Duly wound up. Aye thank you!!

The managerial merry-go-round is speeding up. Ranieri is said to be heading back to Valencia, where he was coach from 1997-99, to replace Liverpool-bound Benitez. With Mourinho going from Porto to Chelsea, Ranieri from Chelsea to Valencia, and Benitez from Valencia to Liverpool, how about Houllier to Porto?

I posted this three days ago. Get a grip. Interestingly, Dowie's wife and children are settled in Lancashire and he refuses to move them south (very sensible in my opinion). These long-distance domestic arrangements rarely work so I wouldn't be surprised to see him jump the Palace ship and move back North next season. Hopefully there will be a vacancy at Ewood Park that he can move into.

Chelsea's treatment of Ranieri has been deplorable and the way he kept his dignity as the "Dead Man Walking" over the past few months does him every credit.

Don't be a silly Euro billy. Smith is just like anyone else who has been offered the chance to treble his wages and play for one of biggest and best employers in his industry. Just ask Damien Duff.

Houllier's impending departure is potentially excellent news for Rovers. That means there will be two fantastic coaches looking for jobs this summer - Houllier, who is already based in the North West, and Ranieri, who has already stated his desire to continue working in England. I'd love to see either of them in charge at Ewood. Now comes the difficult bit - have the Rovers board got the gumption to replace clueless Souness, or will they do nothing and leave that decision (which will have to be taken when we run into more problems next season anyway) in the "too difficult" file? If the board are doing their job properly they should act now.

the heart scare is totally irrelevent to his ability to manage a football club. I take it that you would like him in charge at Ewood then Jim? Nah, not much, just that he cares so much about it that it affected his health. I'd love to know why the way he looks is relevant to his ability to manage a football club though. Perhpas you could produce an identikit picture of how a football manager should look? And yes, I wouldn't mind him at Ewood. He's a fine respected coach.

On the contrary, Gerard Houllier is a decent articulate man who has behaved with absolute dignity while the illiterate bigoted hordes on Merseyside have been demanding his "Froggy" head. He is also lucky to be alive having suffered a life-threatening heart scare under the stress of trying to bring back the success that the Liverpool scum so desperately crave. Can you also enlighten everyone on what a football manager is supposed to look like? Graeme Souness, for example, his face contorted with anger as he argues with match officials?

That could come back to haunt you!

On another note, Hignett, Davidson and McKinlay have all been shown the door by Leicester today. Gillespie is available on a free transfer.

Cole is at Highbury tonight............... turning out for an England XI in Martin Keown's testimonial. I must say that despite some of his hands-on-hips performances over the years, I do not think it is in our best interests if Cole leaves. He has scored 11 goals this year feeding on mere scraps, he knows his way around the Premiership and remains a talismanic figure for the younger players. Souness knows best though doesn't he?

Thug - vicious or brutish ruffian according to the dictionary. Describes perfectly a "footballer" who lumps his team-mates on the training field.

Worth a read on the nigger debate. http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20020304&s=hitchens Interesting that the word Tory used to be seen as malicious but has since become an accepted part of the language. It's still a swear word in our household.

It's difficult to comprehend how a cultured footballer such as Colin Todd could have produced such a thuggish offspring in his son Andy. Colin Todd was indeed an excellent player and would have gained many more England caps had he not had the misfortune to be around at the same time as a certain R Moore. I did wonder about Colin Todd the man however: I remember watching him on TV in his Derby County days mouthing racial insults at West Brom's Laurie Cunningham when black players were just breaking through into league football. As a manager he was very tense and extremely difficult to deal with. His teams were non too exciting either. I'm glad Andy is leaving the club.

So it's OK to call someone a nigger then. I'm glad we sorted that one out.

"There's plenty to criticise or argue about the man but the signing of Steadinho surely isn't an issue." Except that his first choice was Brian McBride.

Never feel sorry for anyone in football: it could easily have been us going down. Let's just thank "Lady Luck" and Jon Stead that it isn't.

Let's get this straight. Ron Atkinson is a racist born of the Alf Garnett generation. It must irk him terribly that the English title was won by a team most of whom are niggers playing the beautiful game with beautiful football. Atkinson was found out and he has paid the price. Bye bye Ron, the world and your attitudes have moved on .

Excuse me? Didn't we beat Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United, respectively the champions, second and third-placed teams, at home last season?

It's easy to be cynical about this (especially when it's one of your neighbours and rivals) but I think Bolton should be congratulated if they manage to secure Rivaldo's signature. The interest created by Rivaldo in the Premiership will lift Bolton's profile enormously on TV and in the press both here and abroad and may give the club another boost next season after their successful campaign this term. His name will help Allardyce to draw other signings to the club and, who knows, he might even be a fantastic success on the field if he manages to recapture the form of two years ago. If he has any professional pride he will certainly want to restore his reputation after his experiences at Barcelona and Milan. I wish we were signing him.

Good grief.

I wouldn't be too sure. The prospect of Jonathan Douglas signing another contract is sure to have major sponsors and TV companies beating a path to Ewood.

Mind-boggling transfer, but it's about to happen. The player is in Manchester talking to Sam Allardyce at the moment.

That was one of the worst days in Rovers history. I can still remember the shock in the town.

Strangely, the remarks were only heard in certain countries in the Middle East, but it was enough to cause his downfall. Anyone remember Ron as manager of West Brom in the 1970s, when he called his black players Cyrille Regis, Brendan Batson and Laurie Cunningham "The Three Degrees" after the famous singing trio? I wonder what they think now (though Cunningham sadly is dead)? PS: Sunderland's defeat at Palace meant Norwich were promoted tonight. Looking forward to another 7-0 next season?