The additions to the UEFA Cup from the Champions League are beginning to become clearer with one round left. Lille, Steaua, Bordeaux and Sporting Lisbon are either cerain or as good as to be joining the Uefa Cup. Mancs v Benfica will decide which of those two will be in the UEFA whilst there is a three way scrap between Roma, Olympiacos and Shaktar. Intriguingly, both last year's finalists; Barca and Arsenal could well be dropping into the UEFA. Even if they don't, the addition of CSKA and Werder will hardly make the UEFA an easier competition to win.

Whilst I am delighted to see the recent good run of Brum has saved Bruce's neck for another day Karren Brady is jumping ship, or not. Has to sort out the Stevens Enquiry and the VAT Tribunal before she leaves. So we add BIG CLUB to Notlob and Fat Freddie in the Bungs Enquiry line of fire? Thinks, how many players went from Ewood to St Andrews and were their transfer fees reasonable and realistic???

If anyone doubted that the West Ham take over is little more than a property play, read this. I might be wrong but these guys have not come in with a vision to take over the footballing world. A £10m lollipop for Christmas (very nice- will buy two thirds of Tevez) and keep it steady on the management side. The Guardian blog fails to generate much heat on the subject. Tris has hit the nail on the button. Apart from residential development which could yield £200m at current prices seven years from now, Upton Park could also be prime office space being decently located between Docklands and the Olympics. I'll also repeat my oft repeated statement- Abramovich is squillions in on his Chelsea venture despite his massive spending. If he liquidated today, he'd double the money he spent (property values of 13 acres in Chelsea) whilst on its own terms as a football megabrand Chelsea is well on track to be profitable within the business plan timeframe set by Abramovich/Buck/Kenyon.

Rovers will be playing in blue and white halves- in Europe the home team changes don't they?

Rovers are not a basket case for external investment but the Walker Trust will only part with the club if they are convinced that the incoming investors will be more generous than they are. That's a tough call on any non-Rovers supporter. Tris is right- the Icelanders have got themselves a bit of a bargain with the WHammers. Think Docklands in 1985 and Upton Park is the equivalent of that now with the Olympics regeneration coming to that part of London.

Rovers have poured cold water on the Koumas link.

With the night's Champs League games drawing to a close, it is looking likely that we are going to see some interesting names in the knock out round draw. Steau Bucharest are as good as certain to be there and at the moment Arsenal (despite taking the lead just now- will they get a point in Porto without Henry?), Benfica and Lille could be in the mix. Tomorrow night's games could see Barca as good as going into the UEFA. Of course, Rovers need a point from the last two games to be certain of being in the draw but where we finish is going to be critical. If I remember correctly, only one second placed team from the UEFA groups has survived the encounter with the third placed CL team dropping into the UEFA. Traditionally, the top placed teams have wiped out the third placed teams they play in the knock out rounds but as things stand going into Thursday night's games, the third placed teams in most groups are the big name favourites.

Add Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton to those Middlesbrough figures and there is a home town population of 440,000 for Boro to attract from- that's before getting into much of North Yorkshire, Teesdale and South Durham. Boro 55 seasons ago were playing to 35,000 sold out gates every other week. @drog you don't seem very impressed with the club's efforts to attract the "Indo-Pak" population of the town. How would you improve the club's efforts in this respect and what are you personally doing in this regard?

Rubbish- all you need to do is read the accounts and it says it in black and white! The club was advanced another £3m loan more-or-less interest free last year over and above the usual £3m subvention and the previous loans extended since Jack's death of £14m were converted into additional paid up share capital. So 3+3=6 14 divided by 4 years comes to 3.5 per year discretionary funding. The Walker Trust has put in 3 x 5 = 15 (from the fund established for Rovers by Jack) + 14 + the new loan of 3 last year making a grand total of £32 millions in the five years since Jack died. 32 divided by 5 is 6.4. Coming back to this summer, Rovers were not lacking in ambition in their transfer targets- number 1 target is playing regularly for Barca for goodness sake. Bellamy took a £20K per week pay cut to join his childhood heros' subs bench. The club brought in four new forwards, two of whom are Champs League regulars, plus the captain of the Dutch national side. Now we are after Beckham! And the club is being accused of ambition by a town which cannot get of its backside to go and support it.

It was clear to the Sky cameras and Sky commentary team and Sky pundits but not to the BBC muppets. I think technology is inevitable and badly needed. Fans are now so used to the use of technology that refs not using it seem to be anachronistic. Even more so with high tech stadia and the charges being levied. As Rovers fans, the use of technology by officials is to be welcomed- decisions against us don't get evened out in the Prem because of the inherent bias Graham Poll talked about.

Rovers are reported to be watching Jason Koumas as an alternative for this January if Dunny does not pass the medical.

Warnock is unlikely to be "up" for anything- he's only 5 ft 7 ins!

Just out of interest, has anyone ever met vinjay anywhere? To answer the question, Rovers are achieving remarkable results considering the resources the club has available. To have a team good enough to be in the UEFA and I would say, be expected to be top half of the Prem is tribute to excellent management on and off the pitch. However, at current prices, the Walker Trust injection averaging £6m a year is equivalent to about a 10,000 boost to the gate and I think most people would expect a club averaging 30,000 attendances to be in the Premiership- a factor worth considering if we ever get relegated. Be under no doubt that Preston and the dingles would claim the top two places in the fizzydrinks league this season if they were to receive a £6m boost each before 1 January. Next season, when the Sky money increase kicks in, the Rovers will be even less dependent on diminishing gates and the Walker Trust largesse. The key of course is to stay in the Prem- long term injuries to Brad, Sav and Benni and could endanger that. Finally, if you take population, affluence and proximity to other football clubs as benchmarks for where to situate a football club, of the 92 clubs in the Prem/Football League, there are probably less than 10 in a worse location than Blackburn Rovers.

The press is universal in giving Dowd a hard time this morning. In reality it is the two linesmen who were the complete muppets- one for calling Tugay last man (although Dowd saw the play from infield and hadn't called it a last man foul from a much better position from which to judge it)- and the other who bottled an uninterupted view of a handball. The farcical nature of the officiating is summed up by Keith Hackett communicating that Jol was not sent off after Jol was convinced he was- to be honest I cannot remember seeing the second red on the TV coverage although the commentary immediately and decisively picked up that Jol had been dismissed. I guess that might have come from the Sky man on the touchline who heard the verbal exchange. Even more damningly, the fourth official escorted Jol to the tunnel so he also clearly thought Jol had been dismissed! So Hackett has started the damage limitation by reinventing a sending off into not a sending off. Now lets see what they do with the two red cards. Has to be said that Mido should have had two reds yesterday if Ghaly warranted a red. Last summer Septic Blast threatened to remove the FA from FIFA because of the number of red cards being over-turned. If there is any justice, Tugay's card will be reversed and Ghaly's reduced to a yellow. I am concerned that Henchoz's summary justice on Mido will come into the spotlight when the melee that followed Ghaly's foul on Gray is reviewed. Finally, well done to the Rovers crowd for generating enough noise. Jol is blaming you for pressurising the ref.

Four things just been clarified in reports on Sky and official sites: - Martin Jol was not sent off. Dowd asked him to step away from the situation and didn't give him the red card. No disciplinary action. - Mido has told Mark Hughes it was handball so I guess that settles it. Preston blue and revidge go to the same opticians as the linesman! - Rovers are going to appeal Tugay's red card. As the spud had cut back across Toogs, Ooijer was in position to put a challenge on him. Had he gone the other way, there was another Rover who would have challenged. I think there is a more than fair case to say he wasn't last man even though the challenge itself was one on one with "only" Friedel to beat. The irony is that Ooijer persuaded Dowd to go to talk to the linesman in the hope the penalty decision would be reversed. In the event, it got Toogs sent off!!! - Martin Jol has said that MGP was a handful. To be honest he did have good moments. But that "shot" which went for a throw in near the halfway line (took it off the toes of Sav who was shaping to shoot as well) and a couple of particularly lamentable passes unfortunately linger in the memory...

Spurs are allowed to control the ball with their arm don't you know? 1) Keane for their second at WHL last season. 2) Blatant control with the forearm took the ball away from Bellamy in the 82nd minute at WHL last season. No penalty. 3) Mido at Ewood this season. No penalty. That's five points deducted from Rovers by the officials against Spuds in two games.

Apparently Mido is bragging he got away with the handball without conceding the penalty. When you think of the handball penalties given against us this season, Mido's goes into the blatantly obvious category!

Good points EiT, I was thinking back to why and how we improved (apart from having our dander up because of the officials) and I think you've come up with a very valid suggestion. Great shame Nonda's early strike didn't count- he took it very cooly and would have done his confidence the power of good. He was offside (marginally but off) but the Bellamy break in the 2nd half which got pulled back by the linesman who missed the Mido penalty incident was not offside. Incidentally, I know the crowd gave him a deserving reception and he missed some sitters but Mido would have been a folk hero by now if he'd come to Ewood. Strong, quick, takes players on and a good old fashioned baddy in the Speedie mould whom the opposition love to hate.

Reffing officials AGAIN!!! There is a world of difference between a tumble over a trailing ankle which was actually under Tugay's body when Ghally went over it and the blatant last man body check which merits the red card. Mido's was a handball and he should have been gone for that two footed lunge before their equaliser any way. Rovers were encouragingly good. Save everywhere, McCarthy sensational, Gray superb, Henchoz and Ooijer stood up well and Tugay was out of this world. Only gripes would be Nonda still struggling to impose himself in the Prem, Bentley and Emo making some wrong decisions and MGP still in rehab; not as bad as he has been but not back to last season's form by a long way. The quality of some of Rovers' play especially when down to ten men was sensational. We are really going to miss Tugay now- games coming up where he would make all the difference. Commentators as bad as the officials- AGAIN!!!

nellybc has got it right! Ooijer captain. Berbatov and Keane on the bench for Spuds- very odd.

Aside from that there are some fundamental questions that need answering: Well rev, the answers are easily available- How do the Trustees see their long term relationship with the club? The Trustees are there to administer the Trust according to the terms of the settlor- Jack Walker. By definition, they have to abide by the letter and spirit of the deed of settlement. The views made public by the Trust after Jack's death will not alter. They expressed then as much as they are ever likely to say publicly about the terms of the Trust and their role in administering it. Effectively two things could change- a member of the Walker family could be so passionate for the Rovers that they would express by letter of wishes that the Trust be even more supportive than Jack wanted them to be - or the Trust itself falls on very hard times and the Trustees have to ration largesse between the beneficiaries. At present neither would seem to be likely. Perhaps someone could find the LET interview with the Trustees published late in 2000 and pin it in the site somewhere. That is about as definitive as we are going to get. Why has funding for the current manager dried up when the previous incumbent received excessively generous backing? I think this is way wide of the mark Rev. Funding from the Walkers/Trust has been at a steady £5/6m per year since Jack became involved. Had they agreed to be at Ewood, Rovers would have had a Bellamy/Gudjonson forward line with Roberts and Jeffers, and Dunn would have been recruited into midfield. As both Hughes and Williams have said, Rovers' transfer activity is determined by who is available and who wants to play at Rovers. What is the progress or otherwise in finding additional sources of investment. After all that was one of John Wiliams main tasks on the formation of the new superstreamlined board. We can't be that bad a bet with little or no external debt and new TV deals in the offing. This will be totally confidential. However, do you think the Icelanders moving in on the WHammers and the Jersy financiers pitching to Newcastle (the reality there is FF looking to leverage to get overall control) are doing so to pump £100m in without any prospect of return which is what Jack did or because they have seen an opportunity to make a more than tidy profit? Precisely, Rovers aren't a bad bet for someone to come in and make a profit out of the 60% rise in Sky income next year but is that what we want? It isn't what Jack wanted and you can be pretty sure the Trustees are debarred from bailing out in such circumstances. To whom is John Williams accountable if things aren't going so well? Come on Rev, JW is accountable to the shareholders whether things are going well or badly. Everybody knows that. If push comes to shove are we prepared to do what is necessary to make sure we actually benefit from the new TV deals? You bet they are- push, shove or tickle it with a feather duster.

I seem to remember reading something Lee wrote that they've doubled the bandwidth of the stream to give better pictures.

The good news about this week-end is that the teams below us have just about zilch prospect of getting a point- any of them. The bad news is if we lose chances are we'll be in a group at the bottom with a gap opening up ahead of us. This game has 0-0 all over it.

Gomaa back for second trial.

10 out of 10 to the Mods for having posted the thread- shows sensitivity and openness over and above the call of duty. Nobody has agreed with Vinjay and there seems to be no apetite to debate the points he raised. The ensuing debate has been about whether to let him back on. There is nothing new in Vinjay's rant we hadn't heard before from him apart from Dunny joining the axis of evil. Let him back on by all means- he'll be banned again within a week.