jim mk2

Conway seen as too old yet excitement at the prospect of Downing who is about the same age? Does not compute.

With phases such as "Him and Winterbottom" it reads like a piece from a school magazine. Ignore.

LT is produced in Newport, south Wales, I believe so it's no surprise if there are mistakes not picked up by editors with local knowledge.

Not sure I said that as I can't recall seeing Gladwin play but I'll take your word for it!

Where is the inference? None at all. Clubs across Europe like Rovers will survive but will be stuck in an underclass from which they can never emerge, excluded from the very top by money, wealth and power of the wealthiest. Rather like living in Tory Britain in fact. Uefa's latest plan to expand the Champions League to 2 divisions and enable the elite clubs to stay in the CL indefinitely will make the inequality worse. Fans can shrug their shoulders and accept it or they can vote with their feet by staying away because the whole exercise of supporting a club that will never have any hope of getting a sniff of the top is pointless. I suspect many will do the latter. I've already voted with my feet - I do not subscribe to any pay per view sport on TV and rarely watch football on TV at all these days.

With "fans" like this, football and clubs such as Rovers are doomed.

Lancashire trying to lose a game it seemed impossible not to win. Middlesex from 24-5 to 185-5 chasing 304

Well, he wouldn't say that would he? But it's not what I stated - and you in your usual fashion tried tried to make something of it.

All I said was Mowbray has signalled that Raya is to be the No 1, which I believe is the wrong decision. What Mowbray chose to say or not to say is up to him. As usual, you're making things up.

American spelling. British English is defence

Defence

How does my post below extrapolate to the above? So Mowbray has backed down on resolving the team's biggest problem

An intelligent manager wouldn't. But an intelligent manager also wouldn't publicly back a player he intended to replace. It doesn't need much intelligence for you to understand this.

So I think we're agreed the old European Cup with champions only taking part and knockout football in every round was much better than the over-hyped, over-inflated Champions League

Upsets can always happen with 2 -leg knockout football. Looks what's happened this week. That was the beauty of the old European Cup, Uefa Cup and Cup-winners Cup. It's making cups into leagues that make it boring. The dominance of the same teams is a different issue and applies to most of the main domestic leagues throughout Europe.

They're boring because it is a league. Revert to the old European Cup knockout format and it would be exciting again. But it won't happen because money rules

So Mowbray has backed down on resolving the team's biggest problem - the fact we have a dodgy goalkeeper. Doesn't bode well for him signing the quality defenders we also need this summer.

Prepare for more national embarrassment and humiliation as the intelligentsia among Spurs and Liverpool inflict a day and night of misery on Madrid. As English football fans are unable to go abroad and have a good time without getting drunk, fighting, urinating in public and being generally disagreeable, I feel sorry for the citizens of Madrid, the Spanish public in general, and the Spanish police service who have to deal with them

Macc is probably NW too so that's 5. You're right though - football represents wider society with an elite cadre of clubs at the very top that are untouchable and divorced from the reality of the struggles of the rest; and smaller southern clubs doing increasingly well while big northern clubs languish I mean, the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton and Watford - 3rd and 4th division clubs in my eyes - in the top division would have been unthinkable back in the good old days.

and Wigan. Could Southport, Barrow (used to be Lancs), Morecambe and Darwen make it back to the Football League too?

Have to say Burnley are in a great situation at the moment. They have an experienced and canny manager who is under no pressure to achieve anything other than to try to avoid relegation - and even then, he would probably still stay in post and Burnley likely bounce straight back. Burnley are also unlikely to lose Dyche to one of the "bigger" clubs because of his "dour" image and perceived playing style. Couple that with a stable board, the appearance of a well-run club and the Premier League riches flowing into Burnley's bank account with each passing season and it's not difficult to be envious of them compared to the situation at Ewood Park.

No thanks. And his wages would be astronomical

Best signings for me would be Reed and Rodwell. Why does Mowbray look any further when he's unlikely to find better?

If we stick with Raya next season, sooner or later he will let us down. He will cost us vital points that will make the difference between a promotion push and mid-table, or between mid-table and a relegation fight. There's very few successful teams with dodgy keepers, And Raya is dodgy.

Given Mowbray's past pronouncements, and his tendency to do the exact opposite of what he says, I'd suggest Hart will be in goal for us next season.