bob fleming

I'll be one of those then. If you look in Man City thread you'll see that I held my hand up on that one. He had a poor game - as did Zurab. I still disagree with you saying that based on the Salzberg game, which neither of us saw, Todd and Zurab should be the centre half partnership and "anyone who doesnt think we'll be more secure with that partnership, is blinkered and doesnt understand the game." Step forward Mark Hughes. You could drop either of the centre halves for me they look equally as bad. The worry of course is that maybe Nelsen makes all our other centre halves look good. Also, perhaps Todd has really burnt his bridges this time around? As for Sutton (better keep it slightly on thread eh? ) no thank you very much.

Has to be Grabbi for me, although there are plenty to chosse from unfortunately. He was never good enough, had no pace, wasn't particularly good in the air, never looked like a centre forward (with his tendency to drift out to the left wing). He had a decent touch on him I suppose. Still at least the £6.5 mllion we spent on the much travelled Serie B striker who apparently was scouted only on video can't be called into question.

Oh aye. "Celebrity Tarzan" or a drunk rambling angry Alan Brazil? Surely there's no contest.

Yeah I heard him. Got on one because of a debate over George Benson and Nat King Cole, who was the best.

After backing Ooijer in another thread saying that he'll come good it's only fair to hold my hand up and say that he had another bad game again yesterday. The centre halves aren't doing the business and as Paul has said they don't seem to be communicating. You could drop either Zurab or Ooijer for me - take your pick. If Todd's out of the picture then maybe Henchoz will be the answer? Doesn't really inspire me with much confidence mind.

Here's a bit of info on Richard Dinnis. He commentated on last nights game for Radio Lancashire. Perhaps he likes Keane?

Away goals count double don't they? So 10 - 6. All to play for.

We had agreed on bert I thought and then he started playing well Pleasure - what are you babbling on about? Todd has thrown his toys out again this season by all accounts. As you've just reminded me he should have been sent off (2nd yellow) and conceded a penalty for his "challenge" on Johnson against Everton when he forgot all about playing with a football. He looks slow. Slower than last year. The clean cut and fine upstanding Dutch International Ooijer will improve with every game and as Andy Neild, a great judge of all things concerning football has pointed out, it looks as though he has turned the corner. Sheff Utd wasn't our last game, Red Bull was. You didn't see the game and are just going round in circles taking "Dogs*** Dinnis' " word as gospel.

Dinnis or Neild. Only you can decide.

and even more importantly why is Zurab playing in the fans friendly, why has got a ball stuck to the back of his head and why did we concede 10 goals if he was playing? (it must have Ooijers fault)

You can't get anymore blinkered than not actually seeing the game. Reports are few and far between from the alcoholics who went to the game and frequent this messageboard, in which case we'll have to trust Andy Neild and the LT. Ooijer, the Dutch International who is getting used to playing with new team mates and has missed a portion of pre-season, had a good game.

That can't be right. There are people on this messageboard who haven't even seen the game and said that Ooijer had a terrible match.

Same here. How can anyone justify forking out £36 to get on Ewood when the match is being shown live on Sky? The only thing this'll achieve is that existing season ticket holders will be ensuring that they must get a season ticket next year as well, if they want to keep wtaching their team in a 2/3 full stadium. There is no way our gates will be higher this season than last. In the meantime the propensity for the "casual" fan to "walk on" and get the Blackburn Rovers bug is lost. That's despite "cheap" tickets in other areas of the ground. I'd imagine that the overall perception "round the town" is that it costs £36 to get into Rovers these days.

We'll sneak it 1-0 somehow. The plastic pitch will play into our hands and big Joe Garner will pop up with the winner. Good luck to all who are set to invade Austria.

Rovers 2 City 1 Joe Garner with our goals and Joe Royle for The Citizens in front of 21,423. They'll be five penalities and 3 sendings off. Pearce and Hughes will have a fight. The City keeper will punch "our" drummer when he tries to put him off when he takes a goal kick. The City keeper will get the biggest cheer of the day. It'll be quite sunny but a few will remark that it's starting to get a bit nippy.

23. I blame Todd.

No Nonda?

Don't think so Ricky, I even re-wound it to double check. Could be wrong, but the bread knife also heard it as "Blackburn". As Biddy said it could be that paranoia thing again though, it's all around you know (and closing in). "Blackburn" / "Thatcher" (doesn't even sound similar) maybe a reference to Margaret Thatcher - Honourary Vice President Something Or Other of Blackburn Rovers? They know how to twist the knife that Reading lot.

May as well put this in here then if we're talking about "bully boy" reputations, how referees see us and how other fans see us. Remember all that garbage that was written about us not last season but the season before by the press? Yes of course you do. Well it's clearly stuck. Reading vs Manchester City last night. Dabo elbows Sidwell in the head when challenging for the ball and is (harshly) sent off. Reading fans pipe up "Are you Blackburn in disguise?". I couldn't beleive my own ears at first, re-wound it using Sky+, it was difinitely that they were singing. The cheeky mock cockney beggers! Wait until they come to Ewood we'll set Bentley and Gamst on 'em.

It'll be August and September. Two months for the price of one.

Maybe it all has something to do with The Barry Ferguson Saga Fife?

Three sides actually. As others have mentioned this really was the pits. The lowest of the low. Nevermind relegation from the Premier League, that didn't even come close somehow. The 3-1 win at Ewood was surely enough this time round we all thought. We missed out the season afterwards as well (Swindon) but to me that didn't seem quite as bad. All of what Scotty said with the addition of leaving Blackburn boulevard at around three in the morning (it was more like seven actually but I can't remember exactly what time it was and it was early) on the official away travel to eventually get to the ground 10 minutes after kick off. We lost. Courtney. Fans on the pitch. Glad All Fecking Over by The Dave Clark Fecking Five. Oh and after sitting on the coaches for three days, waiting to leave and getting grief by the fabulous Palace fans, we eventually set off. An hour later we saw a sign: "Brighton - 30 Miles" - the driver had taken us on the wrong motorway. I appreciate that none of this is your fault Palace John, neither is it Dave Clark's, but there was a set of circumstances and a chain reaction of events that took place that day that I blame Crystal Palace for and always will do. Courtney tried to make amends three years later by awarding us a couple of penalties against Leicester at Wembley when we eventually got promoted. He also retired straight after the game. He knew. Buying Kuqi for £2.5 million is just a start. You've a long way to go.

The Citizens, Blimey! I've not heard them called that for years! Great report Scotty.

We brought Nonda in to replace Kuqi. He's played 18 minutes for BRFC. I agree, he's been a complete disaster. How much longer do we give him? Another 10 minutes? Maybe another 25? Woe is me. BTW - Good post daren.

The "new one" that the refs are picking up on is the shirt pulling in the box. The John Terry penalty was probably just about fair enough but the Zurab penalty yesterday was a disgwace. You'll see this "shirt pulling" in every single game up and down the land, it's just that we're the only team to have two penalties awarded against for it. It's almost as though the refs have been told to clamp down on it and are doing so only against Blackburn Rovers. Whilst we're on this subject am I the only viewer who when watching Match of the Day or Sky Sports and sees a bad tackle go without a booking, thinks "Savage would have been booked for that, no question, in fact he'd have been sent off by now". Similarly when watching fairly innocuous challenges does anyone else think "One of our players whould have received a yellow card for that." Is there anything I can take for this? BTW the way I don't see it as a conspiracy as such, I just think the refs are fed subliminary messages when they meet up at their underground bunker every Tuesday. Posters are probably scattered around the place or on the drive in to the place that state things like "Blue & White is Bad", "Halves are Evil", "Welshmen with Blonde Hair and all Australians must be Punished", and "Hate. Kill. Blackburn" Having said all that I'm also aware that we probably wouldn't be having this discussion had we won yesterday. The defence looks dodgy (centre halves) to say the least and although the Sheff U strikers should have had a field day they shouldn't have had the two penalities. Regards Pananoia Pete