From reading the Rangers news, I would say to all in the "Ferguson has to go" camp: - there is a story questioning whether Rangers have the cash to go above a £3m offer. (Remember JW has made a statement which makes it impossible for Rovers to now accept only £3m for Ferguson). Rangers are having to sell to buy- Arvedladze is going. - McLeish has gone on Rangers World saying Rangers have a number of targets (including Nonda from Monaco) and that supporters have to be prepared to accept they will fail on some of them. This is probably an invitation for Barry to start to throw his toys out of the Rovers' pram. Lets see if he has it in him. It is also a signal that Rangers are willing to abandon him and his scheming agent.

To 1864, Scotty, Duff's Minder, Blue Phil et al: Is Boumsong worth £8m? Is £3m a fair price for Savage? Are Rovers handling the Ferguson saga better or worse than Birmingham handled Savage or Rangers handled Boumsong? PS Cn and Tris-

Once again, brilliantly played by JW. This guy is world class! By making this statement yesterday and allowing a leak suggesting Ferguson's request will be refused he really puts the onus on the Rangers side to put in a new realistic bid now. Relating it to a loan deal clearly tells Ibrox what realistic means which is you've got to offer all our money back to make us even think about it. Anything less will not be "challenging" , great use of language. If Rangers don't bid again at around the £6.5m level, JW will be strengthened in his argument that Rovers want Ferguson more than Rangers do when the Rovers' formal response to the Ferguson request is issued. Two elements are worth highlighting - the statement that Barry does not want to go to any other English club is both a hands off and a declaration of intent to keep the player and a clear warning to any EPL club coming in that they have to bid high to avoid a summary rebuff from the player and Rovers. - the comment that the shareholders would demand the resignation of the board is a master stroke. It hits directly at Murray who is the 92% shareholder and is as fronting the negotiations for Rangers- he is totally exposed and has nowhere to hide. By contrast Rovers are multi-layered- Williams is negotiating who needs to have the support of the Board who in turn need the sanction of the Walker Trustees. Rovers can obfiscate, delay, refer to their heart's content totally legitimately whereas Murray/Rangers are reduced to a one-man band, Williams can go back three times asking for more on each occasion on behalf of each level in the Rovers' hierarchy. No doubt the Jersey-based trustee is on a well-deserved holiday on a remote Pacific Island with no telecommunications. This means the Rovers now command the most powerful element in this negotiation which is time. There were 20 days to the end of the window when JW held the meeting he had initiated with Viola and Ferguson (again, JW taking that initiative in the first place buys him more ability to delay later) and today there are 11 days left. All that has happened in the intervening period is that Ferguson has made himself financially more disadvantaged viz a viz the Rovers by asking formally for a transfer request- as JW acknowledges in his comments that was what in effect happened a week last Tuesday. If the Rovers want to retain Barry, they are playing a blinder. If Rovers are to get the last Scottish bank note on the deal, everyone has to be convinced not only Rovers want to keep Ferguson but that they stand a decent chance of doing so. The suggestion dropped on Rovers World that Ferguson's injury would not be recovered in time for Monday was another smart move and could quite possibly be true- groins can take three to four weeks. Murray is backed into a corner and Viola has probably over-played his hand. Everybody knows that Ferguson is nowhere near as strong a character as Savage. Ferguson has often said all he wants to do is play football- I should imagine the just the hint of what happened to Savage might be repeated would weaken Ferguson's resolve.

Now confused about whether Savage can be picked for the Brum game or not. Sullivan has stupidly placed an article in the Mirror talking about the hatred for Savage and saying he will need a massive police presence for the Rovers' visit to St Andrew's on 30 April. The idiocy of the man. If he had kept his trap shut, the situation could have been diffused to an extent. Now the Brum yobs are given a license to have a go at Savage and all things Blackburn. No doubt, an innocent and unfortunate Rovers supporter will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and will pay for this stupid irresponsible outburst.

Good points SG. Worth mentioning we will be "head-to-head" with the dingles on attendances so to speak with both clubs hosting third division opposition. Will be deeply embarassing if more turn out at Turf Moor than at Ewood. The dingles will be playing a club fighting for their lives- the most bitter criticism of Benitez' decision to play the reserves (close to the bottom of the Northern Premiership Reserve League by the way) has come from Dean Court where the Cherries could well go into administration later this season. They won the jackpot in terms of an away draw at Anfield then had the £500,000 payday snatched away by the dingles' victory. Their best hope of surviving now is to get through against the dingles and hope for a money spinner in the fifth round.

Absolutely brilliant stuff Scotty- every one of Souness' remarks a gem. To Notlob and (thankfully) feeling a lot less confident after last night. Hopefully the computerised video analysis thing will be working over time on the Cardiff game and Hughes will have a deep think about why and how the defensive unit which had become so strong and adaptible was reduced to jelly last night. Also suspect the Cardiff tactics were a good foretaste of Bolton's approach at Ewood. I'm not offering any selection or tactical suggestions (apart from stick to 4-4-2), just a 2-1 win prediction for the Rovers.

How Euro 2004 are passing on the benefits of their experience Very interesting article highlighting: The biggest security risk comes from VIPs, sponsors and players' wives, Hooligans are secondary now they are effectively banned from travelling The argument over segregation and how the Portuguese overcame UEFA demands for cages The most damage done to stadiums is by TV crews The need for a non-computerised "third" back-up plan.

No Jansen on the bench

Matteo in at left back for Nissa and Neill predictably in at right back. Matteo is a big risk given he did so badly at Cardiff. Gally and Dickov start up front.

Brum have become a laughing stock over this! Talk about taking a massive PR defeat out of the jaws of national sympathy! The issue of Savage jumping out of a 4 year contract is now almost forgotten.

Good things come to those who wait (except Glasgow Rangers!). Given the aqmount of vitriol there has been, I fully expect Brum to play a dirty to delay Savage's registration until it is too late for him to play against Notlob. Still no doubt JW is enjoying the masterclass ready to try a few tricks on Murray and Viola.

Nearly Chris. Reject the transfer politely with good grace and good reasoning. Reiterate what JW has said publicly in the Glasgow press (nothing like getting the Gers to get on the back of their own people)- We want Barry more than Rangers do. So far as Blackburn Rovers are concerned, Barry is not for sale. Shut up Wait Wait IF Rangers want Barry they will have to break cover with a significantly improved bid. Still inadequate? "Barry is not for sale" Getting warm? THEN slap on the valuation of £8.5m. I would imagine Savage has an absolute horror story of what the last two weeks have been like at the hands of Brum City. I don't believe for a moment that Ferguson has the balls to go through half of that. As for him rotting in the Reserves, I am sure he will come to heel when he realises that he could throw away another half season (after losing half a season last year) particularly if there is a stick called "we won't pay your wages" and a carrot called "you play your best for us then we will probably grant your request in the summer if you still feel that way".

Lua Lua facing additional charges from the Rovers' game.

Nothing is indicating that Rangers have shifted from offering £440,000 now and cancelling the £2.56m which they were claiming is due this week and Rovers have stated is payable at the end of August this year- that makes sense as it would be the second anniversary of the transfer. Murray has come out with some untruths already- Ferguson being on a Bosman next year and the timing of the final stage payment. Obviously he is playing dirty. Rejecting the transfer request is the obvious and sensible move for Rovers. Now the ball is in the Ferguson (or should I say Viola) court. Does Barry cut up rough? A bit tricky with a groin injury- perhaps Rovers should dispatch him for a hernia operation now. If he does, he is rather too close to the end of the transfer deadline to risk Rovers pulling a Brum-style stunt and stop paying his wages as a suspension punishment for non-cooperation whilst still retaining his registration. Are Rangers willing to up their transfer offer? JW made it very clear that the Rovers DO NOT consider the unpaid balance an element in the negotiations. Whatever happens, the other sides have got to make one if not two moves before Rovers will even name a price for Ferguson. We have only seen two rounds of what is likely to be six rounds at least needed before Ferguson leaves Blackburn. Rangers also have a problem having whipped the Gers fans into a frenzy of anticipation. Rovers can and will play this with steely resolve. All those members of the MB who do not like uncertainty are going to have to sit back and watch a pair of professionals play poker for very high stakes very slowly. Quite possibly through to July 2005 unless Murray cracks and makes a bid of £5m+ now; and even then the Rovers will play cold and hard. We don't need to grab anybody's hands off, we control the asset.

Lennie Lawrence very upbeat about Cardiff's chances tonight. Presumably as this is the FA Cup, the official site will be running free commentary again?

A few reflections: Some very sharp negotiating behind the scenes by the Rovers team to get Savage for £2.5m plus £500K on appearances if that is the deal. I would imagine we are picking up the £150K media rights and £60K from the golden handshake unless Savage has a better deal on media rights from the Rovers than Brum were giving him (quite possible as media rights are different from merchandising rights and I would question why a club should get involved in the work a player is doing in what is essentially preparation for retirement other than agreeing it does not interfere with his football duties). The all up deal is around 80% of Brum's asking price of £3.5m. Newcastle paid 80% of Rangers' £10m asking price for Boumsong- there is the target for Rovers in setting the asking price for Ferguson. I expect Rovers to use some elegant device from the Walkers Trustees being unavailable for a Board Meeting before a week next Friday to politely declining the transfer request to force Rangers' hand in their bidding before naming a price for Ferguson. The "80% rule" means that price has to be more than £8m to drive the settlement above £6.5m. Everybody can see what Brum did to savage and us. Let that be a warning to Viola if he is thinking of cutting up rough. Finally back to Savage. This was more a personalised battle for Steve Bruce than anything to do with Brum v Rovers. He lost Bowen in very acrimonious circumstances. Now his best player has moved primarilly because he would prefer to work with Bowen and Hughes than with Bruce. This must HURT.

Tris, I completely agree. Noticed that all the talking about the transfer request was done by John Viola again this morning? I just wonder how total the extent is to which the Fergusons are being manipulated. The only circumstances in which we should play ball would be if Hughes has a bargain lined up for which we need the Ferguson transfer money for- the rumour advanced by AndyC

"In today's transfer market" Should be "in today's transfer markets" There is a bottom end market for players who are within a year of going for a Bosman- Morientes for £5m ish. There is a traditional market of willing buyers and needing to sell sellers with players mid-contract- Beattie £6m, Anelka £7m There is a top end market of players under long term contract (more than two years) who have to be prised out of the grasp of unwilling sellers- Savage £3.1m, Boumsong £8m, anybody Chelsea buy Ferguson should be priced in comparison to Savage and Boumsong. I would slap an asking price of £8.5m on the basis that his original price was £7.5m and he is a better player now than he was at Rangers.

All these comments about Barry being a disruptive influence if he stays are a bit wide of the mark. Yes, Savage would rip the place apart but wee timorous Barry? I think we can comfortably let the window close without him gone if we don't get our asking price, whatever that may be.

or Rangers wanting £10m for Boumsong.... Brum asked £3.5m for Savage, got £3.1m, made a £0.6m profit Rangers asked £10m for Boumsong, got £8m, made a £8m profit I will be disappointed if we don't get at least our £6.5m back.

Savage or Mokoena or Nelsen- all have experience as international captains.

I must confess to reading between the lines of John Williams' statement last night and conclding that it was inviting Rangers to up their offer. What we have learnt in these situations is that the club which does not want to sell loses the player but it does succeed in squeezing a huge price for the player. The reference to the Board is a smart first tactic. Rangers should hand over the £8m they got for Boumsong and consider themselves fortunate. Barry is the better player.

Sullivan is still moaning! He makes some fair points but after all the bile that has poured out of St Andrew's is anybody taking any notice any more. Hopefully he will find a club closer to home and leave Rovers and Brum in peace.

If I may join in. OK the £150K was not about valuation but there was a £150K hickup in the process. How on earth Brum expected to persuade Savage to stay, offering him equal terms to Rovers and behaving like little spoilt brats with their threats and stances if he did go. I would think Savage now has absolutely zero respect or regard for the club, its Directors, its MD and especially its "do what I say, not what I do" Manager. Lovely to see Brum so utterly paranoid about Savage that they don't want him to play on 30 April- I can understand those types of clauses when a player's new club happens to play the old one a week after the transfer but three months later! Obviously Steve Bruce is incapable of changing his tactics from one month to another.

Well at least there is nothing to discuss concerning Barry Ferguson and Rangers