Joe Cole was quite excellent when he came on . His wonderful footwork and great final ball led directly to Owen's winning goal . To change the subject slightly , does anyone agree with my point a few months ago that Sean Wright Philip's move to Chelsea was a monumantal error on his part . What chance now that he won't even make the squad if his chances of playing regularly at the Bridge continue to be so limited ?

Gerrard is always capable of producing something special in times of need . Hargreaves never will be able to do that .

A fate worse than death - and another good reason for making drugs illegal .....

That's a fair enough comment , FLB , and I do distinguish between a relatively harmless smoke and the hard stuff . It's the argument that all drugs should be decriminalised that is so stupid . If that were to happen the impressionable punter would only have to move to the next counter .....

Apparently he's suspended (presumably because he refused to resign ) . He's doing the wise thing and awaiting representation before meeting Oyston who no doubt wanted him gone without due compensation ....

He's not talking to you , Eddie - referring to some of the less desirable residents of this fair town I expect ......Can't blame him either ...

That must be better than freezing to death in the JW . Time to start taking a tartan rug methinks ...

Good post 1864 and it should put to bed the notion that ALL drugs should be legalised . The Gov't , quite literally , would have to give the drugs away in order to reduce crime ; otherwise the druggies would still have to commit crime to pay for them . The bottom line is , do we want a situation were the Government is actively participating in destroying the health and well being of the most vulnerable of its own people ? To me that is not the role of any civilised government . With respect to legalising soft drugs , the jury is still out . The "gateway" argument holds water in my opinion as long as hard drugs are readily available - which they are now and would be even more so if ever they were legalised . Medical opinion , if my memory serves me correct , has lately shifted on the extent of the danger of cannabis ; even the gov't seem to be backtracking on downgrading the classification .

No it isn't the "only" solution - it's just the one you prefer . Ending drugs prohibition would mean the Gov't actively participating in damaging their own citizens whose health they should really be trying to improve ... If a line of coke costs £20 now it would inevitably cost substantially more if sold by the Gov't , thus removing any finncial incentive . How many people would rather buy "dodgy" imported fags and booze than pay the Gov'ts overtaxed version ? Also let's not stick our heads in the clouds and pretend that the substances would be any safer if sold by the Gov't - they wouldn't . If diluted in any way the punters would simply go back to the stuff provided by the criminals . As always , Philip , your approach is half baked , head in the sand nonsense that would only lead to yet another lowering of standards in society .The most logical solution is to try a hard line approach to the problems of drug abuse . Stick the dealers in prison for a very long time ; execute the main dealers ; provide real education to youngsters . Maybe if you had first hand knowledge of what drugs can do to people you wouldn't come up with the non-sensical idea that they should be more readily available and dished out with the approval of the Government . What next - legalise burglary because the police and courts are having a bit of a problem there ...?

I'll be applying to be a mod next .....

It would be interesting to see how the gate receipts compared for those two fixtures ...I'm convinced that it's time kids were let in for a strictly nominal fee . No time to expand on this however ....

Brad pulled off some great saves but am I the only one to believe that he should have dealt with Charlton's goal quite comfortably .....?

The pub I go in before the match was also showing the game . The trouble with any boycotts or "outing" of such pubs is that it would be counter productive . The vast majority of people are very sympathetic to any attempts by pub landlords to get punters through the door and wouldn't take kindly to "activists" disrupting trade . These are hard times for pubs in Blackburn - no need to say why - let's not make it worse .

No no , spare the birch ; I'm a tree hugger ....

Quite easy , Phlplpl - you increase the deterrence factor . No need for expensive cushy prison cells for the major drug suppliers - they'd be swinging from a rope . A twenty year sentence for the lower range suppliers in an inexpensive basic prison would soon put off many from entering the game . For the small time user ; well six months in a camp going cold turkey might do the trick rather than having a few lessons with a poncy drug counsellor in one of your cushy prisons ..... Get the drift ...?

Yes they do play for teams . But in Blackburn the trend is for all Asian teams and all Asian leagues ...... In sport as in life .....

.....and in the eyes of many mancs he'll leave as a martyr . Only to return in triumph a couple of years later as manager when Ferguson's reign finally fizzles out . Mark my words

Stable like Ferguson , you mean.....

Keane will make a good manager one day . Maybe he is making the first move against the man he hopes to replace .

That's fine ......so long as you don't sing about it ...

It was interesting to note that the top tier of the JW stand was fairly full last night - with a decent atmosphere for a change to go with the superb view . This was entirely down to the pricing policy which let the kids in for a fiver and did not restrict them to the corners of the JW or some other part of the ground . To me , this policy must be extended to all games , ie the same sensible price for all parts of the ground for kids . Let's face it that area of the JW is usually empty because the pice is ridiculously high , so let's fill it . I'm sure also that kids will have their attention grabbed more if they get a decent view of the game - rather than stuck in the present family stand . For that reason alone the family stand should be in the top tier of either side of the JW UPPER . This could be item No 2 on the agenda of BRISA . Item No 1 , of course , must be the call for immediate expulsion of the drummers who continue to heap untold embarrassment on us ...

It seems obvious to me that the"hard" type of drugs (if we're still talking about legalising all drugs) are by their very nature addictive and dangerous . Therefore there are always going to be losses - thousands of them . If their families are going to be able to sue the manufacturers then it's not going to be worth their while going into business - and who's going to insure them ? If every smoker had recourse to the law in such a way then the cig industry would be forced underground - back to square one . You simply can't at the end of the day , make a dangerous substance safe . Next you state that , quite correctly , the price of the drugs would be above that now provided by the illegal barons - by quite a lot no doubt. I'd suggest that these barons wouldn't have too much trouble seeing off the new competition . A semi comotose druggie will always put price above quality control .... I'm afraid that the only way you could make all drugs legal would be for the Gov't to give them away, to accept that the stuff will kill many and destroy the prospects of still more to have a worthwhile life , and to remove any recourse to the law when the inevitable happens. How anyone can reconcile this with living in a civilised society is beyond me ....

Since when have our politicians and judges adopted a policy of "locking them up for good " ? Have I missed something in the last few decades ? All I see is a weak system failing to tackle the problem by dishing out ridiculously low sentences to criminals who view the whole legal system with something between amusement and contempt . My whole point . Col , is that a harsh system has NOT been tried in my lifetime . We've tried the social worker , poor darlings approach - it hasn't worked . Time to start treating criminals as criminals and protecting the law abiding . *************** Mr and Mrs Smith - Here's your 2g of smack . It'll keep you going for the next 24 hrs . It's just as dangerous and addictive as that which your dealer supplied but we hope you like.....Pass your needle back and come back tomorrow when we'll give you 2.1g if you promise not to cause trouble . Don't worry about the cost ; Mr Tx Payer will pick up the bill . You just carry on lying in the gutter living a totally unproductive and worthless life until you're old and grey and ready for a state pension ..... On second thoughts here a Kilogram of smack - take the lot at once and save us all a lot of hassle ....

Great post , Flops - well argued ........yawn

An excellent chance for Rovers to put the shambles of Liverpool behind them , build on the performance at UTD and beat a very ordinary Brummy team...... Rovers 0 - 2 Birmingham .