THE throats of Blackburn Rovers supporters are becoming inflamed with panicky rantings.

And, as is usual, there has to be a scapegoat for the current plight.

So, starved of the customary 'sack the board' or 'sack the boss' fodder, a player must take the brunt.

Ironic, then, that the player in question has suffered all season with his own inflamed throat.

To suggest Davies' first season at Ewood had been a success would be as ridiculous as claiming that Martin Dahlin has been missed during his loan period at Hamburg.

But certain facts have to be taken into account.

Davies arrived out of condition after a long absence through injury.

He was not 'fat' as was suggested but had bulked out considerably since his purple patch - in a bad side, remember - when he scored nine goals in 20 starts.

I think that affected his speed in and around the box, and therefore his effectiveness.

Not every young player copes well with record price tags and, the longer his drought progressed, the more the £7.25 million clearly weighed on his mind.

Then illness struck in September. This was no 24-hour bug. Davies was in hospital and on a drip and visitors were shocked by just how ill the player appeared.

He started just nine games before the problem flared up again. A full recovery had clearly not been made.

At the time, his decision to delay an operation until the end of the season was viewed as a brave and selfless gesture. Only when the problem has been effectively tackled, and Davies' summer is spent recuperating on the training ground and not on a Barbados beach, can his potential be accurately gauged by Brian Kidd.

It appears, however, that all this is now being ignored as supporters fumble around for general excuses.

Take the Rovers fan who called that radio show hosted by some pompous, prattling, former MP who is as detached from football as a tonsil after a tonsillectomy.

Frustrated by the loss of a two-goal lead at The Dell, Davies bore the brunt of the supporter's abuse.

Remember Stuart Ripley's return to Ayresome Park a few seasons ago? The player was an emotional wreck and his display reflected that fact.

Yet Davies, entering the game with just 20 minutes remaining and with Southampton already on top, was singled out as the catalyst for Saturday's disaster.

It should be remembered that Rovers have five games remaining and just three fit forwards, with a question mark hanging over the capability of the plucky Kevin Gallacher to last the course.

Davies has a very real part to play in the quest for survival.

And the player's confidence - which took a severe knock under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson and has never really recovered - will not be helped by the vociferous moaners and groaners.

There is one more pertinent fact to bear in mind.

Both his goals for Blackburn have come against Charlton.

And all good things come in threes.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.