Jack Holden and Michael Ryan

[ClaretTony]

Jack Holden: “just coming up on half time here at Ewood Park the score is Blackburn 0 Ipswich 3, and it’s all Rovers”

Brilliant - he would always say they were so much on top even when they were getting a hammering.

[martin_p]

that whistle in Radio Lancashire used to stop me in my tracks ! "Goal action on BBC Radio Lancashire" haha

That jingle used to create a feeling of terror if we were a goal up with 5 minutes to go.

[martin_p]

In these days of almost instantaneous match updates on phone apps it’s incredible to look back and remember how we used to follow the match if we couldn’t be there. There was a choice. If you had access to a radio then Radio Lancs/Blackburn was the best bet. Failing that you could ‘watch the match’ on Ceefax, watching those pages flick round for 90 minutes, or you could even take out a second mortgage to ring for updates from Clubcall. Then in the days before Ceefax, if you missed the results on Grandstand or Sports Report then it was a case of standing outside the newsagents waiting for The Pink to turn up!

[Vegas Claret]

That jingle used to create a feeling of terror if we were a goal up with 5 minutes to go.

yep, exactly what I meant !!!!

[RammyClaret61]

Jack Holden.

I remember a game towards the end of one of the seasons in the late 80's where Rovers were chasing promotion, Jack was boasting how there was going to be a massive crowd at Ewood, as Nuttall Street was the busiest he'd seen it in nearly twenty years.

Attendance announced as just over 12,000

He was never good with crowds. I remember he was reporting on our first home game of the season after the Sherpa Van Final. It was against Rochdale I think. He announced a sparse crowd of about 2-3,000. It was actually nearer 7,000.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

I used to play cricket with Alan White at Belvedere 3rds. Lovely man. Much better than the quick spin / wobbly seam he expected me to stand up to!!

[Madpete]

Strange reading this about Jack Holden as I used to love his ever so fluent summarising after the matches…a real treat whereas Norman Shakeshaft was almost boring by comparison.I never spotted Jack’s bias but never expected any from BBC broadcasting…how naive am I?

[Madpete]

PS Coming from Shaw,near Oldham & living in Bacup I loved the different accents in the phone-in after the matches.Blackpool,Preston,Blackbipurn & Burnley,all so distinctive to my ear…great days now I’m old!

[Madpete]

Ha,ha Blackburn! but Clarets might prefer my spelling!

[ClaretTony]

I thought of Alf Thornton the other night when we scored. When Terry Cochrane scored there in 1977/78 Alf said it was lucky because it just got caught in the wind. I just wondered what he'd have made of Manuel Benson's goal.

[claretbob]

It summed up Radio Blackburn that Jack Holden was sent to report on our first game of the post Wembley season in 1988. When asked what the crowd had been he told the listeners it was no more than 5000 when it was closer to 8000. For some reason I still recall being really wound up by that. I guess the o my thing we had to post about in those days was the great level of support for a 4th division club and he even refused us that consolation.
It’s mental how little coverage we receive when a team like Middlesbrough have BBC Tees dedicated entirely to them. When Rovers were in the Prem they were always discussed first because of their status but when it was our turn to rule the roost the same stance didn’t seem to apply. On the drive back from Ewood all they were talking about was Accie Stanley beating Bolton. No problem with Accie but the fact they only took 250 fans to the Breeze block would suggest even there own fans were more interested in the proper East Lancs derby.

[nil_desperandum]

On the drive back from Ewood all they were talking about was Accie Stanley beating Bolton. No problem with Accie but the fact they only took 250 fans to the Breeze block would suggest even there own fans were more interested in the proper East Lancs derby.

To be fair, Accie winning away at Bolton was a real shock result, whereas our win at Ewood, well, just routine and expected.

[ClaretTony]

To be fair, Accie winning away at Bolton was a real shock result, whereas our win at Ewood, well, just routine and expected.

I wish you'd told me that it was routine and expected before kick off

[Silkyskills1]

In these days of almost instantaneous match updates on phone apps it’s incredible to look back and remember how we used to follow the match if we couldn’t be there.

For us oldies try and imagine what it was like when we played Man City away to win the First Division title in 1960. Arguably the most important/ significant game of the season and no coverage at all.

[ClaretTony]

For us oldies try and imagine what it was like when we played Man City away to win the First Division title in 1960. Arguably the most important/ significant game of the season and no coverage at all.

The one I always remember was the FA Cup semi replay against Fulham two years later, we just couldn’t get the result anywhere.

[Buxtonclaret]

Burnley Club Call, that takes me back a bit, spent a bob or 2 with them most Saturday nights/Sunday mornings.
We've made some progress since then.

Used to dread my phone bill when that was going.