. Wives, Houses, Jobs, Workmates etc have all come and gone over the years. I was on pins tonight until the ref blew up. Having said that I haven’t got the same enthusiasm at the moment. A change of manager would work wonders though.

My relief at gaining the three points is tempered by the knowledge that if we start next season with the same management team it’ll just be more of the same.

Did we find out why Lenihan wasn’t playing ?

He’s leaving the England set up for a reason.

He could have been whatever he wanted to be. I saw him play central midfield, behind the striker, defensive midfield, out on the wing, right full back - and he was great in all of those positions. A David Dunn who could tackle.

I wouldn’t back him to get us promoted even if you gave him £100 Million. He’d probably blow it on back up players to help the lads out or kids for the future.

Hart. Cunningham was decent but on a loan deal.

Being better than Bell or Douglas isn’t exactly setting a high standard. I was hoping for another Alan Wright. He was great going forward but he could make life really difficult for opposing wingers.