No, the fans didn't cost us a point today - it was down to poor defending and slack refereeing. However moronic the chants were, blaming the result on a group of fans is well wide of the mark.... I don't like to be the type of fan who complains everytime we don't get our own way, but Halsey was poor this afternoon, especially in the 2nd half. Far too many 50-50's were blown up in Liverpool's favour, let alone challenges that seemed fair. The Cisse chants were out of order - I didn't begrudge him for milking the celebrations in front of our fans. However, if Cisse and Crouch (and to some degree , Morientes) continue in the same vein of form they displyed today, Liverpool will be lucky to be challenging the top 6 this season - they were awful. Without Gerrard they looked vulnerable and incapable of launching any type of attack other than trying to pick out Crouch (or A.N.Other) at the far post from free kicks. I honestly believe that with a fully fit Belllamy in the starting XI we could have taken something from today's game - the fact that I'm genuinely disappointed to come away from Anfield without any kind of positive result (taking into account we were down to 10 men) should be worth something - we're definitely heading in the right direction.

You can try. Not many people from Salford admit it - only the stupid ones. Like me. Most say they're from Manchester.....

Speaking to a Utd season ticket holder about the same thing on Monday morning, she was under the impression the owners had been asked not to bring them again...I'll try and get some more info. It's a shame, because as much I dislike the Utd fans, I felt the banners added a lot of character to the Stretford End - especially when it's full and the crowd (for once) make some noise!! Edit: don't think so dan, if I remember correctly, they just had a small 'Manchester United' one in the corner.

I'll be there, but it's probably more to do with the fact that I won't be able to afford to go to many more away games (other than the ones in and around the north west) this season more than anything else. I want to make the most of any home cup games we get, because I more than likely won't be able to travel if we get an exotic away draw. It's certainly not because I think we'll be turning Huddersfield over easily and it'll be a goal feast - I think the results tonight have shown the lower division teams are giving the premiership teams a good game (watched Grimsby hold on and snatch a late winner against Spurs and it was well deserved) Cheap tickets, nothing better to do on a Wednesday eve (yes, it's that bad) and the chance of actually getting a pie at half time have swung it for me.

LW, The password this week is LUCKY.

Unfortunately, probably not before it's too late. As long as there are still a decent majority of fans willing to cough up inflated prices week in, week out, the clubs will carry on as they are and milk us for all they can. Let's not forget, though, even Juventus have big attendance problems, Real Madrid have enormous debts and there are a lot of the Serie A Italian clubs are struggling with big debt problems - it's not all smiles for the rest of European football. I used to read 'When Saturday Comes' regularly and there were several articles a couple of years ago about the decline / gradual improvement of footballing attendances around Europe. I half-remember reading one about a couple of top flight German teams whose crowds had dropped so much, that ticket prices were slashed considerably (in some cases more than 50%) and one or two even dedicated a standing only terrace for home supporters. I can't remember which teams they were (I'll look through some old issues or try and find the articles online), but as a result, crowds steadily increased and eventually caught back up to the levels before the declines started. The conclusion was that the clubs would rather have a full house of fans paying less for their tickets than half empty grounds. It proved that something can be done to try and solve the problem, but I doubt anything so radical would occur over here in the UK until things turned really bad, especially considering the kinds of wages very average (and even terrible) players can look to pick up playing in the Premiership. Things may have changed slightly for the better in the last year or so (I think the situation at Southampton where most squad players had their wages cut by 50% when the team were relegated was a good start) as clubs try and re-address the situation, but for several years agents and players have been given lucrative deals for very little end product. Despite that though, at the top end of the scale there are still players pushing for more ££ even when they're overpaid as it is (see Rio Ferdinand & Ashley Cole)...you can't draw the line when the big clubs are still willing to continue spending big. Even though Leeds are slowly starting to turn things around after the abysmal financial management of Ridsdale & co, they've still had season ticket prices raised by upto 25% in some areas of Elland Road. There was a hefty amount of empty seats for a live game recently (at home to Millwall, I think), which wasn't something I'd associated with Leeds in the past. The opening weekend of the Premiership showed that there are home crowds falling all across the country - we're all facing similar problems in attracting crowds on matchday. The introduction of a Euro Super League may well change the Premiership into a more competitive league for the smaller teams, but it wouldn't be the same without the big English clubs (and I don't mean Big Club Brum by that) - they're currently the best chance we've got of seeing top quality players at our grounds. For countries like France and Holland, taking the best 2 to 3 teams from their leagues would have an even bigger effect on their domestic football than it would with us losing/getting rid of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea. As for pitting the best teams across Europe against each other on a near weekly basis - isn't that what's so good about the current Champions League set-up? At least that's less predictable than the Premiership and enjoyable for the neutral to watch. I doubt it'd stay that way if the G14 group played the same fixtures on a regular basis. They'd also be less to play for the rest of us in the domestic front - at least at the moment we have 2 places (OK, maybe 3 at a push) that mean something to the rest of the league and are worth fighting for. Without the possibility of gaining entry to European competition (and I don't include the Inter TwoBob Cup or the Fairplay Tombola in that), there's not alot left to play for. Maybe we should let Budweiser have a crack at running the show afterall...

Not too sure, USABlue, not seen anything in the media recently. Anyway, I'm quietly confident of a win this Saturday (and I usually fear the worst !); I can't see Hughes letting the players underperform so badly again. Especially in the 1st home game of the season. If 4-4-2 is still the way Hughes wants to progress, how about this:- dropping Emerton to the bench, moving Reid onto the right and putting Mokoena in the middle with Savage? Mokoena's put in plenty of decent displays as a defensive midfielder and, hopefully, his defensive nature might give Savage the chance to push up when we're in possession - something he may not be too keen to do whilst getting used to playing in a middle 2 with Reid. Pushing Reid out to the right would not only give us a more direct outlet on the ball, but should also given Neill plenty of cover, particularly when dealing with Boa Morte (who's been a thorn in our side in recent seasons) on their left hand side. MGP on our left hand side by default. Obviously those changes would rely on Nelsen and Bellamy taking part. I think of the 2, Nelsen may be the more important, because we need a solid defence to deal with Fulham's pace upfront (we can add Elrich to Somerset Rovers' list above). Mokoena doesn't look comfortable there, Amo's still going to be short of match practice and I think we'll need Matteo at left back. Although he may not seem the most natural choice (with Gresko coming back into the picture), he can actually defend his position well (see last season), even if he offers very little to the team in an attacking sense. If Bellamy's injured, I think we'll revert to 4-5-1, putting Mokoena behind Savage and Reid and hoping MGP and Emerton can get forward enough to support Kuqi. I think only Gallagher would have a chance of making an impact in replacing Bellamy in light of Dickov's suspension and Jansen's injury. I think Johnson and Derbyshire will have to settle for being gradually introduced into proceedings from the bench, rather than either being given a 1st team start. I'm hoping for : Friedel Neill Todd Nelsen Matteo Reid Savage Mokoena Pedersen Bellamy Kuqi My prediction for this Saturday being: A BLT and 3 pints of Fosters at the Moorings, followed by a 2-0 win, Kuqi (2).

Up until the Jenas sending off, which was on the harsh side IMO, I thought Newcastle were doing alright. Although Souness has left them with very few options upfront (deja vu anyone?) he'll no doubt get Fat Freddy to splash out on a striker or two eventually. Emre and Parker kept the team passing the ball and were doing a god job until they went down to 10 men. If anything I think Newcastle will improve this season with the quality of the new signings showing through. On the other hand, I thought Arsenal did well, stayed patient and looked like they'll cope with the sale of Viera alot better than most of us thought. Their strength in depth is improving, with players like Hleb and van Persie coming off the bench to change the game around and they still play great flowing, attacking football. Gits.

This is what worried me yesterday - we showed no sign of being able to use Bellamy's pace to cause West Ham any problems. He's fast, but the service for him was terrible / non-existant. Rather than try and slip a ball through to him to give him something to run onto, the team just lamped the ball forward, leaving him to chase 30-40 yards before watching it bounce out of play. On a couple of occasions the passes were so poor, they'd gone out of play before he'd even set off after it. Tugay apart, I can't see many players having both the vision AND ability to get the most out of him and it's a worrying thought. Maybe Savage, but given he's going to have alot of defensive responsibilities it might be asking alot. The 1st 20mins or so we played quite well. Although not totally dominant, we were certainly in control of the match and looking the better team. As scrappy as Todd's goal was, the lead was deserved and even the abysmal hotdog stand service at half time couldn't take the smile off my face. As an aside, I thought the West Ham fans were terrible in the 1st half given the occassion of the day, almost as bad as the seemingly non-existant support usually found at Highbury. We gave them plenty to cheer about after half time, though. As the 2nd half progressed I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. The team rapidly seemed to lose it's composure, not only allowing West Ham back into the game, but giving them the incentive to go on and take the 3 points. Too many players were well below par and struggled to try and lift their game, whereas the West ham players were growing in confidence and starting to play some decent football towards the end. I don't think matters were helped when we took Kuqi off and replaced him with Gresko. Initially I thought it would be to provide some more defensive cover for Matteo whilst pushing MGP upfront, but instead it turned out to be more of a defensive move, switching the team to a 4-5-1. The introduction of Dickov seemed a more positive move. For a short while at least, until Konchesky copped a full on two footed lunge. I didn't think he'd made a big contact with his challenge, but obviously he had. The ref couldn't get to him with his red card quick enough. A 3 match ban and another peice of evidence for those in the media labelling us a bunch of dirty hackers. How long before this stereotyping sets in with the officials and we get yellow and red cards for decisions based on our reputation? Savage's yellow card meant he was having to play too cautiously in midfield and the two wide players MGP and Emerton were just plain poor. At least Reid puts in plenty of effort. I haven't watched the highlights yet, but even without seeing Emerton's back pass it would still be easy to suggest he offered nothing to the team with or without the ball. I used to be a big Emerton fan and have thought at times the criticism of him was too harsh, but I'm beginning to understand why people don't rate him. It's frustrating enough when he doesn't make the most of his talent when on the ball in an attacking sense, but yesterday he was a complete liability and left Neill with too much to do. There's a bloke in N02 BBE end who slates him rotten, much to the amusement of those of us sat around him. He'd have had a field day yesterday, with reason for once. Losing his place to Thommo against Man Utd seemed to spur Brett on last season, let's hope Thommo recovers soon and can put in some genuine competition for the right hand side slot. I left my seat just a minute or so before the final whistle, so I didn't see the reaction at the end of the match. How did the players & fans respond? I hope we get right behind the team on Saturday and try and help give them a lift. Positives? Not many I'm afraid. Perhaps the fact things should only get better is one. The highlighting of our weaknesses another, although only if they're acted upon. If we put in a similar performance against one of the top 6 teams it could be very embarassing. It looks as if we'll need another player or two before the end of August, although as Biddy pointed out at the game yesterday, where would you start? I'd aim for a versatile centre half and creative central midfielder, but it's alot easier said than done. I honestly thought that even though we may still struggle initially to pose a threat upfront, the solid defensive base of the team would give us enough to work on. We didn't have that yesterday and were well beaten as a result. We missed Nelsen badly and, without kicking a ball, Amoruso has probably moved up to 3rd choice centre half. Mokoena didn't look at all confident playing there, although the team playing badly as a whole didn't help. He doesn't seem to impose himself enough (especially aerially) as a centre half, which is strange given how well he fills the shield role in midfield. Todd looked uneasy beside him even before West Ham starting scoring. Although I was gutted yesterday, I'm feeling a little more positive this morning. Surely we can't play that badly again? The same players who let us down yesterday put in some great performances last season, so it's not as if they're not capable. Writing the team / players off after 1 bad performance is a knee jerk reaction. Put it down as a bad day at the office for the Rovers; it happens in football. I'm sure Hughes will be desperate to put things right in the next match. We were well beaten and would have been very lucky to come away with anything given the 2nd half collapse. Hopefully this will give a massive kick up the backside to the players and management and things will improve by the time Fulham come to Ewood. It's not as if miracles need to produced over the next 5 days, the team just needs to recapture the mentality and effort that worked so well last season, when the same team (minus the new strikers) put a run together in the new year that was top half form. Even though we're upset and disappointed, it's important to try and keep in mind we've only lost 1 game, no matter how badly we've played. There's another 37 to go yet and I'm sure as good as West Ham were in spells yesterday, they wouldn't have done so well if we didn't help by throwing the match away. They'll be a time in the season where the roles'll be reversed and we'll take an easy 3 points from a suicidal opposition performance. There's no point in worrying yet, a win against Fulham would do us all a world of good.

AFC Super Banjo : GK Friedel DF Nelsen DF Toure DF Queudrue DF Heinz MD Duff MD Malbranque MD Gera AT Diouf AT Van Nistelrooy AT Defoe SUBS: GK Carroll DF De Zeeuw MD Barton MD Piper

Voted 'Very happy.........' and looking forward to seeing him at Ewood this season. Even with all the specualtion since January I really didn't think he'd end up here - the fact that he's turned down CL football and more money elsewhere is a bit of a welcome surprise. Newcastle fans I've spoken to would rather have seen Souness leave the club before Bellamy, especially given their current 'strikeforce'. The fans of the other teams who lost out in the chase throwing their toys out of the pram shows how much they wanted him at their clubs. I have to admit when the rumours started I wasn't too keen (thought he'd be too much trouble off the pitch and would create unrest in what seems to be an improving team spirit), but on reflection, I think it could work very well on the pitch - he'll give us a genuine threat upfront that we didn't have last season. At last we finally have a player with the ability to do well against even the best teams in the league and, most importantly, the potential make a big difference when we play teams around / below us. He could be a real match winner for us and we've not had a player of that calibre for some time. I hope Hughes can help get the best out of him and make sure the midfield is creative enough to help use his pace to expose other teams. Hats off to Hughes and the board for making it happen!

I went to see Lancashire for the first time as well last night and I'll definitely be going again, had a great time. Law was brilliant; I've not seen a lot of cricket, but it wasn't hard to see he was having a stormer. Never really been a big cricket fan, but thought I'd give it a go after watching the recent England matches on Sky and I'm glad I did now. It looks like the Twenty20 format is helping to entice people along to see the cricket, there were quite a few sat around near me who hadn't been before. I might even make an effort to try and watch the Test matches, something I wouldn't have even considered a few weeks ago.... At this rate, I could just make it to the start of the new football season afterall...!

Manilow? White? 324984[/snapback] I think Bob means Chuckle.....

No, and I've come out now. 323488[/snapback] My PC just closed my java/poker window and by the time I had logged back on and tried to get back in, Slam Tilt's HE had disappeared from the list!! Just as well, really, I was getting rinsed by everyone Good fun, though, see you all on there again sometime!

Hi Scotty, go straight to the 'Private Tables' tab and Glenn's table (Slam Tilt's HE) is currently the 1st one on the list I'll be on about 8pm!

Just signed up, sounds like fun.

Grabbi seems to have disappeared - we searched on the internet a bit ago but he's not at any other Italian club. He went to Ancona, but he got released and he's vanished into the football dustbin most likely. In talks with Bolton then?

Godspeed!, the Radio Dept. and MBV are great choices !! Lately, I've been listening to : Josh Rouse - Nashville Grateful Dead - Amercian Beauty Sin City (the best of) - The Flying Burrito Brothers Decade - Neil Young and anything by I Am Kloot Really liked the latest Coral single as well (can't remember the name, though!), reminded me of one of their previous singles 'Pass It On', quite folky and upbeat

quick aside - '28 Days Later' is one of my favourite films! Maybe something to do with Manchester being one of the last strongholds and soundtrack by God Speed You Black Emperor! Anyone read "The Dice Man" ? Never got round to reading the sequel - was it any good?

Bugger. It was bad enough missing The Zutons alone.... [Really liked the last Hot, Hot Heat album, gutted I missed them too ]

Another well organised and stubborn performance, even if it wasn't exactly a decent game of footy to watch. Following on from the Everton game the team defended well and Liverpool struggled to get any decent efforts in on our goal. A well earned point in the end, IMO. I think it's gonna take some freak results to see us dragged back into relegation trouble, we're starting to see a Rovers team that is proving difficult to beat. I can't see the less capable teams in the Premiership giving us too much trouble, even if we're hardly running amok at the other end of the pitch. Not great entertainment, but given the trouble we were in earlier in the season, I would have gladly taken what Hughes & co. are doing right now back then. OK, getting Rovers to tighten up at the back, show plenty of determination/organisation and improving the team's fitness as a whole doesn't exactly make for sexy football, but it will make for Premiership football. The lack of quality in attack isn't worrying me too much (mainly because we're getting by for now and I'm looking forward to seeing what Hughes can do with the transfer budget in the summer) - I'm just glad we're turing a corner and looking like a solid, top flight team again, rather than the out of shape, disfunctional team we started with in August...

So far this week I'm listening to : Ambulance Ltd The Bravery I Am Kloot Buffalo Springfield and hoping to get the new albums by Arcade Fire and Brendan Benson, anyone else got them yet ??

I think it'd have been a good move if we didn't already have plenty of defenders at the moment. Perhaps if Short and Gray move on and Nissa isn't offered a new deal there may be a bit of room (perhaps we can dream of somebody bidding for Amo or Matteo) for Delaney. He's not a bad right-back and has put in some good performances at centre half as well during Villa's injury crisis earlier in the season, so he can provide a bit of cover as well.

I was impressed with Thommo's comments in the same interview. Just after Stead had been questioned about his lack of goals and appearances, Thommo mentioned that all the lads in the squad were right behind Stead and the team's lack of creating chances for him when he (Stead) did play had also been a part of the problem. Very impressed with the team's organisation, workrate and determination today; even if we aren't exactly providing a big threat to the other teams in terms of attacking play, we're keeping them out at the other end superbly. Tactically, Hughes got it right today and Everton found it hard to create decent scoring chances against a very well organised and hard working Rovers team. Everyone played well, but Reid impressed me the most, putting in alot of good work at both ends of the pitch and getting invloved in alot of our best play. Flitcroft and Thompson both came back into the team to put in solid displays and Mokoena seemed to be in the right place at the right time on most occasions, protecting the back four well and winning alot of aerial battles. We didn't miss Savage and Emerton as much as I thought we might, so perhaps there's signs that Hughes is starting to build on a promising squad. Very pleased for Stead, he took his chance very well despite seeming to struggle early on in the game and you could see from his celebrations that it meant so much to him. Hopefully that will give him the confidence to find some form get back amongst the goals. Let's hope Dickov's injury isn't as serious as it looked on Sky and he doesn't have to miss any games, he made a pretty promising start to the match and we'll need his experience and hardwork in the next few matches. I have to admit I thought Everton would have had a bit more about them, considering their position in the league, but were pretty average at best. They'll need to do alot of work in the summer if they qualify for the CL, because based on what I've seen of them against us twice and in other games on Sky, they don't have alot of attacking options and will struggle against quality European opposition. Fair play to them so far, though, it gives the rest of the league some hope that there's still a chance for the 'smaller' clubs to compete, even without spending milions of ££ every summer. Bring on Leicester !

True - 'Antics' is one of the best albums I've heard for quite a while. Saw them at Manchester in December and they were superb live as well. Been recently listening to : Doves - Some Cities Mercury Rev - The Secret Migration Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat I Am Kloot - I Am Kloot The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike Neil Young - Tonight's The Night