Probably........ and quite justifiably too if the club were buying and paying the likes of Duff/Robben/ Lampard / Cech / Terry etc for our benefit. Might have left the family at home though!

Wouldn't that be more a case of thinking small?

Which game do you mean Philip? The one at Stamford Bridge or the one at Ewood?

Sorry to correct you TB but these are the correct figures ................. Nationwide League Division One 2000-2001 Club Average vs '00 Highest 1 Birmingham City 21.283 - 2,8% 29.150 2 Blackburn Rovers 20.740 7,7% 29.426 3 Nottingham Forest 20.615 19,8% 28.372 4 Sheffield Wednesday 19.268 -22,5% 38.433 5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 19.258 -10,3% 26.627 6 West Bromwich Albion 17.655 21,1% 22.301 7 Sheffield United 17.211 25,6% 25.673 8 Crystal Palace 17.061 8,9% 21.133 9 Norwich City 16.525 6,3% 21.241 10 Burnley 16.442 27,1% 21.406 11 Bolton Wanderers 16.106 12,0% 24.249 12 Fulham 14.985 14,6% 19.373 13 Preston North End 14.530 13,3% 17.355 14 Barnsley 14.465 - 6,1% 19.989 15 Watford 13.941 -24,8% 18.333 16 Portsmouth 13.533 - 2,7% 19.013 17 Huddersfield Town 12.808 - 8,7% 19.290 18 Queens Park Rangers 12.013 - 4,6% 17.608 19 Gillingham 9.293 31,1% 10.518 20 Tranmere Rovers 9.049 24,4% 12.362 21 Wimbledon 7.897 -54,0% 14.071 22 Stockport County 7.031 - 5,1% 9.782 23 Crewe Alexandra 6.742 7,9% 9.415 24 Grimsby Town 5.646 - 8,3% 8.706 Total 14.337 1,3% 38.433 Great crowds for us without doubt but note that BW came up with us and note their crowd figures now! Credit to Big Sam and Gartside eh? As for Gordon Lee's years you've overegged the pudding again but all the same this is good BRFC info...........click here (then click on Blackburn Rovers) http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm Even more interesting if not depressingly sad is the damage done to clubs like BRFC by the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961. I know that we upset a lot of supporters by spewing the Cup final chance in 1960 but the damage done by George Eastham and the PFA is there for all to see.

I did consider that but whats the option again......... a swift metamorphis or a lingering certain death?

As I've said before Philip, 20,000 would indeed be an improvement but it is still nowhere near enough supporters to buy tickets / merchandise etc in enough quantities to fund regular Prem football. Any club wishing to thrive in the Prem needs 35-40000. Jack Walker allegedly had a sign over his desk with "Think Big" written on it. We should honour his memory by doing so.

Dickov's banned for another two games. However if fit I expect Mokoena to play rather than Tugay in order to counter Davids running in from midfield and to prevent any of their strikers dropping off and coming at our centre halves from deep positions. Hughes has already hinted that Tugay will not play in many games and I think this is one for him to sit on the bench for...... unless we are in need of a goal in the last 20 mins. I guess we'll just have to wait and see though.

Just think....... if our immigration officers at the points of entry had done their job properly this chap would still be basking in the warm Brazilian sun. Sliding doors eh?

You just can't help youself can you? btw when the inevitable happens dont bother setting up another club cos Blackburn Olympic are still in existence in Div 3 of the Blackburn combination and I'm sure would be glad of your support cos all the descendents of their loyal fans watch BRFC don't they?

So thats that then Scotty? No clear, free or forward thinking? No idealism? No personal 'Scotty Utopia' out there? In fact nothing to offer at all except poor quality criticism. Cant say I'm all that suprised.

Well apparently Rev West Ham have a mega bucks sugar daddy who has promised up to 30million available to be spent in the January transfer window.

Anyway..........Cat got yer tongue Scotty? It's not like you to take this long in responding to my posts. I replied to your request quickly enough.

eh? Its August ffs.

I make it the 4th time in just over a week!

I watched it a few times and it was close either way but then again its no good me commenting cos I dont know whats offside anymore.

I feel this malaise is happening right across the country. But due to the size of our town and the nature of the population it hits us hardest. I've commented before on here and more than once that the present decline reminds me so much of the 60's decline. That was a catastrophic situation for Lancashire football as Rovers, PNE, Burnley, BW and Blackpool were all in the old 1st Div (Prem) when the maximium wage was abolished in 1963 and within 4 years they had all been relegated to the lower divs as football entered the 'BIG City' era. Suddenly footballers who had earned about £25 per week (approx twice the av working mans wage) were catapulted into the £100+ per week bracket. The situation worked totally against small clubs, not only did people see the earnings as obscene but the resultant loss of star players took away all hope of any return to success. In short we simply could not compete and fans could no longer dream. Just as now the loss of the likes of Shearer, Dunn, Duff and the Ferguson fiasco have reminded fans of our true status in English football, and the rise of the BIG 3 have taken away all hope of success. Just like the rest of the prem we are now merely cannon fodder for the big guns. Once again we cannot even dream of winning the Prem. The press and media big club bias fans the flames to the extent that we are pilloried for daring to try and compete with the Big 3 darlings. Nothing that was tried in the 60's could alter the situation which is precisely why John Williams can find no solution now. In fact its worse now, the amount of actual BRFC fans in the town has declined for obvious reasons and there is Sky Sports TV everywhere with £40 per month to be found to pay for the privelege. If we rate fans on a 1-10 basis with a '1' only going to Ewood once a year to watch Man U and with a '10' being fans who go home and away and all pre season friendlies we simply do not have enough of the over 5's. The under 5's are the ones who are now dropping away and they will not be be back until glory is achieved. Even then (if that were to happen which it aint) the malaise will simply return when we have a bad run and we will be back to square 1. Last week I spent about £150 going to West Ham, maybe I should have stayed at home and got one of those tickets as waggy suggested. Travelling fans not only spend huge amounts on the trips but also line the coffers of our rivals. With every away game on the tele it would be better for BRFC if we stayed at home and watched in the Blues bar or one of the suites over a prawn sarnie. But imo that would simply present a fools gold situation. Everybody on here knows my solution to this and everybody also knows at the bottom of their hearts that it is the only option BUT quite understandably nobody wants it to happen. I dont either really BUT some sort of coming together is the only long term answer. Football is a business and if football was invented today then NO WAY would 5 pro clubs be formed from an area with a combined population of approx 700,000! We all realise that ultimately we will find our true and 'rightful place' in English football. Next time we get it totally wrong and get relegated will be the last time that we see top level football in this town. Anybody who disagrees Right Oh, fine but ffs try and come up with something else. At best we could hope on hope that we can get back to 20000+ gates but that in reality would only be treading water. And treading water is no good we need to be moving forward all the time. Until then this apathy / discontent / disenchantment / will not go away, and just like a cancer it will only spread.

I thought taking people who don't support the Rovers was the main objective Paul?

The build up to Pedersons was exceptional and the finish stunning but Toogs volley took my breath away and I shall remember it for a long time(anyone rem Shearers strike v QPR?). So it's Pedersons........ cos it was a team effort.

Dickov playing? Bellamy's intro? That alone should be enough to stop me making any more predictions in the future!

Paul Dickov played a blinder last season out of position and up front on his own, but Kuqi adds a far greater physical presence causing the formation to look more formidable.

Now where's Jim when we need him?

7 ffs! In one sentence you have lost all credibility. Emerton was so poor today that the Rovers beat Fulham with virtually 10 men. I dunno whats up with him as he has plenty of pace, control and power. Unfortunately he appears to either not have a clue what to do with them, or a strong aversion to using them. He appears completely unaware of the concept of winning games by scoring goals whilst denying the same opportunity to opponents. I can only assume that he has come off a motor bike and bumped his head this summer too.

Living in Blackburn and you say thats poor? It would have been 16954 if you had bothered to go Pick.

the last 2 games proved that 4-5-1 is the best formation for our squad so you'd better get used to it rich. Were you there today? Kuqi may not be a Thierry Henri but he certainly keeps the centre halves occupied (and his cross was inch perfect for the 1st goal). On the other hand Emerton was absolutely abysmal. Bellamy is not good at playing with his back to goal so why on earth you said the above is beyond me.

We didn't! Unfortunately the (rather biased) Ref chose to award that number of free kicks against us though. He must read the Mail.