It's only just struck me but the dismissal of JJ is very bad news. My feeling now is no matter how poor the performance / result today or the crowd reaction to Kean and the owners nothing will change.

The sime truth appears to be if Kean is sacked there is no one available to step in and take charge. The Raos will not allow the team to travel to Pune without a manager, equally they are unlikely to appoint a new man prior to the trip as this would lead to a lot if press coverage and questions.

I very much doubt Kean will leave before the QPR game unless a new man has been lined up. TBH I don't believe the Raos have the ability to do that.

Kean is staying.

Good post, Paul. I'm sure your spot on here. Kean has bought more time for himself with this. What spell does he have on the owners?

Gazza, Ian Wright, and Andy Payton. I have seen each kiss the claret shirt. They all came to my last birthday party as well.

What's Payton got to do with quality?

The offer is not enough, even if they offered £2 million, why sell him to one of your relegation rivals, it will make them stronger and increase their chances of survival.

Are you speaking as someone "in the know" or is this just an opinion Kamy?

I hope we keep him and play him. He will definitely get goals for us and if he goes he will definitely score goals for his new team...

I think a few people need to take their Rovers tinted specs off for a minute. For a striker who is getting on a bit and hasn't played much football lately offering nearly two million (I reckon we could probably get that out of them) is quite good business I think.

With Benni being one of the top earners at the club we should have a bit of cash for wages too.

We all know that which ever club Benni goes too he would be on fire for the first couple of months but I doubt it would last much longer.

The question going to be thrown back is - who can we then get in for 2m to replace him. My answer - we can't (I did think Beckford but then I reminded myself that we already have Jason Roberts doing that job just fine)

Beckford would be awful, he isn't a good player but is a good lower-league poacher. Not a patch on Benni.

Keep Benni and play him I say and concentrate on getting Roberts out of the door.

If we do sell Benni then I would hope we will look at Mbokani at Standard Liege.

With a bit of luck we might have a Tugay-Savage situation growing here. Tugay seemed to be over the hill before Savage came to the club, but with Sav on the other central midfield spot Tugay could concentrate on his passing and skill while leaving all his running to a deranged Welshman. The seasons he played with a fit Savage were probably the best Tugs ever had for Rovers.

Benni has looked overweight and slow (albeit still dangerous in front of goal) for the last two seasons, but today he played in an attacking midfield role not demanding that much running since Emerton, N´Zonzi and Pedersen all have good engines that can make up for Benni's lack of it. Just what we need to give him an indian summer like Tugay had.

Hope so, one of the best finishers in Europe in my opinion and I think he would get fitter with game. 4-3-3 suits our players more but I don't think Benni can count on getting too many games even in that formation when Dunn gets back.

Let's hope last night sees the end of Diouf, completely pointless to have him in the team in my opinion...

Jason Roberts appears determined to follow Benni McCarthy, his fellow striker, out of Ewood Park in January unless he can secure assurances of regular action.

Roberts has an inflated opinion of himself for someone who can't trap a ball, head a ball or finish. He has been getting far too much game time and can go in January for all I care. He did what he should do on Saturday, he is a decent substitute at best and shouldn't be starting games.

Benni should stay, still the best finisher at the club.

For all of the sentiment towards Benni it should be recalled that he wasn't fit enough when it counted last season and could not be relied on. The predecessor left him out too.

I recall it was him who scored most of the goals that kept us up. Roberts was missing chances left right and centre, Santa Cruz was crocked and Derbs has been sent out on loan because he wasn't good enough.

Do you know that Allardyce doesn't rate Roberts? He is giving him a lot of game time...

RIP Sir Bobby.

Shows how good Hiddink is tactically.

He got his tactics bob on and made Barca look decidedly average over their two legs.

Don't think parking the bus is some kind of tactical revolution. They only got two draws from it didn't they?

1) Is he better than what we've got already? - By some distance.

2) If we were to sign him, does he deserve a clean slate based on what he actually does here? - Imo yes.

3) Can we afford his wages? Very doubtful.

4) All things taken into consideration, does he represent too much of a gamble?

Imo yes. Can you imagine if he was our main summer signing on top wages (for us) and got himself sent down again?

That can be negated by inserting clauses into the contract that would cover us in such a scenario...

He ain't a nice guy but he is in the news this week because Shearer needs a scapegoat...

"It's a disgrace, it's a f***** disgrace" said Didier Drogba at the final whistle. He was right if referring to the constant diving, pouting, cheating and whinging that he displayed throughout tonights game and all the ones before it throughout his career.

Chelsea were on the wrong side of some decisions tonight but were favoured in the first leg and I am so glad to see them out of the competition.

Drogba doesn't deserve to be in any final. Ballack's behaviour was also disgusting. The pair of them should have been sent off.

Looking forward to the final because I expect both Barcelona and Man Utd will at least try to play football. Unlike Drogba and his team mates...

I would rather us not be in a position where we have to look at the likes of Barton but the fact is that he is better than any of our midfielders. He will very likely cost nothing and will probably accept a significant wage cut.

I think we'll be signing him in the Summer and today's sending off will have increased the chances of that happening....

Couldn't agree more and also those who boo players in their first game down Ewood ala Treacy v Coventry last season

The two are different. Keith Treacy is an 18 year old and is not responsible for the team.

Paul Ince is a manager who is well out of his depth and has begun to ruin the club already. He is an embarrassment, Ince out seems pretty reasonable to me, let's not delay the inevitable and embarrass ourselves further.

Clear off Ince, Mathias, Fowler and Knox...

I don't know, Ray Mathias is well known for his coaching skills in all of Europe and South America's top leagues and Archie Knox is possibly the brightest young coach in the game...

From what I gather Rover6 you don't actually go to the reserves, is this true? If so, your in the same position as me...

My perspective is the partially the same as yours, I'd like us to be giving youth a chance. However, the fact that virtually none of our players go to Championship or even League 1 clubs on loan suggests that they aren't good enough now and/or don't even have the potential to do a job at our level.

Mokoena ain't great but he HAS had some important/productive and, sometimes, sustained periods in the first team. His first season was excellent in a 4-5-1 and the last 3rd of last season was good too. None of out youngsters are as good as him. That's why he has international caps.

It would be nice to see Judge or Olssen given a go because Olssen has looked good and Judge has done well for the reserves. Nolan hasn't done well on loan and has lost his way. This has happened to many of our youngsters who were destined for big things: Fitzgerald, Donnelly, Watt, Hamilton, Keita...

The common denominator in the last 8 years of failure is Bobby Downes. I'd say it's him who need to be reviewed rather than sanctioned to do a review. He' s hardly gonna sack himself...

It's sad that JW had the vision to provide such facilities but the staff have not done the job. Hughes' reign has little to do with that but it's his and John Williams' obligation to realise that now and do something about it. It seems as if they are doing that but we won't see the fruits of that for a while. In the meantime we probably won't see many of the youngsters we have given a go. It seems they aren't good enough...

But seriously, why is that in any way relevant?

Seriously, why are you bothered? Prescott's got Bulimia and has a penis the size of a cocktail sausage. Both of these things are funny...

Souness did a great job (and inherited a very talented squad) when he took over. The last 18 months were an absolute disgrace. Interesting article.

How is Henning doing at the moment. He was always one of my favourite players, I'd like to see him back one day...

I think we could get at least 1 million for Mokoena. I don't particularly rate him but also feel we should appreciate him for the job he did when we had to stay up 3 years ago. He was no less influential than Nelsen in the last half of that season. I remember him playing very well against Norwich...

There are very few players moving in the Premiership for less than 1 million and none of them have the experience that Moko has...

Makes me laugh that some people are calling Coventry a shithole when we come from Blackburn! Blackburn's absolutely rank and not much better than Burnley...

(Please don't use that word again) me Smithy, you actually talk like a tabloid article.

In regards to Chimbonda, he might be a money grabbing tit, but he has not:

1) Been caught in an extra marital affair

2) Been caught roasting/gang raping young women (and then filming it on his phone)

3) Got caught drink driving or wrapped his highly expensive car around a bridge support/lamp column/another person

4) Assualted anyone in a night club/outside McDonalds

5) Stuck a lit cigar into someones eye

6) Battered seven shades of @#/? out of someone on the training pitch for no apparant reason

7) Deliberately gone out to injur another player on the football pitch

8) Written a self publicising, self pitying autobiography, bemoaning everyone else but his own failings

So in fact, he's not that bad at all really is he?

I'd say Chimbonda is nowhere near the worst guy in football. A mercenary yeah but there isn't anything particularly bad about that. He's a very decent player and always does his job. He made Wigan a lot of money.

Ashley Cole is much worse...

Out of interest, what have Terry and Lampard done wrong?

Terry was pissing on the floor in a nightclub a few days after the England vs Croatia disgrace.

I've also heard one about him involving: turd, glass tables and playing with himself.

Ashley Cole is a REAL @#/?. Ferdinand's a true bell end too.

Wasn't Micah Richards filming himself spit roasting a girl in a toilet a few weeks back?

Ashley Young playing with himself on a webcam?

I'd say 2 million was too much...

Having a brother do life for murder probably doesn't help. I think Barton needs some form of assistance, whether it be counselling or whatever, otehrwise this stuff is going to keep on happening again and again and again.

Or maybe he's just a bad apple, who can tell?

He's a bad apple, that's obvious...

Pedersen looks fair mincing in that'n...