Odds choice IS IT me or are the Football Association working in increasingly mysterious ways.

I read with interest yesterday a story sent out by the Press Association regarding the odds for the next England manager after the public campaign to appoint Terry Venables appeared to hit the buffers.

And who's just been installed as the red-hot favourite to succeed Kevin Keegan but our old friend Roy Hodgson.

Just what is it about the England set-up at the minute and it's obvious fixation with failed former Rovers personnel.

First, they call on Brian Kidd to step in and help out Howard Wilkinson with training.

Now they appear to be swaying towards Hodgson, the guy who started Rovers slide towards the First Division in the first place!

So just what's their criteria -- you've got to be fluent in 23 languages and wear a silk handerchief in your blazer pocket.

Oh, and just to extend the Rovers theme, guess who's second favourite according to the bookies???

No, not Bobby Saxton, but Lazio boss Sven-Goran Eriksson -- the man Rovers had originally targetted ahead of Hodgson, themselves!

It just goes to show, football is certainly not the exact science some of us believe. Taking care WHILE we are on the subject of the England team, I hear the FA are now considering the possibility of installing Bobby Robson as caretaker until a permanent replacement is found.

But surely if they are thinking of doing that then should be going for the most successful caretaker in the business -- our very own Tony Parkes.

Ironically, Tony was back in the old routine this week -- albeit very briefly.

A traffic jam on the motorway meant Graeme Souness was absent from yesterday morning's weekly press conference at Brockhall.

So who better to step in and take his place than Tony.

Now I make that his sixth spell in the Ewood hot-seat!

Birthday shirt BLACKBURN Rovers will step back in time later this month for a very special celebration of the club's anniversary.

Rovers' home game with Wolves on November 18 marks the club's 125th anniversary and they've been given special permission to wear a 'retro' shirt for the match to mark the occasion.

The strip will have no logos or branding on it and the players will wear numbers 1 to 11.

A label on the inside will also carry the initials 'JW' in tribute to the late Jack Walker.

Ewood chief executive John Williams said: "We felt the wearing of a commemorative shirt would be the perfect way to mark our 125th anniversary and we have kept as close to the original style as we could, which means the blue part is slightly lighter in shade.

"We cannot emphasise enough just how are very grateful to the officers at the Football League and our two main sponsors, Time and Kappa, for their co-operation in making this possible."