I am not sure of the stats but if the home form was a problem throughout Souness's time here then fair enough. I can understand people having enough of it. You pay your money you deserve entertainment. I always thought we played nice, attractive football apart from last season when we lost our best player, had key injuries for a small squad and our manager started to lose the plot. So people will never go to Ewood again? Unless they are convinced of us winning the title possibly? Tris does have a point, some of our fans are spolit pri*ks. Hopefully now those who demand us nearer the top can see we have a bright manager who I think is destined in time for great things.

I cant believe some of the things I am reading. I am talking about the WHOLE of Souness's time with us. Not just the last year when everything was poor granted. Well I doubt we could have improved on 6th to be honest unless we kept our best player and bought on top of that- what the hell do people expect?? Constant progession is near impossible- in terms of league positions. Get real guys. I always remember an article in the LET before last season when Souness said we would struggle because of the departures and he was doubtful if we had the individual talent to beat teams- it ended up a horrible season and a fight to stay in the league, much worse than he probably ever imagined. In terms of attractive football- I remember playing our way out of the Nationwide and apart from last season we did play a good brand of football under the man you all despise now. We were lucky things worked out the way we did- Souness's shelf life was up and now we have one of Britains promising young managers.

Difference of opinion here- on the whole we played good football under Souness. You cant turn it on every game! Of course people remember the last part of his reign where things went wrong- lot of injuries mixed in with bizarre team selections and playing people out of position.

Ferguson has been playing well- couple of games this season where he went missing but he is a quality player. He is a playmaker who if he had the luxury of a quicker forward we would see his true worth. I agree with other people who think he will get better- he is a winner and we must hold onto keeping him. The logic of 'cashing' in makes no sense if we want to progress as a club on the football side of it. I have no doubt Hughes sees Ferguson as someone to build our team around. The addition of Savage though would ease the burden on Fergie- I reckon we would struggle if Ferguson was to get injured for a long period of time. Basically all our play goes through him and the team always seem to look up for him when in possession. On Savage- you dont come out with his comments today unless you want to go. Birmingham may accept that he is unsettled. With Beattie's money coming in I reckon we will put another bid in unless we have a viable alternative who Hughes thinks can be as influential as Savage.

People have short memories though. Ok we had a season of dire home form but thats not an excuse just give up on the club. I thought for the majority of time when GS was in charge we were treated to some attacking, exciting football and the quality of our play was brilliant. We were always a bit loose at the back but that was the way we played to good effect. Of course when you lose the talent of Duff etc its harder to produce a show.

Hughes may toy with the idea to go with one up front tomorrow. Good tester for us, eventhough Bolton are going through a sticky patch they are always a hassle to play against- wonder if Hughes will mix it up for this one and maybe give 1 or 2 players a rest. Probably cant take that risk. Wonder if this game will see the battle of the set piece kings! Bolton well known for their good set pieces and we always look such a threat from ours......

Made a good impact yesterday. Signs of the player he is was on display- he has real quality. Hopefully his slow introduction back will benefit the club in the long term. Think he was meant to be on the left but was all over the pitch. Sometimes like the rest of our play it has to be the perfect move and the perfect goal with our build up play.

Gresko is injured. Mark Bowen has never got on with Michael Gray- rumour has it, not sure what is behind that! And young Jay's natural position is centre back. Would think Jay has a future with the club- looks bleak for the rest.

Lucas Neil did not turn into a bad player. He looked very low of confidence at times at the start of this season. This carried on from indifferent displays last season. He is defending much better and I think he can contribute more going forward. However over the past few games we have seen the real Lucas Neil in my view. He looks fitter (like everyone does) but he is making some crucial interceptions. Still maybe not 100% for everyones liking but got to give him credit. Actually what am I saying- Souness bought him, actually he is cr*p, what a waste of money. Why did that man bother to get us promotion. Also Matteo is a crap left back but thats not his position. Hughes feels he is the only one he can play there- explains the Spector deal then, who will start as soon as he joins up.

It depends who organsises the wall. It is not the sole responsibility of the keeper. Danny Murphy organises Charlton's wall for example.

Flitcroft is on borrowed time- Hughes knows it and is actively seeking a replacement. You need more than what Garry has at the moment. He looks fitter recently but you need more if you want to do well in this league.

I would dish out the money because the guy is quality. Steve Bruce says he is the heart-beat of their team. However I dont need his comments to know he would improve us. His character sometimes over-shadows his footballing quality. Proven player.. you know exactly what you are getting. But rover6 you would rather some unknown young boy who you will also be attracted to at the same time. Notice a trend appearing that you seem to fancy all our youth players and MGP. By the way rover6- when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror are you temped to head-butt it??

With the strikers we have got you HAVE to play Dickov. Any manager would. He makes things happen- Stead was awful yesterday, not tough enough for this league.... Bothroyd has shown glimpes but is he upto it? Gally is not deemed good enough to start anymore.

So quiet people, so quiet! Took some friends who had never been before- they enjoyed both defences on display but could not understand why there was such a quiet home support.

Where has the belief gone from the fans? Saw Hughes trying to get the fans going but it was lacking any sort of belief that we could win the game. How times have changed, I thought we could have taken Newcastle in the second half but we are lacking quality in many areas. We need a left back- hopefully Spector will provide this answer. Speaking to a Man Utd fan yesterday and he thinks he is a quality player. More importantly we need a striker as Stead is looking well out of sorts.

Thanks for the travel updates guys! Setting off in an hour.... feeling very nervous today, could not sleep last night- think there will be a cracking atmosphere today and dare I say it I have a feeling we will win!

What is the weather situation like? I here road conditions not the best. Just that I am driving down with a couple of mates from Edinburgh in the morning.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashi...rt/ROVERS2.html

From PA Sport Newcastle boss Graeme Souness heads for familiar territory today knowing his reception might be just as frosty from the away end as from the home stands. The man who brought the Lancashire club a League Cup success during his time in charge knows the points will not be surrendered without a fight. “Blackburn is going to be a very big day for me,” he said. “I had four very good years there. I enjoyed it there and worked with some great people from the chairman down. “It is a big game for both clubs. Both clubs are desperate for a win, both clubs are maybe not playing with the kind of confidence they would want at this time, so it is a real pressure game. “It is stand up and be counted and let’s see what we are all made of.”

Surely it was Glasgow Rangers after Nelsen. Surely they will be after a new centre back as they will lose Boumsong soon and Craig Moore is off as well.

That story has been picked up from the Sunday papers over here. Not saying it wont happen but there is less substance in the story unlike the Ryan one.

So he should make decisons for the benefit of the club or for someone he does not deem good enough for his match day squad at the moment?? You really do fancy him as well along with cawaido.

The Mokoena talk is just speculation being repeated from Sunday's papers. There has been no quotes or anything. Just people putting 2+2 together because he was on trial with us. It is just being picked up on news wires here and from South Africa. As for Nelsen we are in talks with him.

However Gravesen is a class player. Sadly our Barry is not (yet). I could go on and comparing defences would be a waste of time. There are a lot of question marks over our team like give Ferguson a few more games etc. Carsley would probably get in our line up for example. Dont know how you can say we have the same strength of talent as them. Potentially some of our players may get better- MGP and a couple others. Also you cite Bent but Cahill has proved he can play in this league and I would guess he will get better.

If I am being overly optimistic we could be a lot better. I am not getting carried away with Everton- just pointing out that I think they have a more established squad than us. The additions in the summer of Cahill and Bent have added a new dimension to Everton along with the introduction of a very successful tactical system which other Prem clubs are attempting to follow.