John

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.

I think most of us are backing, in this case, MGP. The whole furore surrounding him not be involved is ridiculous. I can understand why it seems odd why he is not playing to you. I trust our coaching staff more than I do your opinion, even though I appreciate you coming on to view your thoughts on MGP. I am sure he will play a part soon but I am not losing sleep over it.

cuidado- Out of curiousity how would you describe your feelings for MGP.... love or just showing real care for a good friend. Would you like to see big Jol take him on at Spuds- he really is a disgrace your manager. When Sir Alex saw the size of his gut he made his own judgement on him.

True- unless you have a lot of cash you are not going to get experienced Premier League defenders, especially in January. Even the likes of Dawson (Notts Forest) are out of our price range.

I love it when this thread comes back to the top. http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashi...rt/ROVERS0.html

http://sport.iafrica.com/news/398964.htm

Interesting to see people are still kidding themselves that Everton's and our squad are similar in any way. First of all as pointed out they have reliable defenders who have a track record of playing well. They also appear to have a left back. As for midfield Gravesen is class unlike our Ferguson whose role at the moment seems to be bringing out inconsistent performances for him at the moment. He is used to be a deep lying playmaker however seems lost at many times throughout matches. He did score goals for Rangers but playing in that league it is not very difficult. Dont particularly like Carsley but he does the dirty work of winning the ball and protecting the defence. I could go on but with their one attacker they have something we dont- pace and also in Bent a decent finisher. Both things we lack. Get real guys its looking very bleak- we could not even beat a really dire, Championship Palace team. It needs more than fitness to stay in this league.

A real test for us tomorrow. Palace will come fired up at us and they think they are better than us. Feeling very worried and nervous ahead of tomorrow. Saturdays are proving interesting days at the moment and it would be nice to be able to enjoy myself tomorrow night again. Not going to predict as I simply dont know but I fear the worst....

I had a week or so break away from the UK and this board. However while I was in the US I made sure I had to see the Spurs match live in a bar. Thought I would treat some of my friends who wanted to see a soccer game. The thought that dawned on me during and after the match was what the hell has gone on at our club in recent times. It seems like we are trying to teach the squad them to play football again. Basic traits of being any midfielder is to track your opposite man however this has been a problem with our team for a while. That is just one example of basic things we do consistently wrong but I have come to the sad conclusion the club had deep rooted problems which will take a long time to eradicate.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashi...rt/ROVERS0.html Hughes happy with depth of the squad but needs more quality. I too put defensive midfield as a priority as our defence has been so bad not just because of the back four.

Mark Bowen was saying before the Fulham game that he drifts all over the place and although his quality finishing was obvious the clever runs he makes could make him a midfielder.

From PA Sport today Gallagher Stays at Rovers - Hughes http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/..._Blackburn.html

Douglas did well for us there last season.

Interesting quotes near the end of this article from players and Hughes. http://www.thesun.co.uk/popupWindow/0,,3-2004551502,00.html

Dont know why I am bothering but this thread is getting ridiculous- I really do wonder if some people are taking the pi*s.

Cant remember Tugay putting in the tackles like he did today. Thought the work rate of the team was excellent and we did not let Fulham play. Before the match did not think Nissa at left back was a wise choice, glad I was wrong. Being ultra crticial, Fulham had some very good chances. Overall......Very impressed today its a nice feeling even though my liver will not agree later on!

whats wrong with playing players out of position may I ask....

Apparently we are going to resurrect our interest in Maradona Jnr- imagine him and De Pedro in midfield!!

It could only be us!! Last season we were crying out for a left footed midfielder. We even had people suggesting Alan Mahon to be recalled from loan, then we got him back for 2 games and played him then he was never to be seen again. Then this summer we think we have a star in Javier De Pedro, we got told that he could hit a six pence or whatever from anywhere on the pitch. The fact is was available for transfer from December 2003 until the summer didnt seem odd to Mr Wage Bill Souness. Then to really wet our lips we sign the young prodigy MGP- clubs from all over Europe wanted this lad but we managed to snap him up. However we still have no one who is left footed playing left midfield. Oh I am wrong... MGP one league app against Man U and the super Matteo played a game for us this season on the left of midfield. The saga continues....

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/displayNews.asp?id=5667&n=1 At the bottom of this preview there is a comparison between Andrew Cole and Paul Dickov this season so far this season- quite interesting!

Its silly to think throw them all together and let other teams worry about us. I used to think that in the days when we had a world beater in Duff but we dont have that sort of quality anymore. We need a proper midfield enforcer someone who will help the defence to a degree, Flitcroft used to do an ok job getting stuck in but his days are past I fear. Ferguson and Thompson may work and I suppose we will find out until Janaury because we have no real other option. Again like our strikers, there are too many ifs, buts and maybes. It makes you wonder what the hell were our club upto before Hughes came. I understand he is trying to change the style of play slightly compared to Souness. However conceding goals is currently our cancer and if we do not find a cure we are going down.