As a matter of interest philip: Are you jetting back from your tax haven for the match ? And if not, why not ?

From memory,it was the sogning of Gilliver, the following season, that led to the radical change. Huddersfield refused to pay compensation so we ended up with John Coddington. Codddington in defence; O'Mara up front. Nightmare.

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere but agencies have reported John Williams admitting that the club may have fewer than 15,000 fans in Cardiff on Saturday. Williams has blamed the FA for the low turn-out after claiming that they have messed up the semi-final weekend by staging both games at the Millennium Stadium. He said: “It will be a great effort if we can take 15,000 fans under the circumstances of high ticket prices, the long journey and the kick-off time. “The FA have made it difficult. It’s a bad decision, not only in terms of location, but coupled with the kick-off time, it has become a very difficult trip for our fans. “The alternative of staying at home to watch on TV is clearly going to affect our attendance on the day. “It would have been better for our fans and better for the game if the semi-final was at Villa Park. "We could fill the Millennium Stadium for the Final. We have done it before when we won the Worthington Cup in Cardiff. "But it’s a tall order for us to get anywhere near selling 30,000 tickets for a semi-final and, sadly, we won’t.” Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson blames Arsenal for leaning on the FA to get Cardiff chosen as the venue for this weekend’s FA Cup semi-finals. In the latest twist in the long running United-Arsenal feud Ferguson said today: “Apparently it was Arsenal who forced this through. “I think they wanted it at Cardiff last season instead of Villa Park. We are looking forward to the semi-final but it’s a terrible burden on the fans with it being at Cardiff, particularly the Newcastle fans. "The editor of a newspaper said United fans were being arrogant and that they’ve had plenty of semi-finals whereas Newcastle haven’t. "I don’t think that’s the point. The point is the cost to fans. And how many accidents will there be on the way down? It’s a long journey compared to, say, Leeds. I just don’t understand it."

Martin Britt. We were conned into signing another crock. Did he ever play? One game, which we won. Britt was a good player, but with a very bad injury when we signed him. Thank you West Ham. I would like to nominate a couple of 1970s duffers - Martin Fowler and Paul Round. Awful.

Agreed. This is a PR disaster waiting to happen. The club must be able to estimate now how many tickets they will sell in total. A press release should be issued before the weekend blaming the FA. Williams is unlikely to want to upset the FA however, so perhaps supporters organisations/websites (?) should do it for them ?

Really ? The news editors live in the area and have their nose to the ground. They know what is being is said in the clubs/pubs/workplaces of the town and have published an article stating why a large number of supporters won't be going to Cardiff. Negative may be, but the truth. It hurts sometimes.

Dog bites man: no news Man bites dog: news. Twas ever thus. If you want nice happy-clappy stories where the all the world is hunky-dory, buy the Family Circle.

As I said earlier, because the LET is not the club's PR mouthpiece. If there are negative articles, it is because they reflect the general feeling of the Blackburn public.

Of course it is! A long term publicity ban from Williams as a result of a fall-out between the LET AND brfc would see the LET off quick style. What else of substance is in it apart from Births,deaths and marriages's? Some clubs have tried banning the press over perceived "negative" stories, notably Gillingham, but they always relent. Bad publicity is better than no publicity. I doubt if Williams could ban the press anyway: the league's sponsors (Barclays) would do their pieces. Her Majesty's Press will not be denied.

Oh dear, oh dear. Shooting the messenger again. The LET isn't (or shouldn't be) a PR mouthpiece for the club. If fans are facing a nightmare journey (which, with a 12 o'clock kick-off time 200 miles away they almost certainly will be), the paper will be reporting the story. If it's an old billboard and the story has been overtaken by events, you should complain to the newsagent. Blaming the editor of a paper that generally avoids controversy and is very fair to Rovers anyway, is silly.

Absolutely no chance. United are always strong this time of year and they are playing well. 2-0 defeat.

If it were BR still running the railway you'd be OK. It's Virgin Cross Country and Arriva Trains Wales you need to worry about.

Met him an a cricket tour to Shrewsbury. He was a wizard spin bowler (used to play Minor Counties) and was also the groundsman at Shrewsbury FC. He gave us a tour of Gay Meadow (didn't take long) and showed us the famous coracle that they kept in a cupboard under the stairs ! Not sure if they still have or what happened it. It must be worth a fortune as it is part of football folklore. Probably got flogged on ebay.

Are you sure ? Oliver Holt has worked for the Mirror for the past three years.

Appalling game of football but a welcome point. Hughes has set Rovers up 4-5-1, which has made us harder to beat but is excruciating to watch at times. Whether it is good enough to beat Arsenal in the Cup is doubtful. We should survive easily now. The test for Hughes next season will be to inject more skill and creativity while keeping the team defensively sound. Should be interesting.

MCEveley scored after 2mins v Stoke tonight

You didn't hear what he said off camera.

Can vouch for the above. For the Worthy final I avoided the motorways and approached Cardiff down the valleys from the north (came through Caerphilly I think). Went home the same way. No problems at all. Parked in the city centre near the university right outside a pleasant pub and only five minutes walk from the ground.

Don't the BBC have first refusal ? Presumably they will take ManU v Newc, so that match will be on the Saturday.

Anyone listen to the wireless for the semi-final draw ? The Five Live "presenter" (whatever that is) announced with great certainty that if United drew Arsenal, then it would be the "real" final. I was so cross I turned over to Radio 4. Later, someone posed the question "are Rovers the worst team to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup" ? If the words of Keggie Keggle, wouldn't you love it, just love it if Rovers and Newcastle both won ?

By Ian Parkes, PA Sport Leicester boss Craig Levein was “sickened” by the controversial penalty which sent his side crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn. Referee Neale Barry waited a few moments before awarding the spot-kick as he first glanced across towards his linesman who awarded the ontentious penalty. Levein, whose Coca-Cola Championship side deserved a replay from what was a dour tie, said: “I am sick. “If we had lost to a team who had outplayed us and had scored three or four goals then you would say to yourself that you weren’t good enough. “But the frustrating thing is we were and it is debatable whether Blackburn did enough to win the match. I don’t think they did, but they are through, even though we more than matched them. “We are disappointed that not just today, but all the hard work in getting to this stage, has been undone by one decision and that’s the sickening part of it. “I am disappointed by the fact the referee had a decent view of the incident and he didn’t give the penalty. I think if the assistant is going to give a penalty from such an inconclusive situation then he is a very brave man. “I thought Darren Kenton slid in to try and block the ball, yet the referee is not sure. It’s the linesman who has decided to give the penalty. “With something like that he has to be 100% certain and I don’t see how he can be. I have watched it three or four times and I don’t think it’s as easy as that, but he seems to think so. “This is the quarter-final of the FA Cup and had we got a replay and won through to the semi-final then it would have been worth £1 million to £1.5million to us, and that’s a lot of money.” Blackburn manager Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalscorer Paul Dickov, not only for taking the penalty in the first place but also for battling on with a groin injury which is blighting his season. “Since he came here Paul has been fantastic,” said Hughes on Dickov, a <AC163>150,000 signing from Leicester last summer. “But he has only been playing at 70% because of the injury he has at the moment. “Yet he keeps on surprising me by saying he is fit and okay to play in games and then he keeps on going out there and making an impact, as he did again today. “We are hopeful we can nurse him through the rest of the season and hopefully he will be okay, and knowing Paul he probably will be. “But he is not doing a great deal in training. He plays games, then recovers and then it is about getting himself right for the next match. “I can imagine he will be struggling for Wednesday’s game with Liverpool because there is not a lot of recovery time between now and then.” Hughes was unsure about the penalty incident as he had not seen a replay, but nevertheless he was grateful it went his side’s way. “He (Barry) took an age to give it, which I could have done without, but thankfully he has pointed to the spot and Paul has stuck his hand up and showed great responsibility,” added Hughes. “It was difficult for him because of his Leicester connections and the fact they knew which side of the goal he would prefer. “But we spoke about it during the week and he said if we did get a penalty then he would smack it down the middle - and thankfully he did. “We are now through to the semi-finals, which is okay, but you have to win them to really enjoy them and that is what we are hoping we are going to do.”

So who do we want in the semi-finals ? The preference, of course, is Newcastle, and the chance to wipe the smile off the face of Souness and the legions of Geordie fans. But the cynical view is that the television companies want a United-Arsenal final and the draw will be fixed so that we meet for one of those two. I'll pick United - their pressing attacking style suits the way we play soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the break.

It is why Liverpool are so desperate to play in the CL next season. If they don't it is almost certain Gerrard will leave for Chelsea, contentrating power in the top three even further. For those clubs playing in the Uefa Cup is seen as failure when it used to be a fantastic competition in itself. I used to support all the English teams in Europe. It was a matter a national pride. Not any more: I cheered when Bayern knocked out Arsenal and I laughed when Milan wiped the smile off Fergie's face. Shame about Barcelona and Leverkusen. It shouldn't be like that, but that's the way the Champions League makes me feel.

European Cup. Agree. This knockout stage is how the old European Cup used to be in every round: exciting cup football played by the champion team of each country (not the top 3/4 in each league). European Cup nights were always big nights, eagerly awaited occasions with huge crowds. Now ManU v Juventus or whoever is so commonplace no one cares. A case of familiarity breeding contempt. The Champions League is one of the principal reasons why football is going down the drain. It is responsible for: 1. The reduced status of international football. Top players are knackered at the finals of the World Cup and European Championships resulting in triumphs by well-organised nonentitities such as Greece. In addition, England friendly internationals, hitherto seen as an honour for the players chosen to represent their country, are regarded as "meaningless" because top players are too tired/injured to take part. 2. The reduce status of the great institution of English football, the FA Cup (viz CL teams fielding virtual reserve teams) 3. The reduced status of the Uefa Cup, Europe's No 2 club competition and formerly considered harder to win than the European Cup. 4. The demise of the European Cup Winners Cup, an excellent competition axed to make way for the CL. 5. As Kevin Keegan said, a boring Premiership in which the top 3/4 teams always dominate with the rest seeking to avoid relegation by playing dull safety first football in which the principal object is not to lose and the promoted teams know they are virtually certain to go back down again. 6. As Paul mentioned, the concentration of even more money and power in the hands of Europe's top clubs, leading to the G14 cartel who are virtually running the European game for their own selfish benefits. 7. Boring saturation CL coverage on television, turning fans off football in general. The Champions League is the worst thing to happen to football in the past 50 years, worse even than the abolition of the maximum wage in the early 1960s. It, and television, will ruin the professional game in the long term.

And John Williams - what a great team we have running our club Except when he screws up over tickets.