TRon

I think the sensible thing would be for Ashley to sell at a lower price and get a deal done. If he still can't sell we could look at it again.

We've got 3 left wingers in Jonas, Duff and Zog, for me it's simple first choice left winger should get the left spot. Both Duff and Zog are capable of playing wide right although I would prefer a right-footed player there.

Don't really see the point in keep switching between Enrique and Bassong. It would make more sense to give Enrique a decent run and explain exactly what is expected, defensively and attacking wise.

Yes but I also see him roughing up defenders, winning some aerial battles, showing some nifty footwork and passing, scoring two goals and winning a pen. That's the Shola package good and bad.

is Milner likely to be starting? I know he was fairly shit on his full debut for Villa.

Probably got something to do with Xisco's signing being connected with Keegan's walk out. Sad state of affairs if he's going to kop a lod of shite without being given a fair chance.

I would have thought we would be up for this one, but it's never easy telling if some of these players will turn up on the day. We need to go in with an attitude that it's a home game and the aim is to turn them over, not worry about what they will do to us.

Martins was on his bike when the flick ons landed anywhere in his vicinity. Did you actually see Shola try to head them in his direction because I didn't. He won a lot of balls in the air and fair play to him for that, but you can't expect Martins to know where each ball is going to drop.

Not bad as a pair yesterday but didn't really dominate the midfield as much as I would have expected. Not sure if that was because WBA had an extra man in midfield and because we sat too deep for a lot of the match. I expected to see Barton in the opposition box a lot more as well. I would like to get another look but I would imagine Butt will be back for the Villa match.

To be fair to him on the goal he was tracking the run of the player then the ball was played inside of him and he couldn't change his run in time. if it had been taylor ? At least Coloccini was marking his man even if he got done by the pass. For the first goal, Taylor left his striker, ended up stranded in no man's land, and the lad he'd stopped marking scored the goal. Andy Gray pointed it out at the time.

f*** me are you f***ing real? your going on about people having a go at xisco then your blasting shola when he had a good game??? I don't rate shola but you can't knock the lad for the way he played last night? he won nearly every ball in the air & held it up well.. Martins was s*** last night never read one knock on by shola I think it was the right decision to take him off.. Imo How can you read any knock on by Shola seeing as they just bounce off his head in random speed and direction? A canny few of them knock on's went straight forward, martins was stood still for 90% of them.. I don't think martins is 100% fit yet but his reading of the game & overall link up last night was pish.. Martins was poor last night but I defy any striker to get on the end of knock ons that land 10 yards away. At least Shola is winning headers these days, that's a start.

His running and close control opened up a lot of good situations though. Quite often he was putting runners in the clear who then didn't deliver a final ball.

Fuck me are you fucking real? your going on about people having a go at xisco then your blasting shola when he had a good game??? I don't rate shola but you can't knock the lad for the way he played last night? he won nearly every ball in the air & held it up well.. Martins was shit last night never read one knock on by shola I think it was the right decision to take him off.. Imo How can you read any knock on by Shola seeing as they just bounce off his head in random speed and direction?

This,I cant believe that people on here are still slating him I thought he was poor last night, gave the ball away for their goal and failed to look up and see a runner in space to his left on 3 occassions. Lots of effort though. Went on a couple of decent runs for a change and worked hard. His end product was dismal though and he doesn't look convincing for me. Two matches in a row now he's got into good position and shot tamely straight to the keeper at waist height. Powder puff stuff, Duff.

No. Yes. It would take a lot more than him to do that, he'd actually have to spend some money in the transfer market for once. And then that begs the question, if he'd have done that now, why not back when? Ashley probably believed in the system he put in place. Like a lot of owners he isn't that clued up about the game, it might well be that he just wanted to put the club on a sound financial footing. It's hard to know for certain whether Ashley might have spent more money if the disputes hadn't arose.

Full props to Barton. He's not exactly running like a Rolls Royce yet, but he showed touches of class and led by example. Before the start of each half he was geeing up the players especially the foreigners. That's what want to see from my players and I think if he can keep his head straight from now on, he's nailed on as Captain.

When did he decide that? After going 2-0 up or after 80 mins? The difference is crucial. Well seeing as Shay started taking two minutes to take every goal kick straight after half time, I'm inclined to think it was then. So am I but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt because I wouldn't like to think he's stupid enough to blame the players for following his instructions.

Duff didn't help, for all of his running tonight, which to be fair he did, his impact on the game was nil on an attacking front and I'm sure he gave the ball away for the goal. I'll be fair to Duff tonight, some of the runs he went on were pretty good, beat a few people, but his final ball is totally non-existant. He doesn't even fire a ball across goal without a specific target, he just doesn't do anything. He's had two great chances on his left foot in the last two home games and that left foot has been as weak as piss. The situation where we countered late on when he just gave the ball to a marked Xisco despite us being 3 on 2 was appalling. I saw it exactly the same way. A lot of his work was West Brom standard - looked good, nice on the eye, but fuck all end product when it mattered.

When did he decide that? After going 2-0 up or after 80 mins? The difference is crucial.

Maybe they should have pushed up the pitch more then? Barton in particular seemed to drop further and further back as the game went on. Maybe a fitness issue?

So do I. It's not just about cups and medals, it's about trust and playing the right way. Keegan's hard work for an owner but worth it for what he brings to the club: stability and the goodwill of the fans.

Xisco has only played in crisis situations so far. I did notice that when he won a header he tried to direct it to another player, whereas Ameobi just jumped high and let it bounce of his head in whichever direction it chose.

But don't you also learn a lot about players when the going gets tough? A fair few players are made to look good if the rest of the team are doing well. Yes, but you can only judge them when you have seen them in both situations. Xisco has only played in crisis situations so far. I did notice that when he won a header he tried to direct it to another player, whereas Ameobi just jumped high and let it bounce of his head in whichever direction it chose.

Kinnear has come on tv and said we shouldn't have sat back and pushed forward more. If he's saying one thing in the dressing room and another on tv it's a dead cert he will lose the players confidence. I can't believe he'd be that stupid but who knows?

Thought it was typical of Xisco's luck that he came on when we were playing absolute shit in the second half. We would have learned a lot more about him if he'd been playing the first half when there was some decent supply and willing runners around the penalty area.