SuperBrfc

Recess on a Saturday morning for me. That was unmissable. There have to be a few Recess fans on here, surely?

Haha, I wish. If only they had an ounce of care or feeling for the club, in the way that everybody on here does. Yes, I do remember those. The decision to have them go up was well received at the time. One of few things to give them credit for. We never have found out why they were taken down. I'm interested to know who made that decision.

The night Graham Fenton dealt a major blow to the Geordies' title hopes: (5 minute clip)

I'd move Silvester and Waggott out immediately and look to bring in quality replacements capable of moving us forward. Anybody, who was brought into the club when the agency was around and offering its 'advice', would be shown the door. No questions asked. Out. I'd make sure a particular weasel of an agent wouldn't be able to set foot inside Ewood again and that the club would have no more dealings with him going forward. There would be an overhaul of the marketing and commercial departments, with experienced operators who have the nous, drive and knowledge to market the club, in the way it should be marketed, brought in. The biggest task would be to shift the "woe is us", small time, mediocrity embracing mentality that has infected the club. This shift would be the main aim from day one. I'd make it clear to all at the club that languishing in the Championship is unacceptable for this Football Club and that standards need to be raised back to what they were before Venky's. This club didn't spend nigh on 20 years as a Premier League fixture and achieve what it did, for third rate chancers to now try and suggest that we are lucky to be at this level and that we should be grateful to the tossers who have reduced us to this state. Anybody at the club who believes that Rovers are overachieving in the Championship, punching above our weight, or that it's difficult to compete would be shown the door. That sort of rhetoric filters through to everybody and provides players and fans with an excuse to gloss over failure and to actually paint it as a positive. Gallant failure is what it promotes and celebrates. It's a results business and if poor results have us far away from our aim of promotion, the manager would be on very thin ice. He'd be gone, in all honesty. I'd have season tickets reduced by at least £100 on the current prices. Actually, I'd have the Riverside as the entry level stand with season tickets priced at £250, with the most expensive being in the Jack Walker Upper Central, at around £350/60. The club shop leaves a lot to be desired, so I'd set about the process of trying to get a good range of merchandise in store. There are so many things we could sell, but don't. So many opportunities missed. Having enough kit in stock is obviously vital and this would be a priority. How embarrassing is it that we have had fans eagerly wanting to buy the kit, then turning up to the store to find the kit's sold out and nothing more can be done? We need fans to want to spend money in the store and stock/items that are worth buying. I don't think the latter is entirely the case right now. I'd also remove the TV gantry from the Riverside and go back to having it in the Jack Walker Stand. TV cameras facing the Riverside, just like old times. I have never liked the cameras facing the JW. Gerald would be receiving a call from me to see if he could be tempted to come back to Rovers. His voice always takes me back to the good times at the club. I would love to see him back in a role at Ewood, just not under these owners though. Finally, I would invite the likes of Emerton, Nelsen, Salgado, and Pedersen to a game where we could thank them for their efforts, either at half time or full time. We never got a chance to say a proper goodbye to those players, I feel. Morten said a goodbye, of sorts, in front of the Blackburn End in 2012, but the backdrop to this was chaos at the club, 10,000 fans gone and general dismay in the stands at what was happening on and off the pitch. Oh, and I'd look to do something for Shearer, a legend of the club. If Mowbray can get a huge flag (the mind boggles), then Shearer definitely deserves one. If flags aren't possible for whatever reason, I'd have some sort of display of Shearer, Duffer, Tugay, Brad and more going up around the outside of the stadium to showcase our history and to remind people of the standards. No matter what bastards like Swag and Co want the world to believe, this is not a small club lucky to be in the Championship. Venky's out.

I agree with all of this. It has been the same in my experience too. Rovers players being overlooked and not getting the recognition they should due to big club snobbery, from people who didn't care to watch Rovers properly or on enough occasions to understand or know how good those players were. Another example for me, before going on to Brad, is Lucas Neill. He was a superb defender, who could have played for anybody in the Prem, imo, yet he gets no recognition from fans of other clubs. I still miss that guy! Loved his robust style. No nonsense, would get stuck in and he could play too. No wonder Liverpool wanted to sign him. Going back to Brad, it was only two months ago that this very topic, best Prem keepers, came up on TalkSport on a show that Cundy and O'Hara were hosting. A Rovers fan rang in and made the very points you have made and said Friedel has to be in the discussion. After umming and aahing for a bit one of them (Cundy) responds with "hmm, no, I'm not sure, I don't think he was in that elite bracket, hmm, no, I wouldn't have him down as elite, hmm". O'Hara then agrees with him. No further comment from either of them. They appeared stumped by the suggestion, like they weren't expecting Friedel's name to pop up. They couldn't provide any analysis on Brad's time at Rovers, no mention of any memorable performances, no mention of a standout moment, nothing. Only the bit mentioned above. It was obvious to me, from the way they were talking that they could not remember peak Brad at Rovers, didn't care to watch him at that time, and because it was little Rovers involved, they couldn't include him in the discussion. If Friedel had spent the exact 8 years he had with us, in a Liverpool shirt instead, there's no doubt for me, he'd be talked about as being one of the Premier League's very best. He isn't viewed in that way by friends (non Rovers fans), random fans in general and the press because he played for a 'small' club. That's the snobby vibe they all give off. United fans actually respect Friedel because of the numerous world class displays he had against them, but they still put Van Der Sar into the 'best prem keeper' debates ahead of him. Van Der Sar was a quality keeper too, but would he be talked about as much if he played for Fulham and then Rovers, instead of United? There are other good keepers that also don't get a mention due to big club bias. Jaaskelainen is one. I rated Antti Niemi too, he was superb for Southampton, but is rarely talked about. I'd have your top 3 as mine too. Schmeichel was a monster keeper, we know all about Brad's quality and Petr Cech was unbelievable in those first few years at Chelsea. Remember that game at Ewood in Feb 2005 against Chelsea? He saved a Dickov penalty and kept everything else out that night too. Peak Cech was top drawer. Souness was spot on though and telling the truth when he said he wouldn't swap Friedel for any keeper. I wouldn't have done either. We're lucky that we got to see some of the best at Rovers up until 2010. Those on the outside who look down at Rovers and our former players have no idea how good we had it. Piss them and their glory hunting charade.

Yeah, I'm not saying we would have stayed up indefinitely. There was a possibility that we may have gone down if poor decisions had been made or repeated e.g on the lines of the Ince appointment. My gripe with that relegation line is more that it is used by some to excuse mediocrity in the Championship, to become comfortable with it and to embrace it with things like "this is our natural level" and "we can't compete with x, y and z". Then after years of the standards being lowered it becomes "we'd only get battered in the Prem if we went up" and "forget the Premier League". I can't stand hearing or reading any of that especially as we were in such a stable, solid condition in 2010, finishing 10th in the Prem, reaching the cup semi final and in no real danger of going down. It's a losing mentality which has been brought about by Venky's and has infected the club and a large part of the fan base, from what I read and hear. On your last paragraph. Absolutely agree. JW made mistakes and didn't always get things right, but there's no chance 10,000 fans are walking away under him and he'd have done whatever it took to get us back up as soon as possible.

😀

Sheer stupidity. They deserve it and everything else that has gone against us during their reign. Sadly, they aren't the ones affected or hurt by it. They have shown no urgency in all of this time to put things right, which tells us they aren't bothered. Just imagine, the huge Sky TV money, that came into play after we went down, in the hands of John Williams. We are in this mess today because of them, so quite why we are expected to be grateful to them for paying the bills, I don't know.

Ah, I know the kind you are referring to. They appear to be known as Yorkshire or Sheffield fishcakes. Fish in between two slices of potato. I've never had one of those. I'm referring to the breaded version. A mixture of fish and potato filling covered in breadcrumbs. This kind:

Exactly. My answer to anybody who says, where would we/you be without Venky's, is always the same: "Still in the Premier League, that's where". I've seen some fans say things like 'relegation was inevitable, we would have gone down at some stage anyway'. I don't buy that crap and see it as nothing but a coping mechanism. We weren't in any real danger until these clowns arrived and proceeded to throw it all away.

It certainly feels that way, but we've had a few thinly spread out over recent seasons, as Mark's post suggests. If any of us were to check, I'm almost certain that we have conceded more 90th minute goals than we have scored them, since these owners have been here.

Look at the desire and will to win from this Rovers side. Reidy and Barry Ferguson thundering in to challenges. Some tidy football on display. The atmosphere. Liverpool on the ropes. When football and Ewood felt alive.

I know he's not everybody's cup of tea, but I think Simon Jordan is the best thing about TalkSport. I quite like the guy and his forthright style. He's levels above their other hosts/pundits, imo, in terms of knowing what he is talking about and also being interesting to listen to. He's the only one on there that I listen to (or watch on YouTube), as he often says it as it is and backs those views up, even when face to face with whoever he has discussed/criticised in the past. His recent debate with Eddie Hearn made for excellent viewing. Adam Catterall is alright too. Aside from being a Rovers fan, I find him good for the boxing chat on there. I can't be bothered with WUM's like Goldstein and Cundy. It still bothers Cundy that we won the title in '95. He's had a few snide digs at us over the past few years. That's one of the reasons why I want Chelsea to plummet.

It's tea cake in Blackburn, but have heard barm used around here recently. Not sure about Lancashire in general though. The strangest one for me was hearing a mate ask for a chip muffin one day. A chip what? Do you mean chocolate chip? 😁

Yes! That was my favourite. Used to be on weekday evenings, 6 till 7:30. Mickey Thomas was the other 'legend' and I remember him being very biased towards United. A good set of hosts who would have a laugh most days. Rovers got a decent amount of coverage too, as, like you said, they focused mainly on the North West clubs.

There wasn't any phone in quite like Gerald's on Radio Rovers 😁. I used to text in quite often, had a few read out by him, but I never did ring in. I was a keen listener of the 606 phone in many years ago with Alan Green as the host and the Talksport one with Nigel Pearson hosting. I think both channels still have their phone in shows, but I genuinely haven't listened to one in full since, at least, 2010. I take it you don't agree that Firmino is better than Bergkamp then @roversfan99? (That's one example of the shite they have come out with recently)

What is the forum's view on fishcakes? I can't get enough of them. If I see fishcakes in a chippy, I have to get one. Fishcake in a t-cake @Upside Down, that's the one for me. I hope the Tomasson family chippy sells them, when they eventually open up shop 😁.

I want Coventry to do it. They've had it bad for a long time. Plus I liked them back in their Prem days with the likes of Huckerby, Whelan, Chippo and Hadji in their side. No offence to Luton, but I'm not arsed about them.

A 93rd minute winner from Emerton. Go on Brett!

It sounds like it was more than that, Mike. During that interview with Rovers Chat, which has since been taken down, MGP revealed that he had been speaking with the owners throughout the manager search. I found that surprising at the time. Based on how MGP was talking, it came across as though he was being kept updated during the whole process as well as being asked for his opinion/advice. I think it goes back to them still being unsure as to who they can trust. Aside from being a former player and a fan favourite, MGP is also a genuine Rovers supporter. Surely, they will realise that too. He cares just like we do on here and he seems just as pissed off about the last 12 years as we are. It was that care and anger from MGP which led to the interview having to be taken down, as he name dropped a particular bastard as being the cause of the downfall. If they are seeking his opinion or advice from time to time, I've no problem with it. He has the club's best interests at heart. Rather that than have them listen to a tosser of an agent or two.

Buzzwords trotted out in order to sound more intelligent than the ordinary football fan. Most likely in the hope of getting a job in football further down the line. The bit about pinpointing results says it all for me. That's where xG, xA and all the other meaningless stuff will come in to play to separate these intellectuals from the ordinary folk. It's all about results and outcomes.

A striker's finish from big Chris. I didn't expect much after seeing his debut against Luton in the FA Cup, but he was a man mountain for us. Quality. Gerald at the start of the video too, that's the real highlight for me 😁.

I don't have an issue with 'Boro. I quite liked seeing them have the likes of Emerson, Juninho and Ravanelli back in the day. We were also of a similar level as clubs back in the Hughes days. Some of their fans though? That's another matter. Well done to Coventry. 🎵Cheer up Craig Honeyman, Oh what can it mean, To a sad smoggy b#stard And a sh#te football team...🎵

There have been many players who have left Rovers over the last 10 years and I have felt nothing in regards them leaving. Just last week, when I saw that BBD was definitely leaving, I felt nothing. Not even a flicker, to be honest, and I don't mean that to discredit his efforts in a Rovers shirt. It's different with Dack, however. I'd say this might just be the first departure over the last 10 years that has got to me in a way. He came to the club during a dark time and fired the goals to get us out of League 1. A finisher and a character, just when the club needed one. His arrival brought about renewed hope during an utterly crap Venky reign. That won't be forgotten. He built a connection with the fans and seemed to genuinely care about the club. It's evident from his post today, that he was gutted about not being able to feature more towards the end of this season and help us get into the playoffs. I'm gutted about that too, as he has been the best finisher at Rovers for a number of years. If there's one player I would want a chance to fall too, it's Dack. Sadly, his injuries have hampered him and JDT's system is more suited to a Szmodics than a Dack. It probably is the right time for both parties to go their separate ways. His wages simply have to be put to good use now in terms of bringing in new attacking options. I would hope they have targets in mind. Proper targets. I don't mean Ben Doak on loan from Liverpool. Thanks for the memories, Bradley. A true Rovers player for me, like some of those of old.