The Rovers Return

It came as a shock to pretty much everyone, I would guess Frank Fielding included, when the Rovers youngster was picked for the full England squad today.

And it has been said by some that maybe his inclusion is a sarcastic retort by Fabio Capello at Paul Robinson, the man who snubbed him after his England recall earlier this week.

It’s unlikely Fielding, or Watford’s Scott Loach who also received a call-up after Ben Foster pulled out of the squad with an injury, will see any action. That is unless Joe Hart adds to the England chief’s misery.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea to include players like this in the squad.

I’ve thought for a while that the answer to some vital transfer money lay in our goalkeeper situation. We have three experienced stoppers, all of whom could be first choice for a top flight club, vying for the number one jersey at Ewood.

There’s only one man who’s ever going to keep that jersey, though, and that’s Robbo.

Jason Brown has stepped in on a number of occassions for the odd match and has always looked comfortable. When Rovers sold Brad Friedel to Aston Villa two years ago, I said at the time we should simply promote Brown, and I firmly believe he would have been a solid first choice keeper for Rovers. Read more »

In this summer’s World Cup, Paul Robinson was excluded from the England squad.

I’ve gone over it several times, verbally and on this blog, to anyone who will listen … And those that really would rather not.

Robbo has been in fine form since escaping his Spurs nightmare. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a hero at Tottenham, but he had to move on to forget about the so-called blunder for England – how can it be his fault when the ball bobbled over his foot? – which resulted in his massive dip in form.

Since signing for Rovers, Robinson has become a real fans’ favourite.

Rovers fans have always had a great relationship with goalkeepers. Read more »

England fans were left in shock on Saturday night as the unthinkable happened. We didn’t beat the Yanks.

Over-the-top expectations once again meant that the opening to our World Cup campaign is a disaster and all Brits have a sour taste in their mouths.

Yes it was a disappointing result, but with Algeria and Slovenia to play, surely we’ll finish the group with seven points?

Put it this way, if England don’t qualify then they’re definitely not as good as everyone thinks they are.

The States has gone overboard, as you can see from the front cover of the New York Post, pictured.

Back to the match itself, and it was a particularly disappointing display from England. I’m not going in for all this guff about America performing well and holding us to a draw.

We held ourselves to a draw, throwing away two vital points and making qualification that little bit more difficult.

Rob Green made an error. Fact. And I could go back to the Paul Robinson debate again here, but I won’t. I could say something about how Rob Green made more unforced errors than any other English keeper in the Premier League last season. But I won’t. And I definitely won’t mention, again, that Paul Robinson kept more clean sheets than any other English keeper in the Premier League last season. Read more »

Now that I’ve finally stopped foaming at the mouth, I can finally put my dismay at Paul Robinson’s World Cup exclusion into words.

Fabio Capello has said, on numerous occasions, that he will make his selections for the English national team based on form.

Is that right, Mr Capello?

Let’s look at the form books then shall we.

Paul Robinson has been extremely safe for Rovers this season, pulling off numerous quality saves and has been a crucial part of a solid defensive back-line.

He has also kept 13 clean sheets. That’s more than any other English goalkeeper in the Premier League.

I’m not saying he’s perfect, and some argue he is prone to mistakes when playing for England.

Yes, he cocked up once against Russia, but he made 41 appearances for his country, and you don’t get that many through making mistakes.

In the 2006 World Cup, he kept four clean sheets, so don’t try telling me he’s not good enough.

He also plays for a team that finished 10th in the Premier League. Not one that finished bottom of the league – and would have still been bottom had they not been deducted points, don’t give me any of that romantic Pompey bollocks, they weren’t good enough whether they were skint or not – or five points clear of the relegation zone.

I’m not arguing with the inclusion of Joe Hart. He’s proved himself to be a good goalkeeper this year and could represent the future of England goalkeeping. Read more »

Fleet Street’s inability to differentiate between Rovers and Bolton is now becoming tiresome. This is the third time I can recall seeing us being referred to as them this season.

This effort by the Daily Star has confused Bolton’s shite left back with our crocked keeper.

Absolutely shameful.

I’ve stopped posting stuff from the newspapers really because, let’s face it, you’re more likely to read them than this. So you probably already know.

However, a couple of articles this week have got my juices flowing.

Article one appeared in the Daily Mail, listing the owners of all the Premier League clubs and how much money they have. I’ve stolen their graphic to post below, but technically I’m an employee anyway so I hope they don’t mind…

It shows our gracious benefactors, with Uncle Jack’s money, very high up in football’s rich list, with £590-million to their names. That’s £160-million more than Walkersteel sold for back in 1992.

Now, I know they’re trying to sell up, but until the sale they’re stuck with us. When Jack died he left that money in a trust, with some instructions in place, I’m no financial expert but I believe we get the interest or a percentage thereof, from the money as it sits in the trust. Read more »

What a fantastic performance!

To a man, everybody at Ewood Park can take some credit for today’s vital win over Wigan.

In defence, Paul Robinson was unbeatable. An absolute wall in the Rovers goal. I saw some stupid article, probably written by some twat from America who’s never actually witnessed a real football match, which ranked Robbo as the third worst signing this season, he has surely answered any critics today, and with the England goalkeeping situation as it is he’s surely worth a chance, isn’t he? Very unlucky not to get Sky Sports’ man of the match in my opinion, although McCarthy did play well!

The rest of the defence was very solid. Givet and Nelsen never lost anything, Ooijer and Warnock at full back as reliable as ever. Special mention must go to Nelsen for scoring the best goal I have ever seen… What a time to score your first goal for the club! Read more »

Cheers Roque. Just when you need your team to pull together for the remaining fights of the season, this happens.

Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz claims he has told the club he is leaving at the end of the season for “a bigger, more ambitious team”.

The 27-year-old, currently recuperating after undergoing a surgical procedure on his troublesome right knee last week, told Paraguayan radio he has informed Rovers he wants to move on in the summer.”I have already told them (Blackburn) and they know that before the transfer window closes I would like to continue my career at a bigger, more ambitious team,” he told Radio Nanduti.

“Even though I haven’t heard anything, I haven’t changed my mind.

“I think it will be very difficult for me to play again this season because of the recovery. Our last league match is on May 24 and I also need a couple of days for my knee to physically recover.” Read more »

- As I said in the previous post, we have 11 (now 10) cup finals between now and the end of the season. With this being our game in hand it is the most important result we’ve had this year and could well be the difference come the the finale!

- Nice to see Diouf get his first goal for the club. He’s done well since signing and this will only serve to boost his confidence. He looks really fired up, you can see that from his reaction to winning games, so I’m pleased for the lad.

- Jason Roberts yet again proving he’s a good player for us. Possibly the most important goal he’ll ever score.

- Paul Robinson keeps on proving himself as a top notch keeper. He made a great save from Nevland with the last kick of the game and must surely be due an England call-up soon! Read more »