jim mk2

Whoever insulted Yorke will be pleased to know his picture is on the back page of the Sun tomorrow together with 144pt headlines. Interesting test of John Williams today (Monday) to see if he deals with this incident quickly and decisively. Like he did with Tony Parkes.

Great entertainment doesn't win relegation battles. I'm more depressed now than before kick-off. Some observations: We are still bottom and we cannot beat the likes of Soton, West Brom, Norwich and Birmingham, our fellow strugglers. Hughes shows no sign of solving the dreadful defensive deficiencies that were apparent in his second game in charge against Bournemouth. Birmingham had the worst goalscoring record in the Premiership before today. McEveley is too slow for left back but who we play in his place I couldn't say. The alternatives are just as bad. Todd was awful and Johansson only marginally less so. We have nine defenders in the squad yet none of them are any good. Souness, I curse you for selling David Dunn and Andrew Cole. May Lady Luck pinch you on the bottom and give you a sore arse for the rest of the season.

Talking out of your derriere as usual. Yorke should be able to warm up anywhere he likes without some moron making monkey noises at him. Wasn't you perchance ?

Really ? I should think the editor has been sacked by now then. Really ? So victory away to poxy Palace makes him a wonderful manager ? I'd have thought that in the medium term the headline was spot-on. The Newcastle press are like the Scots: supporters with typewriters. They won't suffer a fool like Souness for long.

Perhaps you're just getting older ? It happens to us all eventually ! I've long held the view that television will ultimately destroy football. Familiarity breeds contempt (who needs Sky anyway ? - there is so much football on terrestrial TV to satisfy even the most ardent fan) and that is certainly the case now. I rarely watch a live game and only Match of the Day when Rovers have drawn or won (I can't bear to watch defeats). Anyone remember snooker ? The whole country was glued to the box 20 years ago when Steve Davis et al were in their pomp but, again, overexposure, too many televised tournaments, killed interest. In all honesty, who watches snooker on TV now apart from housebound old folks ? And who's interested anyway ? My feeling is that Premiership crowds outside the top few clubs may have peaked last season and that there will be a gentle decline in average attendances. I say the top three or four because Arsenal, Chelsea, ManU and Liverpool are all in the process of or planning to increase capacity at their grounds. More money and more power to them: a depressing thought. In my view it is not acceptable for people to shrug their shoulders and say that lower crowds are OK as long as the TV money keeps rolling in and clubs are profitable. In the long term the game will suffer as fans get out of the habit of watching football live. There is a ray of hope though. Italy and Russia, to name two, are suffering severe drops in crowd numbers and Uefa is finally waking up to the fact that the Champions League, television money, the G14 junta is distorting the balance of power in European football and that middle-sized and smaller clubs, international football and the game itself is suffering. Whether they will actually take decisive action is another matter.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I was feeling glum today and that's just about put the lid on it.

Bottom, bottom, bottom, bottom, bottoms. Still it's not all bad: we're having an exhibition of Morris dancing at the home tonight.

Hear, hear. If there's one thing that gets my goat it's the blaring, tinpot beat combo "music" that passes for pre-match "entertainment" at Ewood these days. Destroys the atmosphere while deafened supporters sit in stunned silence at the banality of it all. In't good old days the brass band would march up and down the pitch from half an hour before kick-off and there would be a gradual build up of excitement leading to the teams running out on the pitch. Believe it or not, the players used to come out to a big cheer from the crowd, supporters sang songs and the actual kick-off was accompanied by a roar. Compare that to the excruciating pre-match "experience" nowadays. Ban pop music and bring back brass bands. Who needs booze to deaden the senses when you have proper entertainment ? It might just catch on.

Very good, and I'm in complete agreement, but the numbskulls don't want to listen. In their eyes, because he was captain of the 1995 Championship side makes him a "great" player. Which is utter tosh of course. I've been watching Rovers on and off since the year dot and the only member of that 1995 side who should be guaranteed a place in the "greats" team is Shearer. Even then I would put a strong case for Fred Pickering.

Which puts me at a considerable advantage, because I have seen them play. In my opinion, they were better footballers than Duff.

Agree absolutely. Playing sport is far more important (and enjoyable) than watching or supporting a team. I played semi-pro football for nearly 20 years during which I saw only a handful of Rovers games each season. Likewise I have never been to a Test match because I always played cricket in the summer. Many people in Blackburn vowed never to go to Ewood Park again after the 1960 FA Cup Final tickets scandal and this Tony Parkes episode has the potential to cause the club the same sort of damage. It's typical of Rovers to disaffect supporters when they need them most. Another thought is that if Rovers were a plc the chief executive would have probably have lost his job over this. Poor PR or not, the buck stops at the top. Williams out.

It's a shame Duff won't get in because of Dave Wagstaffe or Mike Harrison. Both were better than him. Just another reason why people will vote Sherwood...how can they take your Forrest v Sherwood claims seriously now? Why so ? I'll wager you've never heard of Wagstaffe or Harrison, let alone see them play. For your information, I voted for Latheron because he is the best Rovers midfield player (in modern parlance) that I have seen (better than dear old Ronnie too). I would however be happy for Forrest, another top-class player, to be in the team. Sherwood was a good player but a pygmy in comparison with the other two.

It's a shame Duff won't get in because of Dave Wagstaffe or Mike Harrison. Both were better than him.

So you've admitted they are "greats" but you still vote for the idiots choice because you were instructed to by another of the unwashed. Congratulations. Memo to Den: this vote should not be counted.

Well done. No doubt living in Slough gives you a greater sense of perpective. Didn't you read the other posts on why Sherwood is not worthy ?

Where were you when Le Saux was voted in instead of Sir Keith Newton ? I feel sorry for Den with this. His laudable efforts to find the best all-time Rovers team are being undermined by those who are ignoring our great club's glorious past. Sherwood was a good player in an outstanding team but he does not qualify as a "great".

Marvellous.

Birmingham fans obviously don't think we're good enough to stay up and struggle to name one of our players who might cause them a problem. Says it all really. Brum have been in desperate form and this is a match we need to win if we are to start climbing out of trouble. The problem is I can't see where our goals are coming from. So to prove me wrong it'll be: Rovers 4 Birmingham 0 We owe them that for the dreadful display in the FA Cup last season.

It's bad enough with Le Saux in the team; Sherwood as well would be too much to take. I'm considering digging up some of the relatives: does a posthumous vote count ? I would ask all those considering voting for Sherwood to read the posts extolling the virtues of candidates such as Forrest and Latheron, players who are part of the fabric and history of Blackburn Rovers Football Club.

shame he doesn't eh ?? He knows where he was too: he just didn't want the world to know about it eh eh eh ??

Really ? Well next time you interview him, could you kindly ask him why, when Sky took the news crew to (presumably) his home, he told the world two blatant, bare faced lies ... that he'd not been to work and that he'd seen no-one from the club. Otherwise when his Big Story comes out it's going to be totally unbelievable, because Parkes (according to your evidence) has no idea where he's been or what he's done there. It looked like Tony Parkes on the TV, and sounded like him, he talked about doing things in his own time and in the proper way, and having taken lots of phone calls today, just before he went on (according to Jim) to blatantly lie to the world twice. How strange. Very odd. Which shows you cannot believe what you see on television. I know where I was today when I spoke to him.

Really ? In the interview on Sky Sports News Tony Parkes says he didn't go in to work today "for obvious reasons" However, the details don't matter - the way Parkes found out about his fate is an absolute disgrace. Yes really !! He was at work today because I interviewed him there. Tony has a story to tell but he wants it kept quiet while the club is in trouble.

I feel sorry for Tony. Apparently he was having his breakfast at home before leaving for Brockhall when a friend telephoned to ask him if he had seen the papers. He hadn't of course. Parkes drove to work as normal (goodness knows in what state of mind) and Williams confirmed to him that the story was true. Thanks very much John. The club have handled this very badly. The board made the decision to sack Parkes on Tuesday but took until Friday to let him know. They are obviously not gentlemen, unlike the man they have so callously cast aside.

Williams does not have to do much to justify his overinflated salary but you would have thought he might get right the sacking of the club's long-serving senior employee. You have to admire Hughes for making a difficult decision - beneath that quietly-spoken exterior there really does appear to be a man of steel. Parkes's shock departure may also have made the players realise that the manager is not a man with whom they can mess around.

Warning to Mark Hughes: Tony Parkes is a much-loved and respected figure at Ewood Park and this decision will have upset alot of supporters. Get Rovers out of relegation trouble quickly - starting with victory at City tomorrow - or sentiment will soon turn against you.