I was surprised by how often they resorted to long balls and dark art tactics, but they'll say it got the job done, I suppose. Their GK, with the basin-cut hairdo, was an absolute penis, wasn't he? As soon as they scored, he was giving it the big one to the Blackburn End and didn't stop - then all of the time wasting and girly run-ups for goal kicks, etc. Thought we defended well overall, but we just don't have the quality going forward. I'm a fan of Cantwell, but quite frankly, the rest of the squad just isn't on the same mental wavelength as him - they don't make the runs for his passes, for example. Leonard offered so much more than Gueye in a short space of time.

We'll be setting off in 10, only live up JWW - not been as excited for a game in a long time. Today is the day, boys and girls. I don't advocate gambling, but I've popped a fiver on Cantwell to score and then Beck, JRC and Barnes to be booked (£400 back). See you down there...

I'm hopeful that the 'Cantwell being ill' thing is a bit of a smokescreen and opportunity to rest him before tomorrow's game - he's undoubtedly the man with the bit of magic to turn a stalemate into a Rovers win. Looking forward to seeing the fullest Ewood we've seen for a while, for an actual big game as well. It'll be the biggest crowd my 9 YO will have been in, along with the atmosphere, etc. Can't wait.

It's clear his weight and hairline have. I genuinely hope he plays; it'd be a disadvantage to them. And if he does, it gives someone like Batth, Beck or Gueye the opportunity to make themselves a hero by leaving a very deserved one on him. Bring them on.

It's sad that people need to be reminded to not punch any other person in the head, because they support a different team. Let's hope we don't see any kind of that backwards behaviour on the day.

Agreed, I think he's a big-game player, so it'd be good to see him take part (if he's fit). And with the lack of forwards, I'd be slightly tempted to stick Tyjon or even that younger kid scoring freely in the youth teams on the bench. If they get on, that youthful lack of fear and the 'unknown' factor could be better than someone like Dolan up there.

Agreed. The work should have been done as soon as the Aug/Sep window closed and we should have several 'pots' of players, by position, by budget. The window opening should be a case of finalising / announcing, as we've already seen from some clubs. Why do I get the feeling that we only start the process on the 1st of January...

Was there not something around the FFP cycles giving us a bit of wriggle room this season, or did I imagine that? If it is true, combined with our league position, manager's performance, increased attendances (recently) and the fortune made from player sales. There really is no excuse.

You know, I was genuinely unconvinced by JE last season - the failure to win a single home game, some of those away performances and staying up by the width of a gnat's pube, on the last day. But he's the real deal and I'm more than happy to be wrong, as it means we've been successful. And we know that we'll have a team that will compete in the derby on Saturday, even if we don't take all 3 points. Which is a lot more than we've been able to say for the last few gaffers. Not backing him in this window is not an option, Venkys. Don't fuck this up.

Happy enough with that first half, away to another side in the top 6. We look organised and they didn't have an actual shot on target. Pears falling over thin air twice in the space of the first 20 minutes makes me nervous that today's the day he drops one of his clangers, but hopefully not. We'll get a chance in the 2nd, so keep it tight and we should take something from the game.

Can we hire you for the team talks? You're right though. If we've learned nothing else under Eustace, it's that we're capable of turning the 'favourites' over in big games.

I've just read that Leeds and the Dingles are after Ferguson, but Brighton have made him available for loan. Same article suggests that he's on £30kpw at Brighton. It's still not happening. But if it did, I'd walk down to Ewood and make Waggott a brew at 2pm every day for a week of his choosing.

I don't know if there's anything in the Evan Ferguson thing, but he's as close to a young Alan Shearer as I've seen anybody in my lifetime. Absolutely top class and would guarantee us a top 6 finish, in my opinion. Which means there's no chance of him coming here.

His mate has left the club, so he's back to the usual guess work.

Absolute dog shit, that - from front to back. ACD one the one slight bright spark, but otherwise we could play for another 180 minutes and still not score. Tactics all wrong, players not on the same wavelength; the opposite of the Sunderland first half. Quite simply must be better in the next 2 games.

Pretty dull game, but ACD has been lively. Pears has been poor this half, passing directly to their attackers on at least 2 occasions and dropping a standard catch. Luckily, he got away with all of them. We've set up as if we'd play to Gueye's strengths, yet haven't done that at all. He's been poor, to be honest. I'd shove Leonard on for the 2nd half, I'm sure he'd do better. Still one we should win, if we keep it tight at the back.

You also couldn't have played him out wide, as Conway and Marshall were out-and-out wingers, with our style centred around getting the ball into the front 2 as quickly as possible.

Yeah, what its called now - but from as far back as I go, it was always Walkersteel. So it's stuck in my head as the Walkersteel.

I can't call it anything else, doesn't feel right. Walkersteel from as far back as I can remember and anything referencing the big man will do for me. Anything other than Walkersteel feels wrong to me, whatever they go on to rename it as.

I had a look at a bit ago and I think had a 1-5 left in the JW, a small amount in the Walkersteel/Riverside and then around 100 on each flank of the Blackburn End Upper.

I do like the idea of him as a 'second striker', behind Gueye, running onto flick-ons and picking up scraps. But I don't think we can afford to drop Cantwell; he's just got that extra bit of quality that, even if he has a crap game, he can pop up with a moment of magic.

Imagine, for a brief moment, how this could play out under a club management team who knew what they were doing. Not just the Dingles game, but the opportunity to take advantage of this little burst of interest from new/lapsed fans. Shame.

If you go back to the Gestede (playing) days, we set up with Conway and Marshall as true wingers, getting those crosses onto the big lad's head. I don't think we should revert back to that style of play, but suspect Gueye would probably score more with such an approach.

Probably fanciful, but I felt like the feel good factor from the late equaliser could tempt some of the casual fans back to Ewood on a more regular basis. I know it's the Xmas period and people have more spare time / tickets as gifts / etc, but the fanbase is clearly still there, we just need to attract them back. Pleased to see Leonard score also today, I genuinely think there's a potentially good striker in there.

Late one, didn't get chance to get on here yesterday (3 kids under 13...), but hope everyone had a good Xmas. And echoing the thanks to the staff and site management. I moderate another site as a PT gig and I know how much of a thankless task it is, so we appreciate what you do.