Here follows a cautionary tale about supporting your local team as told to me last night by my brother who went to Highbury with a friend. My brother who is 64,by the way, went to the Arsenal game as he lives in Plumstead and has done so for the last 40 years. He arranged to meet a friend coming from Rochdale. The friend was late arriving so my brother was pacing around for about 25 minutes. He was approached by two policemen who said to him that he had been under surveillance for the last 20 minutes and they had reason to believe that he was a ticket tout. He was then given a leaflet explaining that he was to be searched. My brother explained that he was a Rovers fan but this cut no ice and he was duly searched outside the entrance much to his embarrasment and anger! As the search yeilded nothing he was asked for ID and since he was a Rovers fan they expected a Blackburn address. When he told them he lived in Plumstead they were suspicious and radioed for further information. The radio crackled that my brother was indeed a resident of Plumstead, retired and had a "mild Blackburn accent"(where this info came from he is not aware but it sounds very intrusive). Needless to say he was very angry and upset with this pre-match farce. He did not go to the Charlton game as he was still fuming so instead he placed a bet that Charlton would lead at half-time and Rovers would win at fulltime. He put £10 on and won £150! So the moral is this -do not stand outside a London ground for more than 10 minutes otherwise you will be frisked and if you do get round to the bookies for the next game.

Why the flak? He stupidly handled the ball as last man and was rightly sent off. That is not to say that we all want him hung drawn and quartered. When he plays well he`s worth his place but you have to admit he is a loose cannon at times and Nelsen and Zurab to me look a good pairing. Toddy is something of a liability.

The better team lost yesterday without a shadow of a doubt and I do remain confident of a top ten finish. Pedersen missed 2 easy chances and I wish he would ditch his lackadaisical approach at the moment. As for the sending off IMO Todd clearly manipulated the ball to his advantage and was rightly sent off; it was a stupid thing to do and the linesman had a clear view. Zurab should be in the team.We missed Savage for his tenacious tackling. Perhaps Hughesy will have to change things for West Ham.

the 1960 replay was an amazing experience with 53, 000+ in the ground. I recall that Burnley fans had the Darwen end. We were sat pitchside on the wooden benches round the edge of the pitch and I remember children being passed down from the back of the terraces over peoples heads! As for another comeback from 2 down; we were losing 2-0 at halftime (I think it was Portsmouth)and ended up winning 4-2 with Garner scoring so I guess in the 80`s? Can anyone confirm?

A thoroughly entertaining game today which Blackpool won 5-2 against Scunthorpe.

If Mark Hughes was offered the United post he would accept without a second`s hesitation. He would be a fool to turn down one of the best jobs in the game. We are a club who will attract managers in the short term whilst they wait for the "big one" to come along.

Poor Brett, when we lose he`s usually the fallguy and when we win its only a lower league team.He played really well with speed,tackling back, crosses and scoring a good goal. He even nearly scored the goal of the season a minute later beating 5 men from our half and having his shot blocked. I thought the whole team was committed from start to finish and poor Leeds were never in the game.Their Burnley duo of Blake and Moore were anonymous and North End`s trio of Gregan, Healy and Lewis late on were ineffectual. A special word too for Neill who was absolutely immense. Hughesy said last week that he was the best right back in the Prem on his day and how he showed it last night. Great nights entertainment.

A sign of a desperate man is to do a stupid commercial like Bruce has done. It was shown on Saturday immediately after the game; talking about digging your own grave.

Great to have another win and whats more NO BOOKINGS! Heskey should have gone for 2 bad tackles.

Neill and Zurab will now both be suspended; I agree Modes it is getting serious the number of bookings we are picking up.

David Seaman the only goalie in history never to have kept a clean sheet.

Thanks Tyrone. The win was a Saturday but why I am confused is that the media keep referring to 1962 but wasnt this game you describe in 1965? I wish I could find my Jarman book of fixtures. On Sky this morning the year of 1967 was mentioned as the last time we won there! Still its great to get so much attention for the right reasons. I heard Kevin Gallagher on Century and he couldnt stop milking the win at Micky Thomas`s expense.

Brilliant stuff. Rovers. I said that we had missed Dickov and bellamy playing together. Gray was given a great press on sky so well done to him. I was there in 1962 a night match and Douglas was the star man; looks like Bellamy is the new hero.

15 internationals out of the 16!! bentley is odd man out but perhaps he has U-21 honours? We should hammer `em!

Souness left after 4 games and there many on here who were delighted although he saw his "new* club beat us 3-0 in his first match and that scoreline has come back to haunt us bigtime The six games played so far this season are more or less the same as last year with 1 win ,2 draws and 2 losses. Souey was hammered last season and now it`s Hughes`s turn. I`m not sure yet whether we are worse than last year and opinion on here is divided but if the manager sees that cautious football is the way with the squad of players he`s got then we`ll have to put up with it. He said the same on Radio Five Live this morning that expansive football will only get you relegated. Dickov has been missed so far and he and bellamy can do well for us. Lets wait for a few more games before we crucify the team and Hughes as this level of criticism does sometimes lead to more instability.

Football is rapidly becoming a Television Sport. Why pay £40 when you can watch the match for a fiver? The Champions League is being rumbled now as shown by the empty seats last night at Chelsea who were charging £48 for a child!! Andy Gray was criticising our support at Bolton but I enjoyed the game from the comfort of my armchair with a bottle of Merlot to boot. Sky`s Football First gives you 50 minutes of highlights and since the ball is in play at a normal game for around 70 minutes you are not missing much. I cant agree that football is dead yet but there is need for a Full Body scan fairly soon to see if remedial treatment is necessary.

I dont think we would get 4,000 fans going to Tottenham on a wednesday in August. Even allowing for the London factor, certain clubs and Tottenham are one can rely on great support. We do not have that history of fanatical support and the team has to do well on a consistent basis for the town to respond. Lets hope Hughes can do it.

According to LET the scan has shown a tear in the muscle which links the thigh to the hip. The club are taking it "match by match" but it looks like a lenghty layoff.

Did anyone else spot Kuqi wringing out his shirt during a hold-up in play ? The sweat just poured out. That was testimony to his work rate. He has a huge heart but his feet are still in the wrong place. The gates will improve but 21,000 will have to be seen as a good crowd these days. Yesaterday`s gate was the same as Rovers first home match in the prem against Arsenal in 1992 so it looks like we will have to start again getting the fans interested. Having said that I thought the fans were fantastic and were genuine in appreciating two fantastic strikes.

Looks like Kuqi and Jansen then.

It was the first time this season that I have sen the team. I watched the game in the Roebuck in Leyland and I was the only Rover there. No one else seemed interested in the game. First half was quite good to watch. Plenty of endeavour and crisp passing and toddy`s goal. terrible mistake on the right as we attacked let in Wham who scored through Sheringham and we lost a lot of heart. generally not impressed with the team. if Kuqi is a prem striker then I know nothing about football and matteo has to give way to Gresko. Todd is too slow for the top flight and we need a young Tugay. Savage was OK but we badly missed Nelsen. It is difficult to predict after one game but it was very disappointing to lose to a not very good team. We do need a creative player and a quick centre back but lets see what happens against Fulham.

I think we are quite right to be anxious at the way the game is going. These prices are not sustainable and the way Chelsea are performing in the transfer market then the game will lose its life blood which is competitiveness. The Sky matches will soon be showing vast swathes of empty seats. £30 for a Rovers fixture is very near the bone for most people in the town I would have thought. I used to travel away but no more;the Sky subscription is looking more and more like good value for many fans.

I have to admit i am totally surprised that he has signed for us, but delighted that such a high profile player is prepared to come to Ewood. The Hughes and Wales factors are the keys. The spanish connection at Liverpool; the french connection at Highgbury and now we can add the welsh connection at Rovers. Savage and Bellamy will ensure our fair share of media attention during the season. What a pity his arrival has been overshadowed by the awful events in London. Well done to the Board for their bold move. Surely we cant have another bad season now.

First game was in 1955 against Leyton Orient at Ewood. I was 8 at the time and I sat over the wall on the riverside on those wooden benches with my feet touching the red pebbly track. i remember the orange ball which was used as the pitch seemed to be covered with about 10 feet of snow! We won 4-1 and i was hooked. My 50th year this time.

Blackburn fans dont like buying tickets before a game . There will be a lot turning up on the night.