Not quite GAV - personally I think its well off the mark mostly and badly timed in that it is insinuating that the Kick off time is the main reason/excuse for people not going. Wrong IMO - the main reason I feel is the bollux the FA have and the increasing cost made of the whole situation and the comparison with Newcastle is just not comparable. People are peed off with hassle of everything that has in all aspects spoilt what is traditionally one of the highlights for a fan in any season should they be lucky enough to get to semi final. Things like this don't do any good - what they should have highlighted was basically what's in the last paragraph and played on those who might not go, with these comments. Funny, how they have not compared Arsenal - who in all reality would probably have sold their allocation now if it had been at say Villa Park - yet at the moment by all accounts are at the same situ re ticket sales. There are alot of things rolling into one causing indecision in alot of people (and the part time diehards as you state) but I still say that as it draws nearer we will be nearer selling our allocation and sell over 20k as it hits home. Maybe Rovers fans are not as gullible as some and are not having the wool pulled over their eyes and getting ripped off - because as sure if our game was a sellout the FA would be creaming it and adding fuel to their intention of holding all future semi's at the New Wembley. Absolutely spot on Capt but there really is no point arguing on here. You'll still get the same people jumping at the chance to slag off the fans. The likes of SG194, Gav, CLB, SuperStella etc, etc just can't wait to have a go, and they're not going to let the fact that we won't know the true picture regarding ticket sales until next week stop them. I think these people must have some sort of insecurity complex, something that compells them to show everyone else how good a fan they are and how crap others are. There are real, genuine reasons why some people aren't going to this game. I can understand the reasons - others can't, or won't, meaning we'll just keep having the same tired old arguments over and over again.

We'll probably be going in this place for a pre-match drink if anyone wants to join us: Knott Fringe

God forbid that AESF would try to link two totally unconnected events in a sensationalist article to make a political point Den. He's just a friend of the people don't you know.

According to my mother and her famously unreliable workmates Rovers have had to send back a number of the North Stand tickets as they were numbered incorrectly. Also, as a result, the whole of the North Stand is now the family enclosure, not just the lower tier. I've no idea if any of the above is true - just passing on what I was told.

Saw The Zutons tonight at the Apollo in Manchester. They were top banana - much better than they are on record. Hot Hot Heat who supported them showed promise as well.

Just got a quote for a 16 seater mini-bus from Bristol to cardiff and back. £250!!!!! It seems everyone's treating our semi as a nice little earner.

You've got to admire the way they advise the fans not to stay in Bristol a good week or so after everyone's booked their hotels. I suppose we could organise a mini-bus or something.

You're going to stick with this fried banana theme aren't you?

That's just not even funny Stu!!!

Some odd team changes today. Thompson came in for Emerton, Dickov came in for Stead, and Matteo came in for Nissa. I'm not sure I agreed with any of them. Anyway, we lined up in our now customary 4-1-4-1 formation that's served us well over the last week or two. As has become the norm now, the first half was a bit dull. It was competitive, there were the odd moments of genuine spark and excitement, but mostly it was just another dour half of football. We were marginally the better team and pressed Arsenal into mistakes all over the pitch. However, when they did get it down and start to put their passes together they looked very dangerous. Our defence held firm though until stoppage time. A through ball to Van Persie found him in a huge gap, on the edge of area, right inbetween our centre-halves. Both of them watched him turn superbly and take the ball past Friedel with consumate ease. A great, great finish that was totally out of place in the half of football that had gone before it - but where oh where was our defence. One lapse in concentration cost us dear and we went in at half-time a goal behind. We'd had one decent effort on goal during that first half - a fairly tame Pedersen header that Lehman saved easily. Just before the goal the injured Matteo was replaced by Nissa, and at the start of the second half Todd was replaced by Tugay, forcing Mokoena back into central defence. I hope Todd was injured (well I don't but you know what I mean) because if it was tactical it was a poor substitution. We were, in the main, rubbish in the second half. Our central defensive partnership of Nelsen and Mokoena didn't look anything like as composed as Todd and Nelsen did, and losing Mokoena from midfield meant that Arsenal started to get on top of us in that area for the first time in the game. Consequently, Arsenal started to create chances and only some superb saves by Friedel, and a bit of luck, kept the scoreline the same. Emerton came on for Flitcroft halfway through the second half and, bizarrely, played behind Dickov up front rather than on the right. It didn't make any difference though and we didn't really threaten the Arsenal goal at all until the last couple of minutes when Reid was put through, but he dragged his shot a couple of yards wide. To be honest we didn't really deserve to equalise. Friedel made some good saves again, had no chance at all with the goal, and showed, yet again, what a top keeper he is. Our defence was fine until the goal in the first half, and was dodgy throughout the second half. Nissa wasn't as good as Matteo, Todd and Nelsen were solid but went missing for Van Persie's goal, Neill was ok but still wasted possession as only he can. Mokoena's a better defensive midfielder than centre half. Our midfield competed well in the first half but got slightly overrun in the second when Mokoena was switched to defence and Flitcroft was substituted. Flitcroft did his spoiling job well. Reid competed for everything, looked a (minor) threat going forward, and was my man of the match. Thompson was poor and wasted numerous opportunities to put telling crosses over. Tugay was awful when he came on. He offered us nothing going forward and didn't defend. Pedersen didn't do enough. It's harsh to criticise him after what he's done recently but this lad is now a potential match winner for us. He needs to get involved more and he needs more confidence in possession. He can beat a man when he wants to, he did it a couple of times at the start of the match, but all too often he either loses the ball or turns and passes the ball back. He wasn't our worst player today but he can do better. I'm starting to get really annoyed with Dickov. Actually, that's not fair, I'm starting to get really annoyed that Hughes keeps playing Dickov. He's clearly not fit. Dickov's whole game is based on his work-rate and competitiveness and now he just can't perform to the levels he did at the start of the season. Without those qualities he's just very, very ordinary. He's also clearly getting frustrated himself and, consequently, he's becoming even more of a ball-ache for referees than he was. I actually found myself hoping he'd get sent off today because that would mean he'd miss a game or two. Emerton looked totally out of place as a supporting striker and I don't know what Hughes was thinking of. I don't normally have a go at the ref when I write these reports, and I think we'd have probably lost today no matter who the ref was, but I've got to mention how bad Graham Poll was. I've not seen the game on TV but Poll apparently awarded Arsenal 9 free-kicks in the first 20 minutes without awarding us a single one. I just wonder if our perceived "hard" reputation is starting to precede us now. Throughout the game Poll seemed to favour Arsenal whenever a challenge was made. The most annoying thing though was the man's pettiness. He constantly disrupted the flow of the game by insisting on free-kicks being taken a yard further back or by speaking needlessly to players. Blaming the referee though avoids the issue. We were poor today and I thought Hughes got his tactics wrong. For all Emerton's faults he's better than Thompson at the moment. Stead did nothing at Everton or Liverpool to deserve being dropped for a half-fit Dickov. Once we went a goal behind we had to change our system, but we didn't. And putting Emerton on as a striker when Stead was on the bench was just unbelievably stupid in my book. This report probably seems very harsh considering we were playing Arsenal and we only lost by the odd goal, but we had a real chance today. They were missing half their team, we were confident after recent results, and I really thought we'd win before the game. We didn't imo because of a defensive lapse and poor tactics by Hughes. The game was there for the taking, or at least saving, but we blew it. This was a dress-rehearsal for the FA cup semi. It's hard to be optimistic going into that game now. We failed to beat a hugely under-strength Arsenal today. How are we going to beat them when they have Henry, Bergkamp, Lungberg, Pires and Campbell back?

Awful game, good result. If we could pass, or if Pedersen could take a set-piece tonight, we might have won as Liverpool were dreadful. Still, it's a point we wouldn't have expected a couple of months ago.

We can't pass but we're defending well and stopping them creating anything in midfield. Pedersen's set-pieces are poor so far - need more from him in the 2nd half.

We are treating as a once in a lifetime experience Gav. It's just that this particular once in a lifetime experience is starting to become a real pain in the arse to get to. We've every right to complain. The fans are just getting shafted over and over again. Where do we draw the line. After saying that I'll be there (I've calmed down a bit since this afternoon ) but I'll still be angry if it's a noon kick-off. You're continual slagging of the "new" fans does nothing to promote the support at Rovers. And you'll be the first to post on here when we get low crowds. Why are you so bitter?

We're quite good away.

If we do have to play at noon I'd seriously consider not going. It's a scandalous decision by the FA to play both games at Cardiff anyway, but to then make one of them a noon kick-off would be unbelieveably stupid. They'd be lucky if they got 40k there. Right now I should be looking forward to one of the biggest games of my life - instead I'm just really angry about the whole thing.

No, we have at least 2 and it was only when they both came on that we looked like we could win. However, I agree with the rest of your post. Hughes, in the main, is simply getting the best out of what he's got.

Why get upset? I love the fact we're getting stick. It'll make it all the more sweet if we win.

I'll believe it when it's on the FA's web-site. Channel 4 may just be saying that because we were drawn out first.

Terrible game, crap performance, great result. And in the cup the result is all that matters. We lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with the same team that started against Everton. This was odd. Stead finally scores a goal and looks confident again, we're playing against a lower division team who show no ambition at all, we're at home, yet we leave Stead on the bench and only play one up front. Oh well. We started off ok and gradually got worse as the first half wore on. In the first 3 minutes Pedersen hit a cracking free-kick from about 25 yards out onto the post - Walker was just watching it and hoping. Then about 10 minutes later Dickov was played through but rushed his shot when composure was required. And that was about it from us. We had lots of possession, passed the ball neatly at times, and created absolutely nothing. Leicester worked hard to deny us space in the final third but we made it easy for them by lacking any sort of width or creativity. As the half wore on Leicester came in to it more, kept the ball a bit better, and started to exert some pressure. They never really looked like scoring though and only had a snapshot from a half-cleared corner to show for their efforts. 0-0 at half-time and a very bored crowd. We started the second half as badly as we'd finished the first. Leicester set the tempo, pushed a few more men forward, and comfortably contained what little threat we had. Changes had to be made and Stead came on around the hour mark to replace Mokoena, meaning a change in formation to 4-4-2. Not much changed though. We still huffed and puffed without looking dangerous at all. Emerton came on for Reid with around 25 minutes to go and that seemed to be the catalyst for us to slowly get on top. Straight away Emerton beat his full-back and crossed for Pedersen to "score", only to have the game brought back for an earlier foul on Emerton. To be fair, the Leicester players had stopped once they heard the whistle, allowing Pedersen in. But the incident gave us a lift and we started to stretch the game and get behind a tiring Leicester team for the first time in the match. Another good cross from Emerton fizzed across goal where the in-coming Neill seemed to be pulled back before he could apply the finish. Should have been a penalty. Pedersen then fired a close to the corner flag free-kick across the six yard box that somehow managed to evade any sort of touch. The breakthrough eventually came with ten minutes to go. A cracking cross-field ball from Neill was instantly controlled by Pedersen. He drove into the area, drew the defenders tackle with a neat back-heal, and was brought down for a nailed on penalty. The ref waited what seemed like an age before giving it. Dickov stepped up and blasted the ball into the net without any sort of finesse at all. Who cares? Leicester threw on their subs and had a real go towards the end but we survived reasonably comfortably to see out the game. 4-1-4-1 worked so well at Everton because Everton were committed to attacking, being the home team. The formation allowed us soak up their attacks and hit them on the break with runners from midfield linking up with the lone forward. At home though, against a team who weren't remotely interested in attack, it didn't work. There was no space to break into, any runners were easily tracked, and our lone forward was marked out of the game. Our wide players lacked the pace or creativity to beat their markers and nobody in a Rovers shirt had the skill or courage to run at Leicester and try to commit some of their players. Instead we knocked the ball around in an attempt to draw them out - they stayed put. What it did do though was tire them out, and our superior fitness showed at the end. Once we'd switched to 4-4-2, once Stead and especially Emerton had been introduced, we started to exploit the spaces that appeared late on and created some chances at last. Friedel had nothing to do. Johansson was beaten once or twice by Gillespie but did ok in the main. Neill played well, especially in the second half when he pushed forward well at times and set-up the penalty. Probably my man of the match. Todd and Nelsen coped well with their giant forward although I didn't think nelsen was quite as composed as he usually is. Thompson wasn't great and gave the ball away at times. Reid was solid enough, tackled well, won headers, but didn't give us much going forward. Ditto Flitcroft. Mokoena was excellent as a defensive midfielder and covered the defence superbly. Emerton made a real impact when he came on and we should have scored from one of his crosses before the penalty. Dickov was poor today and seemed more interested in scrapping with Leicester's defenders, but he's scored the goal that's sent us into the semi-final so that'll do for me. To be fair to him, he had preciously little supply. Stead did ok without ever really getting a chance at goal. We played crap, I think we started with the wrong formation, and I'm sure any neutrals watching on TV must be wondering how the hell we're in the semi's. But we are there and I'm delighted. If we keep playing crap and winning all the way to lifting the cup no-one on here will care. Roll on Cardiff, we're unbeaten there remember.

We'll almost certainly be playing on the 17th. The BBC get first pick of the semi's and I can't see them picking us whoever we draw - and the BBC's game will be on Saturday night. We'll be on Sky (4pm) on the Sunday I think.

To the Leicester game. I'm dead worried. A few days ago I was confident we'd win comfortably but the nearer the game gets, the more I think we could be beaten. There's too much talk about semi-finals, even finals. I'm as guilty as anyone. On Sunday at Everton I talked about Cardiff, I spoke to Nuclearsox on the phone today and talked about Cardiff, and there's plently of talk on here about Cardiff. We're not there yet. Rovers aren't in the bottom half for nothing. No matter how much we've improved under Hughes, we're still more than capable of playing crap and losing to anyone. If the team share any of the complacency that the fans seem to have then there's every chance we'll get beat, because make no mistake, Leicester will be up for it. I think we'll nick it by the odd goal, but I'm dead worried.

He was excellent there at Everton. Tackled, closed down and passed the ball intelligently. He's also good in the air, which is important for a central midfielder. I rate him.

Absolutely spot on Jim. The Champions League is an awful, awful competition. Yes, there may be the odd exciting match (although there's not too many before the knockout stages), but what this competition is doing for football as a whole is obscene. I mean, finishing 4th in the league is now considered more important to the clubs than winning the FA Cup ffs!

Marvellous. We'll have the joyous Mike Riley reffing the game on Sunday. BBC Preview

The club didn't "get it right" at all imo and the e-mail sent to Blackpool Rover seems to confirm that. They had approx. 23k tickets to sell in a week, they also had to do additional time-consuming security checks, and yet only seemed to react to the demand rather than predict it. As soon as we drew Burnley out of the hat the club should (and I'm sure they did on some levels) have been planning for a replay. So they should have realised the amount of tickets they needed to sell, the amount of time they had to sell them, and they should have reviewed their ticket selling systems accordingly. Now, I guess none of us know whether they did this or not. However, from the outside looking in, it seemed that the club relied on their usual phone system, their usual number of ticket office staff, and the usual ticket office opening hours at the start. Only when they had two days of problems did they react. Then they extended the ticket office opening hours, the phone system suddenly seemed to develop more lines (people queueing as high as 80 when previously 50 seemed to be the max position), they extended the season-ticket deadline, and there was talk of temporary ticket staff. Fair play to the club for reacting the way they did, but they should have predicted the problems from the outset. If they had communicated the extra measures from the start there may not have been such a mad rush on the first couple of days - and even if there was they'd have coped with it better. I'm sure the club will learn from this, the introduction of on-line ticketing is a long overdue imporvement, and these sort of games don't come up very often. I also think the ticket office normally do a fine job. On this occasion though they failed to predict the demand and failed to cope for the first two or three days of sales. They reacted well however, and the ground was full so no real short-term harm was done. Whether the initial chaos has put off any floating fans from buying a ticket in the future - who knows? Let's hope not. What I do know though is that Blackburn Rovers have to do everything they can to encourage people to buy tickets. They have to have better Customer Service than other clubs in the league as the other clubs sell-out every game - we don't.