Hi all Anyone got that pic of Shearer and Sutton in the 96 kit at the launch (CIS Insurance sponsor) before Shearer moved to Newcastle? Thanks

I’ve had a season ticket at Ewood ever since the early 90’s and have always gone to games with my dad and my son (who started coming with us in the mid 00’s) This season, however, my dad’s health has meant he has had to give up his season ticket and my son has gone off to uni so, at the age of 45, I’m suddenly finding myself in need of making some Rovers supporting friends to save the match-going experience becoming a frustrating/lonely one. Particularly, I wondered if there’s anyone on here from Rossendale (I live in Bacup) that would be interested in sharing lifts to and from Ewood?

I'm late with my annual Champions League thread. We all know that the usual suspects will be there at the end but I do enjoy watching it. Here are the groups; Group A Man City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Bruges Group B Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan Group C Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas Group D Inter, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Sheriff Group E Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv Group F Villarreal, Man United, Atalanta, Young Boys Group G Lille, Seville, Salzburg, Wolfsburg Group H Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo

The 7th club to have reached this incredible milestone, but thanks to the poor marketing we see from Rovers these days, have we missed a trick here to celebrate this achievement?

Not sure where else to put this but I found it a very interesting read. He comes across as a thoroughly decent and humble bloke and seems genuinely touched by the regard we rightly hold him in. Reading the details of how his exit was managed is sure to raise the blood pressure. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23781240.nelsen-tugay-kean-voicemail-ended-rovers-career/

Noticed there hasn’t fit some time been an under 21s thread and with the success of graduates over recent years thanks to the likes of Johnson, Sheron and co plus great performances in league and cups I should kickstart a thread for discussion about the 21s. this season sees some new things introduced with the scrapping of the two division format in favour of slightly confusing new one in terms of fixture but understandable league format with it being a play off system which more half the league qualify for which is a bit daft in itself, I can understand the need for change with teams putting players development on the back seats in favour of maintaining a higher league place as priority even recruiting accordingly which we have been guilty of ourselves I can fully understand the scrapping of divisions, 26 teams in the Premier league 2 and 16 qualifying for the play offs and 10 missing out, I would rather it have been a top 6 style play offs system like in the FL personally. With the success of the academy i think under 21s in particular should be better supported throughout the fan base, games more mainly being played at the weekend especially on days when rovers aren’t playing or are away fans should do their best to get down and support them if they can.. they deserve our support, the academy gets overlooked a lot given the high standard it is so would love to see support grow for it especially while it’s producing the goods. Currently 4 games into the season Chelsea 6-1 ❌ West Brom 3-3 Leicester 4-1 ✅ Tottenham 4-0 ❌ this season rovers will be competing in more competitions, along side the usual PL2, premier league cup, international cup and lancs cup ( even though it’s not an under 21s comp by definition) rovers have entered the central league cup, games like the lancs cup held midweek afternoons on training pitches, was a Surprise to see us in but understandable as it provides more games to distribute minutes to first team fringers aswell as under 18s like the Lancashire cup rovers take on Preston, Burnley, Stanley and Wrexham in the competition

I wasn’t sure where to post this, so decided to make a thread. https://www.lep.co.uk/news/people/northern-rail-offering-preston-train-tickets-from-50p-to-manchester-piccadily-st-annes-lytham-burnley-central-manchester-airport-deansgate-prescot-4279249 I usually travel to Ewood on the train from Preston to Mill Hill. It’s £6.10 for a return, but it’s only £1.00 for the Middlesbrough game. I thought this may be handy for anyone else making there way to Ewood via Northern Rail 😀

News of incoming transfers is drying up, as are Rovers/Venkys finances by all accounts. Talk of biscuits, chocolate and other light hearted is more than welcome here, as is any transfer related stuff

I'm travelling over from Norway with my mate to the away vs Coventry and have some questions on how to get tickets to the game. Does away tickets normally gets available to to non ST holders? If so, when do they usually get available? As far as I can see, only Watford is currently available and only available to ST holders.

Though since the London lads were connecting on here then those of us in NZ & Aus should do the same. Come on in my bros.

Right. I’ve tried this before and not had enough time to make something of it, but there’re a few games we can go to quite easily in the south this year. My Rovers-supporting mates have moved back north now and while I do plan on getting back home more this season, I’d like to be catching a few of the away games. Let me know in here if you’re in a similar position and we can set something up!

I'm slowly trying to collect as many season review VHS and DVD as I can. The oldest I've been able to find is for the 1991/92 season. Does anyone know if they were made prior to this? The only older tape I have is the Worthington Cup final, but I'm curious if there were season review compilations before 1991/92. And on the other end of the spectrum, my most recent is 2017/18, were they made any time after this? And finally, what year did they switch to DVD? 2002/03 is on VHS and 2005/06 is on DVD, so I'm wondering if anyone knows which of the two years between that was the first DVD. If anyone is interested in watching any old stuff, I've uploaded full videos to Archive.org under my username SanDimas1988, or ones with copyright strikes edited out on YouTube under Rick Lewis.

Hi, I am looking for this ticket and wonder if any fan could help. I would pay £30 for one in good condition. Many thanks Cliff

As the titles asks. Please enlighten.

Just curious if anyone could fill me in who owned the club before Jack Walker? Not even just who he bought it from, any owners before his purchase. I'm just curious, and can't find anything online. All the results I search only come up talking about Jack Walker and Venky's. Even Uncle Jack was long before my time, so I have no idea who came before him, much less earlier.

This may be more than a bit dry for some, but I found it quite interesting (and it helped me put off a job that I don't want to do, lol), even if it does just reinforce a lot of what we already know. It's the reported wage bill taken from most recent accounts (figures are in Million £s) of all clubs who were in the Championship in 22/23 and/or 23/24 Due to accounting dates, these figures are essentially for the 21/22 season this will mean that the figures from some teams will be from whilst they were in either the Premier League or League 1 It does show that Rovers are essentially a middle of the road wage payer, aside from those who have spent time outside the Championship over this period, we are amongst a glut of teams with roughly the same wage bill. There also seem to be a few basket case clubs (Stoke, WBA, Birmingham, Cardiff) who are seriously underachieving based upon wage bills. Middlesbrough also spend more than most but seem to do much better than the others mentioned. Special mentions to Coventry and Luton who show that a good league finish can be achieved without overspending, but as both teams recently spent numerous seasons below the Championship, it may be that their wage bills will catch up with others soon (Luton's probably this season in the Premier League) Just for reference, in League 1, Rovers wage bill was £16.8M, which jumped to £22.4M for their first season back in the Championship. So it would not be unreasonable to assume that the 'bigger' clubs who were in L1 at the time of these accounts (Sunderland, Ipswich, Sheff Wed) now have wage bills which are at the very least comparable to ours. Also worth noting Hull seem to be changing their buying strategy since these numbers were publicised and have spent big money on wages on international players last season (Darlow, Pelkas, Seri, Tufan, Estupinan, Traore, Tettah and others) 21/22 Season wage bill (in £M) Division at the time Leicester 180.4 PL Southampton 113.4 PL Leeds 103.5 PL Burnley 92 PL Norwich 91 PL Watford 78.6 PL Sheff Utd overdue (previous accounts state 56.5) Champ (previous figure used was when in PL) Stoke 35.6 Champ WBA 37.5 Champ Birmingham 31.1 Champ Cardiff 29.2 Champ Middlesbrough 28.4 Champ QPR 24.8 Champ Swansea 24.5 Champ ROVERS 24.4 Champ Huddersfield overdue (previous accounts state 24.6) Champ PNE 24 Champ Bristol C 23.8 Champ Reading 22.4 Champ Millwall 22.3 Champ Sheff Wed due end of July (previous accounts state 21.1) L1 (previous figure used was when in Champ) Sunderland 16.1 L1 Ipswich . 16.4 L1 Coventry 15.7 Champ Luton 15.6 Champ Wigan 13 L1 Hull 12.7 Champ (promoted previous season) Blackpool 10.3 Champ (promoted previous season) Rotherham 5.8 L1 Plymouth 5.5 L1 Please note that I am NOT an accountant, all wage figures have been taken from a (very quick) glance over the accounts (so feel free to 'fact check' me) as reported here. Wage bills quoted are totals for all staff at the clubs, not just playing staff https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00053482/filing-history I have no idea why Sheffield Wednesday's accounts are not due until the end of this month

Rovers will be at home for the first game of the season. Cos Dingles at home week away

Great to hear Souness talking about his time managing Rovers. Also a stark reminder of how far we have fallen as a club, both in terms of how we are run but also the level of players we used to have. Nice to take a stroll down memory lane: Souness on his time at Rovers

Yeah I know, probably not the right subforum. However the site is now impossible to navigate due to ads (mobile). Look at this mess. I can’t even close the damn thing because the close button is behind the privacy tab.

I thought I would start a thread for the coming season for the PL. City and Liverpool have both signed 1 player. Both looks like they are strengthen and I would expect those 2 challenging for the title and I think Spurs will be there challenging. Chelsea need to strength and it will interest to see where and how much money they spend under their new owners. Think Arsenal and Manchester United need signings. I think Ten Hag will need time and to rebuild them if he can. Everton are in takeover talks and might be under new ownership shortly. Everton takeover: Peter Kenyon, real estate boss and billionaire behind bid to buy out Farhad Moshiri (msn.com) Fixtures are out tomorrow aswell.

HI, this is a photo of the inscription on a medal won by my late father. Unfortunately, the medal was only discovered after he died. I assume it was from a local league, but I can’t find any information of what I think is B.T.A.F.L. Can anyone help, please.

I'm looking forward to seeing new Championship season now. Only 6 weeks away now before the season starts and fixtures are our on 23rd June. Rovers, Dingles Blackpool, QPR and Watford have new head coaches in charge. I think it will be wide open division and I don't see any clear favourite at this stage. Could change but its will down to recruitment and who clubs sign.

Not sure if anyone can help me please. I'm a Middlesbrough memorabilia collector and I'm trying to fill some gaps in my ticket collection. I'm after the following ticket stubs if anyone has them for sale? Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 05.12.92 Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 21.12.96 (postponed ticket) Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 19.03.97 (dated 08.03.97) Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 17.10.98 Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 10.10.01 Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 20.04.02 Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 31.08.02 Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers 07.02.04 Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 18.03.06 Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 19.01.08 Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 01.03.16 Any help finding these is appreciated. Cheers Chris chris.fountain2@ntlworld.com

Everyone's going crazy for ChatGPT at the moment, if you're locky enough to have access to be able to interact with it post your football, especially Rovers related texts here ...

I am currently part way through reading the fantastic Issue 107 of 4000 Holes, on the Rovers' 2000-10 era, and having read an excellent piece on Souey and "the myth", I felt inspired to make this thread in order to reminisce about one of the finest strikers in Premier League history. A man who wore the famous blue and white shirt and scored the key goal to land Rovers the League Cup in Cardiff. The man? Andy Cole. This thread is also a show of support for Coley, after he recently hit out at online critics for disrespecting his name by comparing him with Darwin Nunez. I think he is often viewed unfairly due to silly comments made by Hoddle on his finishing ability. He was certainly no Jason Roberts in the finishing stakes, and 187 Premier League goals tells us that. Link to the Nunez story here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/andy-cole-nunez-liverpool-comparison-28815421 It still makes me proud to think that a top Premier League marksman like Andy Cole played for the Rovers and played a major role in the club being successful. I remember hearing Coley say in an interview, how he regretted leaving Rovers and wished that he had stayed longer. This is backed up by 4000 Holes, where he is quoted as saying "I so wanted to see out my career at Rovers. That picture in my head had seemed so perfect - great club, family club, great team, scoring goals - but it had gone". Those last four words are in relation to a bust up he had with Souey, which forced him to leave the club. The sad thing is, it was just Souey being silly and petty at the time which forced Cole out. He would often call Cole "a myth" and ask him how many European Cups he had won. Banter, maybe? An attempt to gee up Cole, maybe? This spilled over one day during a training ground bust up between them, and that was that for their relationship. On a brighter note, Cole revealed that Souey apologised to him for what went on at Rovers when the pair bumped into each other at Euro 2016. Water under the bridge now, but damn! It was all so avoidable. Anyway, a few questions: How did you feel upon hearing the news that Rovers had signed Cole? Shocked? Excited? Stunned? Was there anybody, apart from Vinjay, thinking "I don't want that United #@/:;"! anywhere near Rovers"? I'm getting excited thinking about it even now, and he signed almost 22 years ago! (Where have the years gone?) What a signing though. What a statement of intent that was. I was absolutely buzzing at the time about the fact we were getting a top striker in. The reported £8m transfer fee only added to it all. The United link didn't even come into it for me. What are some of your favourite Cole memories in a Rovers shirt? Top 3 Cole goals in Rovers colours? Apart from the cup final goal. I will name my three after having a think, but the goal of his at Loftus Road against Fulham is up there for me. Yellow HSA shirt, Tugay lofted through ball over the top, Cole chests it and smashes it into the net. I simply love that goal. Quality and clinical. How did you feel when he left the club in 2004? A clip to remind us of some of his goals. Tugay is the main subject of the video, but it has a few Cole finishes within it. Cole made 99 appearances for Rovers, scoring 37 goals. He helped us to finish 10th in our first season back, helped get us into Europe twice, scored the winner in Cardiff, and played his part in ensuring we stayed up in his last season here. Worth every penny. Thanks for the memories, Coley. What you did for the Rovers, especially in the cup final, won't be forgotten around these parts.