My first game was 19th August 1961. The season opener against Cardiff City at Ewood which ended in a 0-0 draw. Fred Else, Ian Lawther and Joe Haverty made their debuts for Rovers whilst the Cardiff team included Barrie Hole - a player who would become one of my all time favourites when he moved to Ewood Park in 1966.

A season of ups and downs like the majority of the sixty odd seasons I've watched Rovers. I would have been ecstatic if someone had offered seventh at the start of the season after last year's fight against relegation. In the main, it's another season that I've enjoyed following the team up and down the country with friends. Health issues meant I missed an number of away games before Christmas and only emphasised how much I miss not being at games. It's been a privilege to see young Dolan grow into the player he has now become and I fear we are going to miss him far more than many believe. In the main, it's been I season I've thoroughly enjoyed. I've seen some really good games at all levels with some of the under-21's catching the eye at times. Like every campaign one can look back and think if only we'd won here or there but that's football. In many ways I think we have overachieved this season with the squad that we have. Eustace got every last drop out of the players and Ismael, once he and the players got on the same wavelength, has done the same - which is encouraging for the future. The summer, like every close season, will see players come and go, and the pre-season will see some youngsters given the chance to step up. Despite the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs there is still much to be encouraged about the future for our club.

Excellent interview from Yasir. Open, honest and positive in many ways. A timely reminder that there are a number of really genuine and hardworking folk at Ewood like Yasir.

Remember doing Orient as the first game of the 75-76 season. Rovers ran a train direct from Blackburn to a Station near the ground. Can't believe it's 50 years ago!

Man for man the best team I've seen in my time watching Rovers. This team had everything you could want from a football team. Each player brought something different and yet combined so well. These were the 'entertainers' for me.

Another encouraging display from a team which seems to have found their confidence once again. Defensively we looked good and battled to protect the lead that Dolan gave us. Sanderson came on and looked a proper old fashioned defender - no fancy football from him - get the ball as far away from your own penalty area as quickly as possible to relieve the pressure. I thought Woodrow had his best game for us and was involved in creating our goal. Not sure I would want to sign him but in fairness, he was pretty decent today. Tronstad and Travis were at their battling best in midfield whilst Dolan and Yuki never stopped running, chasing and tackling. Dolan is going to be a huge loss as he is playing out his skin at the moment. For me, he has been a major asset to this club and I suspect he will be very difficult to replace on a limited budget. Finally, I have to say that Sunderland's tribute to the late Carlton Fairweather and the way it was done should be a lesson to Rovers. I only hope Mick McGrath gets a similar tribute on Saturday.

Those of us travelling up to Sunderland do.

And more than happy to have done so.

Really sad news. A great favourite of mine as a kid. He always had time to stop and sign autographs to the kids outside the players entrance both before and after games. That half-back line of Clayton, Woods and McGrath picked itself year in and year out. He was a tough tackling half-back who combined his ball winning skills with a shrewd positional sense - one of those players who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He didn't score many goals but they were often important ones - the equaliser at Burnley in that classic F.A. Cup-tie on the road to the 1960 Final. An Irish international and one of football's true gentlemen. RIP Mick.

To be fair, prior to play-offs being introduced and in the days of two up and two down - which I remember so well - most games were what you might call 'dead rubbers' from January on. I've seen so many seasons when mid-table in January usually meant you weren't going up and you weren't going down. Nobody really looked upon these games as dead rubbers. They were league games and impacted on a final league position and so were treated seriously by all concerned. Out of the 92 league clubs, only a handful actually win anything at the end of the season. For most mid-table of one sort or another is how a season ends.

Really enjoyed the game today and further evidence that maybe the players and Ismael are starting to get on the same page. Certainly the reaction of the players to Ismael after the game suggests that they are certainly playing for him. It's still early days but the second half against Wednesday and the performances at Luton and today suggest we may have turned a corner. There were so many excellent performances today - Brittain, Dolan, Tronstad to name but three. I've been far from impressed by Cantwell thus far but these last two games he's looked a different player and far more involved with increased work rate. Another impressive performance from Ribeiro who looks a real find. Gestede and co. deserve some praise for finding him. Hopefully, Gestede will find a few more on his searches abroad during the summer. After a couple of difficult months it was a great feeling to come away from Ewood after watching that performance and is a reminder of why we all love this club.

The sales of season tickets helps to pay the wages of staff who work in the club offices, the shop, the cleaners, the maintenance guys etc. Already renewed my season ticket - there was never any doubt that I would. Everyone makes their own decision. I've made mine and I'm more than happy with it. Will renew my away travel season ticket when that comes out. Owners, CEO's, directors, managers, players come and go. The one constant that remains are the supporters - through good times and bad.

What a difference between the journey home tonight and the one from Portsmouth. Today we looked so much better and simply carried on from the second half against Wednesday. We got on the front foot, we defended exceptionally well and broke with purpose - Yuki scoring another well taken goal. However, after the sending off we showed the battling qualities that have been missing in recent weeks. Today we fought for everything. Montgomery again impressed until his unfortunate sending off. I thought the ref was a little harsh to say the least as similar incidents had gone unpunished. Hyam and Batth were outstanding at the back and won virtually everything in the air. Back to their best. Montgomery and Ribeiro provided excellent cover from the full-back positions in what looked an impressive back four. Still unsure about the goalkeeper, particularly on crosses when he looks very uncomfortable. Yuki worked ever so hard up front in terms of being the first line of defence and made the most of his chance when it came. However, for me, the outstanding player was Dolan. His work rate was outstanding and in the second half, when he had to drop back to play as a wing-back/full-back, he was excellent. For me he is an outstanding talent who will be difficult to replace, particularly with little or not transfer budget. He may not always have the best game but he never stops trying and never hides on the pitch.

It's Jim Iley reincarnated. I'll be full of admiration if he can turn his relationship with the crowd around. The players were cheered off at the end for their efforts whilst he was booed off again.

Entertaining game between two clubs with nothing to play for as the season draws to a close - not fastest enough really. Once again we gave away two soft goals, although the second one was well taken. Pleased that we showed plenty of spirit in the second-half and thoroughly deserved the draw. I thought Dolan and Yuki were excellent and Cantwell had one of his better games. Both Travis and Tronstad looked better in the second half than they have for a while. Pleased for Montgomery, particularly as he was asked to play at full-back instead of his normal midfield role - solid enough performance from the young lad in difficult circumstances.

That's the point. It's your choice to buy tickets the way you want. Just as it's my choice to renew my season ticket. I don't see the problem with either one. It's all down to personal choice. Neither choice, indeed not buying a season ticket or matchday tickets at all is right or wrong. It's just personal choice and nobody should be castigated for making that choice.

There was plenty of time of discussion on the long journey back yesterday and none of it was positive. As arbitro said, they've had two weeks on the training ground with Ismael and the result was a pitiful display. The players look like they've downed tools and clearly don't seem to understand what they are being asked to do. Ismael reminds me of Jim Iley, an uninspiring manager who lost the dressing room within weeks of his arrival. There was no evidence of any new style of play yesterday, although the Eustace brand of high press, high energy and pragmatic football has clearly been binned. Yesterday it was hit and hope - and not much of the latter. A thousand Rovers fans took the time and trouble - not to mention the expense - to follow the club at Fratton Park yesterday and were served up an insipid display by a team that seems totally devoid of belief or inspiration. The same players who performed wonders at times under Eustace. The head coach set up a tactical plan that seemed to have totally confused the players who were required to implement it. I really do fear for us next season. The 150th celebrations could well be overshadowed by a relegation battle that, on the evidence of recent games, is not one we are likely to win.

I think once Eustace decided to get out it was always going to be difficult to sustain a top six challenge. I don't think we would have finished near the top six even if Eustace had stayed. Fourteen defeats thus far suggests we lack the consistency required to finish in the top six.

Although Ismaël wouldn't have been my first choice of manager, I'm not going to judge him after two games. I remember Gordon Lee coming in at a similar time when we were still involved in a promotion race to get out of the Third Division. We finished mid-table as Lee chopped and changed the team to evaluate the players he had inherited. In the summer the squad was restructured to meet Lee's requirements and we went on to win the Third Division Championship the following season. I don't for a moment believe that will happen again. In the seventies we had Bill Bancroft at the helm who was Rovers through and through. But I'll judge this manager when he has had time to build his own squad - admittedly it will largely be loans and freebies that Gestede and co can cobble together - and infuse his own style of football into the team. By November or December we will have a good idea of how this appointment will work out. Like every supporter I hope for the best but fear the worst.

It was a long journey back yesterday to reflect on what I'd witnessed in the afternoon. Without doubt it was the worst performance of the season but, in many ways, it was a perfect reflection of where we are as a club. I've never really believed that we are a top six squad. Granted, there have been times this season when a few good results, strung together, have led to me hope that me might creep into the play-offs, almost by default - the inconsistences of others being our best chance to get there. However, yesterday was the perfect illustration of our own inconsistences. Players who had excelled in the previous two games suddenly found it difficult to do the basics even moderately well. Stray passes, missed tackles, poor positional play and glaring errors were there for all too see. I remarked after the first five minutes about how we were lacking the intensity in our play of the previous two games and so it turned out. Individual players make errors all the time so I don't put the blame for yesterday's defeat on any particular player. They all under performed - for me Forshaw and Ribeiro were the best of a poor bunch. We are what we are, a fairly solid Championship side but I'm not convinced we are more than that. As we approach the business end of the season the foot should be firmly down on the accelerator - look at Coventry and Bristol City - we seem to build momentum for a couple of games and then stall and go into reverse for a couple of games. I fear this is another season when the top six will remain tantalisingly out of reach. Whether a new head coach can change that remains to be seen but on the evidence of yesterday he'll have his work cut out to deliver the consistency that is required at this point.

Coming away from the Hawthorns last night it felt so good to be a Rover. The spirit amongst this group of players is unbelievable. Every player works for each other and supports each other. There also seems an excellent relationship with the longstanding coaching staff who took charge last night. Lowey seemed to have made a slight change in that we got forward more and the link up play between Dolan and Makhtar was great to see. These two seem to have a special bond and that was the best that Dolan has played in months. He got forward more, and released the ball at the right times. We certainly got forward a lot more than at Loftus Road last week. Travis gave a real captain's performance - he really is the heart and soul of this team whilst Buckley is starting to show the form I thought I'd never see again from him. The 'keeper and defence were excellent and in Ribeiro I think we may have stumbled on a real find at left-back. I think once he gets fully up to speed he will be a real asset. He looks like a proper old fashioned full-back who is a defender first and foremost. A special word for the likes of Lowe, Benson and Johnson, who often get stick but clearly have a good relationship with the players who work with them on a daily basis down at Brockhall. The fans were brilliant in their support of the team whilst also voicing their displeasure the management off the pitch. Just when you feel like giving up because of the off the field antics, night's like this remind me why I'm still going home and away, week in and week out to follow the team I've supported for 60 odd years.

A poor performance in so many ways. Sadly in the introduction of Duberry and Cantwell proved a mistake as we lost control of the game at this point. We badly miss Tronstad and Yuki. Their energy and application has been badly missed these past few wereks.

Clubs award these things to descendants of the players. It's something that seems to be growing within football - a recognition of past players who have all made a contribution to the history of a football club.

This is something that the club are working on at the moment. A number of clubs are now doing this - some award a special shirt, others framed certificates. These are awarded to players who have featured in a competitive first team fixture. In our case it would start with the 1879-80 season with the first F.A. Cup games.

Really proud of the performance today by the players and the manager and his staff. They can do no more than they are. Players are giving everything for the club and so is the manager. Today, everyone put in a shift but some tired after 70 minutes or so because the the demands put upon them. Rotation and rest isn't an option for our decimated squad and thanks to our owners that doesn't appear likely to change anytime soon. We have a week to bring in the three QUALITY players that the manager is demanding. Not squad players but players who will make a difference. It's now up to the owners to provide Steve Waggott and Gestede with the resources that are required. Gestede can identify as many players as he likes but if the owners aren't prepared to fund their purchase then there really is no point in the work the recruitment department is employed to do.