Le Chuck, i cant agree with that one. Wigan and West Ham may have came up and be having a good go of it (Im not sure what constitutes a good go by the way) but ultimately they'll both be in the relegation mire come the end of the year. We play to our strengths and if that grinds points out like today then we'll be safe and ultimately the number one goal attained at the end of the season. Id much rather, like i say play to what we know and stay up than be this years 'Norwich' with pretty football yet going down. Clubs are desperate to stay in the Premiership and avoid any financial meltdown that relegation incurs so the 4-5-1 is an easy formation to grind points out with. Add to that the successes of Bolton and Everton with the same formation and it will seem an attractive formation to follow for many managers who need to meet short term targets such as staying up that year which is probably the main goal for over half of the Premiership. People are determined to slam Kuqi, but at the moment he's our best option up top. He's big and strong and gives us the Kevin Davies option to use in the 4-5-1. Ben Haim and N'Gotty had an easy ride in the 1st half with Matty, no fault of his own but it isnt his type of game. Kuqi asked more questions of the Bolton centre halfs today with his strength and all action chasing than what was previously on offer. Playing the 4-5-1 with our other choices leaves us with the same problems as last year with Steady up top on his own where the ball doesnt stick. He isnt the best forward weve ever been graced with but its unfair to criticise him already. If he would of bungled one in off his shoulder today then he would of been a hero! Simply put, when Kuqi plays the ball sticks up top and our attacks develop. Playing today with Matty, no sooner was the ball hoofed up field than it was being returned and putting the defence under un-needed pressure.

Went myself today and can echo the comments made on the official site about it being a very enjoyable game. As has already been said Bellamy was lively and put the willies up the Morecombe defence every time the ball went into open space. Linked up nicely with Dickov on occasions too and generally looked as though it will be the start of a good relationship between him and the fans, they loved him today. From the first 45 minutes Nelsen was as cool and calm as ever, Gally and JJ industrious on the flanks although with little end product and Brad untroubled. From the first 45's team though i thought young Andy Taylor at right back was excpetional (Maybe a tad OTT for a friendly). Seemed a very solid player who could not only defend well but be neat and tidy on the ball and use some trickery to get forward. The second half was a lot more end to end with both sides being wasteful. Thought Sergio Peter looked very handy out on the left but sometimes took the wrong option, plenty of pace to burn though. Others to mention where Jay at CB who looked quite at home and Douglas who got stuck in too in the centre of midfield. Jansen received his usual reception from the rovers fans but was quite unlucky in front of goal, just needs that first goal to breed a bit of confidence. Finally i best mention our other new signing Shefki Kuqi who had a sound debut. In the Dickov mould, covered a lot of ground today and was a threat in the air and down the flanks with his strength, scored a cracking goal too. Will certainly add a bit of brute force to the attack which often wilted at powerful defenders in the past.

Oh dear Barrys lost his bottle and wants to return to the goldfish bowl that is the SPL. Admittedly he's a great player and was coming on this year but was still far too inconsistent and didnt stamp his authority on games. My main gripe with all this though is the timing of it all. I now presume that Barry did infact get his agent to throw his name Rangers way in the first place, possibly to save face with the fans. After that got dragged out for far too long and a week or so of silence from the man himself, a transfer request appears. Not the best course of action for a club who took a gamble on signing him and then stuck by him through his initial homesickness and injuries. Anyway far to many similarities now with the Savage/Birmingham deal as i suppose what goes around comes around. Lets just not get involved in a slanging match and get the deal done quick but only on our terms for once.

What... you mean after boro trialled him they suddenly realised that he wasnt a johnny foreigner mercenary they could sign on a free or on loan for extortionate wages. Nor was he a 5 goal a season injury plagued forward or just injury plagued for that matter!!!! Arent these the guidelines steve mclaren abides by..... the most overated manager in the premiership...well apart from lancashires answer to Derek Trotter, the whealer dealer (2 for a pound) himself... Stand up Big Sam Allaredyce!!!!!