Actually, it's just another load of absolute ###### from the Guardian. You're right , Tris . An absolutely non-sensical article which states that we may have a problem with dodgy officials in this country but yet does not give one single piece of evidence to support its case . The only cases it mentions are from games played abroad with foreign officials . Absolute rubbish journalism - even jim wasn't persuaded by it ....

Not surprised that you believe Williams is performing brilliantly (again !) - maybe he's finally learnt the lessons from the past transfer fiascos in which the price we've paid clubs has been consistently over the top .... Unfortunately , I believe he hasn't . Our desire to see Savage (a player under contract at another club) play at Ewood has been shouted from the rooftops for what seems eons now . Who does that benefit , then , when it comes to negotiating a price ? If we are to make a third bid , which seems likely , then it will almost certainly be quite substantially more than what any neutral would argue is a fair price for this 30 year old . Some would argue that we've already gone past this price already... No ; in this battle of wits , I'm afraid it is the brummies who are winning . Maybe it's time for us to walk away . I'd like to see him here - but not at any price .

So the AR , which I presume is the linesman , didn't make a mistake !! Right.... Check the video , again , Col . He was only about 3 or 4 yards at most from the 18 yard box , and yet he still didn't see the ball go over a yard past the line ? Is he blind ? How close does he need to be FFS ? There was no obstruction to him seeing what every other person with a similar vantage point in the ground saw . He bottled it pure and simple and should not be allowed near a pro game again .

People around here are picking and chosing their matches ; that's due to a combination of high ticket prices and performances that aren't exactly thrilling . The Newcastle game was always going to prove more attractive to the floating supporter . We had the usual steady 18/19000 Rovers fans yesterday . The difference was the lack of away fans.

You can't in the long run unless you're prepared to pay his wages for doing nothing . All Brum are doing is kicking up a fuss and bumping up the price in the process - very successfully it seems if they get over £2.5 mill. I'd hope we'd do the same in similar circumstances .

Despit Ms Brady being female I've always been highly impressed by her success in the world of football . Here , I see her hand at work in putting the pressure on the Rovers to bid for Savage at a value that may well be above what his true market rate "should" be . Hughes has undoubtedly shown weakness , to use a poker expression , by continually making it obvious that he desperately wanted Savage down at Ewood . Ms Brady , realising that Tiny and Dunn were overvalued - particularly the former - is determined to get some of the losses back .

Or it could be deathly quiet , punctuated by infrequent and isolated outbursts of "geddintoem" , which will naturally peter out as the ground empties long before the final whistle

Well done that man . Why should he be intimidated in a public place in to giving money ? Maybe he's already donated anonymously from the privacy of his own home . Either way , if he's a taxpayer then he's donated in any case .

This could be the longest strip tease in history..

The new year's concert from Vienna was very good again - but what happened to the traditional Rudetski March ...?

I'd also like Gally , McEverley and maybe Thompson to start . Teams like Charlton will always battle as hard as us ; maybe we can overcome them by bringing our more skilful type in to the game and try and keep possession of the ball - preferably on the ground . Maybe...

Maybe we could steal Barton from City - just to bug Brum - and partner him with Savage and our bad boy Flitters in midfield - Now what would my mate AESF have to say about that !!

Anybody who is a taxpayer has by definition given something , American . I don't think anyone on here would begrudge the 15 million , or whatever it is they're now stumping up - most reckon a tadge more wouldn 't go amiss.

Not sure what the 1st paragraph is about - we're all products of our history and I reckon I know mine well enough ... Second paragraph sums up all my arguments - I would willingly see the overseas aid budget increase by twenty fold if it meant a significant decrease in mass population movement which at present serves nothing more than to benefit a tiny, tiny percentage of the world's poor - and not the ones most deserving at that . Third paragraph is a grievous insult of the highest order . I'd cut my hand off before I voted Tory ...

If you're referring to me , American , then I have to tell you it's none of your business . I'm not going into all this stuff about bragging about who is the most "moral" and "generous" . I'm keeping my arguments strictly on a geo political level - IF FLOPSY DOESN'T MIND !!! No offence (or offense)

£50 million is nothing ! Blair spent a billion on the dome FFS . He's spent billions more killing the oppressed of this world - and , yes he's wasted billions more on those not in extremis in this country . It's about PRIORITIES , and his are all wrong . Tell me one thing . If Blair , Bush and all the other nauseating hypocrites are so generous and efficient in spending OUR money , why is half of Africa dying of Aids ? They have an exemplary record in moral corruption and incompetence - that's all .

Flopsy , you are being quite foolish and don't seem to have the intelligence to realise that my arguments thus far - in particular my first post - are that we AREN'T giving enough aid !! I maintain that we give too much to economic refugees in this country and too little to the vastly more deserving poor abroad . Approximately £1 billion to the former against (for this disaster so far) a paltry £15 million , the price of a decent footballer . I am not out of order for comparing the two and concluding that there is a stench of hypocrisy and self righteousness about our Gov'ts attitude on this whole matter . Foreigners are catered for here but ignored 99% of the time "over there" - this being the 1% exception . Now if you have objections to my point of view , then fair enough , that's up to you . But don't throw what little weight you have around by needlessly censoring my posts in such a childish manner . And stop shouting . It's against the rules !!!

On the contrary it was a perfectly reasonable post pointing out the discrepancy between our overseas aid , such as it is , and our budget to accommodate the quite different category of people who arrive on our shores unannounced each year . Please try and supress your urge to censor my posts simply because you disagree with their political content . Or refer the matter to a more objective moderator . Thankyou

Go and stick you're head in the Daily Hate Mail. That was a pathetic post. Edited by Flopsy

Nice one Tim . As Churchill commented on the portrait of himself (that he later destroyed) "... this is a remarkable example of modern art ..!

Sounds good but easier said than done . As our American implies , when does the espousal of Western values in Asia or Africa - ie. economic growth and "democracy" - become a policy of cultural interference bordering on imperialism ? For example , how can you give aid other than by collaborating with the governing regimes ( and thereby helping to prop them up) ; regimes who , as has been the case in the past simply stash the money in Swiss bank accounts ? By replacing the regimes ? Maybe that would create more warfare than prevent - and it would also have the liberal brigade up in arms (or at least up in their armchairs ) On the other hand , maybe an imperialistic world order led by a US coalition is the only true way to ensure every mouth is fed - but I'm sure most would reject such a method out of hand - correctly IMO as all nations should have the capacity for self determination. Unfortunately many seem to want the benefits of US culture , wealth and technology without the drawbacks that all empires inevitably bring . Just one more point ; instead of criticising the US , shouldn't the more self righteous amongst us be criticising the UN ? Surely this is the one role in which THEY should take charge ; although at present Kofi Annan has the more pressing diversion of allegations of corruption to cope with - it seems members of his family have been benefiting a little too much from this largely US funded talking shop....But I digress...

I doubt he would look outstanding sitting on the bench.....! None of the big three wwould buy him on his record so far at Ewood; very few of the others have the money to match the £7m we spent , and probably the least we would demand at present. As Theno said earlier there will come a time when we have to sell , or watch one of our few saleable assets walk for next to nothing - I still am of the opinion that if Souness offers 7m we should take it and let Hughes use it . It's always a risk losing a good player mid season but that's were good management comes to play Another alternative is to buy and play Savage alongside Ferguson . Maybe this would release the latter a lot and he could concentrate on providing more (or even more according to Al !) of his famous through balls for Hartson and co (!) to latch on to .... The main question is ; how much money is available and do we need to generate funds? Most people are working on the assumption that we have a fair sized pot available . Maybe we haven't.

There was a minutes silence at Anfield although I think there was some more direct link to the tragedy . Any silence at football grounds is pointless though ; they're already overused and serve no useful purpose in situations like this were there is no direct link with the club or sport . I note that the British Gov't have very generously upped their aid donation from £1m to £15m to help the innocent victims of the quake. I wonder how this sum compares to that which has been used to fund the killing of the equally innocent victims in Iraq . Prepare to see Blair , Straw and co at their most unctuous any time now.... Let's hope also that the Indian Gov't and people chose to include the lower castes and the so called "untouchables" when it comes to distributing the aid when it arrives . It would be unfortunate if they followed the example set after the earthquake in that region a few years ago when virtually no aid reached those who suffered the most .

I hope Al doesn't read that , Tony ! You could be right , though - hopefully we might get most of the money back . Another dubious Souness deal....

It's absolute nonsense to suggest that we'll automatically become a long ball team simply because we buy a big centre forward . Hughes runs the team and there's nothing to suggest that he'll change everything just to accomodate what you believe to be Hartson's only way of playing. Do his current employers play the big lump forward all the time ? Oh BTW - where did we acquire your great hero Ferguson from ? Was it from the little boys' league by any chance ?