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

you can delete it it has just been explained, the ref is still a muppet though :ph34r:

The idiotic ref has booked Ashley Cole twice and failed to send him off ! poll mk11

Roberts BROKEN FOOT

corner or not ROVERS shoul dhave had the nouse to have buried this wham team out of sight. We were simply unable to produce a quality ball to the forwards or put the ball in the right areas to score. tugay was anonymous for 30 minutes in the second half bentley needs to play for the whole half and not half of a half the axe was simply not a the races today and his bad positional sense cost us in the centre Sergio played well and will go on to beter things for Rovers given the chance In defence, we saw that Gray is vulnerable at best, when Rovers have a weak left back we always seem to struggle as it pulls one of andre/zurab out of the middle leaving us vulnerable through the centre. Lucas played solid as usual but when going forward there were massive gaps down the right. I am struggling to see just how Rovers are gonna cope with a team like Manure on the horizon followed by spuds. They both have players that can destroy a defence especially a flat defence like Rovers. One thing is certainly being made clear. Outgoing are Gray,Matteo and Todd and that has to be a substantial amount of saving on the wage bill. That money needs to be invested as quickly as possbile in a midfielder that can play the ball, run and defend. It really is becoming an URGENT situation in that part of the field. Jim you need to wake up from your slumber, wireless went out eons ago, we are now in the year 2006 and very close to 2007. wireless is a thing now associated with remote computers. We have moved safely into the digital age.

After being so positive about Europe, I am actually really concerned about this game. I cannot imagine a team like Rovers surviving a troubled week with a win at home. We really hav to think about the formation or this one. friedle Todd Zurab Andre Neill Savage Bentley Tugay Peter or MGP McCarthey Jeffers Gally has to be considered for the wide right berth should Bentley replace Tugay worried now....

Before we get the usual drivel on here lets put one thing straight. THERE IS ONLY ONE TEAM IN THE FA PREMIER LEAGUE THAT CAN GO TO THEIR BOGEY GROUND AND DOMINATE POSSESSION TO THE TUNE OF 65%-35% AND STILL MANAGE TO LOSE. THAT TEAM IS BLACKBURN ROVERS 2-1 is a sorry defeat against a very poor team, injury to Roberts as well makes me think that this week and in particular our favourite month of November is going to be HELL. heaven help us

Striker shortage for Thursday me thinks No midfield attacker if Emerton is sidelined, Bentley may have to come in field if Rovers are to produce a victory in this game

That has to be one of the most lethargic first half performances from Rovers for a while, there is truly a lack of creativity within the team and there is a sinking feeling that with Gray this defence will not cope with either Sheringham or when Harewood enters as his replacement. All Whams play is targetting Gray's lack of football defensiveness and height. Bentley has the making of a great player but why cant he see through Mccartney ? He can beat him every time but just seems not wanting too. Tugay is simply too overcrowded by reo-Coker as The Axe is too far off him and offers not an ounce of protection. McCarthey needs to link with Jeffers NOT come deep as it leave 4 defenders with one attacker. Positives - only a 1 goal deficit at the moment, Sergio can get the better of Spector, Rovers have the capability of getting a point but its whether they are up for it. Negatives - plenty. The defence cannot cope with a 40y old ! They are wide open every time down the left flank. MHughes - take Gray off for McEveley and even the defence up. Once Tugay tires then enter Gally, our Saviour for the day. heres hoping for a better second half from Rovers.

emerton is a bad loss esp without savage in the team

early team news?

The stock answer is NO I havent seen them play. I simply relied on the experts view in the paper report and based my view of the game on that. I have not got a lot of time for French football or indeed the French at all. In fact I wouldnt care less if they closed France down and sold it to the lowest bidder, its that much of a shithole, is full of French and instead of the tricolour as its national flag they should simpy replace it with a single yellow piece of cloth. That would sum up my thoughts and views of the French

"I love 1-0 wins" that says it all about how they will approach the game at Ewood. Rovers have to approach this game in the sensible fashion, and I dont see the French coming to Ewood to attack. They will probably adopt a 4-5-1 formation, sit back like the French do (and did in the wars) and hide as much as possible. 3-0 Rovers, and that is an early prediction

train fare from Manchester only 28 quid return