Tyrone Shoelaces

The gates are going to be really interesting when we eventually get back to opening up for spectators. I think we'll find a significant fall off in attendances. Waning enthusiasm appears to be rife.

Anybody else thinking that home advantage doesn't count for much these days in our league ?

Jim usually starts that off, any day now I reckon.

Four points off the drop zone and Wycombe who are third bottom just won 2-1 at Big Club.

I say it every year but this year it really is true - " We'll never have a better chance than this year to go up. Every team is beatable ".

I played on the left wing a bit when I was starting out and even then I knew to get in the penalty box when the ball was over on the right wing. I got a few goals that way and a few bollockings from other older team members when the crosses from the right were over hit into the big empty space I'd just left ! It was noticeable that MGP's goals dried up a lot when he stopped getting into the penalty box.

I was probably in a minority of one, not for the first time, but I would have parted company with him at the end of the promotion season. I wasn't impressed with the way we played most of the time. As we know we rarely managed to play at our optimum for more than 30 or 40 minutes in any game. Given the squad we had that was enough to win most games. You have to be ruthless in football to win the big prizes.

It's not a fact, it's somebody's opinion.

Same in 1966. " When we get Dougie back again we'll get out of this mess ". Only we never did. Players get injured of course, but some don't rush back to play in struggling teams.

Looking at the recent results in this league any half decent team could get promoted. It's a crying shame we can't advantage of the relative weakness of the league.

4-5-1 when Boro have the ball. 4-2-4 when we have it.

I don't think I knew any of them. My Rovers mate then was a lad called Alec, he was a spring maker who emigrated to New Zealand 3 times. I think he's stayed there the last time. I haven't seen him for 20 years

That was my dilemma. How long to hang on at the ground. I always had to leave night matches about 10 minutes early to catch the last bus back to Rochdale. I was really fit then and I'd leave the ground and run all the way up through the rows of terraced houses to a bus stop up by Queens Park Hospital. The bus left the Boulevard at 9-15 pm and I reckon it got up to Queens Park roughly between 5 and 8 minutes later. For a 7-30 KO I'd leave at 9-00 sharp and set off running. Many is the time I've just got to that bus stop and the bus has been coming up the hill ! I never had to make the twenty mile walk back to Rochdale in the dark over the tops but I came very close !

If Downing was a bank manager I'd agree with you, but without being too controversial I'd like to think that running ability is a pretty crucial requirement for a pro footballer.

Yeah, he's not smart enough to get a ball winner in the team.

I can't see him playing left back before the two we have return from quarantine.

You're the spitting image of my grandson at that age Herbie, You've never worked in Rochdale have you ?

Can he play in goal ? Can he play up front ?

I know, that's why we get bullied too often in games.

I can't believe we're thinking of signing Downing again, What's going on down at Ewood ? Has Billy Butlin taken over down there ?

Nothing to apologise about matey, we all have opinions and we like to put them over. The point I was making is if you don't try to get in and around the six yard box you aren't going to score many goals unless you're Alan Shearer Mk 2. How many goals does Dack score from quite close in. You could argue that Brererton is playing a deeper role because he's being told to play that way but from watching him I don't think that's the case.

Or Brererton. He doesn't know where the six yard box is.

According to a poster who's word I respect a lot we were offered £10 M for him recently.

It's never got that bad for me either. That's because I'm a bad loser, always have been, you might have detected that. I'd never bet against Rovers either although I knew backing on us to go down when we appointed Coyle was a licence to print money.

Not cashing in on Lenihan is starting to look a bad decision now.