jim mk2

So ..... Rooney is "scum" apparently. A descendant of the criminal classes ought to know.

Sven's tactical contortions continue. For the Ecuador game he is planning to play Carrick in the holding midfield role, drop Carragher and switch Hargreaves to right back in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Rooney as the lone striker. You couldn't make it up folks.

Are the convicts on the way home yet ?

Eh ? What about Terry, who completely misjudged the throw-in and allowed it to bounce over him ? Full marks to Sweden, who spotted England's vulnerability to driven crosses. In 190 years of watching the national team I've never seen an England defence in such disarray. A "flapper" in goal does not inspire confidence either.

Big blow for the men in arrowed shirts. C'mon Croatia ! Send them back to their island exile !

Marcotti writes in the Times every week on the continental game and is always worth reading.

He just did, with a far better post than yours or his antagoniser.

Lucas Neill own goal for convicts v Liechtenstein ! Still think you're too good Rovers cobber ?

Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas gave the club more than 30 years' combined service and they never got stale or gave less than 100 per cent. That used to happen. You're being far too kind to another money-grabbing over-rated overpaid modern football shyster. Stick him in the reserves and sell him when he demands a transfer. Then replace him with someone with similar ability such as the Great Harwood right back, whoever he is.

Typical American head-up-their-own-arse view of the world. Not that the Americans know there is a world outside the US. Every four years, when the biggest sports tournament on the planet comes around, US newspapers publish dross "opinion" pieces on "soccer" like this. Americans are merely jealous because the real world plays football while no one else plays their own poxy sports.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. So good I've copied and pasted it on the wall of the day room.

Good piece by Matt Dickinson but I'm not sure why he chose Rovers as candidates for match-fixing. Perhaps that's because he's a Notlobian.

Very good photos dillo dillo, taken by someone with an artistic eye and worthy of Sunday newspaper glossy magazines.

Bloomin' right. Three nailed-on penalties in my view but what does it matter ? Europe is trembling as mighty Rovers (one win in 16 matches) train their sights on the continent's elite again.

Attendance 20,243.

Not Savage, brushed Reid's head.

Rovers hit bar, Chelsea hit post. Ref's given us nowt so far.

Ewood looks empty !

FA officials are in Lisbon tonight with a view to offering the England job to Scolari. The governing body have certainly not taken the easy option this time - watch out for a massive anti-Scolari reaction from the press and leading figures in English football.

Has Glazer's illness plunged United's future back into doubt in one stroke ?

All very calm, reasoned and rational but football ain't like that. We lost again, we could lose a coveted place in Europe and I'm teed off about it. It ain't looking good: Newcastle have the momentum and we've lost it. Hughes needs to conjure a win or two from somewhere or it's bye-bye Bellamy at the end of the season.

With the exception of Kaka surely ? Fantastic player.

Surprised to find this match in the "heaven" thread. Hell would be more appropriate. My uncle, a lifelong supporter before the final, refused to go to Ewood again after Rovers' dismal showing at Wembley and the tickets scandal, which was never proved but caused the club immense harm for years afterwards. He was not alone. Talk to the older generation in the town and many will shake their heads (and not from the effects of Alzheimer's) at the events of that day.

Irrelevant. Might as well say look where we are now compared with 1964-65 or 1994-95. Fourth place is probably put of reach now but considering the lack of quality in the squad (Bellamy, Nelsen and Friedel excepted), sixth position and a place in the Uefa Cup would be an outstanding achievement by Hughes.

Nelsen's last-ditch tackles, interceptions and general reading of the game were a bit more than "OK". He was also having to do the work of two men: Zurab is not physically strong enough for the Premiership IMO. I thought Hughes got it wrong tonight. Wigan's success away from home this season is no secret so I would have expected him to counter their tactics. Only in the last ten minutes or so did Rovers provide any sort of threat. PS: judgment has no middle "e".