Australia is in for me, but my dad is half Serbian and half Slovenian... so I can cheer on the Serbs a bit. Slovenia didn't make it this year though.

Totally support you there.

Dunny would be a perfect replacement for Tugay. I`m sure he would love to come back.

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Absolutely. Hughes needs to set Dunny down at training and say "Watch what Tugay does, and go and do it".

Dunno if Dunny would mind being an 'under-study' at his age, and not being guaranteed a starting position every week, as you couldn't play Tugay and Dunny together in a 4-4-2 IMO.

Mind you, Hughes loves 4-5-1 so much... and that formation can acutally suit David Dunn very well.

As others have pointed out, there are still issues regarding is tendencies to be injury prone. But he offers something that the rest of our central midfielers (Savage, The Axe, Reid) clearly lack.

Pedersen missed a sitter in the first five minutes, he hit the post five minutes later, and we won numerous corners and free-kicks, but the goal just wouldn't come.  Everton had to change their shape to cope with us, putting a defensive midfielder on Tugay and leaving Beattie isolated up front.  And it worked.

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Based on that assessent, Moyes won the tactical battle over Hughes today.

Of course, Todd's red would not have helped matters. And I'm not surprised that all teams that come to Ewood don't get someone to sit on Tugay. Ever since O'Neil got Sutton to sit on him during the UEFA Cup tie.. it seems that if you stop Tugay.. you stop Rovers.

At least at home.

Thanks for the match reviews everyone. Was a bit shocked when I saw the score-line, but after reading the reports I'm not slashing my wrists just yet.

USA - yes you are being too hard, and I think philipl touches on the right idea.

Souness' biggest enemy is his own ego. When Jack hired him, he had a recent string of poor jobs.. and he was returning with something to prove.

For three seasons he could do no wrong (well... maybe except for Grabbi). We played sensational football under him (watch the League Cup final and you'll cry your eyes out and what a great team we were and how it all went to waste.)

Once Souness' ego took over... and he felt that he was 'master of his domain' it was the beginning of the end.

Yes he lost the plot, but I also thank him for getting us back to the premier League and winning us a trophy.

FLB, the story behind this is quite sad really. I think I've got it right.

The guy (a twin) was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. With his family they came to live in Australia. Struggled, as lots of refugees do, grew up etc etc.

Anyway, his twin brother gets into gambling problems. Van Nguyen (the guy hanged) decides to help his brother out by becoming a mule, only to get caught in Singapore. He wasn't a user or a long term dealer as far as I know.

How would his brother feel now?

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His brother has also two convictions for heroin possession, as well as assault with a deadly weapon (machete).

His brother should have offered to take his place.

Why PG? I'm no supporter of the death penalty but if you go to another country and break their laws you have to take their punishment.

Mind you it is Singapore, where smacking someone's backside for dropping gum gets a tanned hide. That's a little bit harsh but certainly a no-nonsense approach. 

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I have no idea why.

People are calling for one minutes silence. The PM has been criticised for attending a cricket match tomorrow (the day of the hanging).

Aussies can be a strange bunch sometimes.

As 1864roverite said - the result is justice for the horror 3-2 loss at the Valley in February 2004.

BTW in case you are interested an Aussie is sentenced to hang in Singapore in two days for being caught smuggling about 400 grams of heroin whilst in transit to Australia.

The national reaction to this is close to mass hysteria.

Eddie - fantastic preview. My only comment would be to not start a sentence with 'While'

Other than that - journalist quality stuff!

A few home grown players coming through the Academy would work wonders in that respect as well.

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I think this factor is largely under-estimated, and IMO is one of the major reasons that people started to leave after one of our best ever seasons.

No Dunn and no Duff = less of a care factor.

As a winger trainer - I'm loving it! My attack ratings have stayed the same, but it is noticeable that teams which relied on their strong forwards to give them good wing attacks have suffered.

I'm into the last 16 of the Oceania Cup - my next opponent is a Premier League side. Six time Oceania champion and twice Cup winner... I'm gonna get flogged!!

blue phil - out of interest do you regard Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore as countries that have implemented the 'harsh system'?

Idea.

1) Government legalises all drugs.

2) All drugs are sold through the government, which takes a nice comission (i.e. tax).  But the drug price is still very affordable for your average whino/booze-hound/meth-head/stoner etc.

3) Government keeps records of who does what drugs and what level of dependency/addiction each user has.

4) Government restricts access to public services based on your current level of drug use (i.e. no motor-vehicle license for LSD freaks).

5) Governments spends loads of drug-related revenue on nice parks, schools and hospitals and other public infrastructure.

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blue phil - you must have me confused with someone else.

I don't say these things out of 'moral idealism', so that we can all become peace-loving hippies and live in spiritual harmony. Rather, I say them as pragmatist, that the current way of dealing with drugs doesn't really work.

We are conditioned to deal with a small amount of drug crime.  We accept this as the natural way of things.  Yet its bloody ludicrous!

If you walk around the CBD of Melbourne, you'll get asked 'are you chasin'?' every hundred metres or so.  You can see drug deals happen right in front of your eyes. 

Meanwhile parking inspectors walk down the same streets fining people hundreds of dollars if they exceed their metered parking space by five minutes. What does this say?  That the city of Melbourne regards evil car uses as a legitimate source of revenue, yet heroin dealers are to be given free reign?

Almost all 'petty' inner-city crime (muggings, break-ins, assualt) is drug-related.  Melbourne has been subjected to a gang war over the past few years, and it is all related to 'turf wars' over drug dealing and distribution.  Drive by shootings, killings in public restaurants... just like a Scorcese picture.

The current Anglo-Saxon policy on drugs doesn't really do anything.  It doesn't prevent crime.  It doesn't deter drug use.  It doesn't get people off drugs.  It provides no alternative.

You are older and wiser than I, so what can you think of to make things better?

The current policy of 'really doing not much' is being played out in the US.  The result of this to have 'nice neighbourhoods' barricaded and separted from the 'bad 'hoods' with private security firms, whilst everyone is armed to the teeth.  And the US has the largest prison population on the planet.

Prohibition didn't work.

Do we legalise drugs and be 'bleeding heart lefty scum'?

Or do we arrest drug dealers on site and shoot them? 

And lastly, not all drug uses are forced/coerced into it out of fear/desperation/deprevation.  I know many drug users who are intelligent, sophisticated well-off adults.  Yet they choose to write off entire weekends every now and then with whatever they get their hands on (ketamine, GBH, crystal meth, speed and god knows what else).

You and I may find the idea of injesting horse tranquilisers or paint solvents as completely stupid.  Yet for some people, it comes as easy as downing a few pints.

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This topic was also reviewed extensively back in the General Election thread. Rather than type out all that again.. I thought I'd just quote it.

I'll just say that personally, I'd be more than happy to instigate a policy whereby any dealer of highly addictive drugs is shot on sight. But I can see that many people would object to this.

Fixed it!

We do.

But that's the beauty of a deep ice core sample You get close to half a million years worth of data, which is long enough to be statistically significant.

Global temperature data has no scientific basis for collection. A lot of the temperature taking earlier in the century were from people walking outside and looking at a thermometer. Maybe got too lazy some days? In the US, which has some of the best-maintained weather stations in the world, temperatures haven't gone up by much, and have periods of going down (see 1940-1970 - also see the last 2 winters where I froze my keester off and found out last year for the first time in the 5 years I owned my car that its thermometer shows negative temperatures (farenheit)).

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No scientific basis!?!

You're talking about trends that over 20-40 years. That is a blink of an eye for climate-change timescale.

Have a look at that graph again.

No-one doubts temperature variability. We all know that the Romans used to grow wine in the balmy south of England 2000 years ago.

But that graph suggests something real is happening, which is significant compared to data obtained for a very, very long timescale.

Interesting graph on CO2 concentration and temperature variability taken from the Antarctic ice sheet.

Current CO2 levels are 25% higher than any level in the past 400,000 years. Not the interesting the lag between increased temperature variability and increased CO2 production is not present at the moment... ie the CO2 is being injected... not a by product of normal climate variability (e.g. change in the tilt of the earth's axis, variability in the sun's output).

I've spoken to a few climatologists, and that graph and data is pretty much a nail and shut case.

Global warming is already here. Hang on.. its gonna be a hell of ride.

Williams McRae - my young winger prospect has been called up for the U-20 National squad.

Our record against ManU over the past three-four seasons must be pretty healthy now. We've got the wood on them

Met Jason Wilcox at Brockhall one morning whilst watching the junior sides play.

Met John Filan getting on the bus away to Chelsea after his fantastic penalty save.

Got interviewed on Radio Rovers in the studio as well.

Oh.. and I've met Lee Grooby

Limiting population growth makes good sense to me.

Well after the team's efforts in the last six games of last season, and the removal of Stead, NEJ, and the loan of our other young forwards, over the summer I was contemplating relegation form again.

The signing of Bellamy did give me some optimism.

No doubt Hughes did some good work last year rescuing us, and the team did put in some very courageous efforts.

But have we been 'found out' by our opponents?

Rovers under Hughes seem to have a good 'plan A'...but once that doesn't work.. there aren't many alternatives.

pg, I can't think of anyone who "bullied through sport" Truely.

All the talented people I've played with or against have been doing it for the love of the game. They didn't need to be paid handsomely.

Can you name a high profile sportsperson that has bullied? (By bullied, I presume that you mean "humiliated")

The world is full of those like Giles, Boycott, on the other hand has never explained why he piked out of those Tests.

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I see 'bullies' at amateur indoor games all the time.

Someone like Michael Schumacher has sometimes shown behaviour of a bully.

He thinks he's bigger than the sport, and will run people off the road because he refuses to be beaten.

Granted, these days he's mellowed a bit more than he used to be, but during his 'peak' he was a right arrogant ****.

Anyway.. we're getting off topic now.

dave - don't confuse my post for 'lacking mongrel'

Sport teaches discipline, commitment... self analysis and courage.

If smashing the opposition into dust is the result of years of hard effort, training... and copping a few hidings on the way... then mission accomplished.

But if you are a 'natural' who never had to work hard... and just bullies people through sport...

..I think you've missed the point.

Boycott made a good point about Giles the other day. Saying how Giles isn't the most talented player, but he has worked hard on the skills he does have.. how he is a thorough professional... and that is what sport is about.

People like John Howard are a good example of people who don't 'get' sport.

Sport is about winning AND losing.

If you can't lose well at sport (as well as win) then you've missed the whole point.

If all you've ever done in your sporting career is to smash the opposition and win everything at a canter...

...then you have learnt nothing.