Just about 10 days short of the fifth anniversary of the last time we sacked our last manager. (Kidd) Radio football phone-ins attract some fools.

Just a few observations: (1) The Boro fans in the boxes at the Blackburn End. Someone has probably paid Rovers a lot of money to hire that box. The thought of having a steward pull down a blind or curtain to stop them or any other away fans at Ewood seeing the match in has probably not crossed anyone's mind. Perhaps this possibility could be in the contract and brought to the attention of the hirer and the occupants. (2) As mentioned before, hiring out boxes to away fans in the Blackburn End is a stupid idea. (3) The mass standing-up of fans is an insurmountable problem for any steward at any ground. What's the answer when faced with 3000+ fans all standing. Trafford Borough Council is having a hard time with The Red Scum standers, they have a pretty long-standing (sorry) and difficult problem to solve. It'll be a brave person who closes down a stand or turns on the water cannon. (4) Perhaps those in front of the boxes in the Blackburn End can organise an arse-showing competition or a willy waggling session for the delictation of the visitors the next time they misbehave. A couple of rolls of gaffa tape over the windows would be fine too. Nothing too damaging.

Blimey, All a bit heated. It seems like the problem lies with Rovers letting out boxes in the Blackburn End to away fans. The boxes in the Darwen end seemed empty. Not the first time this has happened. Then we have some Boro fans in those boxes celebrating their 4-0 win (well, if it was you, you would wouldn't you?) So then some Rovers' fans get all precious and try to take it out of some Boro fans sat behind two inches of plate glass. Really clever that is, MENSA stuff. If you then get yourself chucked out for aggresion and chucking abuse at someone who can't hear you then you deserve to be chucked out. FFS just chuck a "V" at then and get on with the fact that we were stuffed. We were stuffed. Humiliated. Ridiculed. Live with it. Get thrown out if you can't and have to act like a four year old throwing a tantrum. Grow up.

Well, he played like he was stoned out of his brain. Could explain a lot.

You have got to be kidding. I stood at Boundary Park yonks ago on my biking gear. Kept me snug and warm in December on the M62 at eleventy nine mph. Had to rub raw chillis into my genitalia and eyeballs to get me going after that match.

Careful there. That sounds like Ewood.

American, I've no need to try and prove that because I didn't say it. Please read my post again. Abbey, it wasn't the event that was the risk. If she had been on her horse and there had been fireworks and a bunch of Hooray Henrys driving around in their Land Rovers chucking empty champers bottles at the Van Nistelroys, then something should have been done. But this didn't happen. Your point is similar to saying that as that City player (Mark Vivian Defoe?) died playing football then football should be banned. Billenge, I deeply and sincerely hope not My point in introducing these other examples was simply to try and exemplify the point that over a number of years measures have been taken to keep us all safer. The bigger picture. The Bovril doesn't count. The seat-belts and the breathaliser probably do. Cheers

I don't think it's really about "Nanny State." That's too simplistic. Hillsborough was a watershed on how we, as a society, treat ourselves. Do we allow ourselves to be treated like sheep and herded so that 96 people die, or do we say "this is not right, we need to look after ourselves with more respect and dignity. To this end I might quote (say) drink driving laws. Perhaps that was "nanny state" in its time. I doubt if anyone would take that line today. Similarly some health & safety laws at (for example) building sites. Most people will have seen the classic photos of the workers building the Empire State Building sat own on the end of a girder 400 feet up eating their butties. Great photography, but how many of those workers died? Crash helmets & seat belts? Fine, if you want to kill yourself or put yourself in a coma or be a drain on society for the rest of your life, you go ahead. Just don't expect the rest of us to look after you, nor the health service to have to scrape you up off the road or dis-entangle your brains from your steering wheel. I think we all have a right to go about our daily lives without being endangered or in threat of death or injury. If this involves inconvenience to some, then tough. If this involves someone having to sit down to watch a football match instead of standing, up so be it. Society is moving on and will continue to do so. I'm happy to be restricted and controlled if it means that my children are no longer allowed to work in coal mines or sweep chimneys. I'm happy that there are trout and salmon in the Mersey due to regulation. I could go on. But I'll stop there.

Now who could that be Mr C? ... ... You Scamp. Take sometime off and back me up. He might just garner (no that one) a couple of votes. Me & you.

Got it. TF. The only ones I've heard of. Indeed, got the lot.

Pish. You guys who advocate the standing areas are being very selective about the Lord Taylor Report about the Hillsborough Disaster. It wasn't just about standing, it was about the whole ethos of how supporters were treated. Herded into pens, fenced in, the bloke behind you urinated on you because he was either (a) drunk or ( couldn't be bothered to go to the bogs because there was only three urinals for 10,000 fans. If the fat bloke behind you decided to surge forward you were crushed against a barrier. If the fat bloke in front of you happened to be six foot tall you payed your money to see sod all. Urine dribbled down the terraces, you'd have to be a serial child-abuser to take anyone under sixteen to see a game. The police and stewards treated us like the scum of the earth, to be herded in and out of the stadia, it's a surprise that they didn't use electrified cattle prods. The standing went out of the window with all that and I, for one, am grateful.

It has to be said that voting for someone you have never seen play takes a great leap of faith. That said, FLB managed to convince us that Bob Compton was a worthy winner. So, perhaps if some of our older posters (I think I'm one of them BTW) have nominations, they might just like to take the time and effort to put together an accolade for their favourite. I'm compiling something for an unlikely midfielder. I don't expect him to win, but by Jove I'm enjoying doing it.

I won't attempt to justify it Colin cos it's a bit ago now and my memory of this is somewhat vague. But which bit of that description carried the greatest inaccuracy and insult? I'm no expert on what is or what isn't deemed 'pc' nowadays but if it were me it'd be in descending order from the front. Thanks American for digging this up Theno, It's all insulting. Just as it would be if some one described you or me as "a ###### lazy thick white ######." I hope that filter works........

Slightly off-topic. I had the "pleasure" of sharing a railway carriage between Leeds and Manchester on Wednesday with half a dozen Slipknot fans who were travelling from York to see them in Manchester. Ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Youth is wasted on the young.

All it needs now is for Johnson to set up Taylor..........

What do you think colin? So far so good. One of the things I like about Cave is that, to my ears anyway, some of his songs seem quite ordinary until played for the fifth or sixth time then something marvellous appears. An aural equivalent of those magic eye pictures that were popular a few years back.

A good touch typist should be able to vote without removing said digit from rectum. A mirror may help a bit.

Tonight, I be mostly listening to Nick Cave's new offerings.

That'll be the cause of the pimples then. Just out of interest Jim, will you let us know when you put forward a case for a "best" player who you have not seen on the pitch. With a few notable exceptions, I suspect it would be very difficult to do.

Yes, you've got that one by the scruff of the neck Brownie. No discussion needed. Maybe it should read "Who were the second & third best centre backs?" I'd go for Kevin Moran.

"The Moon Under Water" to be Mr Fuss-Pot. "Surreal?" I never mentioned the haddock once.

That's a wonderful idea. That strikes me as a brilliant idea too. Sod this "ethic background" rubbish. Haul 'em in by some other method. Schoolkids don't give a damn where there classmates parents come from.

Hasta, I'd guess that Rovers sell the right to sell burgers, beer, & hot dogs to a catering company which will have bid for the right to be able to sell to Rovers' fans on match days. So if the Botulism Burger Company Ltd has staff off, they suffer by not being able to sell enough datchunds. The fans suffer by not being able to get fried datchunds but Rovers have the dosh. Answer: buy your grub before you get into Ewood and, if you must, put the spirit of your choice in a hip-flask. **************** Meanwhile, back on the subject, I agree with others that I am getting weary of football being forced upon us all as the greatest thing since sliced bread. The love of the game is being brushed aside by the sheer commercialisation of the whole thing. Personally I blame Sky for its hijacking of the game and its "Tonight it's Derby County versus Coventry City, it should be one hell of a Midlands derby. Stay with us, it should be a great match" approach to the whole thing. Then the final score is 0-0 and you realise that the washing-up remains, you never got to go for a game of darts at the pub, the lawn remains un-cut, and you never did get round to making that phone call to your Mum. Like the rest of you I never bothered to watch The Scum v Liverpool. I'd rather do something else. Football is getting very sick and it will be interesting to look back in five years' time and see if anything has progressed.

Mrs J, I salute you. Brilliant post. The heart over the head and long may it reign.

Well that was a game of two halves wasn't it? The first was pretty dull but the second was really lively. Without spouting some amateur cod-psychology I thought the players looked better and more hard working that over the past few months. Two that caught my eye were Matteo, who was pretty solid in central defence and nearly scored with a good shot from a corner fairly late on. Q: has he ever played central defence for us before? I've got to say, that I thought Bert Emmerton was pretty good in the second half. He ran at defenders and put the fear of god into them. Anyhoo, three points, Matt's back with a goal and we're all happy. Which is nice.