This is an excellent article and I feel sums up much of my view of football these days. I've probably been saying much of this, less articulately, for a couple of years.

If this isn't true why don't I feel excited about the first home match?

Why is football something I do as part of the routine?

Why has football stopped dominating the week-ends plans?

Why do I go to bed rather than watch MOTD?

Why don't I bother to watch Rovers on Sky anymore?

Why was the only reason I renewed my STs because the kids wanted to go?

Why do I feel utterly disconnected from every player who wears blue and white?

Sky, the players, the agents have destroyed the game and the FA, PL chairmen and clubs were to weak to stop them. Give me Simon Garner over Craig Bellamy any day....I'd sooner watch the youngsters than the overpaid, idle bunch we will put out on Saturday afternoon.

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And with that post Paul you put yourself in for post of the year.

Great stuff.

Kuqi - I have a sneaking feeling the guy is going to become a bit of cult at Ewood.  He is strong, suprisingly quick, and he can get in the right place as well.

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You did say cult didn't you?

What was the capacity in the 80's, before the redevelopment?

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Just over 20k

Anyone read Richard Littlejohn's piece in The Sun today?

Bang on if you ask me.

I may be leaving myself open to being slaughtered (pardon the expression) for this viewpoint but what the hell.

Firstly, condolences to anyone who has been affected by this terrible tragedy today.

The people actually responsible for today deserve nothing but pure contempt from all right thinking citizens and are not worth the energy to be honest.

However , the people who I've heard on radio phone ins today (Vine on Radio 2), a long standing work colleague, and the authors of various other things I've read are the people to really worry about when they imply that it was purely retaliation and was fully deserved.

I'm confident that the terrorist can never and will never win, but the loony lefty Guardian readers who hold up George Galloway as some sort of hero really do concern me.

Whatever people's views on the war in Iraq there can be NO excusing atrocities such as this.

As John Williams said in the LET last night that there was no such thing as a 'free' transfer I would hazard a guess that if the Cole deal goes through our hopes of landing McCarthy would diminish significantly.

The well might not be dry but it'll be getting a little parched.

The pitch was swamped when we played them away - that was when we clinched promotion - did you mean away?

Looking in the Jackman "bible" I note the attendance at Gigg Lane was 13,369 and with 10,000+ Rovers fans (one of our best ever away followings) the place was absolutely rocking. We basically had the whole ground.

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CLB, I was only a wee boy so didn't get to the away game because it was a night match and my dad wouldn't take me.

I mean the home game that we lost (last game of the season). I can still remember the big guy Steve Johnson scoring for Bury that day and I also remember the players spraying us with champagne from the Enclosure stand when the match had finished.

Have to consult Mr. Jackman's book but earliest memory is of a 3-0 home defeat against Rotherham (late 70's and I'm sure the referee was a notorious one called McNally).

Other memories were of Howard Kendall breaking the net with a penalty at the Blackburn End, beating Coventry in the 4th round of the FA Cup when they had their infamous brown strip on, watching us lose in the cup at Anfield when John Butcher had a blinder and a certain Mr. K.Dalglish scored the winner and invading the pitch at home to Bury when we'd won promotion from the 3rd Div.

Happy days.

That would make a total of about 27 years of being a Rovers fan.

I thought all those players who 'did a David May' at the end was funny.

Salif Diao, Josemi, Le Tallec and Pongy all getting in on the celebration photos was different class. I mean, Salif Diao has been on loan at Birmingham all season hasn't he? I've contributed as much.

By the way, well done to the Scousers.

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Did Sinama-Pongolle not score a crucial goal against Olympiakos? The guy was a vital part of the team earlier in the year before getting injured.

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Not sure RM, if he did, strike him off the list.

I thought all those players who 'did a David May' at the end was funny.

Salif Diao, Josemi, Le Tallec and Pongy all getting in on the celebration photos was different class. I mean, Salif Diao has been on loan at Birmingham all season hasn't he? I've contributed as much.

By the way, well done to the Scousers.

Kids under 8 go free, kids between 8-11 pay less than £100, family tickets reasonably priced, ST Holders get ALL cup games free (apart from semi and final), incentives for 'bringing a friend' such as reduced price on merchandise (and not a piddling 5% either) or maybe even a free pie or beer.

The most important thing is to get youngsters in because hey, I believe that children are our future.

Is it just me or are you all finding it difficult to stifle a chuckle on this whole affair?

I just keep seeing all these protestors outside Old Trafford with their 'NOT FOR SALE' banners yet there's sod all they can do about it.

Not for sale my arse.

A win for Rovers , nae bother.

All the press will be praying for a defeat for the 'thugs' so they can keep the bandwagon rolling. We'll win just to p*** them off....again.

Right, I'm over the fact that there are certain people not going, so be it.

Setting off at 12:45 and can't wait. Let's get there, get obscenely drunk and make more noise than the city can take.

Hope to see a load of you for a drink in the centre tonight....let's make ourselves heard.

COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!

What's all this £45 a ticket anyway?

For all those ST holders who really wanted to go there was a £25 or £35 option. I know, I set my stall out and got one, as did many others I know.

All those of you that have had to go for the more expensive option, unlucky, but speaking from my own experience (in the words of Dr. Robert of the Blow Monkeys) It doesn't have to be that way.

I'm looking at it like it's a once in a life time opportunity. We haven't been this far in the FA Cup for god knows how many years. The kick off time can't be helped, the prices can't either but Rovers fans have been wanting a good cup run in years, we've got one so get down to Cardiff.

The ones who aren't going, I understand the price and appreciate the difficulty of familes not being able to go down but just imagine what you could be missing out on.

Great post and my sentiments entirely.

Next time you talk to someone who says they aren't going cos they can't afford it, offer to lend them the money 'til they can pay it back, chances are they still won't go.

That's my experience on three separate occasions anyway.

TNR I got 4 £25 tickets and know of only 3 people who've had to pay over that (apart from those on here obviously).

Well it's 15,004 now, just ordered my tickets at tea time.

At £45 a throw thank goodness I'm only paying for my own ticket.

How anyone can possibly criticise say a family of 4 for not going and paying full whack for the kids is beyond me.

Reason I'm so vocal about the stayaways is that I know season ticket holders with no ties who say they can't afford it. Rubbish, it's all about priorities. If you buy a season ticket every year it's fair to say that Rovers are quite high on your priority list. So if these particular 'fans' had got their arses down to Ewood with their ST's when they went on sale (like I and many others did) they'd have paid a measly 25 quid.

The fact of the matter is that the majority of the supposed 'true' fans who are not going are not doing so for one reason only. Because they can't be arsed.

What do they follow a football club for anyway? Do they strive for mediocrity year in year out so they can have a good whinge?

Just read the preview (even though I contributed earlier on the thread) and have to say it's fantastic.

Nuclearsox, whatever you do for a living, you're wasted in it.

Staying in Caerphilly and getting the train into Cardiff on Friday night for a no holds barred session.

Where is everyone doing their drinking? I don't want to walk into the Slaughtered Lamb prior to getting my head kicked in.

No problem with Lucas, Eddie, I don't think he's a bad player and he's not a great player, just average.

But as a colleague pointed out to me this morning, when England have Danny Mills as 2nd choice at right back it goes to show how few real quality players there are in that position.

Yes but isn't the dispute because he wants a new long term contract but the club have a year option so are unwilling to give it as they see no point? That doesn't exactly force them to sell.

No, but if a player doesn't get what he wants he becomes an unhappy player. Clubs don't keep unhappy players (ie - Barry Ferguson) and the usual outcome is a parting of the ways.

A big difference here is that the time left on his contract is short meaning that he would be relatively cheap.

Where are these better right backs? Of his age and that we could afford? Oh and who would come to our club? I can't think of one who meets all of those criteria. He may have some faults, and has for quite a while been playing poorly, but over the last few months his form has picked up and he is the player we once knew, a quality right back.

Mark Delaney.

No thanks. We'd never get him anyway. Not without offering a highly inflated price, and I have to say I'd rather have Neill.

Currently in a contract dispute with Villa and has the almost obligatory Welsh links.

I'd be very surprised if we're not interested.

That said, I would prefer Cafu

Where are these better right backs? Of his age and that we could afford? Oh and who would come to our club? I can't think of one who meets all of those criteria. He may have some faults, and has for quite a while been playing poorly, but over the last few months his form has picked up and he is the player we once knew, a quality right back.

Mark Delaney.

Lee any official figure from your side yet pal?

3,500 7,000 12,000!!!!!

"about 5000" was the reply when I asked someone who would know this morning.

Mate went down yesterday afternoon and asked the bloke in the office how many we had sold and how many we hoped to sell.

He said they'd already sold 8000 and that we hoped to sell 25,000 at least. Dream on ticket bloke.

As if it wasn't going to be hard enough on Saturday we have the wonderful Mike Riley as referee. Oh Joy!

Can't believe that.

I've spent all week hoping that we get a decent referee for a change and then we end up with Riley the red.

Where can I get odds on there being a pen?