Although in Neill's final season at the club his performance were well below standard you can not argue that he wasn't a key player in our defence.

In his seasons leading up to the 2006 WC (2003-2006) his performances for Blackburn were as consistent as any Rovers player.

Yes, he was good for us in that period, but we actually needed to get rid in order for us to go forward. We got his prime years, he is not missed.

I've been one of the many criticizing MGP and Benni Mac, until this season. Though my ranting has never reached a place where Blackburn's players can hear or see. In Benni's case I can see why people get annoyed by his lack of commitment, but he is still a goal-poacher, and that's what they do (they don't go after "lost causes"). Booing him certainly isn't the answer though.

In MGP's case I was appalled to hear of the booing, remember he puts in more miles than any other Premier League player. For all of his short-comings he simply cannot be faulted for commitment. To boo someone in your team for misplaced corners/free kicks/crosses is utter nonsense! I've been swearing and moaning about his play as much as the next fellow (I've also had the curse of watching him waste tons of free kicks/corners/crosses for Norway). But I'd never ever in a million years even think about booing him!

As supporters of this club we should stand behind our team, and it should almost be that way by default. The fact that I felt that this had to be said makes me a little bit embarrassed and sad really. If the boys play badly the manager will put them out of the team, end of.

I don't think he will replace Henry especially with the board not giving him any funds to get a Torres or Eto, IMHO they still haven't replaced the influence of Viera and their defence is still a little thin because they haven't sufficiently replaced Gallas or Cole.

I think for them to win the title next year they need at least 5 or 6 class players

I agree concerning Vieira, he certainly left a hole that Wenger hasn't been able to fill.

On the ground of watching Arsenal this past season one word comes to mind; naïve. They seemed to have it in their heads that goals should not be scored unless everyone on the pitch, including the keeper has been dribbled to the point of embarrassment. In that lack of anything similar to a direct style they were sometimes even tedious and annoying. One of the only times during the season they managed something direct they bashed us (in the last 15 minutes or so) at Emirates.

If they can muster to play like that for longer periods (meaning games, not just a few minutes here and there), improvements are surely going to come. Henry didn't make much of an impact last season, so they're not greatly weakened in that sense. Let us not think they're dead in the water just yet.

I cheated at Poker the other week against a newbie. I show my flush draw and go to take the chips. The newbie accross me only has a higher flush. However, he didn't realise that and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him, especially when money was involved. That doesn't make me a bad person! I'm one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Sometimes we won't do the "right" thing, but nobody is perfect.

You cannot compare Henry, whose only major offense was playacting disgracefully for France ONCE, with Ronaldo who cheats his way through every game. All players dive at times, and Henry isn't really any worse than the majority of the Premiership's footballers.

Henry does a lot for charity and strikes me as a really good bloke. I am disapointed that he broke his promise that he would never leave Arsenal for Barcelona - if I were an Arsenal fan I might even be angry - but he isn't a bad person because of this. What a load of rubbish! You say that Henry is not a "good bloke" when there are disgusting little @#/?s like Joey Barton in the league?...

Once? Oh dear, have you been paying attention? Numerous occasions. Also, his comments after the CL final was disgusting and worse he was in the wrong. One simply cannot compare a game of poker to football, the game of poker is based on lies, and you're not a role model for thousands. I feel for the MANY people buying shirts and the likes.

I can however take back calling him a bad guy, because I don't know him as a person, and it was a rash comment. Though the things he's done that are blameworthy I would call dishonest and bad.

And where did I say that? You're making judgements on me now based on one post, just as you seem to be judging Henry's entire personality and level of 'nice bloke-ness' on one or two aspects of his professional life!

'May'. Keyword here.

I'm fascinated when fans make statements like that. What exactly is it based on? Do you know him personally and see him trip up old grannies on their way to bingo, or spit on passing kids pork pies?

Ok, he might have suggested he was staying 'for life' at Arsenal - but in the last few weeks, the situation at the Emirates has changed somewhat. Perhaps he was naive for making such a grand comment, but I can't see how he can judged as 'not a good bloke' for this or taking the odd alledged dive.

Of course things change, especially in football, Henry isn't that thick. He's also said he'd stay for as long as Wenger was present at the club (to let you in on a secret, Wenger is still there). I think lying and cheating are bad qualities, you may be more forgiving. Henry has been praised almost without stop for god knows how many years, it's only fair to point out the bad things concerning him. You may think the world of him, but I certainly don't.

Ditto.

I agree with the criticism above, as I have also have stated earlier. Great footballer? Yes. A cheat and a hypocrite? Yes. Good bloke? No.

However it wasn't always like that, only a few seasons ago a cheating Henry would be unthinkable. Watching him now is approximately similar to the feeling I get from C. Ronaldo; obvious and unquestionable talent - but lacking honesty. Henry is smarter in picking his dives with more caution than Ronaldo, only difference there is.

Quote from his Talksport interview...

"I think it is for the betterment of my career. I owe a lot to the Blackburn fans and they're paying the money to watch me week-in and week-out."

Well done David lad

Agreed!

I've always thought the U21's is a bit silly. What's the point? Pearce is way off the mark here, if a player is fatigued - be it physically or mentally - he should be allowed to withdraw. If it were the seniors then of course Bentley would jump at the chance, he has to, he won't know if he gets any more of those.

For those who think he gets enough rest as it is, you don't know what you're talking about. Comparing Bentley to Lampard and the likes is waste of breath. If Hughes suspects a burn out, and Bentley himself has been worried about that (using the word "knackered") then who are you to say that he isn't. Too much football can leave players jaded and uninspired, and we don't want that for him or for Rovers.

Seriously, where is the point in playing the European kiddies Championship if he's tired after a long season? Pearce is a moron, and only out for his own career and reputation in trying to win the championship, he doesn't care about Bentley.

if bennie goes for big money i think we should make a lucrative attempt for podolski.

He wouldn't come to Rovers, he's after the ManUre's. No chance.

I think it's absolutely fantastic, Bentley will no doubt recognize Rovers' contribution to his cause. He seems to be very happy here, and seeing as he can be picked for England without having to swap clubs, I think he'll stay for some time. I'm thrilled for him, well done, here's to Bentley! I'll start to worry about him when Sparky is appointed manager at ManUre, what a sad sad day that'll be.

Deja Vu time. The Times reported this morning that Benni has a clause in his contract for the end of next season(2008) that he can go for £6m to a top four club or £5m to anyone else!! It says that they will have to pay £10m this summer as he could be poached. Hughesy is right to say that there is no clause this summer but wait till the end of next season. Perhaps now get out clauses are a fact pf life for clubs like ours.

linky?

Excuse me! When did I say that? I did not say it, and I did not mean anything like that. Where you get that interpretation from I have no idea. What I did mean in my post was that I suspected Benni from the start because of the blatently obvious insincerity in the tone of his first interview and this was borne out in several succeeding interviews in various places. The man has an absolutely huge ego and unashamed lack of modesty. He does not hesitate to tell us all how good he is and what he will do for the team and club. He comes across as bordering on being an egomaniac. That is what I meant by saying I did not trust or like his attitude. Nothing at all wrong with his ability as a player, but there certainly is with his attitude, and has been since he joined Rovers, which became abundantly clear to me from his first interview.

You just made my comment abundantly clear.

Its EXACTLY the same as what he did at Porto, they refused to sell him, he quickly stopped performing on the pitch and his sale value plummeted.

Yes, but Fife argued that the instant Benni came to Rovers, he had known this would come. I know he did it at Porto, to ply his trade in the Premiership.

You make it sound easy 'make a good few million out of him and replace him with someone who will score as many next season'. I really cannot see us bringing in anyone who will score as many as Benni did this season. Hughes has done brilliantly the last two seasons with both Bellamy and McCarthy however I really cannot see him doing it for a third time.

Agreed. A lot of people are taking Hughes' skills in the transfer market for granted. Just think about the great strikers that have been at say Liverpool in the last years, only to not quite make the cut.

''The striker cheekily says he has repaid his £2.5million transfer fee to Rovers by scoring 24 goals and that they should let him go.''

Nice to see the rags can see why many Rovers fans are angry.....makes a change

Hah! That's right, they changed it. It's the same story.

Cheeky Benni Told: You Are Going Nowhere

The Mirror 07:34 18-May-07

Benni Going Nowhere

The Mirror 08:03 18-May-07

I have it on very good authority that Chelsea have approached Rovers to ask about McCarthy's availability. There will be a board meeting early next week to discuss the situation. Deja vu?

It'll be a big blow losing Benni, and getting Bellars back is not excactly in the bank either. From a Rovers marketing view we'd lose a STAR. To get a top striker will be very difficult to say the least, we'll be competing for scraps (Viduka-style), as we've done for a long time. Also now there will be a lot more clubs competing for those scraps - and they'll be willing to dosh out far more than us, in terms of both transfer money and wages. We could have 10 million for him, but in the end, the players that are of McCarthy's quality costs more than that (look at Berbatov), and would not come to Rovers if their lives depended on it. We'd also lose a major selling point for Sparky in trying to persuade suitable targets to come to our beloved club. We don't have the crowd, we don't have the lights of London, Manchester or Birmingham and we don't have mega $$$.

Losing Benni would mean we look ambitionless and how Sparky would fume, losing arguably his most prized asset for the second season running. He'll soon be touting himself for bigger and better things if this continues much longer. There is no point of staying with us if he keeps losing his best players. He's spent countless hours to bring them to the club - then again spent countless more making their careers blossom - then countless more constantly fending off other clubs - only to lose them. Another point is that Sparky has said that Benni isn't going anywhere, and if the board lets Benni go, Hughes will not be a happy camper.

I'd probably make Benni stay, as it is the only sensible thing for a club that wants to grow, I believe he is instrumental in making us grow further. He is under contract, and he should honour that. It is also worth a thought to say no to bullies. IMHO, mind you .

And to think some people on here have criticised me for having the temerity to say that I did not like Benni's attitude, not his playing form or ability, just his attitude. I have always suspected his attitude right from day one when I saw his first interview, and I have been proved right. Believe me people, I have seen it all before so many times; the symptons are easily recognisable when you know what to look for.

I'd say that it was just a lucky shot on your behalf. His interviews have been very standard, "I'm happy to be here in the PL, I like the club, I want the club to do well" etc, he has also highlighted that he's been getting very well on with the likes of Roberts. He has been professional in his way of thinking "Rovers will decide my fate". Not a foul word has come from his mouth, until this weeks antics which are a tad disrespectful.

How you could've come up with this from the get-go I'm sorry to say I have a hard time believing. This new Benni is something entirely different from before, and though I think most of us aren't really shell shocked that he wants to play Champions League footy, the new comments made by him are surprising. They are extremely surprising if you look at what he said in that interview in The Citizen I believe, only days before The Sun story came. I agree that this type of thing has occurred time and time again, but no one could've predicted this before it happened and have the right arguments for saying so. All I'm saying is that this is not science.

However, if you have some insider knowledge on the subject I'll kiss your feet for as long as you please .

If he leaves we'll replace him with someone else who can score 15 - 20 goals. End of story.

Just remember everyone was pretty pessimistic about replacing Bellamy this time last season and look what happened.

If there is one manager who knows a good striker then it is Mark Hughes...i am not worried!

We simply cannot expect Sparky to pull a rabbit out of the hat every time we sell our best players.

I think you're way off the mark here. We had Reid missing for the whole of this season and we also had Savage out for half a season. You cant say the 4 place difference in the league was down to Bellamy / McCarthy

Not to mention the strain the UEFA-Cup has had on the team. Way off the mark.

the way he plays is similar to mcarthy, not just his colour..

nonda hasnt been good enough this season, hes now 4th in the pecking order, says it all really..

and yes im more of a fan to roberts then i am nonda..and looks whos proving it..nonda aint proving doubters wrong, roberts is..

Seemingly Hughes is pleased enough with Nonda.

It looks as if Nonda (link) is a done deal, let us hope that Sparky has seen glimpses of what he used to be capable of. Let us not forget he's scored quite a few goals when playing. To quote Hughes himself: “We’d like to get him here permanently. He’s one of those players I feel will come through a lot stronger next year.”.

Sparky also said that Roberts is going nowhere come summer:

Hughes said: “Jason is a big part of my plans."

“He’s had a frustrating year but I bet he doesn’t want the season to end.

“He’s looking fit and a real handful for opposition defenders.”

Exactly what I have been saying, his laziness allows him to stay sharp and gives defenders a false sense of security.

Lazy or not, his goal contribution this season is astounding. What annoys me a little bit is the lack of press. Here you have a strong candidate for "buy of the season", and he's barely ever mentioned aside whoever of the big four are interested in taking him off our hands. It's also strange and annoying how many of us don't appreciate him. I don't think you can moan about Benni not working enough, when on the contrary he's pouring in some very watchworthy goals (we need those). Why should we care if he sometimes swtches off, and strays into offside a lot? At 2,5 mill pounds it puzzles me that the 20-something goals this season isn't enough, get a grip.

Sometimes you have to take off your blue and white spectacles and say whats annoying you.

I do hope that over the summer the club sort out David Bentleys tendancy to 'go to ground' easily. I don't like it when the likes of Ronaldo, Drogba, Diouf and company do it, I also don't like it when Bentley does it. He really has no need to. Eventually he'll get a reputation and ,unlike the players with the big clubs, will stop getting free kicks at all. I've seen games when Diouf has been kicked all over the pitch and the ref just gives him nothing.

He didnt do it alot today except for when he wasnt touched by Thatcher for the first booking. I know it was a rash challenge and probably a booking anyway but had it been Diouf we'd have been going mad. Ultimately, it cost them a player and made our afternoon easier, but in the grand scheme of things I hope Hughes sorts it out.

I agree 100%. No matter how you try to justify diving, as I see some of you have done, there is simply no excuse for taking a dive. You can't say that he's trying to avoid injuries when he even falls to ground without a tackle, a little nudge and he's rolling on the grass. And if he is trying to dodge tackles, he could stay up when they miss him by a mile - as we all saw clearly in the first half of the Ch€£$ki game, embarrassing. As much as I adore his contribution to the team, I'd like the stains from Arse to go away, no more diving please.