Parsonblue

Did you expect more than a League game against Bolton for the 100th Anniversary? We've done exactly the same for this Anniversary as the 100th and 125th. All I'm saying is what is the difference in terms of an Anniversary match. They have all been regular League games played on or as close to 5th November as possible.

The LEAGUE match is the Anniversary game, just as the the 100th and 125th Anniversaries were League games. The Old Etonians seems to be an added extra. There is a book, just as there was for the 100th and 125th. Sorry, I just don't get the outrage over this particular point.

For our 100th Anniversary we played a League game v Bolton. For our 125th Anniversary we played a League game v Wolves. For our 150th Anniversary we have a League game v Derby County + the Old Etonians game. Not sure why the uproar about this game when the previous two anniversary games took place without comment at the time.

At times it seemed as if we were playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Frank Vare being the holding player. In fairness, I thought the system was quite fluid and Powell was given a fairly free role. I've always been a great fan of Powell from the first time I saw him with the Under-18s. He has pace and despite his frail build, he's as hard as nails. A really tough tackler and seems to have a football brain. At times Batty was popping up in a more central position when we were attacking and ended up being caught out of position when moves broke down. As you say, injuries to Dunn and Litherland have caused issues in selection, but that's the nature of the beast with Under-21 football. You rarely get the same eleven twice and we seem keen on switching players to play different roles.

A win, against a more than impressive Orient outfit, is welcome after recent results. However, if Orient's final ball had been better they could easily have got at least a point, even with ten men. I thought Brandon Powell was our best performer. He seemed to have a roving commission and his pace and movement was a delight to watch. Orient looked a very skilful outfit. Quick in attack, with one touch passes which left us struggling to keep up at times. A mixture of wayward shooting and a poor final pass let them down. Honour looked confident in goal and made some decent saves. He's a big lad but gets down well and seems to have good judgement. Batty continues to be something of an enigma. He ought to be a dominant figure at this level, with his experience, but at times looked disinterested and petulant. He went missing when Orient scored and in my view needs a loan move for the second half of the season if he is to develop into the player we want him to be. Up front, Joseph proved a handful in the first half before tiring after the interval. He's still very raw but there does look to be potential there.

He was bad, believe me. A disaster from day one. He got my vote without me having to think about it. Replacing Dave Wagstaffe with an over the hill John Aston - unbelievable!

Bob Crompton, the 'greatest' Rover of them all would need to take pride of place on such a monument.

Agree with everything that Arbitro said about yesterday. Charlton is never my favourite trip but yesterday was probably one of the worst performances I've seen in a long while. Quite simply we we bullied by a team who wanted it more, that had a clear game plan and who had players who knew how to exploit our many weaknesses. I couldn't believe that this was the same team that played so well at Watford the other week. Today was the sort of game that cried out for the type of leadership that Travis gave you on the pitch. We needed a leader on the field who was prepared to do battle. For all his footballing qualities, Cantwell is not that sort of leader and he disappeared for large parts of the game. Indeed, some of his passing was way off yesterday. I accept that these players are new and still adapting to the Championship, but we can't afford too many more of these sort of performances. I'm looking for a huge improvement against Swansea.

A really disappointing performance in the second half today. Despite being in a strong position at 2-0 and then 3-1, the youngsters lost control and then failed to do the basics in terms of defending. Blackpool, who don't have an under-21 team, looked a pretty decent outfit. This was a steep learning curve for our youngsters but hopefully, one that will benefit them in the future. A Blackpool fan informed me that James Butterworth, who scored a couple for the visitors when he came on as a second-half sub, is the son of John Butterworth - a former youth and reserve player for us in the early 1990s who many will remember from when Jim Furnell was running the youth set up.

I think John Prince was taking the team with Tuffy assisting. It was a pretty dull affair, particularly in the second-half. Fully agree with arbitro about Batty. Really needs to move on for his own sake. Looks totally disinterested at Under-21 level and also caught out of position on so many occasions. Another game for the Under-21's today which I expect to be a very young side.

What's the rivers like next to their ground? It's been a while since I was last on Chorley but I don't recall it being in a similar situation to Ewood. Unfortunately, and it doesn't happen that often, when the river is in its present state there is not much you can do. To do anything about the river it would require the Environment agency to get involved and that would be a long drawn out process. I remember games being played in a sea of mud in the sixties but we still had abandonments and postponements. The pitch has improved beyond recognition to those days but the torrential rain we had today was always going to be a challenge. In fairness, the ref was in a difficult situation as conditions got steadily worse during the second half. Driving home from Ewood, the roads were none too clever either. As for the game itself, it was another encouraging performance on the back of the good result and performance at Watford.

Totally agree with the above arbitro. Yesterday was exactly what following Rovers is about. So much to be encouraged about. I must admit that looking at some of the individual performances yesterday, I think Gestede and his crew deserve a bit of praise for finding some of these players who, to be honest, I'd never heard of until they arrived here. Morishita, like Ohashi, has skill and the right work ethic. Gudjohnsen looks a real handful, Miller is a player who can adapt to different roles and certainly lets the opposition know he's not to be messed with. Alebiosu is really growing on me as an attacking right-back. Admittedly, it's still early on in the season, but I've seen plenty to be encouraged about with this rebuild thus far. Val has got the type of players he wants to work with so it will be interesting to see how it develops. It was also great to see Carter and Wharton back to their best yesterday. I'm especially pleased for Scott who bleeds 'blue and white' and after his injuries it was wonderful to see him in such commanding form.

Another great away day. This was the perfect away performance in so many ways. On the front foot from the start, high energy, quick attacking moves, robust tackling. Defensively we were excellent. Carter and Wharton provided the rock on which we could build. Scott was my Man of the Match, a truly outstanding performance. Cantwell looks a different player this season season. He links up play in the opposition half so well and the move between himself, Ohashi and Morishita that led to the goal was pure class. In midfield, Tarvares showed some flair for passing but is clearly a work in progress. Tronstad was he usual solid self and how we will miss him when he returns home in the summer. However, a special word again for Ryan Hedges who continues to be a workhorse. Val seems to have got the best out of Hedges and he now looks an automatic choice for that position. Morishita looks a real player. Intelligent in his movement, good control and packs a fierce shot. He looks a real find as does Gudjohnsen on this display. Strong, mobile and plenty of skill he looks like another player who will be a real addition to our ranks. Of course, it's still early days, but there are some very promising signs at the moment and much to be encouraged about.

Yes I still do. You'll be the first to know when I change my mind. In that case I'll hold my hands up and admit that I was wrong.

Most clubs have this role. Last season Stuart Jones did it. Rhodes is the ideal choice for the role. As a young lad at Ipswich, he had a number of loans to other clubs as he was developing as a professional footballer. He knows the problems youngsters would have going to other clubs on loan because he's been there and done it himself. He's also had loans at the end of his career so knows the problems it can cause late in your career. Thus he has the experience for the role and he has a knowledge of Blackburn Rovers. For me this is an excellent appointment in so many ways.