12th, 11th, 11th and 7th. FA cup semi, WON the League Cup, so far Uefa Cup semi. Not a bad record for a premier league manager at an unfashionable club - but not good enough for England. We need to be inspired...

Fine - and who you going to replace him with that is better to give some semblance of balance to the team? (And please don't say Peter because he's not ready yet).

Brilliant email in todays "Fiver" "If - as Steve McClaren's inclusion on the FA's short list implies - no discernable managerial ability, big teeth and a stubborn reluctance to go properly bald are desirable qualities for an England manager, why hasn't Barry Gibb been contacted?" Class

There is a lot of guff talked about MGP on here. He is, if you watch carefully, very similar to Beckham. He hasn't the ability to regularly go past a player, nor has he the pace to outrun anyone (these are rare attributes these days), but he is a genuine threat from crosses and dead ball situations. He also has a good first touch and vision - more so than anyone in our team other than Bellers and Tugay. His work rate is quite good as well given you have Gray bombing forward a lot and he has to fill in for him. For those that think Peter is a ready-made replacement and we should cash in - you are just plain wrong. Peter is a talent who has POTENTIAL. He is not there yet, and as such cashing in on MGP, if that is an option, risks unbalancing us. Most things are black and white with Rovers fans - if someone hits form they are brilliant. When they lose it (as every player does) they should be sold. At the moment Reidy is flavour of the month - when he loses form the same people will be slating him and wanting to sell him!

My view - and it saddens me - is that there is not a qualified Englishman for the job. And whilst certain English managers have done well, overachieiving in a low-expectation, relatively low-pressure environment does not qualify you for the pressure and expectation of managing England. If you widen it to British then perhaps you have a couple but no more. So we either go for the best manager for the job or we tie one hand up our backs and go for the best Englishman - but if we do that then the press need to give him some slack (which they won't). For me, the best candidate is Arsene Wenger and the FA should pull out all the stops to get him. Of course, David Dein (or indeed any of the top clubs) would never allow that - hence you get a short-list from the next tier of clubs. IMHO of course

Sorry - my mistake. I thought you meant you didn't know he was on the list (i.e. the FA list) rather than the poll list

Are you being serious?

The papers today suggest it is McClarens job. I think this is disastrous. I remember the euphoria after Italia 90 which was punctured when Taylor was announced as the England boss - I feel the same now if it is McClaren. He's been at Boro for 5 years - he must have spent more than any club outside the big 4 (and probably more than Arsenal) and they are wallowing in the premiership and they are deadly dull to watch - even with the attacking talent they have had at their disposal. A big, big mistake in my opinion.

Interesting that last season we conceded 43 goals. So far this season we've conceded 42. Of course we've scored 46 vs 32 so shows you that a good striker is the difference between avoiding relegation and competing for champs league/Europe...

Rather rich coming from someone would accuse a certain individual of trying to drown them if they'd dived in to save a struggling swimmer... You've even managed to turn this discussion round to him for goodness sake. Fact of the matter is that had it been anyone else there would not be a discussion. But Todd has "previous" and plenty of it, so any action like that is bound to generate debate. Personally I like him and he'd probably be in my starting 11 ahead of Zurab, but there is no doubt about it he has a suspect temperament and I'd make Nelsen my skipper because of that.

Sh*t Forssell

Written in the stars, written in the stars... Now he just has to get out of there in one piece

SAVAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like Todd has had a strop according to Radio Lancs and thrown the armband down. Probably seen the last of him this season then...

Not normally a doom-monger but if we continue this form we'll be lucky to get another point all season. That said, we'll probably lose tonight and then stuff Chelsea...

Well it's about opinions I guess. I think he clearly tried to play the ball and then put his arms up when he realised that missing it put Morientes in. Nothing I've seen of Cisse in English football would convince me that he has the foresight and vision to do what he did deliberately.

That refs forum is a shocker. If they can't see that the only reason Cisse didn't touch the ball is because he's sh*te then it certainly adds to fuel to the argument that you need to have played the game to referee the game (as opposed to being the school spanner who nobody picked). The annoying fact is, if Cisse had any ability whatsoever he would have touched that ball and the goal wouldn't have stood

This in itself is equally irrelevant. Apart from the big 4, and possibly Spurs, Rovers first team is better than most other teams. And it doesn't matter what anyone says, on our resources we are never going to consistently break into that little monopoly. It is very simple - it's a long season and luck evens itself out - where we finish will be directly related to how good we are.

Oh dear, what a ricket by the west brom goalie

How can you say in one sentence that there is a problem with getting the full potential from players, and a lack of respect from them, and not make the connection with the manager?

3-0 now. I have to say that Tiny Taylor, as ropey as he was when he was here, has gone backwards in his development under Steve Bruce. He's terrible I'm afraid, and I always liked him at Rovers

The point is that the rest of football is being dictated to by 18 clubs and it's time to make a stand. Either they play in their league, and their league alone, or they play in the current leagues. But not both, and definitely not bent out of shape to suit their money-grabbing antics. I'm alright jack. And the suggestion earlier on about players have to play in an official FA/UEFA/FIFA league to qualify for the national team is bang on. See how many big name players flock to join them then when there is no chance of a World Cup to play in, or a European Championship. It will become like the first incarnation of Major League Soccer was in the States - a place where superstars go for one last paycheque. And then it would die, because regardless of that it would be boring as hell. How many English, German, Italian and Spanish fans will tune into Lyon vs Porto do you think? About as many as watch Osasuna vs Mallorca now - b*gger all.

We'll lose this one and then beat both Liverpool and Chelsea

Just back from the match. First up - why is everyone surprised by the gate? We always dip a couple of thousand when there are 2 consecutive home games - anyone who goes knows that. First half was good - Bellamy's goal was a cracker. Defence went to sleep for about 5 minutes during which Boro scored and Brad made his only real save of the half. Got it back together when Pedersen scored direct from a free-kick wide on the right as we attacked the Boro goal in the Darwen End. It must have been my fault - at half-time I said to the missus - can't remember the last time I've seen a half of football without a booking. Oh dear. Second half started with a Boro attack and Yakubo appealing for a penalty. Ref then lost the plot entirely. Booked Sav for a challenge in which from the BBE he clearly seemed to have won the ball. A few minutes later and Sav was off. I still cannot understand why. From that point onwards the ref basically dug himself into a hole and decided the best way out was to keep digging - yellow cards here, there and everywhere. Feared the worst when Boro equalised but what can you say about Bellers? We always have a chance with him on the pitch. What a brilliant goal, cutting in from the right towards the BBE, hit a screamer into the far corner. From that point on I actually felt reasonably comfortable. Great game apart from the ref.

Absolutely agree. You play in your breakaway Euro league and you eff off from the premier league. No cake and eat it here. Frankly the league would be a better place without you. The extract I found most staggering was the group calling for "more reliable criteria" for participation in the Euro competitions i.e. don't worry about form, fix it so that the "biggest" teams are in. Disgraceful