Blackburn Rovers 0 Swindon Town 0 - Peter White's match verdict

EWOOD Park has altered dramatically since one-time fans' scapegoat Jimmy Quinn wore the blue and white shirt like sackcloth and ashes.

But you could almost hear him chuckling as he discovered that little else has changed.

A half-empty ground, boos and jeers from an apprehensive crowd and another totally unsatisfactory performance and result for Blackburn Rovers could all have come straight from Quinn's troubled mid-eighties days as Rovers' number nine.

It must, in fact, have been just like home from home for the current Swindon boss, who saw his poverty-stricken, rock-bottom team claim a point - that's four out of six this season - from Ewood's millionaire misfits.

"I used to get hammered by the fans here but I am still proud to have played here, as I am with all my clubs," recalled Quinn with the kind of positive spirit Ewood currently seems to be lacking.

Rovers find themselves in a division where mediocrity is the watchword and yet they have so pitifully failed to rise above it.

In fact, they seem quite comfortably at home going nowhere.

Most things in football have risen in recent years, the hype, players' wages, cost of admission, the size of stands etc, etc. Only one thing has fallen as far as I can see and that is playing standards outside the Premiership.

If Quinn the player had performed as badly as this in his time, he wouldn't have been booed out of the ground on a Saturday night, he would have been booed out of town.

But it needs repeating that too many of today's highly-paid performers are in the comfort zone.

Do they care enough? Does defeat hurt enough? Does their passion for the cause equal that of the fans who pay so much for their tickets? Not on Saturday's evidence.

I have no intention of criticising crisis club Swindon in any way.

They put together a hotch-potch of a side, who can't even be sure if they will be paid next month, and battled dourly and defensively for a hard-earned point.

Good luck to them.

But it's a sad indictment of Rovers that, for all their pressure and possession, they could not see off what is palpably the worst team in a poor division.

Talking about making the promotion play-offs is laughable on recent form.

Even against such an impoverished side as Swindon, Rovers' defence wobbled whenever anyone shouted "Boo".

Going forward, there was a disturbing lack of real quality, not too much pace and players such as Per Frandsen and Nathan Blake remain troubling enigmas.

Pass and move is the simple way to play this game but Rovers, again, appeared unable to do either to any great effect.

Swindon were rarely a threat, though Rovers would have had only themselves to blame if substitute Charlie Griffin had snatched one of their rare half chances in the last 10 minutes.

There is no question Rovers should have won convincingly but they were so often found wanting.

Twice in the first half the woodwork denied Rovers when they put in a whole series of headers without being able to break the deadlock. Damien Johnson, one of the exceptions when talking about anyone lacking passion, was unlucky to be just too high with a header and, in the 23rd minute, Blake hit the outside of a post as he met Jason McAteer's right-wing cross with his head.

Shortly before half-time, Ward headed onto the crossbar from a quick free kick and Christian Dailly brought a good save from an erratic keeper with yet another header.

But the natives were definitely getting restless with a blank scoreline at the interval.

Little changed after the break.

Rovers pressed forward unconvincingly, Swindon defended in depth and there were few genuine signs of a goal to lift the Ewood faithful.

They groaned when Johson's header forced a flying save, sank into depression when McAteer shot fractionally wide and ultimately jeered when the substitutions were made. Presumably they felt the wrong personnel were replaced.

There was plenty of choice!

But they were pleased to see Garry Flitcroft, given a tremendous welcome, even though it was asking too much of him to change the game.

Flitcroft was a reminder of when we had a real team at Ewood and, after this latest fiasco, you wonder when we will have one again. Damien Duff was perhaps the one player who threatened to produce something different to win the game but even he couldn't manage it with a 79th minute chance set up by Simon Grayson.

Griffin gave Rovers a rare scare then, with two minutes of normal time remaining, came Blake's chance to salvage his reputation after an afternoon of largely aimless wandering around the pitch.

McAteer produced the cross, Blake had time and space to direct his header into the net but, not for the first time in recent weeks, he failed.

And that was that in a game which suggested the play-offs are a distant and unattainable dream.

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