Here’s how we’re looking: Robinson, Brown, Jacobsen, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Khizanishvili, Warnock, Olsson, Diouf, Hoilett, van Heerden, Doran, Nzonzi, Andrews, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Di Santo.

Look at that list and remember who’s out and doubtful and try and build a solid starting XI. Our midfield can’t even be completed let alone compete. Very worried about what we could see if Nelson and Samba don’t make the cut.

Citeh will be probably fielding a 1-0-9 formation, with a team looking like this according to SkySports:
Given, Richards, Dunne, Toure, Bridge; Wright-Phillips, Barry, Ireland, Bellamy; Robinho, Tevez.

Let me just say, I am looking forward to a win. But if we draw or even lose I can not say I’ll be surprised. I just hope the boys are ready to get the season going the right way.

Now the invitation. I invite all Rovers fan in the NYC area to make the trek into the NYC and come watch the game with me and a bunch of other Rovers fans at Nevada Smiths. We’ll be there a little before kick off and through out the match so please come by if you are able to.

Hopefully the next post will be a victory review. Until then, come on new season AND UP THE ROVERS!

John Williams: Taking Names and Cutting Wages – Setanta (but how much longer will they be around?)

Signing number 2!! Nikos Giannakopoulos from Asteras Tripolis. Try saying that Three times fast. – SkySports (Post on him coming soon.)

Zurab to Gala? – Mirror

VILLANUEVA SAD IT’S ALL ROVER (I swear I didn’t write that, it was too good to change) – Daily Star

Hunting Zigic?? – SkySports

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!

Ince delighted for Jason Brown — TEAMtalk

Tugay showing no signs of stopping — Setanta

Alan Judge working back to 100% — The Blackburn Citizen

Skipper Nelson hails “Team Ince” — The Blackburn Citizen

Ince: “Our fans were absolutely awesome.” — The Blackburn Citizen

Simpson learning for Nigel — FoxSoccer.com

Ince eying Cup Success — SkySports

Ince still looking for more — 4thegame.com

West Ham eying up Zurab? — The Mirror

That should keep you busy as you kill some time this evening before Monday Night Football or Heroes. Up The Rovers!

Alright Folks, until next time, Up The Rovers!

I’m in class and cannot get a feed, though this link here is very active and pretty good. I’ll keep you as best informed as I can from here with help from that link and some friends at Brfcs.com and I’ll get a match write up after.

Key Events:
4 mins were added on and the ref finally blows the full time whistle.

Baxter on for Vaughan.

Roque on for Carlos, Peds on for Treacy. Vaughan and Neville getting carded for Everton. Rovers trailing in shots 3 to 4, but still holding the lead. Reports say that Ooijer and Zurab are great today.

Well class is over, walking back to my place now. I’ll fill everyone in Asap. Cheers.

10 Fouls for Everton and not one card, But Carlos gets one now. Beat.

Just as I type that, Both Carlos and Matty Derbs get off shots. Lets go Lads put another one in!

Slow Start to the half by both teams.

Two corners taken by Carlos for Rovers, both cleared. We need to step up our Corner game.

Second half about to start, Let hop on em early again lads. Cahill and Yakubu in for Castillo and Fellaini. No moves for Rovers.

We’re winning possession, 56 – 44. Worryingly though, Everton has 6 shots to our 3, each side with only one on goal.

Half time. Just near the end of the 44th min, Carlos just missed wide left with a good shot at goal.

Captain Warnock(dead serious) playing center mid(also, seriously) gets booked for unsporting behavior.

Matty Derbs has been flagged for offside twice in the last 10 min. Hopefully one of these runs will pay off cause we all kow how well he finishes.

Reports have it as a good flowing game. Fowler had a shot that missed wide, both teams moving up and down the feild. Reports say Ooijer and Zurab holding solid while Carlos is getting into a nice groove.

Everton looking much more involved. Saha and Jagielka just missing chances.

Robbo has been replaced by Jason Brown. Reports say he had a calf strain before the game and tried to play with no avail. Watch this space.

Fowler and Olsson link up for a pretty 1-2 that results in a left foot shot from about 18 from Olsson for a goal.

I would think it fair to assume that the sales are over. We all knew that Bentley was off (though I was always too optimistic about keeping him)dwee, and although Brad’s departure was a bit of a shock I think we’ve got a good replacement. The only worry is that a big club will come calling for Santa, but he doesn’t want to leave so I’m sure it will take a lot of money for him to go.

So I thought I’d take a deeper look at the squad:

Keepers: It’s all good here with Robbo in, and I’m sure that he’ll do a good job. When his mind is in check he’s a very good keeper. We have a few choices at backup with Jason Brown, Frank Fielding and Gunnar Nielsen all capable but unlikely to be needed.

Defence: Again, I think we’re quite strong here. My first choice back line would be Ooijer, Nelsen, Samba and Warnock, with Emerton cover at right back, Zurab at centre and Martin Olsen at left back. Ooijer impressed at Euro 2008 and I think he could be key to our defensive stability – take him and Nelsen out and I think we lack direction, so with Nelsen in and out of the team a lot we need him. Emerton is defensively suspect at back-up, and Samba’s an enigma sometimes too. I wouldn’t complain if we got in a defensively sound right back.

Midfield: The only shoe-in is Gamst. We need a right winger, a holding midfielder and an experienced midfielder too, since Tugay will play a bit-part role.. Dunn, Reid and Mokoena are all capable but inconsistent and one of them may go (probably the Axe). We need MGP to perform and it will be interesting to see how new boy Villanueva does (he needs a nickname – any ideas?). Still, work needs to be done – more on that later.

Forwards: I’m happy here. Santa and Benni are first choice and I think that Derbs and Roberts should be drafted in as soon as one of them drops his head to keep everyone going. Roberts is a handful and Derbyshire needs time on the pitch to develop further. Don’t forget that we have Rigters too, though I don’t know what role he will play, if any.

So, who might we sign?

A very real possibility seems to be Jermaine Pennant of Liverpool taking the right winger position. I must admit that I’m not a huge fan of his, but I do think he is a very good footballer. Despite being out of his depth at Liverpool I think he’s done OK and experience of playing in the Champs League must have done him good. Rumours say that Ince has bid £6million

Two other links suggest a pseudo Italian-Antipodean invasion: Mark Bresciano of Palermo and Vincenzo Grella of Torino. Both are Australian nationals with Italian heritage who play in Serie A. Bresciano is a very capable and experienced midfielder who can play left, right and centre. He was linked with Man City last year for about £8million but apparently is now availiable for £5million. We may face competition for him. Grella is a holding player and quite aggressive, but I don’t know that much about his situation.

I think all three of these players would give us a very capable, balanced and good sized side. I also think that, despite being rumours in the tabloids, they could be on their way here. Rovers related rumours are few and far between, so when they do come about they have some substance.

Do you agree with me though?