Ahead of his Testimonial Match Simon Garner has been answering questions posed by Board members. A thread featuring all your questions is now running on the The Message Board We also heard today that Stuart Ripley is to make his Ewood Park return for the Championship Team that will be playing today's Rovers, squad on May 18th

Garner talks to BRFCS.com Ahead of his testimonial match in May Simon Garner has agreed to an on-line interview with BRFCS.com. Garner is an Ewood Park legend and arguably one of the finest. most loyal players to wear the blue and white shirt. For older fans his testimonial will be the opportunity to re-visit old memories and pay tribute to the man once more......for the youngsters, well you'll finally get to see Garner in blue and white.....and he had better slot one in at the Blackburn End. For full details of The Simon Garner Interview visit The Message Board © brfcs.com

That's equal 5th for me then I'm 48 - which on that theory makes me 4th oldest - so how come we've 10 members who admit to being in their 50s and two in their 60s. Leastways that's what the numbers at the top of the page say!! :'>

48 - just to let all you young 'uns know it's much the same as being 18 plus you got to hear all the good music first time round

Tickets for the home leg of the Worthington Cup Semi-Final Just a reminder for those who are not SeasonTicket holders that tickets go on open sale to fans from Monday 13th January. Supporters with a history of purchasing home tickets will be able to purchase an equivalent number of tickets for this game. If you usually buy two tickets for a league match, you can purchase two for the Utd game. Only tickets purchased prior to 20th December 2002 qualify. For full details follow this link Tickets are priced at £20 for adults and £10 for Concessions. By all accounts Season Ticket holders have taken up the vast majority of their seats with around 15,000 seats sold. Manchester United are said to be close to selling out the Darwen End with an allocation of 7,800. Rovers need to fill the ground for this game as we sing our team to Cardiff. If you haven't got tickets yet, get the phone lines humming on Monday morning.

The rumour mill grinds on and on as the club with no funds are linked with two players this weekend. Tabloid reports suggest that Rovers are looking to sign Alpay from Villa - nothing new there but the suggestion that Garry Flitcroft will be swapped for Alpay does appear to be another twist to the story. Esperance star Ali Zitouni, previously linked with West Ham, is now reported as a target for Graeme Souness.

Following hard on the heels of two excellent results against Utd and Liverpool Rovers entertain bottom of the table West Ham tomorrow. Manager, Graeme Souness, has warned his squad against complacency and underlined the potential the Hammers provide for a holiday banana skin. Rovers tricky 4 match holiday programme began with two of the league's top teams and as we line-up to face West Ham and Boro the players must be looking to build on the last two matches. Ten points from a possible twelve would represent an excellent Christmas tally. Rovers have announced an 18-man squad to face West Ham. Although Lucas Neil is now available for selection following his one-match suspension he does not feature in the squad announced on the official web site: Friedel, Kelly, Short, Johannson, Taylor, Todd, Tugay, Curtis, Thompson, Flitcroft, Duff, Dunn, Ostenstadt, Cole, Yorke, Danns, Gillespie, Jansen. West Ham are expected to select from: James, Bywater, Forde, Repka, Winterburn, Carrick, Dailly, Sinclair, Defoe, Lomas, Kanoute, Cole, Schemmel, Breen, Moncur, Hutchison, Pearce, Cisse, Sofiane, Johnson, Ferdinand, Byrne, Camara, Minto, Iriekpen

thenodrog it might be more productive to address the question to me. I have explained twice, once by messenger and once in this thread that the yellow card was issued for questioning again my impartiality. In recent weeks you have publicly accussed me of conducting a personal vendetta against you and questioned my impartiality. In response I have: 1. Asked the dicussion be conducted in private. 2. Requested you provide evidence of this vendetta and lack of impartiality. 3. Explain how a point of view that suggests Jim is popular is in someway lacking impartiality. 4. Requested you cease the constant sniping at mods and admin 5. I have clearly stated I will not moderate the insults and abuse you direct at others, equally I will not moderate the reply. It is called being impartial. All of this you have chosen to ignore or failed to reply to. You were warned for publicly questioning my impartiality. I have now answered your request three times - just one reponse from yourself would be sufficient.

No problem, T4E. Have a good Christmas. I think I'm going to switch this damn thing off!!

I thought hard about that warning to thenodrog - it was given, as he knows, for publicly accusing me of NOT being impartial. It has nothing to do with the exchange with Jim. This is the second occassion on which thenodrog has done this. I'd ask you all to consider the following: In late November/early December thenodrog accused me, publicly, of conducting a vendetta against him. I asked this accusation be publicly backed up - somthing thenodrog has completley ignored. On December 9th I informed the rest of admin I planned to take 2-3 weeks break from moderating the MB. This was because I was finding the MB a very depressing place to visit. Since then I have posted on a few football related items, I have not read the MB in full for nearly three weeks. In that time I have confined myself to posting news, fixture and ticket information. I informed thenodrog some weeks ago that I was A) not interested in what he has to say on the MB and was not going to moderate any exchange of abuse between him and others. Quite simply it is not worth the heartache. The last time I had any moderating contact with thenodrog was November 13th. Today I read the MB fully for the first time in three weeks. I posted a remark agreeing with thenodrog about Sharp products. I posted a comment on my view that Jim is a popular poster. I expressed the view Jim is a popular poster, saying: For this I recieve the following response from thenodrog: For me being impartial means attempting to view every post equally, regardless of who posts it. It does not mean that I cannot express the view that an individual is popular. Equally expressing the view Jim is popular is not a sly dig at thenodrog. If I feel it necessary to have a dig at any member it will be in private. Thenodrog has been asked on countless occassions, over several months, by all admin, publicly and privately and through third parties to cease his remarks and abuse at individuals. He has also been asked, repeatedly, to discuss any problems he has with admin in private - something else he consistently refuses to do. All of this is ignored - consequently I am NOT prepared to jeopardise my impartiality by moderating any view expressed by him or about him unless the matter becomes extraodinarily serious. I'll leave you all to make up your minds. This whole thing just leaves me depressed and bewildered yet again. I really do need some one to explain how stating I believe an individual is popular is breaking guidelines, favouring others over thenodrog etc. I have to ask, just who does have a problem here?

With a busy Christmas period for the club here's a brief round-up of events for the next ten days or so…..just in case you’d missed something along the way! Sunday's excellent 1-0 win over Manchester United in front of a sellout crowd was tinged with disappointment at the news that Hakan Sukur crushed his tibia in a freak training ground accident. It now looks as though Hakan's debut will be delayed for at least 8 weeks and perhaps longer. Rovers have a busy fixture list over the holiday period with Liverpool (A) on Boxing Day, followed by home games against The Hammers on December 28th and Boro on New Year’s Day – all games are 3.00pm kick off. Well you’ve just got the Christmas shopping done and now it’s time to stock up on those Rovers tickets for the busy January ahead of us. Tickets are currently on sale, or go on sale shortly, for: West Ham (H), Boro (H), Villa (FA Cup) (A), Man Utd (Worthy SFs) (A & H), Sunderalnd (A) and Birmingham City (H). See The Site Calendar for details. On the playing front David Dunn's injury against Utd is a calf strain and not connected with his previous hamstring problem. David Thompson will be available for the Liverpool game following a one match suspension for racking up five bookings this season. Garry Flitcroft has begun new contract talks with Rovers. He is seeking more than the one year extension to his current deal that Rovers have offered. Worryingly Flitty has recently been quoted as saying ‘The transfer window opens in January’. A Merry Christmas to one and all.

Can't say I can recall anyone posting to the effect that jim is disliked. True he may not be as optimistic as many of us but disliked? no, just can't see that at all.

BBC Sport are reporting the squads below for tomorrow's Premier League clash at Ewood Park between Rovers and Manchester United: Rovers: Friedel, Kelly, Neill, Bjornebye, Short, Taylor, McEveley, Johansson, Gillespie, Tugay, Flitcroft, Yorke, Cole, Jansen, Danns, Dunn, Duff, Ostenstad, Hakan Sukur. Man Utd: Barthez, Ricardo, Carroll, G Neville, Brown, Silvestre, Blanc, O`Shea, Beckham, Solskjaer, P Neville, Veron, Keane, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Forlan, Richardson, Chadwick With Damien Duff and David Dunn returning for Rovers and Van Nistleroy, Solskjaer and Keane back in the squad for Utd both sides are able to pick from their full first team squads. No problems there then!

Lots of news regarding tickets for our upcoming games against Manchester United. Firtly Sunday's game against MU is now SOLD OUT and the club are appealing to supporters to arrive early for the 2.00pm kick off. With anticipation for the Worthington Cup semi-final against United already running high the club have announced further details. Rovers have been allocated 9,000 tickets for the first leg at Old Trafford. This is a great opportunity for fans to back the team's efforts to get to Cardiff and to thank club for securing a huge allocation for travelling support Prices for away fans will be £17 adult with £8.50 concessions. The same prices will apply for Season Ticket holders in the return leg at Ewood Park. The first leg will be on Tuesday 7th January and the return on Wednesday 22nd January. Both games are live on Sky and kick off at 8.00pm. UPDATED 16.00 FRIDAY 20th The club have now announced details of when tickets will go on sale for this fixture. It is more complex than usual so we suggest everyone reads the link CAREFULLY. For the OT game tickets go on sale to SEASON TICKET holders on 27th December until close of business on 1st January. Note there will be no sales on the day of the home games against West Ham and Boro until AFTER the match. For the home leg tickets go on sale on January 3rd until 11th. From the 13th the discount prices (£17 and £8) will be withdrawn and ticket price increased to £20 and £10.. Follow the link and read carefully to avoid disappointment Manchester United Ticket Information

Blackburn Rovers have been unsuccessful in their appeal to have Lucas Neil’s one match ban overturned. Neil was sent off by referee Graham Barber, for two bookable offences, during the recent Premier League match against Everton at Goodison Park. The club had been hoping one of the yellow cards might be rescinded but the player’s appeal has failed. Neil will now miss the home game against West Ham United on 28th December.

Tickets for the third round tie against Aston Villa at Villa Park go on sale tomorrow to SEASON TICKET holders only. With tickets priced at £15 for adults and £5 for children demand is likey to be high - our allocation is for 3000 seats behind the goal in the Lower North Stand. Official club details are here Local advice is to order early to avoid queues on match day!

After a resounding 4-0 home win over Rotherham all the Messageboard talk has been centred on the upcoming Wigan game (Tuesday 16th December, 8.00pm). Quietly overlooked are several stories which haven't made the news section until now! Rovers announced ticket details for two festive home games against West Ham and Middlesboro - we shall see :'> Ticket details can be found on the club site. Garry Flitcroft returned to first team action with a substitute appearance in the Worthington Cup and may well return to the midfield for the Bolton game. Tiny Taylor has recovered from injury and is also named in the 18 man squad travelling to Bolton. Martin is rumoured to have been the subject of a major bid this week - dismissed by Souness, who also said he believed Tiny could be a future England centre half. In the FA Youth Cup Rovers have been drawn at home to Exeter City who beat Watford in the last round. No date has been announced for this fixture yet.

Rovers have announced details of the ticket allocation for the Worthington Cup Quarter Final against Wigan at the JJB Stadium. Our total allocation is 7000 tickets, with the club taking up an initial allocation of 4000 and a further 3000 tickets being available if required. Tickets are priced at £14 adult and £9 for juniors (under 16) and senior citizens. There are also 500 “family” tickets available at £14 per adult and £4 per junior, these appear to be in the family section of the ground. No more than two adult tickets can be purchased per junior ticket in the family area. Our allocation is in the East Stand, which is along one side of the stadium. Tickets will go on open sale on Tuesday 10th December. Kick off is at 8.00pm on Tuesday 17th December For the official club announcement go here Please note the club web site states tickets go on sale on Tuesday 12th December - Tuesday is the 10th and the TO confirm this is when tickets go on sale.

Blackburn Rovers have announced the signing of Turkish striker Hakan Sukur. More to follow..........but go here for the official details

At 1.00pm Radio Five Live were reporting that Blackburn Rovers have agreed terms with Turkish striker Hakan Sukur. The player is reported to be signing a contract with Rovers today..............watch this space or see the Sukur again thread. For the latest club update click here

Rovers have announced details of ticket sales for this fixture on Sunday, 22nd December at 2.00pm. This is an all ticket match and supporters with a history of purchasing tickets prior to 22nd November will be able to apply. Tickets go on sale on Monday, 2nd December. For full details please follow this link.

LATEST INFORMATION UPDATED 26th November Remaining tickets for this fixture go on sale to Season Ticket Holders Only on Thursday 28th November. Tickets are in the Upper Tier priced at £25 and NO CONCESSIONS. All the usual details are required but no away stubs. Follow the links below for the club web site information Rovers game at The Reebok on December 7th is an all ticket match. Last week tickets went on sale to Season Ticket holders who had attended two away games this season. At present there is no indication of how quickly these tickets have been selling. The Rovers allocation for this match is 2700 seats and the club is due to make an announcement tomorrow, 26th November, on how any remaining seats will be sold. We suggest fans check the following links for up to the minute news: Latest Ticket Information and Breaking News on the club site.

Rovers are live on Sky Sports 1 tomorrow when they face Charlton Athletic at the Valley in a 4.05pm Kick-off. Manager Graeme Souness will select his team from the squad which travelled: Kelly, Neil, Short, Johansson, Taylor, Curtis, Thompson, Dunn, Flitcroft, Gillespie, Duff, Cole, Yorke, Ostenstad, Jansen, Grabbi, Robinson, Todd. Martin Taylor has recovered from a hamstring strain but Garry Flitcroft and Damien Duff, with ankle and calf injuries respectively, face late fitness tests. Brad Friedel (knee operation) and Tugay (suspended) are not available for selection. Charlton will select from: Kiely, Kishishev, Powell, Rufus, Fish, Parker, Euell, Jensen, Robinson, Brown, Rowett, Bart-Williams, Bartlett, Konchesky, Young, Johansson, Lisbie, Fortune, Roberts. After a poor run of results Rovers will be looking to improve their game considerably and put the miserable month of November behind them. A repeat of last year's 2 - 0 away win would do nicely.

BRFCS.com recognise the copyright to this information is held by FFC and we produce this information purely for the benefit of informing our members. The Football Fans Census Football Fans Census Press Release: Friday 22nd November 2002 FANS VOTE OVERWHELMINGLY FOR SAFE-STANDING AREAS The Football Fans Census Survey shows fans feel strongly that safe-standing should be introduced inside grounds, giving them the freedom to choose whether they stand or sit. The Football Fans Census announces the results of the ‘Safe Standing’ survey it recently ran for football fans. The survey concerned fans attitudes towards the introduction of small-scale areas of terracing into football stadia as championed by the Safe Standing Campaign. Highlights of the survey include: Match-day Experience · 80% felt the existence of safe-standing would make their match-day experience more enjoyable · Over half of fans felt safe-standing would have no effect on crowd trouble or spectator safety · 48% of respondents would buy a safe-standing ticket ALL the time when going to a match · Only 1% of fans would go to fewer matches if safe-standing areas were introduced Decision-making · 90% of respondents felt fans should be given the freedom to choose whether they stand in safe-standing areas · Only 11% of fans felt the decision whether to have safe-standing inside grounds should rest with the government – as is currently the case. · 86% of fans felt the decision should be decentralised away from the government with two-thirds overall feeling it should be made by the local authorities or the clubs themselves instead · 24% felt the inclusion of safe-standing in grounds should be mandatory “These results highlight how strongly fans feel about having the right to stand - in safe-standing areas –inside football grounds if they so wish. From the feedback we received fans regard standing at football matches as part of the game’s richest traditions.” comments Alex Burmaster, Director of Development at the FFC. For a full list of results go to http://www.footballfanscensus.com/latest6.html Fans can now vote on the new survey – THE RELOCATION OF WIMBLEDON FC - at www.footballfanscensus.com The FFC simultaneously launches its next survey - ‘The Relocation of Wimbledon FC’ – as chosen by its members. The issue, concerning the club moving from Merton to Milton Keynes, has engendered strong feelings in football up and down the country. "The survey provides the chance for fans to get their views across, providing football’s decision-makers with a more realistic understanding of what fans actually feel about this issue,” continued Burmaster. Fans comments on ‘Safe Standing’ Since the rest of the ground was converted to seating, the atmosphere at Priestfield has deteriorated. Chief among the explanations seem to be: some of the old fans have been priced out of the market as GFC, like other clubs, has raised its prices partly to recoup the millions it was obliged to spend on new stands; and safety requirements mean people have to stay sitting in a designated seat, which makes it difficult for groups of singers to congregate and constraints fans' responses to the emotions generated by a game. A Collyer – Gillingham As Stadia Duty Officer for St. John Ambulance at the Hillsborough stadium, and as a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan, I welcome the debate on safe standing areas. From a personal point of view I do feel that there were many many other factors on the fateful day in 1989 that contributed to the events. From a medical response point of view I can only say that should an emergency occur in a standing area our response time will most definitely be prolonged. This does concern me greatly! I do long for the days however that Fathers and Sons can enjoy the match as I did with my father, from a safe, responsible, and well behaved standing area. C Leach – Sheffield Wednesday Standing areas is a backward step; supporters at the Britannia stadium are now used to the seating and use it very properly. Of course every one stands up when a goal is scored! I can assure you as away supporters will testify, singing "Delilah" is no way reduced by being seated. It's load of rubbish! You don't stand at the theatre or cinema! Or do you? I don't. George Smith – Stoke City ENDS BACKGROUND THE SURVEY The survey concerned the campaign (http://www.safestanding.com/) that is championing the return of terracing to football stadiums – not the large, old-style open terraces but small, specially-designed areas utilising the latest engineering technology. The campaign has received support through the Football Spectators Bill which aims to remove the power to designate Premier League and First Division football stadia as all-seater from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to clubs, supporters and local authorities instead. Construction of safe-standing areas would, therefore, be allowed but not mandatory. The results of the survey will be sent to football’s decision-makers and influencers including the Football Association, Premier League, Football League, the Safe Standing campaign, Football Supporters Federation, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Prime Minister, football clubs and the police. The survey was conducted online between 27/10/02 and 05/11/02 and was open to all football fans. To maintain integrity of the results fans had to register with the FFC. THE FFC Previously known as the Football Fans Union, this is the first survey to be launched under the new name. The FFU was the organisation that brought the ‘Can the Commercials’ campaign to fans across the country enabling them to protest over the role of Carlton and Granada in the ITV Digital dispute. For more details see the attached backgrounder document or the ‘About Us’ section on the site for more details http://www.footballfanscensus.com/about.html FOR FURTHER INFORMATION – OR TO BE KEPT INFORMED ON FFC DEVELOPMENTS The FFU: 020 7428 4940 · Tim tim@footballfanscensus.com · Alex alex@footballfanscensus.com

The Football Fans Census Football Fans Census Press Release: Friday 22nd November 2002 FANS VOTE OVERWHELMINGLY FOR SAFE-STANDING AREAS The Football Fans Census Survey shows fans feel strongly that safe-standing should be introduced inside grounds, giving them the freedom to choose whether they stand or sit. The Football Fans Census announces the results of the ‘Safe Standing’ survey it recently ran for football fans. The survey concerned fans attitudes towards the introduction of small-scale areas of terracing into football stadia as championed by the Safe Standing Campaign. The above is the opening text from a Press Release released by the FFC on the issue of Safe Standing. The full Press Release can be read, along with other information, by going to the first reply to this news item - it's too big to put on the front page! BRFCS.com recognise the copyright to this information is held by FFC.