A lack of a home-based internet connection has led to the site going unupdated for quite some time. Updates will continue to be infrequent as this is unlikely to be resolved soon. I do intend to get back up and running as soon as possible.

It’s official, Rovers’ best young prospect – and probably the best thing to come from the youth setup at Ewood since David Dunn – has gone.

In a few years time, when Jones is captain of England, captain of Manchester United and unable to speak without some Daily Mirror journalist twisting his words and turning them into scandal, £16.5-million will seem one hell of a bargain.

Look at the comments on the Telegraph website, and some of the nasty things being said to the youngster on Twitter, and people have already made up their minds about who is to blame for this.

Some say the club have messed up, putting that clause in the contract, setting it too low, not doing enough to try to hang on to him. The club is not to blame.

The club will have been forced to put that clause in or a deal would not have been signed. Venky’s also apparently offered to make Jones the best paid player at the club.

Others say Jones is a traitor, a one-season wonder who owes his hometown club a debt of gratitude and a bit more respect. In some ways I would agree with this point of view.

Jones has been taught everything he knows by Blackburn Rovers. He was given a chance, took it, and became a star. However, he has played only one season in the first team and the club deserves more for giving this young chap the career he wishes to pursue. Surely Alex Ferguson would have still wanted to sign him next season?

Look at it from Jones’s point of view, though. Manchester United, I don’t care how you look at it or how much you hate them, are the biggest club in the world. They are the champions of England and almost champions of Europe. When you see terrorists or rebel forces across the world jumping around with AK47s on BBC News, at least one of them is wearing a Manchester United shirt. That’s how big they are. This is a fact.

If you want to blame anyone for Rovers losing their hottest prospect in years, blame football. This corporate money-obsessed sport has taken the Chorley lad who finally got his dream of playing for his favourite club away from us and given him to one with more wonga.

Thirty years ago, Jones would have played for us all his career. It would be his dream. Local lads wanted to play for their local sides. But who can turn down £50,000 a week? I know I couldn’t …

All the best, Phil, just remember your roots.

Well, we’ve done it. Rovers made it as difficult as they possibly could in the end but we’ve finished with a superb away win and safety well and truly secured.

The three points made no odds in the end, but it was nice to finish in style.

I’m glad I’m not a Wolves fan. Doomed to zero points from the moment Michel Salgado’s drive went in off Jason Roberts, their side spent the afternoon bouncing up and down in and out of the relegation zone, before a Spurs winner against Birmingham sent the fans into raptures and confirmed Wolves’ status as a Premier League side.

Rovers’ status was never in doubt after that early strike, which was followed by a stunning volley from Emerton and a sublime goal from Junior Hoilett.

Steve Kean is probably right about one thing; that was probably the best 45 minutes of football Rovers have played this season. Although it has to be said that Wolves were shocking.

The second half saw Wolves come back into the game after McCarthy threw on another striker. It could have been a lot easier had Roberts managed to beat the keeper when one on one, but his miss was followed by a resurgence from the home side.

Knowing they’d done enough later on they sat back and allowed Rovers to pass the game through to the final whistle, a la the closing stages of the United game last Saturday.

After the final whistle, the Wolves fans engaged in a pitch invasion, which resulted in a mass sing-song for the whole stadium, Wolves and Rovers fans, of We Are Staying Up. The Wolves fans, to their credit,  then, having returned to their seats for their team’s lap of honour, applauded the Rovers players who came over to thank the travelling fans – a gesture appreciated by the away section.

It’s been a very tough season for Rovers fans to bear, but now we can finally rest easy knowing we have top flight football to look forward to.

Now is a time to forget about the season just passed, and concentrate on the future. Now is the time for Venky’s to show us exactly what their plans are … And if they actually have any money.

There’s no point getting on the backs of anyone now. Steve Kean is here to stay. Venky’s are here to stay. Now they can build a side in their image that could take this club on in the future.

Fingers crossed, they’ll throw in a few million and build on what is a decent side. Kean will continue to gain experience and tactical nous, and maybe they’ll even consider bringing in a director of football to lend a guiding hand to the manager, and perhaps to give him a lift to the training ground …

At least maybe now someone will finally tell us how much a season ticket is going to cost for next year!

If you’re the sort that enjoys heading down to play casino, you may have a little flutter on this weekend’s vital relegation battle.

In some cases, it may help you console yourself should the worst possible thing happen …

The fine folk at Engineering Sport have come up with a mind-blowing bit of research that details all possible scenarios involving the five teams embroiled in Survival Sunday. Apparently, there are 81 different scenarios as to who could win/draw, and Rovers would be safe in 72 of them.

Scarily, that leaves nine scenarios in which Rovers do indeed find themselves falling through the trapdoor.

However, with 72 possible outcomes seeing us safe, you have to say the odds are heavily in our favour. But if you still fancy a gamble, here is what some of the bookmakers are offering for Premier League relegation this season:

Rovers to go down

Paddy Power and William Hill are offering odds of 12/1, while Stan James have got us at 7/1

Wolves to go down

Best available odds of 8/1 from William Hill, shortest odds of 6/1 being offered by several bookmakers

Wigan to go down

Boylesports have Wigan at 4/5, but in several places they are 8/11

Birmingham to go down

Best available odds of 7/10 from bwin for Birmingham, who face a tough trip to Spurs. 11/17 from Unibet

Blackpool to go down

Relegation favourites Blackpool travel to Old Trafford, where the best odds for their survival come from Unibet at 2/5. They are 1/4 at Victor Chandler.

Odds from oddschecker.com

Brian Sewell’s guide to the relegation battle

via The Daily Mash

BLACKBURN ROVERS
A fact known only to cognoscenti is that the radio disc jockey Tony Blackburn is a remarkably accomplished experimental landscape artist and mezzo soprano. I recall a soiree in Francis Bacon’s Soho rooms back in 1968 in which Mr Blackburn composed a gestural abstraction of St Paul’s cathedral using the medium of his own urine whilst accompanying himself with an a capella version of You Can’t Hurry Love.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
The sharply contasting shades of the peripatetic Wolverhamptonites puts one in mind of Whistler’s Nocturne In Black and Gold of 1875, inasmuch as the public have rejected both of their endeavours as being a crude assault on the senses. Whereas the latter was dismissed by John Ruskin as a pot of paint flung in the public’s face, the former has been Karl Henry’s size 12 boot flung into the kneecaps of the opposition. Their only saving grace is that the primal Mick McCarthy looks remarkably like an animated Easter Island statue.

BIRMINGHAM CITY
Often called the Venice of The North by those who believe La Serenissima is half a billion tons of concrete hastily shat into a rusting septic tank, Birmingham holds little charm for the modern aesthete unless he is blind, deaf, has no sense of smell and the constitution required to survive on a diet of Balti. This team is commanded by an irascible Scot, if one may employ a tautology, and I have yet to find a use for Scotland, other than to buffer England from beefy Scandanavian marauders.

WIGAN ATHLETIC
Roberto Martinez should be lauded for encouraging his team to keep it on the deck, play the passing game and not resort to negative counter-attacking tactics. But they’re an absolute shambles in defence, their best players will be looking for a transfer regardless of their Premiership survival and if Martinez is to remain in charge  he’s going to need to inject a bit of grit into the squad. In addition ‘Athletic’ makes one think of the Greeks. How splendid.

BLACKPOOL
I had fallen asleep during a screening of Mozart’s little-known operetta The Saucy Panel Beaters Of La Mancha and rolling onto my remote control caused Ian Holloway to suddenly appear on the screen. He seemed a delightful creature, although one could hardly divine a single word he was saying, and now my two poodles Bocaccio and Tate bark like the dickens whenever they see him on the television. For this reason, Blackpool are my favourites to avoid the drop.

All Rovers fans who managed to get a ticket to Wolves on Sunday could witness Rovers last ever game of Premier League football.

That is the reality the club faces.

The other reality is that we are in the best position possible of all the clubs facing a nervous day on Survival Sunday.

With Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan all trailing us by a point and needing to make up a deficit of six, seven and eight goals respectively, they all need to win big and hope we lose big at Wolves, who are also in the faecal matter.

Another plus is that Birmingham travel to Spurs, who are almost unbeatable at home if you’re not a top club, Blackpool face the champions Manchester United who, despite probably fielding a weakened side with the Champions League final on the horizon, are yet to lose at home this season and will not want that to change here, while Wigan visit Stoke who are always good at home.

For us to go down, we have to lose, and two of those three teams have to win. Surely even Rovers can’t be that unlucky?

Anyway, the best thing for all Rovers fans on Sunday would be to forget about all other sides down there and for us to win.

The fans should be in good voice as usual. Rovers support has been phenomenal on the road recently. Selling out constantly and being vocally brilliant. And it was great to see the club reflect this with the fantastic offer to pay £13 of every adult season ticket (and similar subsidies for all concessions), which, with tickets selling out once again, means they will actually have to fork out about £35,000.

With all the negativity surrounding the club this season, this was one shining light that really gives me hope that the fans may still be looked after.

Wolves will be far from easy. They can be very good. Especially at Molineux. But they are a funny side that can not turn up on the day. However, if Rovers are really up for it they should be good enough to beat them.

And if they aren’t up for what is once again the most important game of the season, then they really shouldn’t be playing Premier League football.

Saturday’s game against United was both brilliant and frustrating all at the same time.

An outstanding performance from Rovers all round with Samba and Jones proving colossal at the back, Jermaine Jones showing us he really is a quality midfielder (sign him up if possible) and dominating a nervous-looking United side for large periods of the game.

Before kick off I didn’t expect anything. I find it’s the best way to approach games like this to avoid disappointment. Keep expectations low and you cannot be upset by the outcome.

Then we started the way we did and went ahead after 20 minutes.

What followed was another West Ham. Seventy minutes of destroying finger nails.

Unfortunately, the inevitable happened and Manchester United were awarded a penalty.

A draw was the result both sides would have settled for before the game. But with Blackpool and Wolves winning, Rovers really needed the three points in the end.

The final 10 minutes, bizarre as they were, I can understand. I can see both sides of the argument and understand why some fans are outraged. But I can also see the side of the argument that says the point gained means Blackpool MUST win at Old Trafford/Birmingham MUST win at Spurs/Wigan MUST win at Stoke. Whereas had we gone on the attack and lost, a point for any of those sides could potentially take them above us (if we lose at Molineux).

What frustrated me most about the game was referee Phil Dowd. Now I don’t like to blame referees and get into the idea that referees cost games, but there was pure inconsistency on show from the man officiating this crucial fixture.

In the first 20 minutes, Jermaine Jones (I think) was booked for pulling Rooney’s shirt on the half way line. It was a first offence (again, I think). We went on to pick up more bookings.

Meanwhile, Nemanja Vidic committed at least two fouls and received nothing. I’m not saying they were necessarily bookings, but Phil Dowd set the bar by booking Jones for shirt-pulling, yet didn’t follow that decision up by being as strict with the United players.

My main gripe, however, is, as you may have assumed, the penalty. Now, I still haven’t seen any replays. I just have what I saw from my seat in the Blackburn End. Which is nothing.

I’m not disputing whether according to the rules it was a penalty or not.

What I am disputing is the fact that when Hernandez goes down, the referee doesn’t know if it’s a penalty. The linesman doesn’t flag, so he clearly doesn’t know it’s a penalty. However, having gone to the linesman and been surrounded by half of United’s squad, he awards the penalty.

How can this decision have been reached? How can the linesman, having not raised his flag, and the referee, having not blown for a foul, award a penalty using hindsight?

I sincerely hope the loss of two points in this game does not cost us our Premier League future. Mind you, I doubt Phil Dowd will lose any sleep.

Fans of Blackburn Rovers Football Club have been tested to the extreme this season. How have you fared?

It all started with the takeover by Venky’s and the introduction to East Lancashire of Jerome Andersen.

We all know the history now. They came, they sacked Allardyce, they almost relegated us. John Williams predictably walked out, fed up of being constantly bypassed by the new Ewood Park hierarchy.

It’s a travesty what they have done to Rovers. Everyone (with a couple of exceptions) on the terraces and the media can see it. So why can’t they?

Venkatesh Hatcheries has ripped the soul out of my beloved Rovers.

They have not done this intentionally, of that I am certain. I believe they do have the club’s interests at heart. Why wouldn’t they? It’s a simple equation. Club does well, Venky’s does well. So where has it all gone wrong?

Venky’s and its owner Mrs Desai know nothing about football. They know nothing about the Premier League. Rumour has it they didn’t even know that relegation existed. This is not their fault. They have been poorly advised from day one.

To give an example of this, the PR disaster that is Paul Agnew went with Granada Reports to to Pune as part of the three-parter they filmed for the ITV news show. Any half decent press officer would prime the owners beforehand. Tell them what it would be a good idea to say, so as not to reflect on them in a bad light.
A bad press officer would allow one of the Rao brothers to say, on camera, that Rovers will finish eighth and win a cup next year. This in the middle of the most ominous looking relegation battle since 1999. Read more »

On paper, the form tables are totally in our favour. We’re playing well, winning games and morale is high after we hit the dizzy heights of seventh before Liverpool’s win last night.

Villa have struggled in the league this season. Having been a team on the up in the past couple of seasons, they’ve struggled under the leadership of bulgy-eyed French flop Gerard Houllier.

However, our recent history against Villa, at Villa Park, makes bad reading. We’ve been knocked out of three consecutive cups at their place – although we did get a very good win there at the end of last season.

With the new owners wanting success, the FA Cup – and the Carling Cup for that matter – is something Rovers should really be trying to win.

There’s little enthusiasm for the cups at this early stage, but they do mean a lot to the club. Historically we were once a cup side, shunning the league in its earlier years to concentrate on the FA Cup. But without a win since 1928, Rovers are long overdue a cup triumph.

Must give a mention to last week’s win over West Brom. Another solid performance from the new Rovers using quick attacks to kill off an average side while never really getting into top gear.

Jermaine Jones looks awesome, too. What a bruiser.