Agreed. And I suspect this is a "handover" from BBD to Gallagher for the next couple. Gallagher really needs a goal here, if that is the plan.

This is really difficult to predict. Our line-up could be anything, as key first team players rightly get a rest/protection from the standard Wigan shithousery. I suspect TM will be dusting off the old Tombola for a right good go, for old time's sake. From the above suggested line ups, I'd personally be surprised to see Kaminski or Rothwell out there. I'd guess that Pears, Nyambe, Ayala, Edun, Johnson, Butterworth, Davenport, Dolan, Gallagher are all very likely to start (tombola-allowing). JRC off the bench? With the likely scale of changes, I'm not confident at all, but who knows. And do we really care?! For me, I'm about 24 hours away from my usual 'tipping point' from "I don't give a monkeys about the FA Cup", to "It's the FA Cup, of course I care: Can't wait !"

😂👏

I travelled from the South West for this one, for the second time in two months, having not been up in my first 30 years of being a fan. Yep, I’ve definitely caught the bug; and not the Greek-letter one. I felt even more excitement than I did during my first trip, I’m not sure if this was driven by the run we are on, the increasing feeling of belief, survival of the omnipresent threat of game postponement due to Covid, or weather, or of just being alive and here, 200+ miles from home on my own little (42-year-old child’s) adventure. I think I’m experiencing this even more strongly in my middle age and after so long of not being able to make the trip, or of feeling emotions quite right due to ill health. It means more now because of the knowledge of how fleeting sporting success (and health/life) can be and how close failure lurks, really (league one, anyone?) I loved the atmosphere on the day. The game itself was less great; the impact of the monumental deluge that seemed to follow me up the M6 was huge, as was the pitch drainage system seeming to be based on sponsorship by “Plenty” kitchen roll. Ultimately it might be testament to the surreal times we find ourselves in that a 0-0 draw felt to me like a fairly good result and also a totally worthwhile reason for my 470-mile round trip; just to look at the updated league table and see “Blackburn Rovers” in the top 2 of the Championship, and then to drive back out on Bolton Road and have my attention caught by a flag of St George flying high alongside the Chilean flag. These are not normal times. But, from a Rovers perspective, they are pretty damn good times. Favourite moments of game: Defensive organisation, Kaminski save when defence breached, Travis glimpses of previous impact, Mowbray fuming at the terrible ref, an elderly fan beside me offering the best/worst mispronunciation of a name I have heard in a long while by passionately encouraging Reda: “Go on, Kedgeree”. Least favourite moments: Ground conditions minimising the chance to enjoy Brereton, Khadra, Buckley & Rothwell running with the ball and dictating the play. Next time… Most awkward moment: A bit stressed by the Covid pass check and the partially dissolved ticket in my pocket, accidentally calling a female turnstile steward ‘mate’, and then worrying, perhaps disproportionately, that I had committed a huge social faux pas and weighing up whether to calmly continue with the ‘equality’ approach by calling her ‘geezer’, or to over-compensate with ‘madam’. PS Thank you, brfcs.com, for the help sourcing me a ticket for this one and getting me back to Ewood sooner than I had planned.

Classy. Good lad, I hope he becomes top class.

Really not sure about our strategy in that half. Long ball into box not working at all. Seemed to run out of ideas a bit. And ref is working hard to kill the game.

😄 excellent! You can take the boy out of the Westcountry....

Good crowd in (it seems) and queues for tickets but I can't help working about the pitch here....

Add Big Sam Gallagher into that offer and we can surely all look forward to a Brereton & Mitrovic front line?!

I'd go along with the last few posts. The key thing, if at all possible, is not to sell anyone in this window. Not only would it weaken the team significantly, of itself, it would also quite possibly be a big blow to the confidence of the rest of the team. I agree with @RoverDom that a good right back is needed to provide cover. And with @Paul Mani that another goal scoring striker will be very handy for the last 20-odd games. But the only other signings I would really want to see (and more so than the RB & Striker cover) is contract extensions for Rothwell, Nyambe and Brereton - and a cautious return to action for Dack. Conversely to the above, I suspect any of this would bring a further lift to a team already high on confidence.

Would it be too dramatic to suggest the club is at a huge crossroads and its future (short term, at least) depends on not selling BBD?? If you had told me 18 months ago that we would all still be deep in the Covid poo but, at Christmas 2021, Rovers would not only be established in the playoff zone but be on the verge of the automatic promotion places - and Ben Brereton would be an International player and our 20+ goal machine, I'd have called you insane! Yet here we are. And, dramatic or not, it really does feel to me like this transfer window is our most important in over a decade - almost entirely on the basis of who we are able to keep hold of, rather than bring in. Strange, but very exciting, times....

I agree he does - but perhaps still in flashes, rather than as consistently as you look for in a premier league player in his position? Without knowing what he (his agent) is demanding, wage-wise, I can't be sure we should be just agreeing to it. But he would definitely be a huge loss because he is a special kind of player.

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

Right then. I'm part way back to the West Country and wanted to share a couple of thoughts while I have a coffee in services. Firstly, and please don't crucify me for this but, despite being a Rovers fan since 1992, I have NEVER been to Ewood Park before yesterday. I know. Whilst I do feel embarrassed by this, I have my reasons, which relate to stuff you don't want to hear about my long term health condition and financial struggles, as well as the obvious distance from home. A very recent cancer diagnosis in my family - my uncle who used to take a young me on road trips to watch England - has meant I have decided to start taking opportunities where I can, and not waiting for the 'perfect time' in the future. I drove up on my own yesterday as it was quite an emotional thing for me to be doing and I wanted to soak every minute up. Obviously the result was great, as was, I think, the overall performance. Hugely impressed by Rothwell, Wharton and Dolan, in particular, but not exclusively. But the fact this was finally a big 'first' for me (I've been to lots of away matches down South), meant I spent a couple of hours wandering round the stadium before the game, and was just about the last to leave after full-time. This was purely because I wanted to remember every moment of something I had literally dreamed of for many years. And didn't really want it to end - appreciating I can't know when I'll next get to attend. Anyway, despite the low numbers in the crowd, I realised I had found a "happy place" in Ewood Park, and before the game not just after. I made new friends amongst the season ticket holders sat around me (one couple supplied me with chocolates for the match and for my journey home!) I witnessed one of the greatest talents I have ever seen (the chap in front of me, who surprisingly revealed from his coat pocket at half-time a clearly home-prepared hot pie!) I also realised how beautiful the blue and white halves are under floodlights, just like the moon rising in the clear sky behind the Riverside and the silhouetted trees, just a glance away from a "Rovers 4-0" scoreboard. I took my time visiting Jack Walker's statue and fountain and I chatted with stewards and the shop staff. As I stood in the JWU at the end of the game, I looked around at the then totally empty stands and I realised just how lucky I was that my friend Doug Smith had moved from Blackburn to my street in Taunton in the early 90s and 'recruited' me, with his stories of Rovers legends. And how lucky we all still are that we had Jack. What I saw is still what he built. My love and protectiveness of the club is now only greater. I hope that next time I come it might be possible to meet other Forum members. It might just be that I will be less of a pathetic 'fan-boy' about the whole thing. But I suspect, and hope, not entirely. And apologies for this spam message. Just wanted to share a view as someone with a particular perspective on what was, on paper, just a cold Wednesday night v Peterborough. But really wasn't. Now, back to the M6/M5...!

This is pathetic to watch. Only one team set up to win. Or even play football effectively.

God help us today!! That central defence is the stuff of nightmares.

We'd go above Stoke and above Bristol C, who lost last night. Big game today.

Another good result. I think that is us safe? Now for the summer..... I hope we get to start next season in the Championship rather than demotions.

Vital result.

He has pi55ed his career & talent away? I don't like the look of our team. But think we might scrape a 0-0.

Oh no, I'm sorry to read this. Kelbo's posts were always well worth reading. It's strange to feel sad at the loss of someone I never knew, conversed with, nor would have recognised- but his contributions to discussion on here (and the tributes paid by people in this thread) show that he will be missed amongst us too. Rest in peace.

For the less knowledgable amongst us (like me) would it be possible for someone to post a brief description of how Fred was linked to the club/what he contributed? I think that might be helpful and a nice gesture. Thank you. RIP.

Just back from a Sunday roast lunch with the family, shocked and very saddened to hear this news. Speed was a very, very good player and was clearly on the road to becoming a top manager. Such a shame. Condolences to his family, of course.

Morning all My name is Anthony and I live in Exeter. As a boy I supported Arsenal (I know, sorry!) because my dad was a life-long Gooner. When my dad left I was very angry. I cut all ties with Arsenal and came to hate them. We had an elderly neighbour named Doug who was lonely and in my early teens I spent Saturday mornings chatting with him about football and drinking tea. Doug had moved to Taunton from Blackburn a few years back. He told me many stories of standing on the terraces at Ewood, watching Bryan Douglas and Ronnie Clayton, of going to Wembley and recounting the times when Rovers were a major force in football. I began to listen out for their results from 1992 and felt there was something special about the club and something very special was happening, which I wanted to be part of. I supported Blackburn Rovers from that point and its been one hell of a roller-coaster ride! The premier league championship was won when I was 16 and the joy was incredible. Doug got to enjoy that huge success before passing away the following year. I posted a little on this site back in the late 90s when I was a student (including some embarrasingly naiive and pretentious posts, I suspect!) and came back to it 4 or 5 years ago. I enjoy reading peoples' views and keeping up with news on the club I have come to love, albeit from quite a distance. Lets hope this morning's news regarding a potential Qatari takeover comes to fruition, this feels like a major crossroads and reminds me of that time in the early 90s- the feeling that something amazing might happen. Venkys- please don't keep us heading down the wrong path! All the best Devon Rover