Another thought: ever since we were promoted Souness has said our priority is survival. Perhaps Rovers disappointed him by finishing tenth and sixth over the past two season when what he really wanted was a good old muck and nettles relegation fight. Well he certainly has got his wish now.

That's all right then. I can breathe alot easier now. Do you think we can still make the Champions League?

In six to eight weeks we could be marooned at the bottom and it will be too late for a change of direction. Clubs stuck at the bottom in December tend to stay there. Maybe I'm wrong and Souness will lead us out of trouble but I've got a feeling he will not. The team looks a mess tactically, confused and woefully lacking in confidence.

Sacking the manager may not always work but when the said manager has precipitated the present crisis through poor transfer dealings and mystifying tactics, and shows no sign of finding a solution, how long do we have to wait before either he resigns or the board finally acts? Rovers are now in the bottom five, one point below the much-derided Wolves, and unless we start to pick up points soon we will be rock bottom of the table, never mind in the relegation places. Perhaps when we finally hit the bottom Souness will offer his resignation. On present form, that will be sooner rather than later.

Absolutely spot on - and there lies, IMO, the reason why we're struggling so badly. Maybe they're told to constantly cut in all the time? Either way they're offering little to the team at the moment. If you are to play 5 across the middle then at least one of them should stop out wide? Has Souness resigned in shame tonight? And if he has not, does the board have the guts to sack him, which they should have done weeks ago? If anyone were in any doubt, we now in the midst of a full-blown crisis.

I wonder what sort of lucrative deal Jason negotiated with the LET (assuming he did not join the union and therefore is not being paid the going rate). I head from a good source that Revidge was on a nice little screw of £100,000 plus company car and all expenses paid executive seats at home and away matches. Jason should not have accepted anything less.

Good luck in your new "job" at the LET Jason. Have you joined the NUJ yet?

Funny you should mention that... My local bus company is seeking part-time drivers, I applied for a job last week and the interview is next Tuesday. Bit of a comedown after I didn't get the gravediggers job I had set my heart on but beggars can't be choosers.

Well there's a cheery note to end the day. Recently moved house and discovered my old ELO tapes. Played them on the 8-track in my Ford Capri the other day: "Mr Blue Sky"....absolutely marvellous.

Actually, I'm 48: it was my birthday two days ago on Jan 26. 51 is just short of my batting average last cricket season. Sign of age: my wife bought me a makeover. Is she trying to tell me something?

There's no box for me to tick for 90 plus.

Since when have I been controversial? Funny, optimistic, compassionate, yes, but never controversial. And should I be pleased or upset to come second to a complete lunatic? Or is that me being controversial again?

Agree with that. I would imagine every police force in England would object to them joining the Premiership anyway. I met some charming Celtic supporters in Glasgow and at Ewood but the bad ones, like those at Rangers, are truly horrible. Hardian's Wall wasn't built for nothing. Keep the Tartan hordes behind it sine die.

Sod it, I'm due a yellow card. Listen Cretin, I only give a valid response to those who deserve it, those who regularly contribute to this board with a basic understanding of grammar, and who can construct a basic sentence. My post wasn't designed to 'slag em off' as you so eloquently put it, but to point out our obvious frailty up front. I have stated previously on this board that I was willing to hope (with everything crossed) that Cole and Yorke would eventually find the spark they had at United. Thus far, and with the number of games in double figures, it hasn't happened. By your rationale I want our players to be rubbish so that we can lose matches ?! Make the post relevant please, or just visit as a guest. That will give you more time to sleep with your cousin, you hillbilly colostomy bag gargler. Well, that was certainly a personal insult. Mods - can I have my yellow badge please ? Excellent riposte sir. The prime benefit of a good education: the ability to communicate a better class of insult.

I can't help the feeling we missed out at Celtic Park after playing so well. O'Neill will have learnt his lessons from that game and adjust his tactics accordingly. Celtic to go 2-0 up midway through second half with our powder-puff attack scoring a late consolation goal near the end.

.....and people accuse me of being a moaner and pessimistic! What's obvious from the recent games is that Rovers aren't performing well while Celtic have raised their game considerable since we played them. I think we are in for a big letdown on Thursday night because we cannot score goals for love nor money at the moment.

......made the difference when he came on last night: always said we should have signed him. Fantastic Rovers fans last night....the Celtic supporters around me were silent most of the game because we played so well and were reduced to taunting us with shouts of "Argentina"!!! Pathetic. Man for man Celtic aren't in the same class as us, though they did defend well. Were we too elaborate? Possibly, but it was great to watch. Even the more intelligent Celtic fans I was talking to in the pub afterwards acknowledged that. Can we win the second leg. Yes we can....3-0 if we play like we did last night, but I can't believe Celtic will play so badly again and O'Neill will have wised up to Rovers's tactics. Warning: all the Celtic fans I spoke to are coming down to Blackburn and none of them have tickets. Lock up your daughters!!!

No of course they won't! That's just the point......this is a big one-off match that people who cannot attend regularly for whatever reason want to see but are being denied the opportunity just to satisfy Celtic. I'm probably typical of some people in that I can only get to Ewood about 4 or 5 times a year but I am willing to rearrange all my work and domestic schedules (and have a row with missus!) for what will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime match. Your argument is the same old where-were-you-lot-when-I was-watching-Rovers-play-away-to-Grimsby-in-the-1970s syndrone?

The fact is Celtic stuck to the rules and gave us the minimum 5 per cent that they were required to do. They looked after their own fans first and quite rightly so. The real scandal is Rovers handing over all 8,000 tickets to the Darwen End because it sends exactly the wrong message to the Celtic hordes: ie, get down to Blackburn because if 8,000 can get in legitimately another 4,000 should be able to by one means or another. I'll take bets with anyone that Celtic fans will be dotted all round the JW, the Riverside and even the Blackburn End. As I said before, the club has taken the easy way out here. Selling is 8,000 tickets is far easier than trying to drum up local support....not that it was needed for this match anyway. Half the b......town wants to go to this one. Rovers should have done to Celtic what they did to us....offer them 5 per cent, ie 1,500 tickets, and then see how tickets sales go. Any left over (in the Darwen End) could have been handed over to Celtic nearer the day of the match. Or is that too simple.....?

Basically, the club has taken the easy way out. Flogging 8,000 tickets to Celtic fans is a no-brainer, getting 28,000 Rovers fans in the ground requires hard work and persistence. The disappointing thing is that 1. Rovers will never ever increase the fans base long-term by making expedient short-term decisions such as this. I'm sure there are thousands of fans (me and three of my friends for a start) who would love to go to this match but will now be unable to. 2. 8,000 tickets is not going to satisfy the Scottish hordes. They are a desperate lot who will find any way to get a ticket into Ewood and I think we will have a Man City situation on our hands even if we had given them 20,000 tickets. All in all, the wrong decision by the club, and yet again, it has taken them twice as long as the opposition (as at Cardiff) to let supporters know what is happening.