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.

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.

West Bromwich Albion supporters will pay a measly £10 (£5 for juniors) to see their team play at Ewood on Saturday.

I’m not sure if anything else needs to be said …

Last season, we played Chelsea and Man Utd on consecutive weekends. I went to both – it cost me £87. That was before I’d got there, had something to eat, God knows how many pints, etc, etc.

I’m lucky I don’t have children or anybody else I have to pay for, but I’ve no idea how families can afford to go to these games.

Rovers, and John Williams, should be commended for the excellent value for money that Blackburn Rovers represents for the fans – both home and visitors.

Wigan should also get special mention for the two for £20 offer they’ve got going for our trip there in a couple of weeks. I’m expecting a good Rovers following at that one.

Football really is the most expensive form of entertainment going.

You wouldn’t pay £35 to watch a movie, but week in and week out, football lovers across the country are ripped off by the very club they have supported all their lives.

Thankfully, we are among a privileged few that are not ripped off by our club. Jealous onlookers will suggest the cheap tickets are simply because we cannot fill our stadium. They are probably right. So what?

One thing I will say though is this, enjoy it while it lasts. Venky’s are still to announce their ticket pricing structure, but an increase of more than a couple of quid will not be warmly received.

NOTE: If you have tried to comment but get an error message saying “Forbidden”, I have not blocked you or anything like that. There is a problem somewhere, I can’t even leave comments myself!

Football scores updated every 5 seconds at www.betrescue.com who also compare the odds so you can place the best bet.

There are a few gremlins in the system on my home computer. I’ll be back to normal as quickly as I can . . .

Ten years on. Never forget.

Well hello!

So we understand you want to buy our wonderful football club. Good luck! I just wanted to mention a few things that might not pop up in your commercial due diligence.

Also, it’s been said that you were there at the Arsenal game at the end of last season. Clearly you enjoyed it as much as we did. It was a great day and showed off Blackburn Rovers at our best. A strong and resolute team performance, securing a top ten finish. You will have witnessed great support from the fans. And you will have savoured a man of the match performance from our local hero David Dunn. You will have noticed that scruffy French kid in the wooly hat getting some award at half time, that was Steven N’Zonzi, the player of the year. Take all that in, because contained within all of it was what makes this club special.

It isn’t always like this however. The season can seem long and a grind. When we lose at Everton, Man City and Stoke it tests your faith. You will look at these wealthy players who don’t seem to be able to perform and despair. But you have to stick with it. Form can dip, the manager can seem negative and grumpy, but at heart he’s a good man. He has a good scouting network, he finds gems, like our player of the year. Don’t get your head turned by younger managers with fancy methods, something good is building at Rovers. The Academy at Brockhall is a treasure trove. Extend it. Make it the place the best kids want to come to. That’s the place where investment is needed.

Be patient. Our local talisman is an injury prone genius. Our goalkeeper was a reject who was written off but has missed out on the World Cup because he plays for an unfashionable club. But they are stars. Our stars. So is our centre half – a teenager from Chorley. They are adored. And so is our player of the year, a young man plucked from obscurity.

Our fans are usually right. When Jack Walker owned the club he didn’t like a certain type of flash player and blocked some transfers. There are players who just aren’t Rovers players, learn about that and treasure it as a core value. El Hadji Diouf should have no place in our club.

Blackburn is a multi-racial town, but Rovers supporters are mainly white working class men. This has changed a bit over the years, but don’t expect to see much of an affinity with the local Asian population without a long hard effort to win hearts and minds and don’t expect them flocking overnight. The current marketing and management team have been focused on shoring up what we have, but with your help greater links with India, with Asian communities and with other sports can expand Rovers as a brand.

You will have seen other owners of football clubs in the Premier League see their dreams shattered because they splash the money and lose it. Rovers have a heart and soul and a family spirit that is very much in touch with the roots of East Lancashire life. But it is just one aspect of our community. Build on that, extend deeper into that, and build the links with your own heritage – it could well yield commercial rewards and enbale this club to move further forward.

Be realistic about what that could be. Be modest, be strong, value quality and there is a good chance that in the future there could be a statue of you next to the one of Uncle Jack.

There are potentilly exciting times ahead. Fingers crossed, eh?

This season marks the inaugral Rovers Return awards. So far, I’ve come up with the following awards, although more could be announced:

Please feel free to suggest potential winners/nominees of these awards and suggestions for other awards.

Player of the Season

Pretty self-explanatory.

Young Player of the Year

Awarded to the best player this year, under the age of 24.

Emerging Player of the Year

Awarded to a youth player, either bought in or from within our ranks, who has caught the eye. Again, under-24s.

Most Improved Player

Awarded to any player who has seen a significant improvement in their performances, be that over the course of this season or improving on last season.

Goal of the Season

In no way connected to the Rovers’ own competition, and will include all goals scored this season!

Steady Eddie Unsung Hero of the Year

Awarded to a consistent performer who receives little praise in the media.

Performance of the Year

Awarded to the greatest individual performance in a single match.