30 or 40, 50 or 5000 they are tarred with the same brush IMo and that is it in a nutshell pal, whether you agree or not. As for ignorance, you dont understand my point of view...

Birmingham have allegedly contacted Rovers to take Taylor from Rovers in January. I read it in the papers on Saturday morning and it commented on how Rovers had failed togive permission for Crewe to play him in the FA Cup.

As an ex member of HM Forces I can say that I was truly disgusted by manure supporters lack of respect for our glorious dead. Can you all remember the outcry and outrage spurted by scum fans towards Leeds supporters in the Sir Alf Ramsay uproar ? Hypocritical to say the least and let me remind them if any are reading, whatever sir Alf did was bloody NOTHING to what our lost soldiers did in the wars For anyone who doubted the word scum and its association with every manchester united, herein lies your answer. they are SCUM and will remain forever SCUM

Lets hit a dose of reality peeps, Rovers were good for their money today and fully deserved the loss ! How a Rovers team with 10 men can hope to beat ANYONE let alone manure is beyond belief. Rovers may as well not start with 11 by having MGP on the pitch, today he was nothing short of shocking and it really pains me to say it. I have to question Mark Hughes tactical nouse today, in particular leaving the subs so late on when we were chasing the game, Rio and co ahve had the easiest game at the back than they will all season. For me, I am gutted we didnt take a point after predicting a manure goalsfest, 4-0 I shouted and out on the fixed odds coupon. I am wholly pleased we didnt ship more than one but really disappointed by the display of several Rovers players. The players who can take a bow Brad, Zurab, Andre, TUGAY and Bert. The players who just about earned their corn Bentley and The Axe The players who just didnt want to know Nonda, Benni, Lucas The player who did faff all but play as an extram man in a red shirt MGP Rovers were solid in the first half and comfortable but created NOTHING ! For all Tugays class there wasnt a Rovers shirt available in a run, and when they were they just didnt hold the ball up well enough. In the second half we gave far too many balls away and were overrun in the middle. Today we had NO service for the front two, so it was pointless playing 4-4-2. People will slate the Axe, he played Scholes very well and restricted his playing, he did his job until he decided to venture forward leaving us a big gap in the middle of the park. Lucas knows he is gone and cant be arsed. The armband needs moving on Mark and NOW for the benefit of the team. MGP needs a rest. We desperately need a shot of confidence because Spuds will come to Ewood next week expecting 3 points. Thats it for me tonight, I am in the fridge, sinking a 10 pack and not speaking to the wife, not taking the dog out and the neighbours can get FFFFFFFFFFFD

More bad news for Rovers for todays game..... our Youth Team have just slaughtered manu Youth by 3-0

thats atypical german postive attitude, nowt wrong with that, hope he does come on today and manages to do something positive

Roll on 23rd

I see what you mean Ozz I blame that muppet Mr Hunt for my demise in the arithmetic area of my limited education I was banking on Rovers normal 16000 supporters + 8000 scum sucking mancscumsters + 3000 wavering Rovers supporters with their manure supporting children + a quantity of manure fans who always manage to breach our security and fill up all the seats in the JW Upper I believe that Rovers will have quite an infiltration of scum tomorrow evening based on what I have learned today, I know that we are taking 12 "guests" who claim tobe Rovers fans from Horwich, the lsit includes the muppet who used to be andy Mcdonald in Corry, now then remind me, but last year when I took him to the semi final 1st leg, he spoke with a highly squeaky scummy mank voice

No I mean we took the micky and scoffed at the press when we were linked with that little lot. We can go all the way back into the 80's and find Rovers being linked to big time players and pulling off a coup out of the blue. There is nothing to say it cant happen again although I do accept that this story maybe a little way off the mark

After following the Rovers and England abroad for the past 16 years I know what is the best way to handle the foriegn idiots. Keep your wits about you, dont be silly or brash, and make sure you have a good time. Probably the same percentage as ours! I am probably a little more experienced with travelling and working abroad with England, I can answer some fo your questions. Rovers do not have a hooligan element according to official statistics (I know we do have an idiotic element but really they are not that big a bunch or even amongst the lowest of the hardened hooligans), we are one of the most highly thought of of supporting fans who travel away. In the past 10 years there have only been approx 35 Rovers supporters arrested at away grounds who have been charged with criminal offences, these range from drugs possession, drunk when entering a ground and public order offences, 1 sexual assault and 1 assault police. With England in the past 6 years I am only personally aware of 5 Rovers supporters who have been arrested away from home and charged with offences relating to football hooliganism, I wont add theft offences etc. In Austria, apart from the incident at the irish bar I dont recall any antagonism between the travelling fans and theirs. We had a great time. I would suspect that Will, if your attitude or outlook is just looking out for yourself you will attract a negative response from Dutch hooligans and it is well known that they are planning to attack Rovers supporters. They have a serious idiotic element who will pick on anyone. My advice is stick in groups of 10 or more, stick to the railway network both before and after and get back to Amsterdam or a safe beer. Amsterdam is ready for Rovers fnas to enjoy, Rotterdam however is ready for a Holland/England face off, its just unfortunate that it Rovers flying the English flag, because believe me, should any of our supporers get involved in fracas, it will be plastered all over the media. it will be the English supporters and NOT the Dutch who get tarred. Just be safe and have a good time

we berated the press with Shearer we berated the press with Sutton we berated the press with Bellamy and we got the trio of them now we berate the press with Beckham ! Although in image terms we stand zulchfaffall chance of getting him it WOULDNT surprise me one bit ! remember Archibald and Ardiles ? Speedie and McKenzie ? Rovers do have a knack of pulling off the unexpected

Den we will meet you early thursday morning in the hotel, we arrive 0930 ish so we will go with the flo I agree that a central meeting point in Amsterdam, a full Blue and White special (like the good old days) will be a most enjoyable and drunken train ride since Carlisle away !!

united sold 8000 ticket allcoation 4 weeks ago expect a crowd of around 28000

The middle of November sees the seas roughen around the North Eastern sea areas hope you all have a nice time on the ferry, take plenty of sea sickness tablets and wash them down with copious amounts of chilli or something similar (ie, that is easy to cough up without hurting!!)

I thought swearing was totally banned from the board Ozz I cannot think of a better term to describe that lot, but its my personal opinion

very good read first thing for a Tuesday morning after a beasting in the gym by a pretty little lady We have certainly been manure's bogey team in recent league games, this bogey is about to come to a shuddering halt on Saturday evening infront of the cameras. I fear that the resurgent united team will completey destroy a fragile Rovers team within the first 20 minutes and then sit back and relax as the enter comfort zone pre champions league football. Rovers 0-4 united the darkest day in November, a month that is truly not one to savour for any Rovers fan. But, hey God, if your listening, have a word with Uncle Jack and show us race and favour

Le C we may get battered WHATEVER formation we can put out on Saturday evening. My point is to try and stop the flooding manure normally do to teams like Rovers and at the same time utilising our best means of defence, the formation I have suggested does that to some extent. if you look at the way united play they will come hell for leather at us from the off, from the left, the right and the centre, if MGP is at his usual self as in the past 6 games then the right flank is wide open. By playing The Axe in front of the back 4 we have a little bit of protection as I think we would take a draw anytime. Thats my view

Interesting thread this one with so many different views on the formation and/or selection problems For me the defence have coped well enough, even though we have leaked goals and more often than not it comes from our left flank, Gray is past it, jay is not quite fast enough or experienced enough to cope with the Premiership speedsters. We have manure next up, a frightening thought due to their current form. So how does Rovers defence cope with the upcoming United strikerforce of Rooney and Saha, Giggs and Scholes ? Clearly, the right and left flanks need plugging. I would go for the following defensive formation. RB Todd CB Zurab CB Andre LB Neill To back up this foursome, I would suggest a five man midfield playing with a holding defensive central midfielder directly in front of the back four Emerton/Gally Tugay Mokoena Bentley MGP/Peter Mokoena can play in front of the defence for two reasons. The central defence is more than often caught flat footed and wide open in the middle, plugging the centre midfield defensive role would stop this and it would stop the central running of both Giggs,Scholes and Rooney. Talking of Scholes, he is a Rovers nemesis and always seems to score at Ewood if he is given he space. Playing The Axe in that role puts a big barrier in place to stop his runs. That midfield also allows both the widemen to support the loan forward, which would clearly be Benni. It also allows either Tugay or Bentley the space to probe whilst not over stretching the defensive capability. Should Rovers be in a position to profit from any United profiglacy then we have a chance to exploit them as they become frustrated. BTW Mark I am free Tuesday and Friday pre match to discuss the above formation

eddie Jeffers is a different player these days and he is currently 3rd choice striker. if you watch his play he is more involved, he runs, harrangs, harrasses and is hungry for the ball, he is definately the player you saw at arsenal or charlton. He and Gally are both "up for it" and are more than capable of holding their own given a chance. That chance has come with the injuries. You can measure Jeffers confidence in the manner in which he despatched the penalty.

cant believe you didnt mention Chris Price or indeed David Mail I am sure they both had Villa careers at some point.

I posted this on the Basle game thread...... I suppose a downside no=one has contemplated is this. In the Premiership, Rovers sent out a more than forceful message to the powers that be about lowering prices leading to putting bums on seats. That exercise was demonstrated to the full versus Bolton Winkers. Now, the fans of Rovers appear to be contradicting that theory in that ST Holders may not be attending at a price of 7.50 (for whatever reasons), the in/out fans are not taking advantage of a 15 quid match ticket which in turn leads to the wavering fan not even bothering to purchase a ticket. All this in the face of a fantastic team ethic, a team we can all be proud of, a team that plays genuinely attractive football, a tgeam that can roll its sleeves up and fight with pride, a team full of effort, a team that has taken BRFC on its best ever European adventure - 2 wins on the bounce and a win away in Poland - and with a fantastic chance of progressing to the last 32. So what is it that fans of BRFC expect or indeed want ? Let me tell you that we as Rovers fans have the best offering we could ever expect. We have it all and the rest. How many of our so called bigger clubs would relish being like BRFC ? There is plenty of them believe me. I now leave the warmth of my lounge in Leyland to make a short 15 minute drive to the REAL theatre of dreams. Its about time that the general footballing public associated with BRFC took note of the way the club are seeking to attract fans back to Ewood and its certainly the right time NOT to kick the club back in the teeth in the manner that seems to be happening. Yes its cold, yes we are 10 weeks from Christmas and yes we all have bills, dogs/cats (or other animals if yr from deepest E lancs) an families to pay for, but FFS it has cost 7.50 or 15.00 for a top european game at EWOOD PARK. The team needs you to shout them onto the next stage. Imagine this scenario........ In April Rovers take on a lowly ranked team in the semi final second leg at Ewood PArk, the game is a 28000 sell out as Rovers take a 3-0 lead into the game. At half time Mark Hughes makes 3 substituitons to rest his hard working stars as Rovers are cruising 3-0 at home, 6-0 on aggregate. the final whistle sounds and Rovers are the second English club into the final in successive seasons. The end of April sees the ticket allocation for Hampden Park set at 18000 for Rovers supporters. OUTRAGE the fans cry as they panick about not being able to obtain a ticket ! Rovers release the ticket allocation, firstly to their travelling European fans, St holders who went to the away games, then its the ST Holders and NON St holders who travelled away, then it s the fans who bother their arses to go to the HOME legs. if it ever happened there would be only one person to blame if it was YOU who missed out. there could be no berating the club, the ticket office or anybody else because it would be YOUR BLOODY FAULT. Now then get the message ?

This is the first Villa away game I have missed for a few years, works does sometimes get in the way of my weekend entgertainment The thing with Villa that concerns me most is the pace of Baros and Ablonghalor (sp). The youngster is gonna have a field day against a very poor Gray, Baros can cause havoc with his turn of speed as we saw when he made his Villa debut versus us. Another little worry is the sight of McCann making hs Villa comeback. he has always been a thorn in any Rovers side. I would love a Rovers win but the Eurogame may have taken a little too much out of the legs. 2-0 Villa

Back from an icy Ewood Park, and believe me it was frookin cold. I was quite impressed with the way Basle came out to play in the first half, evasive and productive with a little bit of extra muscle, they must have wondered just how in that first half they couldnt score, especially playing with 13 men ! Yes 13 men !! In that first half Rovers were not quick enough, failed to close down players, couldnt pass and couldnt tackle, thats why I think both Gray and MGP decided to play against their own team just to see if they could get a little ball play ! They were both POOR at best, ably assisted by Lucas and Zuber. Rovers lacked any creativity and if it wasnt for Brad the magnificent, we would have been 3-0 down at half time. Its as simple as that. Whatever happened at half time, even with the loss of Savo, must be something just short of a miracle. A different team emerged albeit 40% better than the first half. A little bit of fight in the Red shirt and a little bit more urgency saw Tugay with more space but little support. Rovers had the fair share of play but still contrived to give the ball away and miss several good chances of our own. With 15 minutes to go, the crowd were clearly uneasy as well as being cold. Enter Kerimoglu Tugay aged 36 and a bit. A 30 yard screamer bulges the net, 1-0 Rovers and game over. Well, it should have been. Rovers again contrived to give the opposition something and a great save followed by an horrendous miss saw Rovers break away and snatch a bloody penalty of all things. Who was brave enough ? Young Frannie Jeffers step forward. The man who has earned millions without really setting the football world alight, bangs the ball down the middle with ease, 2-0 Rovers. Take note of just how to take a penalty, no tip tapping sidefoot, bang the bloody leather as hard as you can. Rovers now had the ball whilst Basle's own hearts had been ripped out. A smart bit of skill between Jeffers and Bentley sees Gally shoot, the keeper spills and Benni bangs in goal number 3. Ewood erupts with a chant of the usual European cry "small town in Europe". 3-0 final score, Rovers happy and almost certainly through to the knockout stages. Avoid defeat in the last two games is all that is required. So what do we make of tonight ? If Lucas is our leader then tonight he was nothing short of loose at best. A headless chicken is how I will refer to him. Both Zurab and Andre coped well but for me they play too far apart from each other in the middle. I will save Gray until later! In the Middle, Savo was overworked, hardly assisted by both Bentley and MGP in the first half. This probably contributed to his injury and how we will miss him on Sunday. Up front, Chris and Benni fed on scraps in the first half but ran their little cotton socks off in the second. I like Nonda, they way he conducts himself on the field shows he is class, he desperately needs a goal. McCarthey is pure class but a little lethargic at times, however, he knows the route to goal. Subs in The Axe, who I though did okay in the middle, Gally and Jeffers both did well in their cameo appearances. Special mentions for Brad, he is truly a wonderful keeper. the new "Colin hendry" type figure of Ewood. Tugay, tonight was pure class. I dont recall one bad pass all game. Tackled well, didnt get booked (as far as I could see) and scored a goal of pure unadulterated class. now the bad... Gray for me may once have been the darling of Sunderland, but for me he is a waste in a Rovers shirt. he is that poor I would rather see Todd or Matteo don a top before he got anywhere near it. All of our problems stem from the left flank. It is not assisted by the errratic form of MGP. That first half was his worst ever. Yet in the second half we see a totally different player ! That makes me wonder just where his head is at the moment, especailly with manure on the horizon ! so, thats my view from the Jack Walker Upper. Didnt get a pint as they werent selling. I didnt get a pie either as OZZIE had beaten everyone to them !!!! Roll on Holland, 21 days and counting

I suppose a downside no=one has contemplated is this. In the Premiership, Rovers sent out a more than forceful message to the powers that be about lowering prices leading to putting bums on seats. That exercise was demonstrated to the full versus Bolton Winkers. Now, the fans of Rovers appear to be contradicting that theory in that ST Holders may not be attending at a price of 7.50 (for whatever reasons), the in/out fans are not taking advantage of a 15 quid match ticket which in turn leads to the wavering fan not even bothering to purchase a ticket. All this in the face of a fantastic team ethic, a team we can all be proud of, a team that plays genuinely attractive football, a tgeam that can roll its sleeves up and fight with pride, a team full of effort, a team that has taken BRFC on its best ever European adventure - 2 wins on the bounce and a win away in Poland - and with a fantastic chance of progressing to the last 32. So what is it that fans of BRFC expect or indeed want ? Let me tell you that we as Rovers fans have the best offering we could ever expect. We have it all and the rest. How many of our so called bigger clubs would relish being like BRFC ? There is plenty of them believe me. I now leave the warmth of my lounge in Leyland to make a short 15 minute drive to the REAL theatre of dreams. Its about time that the general footballing public associated with BRFC took note of the way the club are seeking to attract fans back to Ewood and its certainly the right time NOT to kick the club back in the teeth in the manner that seems to be happening. Yes its cold, yes we are 10 weeks from Christmas and yes we all have bills, dogs/cats (or other animals if yr from deepest E lancs) an families to pay for, but FFS it has cost 7.50 or 15.00 for a top european game at EWOOD PARK. The team needs you to shout them onto the next stage. Imagine this scenario........ In April Rovers take on a lowly ranked team in the semi final second leg at Ewood PArk, the game is a 28000 sell out as Rovers take a 3-0 lead into the game. At half time Mark Hughes makes 3 substituitons to rest his hard working stars as Rovers are cruising 3-0 at home, 6-0 on aggregate. the final whistle sounds and Rovers are the second English club into the final in successive seasons. The end of April sees the ticket allocation for Hampden Park set at 18000 for Rovers supporters. OUTRAGE the fans cry as they panick about not being able to obtain a ticket ! Rovers release the ticket allocation, firstly to their travelling European fans, St holders who went to the away games, then its the ST Holders and NON St holders who travelled away, then it s the fans who bother their arses to go to the HOME legs. if it ever happened there would be only one person to blame if it was YOU who missed out. there could be no berating the club, the ticket office or anybody else because it would be YOUR BLOODY FAULT. Now then get the message ?

just had an email from a friend in Holland and the feyenoord crowd for the game for Rovers is expected to be around 40000, to date they have sold best part of 34000 tickets and are advertising the game against "one of Englands better football teams". Should be fun