Why pebble/pebblers?

There must not be an SEM/Anderson connection at that publication because he hasn't been painted as the victim and it's pretty much telling the truth that he's a tosser.

You will be welcome at Ewood if you are on a Bosman 😁😁😁😁.

I see Bill regularly and always find time to have a good natter to him. He is a proper football person having played, coached, managed and been an excellent administrator at various times. He is still involved at Darwen Rangers although his son is now the main man. I actually played alongside him for a season and he was a proper ball playing, cultured centre half. He is a really good bowler and heavily involved in helping to run various leagues. I'll pass on your regards Andy when I next see him.

I played against Mark Patterson who played a season in the Darwen Amateur League as a fifteen year old. He played wide left and I played right back and I don't remember him going past me once although he was tired having been at school all day and then an uphill paper round 😁😁😁.

An interesting incident occurred before the game as Pieters was included on the official team sheet to play. Somebody realised that two cautions in the FA Cup is a suspension and Pieters had been yellow carded in rounds three and four. They changed their ream and team sheet and put it down to an 'administrative error'. In other words they didn't know. It would have been funny if he had played, they won and then got booted out.

The EFL's salary cap for Leagues One and Two has been withdrawn after after being successfully challenged by the PFA.

Congratulations Nick on the birth of your granddaughter.

You could well be right Tyrone. I had it in my mind that there is some synergy between wicketkeeping and goalkeeping and it was Cumbes who put it there.

Wasn't there an annual cricket match between East Lancs and a Rovers XI during the close season? If memory serves Rovers would import a couple of Lancashire League professionals to bolster them. It is one of them events that have gone as footballers don't tend to live in the locality and jet off for several weeks as soon as the season has ended. Maybe the more intense contracts would also forbid it for fear of injury.

Balderstone and Cumbes were two more who were professional footballers and cricketers. Wasn't Cumbes a wicketkeeper and goalkeeper?

Tony Currie played with him at Sheffield along with players like Bill Dearden, Alan Woodward, Keith Eddy, John Colquhoun and Jim Brown and not to mention the ex Rovers like Bradford, Garbett and Speight (maybe Endean too). There was also a County cricketer called Ted Helmsley if I remember correctly.

By a strange quirk of fate Mark I was watching The Big Match Revisited this morning that I recorded on Saturday. The third match watch Everton v Sheffield United and Field, along with Bradford and Speight were playing as they came back from two down to win. And the goal of the season contenders were shown and our man was in the six select with a terrific individual goal.

I was talking to a friend on Saturday Mark and we both agreed that Tony Field is arguably our best pound for pound signing. He was my first ever Rovers hero and I was devastated when he left for Sheffield United, probably more upset than when Shearer left. We both remember the fee as being around £10k.

Thanks for the update. I noticed that there was only one game in the NLN yesterday but didn't know any of what you have posted. What a farce it has become and who knows how it will play out.

This season, in my view was the best opportunity we have had since relegation from the PL to get promoted. I genuinely think we have a top six squad but we are falling short because we haven't got a manager who can utilise the potential we have. Mowbrays failings have held us back this season but even looking forwards the summer will represent another huge upheaval of the squad when the loan players and out of contract players leave. If we stick with Mowbray the oven ready excuses are there even for next season. To give us a chance this season we simply have to try something different and only a new manager can bring that. The opportunity is still there but that will recede as the weeks go by. Any change of manager brings risk with it but we are stagnant and Mowbray, in my opinion just doesn't have what it takes to take us further.

I don't think there was any issues with Nyambe apart from the fact he is Mowbrays patsy. He is dropped for ridiculous reasons and yesterday I would love to know how Mowbray saw Harwood-Bellis as a better option whilst sticking to his flat back four. I could understand it if we had gone to a back three of Harwood-Bellis, Lenihan and Branthwaite but he didn't. Some of Mowbrays decisions are incomprehensible and his panic ridden substitutions summed up what he is. I honestly wouldn't blame Nyambe if he walked away in the summer and in my view Mowbrays treatment of him will have played a part in this. Poor, poor management from a man who looks like he is drowning in a sea of mediocrity.

One of Mowbrays biggest weaknesses, by his own admission is that he over thinks things and makes things far too complicated. Yesterday we saw in spades evidence of this. At times I hadn't got a clue who was playing where, what the formation was and more importantly what he was trying do. It's not the first time this has happened but against an average QPR I think his cleverness cost us. What the players must think of his random, illogical nonsense would be interesting.

If you look to Keith's left shoulder it looks like an opponent in a yellowish kit.

Could it be Molineux?

We wouldn't have worn that kit at Carlisle though.

I thought it was Mick Wood rather than Neil Wilkinson. Is the real blonde lad Jeff Whalley?

This could be a thread on its own Tyrone.

I had an embarrassing encounter with Duncan at Darwen Leisure Centre Mark. Rovers used to train in the sports hall and I was coming out of the changing room as they were leaving. I was starstruck and asked McKenzie if the was any truth in the rumour they didn't want to go up as champions. It was undoubtedly the dumbest question in the world. He looked at me and said "Fucking right we do". and carried on walking. It was one of the wanting the ground to open up moments for me.

The exception to the rule 😃. As I recall he was pilloried by the press for his antics and thankfully nobody followed suit.