Doug

Harsh, with the face injury he has he is doing well to play as a target man at all. Premiership centre backs are as tough and uncompromising as they come.

As I live nearby, I sauntered down to the reserve game yesterday following a car throught the WBA training ground gates just on 3pm as the game kicked off. Imagine my surprise as a frantic minion tore up to me coughing and spluttering that I had no right to be there and should leave immediately. After calming him down and assuring him I was not a terrorist and my umbrella was not a weapon I left and walked around the outside of the ground to take up a position outside the fence in a hedge where I was joined by two old fellows who were WBA fans of some 40years or more. We could just about see the game taking place through the mesh of the fence from a distance of a football pitch width away and through the 50 or so people lining the touchline. Together we chatted about the season and how I had made the 400mile round trip on Saturday to see us beat their deadly rivals Wolves 4-1 and how pleased I was that they had beaten Carrols Liverpool etc. We obviously could be seen by the people on the touchline as one took pity and came over to us and pushed a teamsheet through the mesh for us to see who was playing. The thought crossed my mind that if I was someone in authority there I would have said let them in, there are only 3 of them. It brought it home to me just how little we matter as fans to these people at the clubs. Villa will still want my £41 for a ticket this Sunday however while some Villa fans pay £15. Talk about feeling taken for granted.

This is where Twitter would come into its own. Someone like Joe Barton can confirm or deny stuff using that quite easily so mischief makers get found out. Is he on it?

I would find a place for both Ferguson & Ranger.

Ashley cant get all his money back if we go down. I think there are only 3 games left where we may get any points with the squad we have left, Blackpool, Brum & WBA. The last relegation came after the January sale of the premier leagues finest goalkeeper. This time it looks like it could be after the sale of the finest young striker. You just do not sell your best players if you want to stay up. I still cant believe he has done it again.

I forgot to post this at the time, but even though we lost 4-0, this bloke was still absolutely class against Stoke and if not for him we would have lost by even more.

I was at the game and Perch played ok, the Wolves player was through on goal and was just about to score. Perch stopped him, but never mind its more fun to slag him off even though he stopped a goal.

Correct...also that chap we sent back to QPR had a good game too. Perch was ok in that game too, but you are not allowed to say that because it flys in the face of the popular belief that he is never worthy of being given credit for anything.

You need the site www.deathlist.net/ Ronnie Biggs currently heads the top 50 tips but Liz Taylor has pipped him coming in at no.25.

Hate???

Barton was just getting to his feet and Fuller kicked him to put him down again as he ran past Joey. The linesman on that side will have seen it perfectly but chose to ignore it completely. Something he would not have done of course had it been Barton on Fuller. Their whole crowd was on Bartons back at this stage so the linesman was scared to go against them. Weak officials. Barton never stopped trying to get the upper hand he just does not have enough quality around him to make it happen sadly.

This lad never put a foot wrong yesterday. He obviously oozes confidence. You can tell by his demeanour that he wants the ball all the time, knows what to do and actually can carry the ball past what he seems to consider inferior opponents. This of course will probably mean that he cannot be allowed to play and must be 'protected', whatever that means.

Two things stand out for me yesterday. First We have the talent to stay up. Ferguson and Ranger showed by their confidence and willingness to compete that they simply must start instead of the likes of the frankly decrepit Cambell and Lovenkrands. Secondly, our wonderful support sang almost none stop throughout the game. What a pity it consisted of constant repetitions of your support is fucking shit and the Beach boys classic ruined by the words that the hosts town is a shithole I wanna go home. Cringworthy, really it makes us look like a right bunch of cretins instead of being respected for our brilliant support. It is such a shame.

Justice! This should ensure no Europe for them next year. A very entertaining nights football from Anfield for once.

I wish they would just release Cambell from the club so that we dont have to go through the farce and embarrasment of his inclusion being discussed on here each time by people who still dont get it that he is finished as a top flight footballer.

Its got to be selling your best players then getting relegated for me. Get me vexed every time.

I went to the game convincing myself against my better judgement that we can climb above Liverpool to salvage some pride and justice from another crap year. I should have known better. I know now from watching this that our squad cannot cope with any key player missing and what is left cannot adapt to Pardews reasonable attempts at formation changes. What we witnessed yesterday were too many players out of their comfort zone unable to cope with the covering and support roles that the ambitious formation demanded. With some of the players it may be lack of fitness, awareness, ability, or more likely all three to varying degrees but I was left with the overall impression that Pardew is trying in vain to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Survival is now the only thing left for us, That and the satisfaction of knowing we still have the best support in the land. Home form like ours and still 50K there singing in vain in the last 20mns to lift the side. We deserve so much more.

I think that you may be in for a hard time soon, as these comments will come back to haunt you sooner than you think.

Very impressed with his positive attitude of keeping two strikers on and playing three at the back with full backs pushing forward wide all the time when down to ten men. It kept us playing in their half a lot instead of just desperately defending and soaking up pressure like a lot of managers would have done. Unlucky not to win it with Rangers marginal offside at the end. We have to be very encouraged under the circumstances.

He has more than done his duty through the relegation and back but a foreign player of such talent is bound to be expecting European football now at this stage of his career. Dropping him solves nothing, He will have been devastated at the transfer window capitulation. The side will have to play beyond their capabilities until the end of the season and somehow get above Liverpool & co. and into Europe for us to keep the likes of Jose. You never know, this has been such an unpredictable season we'll have to hope it it could happen.

Great performance by our lot. We passed them of the muddy park. No passengers tonight. Of particular note was Best winning everything in the air, we dominated the midfield and got at them down both flanks well. the big away end was impressively packed and noisy for a cold wet Tuesday night. I ended up on my arse in the aisle so great was the crowd surge for the second goal much to the amusement of all around, great fun for a change.

Poor old James Perch is the latest player not to be given a chance.

Sadly he is going to be a great success. We, of all people know what a good player he has become. Selling him has laid down a marker to our other players with ambition that they cannot hang around here to get it next season. The Carrol sale will have triggered the departure of others with European aspirations I am afraid. If a local lad is not prepared to 'live the dream' on Tyneside we can hardly expect foreigners to do it.

I can remember Paul Warhurst the Sheffield Wednesday centre half in the late eighties I think. They put him up front after an injury crisis to their regular strikers and he couldnt stop scoring. He ended up being picked for England as a striker!

Living near Birmingham I went to the St Andrews ticket office today and enquired. They said there will be tickets on sale to away fans before the game from an office booth by the away end but not from the Garrisons Lane place as stated on .com