I'm not sure that lapsed customers need to provide excuses for their non-appearance. While the football is returning to the standard it should have been in the first place, there may now be other, better things for people to spend their money on. Football does not exist in a vacuum. There's one aspect of the affordability argument I haven't seen yet. Because of our small fan-base, it always seems to me that a greater % of the Rovers crowd is families, when compared to the clubs in the vast metropolises. So while our absolute entry prices might be low, I would be interested to see the average cost per wage-earning fan, which I suspect may be significantly higher than with many other clubs. Low prices are great, but if our crowds depend more on dad buying 4 tickets than on lads in their 20's just buying for themselves, then maybe we should have much more aggressively discounted tickets for 3rd,4th and 5th familiy members than we do now.

Having looked forwards to this moment for 10 years, why am I not enjoying it more? I think they will get tonked by Chealsea today, but where's the shame in that, especially with ManYoo'sinjury list? While I don't feel sorry for RFW, it is getting harder to hate him: a rather pathetic old man going on too long. Still, maybe they will dredge up a cheating, diving performance and reawaken the nation's ire.

Jewell for me is turning into a Championship version of Cloughie. He's taken probably the two most unfashionable teams ever to get into the Premier League in Wigan and Bradford and made a decent fist of their first seasons. I think Whelan won't make the mistake in year 2 that Bradford's idiot chairman did. I expect to see a continuation of the same recipe. Also good to see Henchoz doing well, I was half hoping we would go in for him in the close season

My thoughts exactly

There you go again (you being Rovers fans in general) I can't belive I'm rooting for the guy as I hated him last season and was embarrassed we had signed him, but three goals so far when he has missed 3 games and been on and off the bench I think is impressive, as has been his all round play. In hindsight, I think last season while playing up front alone, carrying a bad injury and with no service from a crap midfield would have made Maradona look dodgy. Maybe we have misjudged the litte scamp. Kuqi however, is cleary a lemon.

Not good enough mate. You're the one who has volunteered to represent the views of other rovers fans. That entails a responsibility beyond "if you think you can do a better job" to be respectful of the views of others. If you can turn your childish style on and off that's great, but I've yet to read a post of yours that didn't insult someone. Save that kind of stuff for your meeting with JW - you might even stick your tongue out at him when he's not looking, should he disagree with your excellently argued points. In the meantime - Brad winning us points by game 12 is great, and long may it continue; I would love to be proved wrong over the season as we have no other keeper anyway. But he did owe us for Villa and Liverpool.

While I have nothing but admiration for you stepping up to the plate on BRISA, I hope that you will be able to represent the views of Rovers supporters that will at times contradict your own. Your insulting debating style should be very effective in swaying Chairman John. Which bit of "decent performance" didn't you understand?

As expected, weeks and weeks of mediocre performances are instantly trumped by one decent performance for the chosen ones - Brad'n'Bert; whereas yet another excellent performance by Dickov goes largely unremarked, failing to dispel the received wisdom that he is crap. Brad is paid to make saves in a game, lets hope he keeps doing that and throws in a few "how did he get to that"'s to make up for the howlers.

They haven't broken the British transfer record to sign the best centre forward of our generation either. After 10 years of Sky-funded largesse for the top clubs, I think it is remarkable that a promoted team can even get into the top half, let alone 2nd after nearly 1/3rd of the season. The comment about only one of their players could get into our team amy well be true, but they are not second because of any individuals, they are there because they gel as a team, particuarly defending.

If they had scored on that 3 on 1 breakaway in injury time against Chelski just before Crepso scored, they would have been level on 28 points with them right now. Let's face it, Wigan have made an even bigger impact so far than we made in '92

Actually, I wasn't saying that; I was referring to the Grabbi excuse used by Matt's apologists for him not perfoming in the first half season back in the prem. Another thoght struck me. I can't think of a top flight sportsman taking 3+ years out and then coming back at anything like the same level. Even if Matty could cut it consistently, with whatever strike partner, three years is just too long out. Borg couldn't do it, Best couldn't do it, so why on earth could Matty. Look at Mario LeMeux - they are just embarrassing when they try to come back. Incidentally, if Jansen had been given Bellamy's starting places this season, would he have scored 5 and made 3 in 8 appearances? Or would we be hearing about the difficulties in being partnered with the allegedly Grabbi-esque @#/? and Kuqi? Good players never need excuses

Jansen in his Rovers career has scored 0.31 goals per game for us, the majority of which were in a lower league. He cost us $4million plus I would guess another 5 or 6 million in wages. And he is a Saint. @#/?, who so far has probably not yet cost us a million, has scored 0.28 goals per game, all at the top level, virtually all when playing as a lone striker. He will surpass Matty as a scorer of premier league goals for BRFC, at virtually the same goals per game ratio. Yes, he takes penalties but he wins most of them and has the balls to take them. 90% of the strike rate for 10% of the price. The excuses trotted out for St. Matty are a joke. He didn't perform at the top level, despite having service from Duffer and Dunny, because of Grabbi. @#/? has service from the likes of Bert, Reid, and Savage, with no partner whatsoever, and sticks away nine. Matty alone won us promotion, despite the hindrance of being partnered by either Hughes or Bent, two of the most selfless forwards ever, and of course, the service and disruption to defenders from Duffer and Dunny. Matty scores wonder goals - remember 3-1 up at Bolton and whatever we were up against the Dingles. Brilliant! @#/? however scores unmissable sitters against crap, demoralised teams like ManYoo at home and a much improved Bolton away, pathetically earning us points rather than showboating in games already won. Dickov scores scruffy goals, not like St. Matty's goal in the cup final that, er, he mishit against a defender which then redirected the ball through the keepers legs as he fell the wrong way. Who's got the most skill - Matty, but so what. Who's done it at the top level in spite of crap players around him - @#/? Who's been a great investment - @#/?

In the absence of a Charlton match thread, I'll put this here - mods feel free to move. I for one do not see Charlton (league home game) as a walk in the park. They are a good team and have finished significantly above us the last two seasons, and are off to a flyer away from home so far. It galls me to see them doing better than us as during the 2nd division days I always saw them as London's equivalent of us. Some great days in the past, but not having the fan base or the infrastructure to ever rise again. Of course things got a lot worse for them just as Jack was changing our history. While we were winning the league, they didn't even have a ground or many fans and seemed down and out. Without a Jack figure, they have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, got a good tidy ground, a good manager, some excellent young players coming through, and have spent quite wisely. So while many on this board think that we are punching over our weight, thanking heavens that our faceless owners add another 10% to the income line, I personally don't see why we can't do what Charlton have done and compete at this level without being seen as a chartity case. Jack left us a terrific infrastructure, we just need an abitious but still prudent ownership. Anyway, I digress: 2-2 (Bellamy-2; Hales, Bartram) 17,231

This season? I don't think so. But anyway, my point was that all keepers make mistakes, but plenty of keepers are winning more games for their clubs that Brad is for us these days. Did you see VDS's save in the last minute from Andy Cole for one? His efforts in Europe? Agree with that, but unfortunatley our meagre funds are better spent on replacing crap or ageing first team midfielders. What bugged me yesterday was that for the two games before, when 10 players ran their nuts off to deny the opposition chances and get us wins, we could have played a dustbin in goal and still won. Yesterday, they were going to get chances and we needed Brad to earn his corn to have any chance at all. He doesn't do many if any of the Cech type cock-ups, he leaks too many goals that were nothing special, and he is approaching hopeless at free kicks.

Brad for me is rapidly approaching Emerton status. Does enough to make you think he's got it, but doesn't do it often enough, making you wish we had someone else; in both cases, the someone else option is even worse. Right now, he's in the team by default. In addition to the ones mentioned in Revidge's post, he aslo cost us points at the Villa. His fans point to a few saves here and there as to him supposedly earning more points than he's losing, but I don't buy it. A top class keeper is supposed to make good saves routinely then maybe break even on the clangers and the wonder-saves. Look at Van der Saar at Man U - he's won about half their points so far this season in return for the mistake with MGP's goal, yet last year everyone would haved scoffed at the notion of him being better than Brad. Brad has had nothing to do in our last 2 games - literally - which mean the other 10 players beat the blues and Leeds. In this game, we needed Brad to step up and do his bit and he didn't, just like at Liverpool. When was he last man of the match? When was he really the difference between winning and not, beyond the routine saves any Prem keeper would make. The three year contract will come back and bite us

One thing for sure is that we won't be able to restrict this team to one weedy shot on target as we did with Brum. So to get anything from the game will require Brad to deliver some out of the ordinary saves, especially from long range potshots and freekicks. If he does that, the fitness of the rest of the team gives us a shot, if he doesn't, we'll get hammered.

For sure this was a game we would have lost 2 years ago. Not pretty, and will do nothing to bring back the missing thousands - the first half was the worst footy game I think I have ever seen - but overall definitely a sign we are on the up. I thought our all-round defending won the game for us today; restricted Birmingham to no clear cut chances whatsoever, especially from their many undeserved free kicks and corners, which was a huge improvement on the many chances that fell to both Man Yoo and Liverpool. I was especially impressed with Kuqi in those situations. Did anyone really think Dickov would put away that 1 on 1? I didn't even come close to spilling my breakfast cuppa as he is incapable of scoring when given time to think. However, I quite liked his all round play and only he could have won the penalty with his patented "Look ref, I'm being held" hold on Upson. Stuck the penalty away well against a keeper who had saved the last three. Great second goal - that's why Bellamy cost $5.875 million more than Dickov - and I think it's frightening just how many of our goals this season have involved MGP; superbly weighted pass form an otherwise anonymous performance. Tugs lasted 90 mins as well, must be because he's finally had a shave. I am quite liking the Tugs-Lily combo in midfield. Who'd have thought a month ago that we'd start a game with Bert, Reid, Todd and Bellamy on the bench.

Game on live here tomorrow - 8th one out of 10 this season. Rovers 4 (Bellamy2, MGP, Neil) Brum 1 (Latchford) 21,093

He was in the right place prior to the kick, but didn't move to reposition himself when it was laid off. 30 yard shots straight down the middle shouldn't go in, no matter how hard they are hit. The spill from Riise was also very poor. I thought otherwise that the defense did their job well today. Before the sending off, I feared the worst as Tugay, Bentley and MGP were collectively doing next to nothing. And anyone who doubts what Lily brings to the team should have seen him today.

I had thought until now that Chairman John was merely overpaid and, when it comes to contracts, selling corporate boxes and imaginatively filling the ground - less than competent. But this news worries me a lot - last thing we need is a power-crazed meglomaniac. Bancroft personally dipped into his pocket in the dark days; Willams would have no club to "lead" if it wasn't for him . How dare they ban him? Whatever he said - I agree with it. I would hope the Blackburn end strike up a pro-Bancroft chant at the next game and keep it up until Bill is treated with the respect he deserves.

Is that the first goal this season that hasn't had MGP either score or provide the pass?

What @#/?. United were the ones lucky to avoid a whipping, we should have been three up at half time. This one I think has to be chalked up to Hughes. He had us all fooled thinking 4-5-1 for sure, leaving United's pre-game preparations in tatters. His substitutions were sound, and even after they scored I felt we could get another by having Bellamy and MGP on the field. We were positive for 90 mins, I have never seen our fullbacks get into the opposition area so often away from home. Well done Sparky

You're forgetting Brotherston at the Turd, Boxing Day '77

Reid was the most central of the players rushing to close down Shearer's shot, but he turned his back How indeed Who indeed. Plus the lad was able to make Brad look a novice as Brad just stood there and waited for him (just like Liverpool last year), rather than taking the initiative and forcing the play. I don't think we would have scored any of those chances

I'm not sure how practical I think The drogs suggestion is, but even his most scathing critics must admit that the only two examples in recent times of a merger - Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Rushden & Diamonds - have been extremely successful. Both reached undreamt-of heights after mergers that were resisted by all four sets of fans. Meanwhile, Dundee and Dundee United are nowhere.