TRon

What else are we going to get on free transfers? I'm surprised there's even someone with this sort of pedigree.

Same here. Blackburn have done ok after Fat Sam left and with us looking less solid in the last few games I think winning would need us to score a couple of goals. With us struggling for strikers I can't see it, not at their place.

Nolan was pretty wound up - credit for that - his arm went towards the ball the goalkeeper was holding and Chesney moved his body to make a meal of it - so the keeper is responsible for the incident. Also loved the angry manner in which Nolan threw his drink bottle to the ground as he walked to the tunnel at the end, it said a lot about how wound up he was and what it meant to him. A lot has been said about the team and individual's performances in the second half, but I'm sure had Kevin Nolan not been in our dressing room and on the pitch we would not have got that result. He is a big, big player for us. It's a double edged sword really. Nolan couldn't get near any of the Arsenal midfielders in the first half, he really only came into the game when they lost a man in midfield. His attitude is great...physically he just can't live with some teams.

Tiote did an interview in the Independent before the Arsenal game, and he said this is a fantastic club. He's clearly happy here but there are going to be clubs chasing his signature this summer. I'd only be really worried if one of them was Chelsea because they will pay whatever it takes.

That's the only way we can look at it philosophically. In a year or two we might be in a position to pay wages like th CL clubs, in the meantime if we can hold onto our best players great, if we can't at least we can get big enough money to improve the squad overall at the expense of losing one player. Then keep our fingers crossed Pardew knows how to spot a player.

Simpson has grown on me a lot. I still think he's a bit raw when going forward and doesn't have a great right foot like say, Ryan Taylor. But he has bags of heart, is a good defender and clearly takes a lot of pride in the shirt. No surprise that he was one of the leading players who took the battle to Arsenal in the second half.

we only knocked them back as an encouragment for them to buy in the summer. or come back with a better price.

I don't think we actively want to sell our best players but there's no way we can compete with Chelseas or Liverpools when it comes to wages. If in the summer Chelsea whisper in Tiote's agents ear that they can triple his wages then table a £15million starting bid are we really going to hang onto him?

Seems to be in quite a few news stories if you google for Tiote. I doubt we'll turn down Chelsea's money no object bid in the summer.

Best's close control is surprisingly good...unless you ignore the tits who post on this site. Which I think I will from now on.

Don't think anything can top this considering the blows we've been taking and what we were up against. Still haven't worked out where we got the strength to come back.

This would have been more apt:

I'm pretty sure Shearer and Hughton made the same error in their stints as manager, that's one of the downsides of constantly changing the man at the helm, you are going to see the same mistakes being repeated. I'm not going to carp though I just don't feel like slagging anyone after today.

That should be the name of the official DVD of this match. Like it.

He probably is shit but I can see him getting 3 or 4 more goals for us and if they keep us up I'll be happy enough.

It was "BOOM! BOOM! CHEICK CHEICK THE ROOM!!!" what a spacker loved it

That second half will go down as the 45 mins that saved our season.

I'm glad he scored today because he was getting tremendous flak in the match thread. But he's got balls if nowt else because he didn't hide and kept going for the goal. Important player for us now because he holds the ball up reasonably well. Pleased for the lad.

I think the lads saved him today. He was probably starting to lose some of his swagger but it will be back in spades after this.

we did really, Best scored a perfectly good goal.

Have you changed your mind about the effect the Carroll sale has had on morale yet? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe not

Feel chuffed for the supporters who stuck around to see that.

Hypocritical comment that, considering your slagging off of Nolan. how? he's never rated Nolan and he's always stuck up for Best.

this. Get a grip ffs.