Personal milestone

Ewood legend Ronnie Clayton is celebrating his 70th birthday but despite the passing of time, the former England captain has lost none of the passion and love for the game that made him a hero to thousands of Rovers fans in the 1950s and 1960s.

Clayton was the epitome of the perfect club professional.

He arrived at Ewood in the summer of 1949 with his younger brother, Ken, and by the time he left some 20 years later, he had clocked up a staggering 665 appearances for his beloved Rovers, scoring 16 goals.

There were times when he could have quit and sought more tangible rewards elsewhere.

But Clayton was a one-club man and Rovers through and through and he could look back now at 70 with immense pride at what he went on to achieve.

"I've been here for a long, long time and I think it's a wonderful club," said Ronnie, who still gives guided tours of Ewood.

"I played nearly 700 times for Blackburn and captained them for quite a long time, too, so it's been my life and this club has been very, very good to me."

Clayton also enjoyed a long and distinguished career with England, for whom he won 35 senior caps.

While on international duty, he crossed paths with the legendary Pele and he counts that encounter, plus his early days at Rovers, amongst his most treasured memories.

"It's nice to think I was in the Rovers' first team at 16. I was an amateur then on £2 a week," recalls Ronnie.

"Then I went on to play for England against people like Pele, who was wonderful.

"Thankfully, I had a good game against him. Mind you, I kicked him 27 times just to slow him down a bit!

"But, seriously, I've been lucky to play with and against some fabulous players.

"Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne.

"It's been a wonderful life and hopefully it will keep on going."

Ronnie had a heart-attack earlier this year but, thankfully, he's since made a full recovery and he plans to spend his big day with family and friends.

I'm sure I speak for all Rovers fans in wishing him well.