Ah well, that is the question, I can't see him fitting into the midfield 4. Is Mowbray expecting him to move on ?

Or a return to a real 4-4-2 with Armstong running off the big lad.

I'd have Callum Davidson or " Ankle Tag Boy " who's name I've already forgotten before those two.

I was only thinking earlier weren't the close seasons great in the early to mid sixties when you shut up shop in early May and came back in August with exactly the same team ? No incoming and only the young lads or old timers leaving, and absolutely no speculation about transfers ! What Chaddy would have made of it all I shudder to think.

Vladdy Gresko looked an half decent left back on initial inspection, it was only later on we realised he was bobbins.

You mean it used to be entertainment. After watching some of the games over the last year or two I'd rather knock nails through the back of my hand.

He played some great shots on Saturday. He wasn't over shadowed by Buttler at all.

We used to call it " A quietener ". IE it kept them quiet after that. Bill Shankly talking about a forward who was a bit lacking in fighting spirit. - " He's got a heart as big as a Carraway seed ".

Agnew had been a class act at Barnsley but unfortunately he got a bad injury almost as soon as he arrived. A bit like Jimmy Kerr who we signed from Bury. I saw him a lot before we signed him, I had a mate who was an occasional player for Bury's first team, and Jimmy was the real deal. He could have been another Archie Gemmell only bigger.

How bad must they be if the Chicken Chokers didn't have a problem ?

That's our cunning plan, we'll get him for buttons when it all goes tits up. Just like we did with Fergie when Accy went to the wall.

The two " big strapping lads " we have up front at the moment make Kalinic look like Alan Shearer ! What was that defender called we got from Rangers back in the day ? Dawson ? He was pretty average. I thought he came from Rangers ? One worse than that from Rangers was Stuart Munro, we spunked the town hall clock on him and he played ONE game for us. I think his signing was the final nail in Don Mackay's coffin. My claim to fame - I saw Stuart Munro play for Rovers !

How many goalkeepers have Brighton got ? That Sanchez who was on loan at Rochdale last season is a Brighton player also.

What was that full back called we had on loan from Chelsea ? The one that was at Chelsea for about 10years and got loaned out to half the Football League. He was bobbins as well.

That was the day I named him Christian " Bloody " Dailly. After that it was always "is that Bloody Dailly playing today ? " or " Is that Bloody Dailly leaving yet ? ". Imagine paying £5.25 million for a centre back who couldn't even head the ball.

I suppose we'll be bringing another batsman in for him. Of maybe a wicker keeper and let Buttler concentrate on his batting.

I think he's going to be looking at teams in that Division now so he'll have to take whatever is on offer.

I bit belated but Wayne Fontana died on Friday. I saw him at the height of his powers with the Mindbenders at the Cubi-Klub in Rochdale back in the day. He was an excellent singer.

Opening in a 5 day Test Match is not just about scoring quick runs, it's about wearing the bowlers down, taking the shine off the ball, and setting up a platform for the middle order.

Jonathan Wilson, one of the more perceptive football journalists, has an interesting article in todays " Sunday Observer ". He's referring to some comments Guardiola has made about City. It has a bearing on our manager's recent love affair with possession of the ball. Apparently Guardiola has blamed failures in both boxes for some previous poor results. Wilson comments - " Perhaps this a necessary failing when your dream is essentially a team of midfielders. If you value players for their passing, movement and tactical intelligence, necessarily you don't value the more defensive and attacking arts - tackling, heading, marking, shooting, finishing quite as highly." Sounds very much like what is happening at Ewood Park also.

I remember when only Bryan Douglas and Ronnie Clayton had little saloon cars. Then Dougan got a Jag ! The other lads came on the corporation buses from town like the rest of us. I can recall seeing Mike England, Keith Newton and Fred Pickering hopping off the bus when it stopped near the ground.

He was one very limited player. I remember Jansen getting away down the right wing in one game. He put the full back on his arse and turned back onto his left foot. Looking up he saw Ward moving un marked into the centre of goal about 10 yards out. Matty picked him out with a perfect pass, right onto his foot. Ward managed to volley the ball half way up the Darwen end stand.

Good target man ? So's my dartboard.

Jim Smith told a similar tale about Roy Boy signing Christian " Bloody " Dailly. He knew Rovers were interested so he approached his chairman to see what sort of fee would be acceptable. The chairman said " Not a penny less than £2 million Jim ". Roy's opening offer what £5 million and Jim managed to talk him up to £5.25 million ! We've signed some crap over the last 20 years but no manager signed more rubbish than Hodgson given the fees involved. I agree with you about Ashley Ward, he was awful. I remember watching him chugging after the ball out on the wing close to where my son and I were sat. The centre half who was running with him wasn't a speed merchant but he was laughing at Ward. My son said " You could run faster than him dad and you're forty odd ! "

Make that 3 that don't play football manager.