After all the negociations by Rover's Chief Executive John Williams, during the last few weeks, Rover’s transfer target, Brain McBride has announced at a Columbus Crewe press conference that he has agreed to join Fulham. The signing of the American International comes on the back of the announcement that the London club have agreed to sell striker Louis Saha to Manchester United. The London club having already signed former Rover’s centre back Ian Pearce from West Ham. Reports would also suggest that Graeme Souness has also suffered further disappointment in his attempts to strengthen his squad, when Middlesbrough rejected his enquiry regarding midfielder Stewart Downing. It is being reported that Blackburn have told Birmingham that they will have increase their initial offer of £1.5m to £2m in order to sign defender Tiny Taylor. © 2004 BRFCS.com

Now that is whats called creative accounting. mm mods are allowed 4. whoopie doo

.....and the latest from Leeds........players arent prepared to accept a 30% deferred wages cut to save the club the required £5million.

U17 Man City 2 Blackburn 7. Following their 5-1 defeat of Crewe, Rovers U17 team continued with their attacking policy against Man City U17 on Saturday scoring another 7 goals, to beat City 7-2. Garner scored twice from the penalty spot and also scored Rover's seventh goal in injury time to take his goal tally for this season to 22. Also on the score sheet were Barker with 2 and one each for Barr and Welch. U19 Meanwhile Rover’s U19 drew 1-1 with Man United U19. Rovers scorer Gavin Peers. Transfer News Reports circulating in the media are indicating that Birmingham boss Steve Bruce has made a formal offer for Blackburn's Tiny Taylor and that Baggio has left Rover's to join Grabbi at Serie A club Ancona.

£83 million, how times have changed. The recievers were brought into the company I worked for up Preston New Rd in 1975 because they owed the bank £3 million.

Match Report by Scotty What a terrible game of football! Two bad teams who lacked confidence, style and cohesion simply cancelled each other out and reduced the game to a scrappy dog-fight. Welcome to the relegation battle folks. We went in to the game playing everyone in there right positions except for Douglas who must have drawn the short straw for the left midfield slot. I shouldn't have to comment on this but, for the bulk of this season, playing everyone in their proper positions has been an alien concept for Souness. The first half was a non-event. We defended solidly, City attacked toothlessly, and we offered nothing, and I mean nothing, going forward. The only event of note was when City hit the post following a dubious free-kick decision (one of many dubious decisions by a poor ref). The second half leapt into life when City got another fortunate free-kick on the edge of our box. Now, to me, the point of a wall is cut off at least half the goal to the free-kick taker. OK, the player may be skillful enough to get the ball up and over the wall with sufficient pace to score, but surely you just have to clap your hands and say well done if it happens. The least the keeper should do is cover the other half of the goal. Anelka didn't put the ball into the "postage stamp". He didn't lift the ball over the wall. He didn't blast the ball through or under the wall. He simply curled the ball round the wall at saveable height into an unguarded net. Totally Friedel's fault. I said at half time that the team who scored the first goal would win. So it was a wonderful surprise when we equalised five minutes later. A hopeful punt from Neill was flicked on, the rebound fell to Flitty and he finished like Shearer. It was the only time in the match that one of our midfielders made a run past our forwards and into the box. The next 20 minutes or so were quite entertaining. Both teams looked like they could win it and they both attacked and counter attacked at regular intervals without really threatening either goal. Eventually though City got nervous and, if anyone was going to win it, I thought we might just sneak it. Unfortunately we just didn't have enough quality to get the three points. So, we gained a point away from home which I guess is a good thing. But don't be fooled, we were very poor today and it's only the fact that we were playing an equally poor team that kept us in it. Yorke and Cole don't work hard enough. They don't close down the opposition defenders when they are in possession and they are not mobile enough when we get the ball. I lost count of the times when there was space to knock the ball into the channels but neither of our forwards could be bothered to make the run there. Our central midfielders must be the worst passers in the league. I've often defended Flitcroft, and I think he's essential for the team as he's the only midfielder we've got who can defend, but he can't pass. I can live with that as long as our other central midfielder can. Tugay was a great passer of the ball but he looks a shadow of the player he was last season. He gave the ball away constantly today and, most of the time, it led to City attacks. He's simply not good enough at the moment. On the positive side we were great defensively. Nissa was my man of the match by a mile and Babbel wasn't far behind. Douglas did a sound defensive job on the left, Emerton continued his good form on the right, and Gresko looked like a decent left back again. Flitty worked his socks off and constantly disrupted City's rythmn and passing movements. I fear we're going to have to put up with a number of performances like this before the end of the season. We just don't have the confidence or ability to play good football at the moment and it's our battling qualities that will determine whether we stay up. We battled well today but it will be interesting to see whether we can do that against a quality team like Chelsea in our next game. Hopefully we'll have some new blood by then.

A goal by Rovers captain Gary Flitcroft, from six yards in the 55th min canceled out Nicolas Anelka's 50th minute goal, to give Rovers a share of the points at the City of Manchester Stadium this afternoon. Full time 1 - 1 Anelka Flitcroft Half time 0 - 0 Man City : James, Distin, Sibierski, Dunne, Barton, Jihai, Bosvelt, Sinclair, Tarnat, Anelka, Macken(Wright-Phillips 70). Subs : Ellegaard,Tiatto, Sommeil, McManaman. Yellow card : Jihai Blackburn : Friedel, Neill, Babbel, Johansson, Gresko,Tugay, Flitcroft, Douglas, Emerton, Cole, Yorke, Subs : Enckelman,Taylor, Mahon, Jansen, Danns. Yellow card : Flitcroft. Referee M.Dean Link here to Match Report.

Despite earlier reports that Dino Baggio had rejected a move to Ancona, it now looks as if he has agreed to the move in principal, and will have talks over the weekend. Meanwhile reports are circulating that Blackburn target Brian McBride is to also to have talks with Fulham.

McBride Blackburn Rover’s manager is hopeful that he can complete the signing of USA striker Brian McBride within the next few days. Graeme Souness is reported in the media to have said: “We are talking to his people today and hope we can agree a deal. We have more or less tidied things up on the American side, it’s down to what the player wants and that should be decided by the end of the day.” McBride has scored 20 goals in 67 international appearances for the USA and has previously enjoyed spells in England with Everton and Preston. Reports are however circulating that McBride is to also having talks with Fulham. Link here to Fans Views on Signing Gallagher Scotland manager Berti Vogts is reported to be ready to give Blackburn’s teenage striker Paul Gallagher a senior international debut for Scotland. Vogts is reported to have said: "I think Paul Gallagher at Blackburn is one who should be coming through." "I will pick him for friendly soon," Gallagher could get his first senior international cap in a friendly against former Rovers favourite Mark Hughes’s Wales in Cardiff next month. said Vogts.

Craig Short and Steven Reid have failed the race to be fit for the game, and, Neill and Gallagher are 50/50. Squad named 16.1.2004 Friedel, Enckelman, Babbel, Taylor, Neill, Johansson, Gallagher, Tugay, Flitcroft, Douglas, Danns, Emerton, Mahon, Cole, Yorke, Gresko, Donnelly, Jansen. Man City squad. James, Ellegaard, Distin, Dunne, Sommeil, Wiekens, Jihai, Bosvelt, McManaman, Sinclair, Reyna, Wright-Phillips, Tarnat, Tiatto, Sibierski, Barton, Anelka, Macken.

Doesnt look like Monday is now the deadline.

Leeds could get two more weeks to find a buyer as they seek to stave off the threat of administration. BBC

With 48 hours to go before the game, Rover have a number of injury problems, so once again Souness could have selection problems, especially in defence. Reports this morning indicate that on top of Andy Todd being suspended there is injury worries to Craig Short, Lucas Neill and Paul Gallagher. Meanwhile Steven Reid and Alan Mahon are recovering and could be in contention and Gary Flitcroft is available after suspension.

Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers Match Preview. By jim mk2 If rumours of Kevin Keegan's impending resignation and Graeme Souness's difficulties were not enough, the arrival of England goalkeeper David James at Manchester City should ensure a media frenzy for Saturday's match with Blackburn at Eastlands. We might even get more than our alloted 60-second slot on ITV's Premiership programme. One way or another, it could be the defining match of the season for the managers of both clubs. With City being sucked into the relegation fight after a disastrous run of 10 league games without a win, and Rovers in poor form, the match takes on great significance for the futures of both Keegan and Souness. Defeat could see either of them walk the plank, either pushed or of their own accord. In many ways, City's - and Keegan's - situation is worse than ours. Their 3-2 win at Ewood back in August put them top of the league; even in November they were in the top six, but their decline since then has gathered pace. Keegan himself has admitted that he is under threat of dismissal if he cannot arrest the slide and, as England fans know, he is not a man to hang around in a crisis. Defeat by Rovers, and good results for Portsmouth and Leicester, would put City in the bottom three, possibly pushing Keegan over the edge and out of the club. For Souness, defeat would be a huge blow. Publically, he has maintained a brave face, blaming poor results and performances on bad luck. Privately, however, he must be in despair and does not appear to know how to turn the club's fortunes around. Another bad result at City, could convince him to give up the struggle according to some supporters. Rovers have sold out their allocation of tickets, for this game. Link here to Discuss Pre-View and Predictions

Link to Match Report Blackburn Official Site

Meanwhile Dino Baggio has rejected a loan move to Italian club, Ancona. Baggio joined Rovers in August but has been unable to gain a regular place in the team. His appearances being restricted to the subs bench. Edited 16.1.2004 by Alan75 The transfer to Ancona could be back on. Watch out for more news.

Although a work permit has not been granted as of this stage, his previous experience of Premiership football with Everton and the number of international caps McBride has earned should make obtaining a permit a formality. Link to US Soccer UK

Blackburn Rover's supporters in the USA, who are members of www.brfcs.com where first to report, rumours that sources within MLS have confirmed that the MLS league and Blackburn Rovers have finalised the sale of Columbus striker Brian McBride to the club for an immediate transfer. A reported transfer fee of under $1,000,000 is to be paid to the MLS for the 31 year-old U.S. international striker.

A young Rovers reserves team, with only three players with premier league experience were beaten 4-2 by an experiences Villa reserves team tonight at the Bescott Stadium, Walsall. Rovers scorers . Watt, Danns. Rovers : Enckelman, Peers, Morgan, Danns, Fitzgerald, Johansson, Watts, Donnelly, Jansen, Harkins, Corvino. subs Michael Taylor, Drench, Byron, Bruce, Barker. Match Report Villa Official Site

Looks like January Sales at Leeds, as they are having problems finding a backer. Reports this morning state they have only untill Monday before they go into administration.

Fair comment. topic merged

After the Christmas break Blackburn's academy teams were back on the scoring trail on Saturday, both gaining away wins. U19. Everton 1 Rovers 2. Rovers scorers. Sakali pen. Johnson U17 Crewe 1 Rovers 5. Rovers scorers. Garner 2, Barker, Byrom, Sergio Peter. Link to Official Site Match Reports. Registration Required

Following his failure to sign Leicester’s Muzzy Izzet, Blackburn’s manager Graeme Souness has now turned his attention to Norway's Player of the Year Martin Andresen. Former Rovers defender Stig Inge Bjornebye, who is now Norway's assistant manager recommended the player to Souness, and Andresen was in the stand during Rover’s defeat by Bolton on Saturday. It is understood that Andreson will train with Blackburn for a week, before a descision is made on whether to sign the 26 year old midfielder, for a fee in the region of £1 million. Meanwhile unless Leicester decide to cash in, Rover’s target, Izzet has stated he wants to stay at Leicester until the end of the season, in order to help the club stay in the Premiership Stadium and will then think over his future.

Posted by Scotty For the first time in a long time I actually thought that Souness got his tactics spot on at the start. We didn't have anyone to play on the left so we matched Bolton's 4-3-3 formation, playing Yorke just behind the front two, and went out to win the individual battles. And it worked for much of the first half. Obviously, their first goal was a complete balls up. Taylor should have cleared the ball instead of trying to let it run out but it wasn't just his fault. Noone tracked Nolan's run into the box and Friedel was beaten far too easily on his near post for me. At this point I sat back in my seat and expected a long, depressing afternoon. A minute later we equalised. Some good passing in midfield left Gresko one-on-one with their full back. Gresko cut inside and hit a fantastic shot with the outside of his foot. Great goal. We took control then, but always looked open to a breakaway goal. Douglas and Tugay put themselves about in midfield, Emerton was a constant menace down the right and Gresko was outstanding running from left back. A great move saw Cole and Yorke combine for the second goal and our constant pressure saw Bolton make a mistake to let Cole in for the third. We should have seen it out until half time. We were the better team at this point, Bolton had to change their tactics (substituting Frandsen) and alter their shape to get back into it. All we needed was a bit of composure and a few cool heads. Instead we gifted them a second goal. Both Tugay and Neill tried to meet a long punt upfield, both of them got in each others way and subsequently missed it, and Djorkaeff was left free to run on goal. Where was the cover? Great finish though. That was the turning point of the game. They went in at half time with their tails up, we went in looking sorry for ourselves. We came out in the second half and were instantly put on the back foot by a more determined, hard working Bolton. They pushed up and condensed play into our half, won all their battles and started to exert some real pressure on our goal. Chances came and went but we were still in front, and we even had the odd moment on the break to surely seal the win. Souness, quite rightly, substituted the ineffective Gallagher - unfortunately he put on Baggio. I don't remember Baggio touching the ball. He was hopeless - we might as well have played with ten. Eventually the pressure told and we conceded two incredibly soft goals. We never looked like coming back. We lacked the necessary composure, bottle and skill to see through a winning position. Bolton didn't have to do anything special to win it, they just worked hard and pressured us all over the field, we simply couldn't match it. Our defence was shambolic throughout. Taylor is a better player than he showed today but he's desperately lacking in confidence. Don't be fooled into thinking it was all his fault though. Babbel, the experienced head in the back four, was all over the place today. Friedel was also poor, his command of the area was non-existant at times. On the positive side, Gresko was outstanding throughout, Yorke and Cole looked sharp and combined well at times, Douglas showed a lot of promise, and Emerton continued his recent good spell of form. We're firmly embroiled in a dog-fight at the bottom of the league. Today's performance in the second half will not be good enough to stay up, we desperately need an injection of quality and steel to see us through to the end of the season. Edited by Alan75

After the early shock of conceeding a goal within the first minute, Rovers were back on terms within another minute, when Greskos thunderbolt from the left gave the Bolton keeper no chance. With just over 20 minutes of the game gone Rovers took the lead through Yorke after some fine work by Emerton and Cole, and Cole made it 3-1 to Rovers after he delicately chipped the keeper. However with the Rovers in total command Bolton pulled a goal back through Djorkaeff just before half time. Half time 3 - 2 As the second half proceeded Bolton came into the game but never threatened untill Rovers made a tactical change, bringing on Baggio for the tiring Gallagher. Within 10 minutes of the substitution Bolton equalised through Stelios and 5 minutes later took the lead, when Nolan bagged his second goal of the afternoon. Final score 3 - 4 Blackburn : Friedel, Neill (Jansen 83), Babbel, Martin Taylor, Gresko, Emerton, Tugay, Douglas (Danns 74), Yorke, Cole, Gallagher (Baggio 64). Subs Not Used : Johansson, Enckelman. Goals : Gresko 2min, Yorke 24min, Cole 34min Yellow cards : Cole, Gresko. Bolton : Jaaskelainen, Hunt, N'Gotty, Thome, Charlton (Javi Moreno 69), Nolan, Campo, Frandsen (Giannakopoulos 31), Djorkaeff, Okocha, Davies (Pedersen 86). Subs Not Used : Barness, Poole. Goals : Nolan 1min, 78min, Djorkaeff 43min, Stelios 78min. Yellow cards : Nolan, Hunt, Davies. Attendance: 23,538 Referee: S Dunn Link to Match Report