Rovers climbed off the bottom of the table with a 1-1 draw against local rivals Manchester City with a Paul Dickov penalty in the 78th minute. Manchester City took the lead just before half time when Antoine Siberski got on the end of Shaun Wright-Phillips's cross. However after a second half fight back, Rovers were awarded a penalty 12 minutes from time when Danny Mills brought down Dickov. The defender being sent off for a professional foul. Final score 1 - 1. Man City: James, Mills, Distin, Dunne, Jordan, Flood (Reyna 65), Sibierski, Bosvelt, McManaman, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anelka. Subs Not Used: Fowler, Onuoha, Waterreus, Bradley Wright-Phillips. Sent Off: Mills (77). Booked: Jordan. Goal: Sibierski 45. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Johansson, Todd, McEveley, Reid, Ferguson, Tugay (Thompson 71), Emerton, Stead (Jansen 45), Dickov. Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Djorkaeff, Matteo. Booked: Todd, McEveley, Thompson. Goal: Dickov 78 pen. Att: 45,504 Ref: M Clattenburg

Official Site Announcement Well it looks as if Parkes found out from the press. Looking at Hughes comments, its very poor organisation. If the club treat loyal staff like this, what chance is there for the supporters.

Anyone who wishes to expess their thanks to Tony Parkes, and who dont want to write direct to him, can post here. I will cut and paste and send all replies to Tony. from brfcs.co.uk

Early reports indicate that Glyn Hodges, Wales under-21 coach, is about to join Mark Hughes back room staff.

After over 30 years with the club Tony Parkes has left the club today. Parkes has served the club as player, coach and has served as caretaker manager on 6 occasions. Parkes joined the club in 1970 from Buxton, making his debut against Swindon Town on the 5th September 1970. After over 400 appearances scoring 46 goals Parkes retired from playing in 1982. Originally a centre forward, however he was converted to a midfielder and became a regular in the team during the reign of Gordon Lee, winning promotion from the 3rd division in the 1974-75 seaon. After breaking his leg in February 1980, he retired from playing to take up the role of coach at the club, and was one of Daglish's back room staff during the Championship season.

I know what you mean Paul. People will assume your character by your appearance. A couple of years ago I was involved in a project at a large retail park. I attended a meeting after closing, when the complex was void of members of the public. Dressed in a suit I walked through the retail complex and the admin offices and was never challenged once. A few days later I again visited the complex mid afternoon to commence work in the unit that was being refurbished. As we couldnt commence work until the store was shut, I wondered around the retail area, no where near the admin area, and became aware that a security guard was following me. Why, because I was wearing scruffy work clothes. I was the same person but my appearance now singled me out as a prospective trouble maker.

Be Aware I will have no sympathy. Whether its policy at Norwich I dont know, but at Ewood, during games you are being watched. During the Liverpool game someone not far from where I was sat was continually standing and making natzi salutes. The police / stewards didnt wade in to the crowd, however at the end of the game, I noticed the police had pulled the offender as he left the ground. Whilst it he may have been a paine in the neck to those sat next to him during the game, I would commend the stewards / police for their softly softly approach. If they had waded into the crowd to pull him out, supporters unaware of the offenders behaviour could easly have miss read the situation.

I must say from reading this topic, how much I'm encouraged by the number of posters who have condemned the behaviour of the idiots at Norwich. I would say that it was the friendly atmosphere at Ewood and their supporters that first got me interested in Rovers. I can well imagine that if I had been subject to abuse during my first visit, 30 odd years ago, I may well have gone and watched an other team. Which is a frightening point, because of these idiots we could easily loose prospective fans.

On the day, Rob Kelly has stepped down as Blackburn's reserve team coach to take up a post as part of Craig Levein's new management team at Leicester City, Rovers reserves continued their unbeaten start to the season with an away win against high flying Birmingham City Reserves. A goal in the 82 min by David Thompson gave Rovers a 1-0 away win against Birmingham City Reserves last night. Following a surging run, David Thompson, who was returning from injury, let fly a fierce left foot shot across Vaesen and inside the far post. Birmingham 0 Rovers 1 Birmingham: Vaesen, Parratt, Clapham, Oji, Painter, Alsop, Birley, Kilkenny, Barrowman, Till, Motteram. Subs: Bagnall, Blake, Howland, Hall, Curtis. Rovers: Drench, Douglas, Gresko, Thompson, Bruce, Nolan, Donnelly, Harkins, Johnson, Jansen, De Pedro. Subs: Morgan, Fielding, Taylor, Peers, Derbyshire.

Paul Dickov late equaliser gave 10-man Rovers a deserved share of the points after battling back from the jaws of defeat, after Mathias Svensson had given Norwich the lead 10 minutes into the second half. Rovers went down to ten men shortly before half time when Jay Bothroyd was rightly sent off for kicking Mattias Jonson. Match Report

I'm not even sure how Norwich lined up which says it all really - I dont see them as Premiership class and they are a team we should really be beating. However, the statistic of them not having won yet sounded very ominous and it would be typical Rovers to be the first team to lose to them - especially in the wake of such an encouraging performance at Ewood a week ago. Stead didn't start but that wasn't really a concern because Dickov's workrate is fantastic and I love to watch a player run his heart out for the club. The rest of the team was unchanged. I'm glad Sparky is introducing some stability with the starting lineup. This seems to be working wonders for Reid who has improved with every game. I don't know how happy Emo is with playing on the left but he seems to be doing alright there. I'd have MGP on the bench to offer us a proper left-sided option, but apart from that everything was pretty much as expected. The game started quite slowly with few real chances. Not many Rovers fans will have made the long journey to East Anglia expecting quality football. It's all about results when you're rock bottom. Dickov curled a shot wide from range for us and Svensson hit the bar very early on with a header. This was a worry because the marking was very sub-standard, but things got better and we got more solid. Svensson drilled wide from the right hand side of the box and Francis brought a good reaction stop from Friedel but we didn't conceed much in the way of clear-cut chances. Huckerby was much quieter than I thought he'd be - I was expecting his trickery to cause us real problems but he wasn't very effective from his left wing berth. Bothroyd was lively again, and seems to posses tricks that only Jordan and his pack of cards could match. Twice he stung the palms of Green with drives from around the edge of the area. The Norwich keeper has been impressive lately and this was looking like another good display. This turned into frustration from Jay who shielded the ball out for a throwin and then booted Jonson with very little provocation. We'd heard about his colourful temper and it reared its ugly head right when we didn't need it. Needless to say I hope he's learned his lesson. The second half started with exactly what I'd predicted - a Norwich goal. A cross wasn't dealt with and Svensson volleyed in from a tight angle despite the presence of Todd and Friedel. As a keeper I know it's very difficult to deal with a close-range volley that goes through your legs, but I felt Todd ould have done a better job of closing down. Worried looks were exchanged with fellow fans and the prospect of a long journey home didn't look very appetising. Some people were so worried that the nervous reaction caused them to stand constantly and threaten police, but that is explained in more detail elsewhere. Rovers did me proud in the last half an hour. We could have crumbled but we stayed resolute and Paul "Pest Factor" Dickov was causing them worries. A few drives into the box ended in frustration and blocked shots but still we poured forwards. There was a shout for a penalty following what looked like a handball but I couldn't really see it and haven't had the benefit of a TV replay. Then Nesta J hit the bar from a header. The look of angst on Scotty's face nearly brought a tear to my eye and I thought we'd blown it. Throughout the half I (and several others) was dying to see Stead introduced. Instead it was Garry Flitcroft on for Tugay. This wasn't the most adventurous of substitutions but it achieved a very important thing - it removed Tugay from the field of play. Flitcroft (I think) actually won the freekick from which we scored. Lucas had a Liverpool-esque brainwave and bombed down the right, completely escaping Norwich radar. He received the ball and put in a peach of a delivary that Dickov despatched past a statue-like Green. This was no less than we deserved and in light of the sending off it was a point saved rather than two points dropped. However there are still a lot of things to be worried about. A lack of discipline is turning winnable games into uphill struggles. We aren't defending very well and continue to give away soft goals leaving our attacking players with the challenge of rescuing us from little more than scraps. Tugay just doesn't look very good at football any more. There were also positives. Neill had his best game in some time. He put himself about, tackled well, didn't let Huckerby turn him inside out, and delivered the assist. Reid also did very well. He's a fighter, but today we also saw his more attacking side with clever running and one shot in particular that tested Green. The defence didn't look too bad once they'd settled in. We had a "Nissa moment" at one point in the first half but otherwise he was decent. Todd played well too. They were complimented for the first time in ages by two solid fullbacks. Can't say that for many games this season. Ferguson offered protection and a threat going forwards, and Emerton, though quieter than usual, did his job well and delivered telling corners. So whether or not this was a good result will be known at the end of the season. At the moment though it is looking a lot better than it was a fortnight ago. Norwich itself seemed a nice place (even though the "maccents" seemed to confuse Rachrover), but it isn't somewhere that is pleasant to travel to and from. Thanks to Dickov and a fighting display the journey back was somewhat more bareable. Match Report by bellamy11 Norwich: Green, Edworthy, Fleming, Charlton, Drury, Jonson (Henderson 45), Holt, Francis, McKenzie (McVeigh 79), Svensson, Huckerby. Subs Not Used: Mulryne, Ward, Helveg. Booked: Jonson. Goals: Svensson 56. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Todd, Johansson, McEveley, Emerton, Tugay (Flitcroft 73), Ferguson, Reid, Dickov (Stead 90), Bothroyd. Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Thompson, Douglas. Sent Off: Bothroyd (44). Goals: Dickov 86. Att: 23,834 Ref: S Dunn

Maybe roversmum can confirm, the information that I recieved from last nights reserve game. Gally took the first goal well and got into some good positions, however on the downside he looked slow and was outpaced by the Wolves players. Also Gally was easily knocked off the ball. The impression was that he is not fully match fit.

Rovers reserved tonight beat Wolves at Christie Park Morecambe 3-0 with goals from Gallagher and Johnson. After a quiet first half that finished 0-0 Rover took the lead 3 minutes into the second half with a goal from Paul Gallagher in the 48th minute, when he hit a shot low and hard from 20 yards into the right hand corner of the Wolves net. Within 10 minutes Rovers went 2-0 up, when Gallagher converted a penalty (55min) after Johnson had been brought down in the box. Johnson who had had a quiet game got on the goal sheet himself in the 78th minute to make it 3-0 to the Rovers. David Thompson returning from injury had a quiet game and was substituted in the 75min. Attendance 278.

If anyone is in Norfolk on Thursday, BBC's Local Radio station in Norwich have a Thursday night, Norwich City based show called"The Scrimmage". Each week they like to get a fan of the opposing team on the phone in a slot they call "Getting to know You". As the Canaries entertain Rovers this weekend I've agreed to represent Rovers fans in the phone-in (about 6:20pm) Thanks to roversactive for the contact.

Fan's favourite Matt Jansen has sustained a knee cartilage injury which could require surgery, but the club are hoping that this can be avoided. Rovers club doctor Phil Batty told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: "Matt has got a slight tear in his cartilage and he's currently undergoing rehabilitation that should hopefully resolve it. "We feel that should be enough to resolve the matter until the end of the season but you can never be certain in these situations. "Ultimately, the person who'll decide whether an operation is needed or not will be Matt himself. It's down to how he feels it's affecting him, but as things stand it's not a bad tear."

FLB, has to shout, he's in China. For the record, I agree with FLB and I couldnt care a flying fig about GS, until the Xmas fixtures.

Rovers U18’s continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-0 win at home against Wolves on Saturday. After a goal less first half, Rovers took the lead through 70th minute substitute Keith Barker. Rovers then made it 2-0 through Andy Taylor and Barker got his second goal of the afternoon just before the final whistle. Apart from a draw away at Derby, the academy players have won 9 of their 10 opening fixtures of the season. Scoring 23 goals and conceding only 3. Goal scorers so far this season. Garner 6 Barker 5 Taylor 3 Walsh 3 Derbyshire 2 Hodge 1 Welch 1 Woods 1 Opposition o.g. 1

Those that couldnt be bothered to get out of their armchairs of Saturday afternoon missed one of the most entertaining games at Ewood Park for a very, very long time. More than that they also missed the vibrant atmosphere of Ewood as fans got behind a team that is bringing pride back to this Lancashire town club. Credit must go to Mark Hughes who having now taken over the post of manager full time, is starting to sort out the team, showing no fear in dropping players and giving reserve string players, their opportunity. After the two recent 4-0 defeats, Hughes made dramatic changes to Saturday's line up, bringing in Johansson and McEverley to the defence and Bothroyd came in from the cold to lead the attack. Maybe a gamble on Hughes part but it paid dividends with all three players giving sound performances and repaying the manager for his faith in them. Whilst it's early days, Saturdays performance showed that there are players, at the club, who given the right encouragement and guidance are capable of playing entertaining football. Something that has been missing at Ewood for the last 18 months. Click Here for fans Pre and Post Match Comments. Click Here for Match Report Rovers 2 Liverpool 2 Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Johansson, McEveley, Reid, Tugay, Ferguson, Emerton, Dickov, Bothroyd (Stead 65). Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Enckelman, Djorkaeff, Todd. Booked: Tugay, Stead. Goals: Bothroyd 16, Emerton 45. Liverpool: Kirkland, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Finnan (Kewell 55), Hamann (Diao 81), Alonso, Riise, Baros, Cisse (Luis Garcia 38). Subs Not Used: Dudek, Warnock. Booked: Josemi. Goals: Riise 7, Baros 54. Att: 26,314 Ref: R Styles

Match Report by Scotty I was surprised by today's team. Switching back to 4-4-2, dropping Gray and Matteo (for McEveley and Johansson), restoring Tugay (for Flitcroft), bringing in Bothroyd (for Djorkaeff) - all very interesting, yet my first thought was to worry about the lack of a ball winner in midfield. And for ten minutes or so all my worries were fully justified. Liverpool bossed the opening exchanges with Baros looking lively and Liverpool's midfield overwhelming ours - they could have scored twice before they did. However, the goal they did score was more down to our shocking defending than any great Liverpool play. A long ball found Riise in acres of space on the left as our defence pathetically tried to play off-side. Riise ran unopposed towards goal and scored with a sweet finish into the far corner. You could question Friedel's positioning but it was a very well struck shot. We'd talked in the pub before the game about the importance of the first goal so it was obviously a sickener to see us concede. I think the whole of Ewood sat back and thought it would be a case of how many Liverpool would get. Hang on a minute though, the team started to fight. They snapped into their tackles, they harrassed their opposite numbers, and they showed a touch of quality on the ball. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves like they had in the last two weeks they started to show some pride and passion. It was no surprise at all when we equalised. A ball from midfield found Dickov intelligently dropping deep. His turn was terrific and his ball down the left channel to an on-rushing Emerton was exquisite. Emerton's first-time cross was perfectly weighted to find an unmarked Bothroyd - who duely applied the finish. A really great team goal. Now it was all Rovers. We pressed Liverpool all over the field, gave them no time at all in possession, and frequently caused them to panic in defence. From one such moment, just before the interval, the ball fell to Emerton 20 yards out and he passed the ball into the far corner of the net. A fantastic finish. 2-1 at half-time and well deserved. Before I move onto the second half though a quick word about Cisse. A completely innocuous challenge has left him with two broken bones in his leg and, looking at the pictures on television, I'd say it's got to be doubtful whether he ever plays again. All the best sir, hope you recover soon. I thought we looked comfortable at the start of the second half. We controlled possession and looked the more threatening side going forward - in fact I couldn't see how Liverpool were going to score. Cue McEveley. What on earth was he doing? Emerton won a free-kick around half way. McEveley, unbelievably, passed the ball square straight to Garcia, who played a great ball over our non-plussed defence for Baros to run onto. Short is quicker than he looks but he's not as quick as Baros so it was no surprise to see Baros run clear one-on-one with Friedel. What was surprising though was seeing Friedel rooted to his line to the point where Baros eventually scored from no more than five yards out. Close him down man. Anyway, in a game that ebbed and flowed throughout, now it was Liverpool's turn to be on top. For the next ten minutes they controlled the game and looked like they might force a winner. For the second time I thought it was almost inevitable that Liverpool would go on and win the game comfortably. But no, back we came again. Stead replaced Bothroyd, not sure why because I thought Bothroyd had done well, and the Rovers started to get back on top. Short had a header cleared off the line, a well-worked free-kick saw Dickov produce a great save from Kirkland, and Stead had a terrific shot again well saved by Kirkland. With ten minutes to go it seemed there was only going to be one winner, and it wasn't the team in red. I'm not sure if it was our lack of fitness or something psychological but we seemed to sit back at the end. Liverpool sensed this and they started to push for the winner at the death. Fortunately though, after a number of corners and crosses across our box, we survived and got a precious point. Most of the team were terrific today. Short and Johansson looked as solid as any centre-back pairing we've fielded this season. McEveley was solid defensively apart from the one glaring mistake. He doesn't offer as much going forward as Gray but he's a better defender on today's evidence. Tugay and Ferguson in midfield worked their socks off and Ferguson in particular was class at times on the ball. I'm used to Tugay's inconsistency now but it really annoys me that Ferguson doesn't play like he did today every week. And while the two of them aren't the most competitive in midfield we can cope when were at home because they have Reid to cover for them. Reid was great again, he's been one of our best players in all three games since he came back into the team, and today his workrate, tenacity, and commitment were second to none. Reid was the one player I saw trying to lift the team immediately after Liverpool's equaliser. I'm starting to really rate him. Dickov worked tirelessly as ever and showed touches of quality at times, and Bothroyd on occasions looked like the centre-forward we've been missing since Jansen's accident. Stead came on and showed terrific desire. He really wants that shirt and it's great to see. Special mention for Emerton though - he was magnificent today. He ran at their full-back constantly, showed great pace, his workrate was fantastic, and his finish for the goal was top quality. Our man of the match by a mile. Negatives? Friedel was dodgy for both goals, especially the second. But his performance was nothing compared to Neill's. What on earth does Neill have to do to be dropped? He gives us nothing going forward, he can't pass, his heading is awful, his positional sense is just scary, and at times he looks like he simply can't be arsed. I don't just want him dropped - I want him to be punished. It was like he was single-handedly trying to lose us the game today. All in all it was a good point today, we'd have all settled for that before hand, but we could easily have got all three. I worry whether today's team is solid enough to play away from home, only time will tell, but at home it looks like we can sacrifice a bit of bite in midfield for some extra creativity going forward. All our excuses have been used up now though. We've finished our hard run of games and the next few fixtures are against teams who will finish mid-table or lower. We have to pick up some points quickly but I'm a lot more confident we will than I was this time last week. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Johansson, McEveley, Reid, Tugay, Ferguson, Emerton, Dickov, Bothroyd (Stead 65). Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Enckelman, Djorkaeff, Todd. Booked: Tugay, Stead. Goals: Bothroyd 16, Emerton 45. Liverpool: Kirkland, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Finnan (Kewell 55), Hamann (Diao 81), Alonso, Riise, Baros, Cisse (Luis Garcia 38). Subs Not Used: Dudek, Warnock. Booked: Josemi. Goals: Riise 7, Baros 54. Att: 26,314 Ref: R Styles

Rovers reserves continued their unbeaten home record, at Christie Park, tonight with a 2-2 draw against Manchester United Reserves. Rovers Team. Yelldell, Douglas, McEveley,(Taylor46min) Bruce, Todd, Fitzgerald, Donnelly, Harkins, Johnson, Gallagher, Gresko. Subs not used, Drench, Morgan, Derbyshire, Peers Scorers. 1- 0 Gallagher 1-1 Poole 2-1 Johnson 2-2 Poole Half time 2-2 Attendance. 1131.

Andy McEvoy. 213 app,103 goals Eddie Latheron 303 app, 120 goals chapionship player 1912, & 1914 died in ww1.

On an optimistic note. 23 October 1994, Rovers also conceded 4 goals. From there they went from strength to strength not loosing a game until the 22 January 1995.

Fighting a rear guard action Rovers managed to hold back Chelsea, who had dominated possession, until the half hour mark, when Joe Cole’s cross field pass let in Gudjohnsen to score his first goal of the afternoon. Within minutes the striker was again on the score sheet, chesting down Lampard's cross before slotting the ball it past Friedel. Half time 2-0 Within 10 minutes of the restart Gudjohnsen, got his hat-trick from the penalty spot after being brought down by Craig Short on the edge of the box. To add to Rover’s woes old boy Damian Duff made it 4-0 to Chelsea in the 74th minute, with a low speculative shot of the edge of the box, that sneaked in next to Friedel’s left hand post. Chelsea: Cech, Johnson, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, Smertin (Tiago 65), Parker, Lampard, Cole (Robben 63), Duff, Gudjohnsen (Kezman 72). Subs Not Used: Gallas, Cudicini. Booked: Parker. Scorers: Gudjohnsen 37, 38, 51 pen, Duff 74. Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Matteo, Gray (Johansson 84), Reid, Ferguson, Flitcroft, Emerton, Djorkaeff (Stead 53), Dickov (Bothroyd 53). Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Pedersen. Booked: Flitcroft, Neill. Att: 41,546. Ref: G Poll

who

abbey, you have summed up in a few words how I and I suspect a number of supporters feel. My enthusiasm for the game as a whole not just Rovers is quickly declining. In your words, there used to be "a buzz" each weekend and not just about attending a game, (even in the days of 3rd division football). The weekends started off on a Friday night when deep conversations were carried out in the pub and arragements were made up regarding transport and meet ups the following day. On home game days, you made a point of watching the football review at 12-30 on tv before setting off to the game, then a meet up, a couple of pints and then entry to the ground where you chanted and sang making your own entertainment, until the team came out. The advent of tannoy music and large screen so called entertainment has put paid to creating a pre-match atmosphere prior to the emmergence of the players from the tunnel, in my opinion. When the players came out,it was the roar of the fans that greeted them not tannoy music, (champions league theme music you must be joking) and as for all this hand shaking prior to kick off, well I can just imagine in years past the likes of Keeley shaking someones hand before kick-off, more like shaking their necks. The players should be going out to battle, not to make friends with the opposition. It was the crowd that made the attmosphere, they created the build up, that geed up the players, and if the players didnt perform the fans let them know in uncertain terms. In the current pc world we are not allowed to vent our feelings, if we dont like something we are supposed to sit on our hands and say "oh dear that was a bad tackle," or "a well over the season events even themselves out" In days of old, Saturday was the "buzz day" because that was FOOTBALL day, every team kicked off at 3pm and at 5pm Sports report or the tv tickertape gave you the result of each game, and you knew exactly at 5-30 your position in the league for the next 7 days. Now football kicks off at midday 3pm and in the evening, Saturday, Sunday, Monday or any other day to please the tv companies. We are in fact saturated with tv football coverage every day of the week. Mid week was retained for the romance of cup football, a knock out tournament without fancy dan champions league that only creates more wealth for the media and the governing football bodies. Im sorry to say that those running football and mercenary players are forgetting the man in the street, the core supporters who love the game as a release from the stresses of working life, and who create the attmosphere within the grounds. Whilst grounds have been improved both in comfort and safety, it has been at the expence of atmosphere and unless the likes of Rovers can give an entertaining product on the field, the clubs only financial future will be through media sales and corporate hospitality.