How does he qualify for us to sign him? He's never played for 'Boro!?

He pops up from time to time on Radio 5 on weekday evenings as a 'pundit' ? - yeah, right!

I'm relieved to read that; Coyle would have been delusional if he'd have expected a salary over the odds at Ewood. I remember, erm, 'discussing' him with one of the Wigan stewards during our game there 3[?] seasons ago. The steward said it was a toss-up as to whether Coyle or Margaret Thatcher had done more damage to the north west of England!

Ay, caramba; why do I not have ^ this man's faith?!? Even though I could have topped up my tan at the front of the Riverside, I let the 'International weekend blues' and domestic jobs which needed doing because I - and I'm sure I wasn't the only one - feared a terrible 0-0 draw. From what I've read on here, it sounds like we still aren't firing on all cylinders, but "3 points are 3 points". #shakesheadinamazement

Oh bloody great; I'd rather that had happened after we'd played them!!

I don't want to make this like a Monty Python line, but for some of us - especially on here? - it would be worse than that. "You've only lost one limb, lad? That's nothing!" Seriously, I know that many others on here have been watching This Great Club Of Ours for 60+ years and couldn't imagine life without it in our lives. Besides, I've still not yet bought a tile outside the Blackburn End commemorating my Dad, who initiated me into the faith in 1953 - the first match I can remember watching, although he says he brought me to games before then. Nor, seeing as I've no children, have I yet been so vain to buy a tile with my own details on.

It's consistently good. It often sustains me, particularly after a defeat or a crap game like Cardiff last weekend, on the No. 1 bus to Bolton which I try to catch before the authorities close Bolton Road.

Catching up with this thread, it's occurred to me that the collateral damage of the Bolton debacle may fall more widely than people may be aware. I have a standing order to the lottery for Derian House Childrens' Hospice in Chorley, which 'piggybacks' on the Wanderers' equivalent of Rovers Readies - it always bugged me that when I won a couple of quid that my prize came in a BWFC-franked envelope! If Wanderers do go out of business, I'm guessing that the lottery could well fold, with possible consequences for the Hospice.

Hallelujah, Lennie; good to see your spiritual side coming through! ? And fwiw, I'd like to see us going for a 'surprise' win tonight. If I remember rightly, Wilder wasn't particularly happy with the Blades' performance on Saturday, specially in the first ½. It could be, in old terminology, pretty well our Reserves versus their Reserves and who's to say our Reserves aren't better than theirs? I don't care if it's a crabby injury time win - it was good enough in the last round -but success can breed success. And if one or two displays tonight give the manager a bit of a problem for Saturday, then so much the better! We all know he'll revert to type for Saturday's game but, to quote Kevin Keegan, I'd really love it if some of tonight's team made themselves unstoppable for Saturday.

Sorry, Stuart. ? Some of us are happily retired!?

Thanks for posting this, old darwen blue. His programme's on a bit late for this old beggar and I'd never thought of recording it before watching this clip. As regards the broader issue of attracting people from families whose first language at home is Urdu, and writing as one who now lives elsewhere in what used to be the industrial heartland of 'the old Lancashire', I think that the best we can do is for each of us to make small steps to offer the blue & white scarf of friendship. I may be wrong; but it feels like this season, we have more fans whose first language is Urdu than before. In my working career, I quite often came into contact with families who spoke Urdu at home. Picking up Tex's point towards the end of the clip, I learned over the years of doing my job, how to pronounce a few - very basic - phrases of Urdu and it surprised me how pleased native Urdu-speakers seemed to be that even if I hadn't pronounced the words properly, at least I'd made an effort..

As the League One and Two clubs can still loan players, I wondered if the team selection on Tuesday night might have had a secondary motive, viz. putting some of our 'fringe' players in the Shop window for loans to clubs in those divisions. ? It could rebound on us us, of course by leaving our 'cupboard' even barer than it is at present.

This is definitely a rhetorical question, arbitro; "He won't be in the away dressing room at Ewood a week tomorrow, will he?!"?

Not being flippant - being a non-driver who lives in Heywood, attending an evening meeting in Blackburn's unrealistic for me (which is why I miss most night matches at Ewood) - but that reminds me of the classic line, "Defenders are coming."?

Why am I the only one to have 'Liked' this post? ? It may be an old joke, but that doesn't mean it isn't funny. Specially in the context of That Lot! Anyway it, literally, made me lol!

I agree; that's the team that should start. But as we all know, it's not the team that will start. This is, of course, our latest 'Must Win' match. So, being the eternal optimist, I'm going to say we'll keep up the tradition - this week's tradition, anyway of winning in the 95th minute with a melee in the Boro box and rebounding into their goal off Bennett's arse. Thereby giving the manager a justification - surely the only one for selecting him - for selecting Bennett!?

Apologies, JoeHarvey, for only quoting this first paragraph of your heartening post about this game; but my inner cynic couldn't resist the chance to point out similarities with the first team. Sorry.

Well, that cuts Bennett out, then!

Not exactly off-topic - more at a tangent to it - but, as one in whom a love of the Rovers was nurtured in him by his Dad 60-odd years ago but has no children of his own, I must say I'm heartened to read the posts from Dads taking their children to their 'first game' tomorrow. There'll always be a Rovers if that loyalty is instilled at an early age. No matter what those youngsters think about the Manager the club's got twenty-odd years down the track!

But isn't it also an over-ruthlessness - viz. Raya & Nyambe - with certain other players, DMTP? Those two in particular must feel that they've been carrying the can for some of the Manager's favourites. Raya's voted with his feet; Nyambe must wonder what he has to do to be selected ahead of Bennett.

That'll be 84 this season then. Any comment, Mr Mowbray?

Oh, bugger; that means a cheerful email from Bazza's & my Dingles-supporting schoolmate in NZ when I wake up in the morning!☹️

The malevolent side of me kinda wishes that the loan deal included a clause saying he had to play in the games between us and the pie-eaters!?

Well, if those events hadn't taken place yesterday, they should have, Waggy. Only sooner. Rangers' goal against us - surely particularly poignant for a Bhoy like Charlie to have his frailty exposed at Ibrox of all places - was enough evidence that the centre of defence was/is our achilles' heel. The recruitment team should have been prioritizing another centre half from first thing the next morning. Accepting that we all know about his contribution especially in the season we returned to the Championship - and for those of us who aren't ITK - apparently to the camaraderie of the dressing room, it was surely and sadly obvious that his time at the heart of a Championship defence was then over. If someone like me, who's happy - still; just about - to pay good money to follow the club I've been watching for 65 years, could see that, then why on earth couldn't the club management? And if they could, why on earth haven't they replaced him adequately? Surely there must be enough out-of-contract, experienced and ideally plug-ugly, centre-halves, preferably big and, certainly erm, 'uncompromising' ? whose wage-demands would have been within our reach to have done so?

A while ago I posted on one of the threads on here that when we signed Mulgrew, I asked my Geordie pal - 'exiled' in Glasgow for 40 years or so - what his actual position was. He confirmed my suspicion that he'd been seen as a midfielder, rather than a defender.