Davison's howler, a complete mis-kick when under no pressure whatsoever from Kevin Watson's back pass, gifted Rovers the lead on 20 minutes and is a goal that will be shown on television for many years to come.

http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Mat...3~28989,00.html

In the link off the BRFC site, try right clicking on the LISTEN button and then search for an 'open in new tab/window' thing. Worked for me for about 40 seconds...

I just clicked on it like every time before and got it working... for half a minute! Grr.

Both Rovers and COlchester ones not working.

Opening in new window doesn't work.

Radio commentary isn'tworking for me on Rovers site (it's showing text commentary, though).

Anyone know how to get it working, or know of another one?

Same goes for me. I had no problems during the Pompey vs Saints game.

Try the following, but I haven't got it working yet: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/New..._ListenLive.htm

Getting error messages.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/realmedia/liv.../lancashire.ram

Is the direct link, you'll need RealPlayer or another program that can play ram streams.

It isn't working for me, despite downloading RealPlayer in the middle of the week.

Great job. Can't believe I missed out listening to it!

Radio commentary isn'tworking for me on Rovers site (it's showing text commentary, though).

Anyone know how to get it working, or know of another one?

Same goes for me. I had no problems during the Pompey vs Saints game.

Try the following, but I haven't got it working yet: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/New..._ListenLive.htm

When you mean 4-3-3 are you including wingers as being part of the 3 up front? So that for me that would still be 4-5-1? Or do you actually think that they are playing alongside each other.

It's 4 - 5 - 1 when defending, and 4 - 3 - 3 in attack (wingers push up).

Radio commentary isn'tworking for me on Rovers site (it's showing text commentary, though).

Anyone know how to get it working, or know of another one?

Ferguson due to hold showdown talk. He thinks rovers were asking an unreasonable sum.

L.E.T.

He would be better advised to ask Murray why they provoked him into asking for a transfer, then wouldn't/couldn't pay the fee.

This is disgraceful!

To be fair, the article does Ferguson no justice, and gives the impression that he is going to barge into Williams' office with guns blazing.

The "showdown talk" might very well be a simple and friendly re-evaluation of the situation.

However, I am still angry by what has gone on. Ferguson has trigged this sad scenario when the transfer was hardly a possibility to begin with, while Viola and Rangers have pulled the strings without being able to perform the final act.

Can anyone link me to where a live internet radio broadcast will be, if there will be any?

Got one: http://matchlive.safc.premiumtv.co.uk/mlex...hp?clubid=10281

Can anyone link me to where a live internet radio broadcast will be, if there will be any?

3 - 1 to the Rovers, with MGP (2) and Dickov scoring. Matteo to score an own goal!

CAPT KAYOS: Fair enough on the content of the email. A series of reasonable questions probably would have done the trick. I will leave it at that.

I ignored Diouf and blamed the referee for most of it because it seems divers are rarely punished these days, and there does seem to be nothing they can do about that, since Bennett made the penalty decision (I have faith that their inaction was due to a law of the game, even though I disagree with that law!).

As for the Diouf incident: I never said Bennett should ignore his claims everytime he potentially got fouled, but his "diving bullshit radar" should have been much more alert!

To do multiple quotes, just type... ["quote]insert text here["/quote], and repeat for other parts of the text that you want to quote (but make sure you take out the quotation marks).

James NO 7 I wish you had read and thought about it before you sent it in  , although I can see where you are coming from this just reads as  'sour grapes' to me over the Diouf incident (you said it ‘especially’ irked you) with the other discrepancies of the Ref just an add on with the hindsight of TV.

It was written for my blog, first and foremost, so you would expect it to be sour grapes.

I wouldn't have written it at all, otherwise.

However, as I mention in a response to one of your quotes below, and I would like you to have this knowledge before you make an opinion on any of my further replies, the FA does not know my allegiance, and so your knowing my allegiance can make you interpret what I said in my email to them differently.

What you see as sour grapes from a Blackburn fan is the sour grapes of a neutral observer to the FA.

First of all from the Blackburn End – the first initial reaction was that it was a penalty – from memory the ref was behind the incident so IMO it can be understood why the ref gave the penalty – he only has a split second to make the decision and that is what he did...

Well, I would think that I had no better view than you did from the television screen considering the angle and distance than you did at the Blackburn End, except you would more than likely would have been closer.

The referee was even closer.

What was obvious was his late and overly exaggerated dive.

If he was really clipped, he would have dived earlier.

Therefore I find it hard to swallow the decision he made.

For the record, although I don't doubt CAPT KAYOS version of thoughts in the Blackburn End for a second, I would like to hear what those in the Blackburn End were thinking between the time Diouf went down and the time you saw the television replay, or heard Diouf had dived (on a radio or by word of mouth). It would make an interesting read.

...also we all have opinions re what is a foul and what isn’t...

I acknowledge this fact by repeatedly referring to "my interpretation of the rules".

So asking for a suitable punishment for the referee on Monday (unforgivable mistake)  is a bit over the top as he only went by what he thought he saw and your argument  for punishment would then stand against every referee in every match.

Some decisions have bigger consequences than others...

Yes, take note but they can’t base their decisions on what has happened just because a previous incident was or was not – it’s how it is seen at the time...

That's what I said; he should have taken his behaviour into account. I felt he didn't -- to an adequate degree, at any rate.

I don't see how you surmised that I said he should base his decision on that, but since you did, I apologise.

From my observation of what I wrote, I just worded what Mark Hughes said: "The lad dived, he's got a reputation for diving, the referee should be aware of that and should have taken that into account, he hasn't and he's been conned."

...but why don't they use their linesman as said above?

I agree: why didn't Bennett ask the linesman of his opinion?

Player’s “continuous behaviour” and “ expected Bennett would have  researched the behaviour” ?? (possibly Collina used too) – let me turn this on its head – suppose there had been contact and it was a  ‘definite’ penalty.  Just because somebody had done it earlier/in another match 2 wrongs do not make a right.

I would have expected him to make the correct decision, of course, taking into consideration any behaviour he may have observed from Diouf (and Friedel).

Influencing the game –that’s what referees do by making decisions, but as with every match  99% of the time one set of fans/ manager/team will feel aggrieved and feel hard done by the ref  and it  just depends on how the result goes.

Referees do influence the direction of the game (in a right manner most of the time), but Bennett influenced the result (wrongly).

Perhaps it could have been worded a lot better better -- "Bennett handed the goal to Bolton on a silver platter" -- but I think the implication is clear.

You redeem yourself with the Savage incident after the Nolan one but that seems just like an afterthought as the Savage fouls happened first ( again, from the Blackburn End they looked hard tackles but not as bad as they did on TV and all in all it was supposed to be a derby.)

Remember, I did not reveal my allegiance to the FA, so in that respect I do not think from their point of view that I am trying to redeem myself, but rather making another observation as an angry, but neutral, viewer of the match.

To the readers who knows my allegiance, they would, of course, view it that way, and quite rightly: that is what I intended to show... to those readers who already had prior knowledge about me.

And a derby should not take away from the fact that tackles that infringe the rules should not receive the usual punishment.

They may have looked like mere hard tackles from the Blackburn End, but the referee was on the ground and in a much better position and should have known better.

...but I feel they will probably take one look at your mail for ‘suggested  action’ and go “Oh  no not another one” and just send you the "standard official reply”, as I am sure the useless FA will not have taken notice as would appear from their response

I fully expect that my email will either be ignored or deleted... by an FA officials' secretary!

The FA would be fully aware of what went on in that game, anyway, without me telling them.

But "as they say", the more of them there are, the more they stand up and take notice, which just might influence their behaviour in the future.

I must say, if I received a reply I would be very amused.

And as I said before, it was written for my blog, first and foremost. It would have been one or two paragraphs otherwise.

BTW - Sorry about the long reply - just thought it worth replying to.

No hard feelings. I didn't think you were out of order in any of your comments, either.

I was harsh on the referee, but such especially bad performances don't happen every match.

They are rarer than that special consideration should be available.

This is where our fundamental disagreement lies.

The other disagreements are of a more frivolous nature.

I do think that if I write another blog post to be sent to the FA, I will definitely write it differently to what I did for this incident.

I'm glad you did reply, and thoughtfully. I can't learn if my opinions are not criticised.

You lot are very pessimistic!

I predict that we will get a goal by arguably our best finisher -- MGP -- to make the final scoreline "1 - 0 to the Rovers".

How do you contact the FA? Does anyone have their address and to whom the letter should be addressed to?

I realise it is probably a waste of time in obtaining any positive result regarding this issue but I want to have my say on this.

The FA website. click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page.

I worte in. I wonder if I will get a reply?

I failed to mention Allardyce saying Diouf dived (I sent the email before I remembered), but I suppose that won't matter too much.

To the English Football Association:

I am writing to display my disgust at the poor level of refereeing on Monday night, UK time, in the English Premier League fixture involving Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers at Ewood Park.

Referee Steve Bennett was clearly not up to the proper standard and I encourage that the Football Association decide a suitable punishment for the referee.

What especially irked me, and ultimately led to this response, was the penalty decision he awarded to Bolton in the second half of that game.

I watched the game on live on television in Australia and immediately, when the so-called “foul” was committed by Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel, I announced that it was not a penalty.

As I had the benefit of the television replay, my interpretation was proven to be correct on further checks.

Diouf had, in fact, not had any contact from Friedel, but had dived in order to win a penalty.

However, referee Steve Bennett, who was in a much better position on Ewood Park than I was on my couch when the incident happened, made an incorrect penalty decision which ultimately led to a goal by El-Hadji Diouf for Bolton.

I understand that Bennett did not have technology available to help him make a decision, but it appears to me that he has made an unforgivable mistake, given that it could risk Blackburn Rovers senior team’s survival in the English Premier League, and harm Blackburn Rovers Football Club’s financial future.

I expected that Bennett would have researched the behaviour of every player who could potentially take to the field before the match, in order that he could make the correct decisions on the park.

I also expected that Bennett would have taken note of the players’ continuous behaviour during the match, such as Diouf’s constant diving throughout the match, to help aid his decisions.

In light of these expectations and the obviousness of the dive in the specific incident mentioned, Bennett had performed poorly, especially since he influenced the outcome of the game due to that one bad decision.

However, he did not only make one bad decision. His disciplinary action in other incidents was also questionable.

For example, Bolton’s Kevin Nolan took down Robbie Savage with a two-footed over the top tackle in the second half that deserved a red card, under my interpretation.

Again, Diouf himself was guilty of infringing the laws of the game when he elbowed Blackburn captain Andy Todd, but only received an extremely lenient yellow card.

Rovers’ Savage should have had a yellow card in the first minute after he caught Ricardo Gardner high and late (and he should have had a second yellow card and the consequential red card on 18 minutes for another bad challenge).

In conclusion, referee Steve Bennett’s performance in the English Premier League fixture on Monday was poor, at best, and I encourage that the Football Association decide a suitable punishment for the referee.

I eagrely anticipate your reply, indicating whether suggested action will be taken.

nevertheless it wasnt a penalty but one of your defenders did stop a goal bound shot with his arms so i reckon it evened it out a bit

Lucas Neill didn't stop the ball with his arms. It hit him on the chest, so it does not even out.

you will have to get used to playing savage cos he is only effective when he runs after the ball and tackles people, you will need to base your team around him and do your attacking via the flanks or long ball cos savage's attacking pass completion is very very poor

Savage: Birmingham's best player on day, and then one-dimensional player the next day.

Go on, get out. Isn't that what you said you were going to do?

Have a look (January 14, 2005)...

cya no point hanging around

...did Lucas hand ball in the area late in the game?

From what I saw of the television replay, it was not a handball.

His "save" was worthy of a goalkeeper's, though! It hit him right in the chest, and his arms looked as though he was protecting the ball from the possibility of going past him!

...

Of course Allardyce said none of these things, refusing even to condemn his player for what was clearly a dive.

...

My opinion of him has turned right around, right after I saw him put his fist in the air in triumph after the final whistle.

Lady Luck, where art thou?

I am absolutely fuming. Diouf was diving all day, all over the park, and the referee Steve Bennett wasn't paying them.

Then, all of a sudden, he falls over in the penalty box and he awards a penalty kick...of which, by the way, I immediately thought was not a penalty, and the television replay confirmed that it should not have been paid.

Well before that controversial decision, I imagined that if I was in a Rovers shirt on the field, I would have a serious talking to him. He was absolutely disgraceful!

Friedel didn't do a thing wrong with his penalty save -- his palming it to Diouf was merely unlucky.

Overall, both Blackburn and Bolton deserved nothing more than a point each.

They were fairly even throughout the match, although we did edge them a little, but failed to show that class in the final third.

Saying that, we really missed Dickov. His importance to Rovers at the moment was clear for all to see.

We simply don't have any other decent (and in-form) strikers. Stead's confidence looks shot at the moment; Bothroyd has been poor every time I have seen him play; Gallagher is still young and learning the trade; and Jansen isn't what he used to be.

Jemal Johnson was enthusiastic when he came on, and I feel that with some Premiership experience he could turn out to be a good player.

However, we must bring in a decent striker, in addition to Dickov, to help his development.

He won't be helped by what we have at the moment, unfortunately.

I must say that I was impressed by the performances of some of our players.

Morten Gamst Pedersen played well in the first half, and yet again showed his silky skills.

David Thompson was absolutely fantastic in the centre of midfield, and worked very hard. I rate him as our best player.

The likes of Emerton, Neill, and Mokoena had average games. Todd played a good game, as usual.

Savage had an average game as well, but he deserves to be given time to adjust to Blackburn's style of play.

He showed quite a bit of commitment for the cause, though, which is a good sign.

I have mixed feelings on Dominic Matteo. At times he did some good, but then at other times he made my blood boil.

What made me particularly angry was his attitude in our second-last attack.

He had the ball in the second half, and basically just stood there with the ball at his feet, which allowed a Bolton player to come from behind and take it.

If it was any other player, they would have long have made a determined move.

Matteo had the determination and commitment of a log.

In conclusion, I stress the need for a decent to quality striker to be bought or loaned in before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

I am still very much worried about getting relegated to the Championship, and only that new striker will lower my stress level.

A rare interview with the main man.

He gets what he wants!!!

Is it just me or is registration for The Time Online complicated to figure out? It is hardly straight forward.

Also stop the low blows about who is the bigger club. Neither is currently setting the world alight.

BCFC have been giving us the blows about how they are a "big club", not us. We are merely trying to defend our honour, while the officials at BRFC say nothing.

Quit the blows on Sullivan and Co. too. They have worked wonders at St Andrews. THey have turned the club round.

What do you expect us to do? Sullivan and company have insulted everyone from the very top of BRFC, right down to Mark Bowen, and including our own Robbie Savage.

You are yet another BCFC supporter who comes on here trying to sound reasonable, yet reveals their arrogance quickly enough by ignoring the disgusting actions and comments by their own officials.

I think that the best option for Blackburn Rovers -- and Matt Jansen -- would be to let him go.

His standard isn't high enough anymore, so not only will it be a waste of his wages to keep him, but Jansen would also not get the regular first team action that he would get at a lower level.

It's a real shame.

My nominations are Shearer and Jansen.

there is a report circulating that IF Savage plays at Birmingham Rovers will have to foot the estimated £100,000 police bill for the match policing.

If that is true then the goons at Birmingham should pay the policing bill, granted that Savage plays. They are the ones who have made a simple transfer turn into a massive safety concern, for both crowd and club staff.

I'm beggining to get the impression that MGP is by far the most popular Norwegian footballer. His fans are everywhere.

Still 3 goals in 3 games - fair play to him!

Perhaps Rovers could relocate to Norway. Attendance problem solved at a stroke!

We should do a tour of Norway... get a bit more cash than we would otherwise get.