JASON ROBERTS

EIGHT GAMES UNDEFEATED
But just a point at The Riverside
Middlesbrough 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
The afternoon started with the news that Stoke city had pushed Rovers back down into the bottom three with their win over Manchester City. That made it all the more important for Blackburn to collect all three points. And although they certainly created the chances - they just couldn't find the back of the 'Boro net. There were enforced substitutions when Tugay had to replace the injured Keith Andrews just before the break ... and David Dunn came on for an injured Brett Emerton just after.
The final change saw Jason Roberts on for Benni McCarthy and the striker almost brought the points home with two great chances in the final moments - but Brad Jones was on hand to save the home side. Andrews and Roque Santa Cruz both came close before the interval. Despite the clean sheet and undefeated run - what frustrated Big Sam was the inability to get a reward for some hard work. He told reporters:- "We produced several opportunities and we should have won the game and this is happening too often when chances are going begging. We are not burying the opposition when we are on top and as a result we have found ourselves in the bottom six. I'm pleased that we have kept out unbeaten run going but we should have far more wins in this period."
The result leaves Rovers with 23 points from 23 games and third bottom of the table on goal difference. Next up in the league are high flying Aston Villa who come to Ewood next Saturday ... but first it's the FA cup replay on Wednesday night at home to Sunderland. (January 31st 2009)
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DIOUF DOES DEAL
Former Bolton Striker now a Rovers man
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed that they've agreed terms to bring El Hadji Diof to the club for an undisclosed fee. The former Bolton player moves to Blackburn from Sunderland. The Senegalese player arrived in England to play at Liverpool in 2002 .. next it was on to Bolton initially on loan two years later, and then on a permanent basis in 2005 under Sam. His last move was up to the North East in July 2008 for £2.6 million. Now Big Sam has his man back replacing Matt Derbyshire who looks to have moved to Greece on loan for the rest of the season. BBC Sport believe he won't be playing at the Riverside tomorrow:- "as the deal was not finalised before the noon deadline ahead of the match."
Meanwhile - Mark Hughes says that Manchester City have had their latest bid for Roque Santa Cruz turned down by Rovers. He told reporters: "Yesterday, we put an improved bid to Blackburn but it was rejected ...We have to make a decision on that and the window is open until the second so we’ve got time if we decide to do that"
To be honest they have until 5:00 pm on Monday ... so it's going to be an edgy weekend for Rovers fans (January 30th 2009)
bbc.co.uk ALSO rovers.co.uk (see also exclusive video interview) AND wikipedia.org

AMAZING COME BACK ON DERBY NIGHT
Rovers come from two down to salvage a point
Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
Anyone who went home at half time (and I know some) couldn't have forecast the second half fight back! Rovers just weren't at the game for the first 45 - rather like the last home game against Newcastle. But this time the visitors (Bolton) were - and they embarrassed Blackburn taking the lead after just 15 minutes. Matthew Taylor scored from close range as Rovers protested about the lack of an off side flag. Worse still was to come when on the half hour former Rover Kevin Davies beat Paul Robisnson at the second chance - the home keeper having initially made a great save. So 2-0 down and all but dead and buried. Rovers couldn't keep the ball & Bolton looked in control. Second Half ... Stephen Warnock provided hope when his cross across the box found the top corner of Jaaskelainen's goal ... suddenly the momentum changed. Next with Roque Santa Cruz on for Andre Ooijer - the strike was brought down by the keeper. Only a yellow card handed out by Mr. Dean - but he also pointed to the spot. Benni McCarthy placed the ball ... and with more than a hint of deja vue Jaaskelainen stopped the shot! Thankfully this only served to fire up the home boys & it was no surprise when Benni found the back of the net connecting with a lovely Jason Roberts cross. Only four minutes to go - could Blackburn claim all three points? In injury time a close range header from inside the area by Ryan Nelsen amazingly bounces off the post!!
So - to quote Big Sam a draw that felt like "a moral victory" and the Blackburn manager saw it as two points lost. He told RADIO ROVERS: "It was a tremendous fightback and recovery. The players showed a lot of character and commitment first of all and then the quality came through. But for the penalty miss and the one on the post, we could have been celebrating a very precious victory.... We all thought Benni would be composing himself to take a penalty against their reserve keeper. I can't agree with why the referee has not deemed it a clear goalscoring chance.... We kept plugging away, we got the equaliser and then Ryan's come within the width of a post from winning it." (January 28th 2009)
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IT COULD BE COVENTRY
FA Cup 5th round draw
Blackburn could be at home in he 5th round of this years FA cup - that is if they beat Sunderland in the replay of their fourth round game on February 4th. The draw took place on Sunday evening and sees Blackburn or Sunderland v Coventry City. Rovers fans won't easily forget last seasons 3rd round exit when the Sky Blues came to Ewood and defeated the home side 1-4. That was last January - but this February valentines' weekend might see Blackburn through to the last eight.
The draw in full is:-
Sheffield United v Hull City Watford v Chelsea West Ham United v Middlesbrough Sunderland or Blackburn Rovers v Coventry City Derby County or Nottingham Forest v Manchester United Swansea City v Fulham Liverpool or Everton v Doncaster Rovers or Aston Villa Cardiff City or Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion or Burnley
Games to be played weekend of February 14th 2009 - TV dates to be confirmed. (January 25th 2009)

thefa.com (more details) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)

REPLAY NEEDED
Sunderland 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
Rovers will be at home to Sunderland on Wednesday February 4th - after playing out a goalless draw in a half-empty Stadium of Light. Rovers could have been ahead in the first few minutes - but Christopher Samba headed wide. Roque Santa Cruz also looked perfectly placed to give Blackburn the lead before the break, as did Morten Gamst Pedersen. His shot was cleared off the line by Chimbonda. To be fair to Sunderland they did get the ball in the net but the shot was ruled to be offside.
The game gave a debut to new boy Gael Givet when he came on for the final 20 minutes. Vice Grella was on the wrong end of a bad tackle that went unpunished. That's sure to annoy Big Sam. The Rovers manager told reporters "The replay is a game which both of us could probably do without. We didn't lose but we wanted to get a result and get into the next round. It was a disappointment that we failed to convert three glorious chances in the first half. Pascal Chimbonda's save on the line was pretty miraculous from Morten Gamst Pedersen's shot so I can't blame him for that but Christopher Samba's header at the near post and Roque Santa Cruz's one-on-one with their keeper are the sort of chances we expect to convert."
It was also 0-0 when the two sides met in the league at Sunderland last December, with Rovers beating the north east side in the League cup in November (1-2) but loosing at home by the same scoreline the next week in the league at home. The replay will be their 5th meeting this season.
(January 24th 2009)
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DYNAMIC DUO DO IT AGAIN
Rovers up to 16th ...
Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Newcastle United
A totally forgettable first half saw neither team impress - and at 0-0 it was a relief when Rob Styles blew his whistle. The performance had to improve - and it certainly did! David Edgar challenged Benni in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. McCarthy made no mistake, and just short of the hour Rovers were ahead. The goal seemed to bring the game to life, and five minutes later strike partner Jason Roberts made it 2-0. Benni was replaced by Roque Santa Cruz, but it was Roberts who added the third for Rovers, this time connecting with a Morten Gamst Pedersen cross and tapping home. Vince Grella and David Dunn also came off the bench to replace Chris Samba (injured) and Tugay. Newcastle finished the game with 10 men after Nicky Butt collected a second yellow and saw red. Just like the Christmas fixture at home to Manchester City - it was another great afternoon for Benni and Jason who played and scored together.
A delighted Sam Allardyce told RADIO ROVERS that at half time he never imaged a three goal win ... but in a classic 'game of two halves' the Rovers manager completed his 5th game in charge and undefeated. "At the break I told the lads, stop looking so nervous, stop playing so edgy and play the sort of game that will expose Newcastle's weaknesses. Of course the second half, started evenly then we found our way into the game, got our penalty at the crucial time and Benni has tucked it away.... Then we've seen us take the game on from there and Newcastle go under, and we thoroughly deserved to win it on our second half performance."
At the end of the game Rovers had pulled out of the bottom three to 17th - then Chelsea got a late winner over Stoke and that moved Blackburn to 16th. The last time they were above 18th place was at the beginning of last November. Next weekend the FA cup 4th round will see a return trip to Sunderland and then the next massive league game is at home to Bolton on Wednesday January 28th. (January 17th 2009)
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GAEL GIVET DEAL DONE
As expected Blackburn Rovers have signed defender Gael Givet from Marseille on loan for the rest of the season. Rovers also have the option to buy the Frenchman. BBC Sport report that the 27 year old International played 29 times for Marseille last season, has 13 caps, and can play at left-back or the centre of defence.
There's also news this evening that IF Roque Santa Cruz makes a move to Man City, Australian striker Marc Janko could be a target. Mirror.co.uk say Paul Ince had lined up the player who looks like a great buy as he's already scored 34 goals this season! The paper say he's currently at Red Bull Salzburg, but was in the UK this week to discuss terms. (January 15th 2009)
bbc.co.uk (Givet) ALSO mirror.co.uk (Janko)

FIRST SIGNING FOR SAM
Blackburn Rovers have made their first January signing adding 19 year old striker Nick Blackman to the team. The youngster joins Rovers from Macclesfield, and has been training with the club. BBC Sport also report that Sam has also taken Ivory Coast international defender Marco Zoro on trial from Benfica. It's also reported that Blackburn are 'close' to completing a loan deal for France international defender Gael Givet from Marseille.
ALSO on the transfer front news that former Rover James Beatie has agreed terms with Stoke City - ending rumours that the local lad might return home. (January 12th 2009)
bbc.co.uk

FROZEN OFF IN LONDON
Fulham v Blackburn no show
Rovers got within 90 minutes of playing their Premier League game at Craven Cottage - but match referee Rob Styles decided an area of the playing surface was 'unplayable' and called the game off at 13:30 GMT. The pitch had been covered up overnight - but once it was exposed to the sub zero conditions it quickly became too dangerous to host the game. Manchester City's long trip to Portsmouth suffered a similar disappointment - with Fratton Park down to -7C through the night. For Blackburn the games that did take place returned an almost perfect set of results with bottom team West Brom beaten at Aston Villa to stay below Rovers, Middlesbrough and Sunderland finishing 1-1, and Newcastle only claiming a point in a 2-2 at home to West Ham. Sundays early game saw Spurs loose to an injury time goal at Wigan - pushing them back into the bottom three just 2 points ahead of Rovers.
Blackburn are at home to Newcastle on Saturday (17th January) before two away games in the FA cup and Premier League (January 11th 2009)

RAISED ROQUE OFFER REJECTED
Blackburn Rovers have rejected the latest offer from Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz. Having bid around £12 million in the summer, Mark Hughes told reporters that they were now prepared to pay "significantly higher than that". The former Blackburn Manager said "We still want to bring him to the club if we can but he is Blackburn's player and they don't want to deal at the level we have made a bid at. That is their prerogative."
Santa Cruz only signed a new four year deal with Rovers in the Summer. The Daily Mail claim that the Paraguayan is "anxious to quit Blackburn for Manchester City." and they quote Hughes as saying "There is an escape clause in his contract, but the release clause doesn't come in until the summer. We have bid a realistic figure, but that is clearly a different figure from what they think they require to allow a player to leave. We accept that. We are just trying to make it happen now but there is a certain level that we won't go above and there may come a time when we just walk away." (January 8th 2009)
bbc.co.uk PLUS dailymail.co.uk

CARLOS CUP CHEER
Blyth Spantans 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Carlos Villanueva's free kick saw Rovers avoid the potential banana skin in the North East as Blackburn progressed to the 4th round of the FA Cup. His first - and only other goal - came in the League cup against Grimsby. The first half was largely dominated by the visitors - but they couldn't make it county. Sam made eleven changes - and the game gave the new manager a chance to see several player in action for the first time. Matt Derbyshire started up front and thought he might claim a first half lead - but he was judged to be off side. Carlos Villanueva's curling free-kick - just short of an hour in - finally gave Rovers the lead they deserved. Rovers needed to defend late into the piece - as Blyth continued to try and force an Ewood replay - but Blackburn held out. 3,445 were at Croft Park on a bitter night - and the non league outfit provided a decent playing surface and competitive opposition. Sam Allardyce told reporters they should have won by a bigger margin:- "It was comfortable until the last few minutes, but having not converted our chances they were bound to get a chance at some stage. It'd have been disappointing not to win. We should've been more clinical. I was frustrated we didn't see the game out completely. They need the mentality to change the way they play."
Blackburn will now face Sunderland away in the next round - another trip to the North East - and for the fourth time this season. (January 5th 2009)
bbc.co.uk (full report and interviews) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction) ALSO facup08-09

Nolan makes permanent move to PNE
After a period on loan at Deepdale, Rovers 20 year old defender Eddie Nolan has made a permanent move to Preston. North End Manager Alan Irvine told reporters “I am really pleased. We signed Eddie on loan and hoped that it would become a permanent deal and it has done now. I think will see the promise and potential that Eddie has got."
The Republic of Ireland Under 21 has a agreed a three and a half year deal with the Lancashire club. He only made one senior appearance for Blackburn during his time at Ewood. (5th January 2009)
rovers.co.uk

ANOTHER (POTENTIAL) TRIP TO SUNDERLAND
Rovers get FA Cup away tie in the North East
The draw for the 4th round of the FA cup saw Blackburn Rovers away again - if they beat Blyth Spartans on Monday Night. And it could be another trip to the Stadium of Light! Rovers beat Sunderland 2-1 in the League cup quarter finals & have already played them home & away in the league. Of course for Blyth the potential derby match will be added incentive when they meet Rovers in the 3rd round tie.
The full draw is :-
Liverpool v Everton Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur Hull City/Newcastle United v Millwall/Crewe Alexandra Sunderland v Blyth Spartans/Blackburn Rovers Hartlepool United v West Ham United Leyton Orient/Sheffield United v Charlton Athletic/Norwich City Cardiff City v Arsenal Portsmouth/Bristol City v Histon/Swansea City Chelsea/Southend United v Ipswich Town Cheltenham Town/Doncaster Rovers v Aston Villa West Bromwich Albion/Peterborough United v Queens Park Rangers/Burnley Torquay United v Coventry City Kettering Town v Fulham Watford v Leicester City/Crystal Palace Derby County v Nottingham Forest Birmingham City/Wolverhampton Wanderers v Middlesbrough - Matches to be played weekend of 24th January 2009 (4th January 2009)
thefa.com

SKY SPORTS report that Blackburn Rovers have agreed a move for Sergio Peter to Sparta Prague after a period on trail with the Czech club. Sergio joined Rovers in 2005 and made 25 appearances for the club. He's been on loan at Cercle Brugge where he played in 17 games. The transfer (when confirmed) will be Rovers first of the January window. (January 2nd 2009)

skysport.com ALSO wikipedia.org (Sergio biog)
FOR ALL LAST YEARS (2008) STORIES FOLLOW THIS LINKS (click here)

UNBELIEVABLE!!
Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Manchester City
At 87'00 Blackburn Rovers had a 2-0 lead & were in line to pick up all three points - then City spoiled Christmas!
It had been a great afternoon - with Rovers soaking up anything that City had to offer and claiming a 1-0 half time score with Benni McCarthy finding the back of the net as two minutes of injury time kicked in. Rovers continued to create more chances in the second half - while Man City struggled to get past the back four. Mark Hughes brought on Micah Richards, Daniel Sturridge and Darius Vassell - while Sam Allardyce chose to replace Tugay with Aaron Mokoena & Matt Derbyshire for Benni. On 83'00 minutes 'Man of the Match' Jason Roberts added Rovers second - and it looked to be all over. Sadly it wasn't, firstly sub Sturridge pulled it back to 2-1, and then with four minutes of time added on Robinho ruined all Rovers fans day finding a second for City with the last kick of the match. Unbelievable! The Panto season was alive and well just across the road from the Thwaites Theater!
The draw felt like a loss - despite being Sam's third game in charge a Blackburn going three games undefeated. Sam told RADIO ROVERS he was shell-shocked; "I feel like I've had all my Christmas presents taken from the bottom of the tree on Christmas morning. With the position that we are in it is so cruel to be left where we are in the league table but it is a fact of life now and we have to accept it.... Generally in the course of the three games we have now thrown away at least two points, probably four, and I thought that those three points were going to come here today and put us on a level playing field almost with some of the people slightly above us. But instead we've still got that distance between us, which takes another win as long as they lose, just to get back in amongst it, and that is the big challenge now."
The result sees Rovers end 2008 second bottom - with 18 points from their first 20 games. West Brom won earlier and for a while sent Blackburn bottom ... The New Year starts away in the FA Cup at Blyth Spartans on January 5th. (28t December 2008)

FROM gjmedia.co.uk - A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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