I suppose it could be called the end of an era.

When Matt Jansen applauded all four sides of Ewood Park in the colours of his new club, Bolton Wanderers, after Saturday's game it brought the curtain down on the Blackburn End's relationship with one of its all-time favourite sons.

In the aftermath of the Kidd wreckage when the club was at a low ebb, he, along with his main partners in crime - Duff and Dunn - entered the world of all Rovers fans. When we needed heroes they came to the party and, without wanting to belittle the efforts of others in that promotion-winning side, dragged us up by our bootlaces back to the promised land of the Premiership.

Not since the days of Shearer did the fans have someone who not only did the business on the pitch but that they could identify with as a person. For him to be struck down in his prime when coming so close to a World Cup call-up was not just cruel, it was tragic.

Now rather than get all melancholy over what happened during that fateful day in Rome, I'd prefer to remember all the positive memories that we are so fortunate to have thanks to Matt.

Who can forget his performance at Ewood against Burnley in the April Fool's Day rout or the goal that clinched promotion on that fabulous night at Deepdale?

Post injury, there were the two headed goals at Villa on his comeback and the sublime winning goal against Portsmouth last season.

Finally, who could ever forget the opening goal at the Millennium Stadium and the sheer unbridled joy that he shared with us when it hit the net? That for me encapsulated why he shared such a special relationship with Rovers fans.

When he celebrated, he celebrated with you rather than at you. You got the feeling that if he wasn't on the pitch scoring for you, he'd be with you supporting the team.

Sadly the days of him in at Ewood are now gone and although the parting of the ways was inevitable it is still a real shame that he never fulfilled his true potential in a Rovers shirt.

So it's goodbye to the special talent that was Matt Jansen, gone but certainly never forgotten. Good luck to you Matt.

Now it's time to turn our attentions to the reunion with Graeme Souness this Saturday as he hurtles towards almost certain unemployment.

Unusually our Graeme finds himself beset with injuries, poor form, questionable tactics and with the fans and board turning against him.

His reign up there has been littered with poor buys in the transfer market, high profile bust ups with players and constant references to Lady Luck after almost every defeat.

Where have we all heard that before?

Having said that, the three points that would fire us on towards the top six is the most important thing, but you can bet that there won't be too many Rovers fans shedding a tear if we are to send him to the dole queue.