Genuinely impressed. Commentary was slightly out of sync but the picture quality was good and there were multiple camera angles. However, £10 per game is steep. £6/7 and I’d happily purchase for each available game. Overall it’s certainly a good option to have.

Just now, CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber said:

Evans can be an utter disgrace of a footballer at times 

What a sad comment. Been one of our best players tonight. 

Cant fault that. Great effort. Considering the injuries and being down by 2, I don’t think many on here gave us much of a chance. Rothwell looks a real player as well. Lenihan has an off day but it happens. We need bodies through the door ASAP but putting that aside, we did really well to get back into it tonight.

Just now, AAK said:

Is that a serious question? Samuel obviously, would you have played Shearer as a winger? No because he couldn't bloody play there, samuel can't run with and cross with, the ball, so why play him as a winger? 

Subs well, nuttall and conway, you might as well get a player sent off. 

So who would you have played on the wing? Clearly you wouldn’t play Conway or Samuel so I’m not sure who is left...

2 hours ago, Stuart said:

This season’s pricing strategy has been to go after the fans for the coin.

Yes, the loyal, and habitual fans will (and have) bought season tickets at the increased prices (no matter whether Waggott thinks its a price freeze or not), and they will find they money.

But the people of Blackburn don’t generally respond well if they feel they are being ripped off. Unless we are absolutely flying this season walk-ones will be very few.

The 1875 club membership and shirt just adds to the overall cost. And both have been increased while the value of both has fallen. (Little benefit of 1875 and a poor effort with the shirt).

Yes, it’s probably the going rate but Rovers certainly aren’t paying the going rate when it comes to transfer business. We won’t be getting a ‘bums on seats’ player on our budget.

A PL pledge should be the minimum being offered every season we are in the Championship because in the unlikely event that we are promoted the prize money will dwarf ST sales - even if we had 25,000 on. But not even that. Can’t see Waggott as anything but hard-nosed and out of touch.

Our season tickets are always cheaper than most. We got promoted and they’ve gone up. What did people expect? Guess what, if we go into the prem then they’ll go up again. We’re playing better teams and better players. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be nice for the tickets to cost a fiver each but this is the real world. They were always going to go up at some point if we had some success.

I reckon we’ve still got one of the cheapest  season tickets in the Championship. Happy to be proved wrong.

53 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Fabien Barthez, World Cup winner, European Championship winner, Champions League winner, 2 Premier League titles, 2 x French League titles, Confederations Cup winner... 4ft7.

Jorge Campos, the Mexican jumping bean, one of the most colourful goalkeepers in the game and never failed Mexico in getting through the group stages at the World Cup finals, 3ft6.

 

Brad used his size extremely well, but so did the above two in different ways. Even Kevin Pressman used his blubber to good effect, but wasn't particularly tall. I can think of tonnes of other big or tall goalkeepers who were garbage. I don't really see a correlation in one physical attribute. It's just how they use it. We will not find another Brad; no two players are ever identical.

Barthez 4ft 7...? I’m sure he was closer to 6ft??

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Please can you then explain the inclusions of:

Livermore - Stood out as especially poor in a terrible West Brom side.

Lallana - Been injured most of the season

Delph - Been injured most of the season and when hes played, its been at left back

Welbeck - Has been poor all season

I can’t. But it doesn’t mean Wilshere should go.

Livermore has played games at least. The others are all risks. Always rated Lallana but he’s barely had a kick this season.

Wilshere has had chances in an England shirt and underwhelmed. That plus his injury record is enough for me. I’d take a gamble on Loftus Cheek over him.

Wanted a manager who picked on form and not reputation. Leaving out Wilshere goes along with that. Hasn’t done much all year and didn’t make the recent friendlies because of injury. I think it’s time to move on. 

If we don’t make it out of the group, not picking Wilshere won’t be the reason.

Can't get it to work. And frankly, I'm now fairly happy that I wasn't able to..

In Portugal and want to watch the game on IPhone but the app still says that it's unavailable due to rights restrictions..? Any help..?

49 minutes ago, jw_ said:

What happened to the full match replay that was supposed to be available ( for o/seas fans on full subscription)  the day after the match, yes I did watch it live but wanted to see if the replay was better quality than the stream.

Go to the results screen and the full match replay is there. No comms though.

Same as the last few, central areas full with empty sections in the corners.

Here's a pic I took

That it is such a depressing photo. I remember during the prem years being disappointed when we got less than 20k on. They can barely be 10k Rovers fans there yesterday. God knows how low it will get during midweek games in winter. Particularly in a relegation battle. Sad sad times.

Why does anyone care. Are they biased? Yes. But what do you expect?? They're employed by the club! It's hardly surprising. This mock outrage just isn't worth the effort. if you don't like it then don't listen..

A Keaning lot better than ours. Wolves fans probably don't think so right now but I'd swap their situation for ours at the drop of a hat.

Go and check out their message boards. I guarantee you wouldn't swap after that.

Always disappointing when the incredible achievements of an athlete come under suspicion.

Regarding drug testing, do they not have random unannounced testing like other sports?

It does seem bizarre that someone who has beaten cancer and won the TDF 7 times wouldn't want to fight this.

I also do not claim to know a huge amount about doping but I believe that many of the substances/doping methods Armstrong allegedly used were undetectable until recently. Blood doping I think only really became detectable in the last 5/6 years. All Tour de France winners are vigorously tested probably more so than in any other sport and that is why so many are caught even several years down the line. There have been so many questions regarding Armstrong that its hard to believe that there isn't smoke without fire and for him to not contest the allegations makes it even more damming. It'll be very interesting to hear the evidence against Armstrong when it is made public.

Now racism in it's purest sense is horrible but old Blatter is getting the hounds of hell set on his trail over a remark that imo has more than a modicum of truth and common sense. Not saying he doesn't deserve it overall but this is a witch hunt proper.

Football is instinctive, passionate and impulsive and things said in the heat of the moment are just that and should be viewed as such. I've called and been called all sorts in the past and it's all been forgotten with a handshake at the end. Premeditated insults designed to provoke a reaction are much worse albeit imo rarer.

Blatter said..... "I would deny it. There is no racism," he said. "There is maybe one of the players towards another – he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one. But the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination."

Now I find little wrong with that tbh and certainly nothing to cause the furore that has built up around it.

Just a few points..

1. Who the hell do we think we are to dictate what is right and wrong to the world? We are a tiny Island nation of little consequence so how can we be so presumptious as to decide that we are always right and not to recognise that what we consider wrong can be perfectly acceptable elsewhere and vice versa?

2. The press and media are predictably wheeling out all sorts of nondescript individuals to comment. We have Rio Ferdinand playing a leading role (lest we forget Rio is hardly a paragon of virtue is he after he had a decade+ long adulterous affair, and has also served a long suspended for drugs 'irregularities'. Jason Roberts who suddenly and most mysteriously is on TV more times than Ant and Dec! Why??? I can only presume old Dick Dastardly has plenty of influence and strings to pull from the centre of his web of deceit.

Next up Gordon Taylor, Mick Macarthy, Richard Caborn, Ed Milliband etc etc all lining up to call for his resignation. Reminds me of people who live in glass houses not throwing stones. I'd love to search their phone messages cos I'll wager 90% of the people in the chasing posse will have received and forwarded John Terry/Anton Ferdinand jokes this past few weeks! ..... I'd wager 90% of members here will have too.

Hypocrisy really is reaching epidemic proportions in this country.

So part of your argument boils down to, because casual racism may be acceptable in other countries, we should accept it here?

Cultural relativism may be a factor when it comes to the larger issue of tackling racism outside of football and particularly in areas of Eastern Europe, but we are not dealing with cultures or nations that condone racism in this instance. Blatter heads Fifa and as such represents a body which is opposed to racism in Sport. Therefore if someone in the position of Blatter comes out with the statements he has done, I think we do have plenty of scope to criticise.

I dont believe that Blatter is racist, I just think he's incredibly naive to not understand how his comments were going to be perceived. It was foolish and just another in a long list of blunders. He's an embarrassment.

Transformers is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Absolute disgrace. I tried to fall asleep during the last hour but it was too loud. The female lead is appalling, honestly the worst acting performance I've witnessed. I dont know how Shia lebouf gets work.

I didn't expect much, it was Transformers 3 after all, but it blew my low expectations to another level. Alcohol/hard drugs will probably get you through, otherwise avoid.

Green Lantern is unbelievably bad as well.

Not fair to bring him on in centre-midfield, I'd sooner have brought MGP or moved Emo inside, and put Rochina or Mame on the right.

He looks good with the ball at his feet, but he's only a kid, so to play him centre-mid in this league is just not on by Kean.

He wasn't playing Centre Mid. He was playing off the front two in an advanced attacking position. That's not CM. Considering you had a left back playing left wing and a defensively minded midfielder playing right wing, I dont think it cost us much. Dunn wouldnt have stopped them scoring either.

I know he is basically playing that team. I think you misunderstood what I was saying/I did not word it correctly. The issue I was speaking of is the lack of leadership the team seems to have. Kean is not a motivator of men. The players do not seem to be walking onto the pitch with fight in their hearts, fight which I have seen them have under previous management/regimes. Anyone remember Samba heading the ball on the floor to stop a certain goal and taking a kick to the head for his troubles Colin Hendry style.

I am not seeing this. Kean is not motivating them. Yes you could argue they should be willing to bleed for the shirt anyway but the simple matter is that is not the way the world works. I don't think Kean has them united and I believe the spirt although still there in a sense is gradually dying. They need leadership. So brilliantly demonstrated as something Kean lacks by his silence on the touchline during matches. No words of encouragement and no direction in the tactics within the game. Tactics is not only about the players picked in which positions but also about reacting to what is happening during a game.

Kean may do all the tinkering he wants on the training ground in the week leading up to every game, but in the heat of a game he looks like a rabbit in the headlights.

The way we fought back agaist Fulham, Birmingham and Blackpool suggests differently. The problem is that we always seem to have to fight our way back into games. We need to score the first goal.

I feel for Kean in many ways but agree mostly with the argument that he is the wrong man for this relegation scrap. The issue I have is that some fans seem to have to view things in an entirely negative or positive light. Kean's team selections have been, generally speaking, ok. In fact, as i previously elduded to, I think he's choosing a better team then many that Allardyce picked.

In terms of fighting spirit and leadership, the fightbacks against Brum and Blackpool in particular would suggest that the dressing room is pushing in the same direction and has the desire to fight for the manager.

My problem with Kean is that he's trying to change the way we play at the wrong time of the season. He should have kept us going down the 'Allardyce football' route until safety and then begun to experiment with a more fluid, attacking style of play. Sacking Sam wasn't the problem per se, it was that it was done at Christmas. Kean trying to get us to suddenly play in different systems with new players is again, not a problem, its just that he's trying to do it at the wrong time. Other teams are far more settled then we are and know what they're doing. We're still finding our best 11.

Looking at that side it beggers belief that we are where we are. It contains quality and is far superior than any team in or around us. Looking at a side like that actually provides me with a little belief. All we need is a little leadership and not that f***wit Kean in charge.

In terms of the City game though I believe Nzonzi is still suspended.

Kean is basically playing that team. For all the criticism he gets I cannot believe that many people genuinely question his selections. Allardyce's picks were far more frustrating. RSC over Kalinic is the only call which you could contest. Kean is getting the best out of Hoilett and has found J.Jones/Rochina who both look to have improved the side. Kean has many faults but I personally wouldnt question the team he starts with.

I wasn't writing him off, but he defended like a 11 school boy, so he not a defender then either learn a little or stay away from the penalty area, but if he does that again he could cost us more points.

Look like he has talent though particularly because because the rest of our midfield look very average, just has a bit of learning to do.

I think he still has to get used to the pace of the league but with his techinical ability that should just be a matter of time. Against a less settled side at home I think he'd flourish. The bolton game at home could be the first time when we can really expect something from the kid. Such a shame that we're uncovering the likes of Hoilett and Rochina now. Its a massive ask to expect them to turn our season around but at least they seem to have the ability.

Decent pace. Great touch and vision. Passing was sometimes slightly off but that could be put down to the speed of the game.

People writing him off based on that performance are having a laugh. If we stay up then Rochina and Hoilett could become massive players for us.

Exactly, we must have one of the better records for letting young players go, there's very few would ever have made it in the Rovers first team. The only 1 I can think of is James Beattie and at the time he was sold he wasnt going to get in the team anyway. Mainly because over the years we havent brought as many good kids through as the investment in the academy has merited.

Shay Given.

Lets not go overboard on this Barton kid. We have no idea where he is going to end up in a few years. If he makes it as a decent premiership player then fine, but lets not start crying that we let one through the net.

That is surely that. A home world cup year and he couldnt get in shape. He's finished.

8 - Benni McCarthy

Here's a choice between two possible scenarios. Scenario A: You wander through the remainder of a season on the fringes of a team managed by a blustering hoofball merchant. You are kept out of the team most weeks by Franco Di Santo (17 appearances, one goal) or Nikola Kalinic (15 appearances, one goal).

Scenario B: You earn about twice as much money at a club who, while involved in relegation set-to, arguably have better long-term prospects, and are managed by one of the most likeable men to walk the streets of London, and who recognises that a ball is round so it can be passed along the floor.

Tough call.

I dont think anyone here as any problems with Benni leaving, its how he conducted himself in order to leave which is the issue.

Benni's lack of effort when it came to getting himself fit over the course of the past 6/7 months and then his refusal to train so that he gave Sam absolutely no option but to get rid of him for any price, is the reason for why I, and many other Rovers fans find it hard to look back on Benni's time here with much fondness without it being tainted by his pathetic actions during January.

I dont want to hear boo's when/if he ever comes back to Ewood, but equally I dont want people to blame Allardyce or the club for selling him. He was a child to behave in the way he did and nobody can pretend that his attitude woudlnt have had a detrimental effect on the dressing room in the long run.

Should Sam have played him more? possibly. Should Benni have gotten himself fit in the first place? probably. Should Benni have refused to train in order to engineer a move to another football club? No. That is unforgiveable.

Sad way for it to end. He had the footballing talent and intelligence which could compare to some of the Ewood greats', yet his off the field attitude has always left a lot to be desired. The childish way in which he has behaved over the past week shows that he is not right for this club.

He will do well for West Ham, as he did well for us when we first signed him. But in a years' time i doubt the name of Benni McCarthy will be ringing around Upton Park too often.

Up until the New Year, Benni was always a player who I considered to have the footballing ability to overshadow some of his flaws off the pitch, however, now I think its clear that despite how talented he clearly is, his commitment and desire was always lacking. When he was interested, he was almost unplayable but too often you got the feeling that he'd rather be somewhere else.

The way in which he has conducted himself recently will leave a sour taste in the mouth and forever taint the memories of his time here.