.....which is why we've bought savage .

No 1 - Undoubtedly not . All transfer fees involving Newcastle , Rangers and Souness are dodgy . We should know ..... No 2 - I'd say no ; probably £1.5 m overpriced considering his age , but given that we've done OK from transfers with Brum and Hughes is obviously very , very keen on the bloke , it isn't one to lose sleep over . No 3 - Difficult question . Given the circumstances (BF wants away , nobody but only Rangers want him) JW and the board are on a sticky wicket . Believe it or not I won't be holding them responsible for not getting more than 4mill for him . But I do hold them very culpable for paying so much for him in the first place (see No 1) Personally I think Brum did well in getting £3m for Savage - although their constant winging over the affair isn't doing them any favours . To conclude , Philip , I'd say that all your arguments rest on 2 important premises . Firstly ; that Rangers are desperate to see BF back home . I don't think they're desperate enough to pay more than £4m - he's simply not worth that much . Sure we can hold out til Jan 30th - it doesn't follow that they'll crack on the 31st...they may just walk away. Secondly ; that if the worst comes to the worst , BF will be welcomed back into the fold at Ewood . I don't think that's possible now ; it's gone beyond that with too many of the fans who demand at least a show of loyalty from "their" players . All in all - I don't think we're in a strong position . Time will tell .

I think with these more realistic prices and the fact that the game is on a Saturday (I think) , there'll be about 18,000 plus . We should all make the effort - if only to keep the Drog quiet ....

Disregarding the question of whether he would walk back into a winning team on merit , I was harking back to the reception given to Lee Carsley (mentioned earlier in the thread) who was given such a bad reception that he had to slink on back to the dugout. I'm only going on what I believe and what other fans I've talked to have argued . Most fans of any clubs in England would react in a very negative manner in a similar situation . I don't think for a second that BF would refuse to play but I just can't see him taking to the field again . That's why I believe he'll be gone by Feb - and not for anything like the silly money that some think we can hold out for . There's only one club in for him and I think would be quite willing to walk away if we "demand" more than £4m . He is simply not that great an asset - unfortunately.

Hopefully - which by Ferguson's standards would work out as a very cheap purchase !! But pro footballers have gone down so much in my estimation that I wouldn't be too surprised if Savage is already contemplating "one last " post Rovers lucrative transfer .... He's still a way to go before he gets close to the green , green grass...

Why on earth do you keep coming up with this nonsensical figure of £8.5 million ? Every sane person knows that his true worth is £4m at the very , very most - it's BF we're talking about not Viera or Gerard. You imply we hold all the cards - we don't . Ferguson is the one who can sit on his ar$e and pick up tens of thousands every week for doing nothing ; let's face it , we can never play him because the fans won't have it . He's an asset who's wasting away for as long as we hold on to him . As for Rangers , they won't be thinking along the lines that they sold him for 7m , therefore he's worth as much or more now . They will know that the market NOW is what counts . Nobody else has come in for him , nor are they likely to - he hasn't done anything to warrant them coming in for him . Nor are their fans demanding that he be bought . We could very easily be left with a player on our hands who we can't play and who nobody else is willing to pay more than £2m for - because he gets homesick easily if he strays from Jockland . who would risk big money on such a wimp ? My prediction is that Rangers will offer a £1.5 m bid and generously cancel the 2.5 we owe them . It will be a take it or leave it bid . We'll take it .

Well get a new frickin family then you pussywhipped ponce. Well said , Tris .....

The captaincy is only a nominal appointment anyway - a natural leader will emerge on the field of play , and that will be Savage . Flopsy - you're shouting again . It's against the rules .

You have to remember that prior to scoring the goal , Rooney was being booed every time he touched the ball . Not surprising that he felt like giving the scallies a bit of stick back . Not guilty....

Savage is the obvious contender as he'll be the most vocal and inspiring on the pitch (hopefully) , but he'll have to wait a suitable period until he settles in . For the interim period Friedal should be given the job . Like Al says he's probably the only one who can be absolutely certain of being in the team for the long run.

Dear Theno , I'm refusing to fork out £24 for my beloved seat in the JW upper , but am paying for my two lads to go . Am I excused your wrath ? Yours fearfully , Blue Phil .

Good player but an utterly obnoxious and odious individual . I reckon we should pass on him - I don't think he'd settle down here in this small town anyway. I don't think my mate AESF would welcome him either....

ooh the conspiracy theories are always the best! I've been of the opinion for ages that Savage has been brought in to directly replace Ferguson - and the latter leaving is very good news indeed. Hughes has probably put up no resistance at all to keep Fergy other than the public pronouncements which only the naiive listen to anyway . Good luck to Hughes . I've been very impressed with the start to his reign at Ewood and hopefully we'll go from strength to strength once he has moulded the team entirely in his own image . That's my theory anyway....

That sounds a bit like the union at my place of work - they slap a pay claim in for about 50% and settle for about 4% a couple of months later ! The Rovers can ask for whatever nonsensical figure they want , 7 or 8 mill , it doesn't really matter . After the rest of the footballing world have stopped laughing they'll settle for what he's really worth - about 3 to 3.5 mill tops. The only way we'll conceivably get more is by another team other than Rangers coming in for him - but they've probably more sense than that . Like a few of us have been saying on this board for a long time now , he's just a journeyman of a player ; good but not very good . 'Fraid we're going to have to cut our losses with Soft Bazza and send him back home to the hackers' league..

Stop it , please - I'm beginning to feel sorry for the poor bloke ...

Another 150 grand , eh ? No doubt we'll pay it . I only wish our board were as good ar squeezing the last drop out of opposing teams' coffers....

A good article which sums up the general feeling I'd suggest . Just one thing irks me , and that's the constant abuse of Blackburn the town ; surely someone with Ferguson's money only has to set foot in it once a fortnight , the rest of the time he and his wife can live in some of the most beautiful parts of England only a few miles away and never even think about the damned place . Now Ferguson faces a dilemma . If he goes back to Scotland it will be as just another might-have-been . If he goes to another English club , then he can be rightly seen as a two faced so and so . And if he stays at Ewood , we'll always know that it's not where he wants to be . He has to go , and he has to go by the end of January - or play for the reserves .

I hope you're right that he's played his last game for the club, Jim ! The way it stands now , Ferguson is damaged goods . I'd venture to say that most fans would be very unhappy to see him step out on to the pitch in the knowledge that he wants to go back to the micky mouse league. Who would part with money to cheer on such a person ? With Savage seemingly on his way , Ferguson's contribution on the pitch is nowhere near as crucial as it was a week ago . He now most definitely isn't the difference between relegation and survival - if he ever was - and so , on the field , he is expendable . I'm convinced Ferguson will be gone before the deadline . Anything Hughes and Williams says now in favour of him staying is merely a ploy to maximise his fee - similar to which the Brummies did with Savage (very , very effectively if I might say so ). The best of all worlds would be if Everton or Newcastle were to show interest and drive the price upwards . Either way , if the Rovers want to retain credibility with the fans , then Ferguson must not play again.

Well I don't like him , and not just because he's only a fair to middling premiership midfielder . I don't like footballers who use their agents to do their dirty work for them and stir up unrest when it is within their power , if they have the guts , to put in a transfer request . Why blame the agent ? Who is working for who ? Like most prem football players , BF wants it all ways - a transfer , a nice signing on fee , and the retention of whatever credibility the more soft hearted and naive fans amongst us are still willing to give him. There is absolutely no difference between Savage and Ferguson . Both want away , both want more money , both use daft excuses and devious means to obtain their ends . Well maybe there is one difference ; Savage wants to play for the Rovers .....but that could change at any time and we all know it . Personally I don't want to see Ferguson play for us again . Let the board try and maximise what we get for him and then cut our losses on yet another bad buy . And pray that Hughes has more about him than Souness when it comes to judging the character of future Rovers players .

But we're already a poorish side , Manchester . Any poorer and we'd be halfway to the Nationwide league or whatever it's called . You really are guilty , with all respect , of overestimating Ferguson's talent and influence. At this moment in time there is nothing to seperate the respective contributions of the two players to their teams - if anything Savage's is greater . The big difference is that Savage is older and won't improve . Neither will Ferguson , come to that , if he limps off back to the joke league in Jockland.

That may be the best way of extricating ourselves out of a bloody awful mess . But it only makes sense if Hughes has made contingency plans - ie , if he has got other players in mind other than Savage. I have to say that the worst of all worlds is that we pay over the odds for Savage(3- 3.5 m) and only get 4 - 4.5 mill tops for Ferguson . Which , in truth , is about all he's worth . I fear the worst but am living in hope that Hughes has a lot more sense than his predecessor . What I'm wondering now is how long Rovers have been aware that Fergy is leaving (assuming he is) . I wouldn't like to go into the first game in February against Chelsea with a makeshift midfield comprising neither Savage or Ferguson....

They certainly are - an even greater rip off than ours ! The hammers fans obviously don't have my "small town" mentality ...

And I was hoping that the introduction of Savage would buck up the Scot into fulfilling his potential. My earlier fears that Savage was being brought in to REPLACE Ferguson and that Birmingham are going to hold us to ransom for the Welshman seem like they may come true . Mayeb Brady , Bruce and co aren't as daft as some of us thought they were....

Well , Kiwi , I suggest you make your complaints to the Cardiff ticket office as it seems we no longer have any say in our own ticketing policy.. Maybe I'm being too sceptical with the argument that none of this is "our" fault at all but doesn't it seems strange that a rush job of a U Turn was made so soon after the fans' reaction became clear . JW and co sure did manage to get the Taffs to change their minds quickly about the ticket prices - so quick in fact that silly anomolies that Kiwi highlighted became immediately apparent . Now why didn't JW .....sorry , I meant the Welsh ....spot these too . Too busy rushing to cover up the latest attempt at ripping the fans off , perchance .... ? Well , whover is to blame , the price is too much . I say to those who are sick at rip off prices - act like the "consumers" thay take us for and don't fleurkin well pay it . And who knows ; maybe in the next round - if we take the game seriously enough to beat Cardiff - our opponents might listen more to JW and lower the prices . If he even tries to make the case that is......

I thought that was the case with all of them....