TWELVE months ago, faced with a blank weekend due to international commitments,

I sat here wondering what on earth to write for this column.

On that occasion Sven's charges saved the day by going nap against a hapless German outfit. No such luck at Villa Park on Saturday.

All I can say is thank god I didn't pay £40 for the dubious privilege of watching first hand the charade which passed off as competitive action.

After a good enough first half, the second half saw the same passionless kind of non-performance we've suffered several times recently.

By way of explanation most commentators point to the game's friendly status and the inevitable welter of substitutions.

That argument falls down slightly on a couple of counts.

The same thing happened in the heat of World Cup battle against Sweden and Brazil.

And after all these are the best 18 players in the country on display. Is it too much to expect "a performance" for the full 90 minutes, no matter which eleven players happen to be on the field at the time?

In general the international friendly seems to be dying a slow and painful death.

The fans will surely start to desert in droves if denied a proper game.

If no one plays longer than 45 minutes, fans and Premiership managers alike are perfectly entitled to ask "What's the point?"

And throwing all the substitutes on is fine and dandy but what if someone subsequently picks up a genuine injury and needs to be replaced?

Looking at Saturday's game in particular, one thing stood out like a sore thumb.

Brian Clough once said that the secret of management lay in identifying what players the team needed and then making darn sure that every single one of them in the dressing room gave absolutely everything week in week out.

I'm no tactical genius but I know one thing. You don't get the best out of a player playing him out of position. Emile Heskey is no more a left sided midfield player than say Niall Quinn. Lee Bowyer, an outstanding central midfielder found himself stuck out on the right.

And midfielder Owen Hargreaves at right back. Do me a favour. The only "man on the post" I've seen duck out of the way of a goal.

From a Rovers viewpoint the only real interest was the debut of David Dunn. A solid and satisfactory rather than spectacular start from our local hero which was more than could be said for some of the rest.

There was one sublime through ball to Owen which the Liverpool man miserably failed to control completely in keeping with his current wretched form.

After all that bilge thank goodness for the return of the cut and thrust of the Premiership tomorrow night.

A cracker it should be too as we entertain Chelsea. Claudio Rainieri has his critics but Chelsea are no longer the pushovers on their travels they were a couple of seasons ago.

I can see a tight game being settled by the odd goal. Let's hope it falls to Andy Cole who looks badly in need of a confidence boosting strike.

Sunday's trip to Maine Road could see an entirely different encounter in which the scoreline could be anything.

Whatever happens I'm sure both games will be infinitely more entertaining than Ericsson's England and restore our faith in "The Beautiful Game."