Very interesting point Jim Royle. I would say yes. Seeing as they own the club, I suppose in theory, they could make the appointment entirely on their own. I reckon though, that they will only need to ratify any new managerial appointment. I stand to be corrected though. Philipl? As far as I know, the relationship between the Walker Trust Fund and the club is rightly kept very private. We don't even know for sure the terms under which the club benefits but it seems that the Rovers get the interest income from a £20m or £25m capital sum, an opportunity to participate in distributable profits earned by the Walker companies and the ability to borrow cash on favourable terms. With regards to the involvement of the Trust in the Managerial appointment, Richard Matthewman (Vice-Chairman who is Jack's son-in-law) and Mr Root (I believe) are Walker connections on the Board which of course will be making the appointment. I would expect that as a matter of course, the package including associated recommendations for backroom staff and transfer recommendations, will go to Jersey before any appointment is confirmed. Incidentally, Lee seems to be behind the times here. One vacancy is missing.

Interesting. Well, they're not going to be Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, Bruce, Souness, O'Leary, McLaren, Wigley, Keegan, SteBenetiz or Santini. So that leaves 3 from Allardyce, Moyes, Worthington, Curbishley, Megson, Dowie, Coleman or Redknapp. Most of those would be ok by me. Of the will not have applied list, Wigley is highly likely to have applied given his limited knowledge of rugby whilst things might well be bad enough at Villa after O'Leary had been so publicly keen on the Newcastle job that his hat could be in the ring. Keegan might want out of City before he gets fired. Of the possible list, I would expect that Allardyce would have to be approached and Coleman is probably earning more at Fulham than he would at Ewood. Moyes is facing less turmoil at Goodison than he has for at least twelve months and has every prospect of having a bumper transfer fund come January by when the financial restructuring at Everton should be complete. Would Redknapp come north and Megson leave the Baggies after being the fouth highest spender in the Prem? Realistically, two from Dowie, Curbishley, Worthington, Wigley and a third who is a bit of a surprise.

I am nowhere near Ewood at the moment but I think the following are pretty incontrovertible facts about Paul Gallagher this season: - the one Rovers forward on fire during the close season scoring goals for fun was Paul - Paul seems to have been some distance from getting a chance to play for the first eleven so far this season - his injury has been treated very quietly. Does anyone know what it is, when it was incurred, what the likely prognosis is? - Souness talked about every forward except Paul over the past three weeks. Not surprising there are whispers and theories... At least now he gets a chance to impress TP and then to impress the new manager. Incidentally, for anyone else posting a link to The Times, everyone outside the UK cannot access it because The Times demands payment. So please do copy and paste.

At the end of the day, this appointment is about what sort of a club we are. Obviously, the Directors are best placed to know but they have a fair few considerations to balance: 1) The Blackburn public need inspiring to get along to Ewood or at least to stop abandonning the place. Unfortunately, given the insularity of Blackburn, appointing a world class manager who is not British will pass over most people's heads. Would there be a popular uprising to appoint someone like Ottmar Hitzfeld the way there was in Newcastle? Seems unlikely. I fear there is probably only one name that qualifies on this count and that's Mark Hughes. Houllier, Hoddle would suffer from an immediate backlash and Dowie, Jewell, Newell would underwhelm the Blackburn public (wrongly in my opinion). 2) After the initial buzz of a new appointment, we need the Rovers to play competent attractive football which the crowd will enjoy and pay good money for. Charlton now do that for Curbishley, even Hoddle produced attractive football. I think the jury is out on all the other contenders. 3) If we still have a transfer budget, we need to be sure we get our targets. This was one area Souness excelled in (aided by John Williams). Assuming big names attract good players, Hughes again scores heavilly but remember being Manager of Wales means he has ZERO managerial transfer experience. Hoddle, Curbishley or Advocaat probably next best thing of the names we have heard about so far. Whether Houllier or Graham would still carry any sway is open to doubt. 4) We know we will have a battle to hang onto our existing players. So we need a strong Souness antidote- perhaps Advocaat (or was there a double agenda when Souness recommended him to Rovers?), perhaps Strachan but Mark Hughes might be too nice and Curbishley has lost some players at Charlton he would rather have kept. 5) If we have a zero transfer budget, we need a manager who gets the most out of his players and has a great eye for young talent in his club and emerging elsewhere. Jewell, Dowie and Curbishley have all excelled in this respect. Strachan's record is poor to patchy and Hughes has no record. I suspect Allardyce would be superb working at a club with more clout than Bolton. 6) We have an empty backroom. We have a sensational opportunity for the new man to appoint a world class back=up team to compliment the world class facilities Jack has left us. Curbishley, Allardyce, Advocaat presumably would know what they are doing in this regard as would Houllier. I shudder at the thought of a Hoddle-chosen backroom! 7) Player respect and discipline. Tricky one after the Souness reign of terror= a relaxatioon to more normal mangerial standards could lead to liberty-taking by the more wayward spirits amongst the players so some superb man management skills are needed. Dowie, Allardyce, Curbishley, Jewell all fit the bill presumably. We don't want any more cliques and people not being spoken to and on that basis, Strachan and Hoddle's track records are not good. SURVIVAL! All the above is secondary to getting results to secure long term Premiership existance. I would be very very confident that with the quality of John Williams behind them, Jewell, Dowie, Curbishley, Allardyce would do the job well.. Newell seems to be a winner as well. One other thought, the Rovers should be looking for stability. Therefore a tandem of old man with Shearer or Newell etc. will inevitably fail as it would be an arrangement everyone would know would be due to change sooner or later. So please forget fanciful notions of having Dalglish or Sir Bobby looking after young proteges- just doesn't work in my opinion.

The two or three games before Newcastle last year saw Ferguson emerging as a sensationally gifted midfielder for Rovers and it is fair to say he had the Newcastle game by the scruff of the neck until he got injured. I believe there is a very decent chance he will be seen as a complete superstar over the coming weeks provided he keeps clear of injury and disciplinary problems. We have got to get a Manager who is big and successful enough to keep him when the inevitable offers come in from Tyneside and wherever.

Unfortunately, Hughesey, Charlton have all that and a much bigger fanbase. They have had 70,000+ crowds within my lifetime. With the Valley going up to 35,000 capacity soon and space for more, Charlton are one of the very few clubs with the potential to break into the Champions League. However, we do not know what is going on behind the scenes at the Valley and if Rovers were to offer Souness's reported £2m salary, Curbishley would double what he is earning now.

Remember, the more names on the list to bet against, the more money the betting companies make. So if Skybet think putting Curbishley on the list is remotely credible, then people will bet for him. I know this should be a period of high anxiety but I am feeling pretty relaxed. As always, the more I see of John Williams in action for the Rovers, the more impressed I am. I think we are in safe hands.

Perhaps Megson should come into the running? He wouldn't be expensive. What Jewell has actually said does not add up to him ruling himself out. In fact, a bit like Mark Hughes in his guarded statement of the obvious. As for JW saying he is only looking at those who apply, he is hardly going to say he is willing to raid every managerial office in the land is he? There is the little matter of compensation to be considered. No doubt a trusted third party is making discrete enquiries in the directions the Rovers board deem fit.

Souness- an accident waiting to happen! Fun article about Souey and Newcastle with more than hint of truth no doubt.

Is it any worse than the list Newcastle worked with? None of whom were available anyway At least we don't have to interview Venables!

That will make the caretaker team at Newcastle feel really good ahead of Saturday's game. Tony Parkes must have a suite of offices all to himself now. Given the tactical inadequacies displayed in the first two games this season, I don't think they were the best backroom team around although Murray seemed to get good results at the Academy and Souness was credited with giving Duff the ability to shoot straight. Many felt the Rovers suffered when Boersma stepped back a couple of seasons ago. However, to the extent it was a team achievement, some of the well-deserved plaudits for Souness' first three full seasons at the Rovers must belong to the backroom boys and for that we must be thnkful and wish them well.

Barry Ferguson on Souey's departure. Obviously has a high regard for Souness but gives the game away when he says if anyone disagreed they were gone. Hopefully, he won't miss the little black rule book and the fines lan Murray handed out if players parked too close to the Training Ground- although I wonder if that story is designed for the consumption of the spoilt brat Newcastle players.

A Newcastle view on the likely arrival of all the ex-Rovers backroom staff. If they are going, I just hope it is sorted quickly enough to really unsettle all at Newcastle ahead of Saturday's game.

Despite the headline, it looks as though nothing is settled yet regarding Saunders and Boersma. Murray doesn't get mentioned. John Williams again shows his media skills here. I like the line that we had plenty of banter that Freddie Sheppard and others can now look forwards to. He nicely defuses the stories that Souey was about to get the sack before commenting on last year being"!disappointing".

Rovermatt, that is a point I made before Souness left when I was challenged to name serious alternative to Souness. It is easier to name the clubs paying more to their managers than Souness was paid: Newcastle, Boro, Man U, Brum, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Fulham (perhaps). On that basis, Souness was probably amongst the twenty best paid club managers in Europe whilst he was at Rovers. It also means open season for whoever we want outside the G14 and a few chairmen with more money than sense. I would guess the Board would like to start the new man on less than Souey was on but even so, it will be enough to be of interest to Hitzfeld, Troussier et al.

One aspect worth remembering is that we have also lost most of the backroom. Perhaps this will cause the board to lean towards an established Manager who knows what back room team he needs rather than managers who have not had chance to build that sort of team- Newell or Hughes. I am concerned about the youth set-up which is facing a complete change since before the summer. Not the best way to keep the Academy players loyal to the club. Incidentally, I will be fascinated to read jim's suggestion for next manager.

Sounds very encouraging but the article also says Ferguson plays with someone coveering the hole behind him. To the extent that Souness thought that Matteo would be the hole coverer, it certainly has not worked at Ewood. My concern is whether we will find the right midfield partner for Ferguson before Souness is back to take him to Newcastle.

I have not seen any official reference to Saunders, Boersma and Murray having left. Can any one confirm? Must be a bit empty up at Brockhall at the moment. Incidentally, I suspect we will need to keep a watchful eye on the Academy. Whilst Stead and Ferguson are probably the only likely targets to Souness proclivities to old boys' reunions at his new club, I would not be surprised if he came back to raid the youngsters.

Richard Dinnis is another Rovers old boy who managed Newcastle and is on the Toon Army hate list.

Doubt it would happen but Sam Allardyce definitely has a soft spot for the Rovers. I would hope the Rovers at least put out some feelers in that direction. Still sticking with Troussier or Hitzfeld if we go foreign but I am not as anti-Houllier as some. Newell is interesting but remember it was the Hartlepool fans who were shouting "you don't know what you are doing" at him.

There is only one choice when it comes to Rovers' greatest caretaker manager ever. I wonder if TP has a better chance of becoming the manager on a permanent basis this time? Interesting to read Mike Newell so firmly throwing his hat into the ring.

Another 94 pages of debate about Souness here. Controversial chap our Souey. Glad you finaly got your eigth choice for Manager- saved us from having to sack him. Has Dyer booked himself into Newcastle General to have his leg reconstructed following a training ground accident a week on Tuesday yet? That said, if he does as well for you in his first three seasons as he did for us, its going to be a good time to follow the Toon.

35 years without a trophy on Tyneside is it? Funny that, Rovers have won the Prem and the Worthington Cup in the last ten years. Anyway, here is a thread to keep you interested: link

Any chance of a full translation, Maverick? "Morten Gamst Pedersen's development at Blackburn has taken a strange turn and he now needs a Bra. Henning Berg blamed Souness who promptly left for the land of big girl's blouses in Newcastle." I think I've got the gist of it.

Nice to see the commeents by Rakesh Ranaa- The Rovers supporter froom Leicester.