It seems to be going unnoticed but the sun is setting on this first decade of the new Millennium. How will history judge the last 10 years? We have loved then loathed Big Brother,winced at the endless conveyor belt of D list celebs 'enjoying' their 15 minutes and got carried away believing the good times would last forever by living on the never never.

When the VIP's finally made it into the Dome on that New Year's Eve a decade ago, few could have imagined that 10 years later, Leeds United would have been drawn to face Accrington Stanley in a consolation cup designed to pacify lower division clubs and offer a route to Wembley. The wider football world has seen significant change. For Rovers however, it has been a decade of consolidation.

The first opposition of the new Millennium were Wolves watched in front of a crowd of more than 24,000 at Ewood. The team was being steered to mid table mediocrity by Mr 'Blackburn', Tony Parkes. Brian Kidd had been fired 6 weeks earlier and the club was 3 months away from aquiring the services of Graeme Souness. Rovers were in the 2nd tier.

Just 4 short years had passed since the ultimate prize had been claimed. But times had changed. The wealth that Rovers enjoyed was now sloshing around and being appreciated by the big city clubs. Many fans felt that their time in the blazing sun had come and gone.

In some ways, this was correct. But there have been many occasions to saviour and some to forget. We have enjoyed promotion, a cup final victory, a season where we flirted with a Champs League position and had fun in Europe. We have also suffered semi final heartache, frequent relegation dog fights and saw some of our more talented players leave just when we were enjoying their presence in blue and white.

The team that started that Wolves game, contained one survivor in Dunn (but he's come and gone and come back again ) and characters which we may have forgotten like Darren Peacock and Ashley Ward. For the record, Egil Ostenstad scored in a 1-1 draw.

It is likely that only the insane would include 'The Egil' in their team of the noughties, but who would make the grade? This is part 1.

Goalkeeper nominations...John Filan, Brad Friedel, Paul Robinson.

Only one runner, Brad Friedel! It's amazing to think that the fans were unimpressed when they heard that Souness was to sign his old keeper. In their eyes, John Filan was number 1 and had become a firm favourite with the Blackburn End. Any doubts were quickly dispelled when Friedel produced a confident performance in one of his first games against Burnley. Friedel was always cool and calm under pressure and brilliant in a one-on-one situation. His agility for such a big man was incredible and time after time he saved his side almost single handedly. Arguably his best sesason was 2002/3. One particular match that springs to mind was the 2-1 away win at Arsenal. The man was posessed!

Centre Back nominations......Craig Short, Ryan Nelsen, Chris Samba.

These 3 are the outstanding choices but with only 2 births to fill, I am going to plump for Short and Samba. Nelsen is a popular player and a great favourite with the supporters. He was outstanding when he first arrived at the club in 2005 and made a massive contribution in the run to the Semi Final of the Cup. However, he is not the player he was before his injury and for that reason, Samba gets the nod.

Craig Short was magnificent and could organise those around him. He was commanding and a hard tackler but never crude. We forget how well he could distribute the ball when moving out of defence and the big long hoof was rarely used (note to Sam!) He is worthy of a place.

Right Back nominations......Lucas Neil, Andre Ooijer,

Neil takes it by way of his ability to get forward. The more popular Ooijer who came to club as a centre half ended up playing more games at right back. He was less mobile than Neil but still a good servant to the club.

Left Back nominations.......Stephen Warnock

Rovers haven't been blessed in this department in the last decade.We had been spoilt with the likes of Alan Wright and Le Saux. Many have tried but ultimately failed to make the position their own, from Jay McEveley to Vratislav Gresko.It took Stephen Warnock as late as Jan 2007 to stamp his mark. His performances should have earned him an England cap. Funny that he has been called up into the squad now he is at Villa!

The midfield and forward positions will follow soon.