No Richie on current leg of the tour

So Richie leaving is fine, the problem is Jon won't lower his ego enough to ask him to come back? That's your issue?

Which was also said at the same time as Jon wants to see if he can sell out stadiums without him which MAKES NO SENSE since Richie is the one who left the tour, he didn't get thrown off the tour. IF Richie really made those statements, it comes across like he has a mental problem.

Phil x, a ordinary guitarist, is simply competent. But he has no feeling when touched, just a pose. He can learn so many songs, he is not a great writer-composer, only the improved version of Bobby. Never has written or participated in a big hit.

I think some people need to remember all the concerts that have been dissected and ripped to shreds on this board, while Richie was with the band. So apparently Richie is not the savior of Bon Jovi as they can give sucky shows, even with him there. Just sayin'

All this nonsense about Jon's ego- what about Richie's ego? If this whole thing actually is a Jon/Richie bust up (Rolo, care to share whatever confirmation you seem to have???), why is it assumed Richie is the victim? It could be Richie that's on the power trip, and "Jon making it difficult" could very well translate as "Jon isn't kissing my ass enough"

It's a pity Phil X has pre-emptively proven your words to be absolute sh*te by totally nailing solos such as those in Dry County- not easy for an "ordinary guitarist". He's not perfect but he's doing a much better job of being Bon Jovi's guitarist right now than Richie Sambora is.

American idol, beautiful voices, better than Bob Dylan, should replace it?

I know a lot of guitarists better than Keith Richards, but would not be happy watching them play with the rolling stones.

I repeat, phil doesn't it better than Sambora.

Well, lets narrow it down. Last nights show, I'd give Phil 8/10. Richie gets 0/10. So I'LL repeat- Phil is doing a better job of being Bon Jovi's guitarist than Richie is right now.

And have you heard Bob Dylan's voice? Even in his prime it was awful. He writes magnificent songs but yes, I'd have someone else sing them in a heartbeat.

Becky, I'm not saying that Jon is at fault because all I can say is what I've said from the beginning. We don't know who's at fault because we don't know the reasons behind this whole mess.

However, when you repeatedly insist that these statements attributed to Richie don't make sense "because RICHIE is the one who walked," the one thing you seem determined to ignore is that it may have been the attitude that Jon could do it all by himself (i.e., HE is Bon Jovi and Richie, Tico and David are just the backup band) that caused Richie to walk out. IF that were the case (and I'm not saying that it is) then Richie's comments would make sense and would not indicate that there is a mental problem.

And the fact that Jon didn't deny (in the Portuguese interview) that Richie made such a statement is only adding credibility to the idea that Richie may have indeed made the statements attributed to him. And IF THAT is the case, then I think it's pretty clear that all is not well amongst our boys in JoviLand and I doubt seriously that the blame can be laid at any one pair of feet - even the ones that walked away.