Agree with Markanday but I think Hirst is virtually talentless - one of the most ineffective, if not the most ineffective, centre forwards I've ever seen in a Rovers' shirt in 60+ years and feck me, I've seen some real donkeys.

It was shocking both inside the ground on the Spion Kop where the incident happened and outside the ground afterwards. Think about half a dozen, including one policeman, were detained in hospital overnight. Pretty certain it occured round about the time of Martin Luther King's assassination back in 1968. For the record, Rovers won the game 1-0. Don't recall Stuart Baird (the original and real 'Birdy') having any involvement in the incident. This guy was as hard as nails and sorted out Millwall's F Troop behind the Darwen End with some of his mates. Think today's Rovers' delinquents would have run a mile if fronted by him. As far today, fancy Rovers strongly and gone for the win at 12/5 - fill yer Christmas boots! Fun bet at 33/1 is a 3-1 score.

Great choice - elegance personified! Chablis and Chateauneuf-d-p - Christmas Day traditions.

Merry Christmas everyone. May the joy and peace of Christmas be with you throughout the year.

I always stand to be corrected! Think the jury well and truly out on Broughton. Hyam - an outstanding signing Brittain - shown flashes of what potentially capable of but looks injury prone Szmodics - really think Posh saw us coming and took our knickers off Morton - too inconsistent. Want to see him do something when it really matters. Worse still, is he holding Adam Wharton back? Mola - Has brought nothing to the party Hirst - I think a disaster. Could he even cut it at Pleasington on a Sunday morning!? Also, new long term commitments to both Buckley (who's done virtually feck all since signing) and Travis (who is now looking at least a league out of his depth). 1 maybe 2 out of 8 'good' signings is nowhere near good enough. Easy to be cynical but Broughton paid feckin good money to do better than that IMO.

So JDT and Broughton tell us Hirst was our number one striker target and we chased him all summer. Feck me - says it all. A sackable offence for both. Goodnight.

Honestly don't know where we go from here. Manager stubbornly naive. Players showing no bottle and no appetite for a fight. Some fortuitous early season wins will probably be enough to keep us from relegation. But my God, these are deeply worrying times and are equal to, if not worse, than the darkest days of Iley, Ince, Kean, Coyle and Mowbray etc. If we avoid defeat at Norwich by 3 or less, it will feel like a result after the Burnley and PNE debacles.

The scary thing is there's been little response in the second half. Our players should be busting a gut after the Burnley debacle - they have been found sadly, sadly wanting and are on 'easy street'.

He shouldn't even be in the team. Whiteman has eaten him and spat him out!

Words almost fail me. Utterly and utterly embarrassing. This is even worse than Mowbray's Rovers at their worse. Hammered by Burnley and now PNE at home - FFS, can we get a manager who knows what he's doing.

This is a complete sh1t show. However, it is Christmas and the season of hope so just lumped £25 on Rovers win at 6/1. We can only get better and football is a funny old game (PNE should be at least 2 clear). Had to open the red already. Have to say, Whiteman making Travis look like a real muppet.

Don't think you are quite right there. Agree we don't see players like a rampaging Souness, Keane or Batty etc but it is still not a game for the fairies! All successful teams have players who can make a hard tackle and play with a physicality and aggression - they can 'mix it' when necessary and other teams are aware of it. We have no one of that ilk - the only thing we can offer is petulance from Travis who would have been eaten alive by the likes of Batty and Aaron Mokoena (remember him!?). Bottom line is we need some feckin aggression.

It isn't rocket science, our midfield is sh1t. I've been posting since the season started that we need a hard ugly b@st@rd in there who can also play a bit. We have no aggression. Barnes bullied us. A Batty, Reid, Flitcroft, Sherwood, Andy Todd etc would not have allowed it to happen. Garrett isn't ready and was like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights. Morton was found sadly wanting when it mattered the most - totally anonymous. Travis offers nothing at all - a 'hard man' only in his own fantasy mind. As for Buckley, you really wouldn't want him in the trenches with you. I think Adam Wharton is the most talented midfielder we have and it is absolutely criminal that he and his brother Scott did not start today. I bet Burnley couldn't believe how easy it was today. I have rarely witnessed a more gutless, spineless display from a Rovers' team in 60 years or so of derby matches.

Totally outclassed. Men against boys. Can't even offer any passion A feckin awful day.

P1ssing about again. Incredulous.

Poor stuff from us Midfield non existent. Need a spark - staggering Dack not brought on as he'd relish the occasion and has point to prove.

I couldn't believe it when it was announced Rovers' fans could make their own way to the match. I genuinely fear for the safety of some of our fans. I don't think there's any doubt there are idiots in the fan base of both clubs but from what I've seen over recent times both at Ewood and Turf Moor, the Rovers' core seem to be of the younger generation whilst Burnley still seem to have a hard core of the older generation who I think would run the Rovers' fans well and truly out of town. Will be watching on tv as I've a family event early afternoon. To all Rovers' fans going, be safe and sensible.

Almost speechless for all the right reasons. Absolutely terrific. Proud, once more, to be a Rover.

Sorry, can't help you there but indelibly stored in the memory bank! A game those who were there will not forget - think there were just shy of 30,000 on that day. My heart sank when Noble netted close to the end to pull it back to 3-2 - an extremely nervous end.

If we are to build on our excellent, if somewhat fortuitous, start to the season, we need at least two quality additions to our team. Firstly, a midfield general who can boss the game. Sadly, IMO, Travis is a busted flush - from a player who promised plenty when Mowbray was forced to play him (about to go out on loan until injuries forced Mowbray's hand), he has regressed into a liability who offers virtually nothing; a Jason Lowe without an engine. Secondly, a striker who can score goals! Gallagher is the best of, IMO, a p1ss poor bunch and that isn't saying a lot. Vale, just 1 goal in almost 30 games for Halifax, Rochdale and Rovers is only marginally better than Hirst who has yet to net in some 40 Championship games! Whoever signed Hirst and gave Vale a new lucrative contract really doesn't understand football and wants firing. Think it's obvious Dack is done with Rovers but I would take a 25% Dack over a 100% Vale or Hirst any day you wish to name.

Another win and 2nd in the table but to be brutally frank we looked, again, far from convincing against the league's bottom club. Without doubt, Hyam is our best permanent signing. Brittain showed why he should start every game. Jury well and truly out on Szmodics. Opinion not changed on either Gallagher or Vale!!! My hope for a little while has been that JDT is on a learning curve but some of his selections and substitutions continue to totally baffle me. We will go into the W.C. break no worse than 3rd and possibly even top - it really is unbelievable and perhaps it's indicative of just how p1ss poor a league this is. More money from the bookies and another reason to enjoy a nice red tonight. Onwards and upwards.

No excuses for this game - we are playing bottom of the league at home. It has to be a nailed on three points.

Speechless after that 2 hours of my life I won't get back. Big worry JDT can get it so wrong- thought the penny was dropping. Never rated Vale but feckin hell, whoever at Ewood thinks Hirst is a player......!!!

Enjoy Jim! Three more points in the bag tonight despite a seemingly odd team selection. JDT keeps reeling off the wins and at 9/4, there's very decent coin to be made on a Rovers' win. As best as I can recall, 1967 was the game where we had about 30,000 on at Ewood against Jimmy Hill's Sky Blues and we were the best team and set fair to win until Fergie saw the red mist and laid one of their players out. Where the feck have those 55 years gone!? Come on Rovers - win and I can open a red - lose or draw and I'll have to stick with tea!

Walsall is a horrid place - full stop.