So to the first game of 2006. It's a warm (ho ho ho) welcome to Portsmouth who make the long journey up to Ewood. Should be even more popular if this one is called off at 18:00. Neither team is in a rich vein of form, but one club has had managerial stability for a while. Don’t think we’d swap form or position though : last six games…….. Rovers LWLWWP Portsmouth LLLWDL Work colleagues weren’t too forthcoming (but thanks to Tim for a few words) so it was over to a few folk on the rivals.net site pompey-fans for their input . None of em admit to having a cow bell. PFC thoughts in red, editor’s comments in blue. So the Frenchman's reign is at an end. Happy now Arry is back at the helm? The arrival of Monsieur Perrin brought a different work ethic and training style designed to improve matters beyond the 5-a-side, cruciate damaging training methods of the past (Ed – hmmmmmm for cruciate read hamstrings and this sounds familiar). The jury is split over whether Arry is messiah or pariah, give him another eight games and the verdict should be in. Regarding Arry, expletives seemed to be the order of the day with some of the other fans to reply. For what it’s worth, I’d have a guess that it’s about 60/40 against him at the moment. There seems to be plenty of foreign blood at PFC these days (gawd, I’m starting to sound like Smithy ). Any views, and where might the team be looking to strengthen? Robert is still the same temperamental, mercurial player he was at Newcastle and may be given the chance to shine but needs the motivation to play and compete otherwise he tends to be anonymous. Upfront is another big problem area for the team : Yakubu has proved very difficult to replace. Players have come in who clearly have been a gamble that have failed to come off . Silva tries hard, does a lot of off the ball running, but no great end product. Todorov and Pericard, both 'Arry favourites who may yet have a part to play, but sadly both have been plagued by injuries and have yet to regain full fitness and sharpness. Mbesuma, who knows ! Bought from a South African club with glowing reports but clearly arrived not match fit and suspect under 'Arry won't even be used. For Lua-Lua read Robert, although with the African Nations looming may not feature at all in the coming weeks. We’ve conceded loads of goals at free kicks and corners so definitely room for organisational improvement. Last season saw a couple of 1-0s to Rovers, the season before a couple of 2-1s (each to the away team). Before that we met a few times in the Champ/Div 1/Cup. Interestingly, I see in our Premiership games PFC have had 7 bookings and 2 sent off whilst Rovers have had 9 bookings and 0 sent off. So what do you reckon might happen this time (apart from the bully boys catching up on the sending off front)?. A little more seriously, what do you make of the 'physical' reputation of Rovers these days? Only to be expected of a team with Savage and Dickov. Could do without the time wasting though. Who do you reckon are the players to watch out for on each side and those to laugh at/abuse? The team put out on the 2nd Jan may well bear no resemblance to anything seen before. In midfield, Gary O'Neil is still one to watch, England U-21 captain with a future but possibly destined for a top six club. Silva is a hard worker whilst in midfield, Hughes has probably been our most consistent player. As to Rovers players, Bellamy’s speed will put the wind up our defence whilst Dickov always scores against us. Meanwhile, Savage isn’t held in too high regard! What do you think the rest of the season holds for both clubs? Errr, the bookies have you odds on to get relegated. We’ll survive – just! Rovers to be 2 or 3 places above us. I see the kick off has been moved to 19:35 (!) so that should see plenty travelling up from Portsmouth. What are your views on Sky (printable ones please)? What do you think of Ewood Pk as a visitor and how it might compare to visitors to Fratton Pk? Makes it a bit easier to watch from the south coast! I have to admit to not particularly liking Ewood, but will concede that some of the away fans do get a roof! I can't think of too many player connections between the clubs. Jim Smith was Rovers boss in the late 70s (he didn't have much hair then either) - was he seen as doing a decent job at Portsmouth? Did a good job before Redknapp, but bit too fond of the gin once Arry got here. And finally, a prediction - preferably scoreline but other predictions welcome. A draw would be a good result but suspect that the lack of goals will mean that a home win is more likely. 2-1. If Uriah Rennie is the ref we're doomed .... Can’t say I do predictions but found this as I was hunting around. Good ole Charlie. It's anorak time : I've been keeping an eye on the Preston Hairdresser (Lawrenson)'s predictions since early September and here's the summary compared to a few teams that we might have been considered on a par with at various times....... Team Lawrenson's predictions Actual W D L pts W D L pts Rovers 1 4 9 7 6 2 6 20 Brum 6 5 3 23 2 3 9 9 Portsmouth 4 1 9 13 3 4 7 13 Sunderland 4 2 8 14 1 3 10 6 Fulham 4 4 7 16 5 3 7 18 Boro 4 3 7 15 4 4 6 16 That's at the time of writing but I suspect we'd be well adrift at the bottom of the league if Lawrenson had his way. That'll be a huge suprise to many of us. No words of wisdom (or comedy) for the Pompey game yet, somebody will no doubt quote him in due course. Perhaps we should suggest Charlie joins Lawro on the Football Focus sofa for a little chinwag?

You won't have to wait long Bazza, I'd already got a little something planned for the Portsmouth preview . By the way, in the 14 games I've been able to track down his predictions for us, the grand total is 7 points . Over to you to mail the beeb.

Very true Colin. The Postal Order in Blackburn used to have it till a year or so ago, don't think they have any Thwaites' these days . But on the plus side, they usually have Black Cat on, which is one of Moorhouse's better ales (even if it is from Burnley).

Won't be long before you get used to it Eddie. White one week, black the next according to some posters (no I wasn't thinking of BP and drog). The truth lies somewhere in the grey. If Bert could head on target we'd have got at least a draw on Sat, and on balance a draw would have been about right. But it could have been a draw against West Ham - on balance, I'd take a win and a loss rather than two draws. Jim's got a point (ho ho) though - it would help if we could stop the goals against so we didn't have to score one or two just to get a point.

You're right about the unpredictability, Mr Simpson. I wouldn't be too suprised if we do something daft like lost at home to Sunderland (it's happened before) but win at somewhere we shouldn't like Spurs. We'd be a top 6 side if we were consistent, but where's the excitement in that ? In the same camp as mum on Neill - think he's doing well this year, and looked sharp, composed, and determined yesterday. Yep he didn't win as much in the air as the Admiral probably would have but for a full back thought he did a good job at CH yesterday. Fair point about Kuqi and Dickov being value for money tcj. I think I said a while ago they're not worldbeaters but are good enough to keep us clear of relegation. Bellamy looks like making sure we'll be mid-table, if we were to get McCarthy in Jan (I can't see it) it should be worth another couple of places. I'd like to see Shefki get more starts cos he does add that physical side to our attack but maybe MH thinks along the same lines as Oz (or vice versa ) and thinks he's worth more to us in small doses. Onwards and upwards. Edit - and a PS : well done to WH and that advertising board. WH perhaps realised with Dailly coming on that it was no good relying on defending, the only way they were going to get anything from the game was to attack. Made for a thoroughly exciting 2nd half. Anyone heard if there is any lasting damage to Gabbidon or the hoarding? Remember how Savage disappearing over a hoarding with the help of a WH player down at Upton Park caused much hilarity amongst 'ammers fans? What goes around comes around.

You'd be right joey. But as several others have said, if we were to appeal I would guess the onus is on us to prove it wasn't deliberate (ie prove the ref's decision was wrong). Suppose it's a bit like a court case where guilt is assumed till innocence is proven. I had a nasty feeling that a straight red was a three match ban? So I suppose given it is only a one match ban, Jimmy Khizanishvili is waiting in the wings, the one match is against a team where Toddy was hardly outstanding earlier this season, and for the sake of future appeals and having a good track record on appeals, the club decided to save on the expense of an appeal. Meanwhile, back on topic.......... is Sheringham (out last night for WHam) likely to be out for Sat?

Interesting view on the world there Vinj. Do you really believe your personal views represent those of Blackburn fans everywhere?

Got the radio on and just heard that the now-retired ref Paul Durkin is a guest on MOTD2 tonight. Now can't imagine he'll recommend that Halsey should be hung, drawn, and quartered, but I'd be interested if anyone watches and can report here (I won't be able to watch).

Tricky to add to most of the posts - if we'd have put a few of the chances away (yes, I'm talking about you MGP, but I suppose on the plus side he was in the right place to miss em) we'd have got something out of the game, even with 10 men. Which brings me on to the sending off : I came away from the game fuming at what I saw as a terrible decision but thought "wait till I've seen it on the telly". Well, it was still diabolical. And cost at least a point, like Liverpool away. And Mr Halsey of Bolton is the common factor. The posters who are having a pop at Todd, pop away, but bear in mind that he didn't put a foot (or hand ho ho ho) wrong today. Wouldn't be at all suprised to see the FA rescind that one early next week. Wonder what D'Urso is up to these days? Suggest you go and find out Mr Halsey. Probably as well to steer clear of Ewood, you are heading on the same road as our old mate Gerald Ashby. Is that down the bookies to collect on an anti-Rovers bet?

Mr Grooby, who's put a match report on the official site titled 'Charlton 3 Rovers 2' . Do you have a practical joker working there?

Errrr, excuse me if I've missed the point, but Wigan on 31 Dec and Portsmouth on 2 Jan. It's always been that way hasn't it?

Or maybe there was a bit of tactics about it cos Ipswich had a player sent off?

Agree with 90 percent of your views IHB, but did you have a bit of a brainstorm before typing Trundle and Johnson? Kuqi was one of the leading scorers in the Champ/Div 1 (or whatever it was) last year, he was free, won't be a huge earner, and to my mind does what he was bought to do - be energetic, win a few in the air, score 8 per season (assuming he gets enough time on the pitch). To those that were expecting another Drogba, set your sights lower like they should have been all along. Will we get another striker? I would guess it's down to risk vs reward. If the powers that be can be persuaded to splash a few million cos we'll finish a few places higher, great. I have my doubts. And btw Rev, I read Philpl's comment more along the lines of him not being a local lad rather than it being ethnic-based. But I suspect Phil will clear that one up.

So is it 15 points behind the Hoops now Baz? Meanwhile, on to more interesting things........... Abs, wonder if there's surgical spandex (copyright AS) in the wardrobe ? You know it makes sense........

And just to elaborate a bit.......... I think Spurs had just about sold their 5000 allocation yesterday and though I don't remember just how many Spurs brought to Ewood, it was an evening game (c2500?). You're not doomed yet Gav .

Nayef, cut him a bit of slack, he hasn't got to grips with English yet. And don't know about the 550ml, but there was probably at least 250ml of shandy to cope with.

I sent this to BRISA about a month ago but as I haven't seen an acknowledgement and time is of the essence, perhaps it would reach an audience here? One of the subjects discussed on that Attendances topic was the importance of encouraging young spectators. The club are making efforts in that direction (http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/SchoolsIncentiveMatches/0,,10303,00.html) and maybe there is something many of us more established (OK, older!) supporters can do to help. A couple of weeks ago it struck me that it could be that a number of the folk that scheme is aimed at - schools, teachers, pupils - might not be aware of it. So I wrote a short letter to my old Primary School (Whalley), including the article from the Rovers website, and offered to help them fund an outing to Ewood. The school would do all the organising, logistics and so on. Guess what - they hadn't heard of the offer, thought it was excellent, and will hopefully organise something for early 2006. Now I realise some of the Ewood faithful didn't go to school in E Lancs, or might not be of a suitable age to do this sort of thing, but are there a few fellow supporters who could contact a former school in E Lancs - not necessarily with any sort of financial incentive - to make them aware of the offer by Rovers? There's also the offer that may be more relevant to local football teams (http://www.brfccommunity.co.uk/clubs.html). Again, could we help publicise? I know it's not rocket science, but it doesn't cost us much individually but potentially offers a good day out for kids, gets a few more into Ewood on matchdays, and might even encourage a few to become long term supporters.

Vinjay, you are surpassing even your high standards of talking drivel. I look forward to seeing how you can maintain this rate of progress. A suggestion for you if I may - the world of psycho-analysis would surely pay a tidy sum to look inside your mind : why not volunteer, you could make a few quid.

Whilst ex/current players and Blackpool are at the front of my mind, what happened to Ciaran Donnelly? Last I heard he went there on a free didn't he? Still there or gone elsewhere? Never see him mentioned. Rover6, any inside info?

Jim, I've been using Force9 for a few months now. No problems, 15 quid a month, 2 meg and I don't think there's any usage limit. No charge for moving. Was the best deal around when I was looking (thoroughly brassed off with BT). Available wherever BT's ADSL is. Should be a doddle to switch, just need a MAC key from your current ISP (BT weren't too happy to supply). Billing etc all done electronically, works well. Let me know if you go for them, think they have some sort of referral scheme, so might be able to get you a few quid off.

Gav, deep breath. For the sake of your wallet, is it time to organise a boycott for away fans for 31 Dec ?

Eddie, I'm not a local, but it was dead easy when I went there a couple of years ago. About 200 yds from Charlton station, which is 10-15 mins from London Bridge (I think) station. I'm sure there'll be directions at Football ground guide

Bry, to be fair to the editors, there's not much left for them when they have about 10 mins of time and 5 goals (and replays) to fit in. IMHO he wasn't doing much showboating, just tackling (yes, tackling!), hassling, and passing as of old. Best game I've seen him have for a couple of years. Thought Lucas was very good as well which didn't really show on MOTD.

Up to a point Ste. If it had been a close game we'd be having a right go at Mr Dowd - and quite rightly, that pen was the clearest one we'll see this season. And you thinking about Perry's challenge after about 20 mins, think it was Reid on the receiving end? Maybe it was one of those that looks worse than it was, but another example of a Rovers player not making a meal of things might just have saved Perry. It's one of Reid's traits not to roll around like an Arsenal player after a challenge - other teams please take note.

More reason to be worried Rev. Was it a couple of years ago we went to Brum and won 4-0 in the league. Then a few weeks later we returned in the Cup and lost 4-0. I thought Charlton were one of the better sides we've played this year - suppose it says something about us these days . Then again maybe I'm just a born pessimist.