Over the next few days, I’ll be posting write ups or podcast episodes of a review of the month I missed. With this new feature, I to invite anyone and everyone to be as involved as possible. If you have a question a comment or anything at all, email it to me and we’ll get it talked about on any future episode. Feeling bold? Even if you just have a simple built in mic or a whole studio, record a comment or question and I’ll throw it in the episode myself.

As always, discussion starts in the comments where I hope to see some of the posters return. Sorry again for the month long hiatus, but we’re back baby.

Depth in the squad and a fresh, young set of legs. Massive legs at that, 6′3″ is no joke. It’ll be interesting to see the center of the midfield now that Big Sam has brought in an out and out defensive midfielder, essentially a replacement for Mokoena in my mind. While he might not jump right into the starting lineup, a year or so at the reserve level and coming in a sub to gain experience, and we have a better taller faster Moko, to bring in to batten down the hatches and hold onto leads and win games.

So many signings and new faces. Exciting to see the new look of the team as, in my opinion, there hasn’t been a bad singing yet. UP THE ROVERS!

Let the silly season begin. For me, still playing in the top flight after the first half of the year we had is more then okay with me. We’ll strive to improve again next year.

In the comments section below, vote on your player of the year. Maybe I’ll add a poll, but I wouldn’t want to leave any one out. I’ll be around and about with any and all updates coming out of the Rovers camp. As always, UP THE ROVERS!

The legendary Brad Friedel returns to Ewood Park tomorrow as Aston Villa visit for a Premier League clash. It’s no secret as to the quality of the Villa side this year as they’re riding high in 4th and have been unbeaten in their last 6 with 4 wins. I’m not sure what MON is up to over there, but it is clearly working. The best owner is one we don’t hear about and Randy Learner is only ever being talked about for all the right reasons. That being said, this isn’t the Villa blog so down to the business end of things. (I just like Villa as they can hopefully break the “Big 4’s” hold on the Prem and Champs League)
Ince’s side were beaten 3-2 earlier in the league this year and having been unbeaten under SA, Rovers look to avenge that loss. With (shudder) Diouf (ugh I hate it) RSC, Benni Mac and Jase Robs all available, the upfront is looking formidable. The midfield starting 4 is anyone’s guess because I can’t be too sure anyone knows who will be in the starting XI, not even SA. And according to this report click, SA is loving the selection dilemma. From the official site here:

“Boss Sam Allardyce will be missing only long-term absentees Steven Reid and Brett Emerton for the visit of Martin O’Neill’s side tomorrow afternoon.”

The back four looks alright with everyone available, although maybe Ooijer could do some good not in the starting XI as Villa’s pace on the break would maybe suit Zurab better.

All being told, I’d be more than happy with a point from this match, however, I think it could go 2-1 either way. Here’s hoping it’s the Rovers way. UP THE ROVERS!!

94th- Surely the game must be over? Blyth cross it in but its cleared and the whistle goes.
92nd- Bunn’s called into action but the won’t catch him Napping. He holds on.
3 minutes of stoppage time.
89th- Rovers just cant shut the door on this Blyth team.
88th- Treacy has been brought down and Rovers will have a free kick just inside the Blyth area.
87th- Whipped in and Blyth head it over.
86th- Rovers falling a bit, as Blyth win another free kick.
85th- Wow. Wright on the end of a magnificent cross for Blyth. I thought he’d scored, every one did, and it flashes wide of the post. Wow. Fantastic chance. Lucky for Rovers.
84th- Hodge on for Matty Derbs
83rd- Blyth with a shot! but Zurab gets in the way to not force Bunn into action. It was Reay who hit it.
82nd- Judge swings it in, Off Zurabs head and just over for a GK
82nd- Rovers corner as they look for their second to put the game away.
81st- Throw for Blyth now, Pell almost gets a header to it but its knocked to safety and then defended by treacy.
80th- Judge in, Back by Zurab, treacy to roberts who just plays in the area and then gets clattered into as he shoots.
80th- Down on he other end Rovers win a corner.
79th- Headed away but struck by a Blyth man but high and over.
78th- Free kick for Blyth
77th– If rovers can get any kind of counter, they can do some damage. Blyth have so many men forward, but they are starting to put some pressure on.
77th- Corner comes in from Blyth and Moko heads it back and away for a Blyth throw in a much less dangerous spot.
76th- Blyth gets a sneaky ball in behind the back four and Moko has to clear it for a corner.
Attendance at 3,445 today. Huge for them.
75th- Derbs just leaves an absolute sitter of a ass for Andrews who makes a meal of it and smashes it high. It was harder to miss there and he did it.
74th- Irony at its finest, Moko comes in from behind and wins the ball with a fantastic challenge from the side, and Moko is shown the yellow.
73rd- Handball called on Judge but it didnt look like one from the camera angle.
72nd- Mark Bunn makes a comfortable save, the first one of his night
71st- Moko gives away a free kick as Blyth attack, lucky it was not a yellow as well. He’s terrible
70th- Rovers win a free kick. As Blyth subs Wright for Dalton. Ball humped forward by Bunn but Blyth gets it.
68th- Another soft foul called against Rovers.
68th- Great ball by Roberts to Andrews to Derbs who crosses but its just poked out by Blyth as Rovers continue to look for a second.
66th- Cleared by Rovers and played out by Blyth for a Rovers throw.
65th- Free kick for Blyth as Andrews is blown up for a very soft foul. Dangerous spot. Needs to be handled.
64th- Todd for White as Blyth make a change.
62- Judge takes it bell catches and blyth try and attack but given to Rovers straight away.
61st- Treacy with a howler and a dipper that comes just off the top of the crossbar but it was deflected for a corner
61st- All blackburn at the moment, comments the man on my tv
60th-Funnily enough, Carlos comes off for Roberts and Andrews on for Grella though Rovers now have some breathing room.
Rovers 1-0 Blyth

GET INNNNNN!!!!!! Villanueva scores from the free kick with a cracker in any league in any game. FANTASTIC!

58th- Carlos taken down right at the 18. Good FK spot for rovers. Lets see wholl take it and if they can put it away.
56th- Blyth just comes out of no where and Rovers panic and Blyth gets a long throw. Cleared by Rovers but played in by Blyth again and “Moko half asleep” yells the TV commentator. The crowd starts to get into it as we’re in the 57th and Rovers need to calm down and put Blyth back on the back foot. Jason Roberts starts to warm up.
55th- Simpson called for a foul
54th- Simpson with some good pace, pressure on Blyth, Corner for Rovers. Treacy to take. Headed away a tad then finally cleared by Blyth but rovers attack again. Zurab gives possession away.
51st- Ball from Simpson to carlos, Carlos with a great bit of skill and a very very nice shot just doesnt curl enough off his left foot and wide of the mark. Good show though.
50th- Long ball up to the forwards way over, Blyth GK
49th- Derbs with another poor shot
46th- Rovers throw as Blyth just kick it away? Rovers going left to right and hopefully breaking the deadlock soon.

Half time. Read all of the first half commentary after the jump. I’m going to make some tea and charge my laptop and wonder how we’re not up by 1 million goals. If you’re reading along, feel free to comment or ask anything on your mind be it about the game or anything Rovers. See ya in a few.
One min of stoppage time
45th- Treacy with a great ball just a bit too high for Matty Derbs making a run and Bell takes it.
44th- Free kick for Rovers just inside the Blyth half. PLayed back to Moko only god knows why. He’s the worst player in the world.
42nd- How we haven’t scored yet I’ll never know. I can’t help but feel that once we get the fist, 2 3 and 4 will follow.
41st- Treacy clattered into by a Blyth defender in the box. Looks like he barely got the ball first but I’ve seen them given for less.
39th- Corner defended right up in the air, I didnt see who but a Rover rockets a shot right on the volley and it appears to be cleared off the line by the hand of one of the 4 spartans positioned there but replay shows it was the head.
39th- Grella to simpson , simpson to cross, corner for rovers
38th- Rovers with a throw in deep in the Blyth final 3rd. Wasted. Another throw results.
37th- The rovers want of a goal is almost palpable, they’re just not catching that last break. Blyth with a free kick, goes out for a GK.
36th- Bell races out and mis hits a clearence, luckily for Blyth is gets out of bounds before Derbs can capitalize.
35th- Matty Derbs with another great chance but he tries it to hit on on the cross instead of settling it and mis hits it.
34th- GOAL DISALLOWED!! Derbs in an offside position though last touched by a defender, I’m not sure how the rule works but Derbs attempted an erhead kick and the errant shot knocked the defender in the head and the ball flew in. Deffo a must see when I get th highlights later.
33rd- Corner for Rovers cleared away by a Blyth defender. THrow in for Rovers.
31st- Build up turns into nothing as Bell takes control of an errant cross. everytime I ook down to type, Rovers have the ball again but this time Treacy knocks it for a Blyth goal kick.
30th- Zurab passes back to Bunn to reset the flow as Rovers look to press up again.
28th- Treacy takes a solid hit as the corner gets cleared. Throw in for Rovers.
27th- “Stupidly so” the clearance attempt described by the commentator on TV and agree. Moko nothing but a liability at the back today. Corner for blyth.
25th- Rovers denied a corner again, and as I type, Moko does a typical moko, poor clearence, Blyth with a shot and they shoot it wide. The first real opportunity today for them.
24th- Rovers looking frustrated by the wall of green and white that they can’t seem to get that final ball in for a good shot.
21st- Grella just going hardbody and working the ball out of any Danger for Rovers.
19th- Judge with a pass/shot? I’m not sure but its 5 shots for and 0 against, as Rovers keep forcing the issue.
17th- Corner cleared by Blyth and foul called on Judge. Didn’t see who took the corner itself but it was a great one.
17th- Great link up by Simpson and Judge, leading to a Corner.
15th- Rovers on the attakck again, some quick passes and another solid strike by Carlos caught by Bell. Rovers on attack again and Blyth can’t keep possession let alone attack.
14th- Olssons long cross poor and taken by Bell.
11th- Corner for Rovers as Treacy takes first touch shot from a Matty Derbs pass and its a low hit solid strike pushed wide by Bell. Corner amounts to nothing but a GK

9th- Great little 1-2 and Carlos takes another shot at goal but he just mishits it off the outside foot and it goes wide.
7th- Rovers counter attack, Carlos tries to chip the keeper from just infront of the center circle, very high over the goal.
7th- Simpson tackled hard for the second time, this could turn ugly.
6th- Zurab with the armband keeping things settled and a pass up to Treacy sees him take a cheeky attempt that ends wide right.
4th- The teams still settling, nothing to solid to comment on, both sides sort of getting a feel for the other
3rd-The team looks almost makeshift, it’ll be interesting to see how this team pulls together
1st- Rovers in their home kit kicking from right to left as the game gets under way

Teams:

BLYTH: Bell, Boyle, White, Williams (c), Pell, Leeson, Dalton, McCabe, Dale, Reay.

Subs: Farman (GK), Brown, Hume, Poole. Todd, Wright, Watson.

ROVERS:: Bunn, Simpson, Khizanishvili (c), Mokoena, Olsson, Judge, Grella, Vogel, Treacy, Villanueva, Derbyshire.

Subs: Brown (GK), Andrews, Roberts, Hodge, Doran, Haworth, Gunning.

Watch this space for all the latest news and updates.

Lineups:
SUNDERLAND: Fulop, Bardsley, Nosworthy, Whitehead (c), Malbranque, Cisse, Richardson, Collins, Jones, Ferdinand, Henderson.

Subs: Colgan (GK), Tainio, Diouf, Murphy, Leadbitter, Reid, Kay.

ROVERS: Robinson, Simpson, Khizanishvili, Samba, Olsson, Haworth, Tugay (c), Mokoena, Treacy, Fowler, Derbyshire.

Subs: Brown (GK), Ooijer, Warnock, Nelsen, Santa Cruz, Villanueva, Judge.

On to international news:
Andre Ooijer and the Netherlands kept their winning ways alive and beat Iceland 2-0 in a game where the Rovers defender played the full 90. A reassuring outcome since last time when he came off injured in the 28th.

Captain Zurab Khizanishvili picked up a yellow and played the full game in Georgia’s draw with Cyprus. The game ended 1-1.

MGP came on in the 76th for Norway but couldn’t impact the game as the game ended in a goalless draw.

Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena both played in the 1-0 win over Equatorial New Guinea.

Christopher Samba’s efforts turned out to be in vain as Congo fell to the Sudan this weekend.

God I can’t wait for the break to end and we go and beat Notlob this weekend. UP THE ROVERS!

45th +1- Nelson heads out for a corner to prevent aston from getting it. 2 mins of added time.
43rd: the game has its highs and lows. right now just back and forth.
41st: Rovers corner, Reid with the worst kick ive ever seen. It goes out at the other flag for a GK.
40th: Samba immense right now. rovers def holding well.
37th: Good break by westham. cross headed out for a gk by cole.
36th: good hold of possesion for us here. showing good build up, hammers forced to clear. just need the finish.
32 and 33- Fouls and corners and the like for west ham.. Nothing to come of it.
30th: Samba heads it, Derbs heads it in, but flagged offside. OH MY hes played onside by Bararmy. Linesman flags offside incorectly. The kick played quickly by the hammers. Ooijer forced to foul as rovers have no men back. Yellow for him.
29th: RSC cant shake the knock. Matty derbs on to replace.
28th: Corner for west ham, taken short, noble cross. cleared away
27th: Roberts called for a ghost foul. Doesnt like it and lets the ref know it. Cared fo this troubles.
22nd: OH yes Jason roberts, 1-2 now. Roberts turns his defender and pokes it right to the farside of the keeper. Rovers 1-2 Hammers
21th: Samba with an OG but an offsides Aston clearly interfered. Apperently the offsides rule isnt in effect today. 0-2 Hammers
19th: Santa looks with a knock. Limping in the offensive third
18th: Rovers using the super goal kicking abilities of Robbo too much.
16th- FK after foul called on the hammers. Roberts should have been alowed to play on he was working with the man fouling him. Peds Fk out for a GK.
0-1 Hammers
13th: Davenport scores off the corner.
11ht; Robbo knocks the ball back for another corner. Then the second corner cleared away. Ball plpayed down to Santa who gets it with no opositing. The ball into Roberts getts muddled and cleared. Rovers with the throw, peds cross in, cleared then Rovers get it back. Stolen and charged down the wing for Hammers. Nelson puts it out for a corner.
10th- Mystery foul call.ed The ball into the Rovers box away my Nelson. Peds forced to put it out for Hammers corner.
6th- Grella comes in really late, clumsily and studs up. Yellow card.
6th- Nelsen knocks the corner away.
5th min- Samba with a horrid header back that Robbo doesnt even come get. He makes up for it, hustleing back. Hammers corner.
3rd min- Rovers going into challeneges clumsily. Giving away possession. AS I type, build u down the left, centered into Santa SOG saved and cleared.
1st min- Rovers going right to left.
0 min- Rovers in the new Blue away kit. No red and black halves today.
0 min- It’s good to see V. Grella in the side and also good to see King Carlos and new boy Andrews on the subs bench. Hope to see them factor in positively.

Welcome one and all, sorry about the lack of preview. Here’s the starting lineups:

WEST HAM: Green, Neill (c), Parker, Ashton, Etherington, Cole, Noble, Mullins, Faubert, Behrami, Davenport.
Subs: Lastuvka (GK), McCartney, Bellamy, Boa Morte, Spector, Reid, Sears.

ROVERS: Robinson, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen (c), Warnock, Emerton, Grella, Reid, Pedersen, Roberts, Santa Cruz.
Subs: Brown (GK), Mokoena, Andrews, Villanueva, Simpson, Treacy, Derbyshire.

Steven Warnock’s last minute free-kick was headed onto the post by captain Nelsen who was miles offside (and hence unmarked).

Nicely for us, Andre Ooijer was on hand to tap in and secure a 3-2 victory at Everton. What a great start for the new boss!

David Dunn ran the game – maybe it was his return to the no.8 shirt – and opened the scoring midway through the first half with a screamer of a goal. Rovers continued to dominate the first half and Santa Cruz missed two headers that you would have backed him to score – they were ‘his’ kind of goals.

Unfortunately our new keeper didn’t have the best of days. Mikel Arteta’s freekick to the side of the 18 yard box was brilliantly curled into the net when everyone expected a cross, but in fairness Robbo didn’t even seem to have considered a shot and should have had it covered. He also looked dodgy on a few crosses, and this won’t have done his confidence any good. This is annoying since I’m sure his form will correlate with his confidence.

Into the second half and Yakubu scored for Everton by heading in Arteta’s cross (I would eat celery to have Arteta in our team!). However Santa Cruz capitalised on some awful defending to equalise 2 minutes later by latching onto Warnocks long ball.

Ooijer’s winner was a dramatic end to a good match. We beat a very good (albeit injury ravaged team) away from home and several of our players, especially Dunn and Pedersen, looked good.

Final thoughts:

- Despite being huge and possessing clear brute strength, Chris Samba seems to be a bit timid when tussling with big forwards. He struggled last year against Dean Ashton a lot, and Yakubu seemed to give him more problems than he should have.

- Gamst Pedersen was back with the latter of his surnames on the back. I have a feeling he plays better with it that way. Is on some kind of rotation system though?

- As I’ve said, Dunn was impressive. His grabbing of the no.8 shirt and appointment as vice-admiral suggests he will be first choice in midfield and this performance seems to justify that.

- The Axe can’t pass. The upcoming signing of Vince Grella will demote him to the bench and not a moment too soon. However his tackling could be handy as a sub to defend tight leads.

- Reid was decent on the right and him being there freed up Pedersen (with an ‘e’ Jim! ). Roberts was decent but I think McCarthy might do better.

Any, a great start!

Highlights:

GET INNNNNNNNNNN. OOIJER OOIJER OOIJER. NELSON SETS IT UP, HOWARD SPILLS OOIJER TAPS IN. 3-2 ROVERSSSSSSS
90+3- Reid taken down pretty hard about 30 yards out. Last roll of the dice for rovers. Need a good ball in. yakubu Yellow card.
3 Min Added Time
90th- Corner for Rovers. Sub- Dunn off Tugay on
89th- Jagyelka crosses into the box good. Robbo comes out, mistimes the ball, and Baxter luckily puts it over the net.
87th- Rovers offer a good corner ball, somehow cleared, and moko whips it in to Howard.
86th- reacy does great to block off a defender. warnock earns a corner.
83rd- J Roberts off and Benni mac On
81st- About 10 min left; lets hope we can see one more Rovers goal.
78th- tension starting to mount as you cans ee and feel both teams just waiting to open up. Everton sub- Nuno Valente off, Jose Baxter, the 16 year old, on
76th- MGP makes way for Treacy.
75th- Yobo booked.
73rd-74th- Rovers just puring it on now. We have to be able to put one back into the net soon. LETS GO LADS!
72nd- FK from rovers in the middle of the park. About 35 yards out.
70th- Poor cross from warnock who had loads of space. Still 20 min to make this one a winner.
69th- Well Goodison park has died down by 100%. Rovers stalking almost, waiting for another opportune time to strike. It appears as if the wind has been taken from the Everton sails.
66th- SANTA CRUZZZZZZZZZ. Equalizes right away. Just what we needed. 2-2!!
65th- well you could feel this coming. Everton take the lead off of a run and cross that seemed right from the training ground. weak from rovers. 2-1 Everton.
62nd- Corner for Everton headed up and over by Jagyelka or whatever his name is.
60th- Samba does well to block a shot that would have been a big threat as Everton applies some pressure but the play seems to be settling now.
58th- Peds corner is a rocket, howard throws it up and aside.
58th- Corner for Rovers. Lets see if we can get something going.
56th- After a few mins of scares to open the half, rovers settling in. Roberts works all the way to the 6 and, In typical Roberts style, shoots it right into the keeper.
51- Peds with a cross to Reid, who knocks with Baines, heads it over, and goes down hard.
50th- great low ccross by warnock to roberts but his first tuch is poor and he looses it.
48th- Neville with a foul on dun in the rovers’ half.
47th- Dangerous cross, luckily goes untouched for Rovers.
46th- Here we go. Lets see what the lads can do.

The first half showed amazing dominance from a team we are used to seeing show up in the second half. arteta was extremely lucky to equalize and if Rovers come out in the second half with just as much conviction and dont get down on themselves, we should be able to wrap this up.

Half time. Way to ruin my good mood everton.
45+2- Against the run of play, Arteta puts the ball right in. 1-1
45+1- Dunn sacrificing his face to block a rocket of a shot. Great effort. corner folowing is cleared by Samba. Cross in, deflected witht he arm by Reid. FK for everton from a rough angle for rovers.
2 min added time
45h- Anndddd now warnock gets booked. way to go me jinxing him.
44th- Warnock doing good work in the LB role
anyone notice that ooijer looses the ball on his 4th touch all the time?
41st- Arteta whips it wide of the nearside left post.
40th – samba with a foul on Yakubu(sp?) FK now from the edge of the Rovers’ area.
39th- Nelson takes care of the first pseudo threat I’ve seen in a while.
34th- play starting to slow but that just means we’re pushing up in more passes. everton still on the backfoot and Rovers dominating possession.
30th – Neville blocks the FK, Rovers still playing attacking ball, even when defending. great stuff
29th- Free kick for rivers after reid taken down.
26th- Reid down for a lil after taking a knee on a 50 50 ball.
25th- Corner rovers as we just keep pushing and pushing.

24th min- my pancakes are ready, and theyre delicious.
22nd- GETTTTT INNNNNNNNN. DUNN AMAZING AMAZING FINISH with BEND or CURVE or WHATEVER. Balls layed off to dunny by peds, patient and great. One touch and a great left foot finish bending like crazy.
1-0 Rovers

19th- Robbo comes up big wiht a great save from a tricky ball. Following corner cleared away and ball in shot very wide by Everton.
15th min- Rovers moving quick with sharp passes and Everton starting to look shakey. A miscue forces a quick clear for Everton at the back and Dunn has a go from about 50 out. Caught comfortably.
13th min- Great ball in near the corner flag from Reid, Santa with the header, almost no pressure yet heads it over. I’ll chalk this one up to first day cobwebs. He’ll need to score from there.
11th min- Samba with a great slot pass to Roberts who sets up a decent give and go, with a touch following just a bit too heavy. Cleared by the keeper for a throw. good buildup though from Rovers.
10th min- Good back and flow play now as both teams settle in.
6th- THrow in forward for Rovers. Away by Yobo, Samba keeps in, PLayed by Reid to Pederson who plays it across. Roberts gets and keep the ball, passed to Reid, who WHips it in to RSC, header JUST WIDEEE.
6th min- Foul by Dunn in midfield.
5th min- First corner cleared but right back to the flag, Peds crosses in again, cleared.
4th min- Pederson with a rip. He’s wearing pederson not gamst. COrner Rovers
4th min- Robbo looking immense in that orange strip. And as I type that, a shot comes in, tricky ooking from about 20 yards, saved and held by Robbo.
2nd min- Good to see Ooijer in there. Rovers pressing up now.
1st min- rovers going left to right. Great looking crowd at Goodison.

0 min- The Rovers come out in their Red and Black Third kits, looking great with the new crown logo. The blue one is kind of pointless when we play the likes of Everton and ManCity.

I am so excited today, I’ll be updating best I can during the whole game: whilst chatting about he game and eating breakfast so bear with me.

Hello Hello Hello:

Team today from Blackburn official text

Robinson
Ooijer
Samba
Nelsen
Warnock
Reid
Dunn
Mokoena
Pedersen
Roberts
Santa Cruz

Brown
Tugay
McCarthy
Derbyshire
Villanueva
Simpson
Treacy