Tyrone Shoelaces

My most embarrassing Rovers moment. Waiting outside Ewood after the game with my son for autographs. We'd just signed Jeff Kenna that week and he'd had a really good game. When he came out I said " Well played today mate ". He said " Thanks for that but I wasn't playing ". It was Tony Gale !

5th Feb 1980. Nearly 40 years ago ! That makes me feel old. 1-1 draw There was 29, 468 on. Our team - Jim Arnold Jim Branagan, Glenn Keeley, Derek Fazackerley, Mick Rathbone. Noel Brotherston, Howard Kendall, Tony Parkes Duncan McKenzie Andy Crawford, Simon Garner. Alan Evans og was our scorer. Andy Crawford had scored in all 5 previous ties that season. If we had that back five today I'd fancy us to go up. If they played the current team the current lads would need a goal start. How many of those would you drop for a current player ? Crawford for Armstrong ? Parkes for Dack ? After that it's a struggle. We were really unlucky to lose the replay.

You could add Alan Hudson and Charlie George to that group. None of them got more than a handful of caps

Great player and a real entertainer, he'd makes most of our current team look like pub players, but I don't think he ever won a tackle in his life.

There's more to it than just results. Our current form isn't good enough. Any other ref and we'd have played most of the Boro game with ten men and penalty awarded against us. We got lucky then. Same with our last game, if the linesman had have blinked at the wrong time that would have been a 1-1 draw. I'd really love to be able to come on here bigging us up but there's no point in fooling ourselves, we aren't playing well enough. Sooner or later that lucky streak runs out.

Going off current form ? No.

He was lightning quick over 10 yards before the injury. I think that's gone now, he'll have to learn other ways of playing. Just kicking it past another player then running after it is no longer an option.

I agree, we'll never thrive with this lot in charge. Irrespective of their sheer lack of football intelligence, you can't run a football club by remote control.

I would have thought he's playing for a contract at Shrewsbury at the moment.

Chapman isn't playing on the wing for Shrews. He's playing more of less where we were playing Dack.

I re-watched my CD of the 1960 Final the other day. Honestly I could have refereed that game. No diving or pretending to be hurt, no arguing with the ref over who's throw in it was etc. I was surprised how quickly the ball was back in play after throw ins, none of that inching up the line 20ft from where the ball went out of play, free kicks were taken equally quickly. None of the farce we get at corners these days were players are hanging on to each other all over the place. They used to have a feature in the sports bit of the " Sunday Observer ". It was a " Where are they now ? " style thing. It was a photo of one of Brian Clough's Notts Forest teams. In the details about one of the players it mentioned he was the first Forest player to be sent off since the 2nd World War ! That'd be in about 30 years of play. I'd been watching Rovers for about 3 season before I saw a sending off. Last night two teams ended up with 9 on the pitch ! That would be unheard of back then.

Will there be room in the treatment dept ? He'll have to wait his turn.

I'm not really interested in that anymore. I'll reserve judgement until I've seen him playing for Rovers.

That's the thing isn't it, when Souey brought players in our promotion push, you could see the team as a unit improving as each one came in.

I don't think home advantage counts for much these days.

It's fast becoming a game were you don't tackle, especially in the penalty area.

Yeah, there's nothing like scoring goals but I still got a big buzz if I could make one for somebody else with a good pass or cross.

I was only thinking about this the other day. How old would you need to be to remember a Rovers team playing attractive football on a regular basis. I'd say you need to be about 15 at least before you can form an intelligent, informed, opinion as to what's going on out on the pitch. So you'd have at least 30 years of age to remember a really classy Rovers team. Anybody younger than that will have seen tons of rubbish with just the odd good performance thrown in. That explains how lots of people are happy with our current form.

Yeah, when they get back to their original club it'll be " If you don't shape yourself that's what life has in store for you ". A bit like Rovers sending Chapman to Shrewsbury.

BCD games have thrown up some strange results. My local team, Rochdale, have won 5 games away yet only 1 at home.

You can change all the soloists in the orchestra if you like but if the conductor isn't up to the job the music will never sound right. I've said it before but I was underwhelmed by the standard of football on show when we got promoted. I would have made a change then. Nothing I've seen since has caused me reconsider that opinion. Yes we have better players, but the overall standard of play hasn't improved much at all.

Yes, given the strength of the league that's fantastic.

Yes, they're expecting big things of him.

They've just sold the lad Baah to City.

I always had the feeling he was just passing through.