So is this a 4 4 2?

Walton

Nyambe Tosin Mulgrew Bennett

Downing Johnson Rothwell Holtby

Armstrong Samuel

I suspect it may be a diamond 4 in mid

Please let Walton not cock-up and Bennett redeem himself!

The Bristol game had players on form - particularly Evans, the worst gaffe came from Walton which he repeated against Wigan.  The Wigan game had most of the team out of sorts, a fair bit of that was to Wigan's credit but if Barnsley watched the videos (which they will have) they will want to harry the Rovers to put them off their game.  Johnson should (in theory) be a logical choice but he looks unable to perform.  Downing may be the best choice at LB with Davenport in midfield or vice versa.  I'd stick with Walton and pray he sorts his game out.

Up front Brereton and Armstrong definitely need to start with Holtby as the creative 10.

The centre-backs pick themselves as does Nyambe. If Rankin-Costello is fit I would play him in midfield with Travis (who is hopefully fit).

If Bennett plays it should be as right midfield.  Poor sod deserves a run in a more natural position if he is picked.

27 minutes ago, bazza said:

Travis was injured.

Rather why oh why did he play Bennett at LEFT back?

I wish he had used someone else but I really think he believed that Bennett can play anywhere.  Then again so can I, I'm equally crap whichever shirt number I put on.  Bennett was willing but he should tell TM that he's an ok right back but awful left back.

All the adverse comments about Walton have been pretty much on the mark but with what we have available I suspect that we will stick with him for the next few games, if we are clearly not in with a shout then definitely give Hilton a run out.  Leutweiler hasn't been the pressure needed by a number two wanting to grab first choice spot.

Our left back depth is a real problem, Bennett is not an answer for that position and it is tough to berate him for his lack of ability as a left-back.  He seems to be the sticking plaster solution to any position needing cover - wouldn't be surprised if TM asked him to take over in goal.  He has been a good servant in blue and white and maybe he looks worse because he is so often moved about to cover gaps in the squad but perhaps it is time to move on.

But let's not distract from the overall performance by concentrating on Walton and Bennett, if the team as a whole had performed with more vigour and application we wshould still have had enough to push Wigan more.  I thought Wigan were more up for the challenge and always looked more threatening, 2-0 didn't flatter them. They seem capable of bullying too many of our players, for example Downing never looked settled and I wonder how many of them remembered how Morsy kicked lumps off them(and Dack) last time out.  Nasty piece of work but we could do with a player like him in our team.

Very, very frustrating.

You must have been at Ewood with 52000 on Jim? Burnley 6th round replay 1960? And no "incidents"!

Those were the days when the southern-based media crucified him Jim. All in his autobiography. Should have got 100 caps.

Am I one of the few who think he should have been in the team rather than Nobby?

Quality obituary in the Times today. Worth buying if you appreciate Ronnie Clayton.

What can you say about Ronnie? A Preston lad who became more Blackburn than anyone born in the town. He was a magnificent ambassador for the Rovers in his latter years as anyone who met him will testify. As a player he was amongst the greatest Rovers to wear Blue and White and as an England international deserved the recognition his country gave him.

He graced the role of captain whether for club or country, in a way that some of the current generation would never be able to comprehend. England was always proud of him and never ashamed.

A true gentleman, our thoughts go out to Val, his wife. God bless you Mr. Clayton, I hope you are sharing memories with Jack right now.

Firstly, let us give our deepest sympathy and prayers to the family concerned. The loss of anyone diminishes us all, we feel a strangers death stronger because of our shared love of the Rovers and football.

Secondly, this is not the time or place to speculate on what may or may not have happened, what is wrong with society or how Rovers away support behaves. I have personal opinions on all of these but this is not the thread to discuss general issues or circumstances that have yet to be resolved. These will be at an inquest and possibly a criminal court.

If you are a witness please come forward for the sake of the family of the victim, clarity of what happened may help, in time, to achieve closure. At the moment their hearts will be breaking.

Finally, let us hope we can show a bit of love towards them in whatever way we can. A moments silence and prayer on Wednesday night will be a start.

This is a very sad day.

I was lucky enough to spend some time in the company of this true gentleman in the airport lounge in Eindhoven. He was on his first spell as a manager there and he put up with a few of us who had the temerity to pester him. He had no airs or graces and gave his time freely and without resentment. It was a good experience.

I met him again when PSV played a pre-season friendly at Ewood, I was with the sponsors of the game entertaining customers in one of the lounges. There was no requirement for him to give his time but he still made his way in and proferred those who were interested a brief but warm hello.

Newcastle has lost one of its kindest sons, a miner who grew into a footballing legend but remained 'ordinary' and without pretentions. If only football had more like him in the current generation.

Sir Bobby Robson, may you find peace and may your family be carried through this period of loss with care and the love of God.

Jack Walker -

Thankyou for allowing us to share the same dream.

Thankyou for being one of the proudest Blackburnians that came out of our town.

Thankyou for giving me some of the best memories in my life.

God Bless you and we will always miss you but NEVER forget you.

The actor playing one of the main characters in the TV family, Zak Dingle, lives in Burnley.

The first time I heard the Burnley fans described as 'Dingles' was by Preston fans and then it seemed to be adopted by the Rovers fans. The nickname has proved an irritant to some of the Clarets as it is connected with Yorkshire and a particularly dumb family.

As an aside some of the Bolton fans use the same term for us but others call us the Clampetts. Never bothered me what they say though as they make Burnley fans appear intelligent

Can't believe that people think that we didn't benefit from having the second top-scorer in the Premiership and that we should wave him goodbye.

My preference is for Benni to be playing in a Roverd team next season. Always plenty of posturing at this stage and the press are always interested in filling close-season column inches.

No doubt Sparky will make the right decision, he's done pretty well so far.

I don't see why everyone is getting so upset. Like nearly all players he wants to play for a Champions League team and if someone comes in for him he'll be off. I haven't seen him doing any badge kissing or "I've always dreamt of playing for Rovers" stuff so why should we expect anything different. Imagine if he's had a bad season, we would have tried to punt him on to anyone, contract or not, so good luck to him. At least he's being upfront about it.

Totally agree, I seem to remember that Porto refused him a move for a season as well and he didn't let them down. So we can choose to hold on to him and I would be amazed if he didn't still give a good account of himself. I admire his honesty and so long as he delivers whilst in aRovers shirt I really don't care what is quoted in the papers.

If he did go I'm sure we would pocket a tidy profit and his goals have helped us up the table this season.

More importantly why not trust Mark Hughes? He got Benni and several other cracking players to Ewood and I have absolute faith in him.

Now I'd be much more worried if Sparky was talking about wanting to manage Chelsea ..............

I never get too worried about what the papers say, the reality is a lot of our players are targets because they are good players. The club at least appears to be in a strong position to either retain the players they want or get a good price for them.

Got to applaud both Mark Hughes and John Williams for player selection and contract deals.

If we do lose any players it will be in an organised way and you can expect the funds to go to bringing replacements in.

This story was the usual set-up by The Scum to create a story. Just take a look at how it was put together with the usual 'closed' question. How else was Benni supposed to respond? No way was he going to block off an option of one of the top 4 clubs.

But .... he hasn't gone yet and I've not seen him failing to deliver with his goals.

Make certain that you all give him a cheer and chant his name against Reading, he deserves it for the goals this season and also to remind him that he IS wanted at Ewood.

Too easy for the jerks around to help make his mind up the wrong way.

Would we have him back?

Perhaps on the right terms I think.

Can't say I'm overly excited by the Neill affair. We made profit on his fee, got four good years out of him and now we can hope our disciplinary record may improve a little. I thought Warnock was excellent and we needed a left-back more than a right-back.

As for the money he's on, well good luck to him, it is his living after all and he didn't short-change us when he was playing.

After all that though couldn't resist a giggle when the Watford player who scored was being marked (not) by dear old Lucas and as for the ankle tweak? Of course that has a certain humorous side as it is a relatively minor injury, it also demonstrates that you need luck as well as money. Can see the good side of the 'Ammers going down as they are paying crazy money at the moment and that is worse than Chelsea.

Who cares about Neill anymore? He's in the past and we ended up with Warnock which is what Sparky wanted.

Lucas was never popular with followers of the Reds after his appalling tackle on Carragher (yes, I thought it was when it happened). Guess he won't be intimidated walking out at Anfield though.

Claret and Blue - equates to the colour of bruises, injury and disease.

Maybe the best thing is to use the old undisclosed fee trick and let Bruce claim they got a good deal. Bruce didn't help his sales pitch by pointing out how difficult it had been to get Dunn fit.

Still, there has to be a little sympathy for the St.Andrews planks, feels a little like the Ferguson saga but at least Dunny hasn't whined as much as the little 'Gers ex-captain.

Rumours are that Blackburn are going to tempt Everton with a bid of £2.5m for James Beattie...

...watch this space for the expected return of Kevin Davies, Nathan Blake and Noel Brotherston!!!

I only wish Noel could return, we miss him dearly. God rest his soul.

McCarthy and Jeffers looked like two strangers on Sunday, so getting Nonda up top with benni is a must if we are to progress.

Jeffers looks like he is getting better with more games played. We might not have any other choices up front and I would prefer not to risk Nonda unless he is fully fit. There are some tough league games coming up where we will need all the squad we can get.

Anyway, I'm hopeful that Jeffers will fit well enough with McCarthy given more time on the pitch together.

Full marks to UEFA, I'm sure they have been waiting for some idiot to give them a chance to demonstrate their commitment to eliminating racism. The Serb dummy obviously made the comments in front of witnesses other than Benni which clinched it. The only disappointment is that they didn't increase the sentence.

It will seem strange for some of our Polish friends to hear how we feel about this but we have gone a long way from the days (relatively recently) when racist abuse was part of the terrace noise in England.

So overall a good result, a five match ban and we win in Krakow. Suspect that Wisla will finish bottom of the group.

Can't say I'm happy about the lower than expected attendances but the dropping gates are common at most clubs in the Premiership at the moment.

Lots of reasons -

Cost

Frequent changes to kick-off times and days

But most of all televised games. See how many pubs are showing the games live.

As for Bolton some of my neighbours are Whites (in Chorley, although born and bred on Highercroft), the old couple have been Wanderers season ticket holders for well in excess of 35 years. I use the past tense as they told me that they have chosen not to renew this season. Their reason? Not cost, not league position, but quote "The football they are playing at the Reebok is appalling and we shan't be going again until it changes" unquote.

I can guarantee that the game on Sunday will be the worst we see all season at Ewood, it always is against Bolton. They have an effective style but entertaining? Groan.

I will still be there because I bleed Blue 'n White but I will be pleasantly surprised if there is any passing, flowing football played. It will be a day for shin pads and cricked necks. Oh, and more than a few 'collapses' close to and in the Rovers box.

Its football but not as we know it. Thank heavens we only have to see Bolton once a season at Ewood.

Plenty of places to stop nearer to Rotterdam than Amsterdam. The trains from Amsterdam Centraal do take about an hour to Rotterdam and then you need to get to the ground.

You could even stop over in Belgium, its not far to travel from there.

Anyway I suspect Krakow to be a tougher game, if only because the locals will be more intimidating.

Worth a trip though, the Dutch are great football fans (memories of watching games at the Philips Stadion).

Enjoy!

I have it on good authority...remember I brought you Rooney to utd during Euro 2004 from the same source, that Neill is going to liverpool..

My best friend who is a solicitor in manchester, took a call today from a client the players liason officer at Anfield, saying they need him to do some work for neill In january..

95% certain apparently

I did point put why would he want to go to a team below us in the league

Maybe he is on his way, if so we've had damn good value for the pittance we paid Millwall. He still seems to be putting his all into his games so lets hold him to his contract unless a good offer comes in.

Anyway, he isn't even the first choice right-back anymore - what's happened to all the other left-backs? Micky Gray seems to have gone to the same limbo land as Toddy. Guess McEveley or Taylor might be the next choice.