Parsonblue

I have every confidence of us playing Burnley, Leeds and maybe Stevenage next season.

If you've bought my books you have both my thanks and my sympathy for having to read what I write. But my thanks are genuine. I haven't been ignoring your questions for any other reason other than it's not something I'm prepared to engage in. Health issues over the past two years have made me realise that life for too short to engage in endless debates about things over which I have no control. I love watching Rovers, and hope to do so for a good while longer, God willing, but that's as far as it goes. I'm happy to post about matches and players that I've watched but that's it. I hope you can understand and respect my point of view on this.

I got an afternoon of enjoyment watching my team play well. What's not to be pleased with that?

I thought we were excellent today until the closing stages when fatigue set in for one or two. Even so, we looked comfortable until the most ludicrous free kick was awarded by the linesman. Clearly, the guy had never played the game as it was simply a case of the excellent Hedges being far too strong from the Wrexham lad. As arbitro said earlier, the referee had let so many tackles go and then awards the softest of soft free-kicks. I thought Forshaw was outstanding in midfield and was very much on the front foot. Hedges too, was a real workhorse down the left side. Pratt again, kept it simple and cleared his lines without fuss. The lad is beginning to really grow into first team football. A word of praise too for the often decried Pears. He made some good saves and did well under pressure on corners. It was good to see him coming out and catching the ball. He really did look the part today. Once again, it was another away performance that was a joy to watch and in stark contrast to our home performances. Certainly those of us who travel to away games have seen the best of Rovers this season.

I guess I'm very fortunate, or unfortunate depending on your point of view, as I still get the same buzz going to Rovers - home and away - as I did as a kid at the start of the sixties. I'm well into my seventies now and recent health issues have made me realise that I'm not going to be here forever, so I'll continue to go and enjoy it as long as I can. As Herbie said, meeting up with friends makes it a social occasion and that's all part of the day. However, I agree that for many supporters there comes a point when it's difficult justify the cost of football, particularly if you have a Sky subscription. Also, the TV deal is not really helpful to those who go to away games in particular. Within a matter of days we have Ipswich Town away at 12.30 pm (meaning a 4.30 am start from Ewood), and then Swansea City away as an evening kick-off. Not to mention that these are quickly followed by Norwich City away at 12.30 with another 5.30 am start from Ewood. It's almost as if the EFL want to get rid of away supporters altogether. Around me, the other night, there were a large number of season ticket holders who opted to watch the game on TV rather than travel to Ewood on a cold, wet night in November. Ultimately, everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons with regard to attending football matches.

Cantwell is something of an enigma. Away from home, we look far more solid without him. It's the home games where he really out to shine and have an influence on results. Yet home results are poor, whilst the last three away games have seen good performances and good results without him. Cantwell is a mercurial talent but fitting him into a system that works for the rest of the team is not always easy. Kendall managed to do it with McKenzie, so hopefully Ismael will be able to find a solution. I must admit, that I'm not really bothered one way or the other regarding his future in the January window.

Following Rovers away from home this season, Charlton apart, has been a real joy. We look solid at the back and swift in attack. I thought some of our football last night was a joy to watch. The interplay between Ohashi and Morishita really caused North End no amount of problems. Ohashi's workrate is unbelievable as was that of Tronstad and Hedges. These three players epitomise how Ismael wants to play and it's so enjoyable to watch. I thought young Pratt did ever so well on his debut and looked the part. Prior to the game I heard fans criticising his selection and saying what a state we are in when a kid has to play. Yet I remember other youngsters in the past being thrown in - England, Pickering, Metcalfe, Faz, Barker, Jones etc - and it proved the making of them. There is no point in having an Academy if these youngsters don't get a chance. Yes, they'll make mistakes but that's part of the learning process. The home form remains a conundrum, but if we can get that right we could have a more than decent season. This team is nowhere near as bad as some are making out.

If you read what the Heritage Lottery funds, it's clear that they are there to preserve heritage wherever they may find it. Sadly, they have a limited amount of money and an avalanche of worthy applicants. At the seminar I attended they made it clear that they welcomed bids from any sporting club - amateur or professional.

If memory serves me, it was for a portable Liverpool FC memory bus with various memorabilia inside.

The exhibition at the Museum was a Blackburn Museum event. The club did loan them a number of items which was acknowledged by the Museum at the time. The Museum plan events well in advance and the Rovers exhibition was always due to end when it did as the Museum had another event which directly followed it.

Went to a Lottery Fund seminar in the Summer. They stated that the Liverpool project was one of the most successful that they had funded in terms of feedback from the public.

Probably for the same reason that Liverpool FC were given money by the Lottery Fund.

He often works from Brockhall where he is based.

The Fans Forum page is still there. Just been on Rovers website and all the previous minutes are there.

A steep learning curve for some our younger players last night. The game was done and dusted after ten minutes. Three-nil down and the goalkeeper having a night to forget and at no stage did we look like making a comeback in a dismal first half. Derby added a fourth just before half-time and had completely dominated us in every area of the pitch. We did better in the second-half, but in truth, Derby had dropped off the pace with such a commanding lead. We had a few regular under-21 players missing last night - a combination of international call ups and injuries. It will be interesting to see how Vignal puts his stamp on this squad of players. It seems clear that the policy, at the moment, is to push the Under-18's into the Under-21 team as quickly as possible.

Thoroughly enjoyed the day apart from the result. It was great to see so many old favourites at the Old Etonians game and a wonderful gesture by the Old Etonians to make a presentation to the club. Thought the club did well in the end in terms of a celebration. The Legends game was a welcome addition and everyone around me enjoyed that one. A decent book produced and a programme on the day. I don't usually buy shirts but I'll definitely get one of the White boxed ones when they come out. As a celebration I thought it was a decent event - certainly, for me, better than the Centenary in 1975- the highlight of that one was the book Harry produced.

The evidence for the white shirt only came to light in recent years with the discovery of the minutes in a programme from 1909.

Surely it's a nod to those founding members in 1875. A celebration of the club's foundation and the men who gathered to form the club. The club have been aware of those original minutes and have acknowledged them with a kit that those original founders envisaged in 1875. Personally, I think it's a fitting tribute.

Agreed. Apologies for that. At the end of the day people will believe what they want. Personally, until I see evidence to the contrary, I'm sticking with the white shirt for the initial games and then at some point in the first two seasons it changed to a form of blue and white.

History changes as new primary source material comes available Rev. New things about our club's history continually come to light as we discover new primary sources. There is a huge amount of new things I've discovered about our club since that book was published. That is the continual fascination with history.

The book records the history of the club. How is the history of our club invalid?

There is no primary source ( or zero evidence, as you put it) to suggest that the club played in Blue & White during their first season. There is a primary source, published by the club in 1909, that shows that the club passed a motion to play in white shirts with a blue Maltese cross. This was proposed and seconded by founder members of the club. By the time of the first known photograph (circa 1878/1879) they were in shirts which some players had white on the right hand side and some had white on the left hand side.

Two wonderful performances in four days for those of us who travel to every away game. This was very much a game of two halves. In the first, we played some great stuff at times and dominated the home side. In the second half we showed a different side to our character with a really dogged performance to defend the lead and grind out a result. There can be no doubt that these players are definitely playing for Ismael. One could see at the end the relationship between players and manager is a close one. Defensively we look so more solid and the players are putting their bodies on the line to block shots and make tackles to keep the opposition at bay. Scott's brilliant diving headed clearance with a boot heading towards his head being a perfect example. Scott is playing out of his skin and the moment and for me is the perfect captain. Two players who seem to get a fair amount of stick were outstanding last night. Hedges makes this team so much better when he is in it. Playing with a back three you need wing backs who can attack and defend and last night he was non-stop in doing both. The other player was Forshaw who was excellent when he came on in midfield. He used his experience to anchor things in midfield whilst also getting forward. I must admit that Gardner-Hickman is really growing on me and is a real workhorse in midfield. Up front, Yuki and Gudjohnsen are beginning to look a more than decent partnership. Yuki just never stops and is the very definition of a ninety-minute player. The injuries to Toth and Scott are a worry but, hopefully, the international break has come at the right time. Six points from the first four days of November is a wonderful return.

Set pieces have become increasingly important in the game today in terms of data. Most clubs have a set piece coach. Arsenal have become far more potent from corners etc., since they appointed a set piece coach. It's not the football I grew up with in the early sixties, but the game today is completely different. At the end of the day we have to progress and change with the times. Having said that, I much preferred the football of the early sixties to what I watch, particularly in the Premier League, today.

It's a very open league this season, with only Sheffield Wednesday really adrift and likely to have a relegation place already pre-booked. If we can continue to defend like yesterday, and we can start taking the chances we create I believe we will be clear of any threat of relegation come the end of the season. The real plus point for me yesterday was the way in which Gudjohnsen took his chances. They were the goals of a proper striker, in and around the six yard box, and snaping up the chances that came his way. The first goal, in particular, was the sign of a player who was prepared to anticipate a potential chance when most would have been on their heels expecting the defender to clear the ball. I think we look a team who are, in many ways, probably more suited to playing away from home. Certainly, apart from Charlton, we have looked pretty decent on our travels, including Coventry, where we bossed the first half but didn't take our chances. If we can start to grind out results at home, our season may well be better than many expected. I think that turning our home form around is now the key to what sort of season this will be.