The 1,000 free tickets for the Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham match on March 24 have been snapped up in less than 24 hours.
The tickets were available thanks to Blackburn Rovers teaming up with Blackburn with Darwen Council and were given away on a first come, first served basis. Tickets were limited to four per family.
Blackburn with Darwen Council has teamed up with Blackburn Rovers in a 1,000 ticket giveaway for the Birmingham match on March 24 at Ewood Park.
The tickets will be given away on a first come, first served basis and will be limited to four per family.
Councillor Michael Law-Riding, executive member for leisure and culture for the Council said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for people to watch a top flight, premiership football match at a very crucial stage in the season. I am sure the tickets will be snapped up within a couple of days.”
Tom Finn, managing director at Blackburn Rovers added: "Following the launch of the 'Taking Back Ewood' campaign, we have had great success in drawing fans from all over the North West. However this is an excellent opportunity for people in our core catchment area who have never been to Ewood, to come down and experience a live Premier League game."
Anyone wanting free tickets should telephone the Council’s beeZ hotline on (01254) 708080 before the closing date of Wednesday March 16. A high volume of requests are expected so if the line is busy please be patient and keep trying.
"They Used To Play On Sat'days" is the title of the latest book written by Darwen author Andrew Rigby.
As a lifelong fan of Blackburn Rovers he took the decision to write about ten of their greatest players between the two Wembley appearances of 1960 and 1987.
Mr Rigby told us "I wanted to write a book about the team I've supported all my life to explain what it was like supporting them in those days."
"Although Rovers have seen success in numerous competitions throughout their long history, they recorded their lowest ever league position between the two Wembley appearances"
After losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1960 FA Cup final, supporters witnessed a poor run of form which eventually saw the team in the lower half of the old Third Division.
"Even though times were very difficult for the team in those days we still had some great players, people who I enjoyed watching and individuals who could almost win a a game on their own."
"The players didn't receive huge pay packets or as much media attention as they do these days but they played with real passion for the team." Andrew went on to explain.
The book isn't the first one by the Darwen born Rovers author. In 2005 he wrote a book about local people during World War II and later co-wrote Birch Hall Memories about Darwen Cricket Club. His latest book is available from WH Smiths or Darwen Market for just £10.
Of the ten Rovers players featured, the book includes:
Ronnie Clayton
Bryan Douglas
Mike England
Tony Field
Howard Kendall
Simon Garner
Ryan Nelsen predicts exciting times ahead for Blackburn under the guidance of manager Paul Ince. The new manager still has to win over some of the fans and TV pundits but the Rovers captain is confident for the future.
Despite being tipped by some for a relegation battle this season Rovers have had quite an impressive start to the season including away wins at Newcastle and Everton.
Full Story: Sky Sports
Paul Ince felt Blackburn deserved to reach the Carling Cup fourth round after beating Everton.
Full Story: Sky Sports
Stephen Warnock has told rovers.co.uk that he has not handed in a transfer request despite rumours in the press.
It would seem that the full back was simply the latest "target" for the national press who seem hell bent on creating unrest within the team ahead of the new season.
Hardly a day goes by without a story appearing from nowhere suggesting there is a player revolt or criticising new manager Paul Ince.
It is unfair to even try judging Ince before a ball has been kicked in his first season as a Premiership manager, yet rumours like the one surrounding Warnock seem to hint there is a bad feeling within the Rovers camp.
However, the England international has rejected speculation that he is planning to follow Brad Friedel and David Bentley to the Ewood exit door.
"The reports are rubbish, I have not handed in a transfer request," Warnock explained to rovers.co.uk.
Meanwhile, all is not rosy for former boss Mark Hughes. The Manchester City manager hasn't been given the huge transfer kitty promised by the club as they lured him away from Ewood Park. Instead it looks as though Hughes will be forced to sell players first if he wants to add fresh faces to the squad.
Reports say that the Welshman is concerned about recent attempts to sell players without his consent. Although the City job isn't perhaps turning out the way it was advertised Mark Hughes has no intentions of walking away from the Manchester club.
Shortly after landing Manchester United defender Danny Simspon on loan Paul Ince looks likely to secure the services of Ghanian International Anthony Annan.
The 22 year old spent 2 days training with Blackburn Rovers last week and he was so impressed by Rovers set-up and intent to sign him that he now looks likely to snub reported attention from Chelsea and Aresenal.
He told Nettavisen: "I hope for a response as soon as possible. They [Blackburn] seem interested as, in any case, since they came all the way here to see me. I have always dreamt of playing in England, France or Italy."
The player added "I am ready for new challenges and would like to play for Blackburn if they want me."
Reports that Annan had a trial at Aresenal after spending a couple of days in Lancashire seem untrue, especially as he was watched by Rovers scouts in Norway on Sunday night where he played for Stabaek against Aalesunds FK. Arsene Wenger is also reported as saying he doesn't intend to sign any more midfield players.
Still, following Simpsons decision to join Paul Ince's team over Manchester City and Aston Villa, Rovers fans will be glad to hear that another young player could potentially be choosing Ewood Park over other rival Premiership teams.
Despite the interest from other teams Ince was cautious of signing a player touted as the next Michael Essien on hype alone. "He came to the club for a couple of days, but it wasn’t enough in helping me make a decision and to consider how much we were going to pay for him." He told the Lancashire Telegraph.
"“I don’t think any manager would sign a player on just two days trial - unless they were Lionel Messi or someone like that!"
However Ince insist that he is the type of player he is looking to sign to help strengthen his squad "“We are a little bit light in midfield and that’s one of the areas that we’re looking at.”
Annan's latest comments seem to pour cold water on recent newspaper reports stating the player left Ewood Park frustrated that Blackburn were hesitant over completing the move. The fact Rovers scouts watched the young midfielder a couple of days ago show there is real interest in tying up a deal to bring Annan to Lancashire.
A goal from striker Jason Roberts wasn't enough to give Paul Ince a winning start at Ewood Park. Ince's first home game since taking charge of Rovers was against NAC Breda, the Dutch team striker Maceo Rigters was signed from in 2007.
The forward missed the opportunity to face his old team following his loan move to Championship side Barnsley earlier this week. Instead Rovers strike force included Matt Derbyshire, Jason Roberts and a substitute appearance from Robbie Fowler.
The away side opened the scoring after Rovers failed to clear a first half corner. Hungarian international Csaba Feher's netted after homing in on Matt Derbyshires header following the corner kick.
Rovers had multiple chances to draw level before Roberts finally found the back of the net with a fine header at the back post. Keith Treacy was credited with the assist after fine work down the wing, beating a defender to supply an accurate cross.
Former Liverpool player Robbie Fowler was provided with another opportunity to impress when he came on as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining.
The match represented the final pre-season friendly before the Premiership kicks off next Saturday with an away game against Everton.
The game ended is stale-mate at 1-1 but Ince will take some positives from the game, although he should be concerned his team weren't able to convert more of their chances into goals.
Rovers ran out 2 - 1 winners despite non-league Northwich Victoria taking the lead on 31 minutes.
New signing Paul Robinson is reported to have made a couple of good saves and was unlucky to concede the opening goal to a cruel deflection.
Blackburn lined up with a second strength side which included a few fringe players who impressed in the reserves and on loan last season. Treacy, Gallagher, Kane and Judge are all promising players who could push for a place in the first team with new boss Paul Ince.
John Byrom opened the scoring for the Blue Square Premier side and Blackburn had to wait until the second half before they drew level through a Paul Gallagher strike on 50 mins. It was another deflected goal which eventually decided the outcome of the match when Northwich player Matt Bailey was credited with an own goal 9 minutes after the equalizer.
Local lad Matt Debyshire also got a run out with Fowler partnering McCarthy up front. Fowler, 33, is currently trying to prove he can still cut it at the top level and, although Northwich are a non-league outfit, the game should have improved his fitness and allowed Paul Ince to evaluate his match performance during this pre-season tryout.
The other notable player in Rovers line-up was Zurab Khizanishvili at the back. The game allowed Paul Ince to try out different players and it will be nice to see a few players rewarded with some first team appearances during the coming season. Players like Kane, Treacy and Gallagher will all be hoping to impress Ince after being overlooked by Hughes on many occasions last season.
Meanwhile David Bentley's new team, Tottenham Hotspur, ran out 5 - 1 winners against Leyton Orient. Bentley made the transfer for £15 million following months of speculation. The amount could rise to £17m depending on appearances but it is reported that Arsenal will receive a percentage of the £15m due to a sell-on clause when Rovers originally signed Bentley from the London club in 2006.
The former Norwich player had become unsettled at Blackburn after they failed to qualify for European football and he believed a move to a bigger club would help him further his career, especially on the International scene, however, Spurs actually finished below Rovers in the league last term and it will be interesting to see how both teams fare this season.
Goalkeeper Robinson, who moved in the opposite direction last week after being told he no longer featured in the managers plans at White Hart Lane told the Telegraph "The amount of players Tottenham are losing, it is going to be a rebuilding job for them."
"Not long after Juande Ramos came in, he made his thoughts and things quite clear to everyone, so it is a relief to be out of there now and it's nice to be wanted again."
Both players made the switch to improve their chances of gaining more international caps and the former England #1 added "I have a bit of hunger back which maybe I've missed the last couple of years. I feel I can be England's No 1 again." He also told Sky Sports "I want to start playing well on a consistent level and get back in the England team. I'm 28 and I've got 42 caps and I intend to add to those."
It will be interesting to see which player will benefit the most by switching clubs over the next few seasons. Bentley will be a big loss to Blackburn as he was very impressive in many games since he was signed in 2006, not least in the first game after signing his contract with the Lancashire club - scoring a hat-trick against bitter rivals Manchester United.
However, many big money moves have taken players like Damian Duff & Chris Sutton to bigger London clubs in the past but they've struggled to live up to their price tags in many people's eyes following their moves away from Ewood Park.
Darwen Online will feature more match reports and results from Blackburn Rovers and Darwen FC throughout the 2008/09 season. Bookmark us for and call back for future result and match report / match details. Next up is a friendly against Wolves on Saturday 2nd August at the Molineux stadium.
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