igorbišćan78

Blackburn's game plan consists of constant direct set-pieces from nearly anywhere on the pitch, and pushing the midfield up to win the clearances and to keep the pressure on. We lack the ability to win, or clear the ball effectively in the air, and the fact that we play so deep means that they will always be winning the second bounce; there is not a team more vulnerable to Blackburn's game plan than us. There will be frequent spells of relentless pressure, and the likes of Dunn, Diouf, Pedersen, and Kalinic will cause our defence all sorts of trouble. I can't see us suddenly reversing our poor scoring form against their robust, and organised defence either. Our only hope of having a good chance at winning is if we suddenly learn how to counterattack.

I've been dreading this for the last few weeks; I'm expecting them to do us 7-3 or thereabouts. Blackpool couldn't be any more up for this, and we couldn't be any less, and now they're even hungrier after a wasteful defeat to Blackburn, and we'll suffer from Continental hangover. Roy will praise everyone involved; say we were unlucky to not win after being dominated, and that it would be foolish to not expect us to be in a relegation struggle this season.

Can anyone name an available alternative to Jones: who is relatively cheap, homegrown, and happy to be backup? I can only think of Boaz Myhill, who went to West Brom for 1.5m; he put in quite a few impressive performances last season.