Mattyblue

Blackburn Rovers is a major part of my life, part of who I am. I’ve lived and breathed the club everyday since being about 6 years old. I watch them home and away, I know dozens of like minded folk and it is our absolute passion. England, don’t give them much thought, but do enjoy watching the summer tournaments and hope they do well. So why on earth would I prefer success for that team over the betterment of Blackburn Rovers? I just don’t think of that institution in the way I do the Rovers. It’s not a binary choice, both co-exist, but there’s only ever one winner in my life.

I must be missing these goals entirely, tell me what the question is and I’ll answer it. But to answer the question I see. Yes, abso-bloody-lutely Rovers in the PL over the World Cup. Think a fun few weeks has gone to a few heads, I’d hardly read an international post on here until a month ago, the World Cup thread was tumbleweed, not exactly full of anticipation for the pinnacle of the game for Rovers fans that is supposedly the World Cup, I’d hardly met anybody who had the slightest interest in international football until a month ago, now I’m meant to believe that we should prefer it to the club we pour our heart and soul into? To quote you Stuart - ‘nah!’.

Indeed Rev. Everyone posting on here about England is already largely ‘ah well’. Don’t recall that a day or two after Brentford, can’t imagine it if we lost next May’s play off final either.

I would, sure it would be a great night. But if someone said to me (God I presume?), ‘you never see an England World Cup win in your lifetime, but I put Rovers back in the Premier League for it instead’, I’d snap his celestial hand off.

Recognise a name on that Twitter screen grab and he goes to every single game, it takes a vast amount of money and commitment and you have a dick like Evans coming out with stuff like that. Fine the clown.

Possibly! What happened to the official version? Banned?

Good point, where is blueboy?

Thought we looked out best last season with Bennett and Smallwood holding, their tenaciousness let the rest of midfield go and play. Still not sure we have the personnel for 3-5-2, but he obviously has a thing for it, let’s just hope we don’t waste a decent run of fixtures in August.

This aimed at me Tyrone? Think we are both in agreement!

It’s not promotion because it’s an achievement itself, it’s for the good and growth of the club. If we’d not got out of League 1 quickly then who knows when we would. A promotion this season could be completely transformational - look at that lot down the M65. If potty Rovers fans like you Stu would rather England win a cup then see Rovers say win at Wembley for a return to the Premier League, then I really am shocked - now if it was World Cup or League Cup, that’s a real choice to make (still Rovers for me, though).

Why? Proud of the country, but in no possible way does that extend to the national team over Rovers - as much as I think this summer’s been great and these binary ‘would you rather? are always a bit daft anyway. Put it this way, it took me till August to get over Brentford, I was over Wednesday night by the time I’d got back through my front door. I hadn’t watched an England match since Iceland up to the World Cup. So it just seems incredulous to me that proper Rovers fans would get more upset about England losing in the World Cup then say we lost a play off final. We know full well that we don’t ‘go for promotion every year’, so if we did fluke a charge this coming season, it would possibly be now or never and could transform our club for a generation, turn it down for England winning a tournament half way across the world? Seriously? You honestly telling me Stuart, putting this fun summer to one side that you give the national team much thought on a regular basis? Unless I’ve got you totally wrong, you are a Rovers obsessive like me, so I can’t imagine the travails of the FA over the years has pained you like the sad demise of this football club? If it has and it has for others then fair enough, but it’s not something I can relate to.

Proud Englishman and Brit. But England over Rovers? No, nay, never!

Are people being serious? If someone had said to me on the way to Doncaster, ‘promotion for Rovers or England win the World Cup’, I’d have assumed the questioner was talking the proverbial! Enjoyed the run of Kane et al, but Blackburn Rovers is everything to me. Like most folk I don’t give England a second thought outside of a few weeks every second summer.

The level of passive aggressiveness from you these days chadster! ?

It's the total non event that it is the third place play off! I doubt they'll be breaking viewing records for it

Silly when folk say ‘well what about China and India, they are massive’ No history of being a football centric nation. Croatia is, and their continued success is remarkable.

Or the market doesn't settle down. The Championship is not the division it was 5 years ago, the fees and wages now being paid by some clubs wouldn't have been out of place in the PL not that long ago.

Remember they won WC 1998 with the much maligned Stephane Guivarc'h up front on his own...

"You have them in size 9?"

Injuries or not, the Original Ronaldo still had a fantastic career. In his pomp he was even better than Shearer, can't say more than that!

Kane's 25 in September, he's never played a league game for Chelsea and they've loaned him out to 7 clubs. That's their 'model' all over. Hoover up loads of talent, put them on long term contracts and loan them out for half their career.

I suppose it's about the aims of the organisation and 'what success looks like'. Rovers, just like Bolton will want to avoid League 1 again at all costs. The Championship is leaving it further behind each passing year. So I can certainly understand why they would offer bonuses. Doesn't strike of big ambition, but there you go.

In a decade they've gone from European campaigns to bonuses for staying out of the third division. We've trod a similar path...

Bloody hell, it's dryhorse's brother!

Bolton local rag reporting that their players are on strike over continual late wages, so their friendly tomorrow is off.