Steve Bruce In my opinion a Class A clown and hypocrite. Read on For Bruce to have the nerve to criticise Savage beggars believe

I think Savage has more natural quality than both players you mention, and he is one of the few players the prem league who a neutral would quote as coming close to Dickov in terms of work rate. And 2 final points - how do you know he's coming for the money, and so what if he is, as long as he is professional. I suppose you think that Messrs Shearer, Sutton, Batty, Cole, and every other player who didn't come up through the academy, didn't take into account the money?

Talk about a pots and kettles. Steve Bruce hardly stayed at a club as manager for more than 5 minutes until Brum and now he's dropped Savage for disloyalty! And if this is turning into a personal vendetta by Bruce against Bowen then that says more about Brum's lack of professionalism than anything else. Coupled with the way he stoked the media about the Yorke incident Mr Bruce is turning out to be a bit of a clown. It seems that it is perfectly acceptable for Brum to buy our players with down-payments and extended payment terms but not for us. It's a shame we can't foreclose on what they owe us!

Does anybody know whether the shining wits at Brum still owe us any money for the myriad of Rovers players they have signed (Johnson, Dunn, Taylor, Yorke)? Or did they pay it all up front?

Matteo is very suspect at left back. He's slower at turning than an oil tanker and his left foot is more like a log than a wand. He does seem to have good heading ability and a pacy guy like Emerton helping him out I think has hidden the flaws. Personally, I prefer McEveley but frankly it's hard to argue with our defensive record recently.

Well I think there's something going on What has Mark Hughes done with the real Brett Emerton? This one we've got now is fast, confident, taking on players and getting to the TOUCHLINE. The public have a right to know...

If it's proved then I hope they throw the book at them. However, I don't recall Mr Bruce shouting from the rooftops about this

Every single fan I've spoken to at work - Bolton, Man City, Man Utd, Everton and Liverpool - sees this for what it is - a piece of sensationalist and opportunistic journalism. Nobody believes the club is racist - they believe, rightly, that we had a couple of d*ckheads in the crowd. The club dealt with the matter by ejecting one and the two are currently being interviewed by police. If they are proved to be racist then they'll be dealt with by the law. So, I'd echo the calls - if you thought Andy Cole did well for us, give him a round of applause. If not, try not to wind him so much that he scores a hatfull ...

Oh for that side in 96 when we last beat them. Okay - I'm fed up of doom and gloom. First a penalty (who takes them - no idea anymore?) and a scuff off the back of Stead's arse. 2-1 win. COME ONNNNN

You do get some absolute sh*te on this board. First of all, Rovers were the better team up until Tugay got his marching orders. No doubt about it, it changed the course of the match. Secondly, they were pretty comfortable until half-time. What happened after that was somewhat predictable. Early goal, Rovers push on, second goal, and then that is that. Now, for everyone who says Tugay should have been sent off, you may be right. From my angle the second challenge didn't seem that bad but I accept that may not be the case. What is the absolute truth though is that Mike Riley, t*sser, let 3 or 4 similar cynical Boro challenges go (i.e. no booking) in the minutes before Tugay's challenge. There is a simple question of consistency and competence here. I am sick and tired of Rovers fans, including the kn*b on Radio Rovers, apologising for poor refereeing. We get it week in and week out. We have the opposite of "homers" at Ewood. As for the team, well, if Reid is a prem player then so am I. Amoruso has the worst positional sense of any player I have ever seen, including Sunday morning parks football. Matteo is poor. He has a cultured left foot only if your view of culture is thrash metal. It all feels like relegation again. The board have a serious choice to make - either accpet it and batten down the hatches for championship football or mortgage the farm in an attempt to speculate to accumulate. I don't envy them because it's probably a no-win situation.

As good as our coaches may be, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". Amo has the positional sense of an 8 year old and unfortunately not the concentration span. But, we are coming good going forward so a 3-2 thriller to us - Bazza, Emo and Dickov. Some almighty clump of a defender for them from a set piece and a JFH free-kick.

I believe a lot of people have taken positives such as those described out of the game. It's all good and I'm pleased that Hughes is having an effect. However, the fact remains that we are rapidly being exposed for what we are - and hard work and effort are no substitute for class. I for one see worrrying parallels with our relegation season - namely that we are struggling to CREATE chances - let alone put them away. I just hope Sparky can turn it around and the board backs him in January - else we are going to have to rely on 3 other teams being worse than us (which thankfully, I think they are)

Souness, I believe, said that Ferguson would become the equal of Viera, Keane and Gerrard. I'm afraid to say I don't see that. At present, he's not even the equal of the Flitty of 2 years ago. He doesn't seem to like it up him (to quote Dad's Army) and Charlton's relentless pressing led to him drifting for long periods. Players like those above, and Lampard at Chelsea, dictate matches regardless of the oppo and above all, do it consistently. I just worry that playing for Rangers he only ever had 4 hard games a year and he still looks a good few games away from adjusting to me.

Feels like the relegation season a few years ago did to me. Last season we were at least scoring and now we don't seem to be a threat at all. Everybody keeps harping on about the defence being poor, and it's true, they aren't great. But defence starts further up the field, in the minds of the opposition. When we had Dunn, Duff, Cole and Jansen all firing, with Tugay picking them out, the opposition full-backs and midfield were always mindful about not committing too much - which made our defence seem better. The problem now is that we have no cutting edge or inspiration - there's nobody to put the fear of God in the opposition. Compare last night's performance to the one at Celtic Park a couple of years back. We got beat 1-0 but for 80-odd minutes we played them off the park. People came up to me the next day in genuine awe at the quality of that football. We are a million miles away from that and the worry is that we are reduced to long balls to possibly the shortest striker in the premier league. Depressed myself now - sorry

I think we need to rely on 3 other teams being slightly more sh*t than we are. Thanks Graeme...

Agree about Emerton. I've always liked him - his workrate and pace always give the opposition something to think about, even if he isn't skinning 3 players every single time he gets the ball. But I'd still take Duffer back too!

And NOTW says Duff and Emerton

Fantastic day. Nearly shed a tear when Matty scored. I like Amo, he brings the ball out well and gives us good options at corners. However, he has the positional sense of an 8 year old which means he is constantly having to make flying, heroic-looking blocks and challenges. I'm not sure my heart will take that all season! MGP did look a bit short on confidence and the pace of the game seemed to pass him by some times. It's early days and Hughesy should inject some confidence, but he probably does need a run in the reserves and cup games to get up to speed. I thought second half Brett was great. Again, he's short on confidence - which is unsurprising given the stick he gets from idiots in the stands who have never played and will never understand football - but he gets through a massive amount of work tracking back, and he has genuine pace. Yes he needs to improve his final ball, but just having him in the team subdues the opposition left side. Very impressed with Bothroyd - someone I'd not really heard of. He looks every inch a premiership player to me - very good start. Final word for Matty. Some of us never stopped believing! A great foundation to build on.

Feel really optimistic for the first time in ages and looking forward to Saturday! Coem on Hughesy. Have Betfair coughed up yet - I had 20 quid on him!?

Assuming the latest posts about Sparky and co are correct, anybody have any more info about the backroom staff and their records? Oh, and can we get this straight - when we sing "-------- blue and white army", will it be "Mark Hughes's", "Hu-u-ughseys" or "Spa-a-arky's" then???

Whoever he is, he's better than Robson...

Jesus christ no! The link below Click here

Yes, his quote about being left a fantastic situation by Bobby Robson made me smile, in a masochistic sort of way. Wonder if Hughesy/Dowie/Strachany/Uncle Tom Cobbley will say the same when they get here?

Not happy at all, but putting it in perspective - when I saw the fixture list before the season I expected 3 points from West Brom, 1 point form Saints and nothing at all from Arsenal, Cheats and Newcastle. So I'm only a couple of points off what I thought! Agree though - we must beat Portsmouth to avoid getting into the losing habit like last year

In terms of pure experience and relative success, it should be Strachan from that list. Of course I think there is more to it than track record (otherwise Houllier and Glenda would be faves) but to be perfectly frank I wouldn't be disappointed by any of those 3