It may have been a case of the princes meeting the paupers at Eastlands yesterday but despite the gulf between the clubs in terms of resources, personnel and hard cash, nothing could separate them after 90 minutes. I won't pretend to say Rovers were the better side but for sheer determination, commitment and sticking to a game plan, we certainly deserved a share of the spoils.

Allardyce once again proved to be tactically astute. He set the team up with the one intention of frustrating and stifiling City's play makers. To do this, he needed to rely on his tried and trusted generals, Messrs Robinson and Samba. The Rovers skipper led by example and his foot soldiers danced to his beat, while the Rovers keeper was his usual consistent self. Ironically, it was one of Robinson's successors that provided further evidence that his decision to solely concentrate on all things Ewood, may have been hasty.

There must be something about Nikola Kalinic and perfectly competent goalkeepers suddenly losing all sense of reality. For Tim Howard, now read Joe Hart. The encouraging thing for Rovers fans is that we have a centre forward who is prepared to chase down greater lost causes than Shergar and have a chance of his persistence being rewarded.

City proved again yesterday that packing a team with galacticos does not necessarily provide the success the investment suggests.

Investment has indeed been on the minds of Rovers supporters in the last month. The proposed take over may or may not have hit a stumbling block but it is vital that a definite decision is reached quickly. Inactivity in the August window frustrated many fans but this was necessary while negotiations took place. The same scenario cannot take place in the run up to the January merry-go-round.

The Rovers board and marketing department can again be commended for their aggressive ticketing strategies. Fulham next Saturday is charged at just £10 for all sections of the ground and £5 for concessions. That is the case for Fulham fans too (I wonder if Mr. Fayed will return the favour in the Spring?) Meanwhile the club have announced the details for the eagerly anticipated trip to the Fylde Coast in 2 weeks time against Blackpool. 1800 seats were never going to be sufficent but the club have rewarded season ticket holders who attended a number of away games last season with priority. It will be an interesting day out regardless of the result.