jim mk2

Mistake not taking Grealish. He's a unique player who opens up defences. Dunk but not Maguire??? I'd love to play against Lewis Dunk even at my age Three Palace players - really? The fact Southgate played for them is entirely co-incidental

It's over the top to describe him as "world class". If Wharton is world class how do you describe the likes of Bellingham? He's a very good, promising player who is going to get better without a doubt but that's as much as you can say at the moment. Many Premier clubs looked at him but they had doubts. He might have gone for a higher price this summer but who knows? Palace made the price he was worth at the time

Excellent photo available free of charge to the first person who contacts me with their address. Photo is dated 2nd February 1960 and is of 5 Rovers players - John Bray, Harry Leyland, Matt Woods, Louis Bimpson and Mike McGrath - relaxing at the Washington Hotel, London, on the morning of their FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane (Rovers reached the final that year - the last time we did so).

Blackburn Rovers . …. the multi headed monster. Where is the modern day Busby who just told his teams to go out and play because he had faith in them as good players? Football clubs used to have a manager, a trainer and a secretary with a few helpers, and they worked. I’ve no faith that this latest set up of under worked, over-titled no marks will be any more successful than the last

At last we’ve got a guru. How has the club coped since 1875 without a guru? A guru is obviously what we’ve been missing and what the club needs to be successful again. Here’s looking forward to promotion and bettter times ahead with a guru

With all the problems we’ve had in defence it’s not wrong to say Phillips could have played 35 or more games for Rovers this season had he stayed and could even have been a first team fixture. I always thought Tottenham was the wrong club for him and he would have been better at a second tier PL club. I think it’s highly unlikely Spurs will give him a proper first team chance never mind a regular place

The Ipswich manager is staying is he not?

Better than 2 London or southern clubs but yes, I didn’t bother watching it either, unthinkable before the days of the plastic Premier League and the boring Champions League for non champions. The decline in importance of the FA cup is one of the many reasons why top level football is no longer as enjoyable these days

And to be fair to Tony Mowbray (without a DoF?) we had some pretty good ones under him Forgot about Van Hecke, he was a very good player and I had high hopes we would sign him. Ryan Giles another. It's funny with Harwood-Bellis and Branthwaite though: I thought H-B was a class act and would play for England, while Branthwaite looked like Jay McEverley (sp?), big and cumbersome and League One at best. Shows what I know I suppose

In the case of Harvey Elliott he was good for both clubs because he was such a fine player, and it's clear from his performances and his comments that he enjoyed playing for Rovers. I really enjoyed watching him - and other excellent loanees such as Tosin, Reed and Harwood-Bellis too I agree about some of them though - they've been poor and likely no better than some of the young players in our own teams who have been denied first team opportunities as a result.

Ruddy looked ruddy average the few times I've seen him on the box this season. He also wasn't great in our match at St Andrews either which I was unlucky enough to attend. Way past his best - he's 37 for heaven's sake -and a poor prospective signing IMO, better than the Swedish lad obviously but on a par if not much better than Pears. Ruddy would be OK as a No 2 but we do need better than him as a No 1.

It's astonishing how clubs keep appointing former big-name players as managers and expecting them to succeed just because they were big-name players, and despite them having failed as managers at previous clubs. I wouldn't be surprised if Plymouth were in the bottom 3 by January and Rooney out of the door - again.

That's a wonderful tribute to your dad SC. My condolences

Join the gang Nothing from them. I recently took Burberry and Daks "sports" jackets, both about 60 years old, great quality and still in excellent condition, to the local charity shop. Looked in the next days and they were marked up at £60 and £40 respectively and sold by the end of the week. I think I missed a trick there. Agree on ties: a drawer full of them and only wear one now - the black one for funerals. Sadly I've worn it quite a few times this year

And where was the competition? Rovers and Palace agreed a package of about £18-22m according to who you believe but at no stage as far as we know was there a bidding war. If Wharton was really that good then you would have expected other clubs to come in and give Palace a fight. Palace are being accused of taking advantage of our financial situation in bidding for Wharton and maybe they were (if the situation were reversed Rovers fans would have been applauding), but they saw an opportunity to sign a promising player and they certainly did not get him "on the cheap". If circa £20m was deemed to be cheap, there would have been bids from other clubs too.

Wasn't it also the case that Rovers set a minimum fee for Wharton at which the club would sell? If that's the case Palace were the only club that met our valuation and as far as I'm aware other clubs looked but weren't prepared to pay. Wharton's done well at Palace so far but despite his talent it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he would be a success and there's numerous examples of top players who struggle when they move clubs. The hand-wringing over the fee doesn't make sense: Wharton's fee is among the highest ever for a player who has moved from the Championship to the Premier League

Cloughie won 2 European Cups without a "sporting structure". His deputy Peter Taylor identified the players, the club secretary did all the paperwork and signed them, and Clough intimidated and shouted at them. That's all you need. Three people who know what' they're doing.

Set pieces department 😆 Next up: Throw-in think-tank?

Correct. What a waste of money for a club supposedly without any, three roles that could be abolished and done by people already within the club and spent in players instead. Good move by Waggott though - 3 people to blame when it goes wrong and deflect blame from him Waggott is 69 with millions in the bank but can’t even have the decency to live in the area. Why is he still working except for the love of money?

If the aim is to finish in 12th place then fans will rightly ask what is the point of going to watch and support the team. It's not just about money, the lack of ambition from the top is killing the club. Ipswich have gone from League One to the Premier League in 2 seasons with essentially the same squad that came out of League One having cost just £10 million.

Wharton will get more and more media coverage as the public latches on to him; I bet there's a fair few football fans who aren't really aware of him and will be shocked to see him in the squad I just hope Rovers and not Palace get at least most of the credit for finding and nurturing him I still disagree on complaints about the £18m fee: we set a purchase price and only one club was prepared to pay it.

Good signing for them. Looked an excellent keeper in the game at Ewood last season. I suppose it was always a fantasy to hope we might sign him.

Chris Wood scored twice for Forest. One struggles not to chortle

Wagner did a good job at Huddersfield and did well to get a tune out of a pretty average Norwich in taking them to the playoffs. I’d have him at Ewood instead of Eustace

For the Rovers - Celtic Uefa Cup tie back in the early 2000s for reasons best not explained I managed to get a ticket among Celtic fans, which was interesting to say the least but I was determined to go. Before the game I went with a Celtic supporting friend to a big Celtic pub, a brilliant and quite posh place in the centre of the city, and then walked through the east end to the game past boisterous Celtic bars and clubs. We went back to the same pub after the match. I have to say I met with no animosity anywhere and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, not the result of course but Rovers played really well and should have won the game. The return match at Ewood was completely different and gave a taste of perhaps what my Aberdeen friend was talking about with regards to "horrible" people. I saw Celtic fans hanging off lampposts (literally) and jumping on cars, waving Irish flags and swearing at anyone within earshot about "English b******" and "Protestant" this and that. It was deeply unpleasant and you can see why many Scottish clubs fears Celtic (and Rangers presumably) fans coming to town. The decline in quality of Scottish players is puzzling because kids in other countries have the same technology and those countries have continued to produce top players. In the past Scotland, like England, could rely on a ready and constant supply of talented street footballers but in the post-industrial economy those factories and streets and working class communities no longer exist. It requires hard work (and money) to produce top players now and as an outsider it seems to me Scottish football has been slow to come to terms with what is required with regards to academies and coaching.