Positives from getting beat by Man Yoo

It's never pleasant to lose to that lot. And the walk back to our car up Livesey Branch Road was the wettest yomp ever.

Here are ten positives from yesterday, clutching at straws I know, but it could have been worse:

Face facts, we've come out of a good run, we meet this lot and they are very, very good. Rooney is deadly, Berbatov a fine footballer and Ferdinand very solid. What a spine. Ronaldo, however much he's a diving prick, is a marvellous player to watch. So, we got beaten, but by an excellent opposition.

The fifteen minute spell when we looked like the better side. Roque would have nailed it against lesser sides. They didn't like it up 'em.

We seem to have cut out the defensive errors that would have made the score even worse.

Jason Brown. He looked quality. The save from Giggs was awesome. Their first goal from the resulting corner shouldn't have been given and it was cruel on him. He deserved the home team man of the match award.

Tugay. What a master. He can still hold his own on the most part even against Giggs and Berbatov, but lacked a fetcher and carrier to link with. It isn't Andrews, who got closer to the ball when he was on the bench than when he came on. Where is Vogel?

We took Sean and Fraser, two of Joe's school pals and Marple Athletic team mates. They really enjoyed seeing their team win 2-0.

The Roverstore is very good, the experiment with Sports World running the shop and selling shell suits galore was a mess. It's good to have our own temple of tat.

I bought 4000 Holes, the original Rovers fanzine. It was very good in parts. I laughed out loud at the story that Burnley are the 6th most hated club according to a spurious survey and the comment from the Pisoir Pundit that such a position will match their fingers.

I spotted Potty Mouth and Knuckle Head in the old seats. They will have got very wet.

Running total on the season tickets: That would have cost us £132, with booking fees. Add to the previous game, we've chalked off £275 worth from our total outlay. We'll have paid for them soon.

Er, that's about it.